Jerome Brooks

A 45-year-old man from Elmira, New York was arrested on murder charges early this morning in the connection with the fatal hit-and-run accident near 48th and Chester on Monday night.

Jerome Brooks was arraigned early this morning on charges that include murder, vehicular homicide and driving under the influence, according to court documents. Brooks was allegedly driving the silver SUV that struck local resident 52-year-old Deanna Teal as she crossed Chester Avenue at 48th Street. Police say that the SUV was traveling at a high speed before striking Teal and did not slow down or stop after the crash.

Teal, who left behind a daughter and six grandchildren, died at the scene. Police found the vehicle several blocks away within a couple of hours of the crash.

A preliminary hearing for Brooks has been scheduled for December 26.

A temporary “no parking” sign near 49th and Larchwood.

Here’s the good news: Crews will be filming part of an episode of a new NBC drama in West Philly tomorrow. Kind of cool. The bad news is that if you live within a few blocks of 49th and Larchwood, there’s a good chance that you will need to find a new place to park until Friday. And if you live a few more blocks away, your favorite spot might be gone by the time you read this.

The filming of Do No Harm, a modern-day “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” focusing on a neurosurgeon with a secret, starts filming on Thursday morning. But a ban on parking on streets near 49th and Larchwood begins this evening (Wednesday) at 6 p.m. and ends Friday morning at 1 a.m.

The streets reportedly run from 47th to 50th and Larchwood to as far south as Catharine. Neighbors on the impacted blocks (about seven blocks in all) should have received a flyer notifying them of the parking prohibitions (a reader named Renee tipped us off to this whole thing) and it looks like the streets have been posted. The production company has the proper permits from the City.

If you have any questions about the filming, call the production company’s local office at 215-977-2897 (see the flyer below).

In case you are wondering, Do No Harm premiers on Jan. 31, 2013 after the finale of 30 Rock.

The flyer sent to residents. Thanks to reader Renee.

Despite the recent run of warm weather, leaves are still falling across West Philly. The City’s curbside bagged leaf collection program continues for another two weeks, wrapping up on December 14.

If you have some leaves you want to get rid of, here’s some advice from the Streets Department:

• Leaves will only be collected in biodegradable paper bags. These bags can be processed for recycling along with the leaves. This reduces contamination in the recycling process, and allows crews to work more efficiently and more easily identify your bags as leaves. Leaves set out in other bags or containers may be collected as trash.

• Set leaf bags curbside next to trash and recycling on your trash day.

• Leaves placed in plastic bags will be collected as trash, not recycling.

• Do not mix trash or other recyclable materials with bagged leaves. This contaminates leaves and makes them unfit for recycling purposes.

• The Streets Department does not provide biodegradable bags. Residents may purchase them at their local home improvement stores. Monarch Hardware at 45th and Walnut, for example, sells them in packs of five for $3.59.

• Bagged leaves may also be taken to any of the three Sanitation Convenience Centers:

3033 S. 63rd Street (63rd & Passyunk Ave.)
Domino Lane and Umbria Street
State Road and Ashburner Street

A 52-year-old woman was reportedly killed Monday night near 48th and Chester during a hit and run accident involving an SUV with heavy front-end damage and the left rear brake light out, police confirmed.

The woman was crossing Chester Avenue when she was struck. She was pronounced dead at the scene, at about 10:35 p.m.

Anyone with information about the accident is asked to contact the Accident Investigation Division at 215-685-3180, the tip line at 215-686-TIPS (8477) or text a tip to PPDTIP (773847).

UPDATE: Police recovered the vehicle, a silver Trailblazer, on the 4700 block of Larchwood, according to 6ABC. A police officer reportedly followed leaked fluid and scrape marks from the accident scene east on Chester Avenue. A suspect in the accident has not yet been named.

A man was shot and killed outside the Crown Fried Chicken near 52nd and Spruce early this morning. An off-duty police officer who witnessed the shooting fired at the shooter but missed, according to ABC6.

Police arrived on the scene quickly and two men were arrested in the killing, which occurred at about 2:40 a.m.. Neither the suspects nor the victim, who suffered a gunshot wound to the head, have yet been identified.

OK. Here’s a way to help neighborhood kids without getting out of your chair. Neighborhood Foods is a food growing and distribution run by kids and overseen by Urban Tree Connection. You might have seen these kids selling their produce near the 46th Street El stop or elsewhere in West Philly.

The folks from this great program have a chance to speak on a very large stage. They are among the five finalists in the TEDxManhattan Challenge. The winner gets to speak about their organization at TEDxManhattan, which this year will focus on “Changing the Way We Eat.”

Here is more about Neighborhood Foods from their entry:

“This dynamic model empowers disadvantaged youth from low-income neighborhoods to run an array of food-focused programs, from urban farming production, to value-added food product development, to distribution and retail through farm stands, farmers markets and a low-income CSA program. The result is a complete local food system that drives revitalization of high-need neighborhoods by 1) increasing access to fresh and healthy foods in designated food deserts and 2) developing a local food economy that accelerates small food businesses and retains food dollars in the immediate region.”

To vote for them, go here. To see other entrants, go here.