A growing number of West Philly residents are trying to get “The Fuzz” back online.

Resident Amara Rockar has started an online petition aimed at persuading police Commissioner Charles Ramsey to allow Detective Joseph Murray to start tweeting again. Murray’s Twitter account, which has provided timely updates on crime and public safety for several years, has been offline since Jan. 11.

“Detective Murray’s use of Twitter is exactly the kind of useful and positive police-community interaction that the Philadelphia Police Department should encourage, not silence,” the petition reads. “Please approve his Social Media use under his official title immediately so that his updates to our community may resume.”

Murray’s Twitter account fell victim to the police department’s skittishness about its officers using social media publicly.

Murray’s updates on crime were invaluable for citizen awareness.

Some lucky person will never forget their recent visit to the 40 Stop Mini Market at the corner of 40th and Market streets. That is where Monday’s winning Cash 5 ticket worth $325,000 was bought. The winner has not been named.

The jackpot comes as result of picking all five numbers – 13, 20, 22, 29 and 33 – correctly in the daily drawing, which now starts over at $125,000. The store will also get a cash prize for selling the winning ticket.

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The Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) is awaiting an opinion from Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell’s office before it decides whether to allow a city developer to convert the old Apple Storage building on 52nd Street near Hadfield Street to more than 100 loft apartments.

The proposed development has become a potential hotspot of gentrification along 52nd Street, although the feedback that the ZBA has received so far has been overwhelmingly positive.

The property investment firm Iron Stone, which has developed high-end apartments elsewhere in the city, proposes to convert the commercial building into 112 loft-style apartments. The plan also includes 2,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor and 92 parking spaces in the rear of the building. The building is currently designated as industrial and Iron Stone is seeking a residential zoning classification.

The community organization Cedar Park Neighbors has posted an online petition aimed at convincing Blackwell to support the project.

The project’s ZBA file contains more than 30 letters in support of the project from nearby homeowners and businesses.

Homeowner Cheshire Augusta, who lives two blocks from the project on 51st Street, wrote the ZBA:

“My family and I would be delighted to see growth at the west end of the 50th Street to 52nd Street section of the Baltimore Avenue corridor. So exciting!”

Renee McBride-Williams, an executive producer at the West Philadelphia community radio station WPEB 88.1, wrote that replacing the “dreary, unsafe, abandoned building” would “improve the quality of life in our community.”

Other letters of support came from community leaders, block captains and business owners.

The most vocal opponent of the project has been Shawn Kelly of the Community Achievement Association, who has argued that the building should retain its industrial designation and that businesses that could provide needed jobs in the neighborhood should be sought to fill it. He also voiced concern about the availability of affordable or Section 8 housing if the project goes through.

As a private investor that is not requesting government funds, Iron Stone is under no obligation to provide subsidized housing.

But positive feedback about the projects have far outweighed detractors.

Seth Budick, a block captain on the 1000 block of S. 50th Street, argued in a letter to the ZBA that the project “would inject new life onto that street, creating a livelier and safer environment for the entire neighborhood by putting people back on the street and eyes in the windows.”

A community meeting is scheduled for tonight to discuss the proposal to turn the former Apple Storage building near 52nd and Baltimore, which is now vacant, into residential apartments.

The private equity investment firm Iron Stone, which has developed high-end apartments elsewhere in the city, proposes to convert the commercial building into 112 loft-style apartments. The plan also includes 2,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor and 92 parking spaces in the rear of the building.

Members of the community group Cedar Park Neighbors and the Baltimore Avenue Business Association support the plan as a way to spur development along the Baltimore Avenue commercial corridor. Some concerns have been voiced about the affordability of the apartments and possible property tax increases resulting from the project.

The plan still needs zoning approval to switch the building’s designation from commercial to residential. Discussion of that zoning variance will be the focus of tonight’s meeting, which is being held at the Arnett A.M.E. Church at 815 S. 53rd Street (near Whitby Ave.) starting at 7 p.m. Among those scheduled to be in attendance tonight is a representative of the Office of Property Assessment, who will address concerns about increased property taxes.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment has changed its mind and given the go ahead for a Subway restaurant to be located in a vacant storefront at 4533 Baltimore Ave.

The Board voted on Feb. 1 to approve the Subway, reversing a decision it made last month to deny the application because of concerns of nearby neighbors about additional traffic in the alley behind the proposed location.

The Board’s decision followed a “plea for reconsideration” from the Spruce Hill Community Association and the Subway franchisee’s attorney. In a letter to the Board dated mid January, Barry Grossbach, who heads a committee that considers zoning issues for the SHCA, wrote that the Subway would provide a stable tenant for the storefront property and that the Association was “at a loss” about the previous decision to deny Subway a take-out certificate that would enable it to open.

The Subway would be the first chain restaurant on that section of Baltimore Avenue, where many businesses are locally owned.

“‘Mom and Pop’ businesses are often operating at the margins and while they remain the central and cherished fabric of our neighborhood commerce, we are always fearful that what is here today might be gone tomorrow,” Grossbach wrote. “Subway … promised a degree of stability that any corridor would welcome.”

More than a dozen nearby residents wrote letters to the Board to voice their opposition to the Subway, including state Rep. James Roebuck, who lives on 46th Street.

“I live a block from this location and I too share these concerns about the impact a Subway would have on my community,” he wrote.

Appeals of the decision can be filed until March 2.

Police say a 53-year-old man was stabbed and robbed last night near 46th and Walnut after he tried to fight off a teen robber.

The man, who police say is from far Southwest Philly, was walking near 46th and Walnut at about 8:55 p.m. when a male described as 17 or 18 years old approached him, brandished a knife and demanded his wallet. Police say the man fought back and was punched in the face and stabbed several times in the back.

The man remained in stable condition this morning at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.