The Walnut Hill Community Association threw itself a 50th birthday block party Saturday complete with face painting, a moon bounce, free hot dogs and a check-bearing politician.

The party took place along 50th Street between Locust and Walnut, just in front of two vacant lots that WHCA recently turned into community gardens with the help of a grant from the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia.

Special party guests included State Senator Vincent Hughes, who presented a check for $1,000 to WHCA President Horace Patterson to help WHCA’s efforts, and Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell.

Hughes, who grew up a block away from the celebration on St. Bernard St., also announced a partnership between WHCA and his office to further help victims of the Windermere Apartments fire.

The Association also bid farewell to Imanni Wilkes Burg from The Enterprise Center, an important community partner. She is going to live temporarily in Russia.

Now is a good time to join the Association, which coveres an area roughly from 45th to 52nd Streets and Market to Spruce Streets, as new memberships begin in July and cost just $10.

Check out the slideshow:

A few dozen of West Philly residents gathered near the community bee hives in Woodlands Cemetery on Saturday to learn about urban beekeeping and the subtleties of local as part of “Sustainable Saturdays,” a University City District program to highlight local food.

Local beekeeper Daniel Duffy provided those who attended a glimpse inside the hives at the Woodlands Cemetery Community Apiary, where amateur beekeepers are harvesting amazing honey and experimenting with ways to help strengthen the bee population. Bees have taken a beating in recent years. Populations have declined at alarming rates probably due to a combination of pesticides, monoculture farming and parasitic mites.

Luckily for city dwellers, bees often do better in town than in the country thanks to the diversity of flowers. Flowers from Clark Park, community gardens, flower boxes and Cobbs Creek, make for a variety of honey tints and textures. That diversity also makes for some interesting honey, which participants got to sample during Saturday’s event.

Urban Apiaries provided Saturday’s honey samples. Brought to you by the same folks who run Milk and Honey Market (4435 Baltimore Ave.), Urban Apiaries maintains a handful of apiaries (the official word for a cluster of hives) in the city, including one on top of Milk and Honey’s building and another on a warehouse roof in North Philly.

Two people were charged yesterday with the murder of 3-year-old Jaquinn Brewton, who died earlier this week from injuries suffered late last month in an apartment building on the 4700 block of Chestnut Street.

Police say Brewton’s caregiver, 22-year-old Nadera Batson, and her boyfriend, 23-year-old Marcus King, systematically tortured the toddler, including burning him with a small blow torch and beating him.

Brewton died on Tuesday after being taken off life support at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he was admitted on June 29 after Batson said he fell down a flight of steps. The 3-year-old began living with Batson, who is reportedly the boy’s godmother, in March. His mother and five siblings were living in a homeless shelter.

Both Batson and King have criminal records. Batson was arrested in 2007 on theft charges and King pleaded guilty to assault charges in 2009.

Brewton was taken to CHOP after Batson said she found him unconscious on the steps in her apartment building. His family asked that he be taken off life support earlier this week. He died within minutes of being taken off.

Neighbors interviewed on the day Brewton was found said they suspected abuse at the apartment, but never reported it.

NBCPhiladelphia has a reminder about the parking rate increase today. It’s going to cost you a little more to park in University City and Center City. Rates will increase by 50 cents to $2 an hour in University City and $2.50 an hour in Center City.

The rates apply to meters and kiosks. The increase stems from the recent decision to raise parking rates to help cover the School District of Philadelphia’s $629 million budget shortfall.

The city estimates that the parking rate increases, increases in property taxes and about $10 million from the City’s general fund will provide a little over $50 million for the School District.

Editor’s note: This post may look familiar. That is because we ran it last Friday by mistake. We are definitely right this time though.

The West Philly monthly food series “Sustainable Saturdays” continues Saturday, July 16, with a program chock full of local goodness. Full details are at the University City District website here.

Here’s a quick rundown of what’s in store:

• 10 a.m. – Foraging for Edible and Medicinal Plants • Woodlands Cemetery

An expedition with the Wild Phoodies of Philly.

• 11 a.m. Urban Beekeeping and West Philadelphia Honey Tasting • Woodlands Cemetery Community Apiary (near the mansion).

A great introduction to urban beekeeping and a chance to peek inside a working bee hive.

• Noon – Snacktime: Making Healthy Snacks with Local Ingredients • University of Pennsylvania’s 1920 Dining Commons(on Locust Walk on the west side of 38th St.)

Learn how to make fruit leather, granola bars and naturally fermented soda.

• 2 p.m. – Zip Code Honey, Local Cheese + PA Brews • Biba Wine Bar (3131 Walnut St.)

A seminar on West Philly honey and tastings with Annie Baum-Stein of Milk and Honey Market and Urban Apiaries. $20 admission.

• 4 p.m. – From Farm to Table: Tasting Local, Grass-fed Beef • Mid-Atlantic Restaurant and Tap Room (3711 Market St.) Free samples and $3 local beers.

Preparing local beef from Philly Cow Share.

The Walnut Hill Community Association wants to transform a  city-owned property near 49th and Chancellor Streets, a vacant lot frequented by drug dealers, into a community garden. Sounds great, right? Well, they aren’t making much progress and they need your help.

The association is asking community members to petition Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell to ask that the city sell it the property. The catch is that the sale of the property to another buyer is pending. The WHCA did not disclose the potential buyer, but its members and many nearby residents say that if the sale goes through there would be more criminal activity on the lot.

That’s where you come in. The WHCA needs help convincing Blackwell to reexamine the sale.

WHCA would purchase the property using funds from a Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia “Vital Neighborhoods” grant it received this year.

Association members are already working on transforming lots at 208 and 214 S. 50th Street into gardens and hope to do the same with this one. Several nearby residents have been complaining to police about criminal activity on the property for months.

Here’s how you can help:

• Print out the letter below, add your name and address to the header, sign it and mail to Jannie Blackwell. Her address is on the letter. 

Or

• Come to the association’s Community Day this Saturday at 50th and Locust and sign the petition there.

Walnut Hill Community Association letter template (click on the image to enlarge and print):