A German Shepherd/Pit Bull mix has been missing for some time in the West Philadelphia/University City area.

The dog is very friendly, will answer to Peaches. She has a red collar with a green tag.

If you see her, please call 267-303-9096 or 215-391-7397. A $50 reward is offered to anyone who finds her.

A 36-year-old man was mugged by 10-12 young males on the 4600 block of Chester Avenue on Monday night, police said.

Police say the youths punched the man, who was a house guest at a nearby residence, and stole his cell phone and laptop at about 11 p.m. He refused medical attention. The youths were not armed and no arrests have so far been made.

The West Philly resident with whom the man is staying wrote us that:

“It seems like there has been an uptick in muggings in the “triangle” between Baltimore and Woodland and 40th and the Kingsessing rec center which is usually pretty quiet compared to the main East-West streets (Walnut, Spruce).”

Mariposa Food Co-op is hosting a screening of the documentary Queen of the Sun tomorrow, June 23, at 7 p.m. at The Rotunda (4014 Walnut St.). All proceeds will go toward the co-op’s expansion.

The film, directed by Taggart Siegel, offers an insightful look at the global bee crisis. It explores the disappearance of bees and bee colony collapse disorder, which has dramatically increased since 2006. The authors try to find explanations and solutions to the crisis by interviewing beekeepers, scientists and philosophers and venturing into a wonderful and mysterious world of the beehive.

Here’s the thing; bees are directly responsible for producing a whole lot of the food we eat through pollination. They’re disappearing and we need to figure out why so we can help bring them back. This film goes a long way to highlighting this issue.

In addition to the Queen of the Sun screening, “West Philly Grown,” a short documentary about Mill Creek Farm will be shown.

Admission is on a sliding scale, from $5 to $20.

Here’s the Queen of the Sun preview:

 
Folks at West Philly’s Calvary Baptist Church (6122 Haverford Ave.) got a sweet surprise when Grammy Award winning singer John Legend swung by to sing a tune during Sunday’s service.

Legend, who was in town to perform with Sade at the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday night, returned to his gospel roots and belted out Aretha Franklin’s “How I Got Over” with the help of the Calvary Baptist choir.

Some in West Philly may remember Legend when he was John Stephens (his given name), an a cappella performing University of Pennsylvania undergrad in the late 90s.

The video of the performance below, which was posted on Legend’s Facebook page yesterday, is fairly polished so this wasn’t a spur of the moment thing. But it’s still very, very cool.

The School Reform Commission, as expected, has formally approved the partnership agreement between the Penn Alexander School and the University of Pennsylvania for another 10 years.

The agreement between Penn, the District and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, requires Penn to contribute $1,330 per student per year to the school to help maintain reduced class sizes and support other services.

Penn President Amy Gutmann praised the partnership.

“Nothing is more important to the health and vitality of a community than the quality of its public schools, and the Penn Alexander School illustrates this important fact every day,” she said in a statement. “This agreement recognizes the partners’ wish for Penn Alexander’s continued success and supports the University’s goal to enable every child to benefit from proven educational practices at this award-winning public school.”

Penn Alexander has come under much scrutiny in recent months after an announcement from the district that the school would have an enrollment cap that would prevent some children who live within its catchment area from attending. A parents group formed last month, Advocates for Great Elementary Education, is trying to get specific answers from the school, the District and Penn about the enrollment limitations.
 

The second in a series of forums to discuss development along 40th Street is tonight at 7 p.m. at The Rotunda (4014 Walnut St.).

Conversations at the forums will help determine development along 40th Street, particularly the character of transportation along the 40th Street corridor (from Baltimore Avenue to Lancaster Avenue and extending to 41st and 39th Streets). The planning agencies, which include the University City District, Penn’s Project for Civic Engagement, Penn Praxis and Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI) West, say they are looking for input about what makes for a successful mixed-used, residential/commercial corridor.

The forums continue this Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. at Christ Community Church (4017 Chestnut St.) and Monday, June 27 at 6 p.m. at the Greater Faith Baptist Church (4031 Baring St.)