Independence Charter School is considering opening a school in West Philadelphia.

Officials from the school, which currently has one location at 1600 Lombard, are trying to gauge interest in the school from the local community, a key part of a new charter school application. If approved, the school would likely be located in the 19139 or 19143 zip codes, according to the letter, which was posted on neighborhood e-mail lists.

The 19139 zip code covers an area west of 45th Street to Cobbs Creek and north of Spruce Street to Westminster. 19143 runs south from Spruce to the river and west from 45th Street to roughly 60th Street.

New charter school applications are due at the School Reform Commission by Saturday. Public hearings on the applications are expected by next month. The SRC then has up to 75 days to approve or reject a charter application.

The district currently has 86 charter schools that enroll some 67,000 students. This is the first time since 2007 that the SRC has considered new applications for charter schools, thanks to a provision in the $2-per-pack cigarette tax. There could be as many as 50 applications, according to reports.

Penn Alexander School (Photo West Philly Local).

In other school news, the School District of Philadelphia has published the procedures for the year’s kindergarten lottery at Penn Alexander School for the 2015-2016 school year. Applications will be accepted between Jan. 20 and Feb. 27. The lottery will be conducted and letters will be sent to parents during the week of March 9.

Here are some guidelines:

• Two proofs of residency within the Penn Alexander catchment are required.

• Head Start and Early Intervention applications are also due within the same time frame.

• From the District’s website: “Parents are strongly encouraged to participate in the School Selection Process beginning October 17, 2014 and ending 5:00 PM on December 12, 2014. The School Selection online application can be reached by going to schoolselect.philasd.org.”

• Admission decision will only be communicated in writing. No phone calls.

More information and application materials can be found on the Office of Student Enrollment and Placement website.

– Mike Lyons

Curio Theatre Company opens its 10th season this week with the world premiere of a performance that is, as they say, ripped straight from the headlines.

The Matter of Frank Schaefer tells the true story of the Methodist minister from Lebanon, Penna. who is defrocked for officiating his son’s gay wedding, refrocked on appeal and is currently threatened with another defrocking.

“What grabbed us right away with the story of Frank Schaefer is that it felt like a civil rights movement was starting right in front of us,” said Curio’s artistic director Paul Kuhn. “When we started this project gay marriage had not been legalized in Pennsylvania and Frank Schaefer had not yet been defrocked.”  Continue Reading

A reader, Adam, snapped these photos the other day of a guy playing the drums in the bed of a moving pick-up near 49th and Warrington.

Adam writes:

“I love my neighborhood. This guy was playing a full drum kit in the back of a moving pickup truck.  Unfortunately, the cops weren’t music lovers.”

Sure enough, the drummer had to explain himself to police.

We spotted this intrepid hunter keeping a close eye on a patch of ivy – more specifically, the birds in the ivy – along the 4600 block of Baltimore Avenue this week.

Tuesday, Nov. 4 is Election Day. Polls are open until 8 p.m. If you are unsure where to vote we’re going to try to help you out, particularly if you are one of the estimated 30,000 Philadelphians who received a polling place postcard recently with bad info.

The best way to locate your polling station is to go to the PA Votes website and enter your address. You can also check your voter registration status online through the state here. If you’re voting for the first time in a new district, the folks at the polling place will ask for identification if it’s your first time voting there. This is NOT an implementation of the controversial Voter ID law we have heard so much about. This is standard operating procedure (the ID that they will accept is also at that link).

As for the races tomorrow … the state’s top office is on the line as incumbent Tom Corbett (R) and challenger Tom Wolf (D) square off in the most notable race in the city. Continue Reading

The usual host of zombies, ghosts, goblins and other assorted scary types turned out for Friday’s Halloween parade in the Spruce Hill neighborhood. The annual tradition began near 45th and Baltimore and concluded on the finely decorated 4200 block of Osage Ave, (“Little Osage”). We could go on about the costumes and the Thriller dancers, but it’s easier just to show you. Check out the photos below.

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