This one was about as easy as it gets for police. A resident on the 4300 block of Baltimore Avenue reported a burglary after she was awoken just before 2 a.m. on Thursday by noises and a first floor security alarm.

The resident found a window open, several thousand dollars worth items missing from the first floor of the house and cinder blocks stacked outside below the window. Police arrived to find many of the items in an alley near the home. As the scene investigation continued, police noticed someone peering around the corner of a building on 44th Street. When the man reached for his ID after being stopped by police, an i-Phone that was later identified as the resident’s fell out of his pocket.

The man, 20-year-old Lakim McDonald of the 5600 block of Washington Ave., faces burglary and related charges.

Joe Murray of Southwest Detectives tweeted about the arrest earlier today:

This has been another episode of Being A Cop Is Really Easy Sometimes.

— Joseph Murray (@PPDJoeMurray) October 3, 2014

Residents discussing 4224 Baltimore Ave. design plans at one of community meetings in 2013.

A coalition of community groups are urging Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell to introduce legislation that would help move along the large residential and commercial complex proposed for 43rd and Baltimore, across from Clark Park.

The project has stalled because the property owners do not want to navigate Philadelphia’s zoning process.

So the Friends of Clark Park are circulating a petition asking Blackwell to take “swift action” to prevent the property owners from abandoning a proposal that has been devised after a series of public meetings. (For a full history of the project, click here.)

The Spruce Hill Community Association and the University City Historical Society have also sent letters to Blackwell asking her to introduce an ordinance that would exempt New York-based Clarkmore LLC from the zoning process, which can be a gauntlet of delays and even legal challenges. Clarkmore already has the right to build a no-frills 92-unit building on the property at 4224 Baltimore Avenue as it is currently zoned and the firm is reportedly willing to go ahead with that plan rather than go through the zoning changes required to build the 132-unit complex proposed after more than a year of consultation with the community.

“We do not want to see that ‘by right’ project to go through,” said Barry Grossbach, chair of the Spruce Hill Community Association’s zoning committee. “It’s going to be a box and it’s going to be ugly.”  Continue Reading

The sidewalk logo in front of the Supremo market on Walnut between 43rd and 44th.

The city is gearing up for bike share – set to begin in the spring –  and is asking the public where stations should be placed.

You may have seen the sidewalk decals in front of, for example, the Supremo supermarket at 43rd and Walnut. The Green Line Café at 43rd and Baltimore is also a possible spot. Unfortunately, there are no proposed stations further west than 43rd Street, according to an online map at phillybikeshare.com. Bicycle Transit Systems will manage the program.

One way to comment on proposed stations, is to go to phillybikeshare.com and click on a station icon and leave comments. You can also text a “yes” or a “no” to 215-987-6034 and enter the station code you see on the sidewalk decals (the one at Supremo is no. 42). Comments are accepted until Oct. 20, 2014.

The stations will be just over 6 feet wide and between 45 and 75 feet long. Most will be about 60 feet long and hold 20 bikes.

Here are the site requirements, according to the web page:

• Stations must be placed on hard surfaces (e.g., concrete, asphalt, brick, pavers). No grass or landscaped areas.
• If on a sidewalk, the sidewalk must be at least 13′ wide to maintain clear space for pedestrians.
• Stations should receive sunlight for around 6 hours a day (to fuel the solar-powered kiosks).
• Stations must be visible and accessible from the sidewalk.

Click on the image to go to the map.

The funeral for 8-year-old Emmeline Valadez, who tragically died after falling from a ninth story apartment building window last week, was held this morning in Hammonton, New Jersey.

Emmeline lived with her father, a Penn graduate student and single father, and her older sister at the Fairfax building at 43rd and Locust. She fell from the window at about 7:45 a.m. last Wednesday. Her obituary is here.

Neighbors and friends are taking up a collection online to help offset funeral expenses. You can contribute to the campaign here. All funds raised will go directly to the father and donations will be accepted until this weekend.

The University of Pennsylvania has expanded its home-buying program out to 56th Street, according to the university’s Department of Home Ownership Services. The program is designed to entice full-time staff and faculty to live in West Philly.

The new western boundary will extend from 52nd Street to the east side of 56th from Market Street south to Paschall Avenue (see map below). The eastern boundary is unchanged, running along the Schuylkill River. The northern boundary runs along Haverford Avenue to 44th Street where it switches to Market Street. These are the first changes to the program, which provides a $7,500 forgivable loan toward the purchase or improvement of a home, since 2004.

The loan benefit also applies to employees of the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

The area shown in purple reflects the new boundaries of Penn’s housing loan plan.

A group of millennials who hope to wield their privilege and social capital for the “redistribution of land, wealth and power” in Philadelphia and nationwide are holding an organizing meeting in West Philly on Monday, Sept. 8.

The newly formed Philly chapter of Resource Generation, a nationwide non-profit whose mission is to organize young people “with wealth and class privilege in the U.S. to become transformative leaders working toward the equitable redistribution of wealth, land and power,” according to the organization’s website.

The idea is “to convince our elected leaders to tax rich people more, creating and participating in a cross-class giving circle, and giving young, wealthy/class privileged people tools to use their positions to help redistribute land, wealth and power,” said organizer Julia Stone in an e-mail.

Locally the group is pushing for the end of tax breaks to help fund schools. “Tax us rich folks more to fund schools,” a flyer reads.

The meeting, which will include light refreshments at 6:30 p.m. and a presentation at 7 p.m., will be held at location that will be passed along to those who RSVP at RGPhillychapter@gmail.com.