A new early learning center has opened within a few blocks of the area’s largest employers as part of the development of the area around the Philadelphia Cathedral at 38th and Chestnut.

The Philadelphia Cathedral Early Learning Center offers about 100 spots for children ranging from infants to pre-school aged kids in the remodeled basement of the cathedral, which, with exposed ductwork and beams in the ceiling and a lot of hardwood floors, feels more like an artist’s loft than a pre-school.

“We really want the center to feel like home,” said enrollment specialist Elaine Errico. “You see beautiful wood floors and real furniture.”

Think earth tones, not Disney.

The Philadelphia Cathedral is leasing the basement to Hildebrandt Learning Centers, a management company that runs a few dozen centers around the region, including several on college campuses. The expansion is part of the plan that includes a new 25-story apartment building and three-story commercial building next door.

The construction, which is scheduled to be completed next spring, means that the learning center entrance is a little tricky to find for those interested in a tour (construction of the center itself is done and when we were there they were training the first group of teachers). The entrance is currently on Ludlow, a half-block north of Chestnut. They are offering tours between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Here are some more details on the center:

• Open from 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
• Full- and part-time is available.
• The center participates in the state-subsidized tuition program.
• Number of spots: infants (6 weeks to 12 months) – 8; young toddlers – (13-24 months) – 10; toddler (25-35 months) – 24; preschool (3-5 years) – 60.

To schedule a tour call 267-428-6714.

Police say a 39-year-old man was shot and killed on Monday afternoon outside a food market at 53rd and Delancey.

GunCrisis.org and ABC6 are reporting that the man was shot several times in the back at about 4:15 p.m. and was pronounced dead at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

UPDATE: Reportedly, the shooting was captured on surveillance video. Philly.com provides description of the suspect as a man wearing an orange t-shirt and blue jeans. The suspect fled in a gold-colored minivan north on 53rd St after the shooting.
 

West Philly is lucky to host the BlackStar Film Festival again this year. We sketched out the weekend line-up below. One of the highlights is the debut of They Die By Dawn, featuring Erykah Badu and Michael K. Williams (“Omar” from The Wire). The two main venues are the International House (3701 Chestnut) and Penn’s Annenberg School of Communications (3620 Walnut St.).

Click on the links for descriptions and trailers.

Many events are free. Where noted, tickets cost $10 for the general public, $7 for seniors and students and $5 for International House members.

Saturday, Aug. 2

• Forever Young: Coming of Age Shorts • 11:30 a.m. • International House Philadelphia (IHP) • $10/$7/$5

• Troop 491: The Adventures of the Muddy Lions • 1 p.m. • Penn’s Annenberg School of Communications (ASC) • Free

• Planet Rock: Hip Hop Shorts • 1:40 p.m. • IHP • $10/$7/$5

• Youth Program Screening • 3 p.m. • ASC • Free

• Book signing – Dismantle: An Anthology of Writing from the VONA/Voices Writing Workshop • Marissa Johnson-Valenzuela and Andrea Wall • Immediately after Youth Program Screening • ASC

• Little White Lie w/Window Dressing Fail • 3:10 p.m. • IHP • Free

• Book signing: (1)ne Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race • Immediately after Little White Lie • IHP

• Panel – The Crossover Between Film and Music • 5 p.m. • IHP • Free

• Culture Strike: Social Justice Shorts • 5:15 p.m. • ASC • Free

• They Die By Dawn • 6:50 p.m. • IHP • $10/$7/$5

• Half a Yellow Sun • 8:30 p.m. • IHP • $10/$7/$5

Sunday, Aug. 3

• Creative Class: Makers Shorts • 11:30 a.m. • IHP • $10/$7/$5

• Evolution of a Criminal • 12:45 p.m. • IHP • $10/$7/$5 (Q and A with Darius Clark Monroe follows)

• Panel – Composing for Film • 3 p.m. • IHP • Free

• Time is Illmatic • 5 p.m. • IHP • $10/$7/$5

This year’s edition of Shakespeare in Clark Park debuted last night with a staging of Henry IV. Whether you are a Shakespeare or theater fan or not, here are five reasons you should get yourself down to the bowl (the remaining shows are on Thursday through Sunday, July 31-Aug 3, at 7 p.m.) :

5. Refreshments alfresco

Shakespeare in Clark Park always offers a good excuse to pack a picnic basket and a blanket or just grab an ice cream from the truck and chill to the sounds of Old English Early Modern English echoing through the bowl.

4. Music

In addition to the terrific acting, this one features some pretty sweet period choir-type tunes and instrumentation.

3. Terrific acting

These folks put on quite a show. For Free! (Although a donation at the end is much appreciated).

2. Community

This may be the number one neighbor-watching event of the year. All kinds of folks dig Shakespeare in Clark Park.

1. The epic battle scene.

We doubted that the battle scene, which features about 100 people from 36 neighborhoods around the city and dramatically gets underway about an hour in, could live up to the hype. It does – and then some. Smoke, swords, screaming, battering rams, barricades … seriously, you have to see this.

Photos by West Philly Local.

Police arrested a man yesterday afternoon after they say he choked a woman and tried to rob her as she walked near 45th and Larchwood.

The 29-year-old victim, Corrine McDonald, told NBC10 that she was visiting friends in the neighborhood and was walking along the 4500 block of Larchwood at about 12:40 p.m. when a man came up from behind and began choking her, then pulled her into a nearby alley (see video below). She said that she began to scream and fight back. Police who were patrolling the area heard her, rushed to the scene and apprehended 33-year-old Andre Taylor, who reportedly lives in a halfway house in East Falls. Police found a piece of wire and string that they believe Taylor used to choke McDonald.

Police say Taylor also tried to rob a woman at 46th and Larchwood on Sunday. She was reportedly grabbed from behind and choked with her earphone cords. The attacker fled after the woman gave him $7.

Taylor is being charged with attempted murder, robbery and other charges, police say.

News soon began circulating on social media, prompting some residents to comment on the brazenness of the attack.

UCD cops just caught a guy robbing a woman at 45/Larchwood. He put a rope around her neck & tried to rob her before the cops grabbed him.

— Joseph Murray (@PPDJoeMurray) July 30, 2014

@PPDJoeMurray @WestPhillyLocal wow. Scary. I walk there at this time frequently with my baby.

— Joselle Palacios, RN (@JosellePalacios) July 30, 2014

@JosellePalacios @WestPhillyLocal this is very rare. Penn police and 18th district patrol the area pretty diligently.

— Joseph Murray (@PPDJoeMurray) July 30, 2014

NBC10 video:

One of the best transportation organization slogans of all time is SEPTA’s simple and self-deprecating: “We’re Getting There.” So Philly.

Now SEPTA is asking you how they are doing. SEPTA is inviting the public to suggest modifications to current SEPTA routes and requests for additional services. If they make sense, SEPTA may work them into its next annual service plan – for 2016. The service plan will go through a public hearing process before a final vote.

SEPTA received a record number of submissions for its last service plan, perhaps a reflection of the growing interest in public transportation. The recent reintroduction of all-night trains is another indicator.

“We’re seeing a renewed interest in transit, with many residents embracing SEPTA as their primary and preferred choice for travel,” Richard Burnfield, SEPTA’s chief financial officer, said in a press release. “Many riders are showing a great interest in service improvements, and we welcome those suggestions.”

It sounds like complaints about drivers, schedules or the delays in updating the fare payment system won’t go far, but constructive suggestions might.

Send your ideas to serviceplanning@septa.org. You can also mail them to: SEPTA – Service Planning Department, 1234 Market St. 9th Fl., Philadelphia, PA 19107.

They will be accepted through Aug. 31.