SEPTA has scheduled a trolley track replacement project on Spruce Street between 38th-40th Streets. The work will begin Monday, Sept. 18 and is scheduled to end on Sunday, Oct. 1.

This portion of track is used when street closures or emergencies prevent trolleys from using their regular routing. The construction is not anticipated to affect service on Routes 11, 13, 34 and 36.

Most of the track in this area was last replaced in the 1950s. The street structure supporting the tracks has deteriorated due to weather, traffic and the age of the road surface. SEPTA will excavate and replace approximately 1,100 track feet and repave the track area. The new and improved track components will make for a smoother and quieter ride.  Continue Reading

Photo courtesy of Cedar Park Neighbors.

Philadelphia is on track to record 1,200 drug-overdose deaths this year, according to City health officials. All kinds of people – from police to librarians – are being trained to use Narcan kits to reverse overdoses.

On Monday, Sept. 18, Cedar Park Neighbors is hosting a training on how to reverse an opioid overdose. Prevention Point, a longtime community based organization that has worked with tens of thousands of community members struggling with the effects of opioid addiction, will conduct the training.

The training will include detailed information on how to obtain and administer Narcan™ (naloxone), a medication that, when administered promptly to individuals who are experiencing an overdose, can save their lives. Prevention Point will also provide information on how to obtain this medication.

The training will take place at the Calvary Center Chapel (48th and Baltimore), beginning at 6:30 p.m., and will take approximately 1.5 hours. No RSVP is required, but trainees are asked to be on time and remain for the full training.

The Philadelphia general election is on November 7, and here’s an opportunity for West Philly residents to meet some of the Democratic candidates, including Larry Krasner, Philadephia District Attorney. A Democratic Candidates’ Night, organized by the 27th Ward Democratic Committee, will be held Thursday, Sept. 14, at University of the Sciences (Rosenberger Hall, 600 S. 43rd St).  Continue Reading

September is here but outdoor theatre is still alive in West Philly. Beginning Wednesday, Sept. 13, Curio Theatre Company will present a series of FREE performances of I, Peaseblossom in the Woodlands Cemetery (40th and Woodland). The play is based on Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and is presented as part of the 2017 Fringe Festival.

Imagine if the story of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” had been told by one of Lady Titania’s fairies who has only four lines with a total of five words in the play! I, Peaseblossom is a funny and interactive play which establishes a relationship between the audience and the performer.  Continue Reading

If you’re looking for things to do this weekend check out all the events and activities happening at Bartram’s Garden.

Philadelphia Honey Festival

The annual Philadelphia Honey Fest will be held at Bartram’s on Sunday, Sept. 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will feature myriad activities for the whole family: a children’s carnival and a couple of bee parades, honey extraction demonstrations, House and Garden tours, musical performances, beekeeper talks, story hours, and more. Local vendors and organizations will also be selling honey based products and providing demonstrations. If you get hungry there will be food trucks on site. Parks on Tap (a traveling beer garden) will also be there. And last but not least, don’t miss a special “Bee Beard” demonstration at 3 p.m.: Don Shump, owner of the Philadelphia Bee Company will create a beard of bees on his face! For more information and activity schedule, go here.  Continue Reading

Rendering image of the new USciences Student Residence Hall currently under construction at 46th and Woodland.

University of the Sciences and city officials will participate in a groundbreaking ceremony today for the new student residence hall at 46th and Woodland, on the site of the demolished Alexander Wilson elementary school.

USciences purchased the school building in 2014, a year after the School District of Philadelphia closed it down and decided to sell it. The university revealed plans for its new student residence hall in that location in the spring of 2016. The new dorm will house over 400 students and will also include ground-floor retail and an open courtyard along Woodland Ave (see rendering above). It will replace housing the university currently owns.

The new Student Residence Hall and Mixed-Use Facility is set to open in the winter of 2018-19. For more information and images, go here.

The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.