Mercy Philadelphia Hospital, located in West Philadelphia at 54th and Cedar, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year and has some exciting news and events to share with the local community.

Last week, the hospital broke ground on a multi-million-dollar Emergency Department expansion and renovation project, the largest such investment in the department’s history. The investment will dramatically increase the number of available beds, will create new offices and patient areas, and renovate existing facilities. Overall, the project will increase the size of the ED, making it more accessible to members of the community.  Continue Reading

Jaleel Shaw’s Band performed at the 11th Annual Lancaster Ave Jazz & Arts Festival in July 2017. (Photo by Kevin Smith)

Come July, the Lancaster Avenue Jazz and Arts Festival, a great summer tradition in the Powelton neighborhood, will return to Saunders Park. The National Endowment for the Arts has recently announced that it will support this year’s festival with a Challenge America grant of $10,000.

The NEA has approved more than $25 million in grants as part of its first major funding announcement for fiscal year 2018. The Challenge America category features NEA support for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations – those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability, according to the announcement.  Continue Reading

The tax season is underway, and we recently reported on free community-based tax preparation and filing sites helping working families and individuals in the area. There will also be a free tax workshop for homeowners next week at the Blackwell Library (52nd and Sansom). The workshop will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 27 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and will cover property tax programs, EITC, and other topics. The workshop is presented by the Enterprise Center.

On Saturday, Feb. 24, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., State Rep. James Roebuck will host an event to inform constituents about the updated tax laws. A local tax firm will be on hand to review the new tax laws, how they apply to constituents, and what they may be able to do now and in the future concerning their taxes. This event will take place at the Calvary Center (801 S. 48th St).

Police have provided details about a robbery and assault on Monday night in the Spruce Hill neighborhood.

The victims, a couple, were walking on the 4500 block of Osage Avenue at approximately 9:50 p.m. when they passed three people, one female and two males, sitting on a stoop. As the victims passed, the suspects pushed the female victim, then took her purse and began punching the other victim, according to police. The victims ran, and the suspects fled eastbound on Osage Avenue in an older model green Chevrolet sedan, according to police.

One victim was reportedly injured in the assault, but is expected to be okay.  Continue Reading

The University City District (UCD), the University City Science Center and Drexel University have been awarded a $5 million grant from the Lenfest Foundation to expand programs that train and place unemployed West Philadelphia residents in jobs, including UCD’s nationally-acclaimed job training program, the West Philadelphia Skills Initiative.

The program will connect nearly 600 previously unemployed residents to careers over three years and will reportedly result in over $16 million in wages generated in the community. More than 200 adults and high school students in West Philadelphia will also attain credentials, certifications, and exposure to STEM careers, setting them on meaningful pathways to employment.

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Here’s a little update on ReAnimator Coffee‘s West Philly location, which is in the works in Garden Court Plaza on the 4700 block of Pine Street. The popular Kensington/Fishtown coffee shop was expected to open its West Philly location in mid-November, according to the owners, but the new space renovation somehow stalled at the end of last year, and still hasn’t finished.

The good news is that the new shop set up seems to have sped up in the last few weeks. We saw a counter and other furniture finally being installed earlier this month. So, according to a worker, the shop is now expected to open by the end of March. We’ll keep you posted.