One of the largest and longest running community porch sales, the Hamilton Street Porch Sale, will be held this Saturday (Sept. 17), from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Every year, more than 100 vendors sell their wares, such as household items, clothes, cookware, books, and many other items at this four-block long porch sale, from 34th to 38th Streets in Powelton Village. There will also be food and drinks prepared by neighbors and local organizations.

Hamilton Street Porch Sale began in 1981 and is still going strong! The sale is usually held on the 2nd Saturday after Labor Day every, but this year was postponed by one week. Rain date is Sunday, Sept. 18.

Check out the event’s Facebook page for more information and photos. If you would like to get involved, email: HamiltonStreetPorchSale@gmail.com

A light brown male pit bull mix was found on Tuesday morning near 43rd and Chester. It appears that the dog had chewed through his leash. He had a collar but no tags when he was found. ACCT is scheduled to pick him up on Tuesday. The person who found the dog says that he was starving and very thirsty.

If you know the dog’s owner please call Daniel at 860.508.3644.

Photo from the Wiota St. Garden’s Facebook page.

Community members are invited to attend a rally in West Powelton on Sunday, Sept. 18 in another attempt to save the Wiota Street Community Garden from development. The garden was established in 1984 on a vacant lot at the corner of Wiota St. and Powelton Ave. and has been providing area residents with fresh produce for eight months of the year since then. Plans were revealed in 2014 to build housing on the site of the garden, but tenuous community consensus to preserve the garden was reached at a December 2014 public meeting with Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell. However, the garden has again come under threat as reported recently by Hidden City.

The rally will be held at the garden (4022 Powelton Ave.), beginning at 4 p.m., and the organizers are asking the participants to bring a picnic.  Continue Reading

Neighborhood Bike Works, the West Philly youth bike education program, is turning 20 years old and will hold a birthday party and a bike drive on Saturday, Sept. 10.

The celebration will be held from 3 – 7 p.m. at NBW’s location at 3939 Lancaster Ave. As for birthday gifts, the organization is in need of more used bikes, parts, and accessories and will be ready to take bike donations at the party to benefit their youth bike education programming.

The party will include cool free raffles (extra tickets for donating a bike!); cake, Weckerly’s ice cream sandwiches and snacks from Trader Joe’s; and Goldsprints (head-to-head stationary bike racing) provided by the Philly Bike Messenger Association.

Check out the event’s Facebook page for more info. (Photos courtesy of Neighborhood Bike Works)

The school year has just begun, but we have our first early dismissal due to lingering hot weather. The School District of Philadelphia has announced that all public schools will dismiss at noon on Friday, Sept. 9 due to the high temperatures forecasted for tomorrow (the temperatures are expected to reach the mid-90s). All after-school activities including all athletic programs and professional development classes scheduled for Friday are also canceled as well. All District early childhood centers will remain open as per their regular schedule.

All Archdiocesan schools will also dismiss at noon this Friday.

A 31-year-old woman was shot and wounded Wednesday night, shortly before 9 p.m., during a robbery near 52nd and Filbert, according to police. An unknown male approached the woman while she was standing outside with a group of men and attempted to grab her purse. A struggle ensued during which the suspect pulled out a gun and opened fire at the woman striking her in the left breast and left wrist, according to a police report. She was taken to Presbyterian Hospital and was listed in stable condition.

A police source said that the robbery was not random. She “was definitely targeted,” he said.

After shooting the woman, the suspect ran off with her purse south on 52nd Street and west on Filbert. Police later retrieved the purse in a nearby empty lot.