Police say that the U.S. Marshals and Philadelphia law enforcement officers have apprehended a 49-year-old man they say robbed several West Philadelphia businesses, including several Rite Aid stores and the McDonald’s at 52nd and Chestnut.

Cartel Wright was arrested at about 2 a.m. on Friday on the 2100 block of College Avenue in North Philadelphia after a struggle with Marshals.

Police say Wright’s crime spree began in late September when he robbed a Rite Aid on City Avenue. Wright is a suspect in the following robberies:

• September 30, 2014, at 5:18 a.m., Rite Aid located at 5000 block, City Avenue
• December 18, 2014, at 2:00 a.m., Rite Aid located at 5000 block, City Avenue
• December 18, 2014, at 7:20 p.m., Rite Aid located at 5200 block, Baltimore Avenue
• December 27, 2014, at 5:25 a.m., Rite Aid located at 5000 block, City Avenue
• December 28, 2014, at 9:50 p.m., CVS located at 7500 block, City Avenue
• January 1, 2015, at 4:35 p.m., Family Dollar located at 5800 block, Woodland Avenue
• January 11, 2015, at 3:45 p.m., Rite Aid located at 5440 Lansdowne Avenue. The suspect then carjacks a 2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser from the parking lot after leaving the Rite Aid. The vehicle was later recovered on the 1400 block of North 56th Street.
• January 11, 2015, 5:25 p.m., McDonald’s located at 7500 City Avenue
• January 12, 2015, at 5:30 a.m., McDonald’s located at 5200 Chestnut Street

– Mike Lyons

Shuttle buses will replace Route 34 Trolley on Sunday, Jan. 25, due to overhead wire work, SEPTA has announced. Shuttle bus operation will begin at 2 a.m. Sunday and will continue throughout the day, until the end of service.

SEPTA has posted the following advisory for the route:

Westbound Service (towards 61st St. & Baltimore Ave.):

Customers should board Trolleys in the Tunnel and transfer to the Route 34 Shuttle Bus at 40th St. Portal for service towards 61st St. and Baltimore Ave.

Eastbound Service (towards 13th & Market Sts.):

Customers should exit the Route 34 Shuttle Bus at 40th St. Portal and transfer to Trolleys for service towards 13th & Market Sts.

The demolition of Charles Drew Elementary School has begun. Photo by Marina Krikorian.

Demolition work has begun on buildings at University City High School site, which was purchased by Drexel University last year. The 14-acre property, which also includes the shuttered Charles Drew Elementary School building (pictured), was acquired from the School District of Philadelphia last summer. Drexel’s nearly $1 billion development plan for the location includes construction of a K-8 public school surrounded by residential, retail, and recreational space. The construction project, led by Drexel University City Development, LLC, is expected to create 4,300 construction jobs, and to house 3,700 employees after its completion.

Tax season is here, and here’s some useful information for those who didn’t make a lot of money last year and need help filing their taxes. Starting Monday, Jan. 26, and through April 15, 2015, 20 free tax sites managed by the Campaign for Working Families will be open throughout Philadelphia. The sites will be offering free tax preparation and e-filing services to families who earned less than $53,000 in 2014 and to individuals with an income under $20,000.

Here are the locations of free community tax sites in West and Southwest Philadelphia:

West Philadelphia

Drexel University Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships, 3509 Spring Garden (wheelchair accessible)
Monday & Wednesday 2:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Friday 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.  Continue Reading

Here’s breakfast and lunch menu for Tuesday, Jan. 20 – Friday, Jan. 23. If your school uses a Satellite menu, click here.

Come back on Sunday evening for next week’s menu.

BREAKFAST (K-12)

A variety of three cereals will be offered daily and served with a yogurt parfait or a mini loaf.

Tuesday

Choose 1: Mini French Toast or Cinnamon Granola Round
Choose 1: Raisins or Fresh Apple
Variety of Milk 

Wednesday

Choose 1: Sausage, Egg & Cheese on Bagel or Appleways Bar
Choose 1: Orange Juice or Fresh Banana
Variety of Milk  Continue Reading

UPDATE (1/24/2015): A week later…

The state of the Spruce Street sinkhole. pic.twitter.com/JoHR9kZJ8B

— West Philly Local (@WestPhillyLocal) January 24, 2015

(1/19/2015): As of 8:25 p.m. on Monday, the sinkhole is still there. The cars that had been caught in it have been pulled out. We didn’t see any Streets Department crews working there when we stopped by on Monday night. Although the hole, which is on the eastbound lane, hasn’t been fixed, the block reopened to traffic (you have to get in the westbound lane to go around it). What makes it even more dangerous is that the hole is very close to the 46th and Spruce intersection. Please be careful when driving or biking on that block.

A large sinkhole opened up on the 4600 block of Spruce Street on Sunday under two cars parked on the block. A reader, Phil Gentry, tweeted this photo at around 4 p.m.

Photo by Phil Gentry.

The street surface there had problems over the weekend, and the Streets Department crews continued working on the block. A water main break closed the block to traffic on Saturday, and there was no water supply to nearby homes for several hours.

A police tow truck began pulling two cars off the edge of the hole at about 8:30 p.m.. The block is closed to all traffic and the Route 42 bus is on detour until 12 p.m. on Monday.

Photos by Mike Lyons / West Philly Local.