As West Philly Local reported, Mighty Writers  recently opened its West Philly location, Mighty Writers West, in the People’s Emergency Center at 3861 Lancaster Avenue. Mighty Writers West welcomed their first students on Monday:

Day 1 at MW West! pic.twitter.com/h5ovxudj1i

— Mighty Writers (@MightyWriters) September 16, 2013

One of the programs offered by Mighty Writers is a daily after-school Academy where students get help with their homework and learn how to produce informative, persuasive, narrative and poetry writing.

This free program runs from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday during the school year and spaces are still available for students in grades 3-8. To download an application, click here. For more information, visit: http://www.mightywriters.org/west-philly-academy/

The Enterprise Center Community Development Corporation (TEC-CDC) and The Walnut Hill Community Association are inviting neighbors to participate in the celebration of Park(ing) Day and Grand Opening of the new community park near 46th and Market this Friday (Sept. 20). The new park at the Walnut Hill community farm will extend into the street along the 4600 block of Market, with food, music, pumpkin carving, and tours of the farm and garden. Community members are welcome to stop by between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to have fun and show their support. The ribbon cutting is at 10 a.m.

The park, named “Max Paul Park” (local businessman Brad Paul partnered with TEC-CDC to complete this project and dedicated it to his father, Max Paul), is meant to “capture the importance of creating safe, beautiful and dynamic spaces for community residents to enjoy. ”

Park(ing) Day has become an annual tradition where parking spaces across the city and country are taken over for a day for use as public park space. The event celebrates parks and other public spaces in cities, and raises awareness of the need for more pedestrian-friendly spaces in our urban areas. The number of parks throughout Philadelphia increases dramatically each year on the second Friday in September, when activists, artists, architects, and other citizens transform metered parking spaces into temporary public parks. You can read more about this event and check out other locations for such parks on the Park(ing) Day website (some other West Philly locations include: near People’s Emergency Center at 40th and Lancaster, CityLights Network at 58th and Woodland, and 34th and Walnut).

These trees will soon be ready to leave the nursery and go to your yard. Photo via treephilly.org.

Philadelphia Parks & Recreation (PP&R) has announced the return of its hugely popular TreePhilly Yard Tree Program. Registration for the fall program is open through October 31 and property owners can apply to receive a free yard tree to plant on their private property by visiting www.treephilly.org.

For the first time, residents who pre-register for the Yard Tree Program will be eligible to receive a fruit tree. There will be 8 to 10 species of trees to choose from at each giveaway event, all available on a first come, first-served basis. Philadelphia residential property owners can request up to two trees per address and community groups who will be planting on private property with a community use, such as faith-based institutions and senior centers, can register for up to 10 trees. During pre-registration, residents will be able to choose from four giveaway events across the city in November. At each giveaway event there will be free mulch and tote bags, and tree planting and care demonstrations, provided by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.

Unfortunately, none of the four pick-up locations are in West Philadelphia, with the closest being in South Philly (the other three are in North Philly). You can pick up your tree on Sunday, Nov. 10, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Columbus Square Playground (1200 Wharton St.). If there are any changes, we’ll let you know.

Residents with limited mobility can apply for free tree delivery and planting by a representative from Philadelphia Parks & Recreation. Space for this service is limited and residents are encouraged to apply early by contacting Erica Smith Fichman at 215-683-0217 or by visiting www.treephilly.org.

There are several ways citizens can get involved with TreePhilly, including planting and caring for trees on their property, volunteering for a tree planting event in their local park, or sponsoring community service days to plant and maintain trees. For more information, citizens can visit www.treephilly.org or call 215-683-0217.

West Philly Local readers report that a truck crashed through the front of Baltimore Crab and Seafood restaurant at 48th and Spruce Streets Monday evening, around 7:30 p.m. (see photo below). Police weren’t immediately available for more information, but witnesses said that a drunk driver may have been involved.

A reader, Stacey, was in the area immediately after the accident and said that it was a large box truck that crashed into the building, not a car, as it was previously reported. We’re reprinting a part of Stacey’s comment:

“I was walking my dog down Spruce about halfway down the block to 48th (other side of the road) when this happened, and it was a large box truck, not a car. I talked to some of the witnesses who were standing at the corner when it happened and they said the driver was headed north on 48th and was turning left onto Spruce and somehow this was the result. Dude took out the mailbox before he plowed through the front of the store, and then also actually tried to back the truck up out of the store.”

We were not able to confirm drunk driving, but reportedly some witnesses who were close to the scene said that the driver smelled like alcohol.

Twitter photo by @Yagathai.

UC Green volunteers at The Woodlands.

UC Green, a nonprofit organization that with the help of volunteers (over 2,000 people annually) plants trees and cleans and maintains public gardens and open spaces in West Philly neighborhoods, is celebrating 15 years of service to the community this month. To mark the anniversary, UC Green will hold a cocktail reception and a fundraiser, called “The Harvest Moon Social,” on Thursday, Sept. 26 at the Hamilton Mansion in Woodlands cemetery (40th & Woodland). The food will be served by Harvest Restaurant which specializes in a high quality, farm fresh menu with ingredients supplied by local farmers. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased through Facebook.

UC Green’s mission is to empower volunteer environmental stewardship in West Philly communities through partnerships and education. Their programs include the summer pruning club of active volunteers that have pruned street trees for 10 years, which greatly increased their chances of survival in tough urban environments. In addition, the UC Green Corps of local, underserved youth has just completed its seventh year of service. Their latest project was the renewal of street trees and pits on 40th and Market Streets.

For more information about UC Green and its work, visit: http://www.ucgreen.org/

Bikram Yoga instructors Jill Holden, Schuyler Ferguson and Ammie Ferguson.

A Bikram Yoga studio is opening this Wednesday (Aug. 29) at 42nd and Chestnut and offering free classes through Tuesday, September 4. The brand new 5,000-square-foot studio space was built this year as a second level of the one-story building housing West Philadelphia Locksmith Co. The studio includes a 1,500-square-foot yoga room and space for a planned juice bar and organic foods store.

Bikram Yoga is the original form of “hot” yoga practiced in a heated room, so the studio has a custom built heating system, allowing it to maintain a 105-degree temperature and 40 percent humidity for every class. Although conditions like that may seem daunting, we hear that Bikram is the world’s fastest growing form of yoga. People of all ages and skill levels are welcome in the studio, local residents and students alike. A staff of eight Bikram certified instructors with extensive training and in-class experience will guide you through classes.

For more information on classes at Bikram Yoga University City, visit their homepage bikramyogaucp.com or Facebook page.