UPDATE (11/4/13): Nala came back home on Saturday, Nov. 2, according to her owner.

Nala, a 3-year-old medium sized tuxedo cat, ran out of her house on the 500 block of Cedar Avenue early last week and has not been seen since.

Nala weighs around 10-11 lbs. She is super friendly but is not an outdoors cat, according to her owner Daniel, who emailed us this information. She does not have a collar but does have a microchip. Her registered name is Orea; it wasn’t changed when she was adopted three years ago.

If you find her please email Daniel at: knappdj@gmail.com or call 215-268-2760.

Dear West Philly Local readers,

Sharpen your knives and carve carve carve your pumpkins! There are only four days remaining to enter our Pumpkin Carving Contest with a chance to win awesome prizes from local businesses. Remember that neighbors of all ages are welcome to participate (we have the Kids category, too) and you don’t have to be a Michelangelo to enter the contest. You never know which pumpkins can win, especially in such categories as Funniest, Scariest and Best Philly-themed.

And here’s the list of the businesses who kindly agreed to support the contest and their prizes (please note that Honest Tom’s Taco shop has recently been added to the list): Aksum (a gift certificate), Curio Theatre (two tickets), Dock Street Brewery (a gift card), Four Worlds Bakery (a gift card), Cafe Renata (a gift certificate), Honest Tom’s Taco Shop (a gift certificate), Lil’ Pop Shop (a gift card), Penn Museum (two general admission tickets), and VIX Emporium (a gift card + tote bag).

For more information on how to enter the contest, click here.

Photo courtesy of Bartram’s Garden.

This Saturday, Oct. 26, Bartram’s Garden is celebrating the second anniversary of the Community Farm and Food Resource Center and inviting everyone to join them. The event will take place from noon to 3 p.m. and will include “garlic planting, cider pressing, cooking and food preservation demonstrations, face painting, sack races, hay rides and more!” There will be some entertainment too, with music by DJ DuiJi 13 and a live performance by Hard Work Movement. Check out this page for more information.

UC Green members will also be onsite to offer free trees to everyone who wants one. UC Green has received a grant from CSX to purchase 80 trees and wants to share them with the community. If you are interested in one of these container-sized trees (5 ft. tall), come to Bartram’s this Saturday between noon and 3 p.m. to pick up your free tree and receive planting instructions. For more details and to reserve your tree please call 215-573-4684.

Frankie has a pronounced “M” on his forehead, which may be helpful in spotting him.

Frankie, a two-year-old male orange tabby cat adopted from the Project MEOW cat rescue, escaped out an open door on October 19. Frankie was adopted as a kitten (pictured), but is now 14 pounds. He is terribly missed by his family. He was last seen at 49th and Hazel, but could be anywhere by now.

Please contact info@projectmeow.org if you think you have found Frankie, and if at all possible keep him indoors until his family can get him. He is microchipped and very friendly.

The University Avenue Drawbridge over the Schuylkill River will be closed for maintenance work to all traffic from approximately 7:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, according to an announcement by the Philadelphia Streets Department. Motorists are advised to use alternate Schuylkill River crossings, including Gray’s Ferry Avenue to the south and the Schuylkill Expressway and South Street Bridge to the north. Since this is a short-term closure, no detours will be posted in the area.

Here’s what you should expect during this temporary closure:

Northbound traffic on University Avenue will be stopped at Gray’s Ferry Avenue. Southbound traffic will be stopped at the entrance to the westbound Schuylkill Expressway. The eastbound Schuylkill Expressway ramp will remain open – but traffic exiting on this ramp will not be permitted to travel southbound on University Avenue. Pedestrian and bicycle traffic will also be impacted by this closure.

The four-lane bridge links University Avenue in West Philly with South 34th Street in the Grays Ferry section of South Philadelphia.