Just a reminder that the SEPTA Key “Early Adopter” program is launching on Monday, June 13. Up to 10,000 contactless cards will be available for purchase and can be used for travel on subway and trolley lines and on city and suburban bus routes.

During the Early Adopter program, riders will be able to get an instant SEPTA Key card with their purchase of a weekly or monthly TransPass. For the Early Adopter program, SEPTA Key cards will be available at fare kiosks located at 12 stations on the Market-Frankford and Broad Street Lines, and the SEPTA Sales Office at 1234 Market Street.

All existing methods of fare payment will continue to be available to purchase and use throughout the Early Adopter program. SEPTA will give advanced public notice before any existing fare instruments – such as tokens, paper transfers, tickets and magnetic stripe passes – are phased out.

Early Adopters will be the first to experience some of the benefits of the SEPTA Key. For example, SEPTA Key card holders will not have to go out and get a new TransPass every week or month – the contactless card can be reloaded online, or at fare kiosks. Early Adopter participants can also register their cards to protect against loss or theft.

For more information about the SEPTA Key Early Adopter Program, visit www.septa.org/key.

A three-alarm fire displaced over 100 people from the Netherlands apartment building at 44th and Chestnut, according to reports. The fire broke out on the 4th floor of the building at around 5 a.m. on Sunday. No injuries have been reported.

The Red Cross and the City Office of Emergency Management have set up a reception center at 4209 Spruce St.:

@RedCrossPhilly & @PhilaOEM have set up a reception center at 4209 Spruce St following Chestnut Str. Fire pic.twitter.com/azwqn13Na4

— RedCrossEasternPA (@ARC_EasternPA) June 12, 2016

A shelter for the displaced residents has been set up at the Cato School on the 4200 block of Ludlow Street, according to 6ABC.

We’re very sad to report that Cheryl Roebuck, a veteran music teacher, Garden Court community activist, and wife of State Rep. Jim Roebuck, passed away last week.

Mrs. Roebuck has worked for the School District of Philadelphia for over thirty years. She has also been active in her West Philadelphia community for over twenty years. She has served as the secretary of the University City Arts League and was a board member of the Garden Court Community Association.

Funeral services for Mrs. Roebuck will be held on Friday, June 10, at Arch Street United Methodist Church, 55 N. Broad Street. Visitation with the family will be from 10:00 a.m. –12:00 p.m.; service starts at 12:00 p.m.

Saad’s Halal is closed until Monday, July 11. (Photo West Philly Local)

Ramadan Mubarak to our Muslim neighbors! The holy month of Ramadan began on Sunday, and as always, some of Muslim-owned restaurants will be closed for a month or will have limited hours.

Saad’s Halal restaurant at 45th and Walnut has closed and will reopen on Monday, July 11. Manakeesh Café and Bakery will be closed during the day starting Monday, June 6 and will be open for pickup starting at 7 p.m. Dinner will be served starting at sunset, and closing at 11 p.m. every night. The restaurant is also offering special catering for iftar. For more information, visit Manakeesh’s Facebook page.

Other restaurants may also offer specials during this month. Feel free to post this information in our Comments section below.

Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration is rethinking the much publicized move of the police headquarters to 46th and Market, despite the start of $250 million in renovations and plans for an art installation and possibly even a new Police Athletic League branch.

According to reports first in Phillymag.com and then Philly.com, the Kenny administration is assessing the feasibility of moving police headquarters from its current location at 750 Race St. to the old Philadelphia Inquirer building at 400 N. Broad, leaving the future of the sprawling 87-year-old Provident Mutual Insurance Co. campus at 46th and Market in question. Kenney told Philly.com that the plans to move to West Philly are now “up in the air.”

In a proposal devised by Michael Nutter’s administration, the Provident campus was planned to be renamed the Public Safety Services Campus and would include the Department of Public Health and the Medical Examiner’s Office. But Kenney told Philly.com yesterday that the Provident campus might be better for “health-related” services and that moving police to the Inquirer building would place it near City Hall and other downtown offices.

The City Council approved more than $250 million in funding to complete the renovations at the Provident, which were scheduled to be completed by December.

Michael Farrell (photo from Penn GSE website).

The School District of Philadelphia has announced the hiring of a new principal to replace the school’s founding principal, Sheila Sydnor, who is retiring at the end of the school year.

Michael T. Farrell, a West Philly native and the founding principal of Thomas Elementary School in South Philadelphia (run by Mastery Charter Schools) will take over at Penn Alexander in the fall. Farrell has been at Thomas since 2013 and before that he was an assistant principal, special education coordinator and teacher at various Philadelphia schools, including Science Leadership Academy.

A committee of Penn Alexander teachers, the School Advisory Council and University of Pennsylvania assisted the district in the nationwide search, which took more than three months.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Sydnor began her career as a teacher in 1975 and was principal of M.H. Stanton Elementary School in North Philadelphia before coming to Penn Alexander when the school opened in 2001.

“The Penn Alexander School is one of the brightest spots in The School District of Philadelphia as a result of Sheila Sydnor’s stellar leadership,” Dr. William R. Hite, Superintendent said in a statement.

Sydnor will assist Farrell in the transition, according to the statement.