Walnut Street West Library (40th and Walnut) has been closed since Friday and is likely to remain closed all week for air-conditioning system repairs. The Library Friends’ Friday book sale and other events and programs have also been cancelled.

The library reported on Friday that the temperature was in the low 90s on the second floor. The library experienced similar problems last summer and was closed on hottest days.

The library staff posted the following message on its Facebook page:

“We continue to experience excessive heat in the building (85*F +), and will not be able to open to the public until repairs are initiated.  Continue Reading

A large tree fell down this morning on the 4700 block of Larchwood Avenue and heavily damaged a parked car. No injuries have been reported. The block was closed to traffic as of 9 a.m. on Monday. (Photos by Michael Froehlich).

A West Philadelphia 7th grader, Saif Siddiquee, participated in the 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee, being held this week in Washington, DC. 13-year-old Saif is a Penn Alexander School student. On Wednesday, Saif competed in the Preliminary Rounds 2 and 3 (onstage oral spelling) and spelled correctly both words (“crudités” and “recrudescence”) presented to him by the Bee’s official pronouncer, Dr. Jacques Bailly.

Only 45 kids out of the 285 who entered in this year’s competition made it to the Finals, and, unfortunately, Saif wasn’t one of them. Nevertheless, we congratulate Saif on his great performance and for representing his school and Philadelphia in this prestigious contest.

Vandals have struck again at Clarkville at 43rd and Baltimore, painting walls and windows and writing “Gentrifiers Go Home” on an outside wall. The restaurant was tagged shortly after its opening in December 2015 in the former Best House Pizza location.

Co-owner Brendan Hartranft scraped paint from Clarkville’s windows on Thursday morning.

“I wish they knew what we were about,” Hartranft, a native Philadelphian, said of the vandals.

The 18th Police District has released an alert about a crime pattern in the area that includes two gunpoint robberies, one at the Falafel restaurant near 44th and Chestnut on May 15 (read full report about it here), and the other near 44th and Ludlow on Thursday, May 19. Police believe these two robberies may be related and may be committed by the same person.

The May 19 robbery took place shortly before 6 a.m., when an unknown male approached two people, a man and a woman, siting on the porch on the 4400 block of Ludlow St., pointed a silver handgun at them and told them to “give him everything.” He then forced the pair to stand up and patted them down, according to the report. He left on foot with one of the victim’s backpack containing various electronics, documents and prescription medications. He also took the victims’ cell phones, according to the report.  Continue Reading

61st and Pine Bus Loop Reconstruction project (Image courtesy SEPTA)

61st and Pine Bus Loop

Today, SEPTA along with local officials and neighborhood leaders broke ground on the reconstruction of the 61st and Pine Bus Loop, a key transit hub in West Philadelphia. The 61st and Pine Bus Loop is a terminus point for the Route 42 bus, one of SEPTA’s busiest with an average daily ridership of nearly 13,000. The $1.8 million capital improvement project is expected to be completed in Spring 2017.

The project will result in a number of improvements, including:

• A new driveway, new curbs and a new passenger boarding platform that are accessible and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Installation of energy efficient lighting and improved security features
• Construction of an open-air passenger waiting shelter
• Installation of site amenities including trash cans, bike racks and fencing
• Landscaping of the site; new signage throughout the facility

During construction, the Route 42 will continue to serve passengers at 61st and Pine. Buses will utilize portions of 61st Street and Pine Street when necessary to accommodate the work.

The 61st and Pine Bus Loop project is part of the overall “Rebuilding the SEPTA System” capital improvement plan.