Renovations are continuing and the first three tenants are already lined up for the Frank Furness-designed church at 47th and Kingsessing that was saved from the wrecking ball last year.

Property owner Guy Laren confirmed by e-mail this week that two preschools, Little Learners and Children’s Community School, are still among the likely tenants for the commercial space at the former St. Peter’s Church of Christ complex, which includes a three-story parish house (formerly a school) and a main sanctuary. The church was saved from demolition in late 2014.

“There are so many moving parts to an old building like this that giving you absolute move-in dates would be difficult, but both pre-schools would move in at the earliest sometime early next year,” said Laren, whose West Philly property management company, Constellar Corporation, purchased the property in December 2014.

The Soapbox Community Print Shop recently announced it would be moving into a 4,500-square-foot space in the complex and has started a fundraising campaign to help offset the costs of renovations.

Guy said that he’s also working with an artist group to have some collaborative space in the complex as well.

“After all these are comfortably moved in we will consider other possibilities for the remaining space,” Laren said. Laren’s initial plans for the remaining space in the sanctuary included residential apartments or some other commercial use. We’ll keep you posted when we have more updates.

Murder and DUI charges were filed on Tuesday against the driver who struck and killed a woman as she crossed the street at 54th and Woodland on Monday morning. Police say 23-year-old Malachi Armstrong was driving eastbound on Woodland Avenue at about 9:15 a.m. when he allegedly sped through a red light and attempted to pass a stopped Route 11 Trolley.

While he was passing the trolley on the left he struck and killed the woman, identified as 38-year-old mother of three Miriam Wilson, who was crossing the street (it was reported initially that she was attempting to catch the trolley). She was pronounced dead on the scene.

After striking the woman Armstrong lost control of his car, a 2015 Nissan Altima, crossed over into oncoming traffic, collided head-on with another vehicle and then hit a pole, according to reports. The driver of the vehicle that Armstrong struck head-on was hospitalized with injuries to his legs.

Armstrong was charged with vehicular homicide and DUI, according to court documents. At his arraignment, bail was denied.

A new mural was unveiled on Monday at 40th and Chestnut, a result of a year-long collaboration between the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program and the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services (DBHIDS). The mural art project, titled Building Brotherhood: Engaging Males of Color, was designed to inspire males of color to build supportive relationships with one another as a mechanism for coping with – and overcoming – the hardships they face in society, often in regards to accessing education, jobs, and behavioral health services.

Building Brotherhood is the 27th mural created under the Porch Light program, an ongoing collaboration between the Mural Arts Program and DBHIDS. Porch Light public art projects, which focus specifically on mental health, are an expression of community resilience and a vehicle of personal and community healing. A new virtual tour of the Porch Light murals can be found here: www.porchlightvirtualtour.org.

UPDATE: The zebras are in custody. According to reports, one was captured in Lower Merion.

Zebras in custody. They are already sporting old-timey prisoner getup ahead of trial and sentencing. Have faith, fellas.

— Philadelphia Police (@PhillyPolice) November 15, 2015

@DavidLeePreston @wbender99 @PhillyDailyNews Both Zebras are now in custody! pic.twitter.com/dpcMIAxUBV — Joe Kaczmarek (@joekaczmarek) November 15, 2015

nice work by @PhillyPolice #phillyZebras in custody- pic.twitter.com/TyvwCbhPmy

— PhillyFireNews.com (@PhillyFireNews) November 15, 2015

Police are in pursuit of a couple of zebras that escaped from a circus near 52nd Street and Parkside Avenue Sunday afternoon. The zebras slipped out of the circus at about 2 p.m., according to police. Motorists and pedestrians have photographed and videoed the zebras running through the parking lot near the Shoprite center near 52nd and Jefferson. The zebras escaped from the Universoul Circus, which is set up near the Mann Music Center. Last week the circus made headlines when a trapeze artist bounced out of a safety net and into the crowd. He was hospitalized.

Here are some sightings:

. @PhillyPolice in pursuit of escaped zebras #phillyzebras pic.twitter.com/BMaFFJkegD — PhillyFireNews.com (@PhillyFireNews) November 15, 2015

                                Click to enlarge

The University City District has released its monthly crime update, which provides statistics on serious crimes in the area, such as aggravated assaults, robberies (armed and not armed), and burglaries. In October, 39 robberies, aggravated assaults and residential burglaries were reported in the area, and nine arrests were made in these cases, according to the report.

The report shows a sharp increase in residential burglaries – from five in July to over 20 per month in the period from August to October. This is also higher than in the fall of 2012-2014 when from 10 to 15 burglaries were reported monthly. The map shows an increase in burglaries in the western edge of the district.

Some good news is that after last month’s arrest of a suspect in connection with a string of burglaries in Powelton Village, crime numbers have fallen dramatically in that area.

Here are also useful tips from UCD on protecting your porch or residence:  Continue Reading

We’re sad to report that Mary Pitts-Devine, the woman who survived a violent assault in March when she was shot eight times by her neighbor at her residence near 46th and Spruce, passed away on Tuesday.

Pitts-Devine, 47, had undergone multiple surgeries since the attack, the most recent less than a month ago. She died from complications related to her injuries and preexisting medical conditions, according to a report by Philly.com who spoke to Pitts-Devine’s brother Eric Pitts. Pitts-Devine, a LaSalle grad, entrepreneur, social worker, and writer, was also a breast cancer and kidney transplant survivor.

“Mary has passed. May she rest in peace. Thank you for all your support and prayers. She will no longer be in pain. A true soldier,” Pitts wrote on the online fundraising page he had set up for his sister back in March.

According to information posted on the page, Pitts-Devine’s homegoing service, “Celebration for Mary R. Pitts,” will be this Friday, Nov. 13 at Metropolitan Baptist Church, 3500 Baring Street. Viewing is at 5 p.m.

The burial will be on Saturday morning, Nov. 14, at 10 a.m. at Merion Memorial Park, 59 Rock Hill Rd, Bala Cynwyd.