Thanks to the joint efforts of several community organizations and over 300 volunteers, residents of the 3800 block of Aspen Street in Mantua are getting their homes improved and their block beautified.

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The volunteers and vendors, who are providing repairs to 20 homeowners on the block and working on greening and beautifying the block, will get together this Saturday, March 31, at the Green Block Party Open House. The open house will be held from 10:00 a.m.- noon and will include the house tours to see improvements in progress. There will also be an opportunity to learn more about healthy homes, meet the program partners, and hear local leaders and residents speak. Update: If it’s raining the open house will be held at the Mantua Community Improvement Committee building, 619 N. 35th Street – between Mt. Vernon and Haverford.

The project is carried out by the Green Block Build Collaborative, a coalition of community organizations including Philadelphia LISC, Rebuilding Together Philadelphia, The Partnership CDC, and a wide variety of other community partners. It is also supported by Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania.

The Green Block Build strategy is to improve low-income households, block-by-block, house-by-house by building on the strengths of each partner organization. Each home on the block will receive multiple critical repairs or energy efficiency upgrades, energy assessments, education around home health issues, and financial education. Other home improvements include the installation of green and cool roofs, rain barrel installation, the removal of allergy and asthma triggers such as mold and dampness, weatherization improvements, and overall greening.

The projects are designed to specifically meet the needs of each homeowner. For example, one homeowner with physical handicaps will receive repairs to his home that make the bathroom, backyard, and other rooms more handicap-accessible.

Once the renovations are complete, Drexel University will conduct an analysis of the program’s impact.

“Lord have mercy, we’ll enjoy living in our neighborhood again!” said Barbara Hall, the block captain, when she learned about the Green Block Build Program, “This has given me so much hope.”

See more, including photos, on Plan Philly.

 
Several heavily damaged vehicles remained along the eastbound lane of the 4700 block of Spruce Street this afternoon after an early morning accident that sent a SEPTA bus careening out of control and into a row of parked cars.

A westbound Route 42 bus collided with an SUV that ran a red light at 47th and Spruce at about 4 a.m., according to 6ABC. The driver, who along with four others was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for “non-life threatening” injuries, lost control of the bus. The collision pushed the bus into a tree and nearby parked cars. About a dozen cars in all were damaged.

The accident is under investigation.

Fifteen new pedestrian lights will be installed on existing utility poles on Farragut Street and 46th Street, between Market and Walnut streets, according to the University City District. This area was identified as high priority for lighting improvements to provide more public safety around adjacent schools, businesses and residences and because it also provides access to the Market-Frankford Line’s 46th Street Station.

This project is in partnership with Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). We are trying to get more information on the time frame.

West Philly couple Rachel and Gregg Mohrmann will appear in the first episode of the DIY Network’s show Good, Better…Best, which will air tonight at 10 p.m. The episode is titled “Attic Anxiety” and features the show host and licensed contractor Jeff Devlin helping Rachel and Gregg, who live in a large Victorian home on the 4700 block of Springfield, renovate their 1,000-square-foot attic into usable living space.

So tune in to “Attic Anxiety” tonight to see Rachel and Gregg, their house, and the neighborhood. For more information on the show, go here.

Exciting news is coming from Mariposa Food Co-op. Mariposa has announced that the new store at 4824 Baltimore Ave. will open on Saturday, March 17 at 10:00 a.m. The last day you can shop at their old location at 4726 Baltimore Avenue is this Wednesday, March 7.

Mariposa is also going to reveal a new official logo to go with their new store. The logo was designed by their member-worker Cecily Anderson of Anagramist Design. Look for it this week on Mariposa’s Facebook and Twitter pages and on their website later this week.

Stay tuned for more news about the new store opening.

Some lucky person will never forget their recent visit to the 40 Stop Mini Market at the corner of 40th and Market streets. That is where Monday’s winning Cash 5 ticket worth $325,000 was bought. The winner has not been named.

The jackpot comes as result of picking all five numbers – 13, 20, 22, 29 and 33 – correctly in the daily drawing, which now starts over at $125,000. The store will also get a cash prize for selling the winning ticket.