Here is some more information on yesterday’s announcement that the U.S. Postal Service will begin considering closing thousands of post offices nationwide, including several in West Philly.

Just to recap, the West Philly locations under consideration include:

• 30th Street Train Station
• West Market – 5011 Sansom
• West Park – 5300 W. Jefferson St.
• Kingsessing – 5311 Florence Ave.
• Overbrook – 658 N. 63rd St.

Post Office officials said no final decision on closures will be made before December.

One way that the Post Office will compensate areas affected by the closures will be small retail locations called Village Post Offices that will be located in pharmacies, grocery stores and other large retail locations. These could include collections boxes, stamps, pre-paid Flat Rate boxes and envelopes and, in some locations, post office boxes.

But that leaves many questions about mail service. It’s clear that many post offices will be closed. Around here, we are wondering how much pressure this will put on the post office near 40th and Locust (228 S. 40th). The big, shiny new main post office at 30th and Chestnut will likely get more action too.

UPDATE: We searched the list again and discovered that there are four more locations in West Philly to be considered for closing. They are: 30th Street Train Station, West Market, Kingsessing, and West Park (5300 W. Jefferson).

Earlier today USPS announced that it would study approximately 3,700 post offices across the country to determine if they should be considered for closing due to insufficient revenues.

14 Philadelphia post offices are on that list. Only one, Overbrook (658 N. 63rd St.), is in West Philly. There are five post offices serving the University City, Spruce Hill, Walnut Hill, Squirrel Hill, Garden Court, and Cedar Park areas: at 2955 Market Street (30th Street Train Station), 3000 Chestnut Street (Philadelphia), 228 S 40th Street (University City), 5011 Sansom Street (West Market), and 5311 Florence Avenue (Kingsessing). Those are all safe for now.

FYI, one of the offices to be considered for closing is Philadelphia’s historic Ben Franklin Post Office. Read more about it here.

 
The Walnut Hill Community Association threw itself a 50th birthday block party Saturday complete with face painting, a moon bounce, free hot dogs and a check-bearing politician.

The party took place along 50th Street between Locust and Walnut, just in front of two vacant lots that WHCA recently turned into community gardens with the help of a grant from the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia.

Special party guests included State Senator Vincent Hughes, who presented a check for $1,000 to WHCA President Horace Patterson to help WHCA’s efforts, and Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell.

Hughes, who grew up a block away from the celebration on St. Bernard St., also announced a partnership between WHCA and his office to further help victims of the Windermere Apartments fire.

The Association also bid farewell to Imanni Wilkes Burg from The Enterprise Center, an important community partner. She is going to live temporarily in Russia.

Now is a good time to join the Association, which coveres an area roughly from 45th to 52nd Streets and Market to Spruce Streets, as new memberships begin in July and cost just $10.

Check out the slideshow:

The 3-year-old boy who was critically injured 11 days ago after his caregiver said he fell down a flight of stairs in an apartment building on the 4700 block of Chestnut Street will reportedly be taken off of life support today. He is not expected to survive.

Jaquinn Brewton was taken to The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia on June 29 with severe head injuries. The child’s caregiver said he fell down a flight of steps, but neighbors said at the time that they suspected abuse. The caregiver, who has not been named, was a “family friend,” according to reports. The boy’s mother was living in a homeless shelter with her four other children at the time, 6ABC is reporting.

Police have not yet filed charges in the case, but are still investigating. Brewton’s family has made serious abuse allegations against the child’s caregiver.

Here is 6ABC’s report:

 
In case you haven’t already heard … tonight is the Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll in West Philly. This thing (as the lines at participating shops and restaurants last month showed) has gotten big. People are coming from around the city.  Our insider advice? Get there early. It starts at 5:30 p.m.

Here’s a story from 6ABC last night:

The West Philly Tool Library is hiring a paid Tool Coordinator. The job hours are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Here are the job responsibilities:

• Maintaining and basic repair of tools

• Keeping the Tool Library organized and clean

• Accepting tool donations

• Checking tools in and out to members of the community and performing simple bookkeeping

• Maintaining computer database that tracks tool use and member information

• Collecting late fees

• Maintaining a culture within the Tool Library aligned with its mission and goals

• Promoting the Tool Library and recruiting volunteers

• Communicating with the Steering Committee about areas for improvements.

The requirements are:

• Commitment to promoting community in West and Southwest Philly

• Basic knowledge of tools with a desire to learn more (strong knowledge of tools and basic home repair preferred)

• High level of organization

• Attention to detail

• Excellent communication skills

• Familiarity with computers and databases (experience with Google docs and WordPress a plus.)

This position is for eight hours per week and pays $12.00 per hour. They are looking for someone who is committed to the project and reliable about running the Tool Library independently and promoting its membership within the community. They want to hire for this position as soon as possible. Please send your cover letter and resume to the attention of Benjamin White at: benjamin [at] westphillytools.org.

For more information, please stop by the Tool Library (1314 S. 47th St.) or visit their website at: www.westphillytools.org. Women and people of color are encouraged to apply.