The primary campaign for West Philly’s 188th House District between incumbent James Roebuck and newcomer Fatimah Muhammad has drawn attention around the city and even the state because of the influence of school voucher proponents – and their money – into the race.

West Philly residents will have a chance to hear the candidates tonight at the Kingsessing Rec Center (5100 Chester Ave. Enter on 50th Street) from 6-9 p.m. Roebuck and Muhammad have confirmed their attendance at tonight’s event.

Muhammad’s campaign has made a visible impact in West Philly, with signs and billboards featuring her portrait in a Photoshopped style that closely resembles posters featuring President Barack Obama during the 2008 campaign. Her campaign has also been linked to a series of postcards mailed to many West Philly residents that blame Roebuck, the ranking Democrat on the House Education Committee, for limiting school choice for students. One postcard even blames him for the cap at Penn Alexander School.

Many residents have spoken out against the postcards on several neighborhood listservs and message boards.One person even vowed to make a contribution to the Roebuck campaign for each postcard she received.

Roebuck is opposed to vouchers, which would provide tax dollars for students to attend private and parochial schools. The opponents of vouchers argue that they would undermine the funding and enrollment at public schools, while proponents, including Gov. Tom Corbett, say they would provide students with a better choice of schools.

Muhammad, a Penn alum who has been the associate director of Penn’s Greenfield Intercultural Center, will undoubtedly face questions this evening about her position on vouchers.

A handful of candidates for state offices will be in West Philly tonight to talk about statewide issues, including school vouchers and the voter ID law.

Candidates scheduled to be on hand at the forum, which begins at 7:30 p.m. at  USP’s Rosenberger Hall (600 S. 43rd St.), include 188th District State Rep. Jim Roebuck, Attorney General candidate Kathleen Kane and a representative of Patrick Murphy, who is also running for Attorney General.

Roebuck’s opponent in the April 24th primary, Fatimah Loren Muhammad, pulled out of the forum at the last minute, according to 27th Ward Leader Carol Jenkins. Muhammad, whose Obamaesque campaign posters have popped up all over West Philly,  is a proponent of school vouchers, which Roebuck opposed as the Democratic chair of the Education Committee.

The forum will include a brief address by each candidate and a Q and A session.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment has changed its mind and given the go ahead for a Subway restaurant to be located in a vacant storefront at 4533 Baltimore Ave.

The Board voted on Feb. 1 to approve the Subway, reversing a decision it made last month to deny the application because of concerns of nearby neighbors about additional traffic in the alley behind the proposed location.

The Board’s decision followed a “plea for reconsideration” from the Spruce Hill Community Association and the Subway franchisee’s attorney. In a letter to the Board dated mid January, Barry Grossbach, who heads a committee that considers zoning issues for the SHCA, wrote that the Subway would provide a stable tenant for the storefront property and that the Association was “at a loss” about the previous decision to deny Subway a take-out certificate that would enable it to open.

The Subway would be the first chain restaurant on that section of Baltimore Avenue, where many businesses are locally owned.

“‘Mom and Pop’ businesses are often operating at the margins and while they remain the central and cherished fabric of our neighborhood commerce, we are always fearful that what is here today might be gone tomorrow,” Grossbach wrote. “Subway … promised a degree of stability that any corridor would welcome.”

More than a dozen nearby residents wrote letters to the Board to voice their opposition to the Subway, including state Rep. James Roebuck, who lives on 46th Street.

“I live a block from this location and I too share these concerns about the impact a Subway would have on my community,” he wrote.

Appeals of the decision can be filed until March 2.

Correction: The Saturday meeting is 10 a.m. to Noon.

The Mariposa Food Co-op is hosting two community meetings this week to allow residents in West Philly to get a look at its new location on Baltimore Avenue and hear more about the progress of its expansion plans.

The first meeting is Tuesday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the soon-to-be Mariposa location at 4824 Baltimore Ave. Residents will have the chance to tour the new building, which is a five-fold increase in size over the old space, and talk to Mariposa staff and members about expansion plans. The new building is scheduled to open in October and rennovations will begin in earnest this summer.

Another open house will be held on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.10 a.m. to Noon and follow a similar format. State Rep. James R. Roebuck Jr. is scheduled to attend this open house as well to talk about the expansion.

Mariposa continues to seek support for the expansion and there are a couple of ways you can help out. A membership drive is currently under way for the new store. A loan campaign is also ongoing and donations are always accepted.

A panel that includes the city controller, a state representative, educators and school reform activists will discuss a host of issues facing West Philly schools Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Calvary Center for Community and Culture (48th and Baltimore).

Sponsored by the reform organization Teacher Action Group, the issues that panelists will likely discuss include teacher layoffs, school closings, community involvement in the schools and the transition of local schools, including West Philadelphia High School, to “promise academies.”

The panelists include:

• Alan Butkovitz, City Controller
• State Representative James Roebuck, Democratic Chair of House Education Committee
• David Lapp, Staff Attorney, Education Law Center
• Dr. James H. “Torch” Lytle, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education professor and former District administrator
• Joshua Glenn, Youth Art and Self-Empowerment Project
• Arlene Kempin, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, general vice president

Among the most controversial is the possible closing of schools that are underperforming and below capacity, including a handful of schools in West Philadelphia. Currently 70,000 seats are empty in the district’s 300 buildings. District officials have said that it will close, consolidate and relocate schools to increase school efficiency.

The Notebook last week released a document leaked from the District that shows which schools would be likely candidates for closure. In West Philadelphia this includes Charles R. Drew Elementary School (3724 Warren St.), which, according to The Notebook, has “high repair costs, a poor academic score and is only a third full.”