Beginning Monday, April 18, Philadelphians will be required to wear masks in indoor public spaces as COVID-19 cases are again on the rise in the city. The announcement that Philadelphia has switched from Level 1 (All Clear) of COVID response to Level 2 (Mask Precautions) was made this afternoon by the City’s Department of Public Health. As of today (April 11), Philadelphia averages at 142 new COVID cases per day, a more than 50 percent increase from at least 10 days ago. The number of hospitalizations in the city is currently 44.

The Department of Public Health began recommending masks in indoor public spaces last week, after the increase in COVID cases was reported. Although the current COVID response level is 2, masks in indoor public spaces will not be required until next Monday so that businesses have enough time to prepare for the new requirement.

To learn more about the City’s COVID-19 response levels and their criteria, go here.

Photo by Joseph O’Connor

With less than three months remaining until the opening of the 2022 pool season remaining, dozens of folks in West Philadelphia can secure a great summer job. Each summer, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation trains and hires 400+ lifeguards to safely staff the City’s free public pools. The City is now actively recruiting at pools across Philadelphia, and is looking to hire 57 lifeguards from West Philly to make sure pools like Kingsessing and Tustin are ready for a summer of fun.

Parks & Rec operates dozens of outdoor pools each summer, which open from mid-to-late June through mid-to-late August.

Lifeguards typically work 35 hours per week and the position pays a competitive wage of $15.25 to $17.24 an hour. Free training and swim lessons are available to anyone interested in building the skills to get certified to work as a lifeguard this summer. Red Cross certification classes are free for anyone ages 16-24 who commit to working at a City pool. The Red Cross lifeguard certification course fee is $110 for all other candidates. Continue Reading

Philadelphia homeowners can now protect themselves from unsolicited offers from real estate brokers or wholesalers. Based on the “homeowner protection law” passed in 2020, which prohibits wholesalers and their agents from soliciting homeowners who don’t wish to be contacted, the City has launched a Do Not Solicit registry.

The types of solicitation may include in-person contact, telephone calls, mailings, digital communications and other written communication, like flyers placed at your door or on your vehicle. By registering in the list, homeowners opt out from receiving any direct offers to purchase their residential property as well as advertisements for “just listed” or sold houses in a neighborhood. Continue Reading

Philadelphians have been given “All Clear” as the current COVID-19 response level, which means wearing masks at indoor public places is no longer required, with some exceptions (see below). The announcement was made this morning by Dr. Cheryl Bettigole, the City’s Public Health Commissioner.

During the Level 1 – All Clear period, no public COVID-19 mandates will be enforced, but masks will still be required in some settings, including schools, healthcare settings and public transit. The City is planning to drop the school mask requirement on March 9 if COVID-19 cases and other metrics will continue to drop. Masks will again be required in all Philadelphia schools for one week following spring break to avoid a possible post-break surge in cases. Continue Reading

The City’s Department of Streets has opened registration for residents and groups who want to participate in this year’s Spring Cleanup, the annual citywide cleaning, beautification and greening program.

This year, the event will be held on Saturday, April 2. Individuals and organizations are invited to submit their projects, such as park and neighborhood cleanups, or register as volunteers.

The Spring Cleanup activities include trash pick-up, sweeping sidewalks, removing graffiti, painting benches, planting bulbs and more.

Project registration deadline is Friday, March 18. Volunteers registration closes on Friday, April 1.

The program launched in 2008 and since then a total of 200,000 volunteers have removed more than 11 million pounds of trash.

To register your project idea or as a volunteer, please go here.

Here is a letter we received from Alice Wells from Friends of Walnut Street West Library on the importance of supporting our local libraries.

Dear Library Friends, Community Members, Neighbors, Readers, Parents, Students and all who use and love our city’s libraries:

Philadelphia’s public libraries are STILL in dire straits. What budget and staff increases we began to see before the pandemic have been lost. Federal funds recently pumped into the City were not used to restore library funding! In short, unless we fight for them we will continue to see neighborhood libraries closed more than open because of continued understaffing. Continue Reading