Police say a 53-year-old man was stabbed and robbed last night near 46th and Walnut after he tried to fight off a teen robber.

The man, who police say is from far Southwest Philly, was walking near 46th and Walnut at about 8:55 p.m. when a male described as 17 or 18 years old approached him, brandished a knife and demanded his wallet. Police say the man fought back and was punched in the face and stabbed several times in the back.

The man remained in stable condition this morning at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Some town watch groups in the area have stepped up their work in the past few weeks due to an increased number of crime-related incidents. Many residents have joined the groups and are already actively patrolling the streets.

We are compiling a list of town watch groups if neighbors want to participate. Here’s information on two active groups. If you know of any other groups, please send us information at: editor [at] westphillylocal.com

Cedar Park Neighbors Watch

Patrol area: St. Bernard to 47th St. (inclusive ), and Kingsessing to Baltimore (inclusive).

Contact: Patty Bulack, pbulack@gmail.com

Mel-Lo Town Watch

From the Mel-Lo Town Watch website: “The Mel-Lo Town Watch is a group of neighbors who put watchful eyes on the streets in the neighborhood surrounding the intersection of Melville and Locust Streets in West Philadelphia.”

Patrol area: 44th to 46th and from Walnut to Spruce.

Contact: mltownwatch@gmail.com

The Spruce Hill Community Association distributed a letter to the dozens of parents waiting in line yesterday to register their children for kindergarten next year calling on “the community” to “make itself heard.” The letter also restates the association’s stance that every child living within the school’s catchment boundaries has a right to attend Penn Alexander.

The letter begins:

“No one should have to line up in the cold for nearly 24 hours to register their child for kindergarten.”

A full copy of the letter is below.

Kindergarten registration began for schools across the District this morning, including at the Henry C. Lea School, which has received a lot of attention in recent months thanks to the work of the West Philly Coalition of Neighborhood Schools.

Pas Letter

The infamous line for kindergarten registration at the Penn Alexander School began at about 9 a.m. this morning, 24 hours before registration actually begins.

By 10:30 a.m. the line had already swollen to about 70 people. Those in line, some of whom were wrapped in sleeping bags, had begun to devise a plan to provide some relief – maybe two hours on, two hours off – from the freezing temperatures. There are currently three kindergarten classes at the school.

The line has started very early in recent years, including the night before registration last year. This year’s line, however, is unprecedented. Kindergarten registration across the district begins tomorrow morning.

If your Friday plans include a bottle of wine or spirits and your usual spot is the Wine and Spirits store near 41st and Market, you’re going to have to shop elsewhere.

The store closed permanently late last week. The owner of the building reportedly no longer wants to lease to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB). The PLCB is shopping around for another site in the area.

This also means that the store near 49th and Baltimore will have even longer lines.

It looks like the Penn-owned space at 40th & Walnut left vacant after Marathon Grill and MarBar closed last May won’t stay empty for too long. Harvest Seasonal Grill & Wine Bar is set to open its doors at this location in June 2012, as The Daily Pennsylvanian reports.

This will be the second location for Harvest. The first original is in Glen Mills.

The restaurant offers a farm-fresh menu with the ingredients coming from over 75 local and sustainable farms. The menu will change according to the seasons. The restaurant will have an “upscale-casual” atmosphere  with a wine bar on the second level. It sounds like it will serve a similar clientele as its predecessor. Has anyone been to the original Harvest Seasonal in Glen Mills?