Bill Green, who lives on the 4800 block of Regent reports that there was an attempted robbery by two people wielding a machete and a baseball bat on his block. He writes:
Another attempted robbery at machete point tonight on my block, 4800 Regent St. This time two men with ski masks, one with a machete & one with a baseball bat. They grabbed the man they tried to rob & acted menacing, but he yelled & lots of people (first & loudest his girlfriend) came out yelling & they ran away without getting anything. They wanted the man’s backpack. No one was hurt. This was about 8:30 pm, February 9th.
There was a similar mugging on the 4800 block of Beaumont, about four blocks north of Regent, in early January.
Neighborhood resident Katie Bonier has temporary custody of a spayed female shepherd mix named Missy. She relays the story below:
I found her wandering around Chester and 46th on Saturday, she had a tag with her name and address. Through interviewing neighbors and a web search I found that a young woman named Vanessa has owned her since birth, had two dogs, fell on hard times and had to move away 3 weeks ago, to an apartment where dogs aren’t allowed. She left Missy with her parents on 50th and Kingsessing a few weeks ago asking them to find someone to adopt her. The parents kept her in the yard, and she escaped. I talked to Vanessa, and she needs help finding a home for Missy.
I’ve got an elderly 100 lb dog. I don’t want a second dog as Lula goes into old age. Lula has been tolerant because Missy is polite and submissive, but she clearly doesn’t want another dog in the house. Missy weighs about 40 lbs, spayed female shepherd mix. Seems well-trained, not familiar with dog cookies or human food, sits, comes, behaves well with other dogs. Seems trusting and even-tempered, and like maybe she’s used to being left places. She seems quite happy with everyone she meets.
Mayor Michael Nutter and Spruce Hill Community Association President Mark Wagenveld. (Photos by Mike Lyons)
Folks gathered for the Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) board meeting last night got a surprise when Mayor Michael Nutter stopped by for an impromptu appearance. Nutter aide Erica Atwood, a neighborhood resident, helped arrange the visit.
Nutter spent about 10 minutes talking to SHCA board members and visitors at its 45th street headquarters about general city issues, such as the budget. Nothing groundbreaking.
Nutter lauded SHCA board members for their civic engagement efforts. “Keep up the good work,” he said before leaving.
As for the SHCA meeting itself, the board:
• Discussed a proposed study of the SEPTA trolley portal at 40th Street between Woodland Avenue and Baltimore Avenue as a “gateway to University City.” The University City District plans to fund a study of the area around the unnel entrance that would improve the area aesthetically as well as add more green space.
• Was informed that restaurant along Baltimore Avenue were hoping to convince the city to allow them to apply as a single entity for permits to allow outdoor cafe seating. Currently the city requires every business to file an application, a fairly arduous process. The Baltimore Avenue Business Association plans to hold a meeting soon to gauge neighborhood support for the plan to apply for the permits as a group. These permits do not apply to businesses that serve alcohol outside.
Parents, teachers and school administrators gathered at West Philadelphia High School (4700 Walnut St.) last night to discuss that school’s transition to a “promise academy,” a sometimes controversial school district label that includes several measures designed to improve struggling schools. For many parents it means just another change.
These changes include firing the teaching faculty and rehiring a maximum of 50 percent of those teachers back is part of the district’s Renaissance school program. That means that West, which has seen a lot of change in recent years, including three principals in less than year, will start the next academic year with its fourth principal and a largely new faculty. West will be “traditional”promise academy, meaning extra instruction time, including Saturdays, governance by a School Advisory Council and a host of other changes. The Philadelphia Public School Notebook has a nice breakdown of the different Renaissance school designations here.
Many parents and teachers, though, are growing tired with constant changes at their schools.
Here is a Fox29 story about the meeting:
And here is a fact sheet on the Renaissance schools program:
This is a very cool event going on in the neighborhood tonight. First, author Sara Marcus will read from her book Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution at the Kelly Writers House (3805 Locust Walk on the Penn campus) at 6 p.m. The book explores the Riot Grrl movement, which started in the mid 1990s and has taken root in a number of cities in the form of female empowerment efforts.
In Philadelphia, those efforts include Girls Rock Philly, a rock & empowerment camp where girls ages 9-17 learn instruments, write songs & form their own bands. The founder of that group, Beth Warshaw-Duncan, will join Marcus, Kathleen Hanna (the front woman of the pivotal Riot Grrl band Bikini Kill) and activist/musician Katy Otto for a panel discussion on topics ranging from the panelists’ own participation in the movement to “what women in music can and should be doing today.” Copies of Marcus’ book will also be available at the discussion.
Then it’s time to rock. A concert will follow the discussion nearby at The Rotunda (4014 Walnut St.) beginning at 8 p.m. The benefit show for Girls Rock Philly will feature Trophy Wife, Whore Paint (Providence), Slutever and Cat Vet. Suggested donation is $5. All proceeds go to Girls Rock Philly.
Camels paraded outside the Penn Museum (3260 South St.) yesterday as part of the “Secrets of the Silk Road” exhibit, which opens this weekend. The camels will be back today and we suspect they may enjoy the weather a little more. (Photo by Julija Kulneva)
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