Lack of Volunteers Could Put Mt. Airy Day in Jeopardy

Organizers of the event say that more volunteers are needed if the event is to continue.

Mt. Airy Day was held almost two weeks ago now, and after everything was said and done, there’re was one-thing organizers could’ve used more of—volunteers. “It’s something I would love to keep doing,” said Mt. Airy Day organizer Janet Amato at last week’s East Mt. Airy Neighbors meeting.  “But we really need people to help run the event.” This year’s Mt. Airy Day was so short-staffed that organizers are afraid it might not be able to continue if more people don’t step up to the plate. “I would like to be able to continue the event, but we need more bodies there,” Amato said. Mt. Airy Day takes months of planning.  In fact, organizers will start the early stages of planning next year’s event next month. But, after all that planning, people …

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Anti-Theft Bill Makes it Easier to Become a Felon

A proposed law would lower the value needed for a felony charge in retail theft.

A new bill passed in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives could crack down on retail theft, or make it easier for someone to become a felon.  Under House Bill 1000 any incident of retail theft in which the value of the items stolen exceeds $1,000 can result in a third-degree felony charge. Before this bill the cutoff line for a felony charge of retail theft was $2,000. As the law exists now, there are a number of ways one can be charged for retail theft as explained below: The bill passed 195-0 in the House and now moves on to the Senate. Do you support this bill? Let us know what you think in the comments area below. 

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East Mt. Airy Neighbors Meet Tuesday

The local neighborhood association will have its monthly meeting on Tuesday starting at 7:30 p.m.

The East Mt. Airy Neighborhoods will hold their monthly meeting on Tuesday, May 7, at 7:30 p.m. The East Mt. Airy neighborhood is bordered by Germantown Avenue on the west, Stenton Avenue on the east, Cresheim Valley Drive to the north and Washington Lane to the south. The meeting will be held in the Wiedemann Building of Lutheran Seminary Campus located at 7301 Germantown Ave.

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Friends of Wissahickon Oppose Ropes Course

In a statement, the Friends of the Wissahickon oppose the proposed ropes course to be built near the intersection of Henry and Wigard avenues.

Southbound Lincoln Drive to Close Saturday

City officials will close parts of Lincoln drive on Saturday for construction.

The Philadelphia Streets Department will close the southbound lanes of Lincoln Drive for 10 hours on Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. between Wissahickon Avenue and Ridge Avenue/Kelly Drive. The closure will allow for workers to make safely make repairs during daylight hours while “minimizing” disruption to motorists, city officials say. All traffic will be detoured at Wissahickon Avenue, and northbound traffic will not be affected. 

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Jake Speicher

9:19 pm on Wednesday, May 1, 2013

That would be good info to have. It will be closed from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.   more ›

Community Association Considers New Events

The Chestnut Hill Community Association will consider new events, like a Soapbox Derby, to increase membership.

Last month, the Chestnut Hill Community Association passed a balanced budget for 2013, but in order to do that, it had to take $23,000 from the Chestnut Hill Local’s profits to cover the association’s deficit as a whole. When the budget measure passed, the Association promised the Local that it would work on new fundraising plans to return the money used to balance the budget. At last Thursday’s Community Association meeting, the board started preliminary discussions about what new fundraising measures could be taken. “We as a board need to come up with fundraising that will cover the $23,000,” said association president Brien Tilley.  “We need to act now, not six months from now.” Several board members made suggestions about events the …

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Monday's the Last Day to Register to Vote

It's not too late to register to vote in the Primary Election.

The last day to register to vote in the May 21 Primary Election is Monday, April 22. Individuals applying to register to vote must be:  Philadelphia residents may apply in person for voter registration at the Voter Registration Office, at Riverview Place 5th Floor, 520 N. Delaware Ave. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. Click here to download your voter registration form.

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Toomey Gun Control Amendment Fails in Senate

The Senate rejected Pat Toomey's attempt to expand background checks via a controversial gun control amendment voted on Wednesday afternoon.

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey sounded unconcerned in a conference call Wednesday when a reporter asked about the possibility that his NRA rating would be downgraded because of his recent compromise move on gun control. "This is not about the NRA or politics for me," Toomey said. The Toomey-Manchin amendment to expand background checks was narrowly defeated in the Senate on Wednesday afternoon. The vote was 54 yes to 46 no. Sixty votes rather than a simple majority were needed to pass the amendment. Toomey issued this statement just after the vote: “I did what I thought was the right thing for our country. I sought out a compromise position that I thought could move the ball forward on an important matter of public safety. My only regret is that our…

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Saturday U.S. Mail Delivery Stays for Now

Citing Congressional measure, Board of Governors reluctantly decides to continue six-day-a-week delivery, not drop to five-days-a-week.

The Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service has reversed course and will no longer move ahead with plans to suspend Saturday mail delivery in August to save money, according to a statement from the board. The postal service had announced in February the six-days-per-week mail delivery business model was “no longer sustainable” and that it would eliminate Saturday delivery by Aug. 1. But on Tuesday, the board backpedaled on the decision, citing language in a continuing resolution passed by Congress that prohibited the proposed change. “The Board believes that Congress has left it with no choice but to delay this implementation at this time’” a statement released by the board said. The plan announced in February would have changed …

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