Local News
Paul Vallas on expanding school choice, raising the academic bar and running for office
 by MICHAEL J. MISHAK
For Paul Vallas, life is about managing the moment.
And on a sizzling September afternoon, the chief executive officer of the 185,000-student Philadelphia School District is holed up in his third-floor office, calling on his secretary to ring yet another deputy, this time to survey which schools need fans to temper the year’s remaining heat.
Parker rolls to victory amid controversy
The city’s political watchdog has raised questions of election impropriety. A group of the candidate’s supporters are demanding an apology
by MICHAEL J. MISHAK
Like most special elections, last week’s race to fill the vacant state House seat in the 200th Legislative District had all the makings of a sleeper event. But in the rough-and-tumble world of Philadelphia politics, where candidates often walk a fine ethical line, things have a way of defying expectations.
A half century on the ice, Hill skating club looks back on years of success
by JAMES STURDIVANT
In the 1950s, Chestnut Hill was a neighborhood of skating enthusiasts. There were the figure skaters, who learned their skills on local lakes and streams, Ivy Leaguers who had played ice hockey at Princeton and Yale — and, of course, their children, who clamored for a chance to take to the ice when the Wissahickon wasn’t frozen over.
'Bring Them Home' tour hits Germantown
Interfaith service targets Iraq war
 Flanked by sons Raphael and Dante, Celeste Zappala speaks to the crowd at last Thursday’s interfaith service at the First United Methodist Church of Germantown. (Photo by Michael J. Mishak)
by MICHAEL J. MISHAK
In the days and weeks following Gold Star mother Cindy Sheehan's much-publicized vigil outside President Bush's Texas ranch, local peace activist Celeste Zappala, more than any other, has become the face of the antiwar movement, and not just to the region's residents, but to much of the nation.
Developer seeks to bypass Springfield open-space ordinance
by PETER BEISSER
It may not have been the definitive verdict either side had hoped to hear, but Springfield Township residents now know they will soon discover the fate of a proposed upscale senior housing project after local officials agreed last week to vote on a controversial rezoning proposal next month.
The Chestnut Hill Local
 Winner of
Three 2005 Keystone Awards
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Local Life
Mt. Airy’s Silver is golden
Corporate CEO-turned novelist earns N.Y. Times rave
 Don Silver relaxes with his German Shepherd, Bodhi.
by ELISABETH TORG
Ever wish you could walk away from your corporate job and write that novel brewing in your brain?
Don Silver, a Mt. Airy resident and Chestnut Hill area native, did just that.
Silver, who grew up in Erdenheim and attended Cheltenham High School, bagged his life as a corporate CEO in 1999 to try out the writing life. Now, five years later, after surviving a battle with cancer, he’s just published his first novel. The book, Backward Facing Man (Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins), was released in area bookstores on August 23. (It was reviewed favorably in the New York Times on Monday, September 12.) ”
Mt. Airy concert Friday
to aid Katrina victims
by CAROLE VERONA
 Germantown resident Byard Lancaster, a local jazz legend, will raise the roof on behalf of Katrina’s victims.
“What can I do to help?” That’s the question on everyone’s mind as we continue to read about and watch the ongoing devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. A group of musicians — known and loved in the Northwest Philly area and beyond — are responding in the way they know best. They’re coming together for a concert to benefit the victims.
Hill artist/seamstress
is a real doll(maker)
Chestnut Hill resident Valerie Ciliberti, seamstress, graphic artist/designer, and knitter par excellence, knits beautiful miniature dolls.
 by PAT STOKES
Once upon a time there was a little girl who, like many little girls, loved fairytales, and of course, fairies. There was also a doting grandmother who wanted very much to give the little girl a fairy doll. As luck would have it, the grandmother had a friend who loved knitting little dolls (really little, just the size for little hands to hold). So with the addition of some little (knitted) wings, presto! there were fairy dolls.
Sports
Hosts nipped in OT at
CHA soccer tourney
 CHA sophomore Mike Marino (right) wins the ball from Phil Craig of Archbishop Curley. (Photo by Lene White).
by TOM UTESCHER
There was little drama in the first three games at the Chestnut Hill Academy/Reebok Invitational Soccer Tournament last weekend, but the fourth contest helped make up for that.
Mount hockey takes league opener
by TOM UTESCHER
Mount St. Joseph Academy’s field hockey squad began the defense of its Athletic Association of Catholic Academies championship with a 3-0 home field victory over visiting Gwynedd Mercy on Sept. 8.
Roman wins, CHA improves
in annual race
by TOM UTESCHER
Roman Catholic High School seems to be making an annual habit of not only attending, but also winning the Chestnut Hill Academy Cross Country Invitational.
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