August 24, 2006 Issue

Quick Links

August 28, 2006
The Philadelphia Daily News provides its take on the Chestnut Hill problem known as the Commerce Bank building site

August 18, 2006
Susie Madrak of Mt. Airy has a posting about a Mt. Airy renovation site on her web site. It's a neighbor's perspective on "historical preservation and updating to a condo building."

August 18, 2006
The Philadelphia Daily News has an interesting piece on the plants decorating the street poles of Chestnut Hill. Check it out here.

Ongoing
Local staff member Jimmy J. Pack Jr. has updated his on-line magazine with material from his Chicago trip.

Special Kids Section

©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Local men break up late night assault of jogger
Attack is third in which a group of teensattacked or robbed someone in the area. Police say incidents aren’t necessarily related.
by KRISTIN PAZULSKI

In Philadelphia, where news of rising crime rates is often the stuff of headlines this year, Chestnut Hill has long been considered a haven. It has its fair share of property theft, but violent crimes, such as assault and robbery, are few and far between. In recent weeks, however, a few incidents of robbery and an assault in the vicinity of the larger apartment complexes on the east side of Germantown Avenue — Wyndmoor Garden Apartments, Chestnut Hill Village and Chestnut Hill Tower Apartments — have residents less eager to walk down the street alone at night.

Chris Rice, 23, moved to the Wyndmoor Garden Apartments on East Willow Grove Avenue because he heard it was safe. His experience on the evening of Thursday, Aug. 10, however, has changed his mind. He now says he is concerned for the safety of his daughter and girlfriend.

Local legend dies; carved out career for 69 years
by LEN LEAR

Richard Lieberman is seen admiring a work by one of his students, Vitta Horowitz, of Bala Cynwyd, at an Allens Lane Art Center exhibit.

Richard Lieberman, a crusty, cantankerous, profane, brutally honest but basically lovable sculptor who inspired and challenged students at Allens Lane Art Center in West Mt. Airy, Temple University’s Tyler Art School in Ambler and other area schools and institutions for almost seven decades, died Thursday, August 17, at the age of 91.

Richard, who told me an interview at Allens Lane in 2000 that “I have lost six inches off my height in the past few years, but my feet have compensated by getting larger,” would have been an ideal subject for the old Reader’s Digest feature on “The Most Unforgettable Character I’ve Ever Met.”

Richard was almost as short as a billiard table; he had arthritis so bad he could barely walk; when he sat down, a Herculean effort was required to get him back up again; his omnipresent pipe was as integral a part of him as his arms and legs; he could barely hear, and he would never have been a diplomat.

Lane to play in World University Games
by TOM UTESCHER

CHA’s Gilly Lane will be one of three American college squash players to represent the U. S. in the World University Games this month.

As he prepares to head downtown next month for his senior year at the University of Pennsylvania, Chestnut Hill Academy graduate Gilly Lane has planned a little detour through Szeged, Hungary.

Lane will be one of three American college players on the U.S. Squash Team that will represent this country at the 20-team World University Games tournament, which will take place August 28 through September 2. Although American players have entered this tourney in the past on an independent basis, the trio that includes Lane will be the first official U.S. team to participate in the event.

Each team consists of two male and one female players. Lane will be joined by Julian Illingworth, a recent Yale grad, and Lily Lorentzen, who was Harvard’s number one as a freshman last winter, but has now transferred to Stanford.

In addition, Julia Drury of Dartmouth and Tucker George of the U.S. Naval Academy will play in the tournament as independents, and could fill in for one of the regular team members in the event of injury or illness.