July 5, 2007 Issue                                                     

Local News

Fare hikes hit home
by KRISTIN PAZULSKI

A rider waits for the Route L bus at Chestnut Hill Newsstand. Bus transfers will be a thing of the past for SEPTA riders come Aug. 1, as the agency raises fares to compensate for its deficit. (Photo by Erin Vertreace)

To compensate for a large deficit in its budget, the SEPTA board voted to increase fare costs by 11 percent as of July 9.

Under this increase, referred to as “Plan A” by SEPTA, the biggest change in bus transit will be the elimination of the less expensive transfer fare. As of Aug. 1, the 60-cent transfer will be terminated, and all rides will cost $2.

Last week, as news of the increases spread, passengers seemed unengaged by it.

“It’s annoying, but what can you do,” said Joyce Weaver, who lives in Mt. Airy and works at Chestnut Hill Hospital. “Complaining isn’t going to help.”

Fresh start for Jenks with Brandt
by KRISTIN PAZULSKI

Stephen Brandt

The J.S. Jenks Elementary School received a breath of fresh air this month, with Stephen Brandt taking the helm as the school’s first new principal in 31 years, replacing Cheryl Eisenberg, who is retiring.

“I thought Jenks would be a good fit for me,” said Brandt, who is certified to be a principal for K-12 and has interned as a resident principal at the High School of Engineering and Science in North Philadelphia. He left his position as assistant principal at South Philadelphia High School for the Jenks position.

Brandt, a 31-year-old with energy that’s almost tangible, grew up in Roxborough and was educated in the Philadelphia School District from kindergarten through high school.

Local Sports

Local rowers perform at Independence Day Regatta
by TOM UTESCHER

Meg Kehan, a rising senior at Mount St. Joesph Academy, rows the two seat in the U.S. Developmental Camp’s Intermediate Four, which finished second at the Independence Day Regatta

The uniforms were different, but the faces were familiar along Kelly Drive last weekend, when a number of area rowers raced in everything from a sculling double to sweep eights at the Independence Day Regatta.

Last year, downpours that flooded the Schuylkill forced the cancellation of the event, but this year competitors started off on an overcast and muggy Friday and then enjoyed two beautiful days of characterized by sunshine temperatures around 80 degrees and relatively low humidity.

Three rising seniors from Mount St. Joseph Academy, rowers Meg Kehan and Lawren Kieffer and coxswain Devon Stewart, came down from the U.S. Rowing national team camps in Connecticut to participate in the IDR.

Chestnut Hill’s 14s heading into juniors

Chestnut Hill’s 14 pictured above are (front row, kneeling) Anderson Good, Ricardo Tull, Tyler Clausen-Wolf, Dan Ceisler, Anthony Prisco, Jake Yannessa, Frank Primavera; (back row, standing) Coach Paul Yannessa, Ben York, John Carney, Julian Canuso, Mike McNally, Matt Primavera, Ben Rogers, Eric Primavera, Coach Mike Primavera, Coach Dennis Primavera.

As the Montco Youth Baseball League season draws to a close, Chestnut Hill’s 14-year-old team is picking up a head of steam in the Junior League Division.  Coming off a strong inaugural season last year in which they finished with a 13-5 record and lost in the championship game, the 14s wrapped up the week with a convincing 11-5 win over second-place Abington to bring their record to 10-2-1, keeping the team in first place with three regular season games to go.