Featured Story:
COVID-19 update for Aug. 8. City case rate falls, plans made to boost net access for virtual learning
by Kate Dolan Philadelphia’s COVID-19 case counts continue to fall, and the city announced an initiative to connect Philadelphia students to digital access for virtual learning. At Thursday’s COVID-19 update press conference, Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley announced 109 new confirmed cases for that day, a 3.6 positivity rate and “zero new deaths for […]
Latest Stories
Gardening: The hanging gardens of Chestnut Hill
By Stan Cutler According to legend, the king of Babylon constructed a high-rise, irrigated garden to please his wife. She was a Medean (Persian) princess who missed the greenery of her hometown when she was forced to move to her new husband’s arid city between the Tigris and Euphrates. Archaeologists haven’t been able to find […]
SCH grad, Ricky Amorim, creates his own nonprofit to help diabetics during pandemic
by Greg Starks Ricky Amorim, a recent graduate of Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (SCH), is heading to Providence College. Amorim will play lacrosse at Providence as he was the captain of SCH’s lacrosse team and a star player. People may know Amorim for his athletic ability, but many do not know that he is also […]
‘Les Miserables’ a musical with many moments of magnificence
by Bill Wine Each week, veteran film critic Bill Wine will look back at an important film that is worth watching, either for the first time or again. Talk about titles that resonate with their audience. Especially now. Somewhere between opera and operetta, “Les Miserables”(2012) is a heart-on-its sleeve narrative concert. The intense and thrilling […]
When it comes to fighting Covid, it’s all local
By Howard A. Myrick “It’s all local.” So goes the familiar expression about politics. It is a truism that applies (or should apply) also to news analysis and reporting in the mass media. In the context of our current lives, it is true in numerous other important areas. Think of the coronavirus pandemic: The news […]
Hillers recall favorite Avenue shops of yore
By Barbara Sheehan Uncertainty prompted by the COVID pandemic has challenged our ability to “keep calm and carry on.” One thing that might distract us, however, is reliving pleasant experiences from the past. Nostalgia might explain the overwhelming response to a recent post on NextDoor, the neighborhood social network, which asked, “What businesses do you […]
Open Wards movement formalizes into city-wide organization
By Karen Bojar In the 2018 committee person elections, a group of newly elected committee people brought their commitment to transparency and democracy to wards across the city. They have now joined together to form a new organization, Open Wards Philly (OWP), described on the group’s website (openwardsphilly.com) as “an effort by both newly elected […]
Mt. Airy City Council aide breaking ‘cycle of trauma’
by Len Lear Ericka Stewart might not be like anyone else I have ever met. The tattooed Mt. Airy resident, 33, who says she has been “masculine-presenting” all of her life (“I wore a men’s suit and tie to my graduation at Central High School”), has lived in 19 different locations in the 15 years […]
The Chestnut Hill Rotary Club helps local schools in a big way amid COVID-19 pandemic
By David Hunt At Emlen Elementary School in Mt. Airy, science classes had no trouble adjusting to remote learning thanks to The Chestnut Hill Rotary Club purchasing ‘Science A to Z’ licenses for two of its teachers. This was made possible by a matching grant from District Rotary 7450. ‘Science A to Z’ helps students […]
News:
Hillers recall favorite Avenue shops of yore
By Barbara Sheehan Uncertainty prompted by the COVID pandemic has challenged our ability to “keep calm and carry on.” One thing that might distract us, however, is reliving pleasant experiences from the past. Nostalgia might explain the overwhelming response to a recent post on NextDoor, the neighborhood social network, which asked, “What businesses do you […]
More News:
Opinion:
When it comes to fighting Covid, it’s all local
By Howard A. Myrick “It’s all local.” So goes the familiar expression about politics. It is a truism that applies (or should apply) also to news analysis and reporting in the mass media. In the context of our current lives, it is true in numerous other important areas. Think of the coronavirus pandemic: The news […]
More Opinion:
Community:
The Chestnut Hill Rotary Club helps local schools in a big way amid COVID-19 pandemic
By David Hunt At Emlen Elementary School in Mt. Airy, science classes had no trouble adjusting to remote learning thanks to The Chestnut Hill Rotary Club purchasing ‘Science A to Z’ licenses for two of its teachers. This was made possible by a matching grant from District Rotary 7450. ‘Science A to Z’ helps students […]
More Community:
Sports:
SCH grad, Ricky Amorim, creates his own nonprofit to help diabetics during pandemic
by Greg Starks Ricky Amorim, a recent graduate of Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (SCH), is heading to Providence College. Amorim will play lacrosse at Providence as he was the captain of SCH’s lacrosse team and a star player. People may know Amorim for his athletic ability, but many do not know that he is also […]
More Sports:
Arts & Entertainment:
Mt. Airy artist exhibits COVID-19 and Floyd-related works
by Len Lear Rebecca Hoenig, 61, who grew up in Germantown but has lived in Mt. Airy for the last 30 years, is a full-time artist and art teacher whose work has won countless accolades and been seen in numerous exhibits all over the Philadelphia area. And her whimsical sculpture of “Daisy the Pig” has […]
More Arts & Entertainment:
Business:
Mt. Airy City Council aide breaking ‘cycle of trauma’
by Len Lear Ericka Stewart might not be like anyone else I have ever met. The tattooed Mt. Airy resident, 33, who says she has been “masculine-presenting” all of her life (“I wore a men’s suit and tie to my graduation at Central High School”), has lived in 19 different locations in the 15 years […]