News

By Sue Ann Rybak Stephanie Arck-Baynes, a spokesperson for Philabundance, the largest hunger relief organization in the Delaware Valley, said Philabundance closed on March 26 and March 27 “out of an abundance of caution for its staff, volunteers and the public.”   A statement on Philabundance’s website read: “Wednesday, March 25, a staff member informed […]

The following is a press release from the city. The Local is watching every day. These releases have been good and accurate summaries of what has been said at each briefing. Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley today announced 154 additional presumptive confirmed cases of COVID-19 novel coronavirus in Philadelphia. That brings the number of […]

by Sue Ann Rybak Chestnut Hill resident Kara Maletta-Howe, 36, said her family was already practicing social distancing to keep her mother Linda Maletta healthy in the safety of her Oreland home during the coronavirus pandemic. So when Mayor Jim Kenney announced a stay-at-home order for all city residents on Sunday afternoon, March 22, she […]

Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley today announced 127 new cases of COVID-19 in Philadelphia, bringing the total confirmed cases in the city to 475. Farley said 40 of the city’s cases have been hospitalized. He also said that testing remains available but is limited and that the city’s hospital still has available beds for […]

By Stacia Friedman On March 23, Governor Wolf ordered all non-essential businesses to close or face potential legal consequences. Chestnut Hill has complied with that order, and many shops temporarily closed their doors, while others found creative ways to work around the ordinance. “Our store is closed,” said Vince Hillanbrand, who runs the 14-year-old business, […]

At the city’s daily COVID-19 press conference, Mayor Jim Kenney announced that the the city had recorded the first death of a resident due to COVID-19. Kenney said the death is the first of a likely many and reiterated it underscored the need of everyone to heed the city’s stay at home orders to make […]

by Stacia Friedman Sheltering in place is difficult enough, but what do you do when your cat is sick, you need a ball-peen hammer or a birthday cake for your six-year-old? Fortunately, Chestnut Hill businesses are rising to the occasion. Sick kitties and their owners will get valet service at Chestnut Hill Cat Clinic. The […]

by Sue Ann Rybak While many young people continue to party and ignore warnings to social distance, Mt. Airy resident Deborah Haas, 58, worries about her 24-year-old daughter, Madeleine Stander, who works in an urgent care facility that tests people for COVID-19. The Surgeon General Jerome Adams even asked Kylie Jenner [the “Keeping Up with […]

City officials announced today that they have partnered with the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) to crate a fund for relief of small businesses in the city impacted by COVID-19 closures. We are acutely aware of the potentially devastating impact that the spread of COVID-19 is having on small businesses in Philadelphia and around the […]