Syreeta Martin graduated from Temple last week with a degree in journalism.
She and I didn’t get along that well at first, but she and I overcame our differences to become a good team. She covered Strawberry Mansion and Brewerytown and earned one of the highest grades in philadelphianeighborhoods.com
This space usually deals with stories about underserved and underreported stories in Philadelphia neighborhoods.
Martin, 24, is a single mother with two children. Her story, which was reported in Ebony, is certainly an inspiration to me and should be for everyone! See the story at http://www.ebony.com/life/i-had-a-baby-at-16-another-at-20-and-today-is-my-college-graduation… Read the full story »
For the residents of Powelton Village, the City Zoning Board of Adjustment made a decision late last year that they just could not live with and they are fighting back.
On Dec. 14, 2011, the ZBA granted University Realty seven different zoning code variances enabling University to proceed with its plan on to build two, three-story apartment buildings on a plot of land the firm purchased at 3506 Hamilton St. That planned multi-unit development contrasts sharply with the character of that block composed mainly of detached houses, structures that are rare in Philadelphia where many residential houses are rowhomes or… Read the full story »
The two dozen letters squeezed on the paperboard sign delivered a message louder than the 10 syllables intended. The grand opening of a new childcare center on 46th Street near Market Street in Walnut Hill was marked with a set of bubble letters, filled in with washable marker. The sign promoted that the center was state licensed and accepted Child Care Information Services payments, which help Philadelphia families pay for child care.
A Pennsylvania state license is granted on the basis of a center’s health, safety and risks for children. It doesn’t factor in the center’s curriculum or purpose.
Two… Read the full story »
Paul Corbin was looking for a new way to get in shape and add some excitement to his workout routine. Becoming bored with the same routine of lifting weights and running, this Frankford resident was introduced to aerial yoga.
Aerial yoga is performed using various yoga movements, suspended a few inches in the air. This unique form of yoga revolves around counteracting gravity. Being suspended a few inches in the air releases tension on the bones and muscle, increasing flexibility.
“One of my friends is a fitness expert and took me out in her backyard one afternoon and she had… Read the full story »
Over the past year Philadelphia Neighborhoods and other Temple University journalists have chronicled the issue of abandoned properly, including buildings, houses and lots, throughout the city.
These stories include the horrific fire in Kensington that left two firefighters dead and the Divine Lorraine, the historic eyesore that sits on North Broad Street.
But the stories also include ways in which neighborhoods throughout the city like Kensington, Hunting Park, North Central and others are trying to solve the problem of abandoned property when government fails to act.
See some of the stories at this website at http://bit.ly/KzgqEQ.… Read the full story »
Residents of the 4000 block of North Darien Street are like a family.
Whether it’s giving the kids a safe place to play after school or forcing thugs and drug dealers off the block, the residents are constantly battling negative elements to improve the quality of life in their area.
Yet for all their efforts, the presence of vacant or abandoned housing creates a problem that never ceases to disappear.
“These buildings here have been abandoned at least 10 years,” said Charles Langley, a pastor at Mt. Zion II. “You can see them falling apart, so if they start to crumble… Read the full story »
Wendy Stevens clicked eagerly on the desktop of the thin computer monitor in front of her, scrolling through a screen with large, bold print and big arrows. Blogging and Streaming. The words were hard off the tongue of Stevens, who joined six others in the room. As they recited aloud the four-sentence definition, many foreheads wrinkled in confusion.
It was about half an hour into their first digital literacy training session named “Internet Basics and Safety” at the Opportunity Industrialization Center in North Philadelphia. The sessions, in partnership with Lift Philadelphia and Comcast, are part of a series of… Read the full story »
Evelyn Cruz did not always want to be a robotics teacher or even dabble in technology. In fact, she started out as a bus attendant at Roberto Clemente Middle School in Hunting Park, making a meager salary.
Now, a technology teacher leader and robotics instructor at her old middle school alma mater, Cruz’s passion for teaching and giving back to her own community shows her dedication and promise to the neighborhood she grew up in.
See a video and the rest of the story at our partner’s website at TechnicallyPhilly here.… Read the full story »
Not long after graduating from high school, Khalil Smith moved out of his mother’s house in Olney to live with his grandmother in Hunting Park. At the time, he had never thought that he would find himself needing help just to eat.
“For my mom to pull out her MAC [Money Access Card] or her money and start paying for the food, it was really nothing. That’s how I looked at it,” Smith said. “But as you get older, you start to think about it. Food is important now. Food was never important to me.”
At 19 and without a… Read the full story »
Vivian Nix-Early spends her Tuesday afternoons sitting on a bright, blue-carpeted floor surrounded by a handful of singing 4-year-olds. And she literally does not miss a note–singing everything from the participants’ names to the books on the shelf and the thank you’s when the students put their instruments away.
Nix-Early is co-founder and chief operations officer of BuildaBridge, an arts education and intervention nonprofit, located at 205 W. Tulpehocken St. in Germantown.
The organization is a practitioner in the power of the arts, bringing hope and healing to children, families and communities. It is one of the only organizations in… Read the full story »
The Thomas Mifflin School, located at 3624 Conrad St., continues to grow and improve its reputation in the community despite budget cuts.
The implementation of an open-door policy has helped improve the school’s reputation, Principal Leslie Mason said. Every Thursday morning community members are welcome to go on a tour of the school, take a closer look at the curriculum and ask questions.
“The school had a negative reputation for a long time, but our open-door policy has helped many community members to see that nothing bad is happening here,” Mason said. People in the area are starting to have… Read the full story »
As the city honors its history of jazz music this month, Germantown’s jazz schedule looks no different than usual. Jazz Appreciation Month highlights what Germantown appreciates every month and even every week.
“I think we need more than a month,” drummer Robert Henderson said. “Since they picked April, you know, we’ll take that for now, but jazz is appreciated all year long.”
The LaRose Jazz Club, located at 5531 Germantown Ave., hosts the regular jazz jam sessions year round, lead by Henderson on Sundays. The club also hosts alto saxophone player Tony Williams’s band on Mondays.
“It’s great to… Read the full story »
A program of the Department of Journalism at the School of Communications and Theater at Temple University. Copyright 2012.
