Enter LoMo’s First Annual Holiday Decorating Contest!

DECK THE HALLS & WIN BIG !!! Participation in LoMo’s First Annual Holiday Decorating Contest is open to all residents and small business owners within our boundaries – Broad to Eighth Streets and Snyder to Oregon Avenues. Only the front of the property visible from the street/sidewalk will be judged. A panel of judges will evaluate each decorated property based on the following criteria: Theme & Creativity, Originality, Lighting, and Full use of space. Three top winners will be announced on December 21. Each will be presented with a certificate of honor and will have their pick of prizes, which so far include:
A year of wellness with Debra Mazda of ShapelyGirl Fitness
A lovely tray of holiday cookies from Cosmi’s Pastries
A massage or facial at All About You Day Spa
12 weeks of free home composting service courtesy of Bennett Compost

To enter, download the official registration form or send your name, address, phone number, and email address to lomophilly@gmail.com by 5 PM, Monday, December 7. Please also indicate whether or not we have permission to publish a photograph of your entry. On the night of judging, participants must present the judges with an “entry fee” of either 2 canned goods which will be donated to a local food cupboard or a $5 donation to support LoMo programs & events.

A fun Street Furniture Survey?

No, we’re not talking about that kind of street furniture.

 

 

 We’re talking about this kind of street furniture.

By the end of the year the City will issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) to provide, maintain and sell advertising for bus shelters in Philadelphia. The RFP will also invite proposals for additional pieces of street furniture. Street furniture is the collective term referring to objects and pieces of equipment installed on streets and sidewalks that are intended for public use. Transit/bus shelters and newspaper boxes are examples of street furniture currently in use in Philadelphia.

Give the City your two cents and let them know what types of street furniture you would and wouldn’t like to see on our streets. Your opinion counts! Click here to take the quick & actually pretty fun survey, the results of which will be taken into consideration by the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities.

Philly Fall Leaf Drive

From November 9-December 18, the City of Philadelphia will be accepting leaves along with other recyclables as part of a citywide effort to compost these natural resources!  You can set out your leaves with your other recyclables on your regular trash night but be sure to put your leaves in brown paper leaf bags, which are available at most home improvement stores. Please note: Leaves in plastic bags will NOT be collected. You may use as many bags as necessary, up to 40 lbs. each. Be sure not to mix trash or other recyclables with the leaves, as these materials will not turn into compost.

The City will be making the compost available to residents at the Fairmount Park Recycling Center, which is located at 3850 Ford Road. In addition to compost, the other materials available for pick up/purchase at the Fairmount Park Recycling Center are wood chips, shredded wood mulch and herbivore manure. Up to 30 gallons are available free of charge but for additional amounts, click here for rates and hours of availability. Throughout the rest of the year, residents are invited to bring leaves, grass clippings, wood chips, brush and herbivore manure to support the City’s composting & recycling efforts.

SEPTA to issue refunds for unused passes during strike

SEPTA is offering credits for unused/un-punched November 2009 Monthly TransPasses and weekly TransPasses valid during the week of November 2, 2009. Customers can receive the credit at any sales location, preferably from the location where the pass was originally purchased. Customers receiving passes through Employer Programs or through Pre-Tax mechanisms, should visit SEPTA’s website or call 215-580-7800 for further instructions on how to obtain a refund.

Giving thanks and looking ahead

At  our last general meeting of the year on November 4, we were joined by some very special guests – Senator Farnese and his aid, Bob Theil, as well as Tim Bennett of Bennett Composting. At the end of the meeting, we had a chance to think back on all the good things that happened in the neighborhood in 2009 and also to share our hopes for 2010. Here were some of the responses:

“We were thankful for the Mischief Night Party… We’re new to the neighborhood and this gave us the opportunity to meet some great people. We are also thankful for our new tree, coming November 21! We hope to make new friends and get involved in the civic association [in 2010].“

“I was thankful for the opportunity to meet the Mayor during our Philly Spring Cleanup event in April 2009.”

“Late on Mischief Night, a car drove up next door and I heard eggs being thrown. By the time I got to the door, three other neighbors were outside their doors, too. The car sped off. A safe neighborhood is not one where nothing happens, but one that when something happens, people are there to respond. [In 2010], I’d love to see less trash, people not throwing trash (dog poop bags) down the sewer.”

“[In 2010, I'd like to see] more composting!”

“[I am thankful for] the increasing number of new young neighbors who are really involved in improving the neighborhood, enthusiastic, and fun! Welcome! [In 2010, I'd like to see] more trees, less litter; more planters, fewer drugs; more flowers, less poop; more safety, less crime; more collaboration, less graffiti.”

What in the neighborhood would you like to give thanks for in 2009? What are your hopes for the neighborhood for 2010? Please feel free to share your thoughts below!

Is your home ready for winter weather?

LoMo is delighted to welcome back Barbara McDuffie from the Energy Coordinating Agency (ECA) who will present a FREE workshop on home energy conservation on Wednesday, November 11, at 6:30 PM in the Methodist Hospital’s Morgan Conference Room (2301 S. Broad St., basement level).

Barbara will demonstrate how to install weatherization materials and the first 60 people to pre-register will receive a FREE weatherization kit to take home! Information on new state programs and referrals to existing conservation and assistance programs will also be available.

Pre-registration is required for this event, as space is limited. Send an email to lomophilly@gmail.com to get your name on the list. This workshop is open to all South Philadelphia residents. Special thanks to the Methodist Hospital for allowing us the use of their venue.

Eat pie for a good cause!

This year marks the 13th anniversary of MANNA’s Pie in the Sky fundraiser. Help celebrate a baker’s dozen of delicious years by purchasing gourmet pies to support MANNA’s mission: to deliver delicious, nourishing meals, along with counsel and hope, to people at acute nutritional risk from life-threatening illnesses.

Take your pick from 5 delicious flavors: apple crumb, pumpkin, southern pecan, sweet potato, and the chocolate cheesecake. All pies are 10″ in diameter and come in a quality gift box.  Pies are baked locally by Sweet Lilly’s Heavenly Desserts.

You can order your pies online at www.mannapies.org, or stop by our local JimmyStyle, a fabulous local boutique located at 1820 East Passyunk Avenue, to place your order. 

Pies will be available at pick-up sites on Tuesday, November 24, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. Our local pick-up location, JimmyStyle, will from 3 PM- 8 PM that day for pick-up.

To learn more about MANNA, visit www.mannapa.org  and to contact our local official Pie Seller & Pie Pick-Up location, JimmyStyle, call 267-239-0598 or email jimmy@shopjimmystyle.com.

Report Graffiti Online. Get Results.

The City of Philadelphia has a great Anti-Graffiti Network that responds promptly to requests they receive to remove graffiti.

• Did you know that you don’t have to be the property owner of a graffitied property in order to request that it be removed?
• Did you know that you can report graffiti online, completely anonymously, and that it can be removed in just a few days?

Take down all of the important details regarding the graffiti: Address of the graffitied property, type of surface it is on (brick, concrete, street sign, wood, etc.), what color paint the surface is (if applicable). Then visit www.phila.gov/antigraffiti/removalform.html and provide the info requested. 

Thanks for helping to keep our neighborhood graffiti-free!

Check out the Neighborhood Safety section of our website for more helpful links to report abandoned vehicles, sanitation violations, etc.

Our next tree planting & the next Tree Tenders course

SAVE THE DATE! LoMo’s fall 2009 tree planting will take place the morning of Saturday, November 21. Registration will begin at 8 AM at South Philly High School (Broad & Snyder). This will be our biggest planting yet with 21 new trees coming to the neighborhood  and we need YOUR help to make it happen! We’ll be joining up with other South Philly civics for a combined tree planting this year which means that our greening efforts will be amplified – over 150 trees will be introduced throughout South Philly on the day of the planting!

You’re also invited to bring along a canned good to support local Boy Scout Troop 147’s Thanksgiving Food Drive. The Scouts will be on hand the morning of our tree planting to collect your donations.

With the number of trees in our neighborhood growing, LoMo is actively trying to recruit folks to join the ranks of its Tree Tenders group, which is composed of people who are dedicated to caring for our neighborhood’s trees.  These folks have completed the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Tree Tenders training course. This free & fun educational series will teach you all you need to know to plant, care, and maintain trees in the urban environment. The next course is coming up in January and will take place over two Saturdays – You can register online here or by calling 215-988-8844. Be sure to tell them that you are a member of the Lower Moyamensing Civic Association’s Tree Tenders group!

Please Take a Moment for Fire Prevention

In light of the recent tragedy on the 2400 block of S. Warnock Street, LoMo is urging all residents to take a moment and test the batteries in your home’s smoke detectors. If you don’t currently have one installed or are in need of a new set of batteries, don’t delay! Purchase them today! Anyone who does not have a smoke alarm and cannot afford one should call the SMOKE DETECTOR REQUEST LINE at 215-686-1382.
 
The Fire Department also offers a “Remembering When” fire and fall prevention training program for senior citizens located at local senior centers and or churches. For more information contact the Philadelphia Fire Prevention Division at 215-686-1382. Be a good neighbor – Take a moment to ask your elderly neighbors if they are in need of a smoke detector. It could save a life.

We will be joined at our next general meeting on Wednesday, October 7, by Capt. Mike Goodwin of local Engine 49 who will give a brief presentation on fire safety and answer any questions on the topic. All are welcome to attend. We commend local Engine 49 for their valiant efforts.

We also would like to take this opportunity to thank Councilman Frank DiCicco who, along with Councilwoman Anna Verna, helped to prevent the shutdown of late-night medic hours of our local Medic 11, housed at Engine 49.

Residents can obtain additional fire safety and education information at www.phila.gov/fire.

City Service Updates: Weekly Recycling and 3-1-1

 WEEKLY RECYCLING has arrived in our neighborhood! Continue to put out your recyclables on the same day that you would put out your trash– The only difference is that now you can do so EVERY week! To find out what your trash day is, what to recycle, or for more information about recycling in general, visit our Beautification page. To request a FREE blue recycling bin for your household, email lomophilly@yahoo.com .

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311 is the only number Philadelphians need to find out information or to access a Philadelphia City service. 311 can be reached via the telephone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year or via the walk-in centered located in Room 167 of City Hall during normal business hours. 311 is a free service available to anyone who needs to know more about Philadelphia, City services, or general information. 911 is still the number to use in case of emergency.

Success at Southern!

Our Philly Spring Cleanup at Southern High School on Saturday, April 4, was a resounding success! What an inpiring day it was — Over 75 volunteers from across the city came out to our local high school to plant 14 trees, give a fresh coat of paint to the old wrought iron fence line that stretches from Snyder Avenue to Jackson Street and also pick up a lot of litter from school grounds and along Snyder Avenue. Mayor Michael Nutter stopped by in the afternoon to plant our last tree with us and say a few words, and we even were featured on Channel 6 News, KYW News Radio and the front page of the South Philly Review!

It takes a village to pull off an event of this size and we received a lot of help from many different people and organizations. We are incredibly grateful for all of the support we received from our local businesses! Special thanks goes out to City Pizza (Front & Snyder), Cosmi’s Bakery, Nuts About You, ShopRite, Stadium Pizza, Starbucks and Steak ‘Em Up for their generous donations, and also to City Year for coming out in force on the day of the event.  We couldn’t have done it without you! We are also thankful for the support of the 4th Police District and local Engine 49, who came out to water in the new trees at the end of the day. The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and the state-sponsored TreeVitalize program provided the trees, thanks to a generous donation from Feeney’s Nursery, and Mindy Maslin and Mike Hardy of the PHS Tree Tenders program provided expert guidance to our tree-planters on the day of the event. Fairmount Park delivered a big load of mulch for us and also lent us tools, as did UC Green! And last but not least, LoMo would like to send out a big THANK YOU! to the Philadelphia Streets Department, the Office of the Managing Director and the Mayor’s Office for organizing a tremendous event! We are already looking forward to participating in the 3rd Annual Philly Spring Cleanup!

Click on the thumbnails below to check out our photos from the event. 

   

 

Mo’ LoMo on Facebook

Now you can keep in touch with LoMo and meet new neighborhood folks on Facebook! Check us out at www.facebook.com/lomoca and send us a friend request. We promise we won’t give you the cold shoulder! We’ll be posting upcoming meetings and events on the calendar and we recently uploaded a bunch of historic photos from the neighborhood. Be sure to check them out!

Pedestrians and bicyclists: Your input is needed!

The Philadelphia Planning Commission is working on a plan to find ways to make it easier, safer and more appealing to walk and bike around the City. The study area includes Center City, North, South and Northwest Philadelphia. Your input is critical to help develop a plan that addresses the needs of people on foot and on bike in neighborhoods across the study area. Please click here for more information on the study and for the link to the brief survey.

And while you’re at it, visit www.zoningmatters.org and click on the survey link on the lower right side of the page to give the Philadelphia Zoning Code Commission some feedback on the current zoning code process!

EXCITING NEWS! The City of Philadelphia and the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia have teamed up to introduce a new “Bicycle Ambassador” program, which aims to make bicycling safer and more enjoyable in our fair city. For more information, visit: http://www.bicyclecoalition.org/resources/ambassadors.

Where to find the freshest food

Our local Fountain Farmers Market, located by the singing fountain at Passyunk & Tasker and organized by the Farm to City program and East Passyunk Avenue Business District, is open for the season! You’ll find an incredible selection of fresh produce, honey and other delicious homemade goods every Wednesday from 3 to 7 PM beginning May 20 thru mid-October. Many restaurants and shops along the Avenue will offer special discounts on Farmers Market Wednesdays and remain open until 10 PM. All the more reason to stay and stroll along the Avenue! To sign up for a preview of what will be offered at each week’s Farmers Market and for special offers from participating Avenue merchants, click here.

Did you procrastinate and miss the deadline for signing up for a CSA share this year? Well, you’re in luck! Wimer’s Organics CSA, with a convenient local pick-up location near 13th & Passyunk, still has shares available. For more information, visit the Farm to City website or email ivonne@farmtocity.org.

Trash Night Tips

Are your recyclables creating litter? Here are a few tips to keep those items in the bin overnight and off of our sidewalks, courtesy of our friends from the Queen Village Neighbors Association:

1. Squash those cans! Both plastic and aluminum cans can be compacted with either squeezing or  the trusty foot-stomp method. Not only are they less likely to blow away that way, but you’ll also be able to fit more recyclables in your bin.

2. Don’t top off! Creating a pyramid of plastics, glass and cans above the rim is a recipe for a sidewalk mess.

3. Don’t overstuff! Brown grocery store bags may be handy for setting out your paper items, but there is a definite splitting point, which often occurs on the sidewalk. And if there’s a chance of rain that night, your paper bag will turn to pulp and you’ll be left to clean up a soggy mess the next morning.

4. Put lightweight paper underneath heavier recyclables to prevent them from escaping. Those receipts and scraps of paper have a way of being taken down the block with a strong gust of wind. 

5. Use a plastic bin or pail or any kind– not thin plastic grocery bags. If you need a recycling bin, contact us at lomophilly@yahoo.com.

6. Consider the weather: On windy days, be creative in finding ways to secure paper and plastics. Putting glass bottles in a cardboard box is not ideal on a dry day and can be even worse on rainy days.

Do plastic bags have a future in Philly?

UPDATE: Legislation introducing a plastic bag fee was unable to move through Council due to concerns about its affects on low-income shoppers. On June 10, Council’s Committee on the Environment voted unanimously to endorse a ban on plastic bags starting in 2011, however not enough members of Council supported the initiative when it was taken a full Council vote and the bill was voted down on June 18. 

Philadelphia isn’t the only city grappling with this issue. Cities across the world, including San Francisco, Bombay, as well as the nations of Australia, Ireland, Italy, South Africa, and Taiwan have either banned or taken action to discourage the use of the ubiquitous plastic bag, which many believe to have serious environmental consequences, as well as constitute a serious waste of environmental resources.

Biketopia!

We were honored to have Sarah Clark Stuart of the Greater Philadelphia Bicycle Coalition join us for our June 17 general meeting at the Fumo Library. The take home message: YOU can help create a Biketopia, right here in Philadelphia!

Here  are a few immediate ways to take action:

• Become a member of the Bicycle Coalition!
• Sign the online petition to complete the Schuylkill River Trail.
• Support the initiative to “Take Back MLK Drive,” which began in response to a near-fatal car crash involving a father and his 4-year old son who were struck by an automobile while bicycling on MLK Drive (aka West River Drive) on May 21 of this year. Sign the online letter to Mayor Nutter to express your desire to make this roadway safe for all users.
• Bike Freedom Valley on Father’s Day, or participate in any of the other annual events organized by the Bicycle Coalition, like Biketoberfest!
• Educate yourself! Get a bike map and learn the rules of the road. LoMo is looking into hosting a presentation in our neighborhood by one of the Bicycle Ambassadors. 

* Special thanks to our local Cara Cakes for sweetening up the evening with her amazing strawberry lemonade cupcakes! If you’re looking for baked delights for your next special occasion, look no further! This girl’s got skillz.

Bored and broke?

Well, lucky for you there’s a variety of fun & free events happening all over the city this summer!

The “Summer in the Neighborhood” events series takes place in public parks across the city all summer long, so grab a lawn chair and get out there! Click on the image to the left for dates and locations. Local participating parks include Dickinson Square (4th & Tasker), Gold Star Park (near 7th & Wharton), Cianfrani Park (7th & Fitzwater), and Schuylkill Banks (Schuylkill River path by Walnut Street).

And every last Sunday of the month, from 1 PM until sundown, the Passyunk Avenue Fountain (located at 11th & Passyunk/Tasker) is the place to be when area djs spin for your listening pleasure! The P’Yunk Business Improvement District says, “Bring your hula hoops, jump ropes, hackysacks, and sidewalk chalk.” Loiter ’til your heart’s content… or at least until sundown.

Don’t forget about the Philly Fun Guide’s weekly Funsaver discounts — Receive discounts to theater, music & dance performances, museum exhibits, comedy shows and sporting events. Offers are delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday and are available only to Funsavers subscribers. Click on the link above to register.

Got Compost?

Are you already composting, or interested in starting? Well, Philly Compost has embarked upon a project to create a map of all composters in the city. The map not only shows where compost is already happening, but is meant as a resource for those searching for a nearby place to deposit food scraps and other biodegradable materials. Their website also provides tips and links to online resources to help you on your way to start reducing your household waste stream. Everything you’ll need to start composting is right there at your fingertips!

If you are a LoMo composter, get on the map! Individual households in our neighborhood that have backyard composting bins or even vermiculture kits are encouraged to participate in the mapping project order to help quantify the combined effects of our efforts. Not only does compost provide soil with nutrients that can be reincorporated into your garden, but the act of composting also helps to reduce carbon and methane emissions in our region.

We are currently working on creating a LoMo community composting site that will be open to the public, but for now there is a private site in our neighborhood that is able to accept your compostable materials on a limited basis. Email lomophilly@gmail.com to make arrangements. If you are already composting and are willing and able to accept compost from other households in our neighborhood, please let us know! Drop us an email and we’ll be happy to help get the word out to other LoMo members, and be sure to get your site on the Philly Compost map.

Happy composting!

Before you contract a contractor…

Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett has announced that consumers can now contact the Attorney General’s Office to check on the registration status of any home improvement contractor in Pennsylvania by visiting http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/hiccon.aspx?id=4502 or by calling 1-888-520-6680. The Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, which requires all contractors who perform $5,000 or more in home improvements in a year to register with the attorney general’s office, went into effect July 1. The intent of the act is to protect consumers from unscrupulous contractors, to provide new protection for consumers who hire home improvement contractors and to authorize criminal penalties for home improvement fraud.

Checking with the Attorney General’s office to see if a contractor is registered is important for a few reasons:

• It shows that the contractor is complying with the law.
• It shows the contractor’s insurance information. 
• It shows whether or not a contractor has a criminal record or if there were any civil judgments (including bankruptcy) against them.

The new web site includes information for each registered contractor, including:

• Contact and insurance information;
• A description of the company;
• Information on any prior home improvement businesses;
• Names of anyone with an interest in the business;
• Any contractor licenses;
• Bankruptcy, criminal plea and conviction history;
• A map showing where the business is located;

Along with checking with the Attorney General’s office when choosing a home improvement contractor, consumers should also contact the Better Business Bureau, check the contractors’ references and obtain multiple estimates – the Attorney General’s office is not endorsing any particular contractor’s quality of work or honesty.

SEPTA’s gone Google

On July 1, officials announced that schedules and routes for all SEPTA trains and trolleys will be synchronized with the web-based trip-planning program Google Transit. On the Google Transit Web site, part of the larger Google Maps program, users can now enter a starting point and destination in the Philadelphia region – keywords like Independence Hall, Lincoln Financial Field, or even exact addresses – and Google will display a SEPTA route. Google Transit’s goal is to encourage travelers to learn their options before getting into a car, said Google spokesman Sean Carlson.

It’s easy– Visit www.google.com/transit then enter your starting location and destination. I tried out “Fumo Family Library, Philadelphia” and chose “City Hall, Philadelphia” as my destination. You can indicate the exact time you’ll be traveling, as well. Google computed, then I was asked to further refine my destination by chosing from a list of options provided. (This may or may not happen to you during your search.) Then, voila! A great set of directions and Google even provided a link at the end of the page to the SEPTA website, in case I had any questions about my fare.

Currently, only subway and regional rail routes have been incorporated into the online system. SEPTA officials predict that the system’s bus routes will be searchable by the end of the year.

Philadelphia is one of over 400 cities that now have their transit systems synched with Google Transit. Miami, Portland, Ore., Chicago, Baltimore, New York, and Pittsburgh are all on board, which means that users can plan their multi-city public transportation trips using the system. Don’t worry, you can ask Google Transit for walking and driving directions, too.

And to further its technological advances, SEPTA will launch a new Twitter account on July 10, which will enable travelers to “follow” SEPTA’s travel alerts and other announcements.

Yes, SEPTA, we are getting there.

Tired of tires?

Throughout the year, residents may bring up to 2 tires at a time to our local Streets Department Citizen Drop-Off Center at 3033 S. 63rd Street, near Passyunk Avenue, along with discarded computers, televisions, and appliances. Also, please note that the amount of trash bags put out on your curb on trash night should not exceed (4) – 32-gallon receptacles or (8) – 30″x 37″ bags. Anything in excess of this amount should be brought to our local Citizen Drop-Off Center. Compactable furniture, such as, sofas, mattresses, etc. can be left for collection at curbside, up to two items per week. For more information on Streets Department curbside collection policies, visit: http://www.phila.gov/streets/Sanitation_FAQ.html, or call 215-685-4290.

Our neighborhood’s past, through the lens of Peter Capano

New Wilmington Art Association and Adaptation present “All For One” photography exhibit by Philadelphia artist Peter Capano
September 4-17
Opening reception: September 4, 6-9pm
Closing reception: September 17, 6-9pm
4 West 5th Street, Wilmington, DE
To view the exhibition by appointment, call 302-312-5493.

 
 
To view more images from the show online, visit http://adaptationart.wordpress.com/.

Stiff Penalties for Curfew Violators & Their Parents

Call 9-1-1 to report curfew violators or file an online report at http://www.ppdonline.org/rpts/.

POP QUIZ: What watershed does LoMo belong to?

A: The Delaware Direct Watershed. 

Philadelphia Water Department staffer, Joanne Dahme, joined us during our Sept. 2 General Meeting to give us the inside scoop on how our City’s sewer system works, how her department is working to comply with the EPA’s Clean Water Act, and how we can all help improve the health of our watershed.

PWD’s “Green Cities – Clean Waters” initiative is a multi-tied, long-term plan that is broadly focused on improving the environment of the Philadelphia area. One goal of the new program is to reduce the amount of stormwater runoff from the City’s built environment. Did you know that during periods of intense rain in Philadelphia, rainwater gets mixed in with sewage, which then gets emptied into our streams and rivers? Imagine the damage this causes to fish and other creatures who call our bodies of water home! By reducing the amount of “hard,” impervious surfaces (i.e. concrete & asphalt) throughout Philadelphia and creating greener streetscapes, rain will be diverted from our over-burdened sewer system and will instead follow a more “natural” cycle. LoMo will be working with PWD to select areas within our boundaries that will be considered for participation in the “Green Streets Program.” If you have a suggestion for a particular block of section of our neighborhood that should be added to the list, please let us know!

Rain barrels are another way to divert rainwater from our sewers and repurpose it in useful ways, like watering your garden or washing your car. The Water Department has, to date, given away over 1,500 rain barrels which they estimate have kept 5,187,456 gallons of water a year out of our sewers and waterways. Pretty impressive! LoMo co-sponsored a rain barrel workshop with EPX on August 22 and over 40 neighborhood residents took home a free rain barrel. We hope to offer another rain barrel workshop in the future so that more LoMo residents can take advantage of this program and start making a difference in the health of our watershed. Interested in buying your own rain barrel? Check out more info on the model offered by the Water Department here.

And last, but not, least, the Water Department is encouraging residents to participate in the TreeVitalize program and plant a tree in front of their property as another means of diverting stormwater from our sewers. Street tree pits capture the flow of stormwater, letting it soak back into the soil naturally and nourish the tree planted there. Trees, in turn, provide shode, improve air quality, absorb noise, and beautify neighborhoods. LoMo will be organizing its third tree planting this fall – Details TBA soon! – so please come out and support this important neighborhood effort!
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Check out another local blogger’s post about our recent meetings with the Water Department here.

Lessons Gleaned from City Biking 101

Special thanks to the Greater Philadelphia Bicycle Coalition for dispatching two of their Bicycle Ambassadors down to our neck of the woods for the Sept. 9 “City Biking 101″ workshop, and thanks also to our local library for use of their waterproof venue! Participants took home a head full of tips and helpful info, including the fact that it is REQUIRED BY LAW that bicyclists use a red light on the back of their bike and a white light on the front during evening hours. Strange, though, that it isn’t required by law that bicyclists wear helmets, but don’t let that stop you from using one!

For other helpful tips, including how to properly adjust your helmet and lock you bike the right way, check out the Bicycle Coalition’s list of handy links: http://www.bicyclecoalition.org/resources/materials. And check out one local blogger’s account of the workshop here.

All too familiar a sight?

Here’s how to report a tagged mailbox to the U.S. Postal Service:

1) Go to www.usps.com

2) Click on “Customer Service” in the top right hand corner.

3) Click on “Email us,” enter zip code.

4) Select “Problem” from the drop down menu, then “Customer Service,” then “Support,” then “Vandalism/Theft Problem,” then click “Continue.”

5) When asked “Where Did This Problem Occur,” select “Collection Box” then provide information about the location of the tagged box.

The little garden that did!

Our lovely little Gas Station Garden at 11th & Snyder has been awarded an HONORABLE MENTION in this year’s PHS City Gardens Contest! Launched in 1975, the contest now receives over 300 entries with teams of volunteer judges visiting each site during the months of July and August. We have been invited to an Awards Reception during the 2010 Flower Show and will receive a Pennsylvania Horticultural Society certificate for our participation. We competed in the community gardens category and we are incredibly pleased to have been recognized for our efforts! This is a great honor for our young garden – it turned just 1 this summer – and the best is still yet to come. Look out, 2010 City Gardens Contest!

The garden was visited by the City Gardens Contest judges (pictured above) on Thursday, July 9, when several community members happened upon the judges and stopped to tell them just how much the garden means to the neighborhood. We found out a few weeks later that our garden made to the final round of judging and it was visited a second time on August 8.

Many thanks to all of the dedicated LoMo members who have pitched in over the course of this year and last to get the garden going and keep it hydrated and happy during the hot & dry summer months. We couldn’t have done it without you!