Please join us on Wednesday, October 15, 6:30 PM at the Free Library of Philadelphia, Fumo Branch, 2437 S. Broad St., for our next General Membership meeting. A special guest from the City’s Recycling Dept. will be answering questions and distributing recycling bins, so come pick one up if you don’t already have one for your home!

Thanks to everyone who came out to help clean Snyder Avenue last Saturday! The Avenue hasn’t looked so clean in quite a while. Over 40 bags were collected– Special thanks to the Streets Department for arranging the pick-up. We made a call after the clean-up and the City came out again to pick up a charred mess of things from the sidewalk that we weren’t able to handle. Thanks again, Streets Dept.!

Our next cleanup event will be Saturday, October 18, at 10 AM. Prizes will be awarded for the best costumes– That’s right, come dressed in something zany! Our meeting spot for the clean-up will be the NE corner of Broad & Jackson Sts. As we did during the Philly Spring Cleanup in April, we will attempt to cover all of the major arteries in our boundaries, which means we’ll need all the help we can get! Please help spread the word and print out a flyer to post on your block.

October flyer — For distribution (.doc)

If you are able to support our clean-up effort through a donation of food or beverages or would like to donate a fun prize for our costume contest, please contact Kim at kmassare@gmail.com.

Thanks to the state-sponsored TreeVitalize program, nine lucky homes were selected last spring to receive free trees and now we need your help welcoming them to the neighborhood! LoMo’s very first tree planting will take place Sunday, November 16th, at 10:30 AM. Meeting place TBA. No prior tree planting experience necessary - Instruction (and tools) will be provided. Community service credit available for students. Contact Kim for more information: kmassare@gmail.com.

Fall TreeVitalize update: LoMo has applied for more trees (Thanks to everyone who sent in their applications before the deadline!) through the TreeVitalize program and is waiting to find out which properties were selected for planting next spring. We will be in touch when those details become available, probably in the next few months.

Missed the most recent TreeVitalize deadline? No worries! If you are a homeowner who is interested in having a tree planted in front of your property, contact Kim at kmassare@gmail.com.

Matt Reher , Internship Coordinator at Mastery Charter School, Spoke with our Civic Association at September’s Meeting.

Mastery requires students to engage in an 18-week internship in order to graduate.  Extensive training is done before the student sets foot into an internship situation.  Then, interns work, unpaid, on Wednesdays from 1-5.  Liability and transportation are covered by Mastery.  There are three sessions per year - December to April, January to June, and a summer intensive in July.

If you or somebody that you know has a small business that would like an intern, please contact Matt at 267-236-0036 or matt.reher@masterycharter.org.

Please download our Mastery Charter PDF.

National Night Out

Town Watch Integrated Services is holding its annual “National Night Out” on Monday, August 4.  Event will kick off at the Wal-Mart Parking lot from 6-9 PM and will include music, refreshments and prizes.  Fun for the whole family!

Locally, as part of National Night Out, we’re asking our members to help “Light Up the Streets” by keeping an outside light on all evening.  If you want to go an extra mile, sit outside with some friends for an hour or two.  Lights and people watching go a long way in preventing crime in any neighborhood.

Philadelphia Clean Energy Bus Tours

On Saturday, August 2nd the Sierra Club is hosting two clean energy bus tours in Philadelphia and Bucks County.  There will be local examples of clean energy solutions at work creating green jobs, slashing energy costs, and curbing global warming.

In Philadelphia the tour will highlight the Friends Center, Cusano Environmental Education Center, Project NEAT, Philly Car Share, and a Solar-Thermal Heating Demonstration.  We hope that you will be able to join us.

What: Philadelphia Clean Energy Bus Tour
When: Saturday, August 2nd
Time: 10:00am to 3:00pm
Where: Kick off at the Energy Coordinating Agency at 10:00am
            1924 Arch Street
            Return to the Energy Coordinating Agency at 2:00pm

Register for a seat on the bus at:
http://action.sierraclub.org/PhillyEnergyTour
(space limited to first 50 people)

Vegetable Vouchers

Starting July 14, 2008 Philadelphia Corporation for Aging(PCA) begun distributing Senior Farmers Market Nutrition  Program produce vouchers as part of an annual program to encourage seniors to include fresh fruits and vegetables in their diet.  Eligible seniors who live in Philadelphia can receive the $20.00 worth of vouchers for use at 30 designated Farmers’ Markets throughout the city.  The program also increases awareness of sources of fresh produce in local communities.
Philadelphian seniors age 60 and over by December 31, 2008, and who are income-eligible may receive the vouchers at PCA’s main office and other designated sites.  Proof of age and residence are required.
Income eligibility is based on total 2007 household income is as follows:
1.      person; $19,240
2.     people; $25,900
3.     people; $32,560
4.     people; $39,220
For a list of distributions sites, seniors can call the PCA Helpline at
215-765-9040.

The Lower Moyamensing Civic Association has endorsed the Next Great City coalition.  Find out more about it at www.nextgreatcity.com.

Lomo June News

A reminder to those attending our 9^th Street Cleanup on Sunday at 1 PM: wear sunscreen, and don’t over-exert yourself. With the heat index in triple digits, we need to be careful.

Contents:

-Police officer Block Party

-How to report Graffiti

-Todd’s one-car legislation

-Survive our Summer: Trash

-Calendar of Events

——-

A Block Party in the works!

Mike D’Imperio of the Lobster Club approached the group about a block party/benefit for Ofc. Liczbinski later in the summer. Several members wanted to broaden the theme to fallen officers of the 4^th District. Please add July 26 on your calendar, from 1-6 on the 1300 block of Porter Street.

We need your help! If you can donate bulk food or giveaway products, please let us know. If you’re in a string band and would like to perform, let us know. We also need help planning our event, as there are many details involved. We’d love to have you involved!

Contact Maureen: mcunningham@jmsonline.com

——-

Graffiti? What now?

Cleaning up graffiti as soon as it happens can reduce crime in a neighborhood.

Call the Graffiti Hotline: 215-686-0000

• Be prepared to tell the location
• Tell the type of surface (stone, brick, stucco, wood metal, etc.)
• If the surface needs to be painted over, note the color of paint needed
• If the surface is not painted, or looks like it can be powerwashed, mention that.

Finally, free paint and supplies for removing graffiti can be obtained through the above number as well!

——-

One Car Legislation

Todd Schwartz approached our group searching for support of one-car-per-household legislation as a means to cure South Philly’s parking problems, pollution, and dependence on foreign oil. Sound radical? It is! But it also bring up many good issues and new ways of thinking about whether we need to save that fifth SUV for our 10-year-old daughter’s 18^th birthday.

Talk to Todd with questions, comments and ideas: tschwart@hotmail.com

——-

Survive Our Summer

If Colleen could focus on just one of our summertime issues, it would be trash. Garbage in a neighborhood is not only unsightly, but it attracts crime. After all, if people can’t be bothered with sweeping, surely they can’t be bothered with reporting crime.

Let’s think of ways to combat garbage! Colleen wants to approach the city about placing a garbage can at every bus stop. Carter wants to institute an adopt-a-trashcan plan, in which residents buy public garbage cans and maintain them throughout the week (placed in front of abandoned properties or alleyways to avoid city ticketing, of course).

Do you have any ideas about garbage cans in our boundaries, what may make them work best, and how to avoid community dumping?

Contact Colleen: mcdonoughc@hotmail.com

——-

Calendar Of Events:

Sunday, June 8. 1:00 PM. 9^th STREET SWEEP-UP. Meet at 9^th and Snyder or 9^th and Oregon and work toward the middle. Let’s hope that it doesn’t rain this time!

Wednesday, June 11. 7:00 PM. Town Watch. Meet at Broad and Shunk, and walk Shunk and Porter Streets from Broad to 8^th and Back.

Wednesday, June 25. 8:30 PM. Town Watch. The neighborhood may seem a little different after dark. We’ll want a large group. 9^th and 8^th Streets, between Snyder and Oregon.

Saturday, July 28. 1:00 PM. Block Party Benefit. 13^th and Porter. Contact Maureen: mcunningham@jmsonline.com to help plan, or offer donations.

Our Next Meeting is at 6:30 PM Wednesday, September 4, 2008 at the Free Library, Fumo Branch.

Over 100 bags of garbage… three shopping carts… one tire.  We did an amazing thing on Saturday!  Congratulations, everybody, and thanks to all who participated!

Click on images for larger versions!

Many of you have expressed concern about the condition of the PECO substation at 13th and Oregon.  I’ve written the attached letter to PECO, and CC’ed Councilman DiCicco on the matter.  I’ll let you know the response.

April 5, 2008 Letter to PECO