Saturday — A multi-vehicle car accident shut down a portion of northbound I-95 just between Cottman Avenue and Academy Road. As many as six cars were involved, and three people were hospitalized following the accident, which happened around 7:30 p.m.

A watermain break shut down portions of Cottman and Rising Sun avenues in Burholme yesterday. The 20-inch break, which occurred on the 7200-block of Oakley Street, was discovered around 5 a.m. Several thousand gallons of water poured into the street, though no one in the neighborhood lost water. The areas shut down were:

• Cottman Avenue between Oxford Avenue and Oakley Street
• Rising Sun Avenue between St. Vincent Street and Cottman Avenue

Marc Collazzo is “a civic by nature.”

That’s what the Republican candidate for State Representative in the 17oth District told Burholme residents last night.

Collazzo — a Bustleton native — told the more than 20 residents who attended the monthly Burholme Civic Association and Town Watch meeting “we live in rare times.”

What’s rare about it, he said, is the recent behavior by state and city governments to  support tax increases and “out of control spending.”

Collazzo, who attended Baldi Middle School and George Washington High School, told Burholme residents: “The most important thing you can ever do is help your neighborhood.” continue reading »

From Wesley Enhanced Living:

Wesley Enhanced Living, a nonprofit continuing care retirement community provider throughout Pennsylvania, recently announced the results of its “10 in 10 Challenge,” a three-month weight-loss program that encouraged its senior adult residents and staff members to shed pounds and live healthier lifestyles.

The program challenged participants to lose 10 pounds during the first three months of the year, and, served as a friendly competition among the WEL senior living communities. continue reading »

We’re excited to announce that, as part of our ongoing effort to reach out to individual neighborhoods, NEast Philly will hold a Town Hall meeting at this week’s monthly gathering of the Burholme Civic Association and Burholme Town Watch groups.

We’ll join Burholme residents during their regular monthly meeting, and take the floor to ask residents what they like and don’t like about where they live and what they want to see more of on NEast Philly. continue reading »

When Fraidel Phelps isn’t busy being a wife and mother of six, she’s making headlines as scholar in the state.

Phelps, 34, became a member of the 2010 All Pennsylvania Academic Team Friday, and also earned the title of national finalist in the 2010 Coca-Cola All-State Community College Academic Team program. continue reading »

Common Pleas Judge Chris Wogan addressing the Burholme Civic Association meeting on April 8, 2010.

Judge Chris Wogan says he has such a reputation for being tough on crime,  that once a defendant had a will drawn up, naming Wogan as the primary beneficiary in the hopes that a conflict of interest might force a change.

It didn’t work then, the Philadelphia Common Pleas judge says, and nothing has changed.

“They say I’m tough. I just think I’m fair,” Wogan, 60, told more than 60 residents at Thursday night’s Burholme Civic Association meeting. In a 20 minute address, Wogan railed against his perceived frustrations with the Philadelphia court system but said there is hope.

“Good people are working to fix the problems,” the 1968 Cardinal Dougherty High School alumnus said. “There is an optimism now that I didn’t see even a few years ago.”

continue reading »

Burholme residents take a peek at SEPTA's plans for Ryers Train Station.

If all goes according to plan, Ryers Train Station will have a whole new look come Spring 2012. Representatives from SEPTA attended last night’s meeting of the Burholme Civic Association and Town Watch seeking a zoning variance for signs that will accompany the renovated station.

Described as a project “worked on by SEPTA and the community,” the proposed plans include new platforms, and expanded parking lot and smaller amenities like a canopy, benches and heated wind screens. Problems with the bridge over Cottman Avenue will also be addressed, as many residents at last night’s meeting pointed out the concrete has started to fall apart. continue reading »

Q: We had our house in Burholme on the market for several months and we have had only four showings and no offers. Our real estate agent is blaming the market, but other people in the neighborhood have sold their homes. My husband wants to renew our contract with this agent because he knows him, but I want to find another agent. What can I do?

A: Did this agent even try to market your home? Can you find it on the Internet? Has he shared feedback with you from the four showings? It makes me wonder if he put any effort into it if he is blaming it on market conditions. Whatever his excuse, there’s no reason a house should not sell in any market. Every home just needs to be priced correctly in the market of the moment to sell. continue reading »

A Burholme man was taken to Albert Einstein Medical Center Monday night following what police are calling an “altercation.”

The 24-year-old man was transported to the hospital around 8 p.m. from a home on the 800-block of Princeton Street. He had on his what appeared to be cuts from a pistol whipping, but few other details have been release. Two other men fled the scene.

If you’re still holding on to that old brick-like cell phone for nostalgia’s sake, or letting your toddler play with your forgotten Motorola RAZR because the Fisher Price cell phones just don’t look real enough . . . stop.

Instead, donate your old cell phones to a good cause. continue reading »