Animal remains were discovered Friday (A) and a body was found Sunday (B) in two Northeast Philadelphia parks. Image/Google Maps

Police in the 8th District has a busy weekend tracking gruesome discoveries in two different parks.

Sunday, a body was found floating in the creek of Poquessing Valley Park in Parkwood. The body of the young Latino male was found around 1 p.m. off the 3500-block of Vinton Road. Authorities don’t believe the death is suspicious.  continue reading »

Authorities are trying to determine the cause of Monday's Genesee Drive fire. Photo/Ben Bergman

Three people, including two firefighters, were injured Monday in a midday blaze in the 3600-block of Genesee Drive.

Firefighters arrived shortly after 1:30 p.m. to find heavy smoke billowing from the second-story windows. The flames were under control in less than an hour, but not before three people were injured. continue reading »

 Q: Someone told me that the house down the street from mine in Parkwood was foreclosed on and for sale by the bank. I am not happy about the foreclosure, but I would love for my son to buy it. There is no for sale sign on the property, but I can tell it’s vacant. How can I find out if it is for sale?

A: It’s unfortunate to have a foreclosure in a neighborhood. But while it’s a drag on home values, the flip side is that it could be a deal for some lucky homebuyer. Many times there is a lapse between the time a home is officially foreclosed on and the time the bank lists it for sale. It could be months or even years, depending on the bank. continue reading »

Image/Change By Us

Parkwood resident Marge Philippi collects bandit signs from poles. Since 2006, she said at last night’s civic association meeting, she’s collected 8,000 of the illegal signs that say things like, we buy houses.

Fox Chase Town Watch does the same.

But do the two neighborhoods — a world away and a Boulevard apart — know about each others’ efforts? Could they work together.

The city hopes its new social network, Change By Us, can help bring residents from all over Philadelphia together by uniting them through similar issues and common causes. continue reading »

A pup gets groomed at Kristine Johnson's Parkwood-based grooming business. Photo from Kristine Johnson.

Kristine Johnson, a Parkwood resident, is no stranger to hard work. She currently works two jobs: one a sales job for Verizon in Exton and the other as a part-time dog groomer from a dog salon she currently runs from her house, Pampered Pups Grooming Salon.

“The goal is to get it so I can do this full-time and get a storefront somewhere,” she said.

When coming back from her day job, Johnson takes clients during the nights or the weekends, making for little free time. But she’s determined to build her client base and follow her dream.

“When I first started, I just told all of my friends. And they started telling all their friends and so on. Right now, I have about 60 clients. If I want to be doing this full-time I need about 500,” she said. ”I’ve always loved animals. I have two dogs and a cat [that] I own and I volunteer at Animal Control. I have two foster kittens from there that I’m working on getting homes for right now. I would always take my dogs to the groomers and think, ‘I’d really love to do this.’” continue reading »

State Rep. Denny O'Brien (center) announced bipartisan endorsements for his city council campaign from Democratic Reps. Brendan (left) and Kevin (right) Boyle.

State Rep. Denny O’Brien Friday announced bipartisan endorsement from Reps. Brendan and Kevin Boyle concerning his candidacy for City Council At-Large.

The announcement took place late afternoon at Poquessing Creek Park in the heart of Parkwood, which both Brendan Boyle and O’Brien represent. Supporters driving past the park honked in support of O’Brien, while others actually pulled over to shake his hand.

“I am proud to stand here,” said Brendan Boyle during the announcement. “O’Brien is one the finest people in public service.”

Both Boyles acknowledged the rarity of bipartisan support, but made it clear their endorsement was about the candidate, not the political party. continue reading »

There are two cleanups this weekend in the Northeast, so if you live in Parkwood or Lexington Park, grab some equipment and help out your neighbors. continue reading »

I find that many of these columns either start or focus around me comparing the Northeast to where I live now. When I pull myself back from what I have written, it always kind of makes me laugh because, although I completely agree with every word in front of me, I really do like where I live now and can see myself being up here in northern New Jersey for a long time.

That being said, there are a few obstacles I constantly run into that I would never come across if I still lived in the Northeast. continue reading »

(L to R) 2nd Place Jamie Wurtenberg of St Albert the Great, 1st Place Adrain Toledo of St Jerome and 3rd Place Kerrianne Mullen of St Anselm took home Spelling Bee trophies. Photo by Archbishop Ryan HS.

Archbishop Ryan High School is proud to announce the results of the 7th Annual Invitational Spelling Bee. Held on Saturday April 2, at Ryan, 76 seventh grade students from 20 grade schools participated. The spelling bee went 17 rounds and equilateral was the winning word. The participants will be the high school class of 2016. continue reading »

Q: I found a house for a really good price in Parkwood so I put a full price offer in but my agent told me I didn’t get it. I couldn’t believe it when he told me the seller took another offer for less money because it was a cash offer. Why would someone take cash over a mortgage? What’s the difference? Money is money. They walk away with a check either way. It’s all the same!

A: Money is money whether it comes from a cash buyer or a mortgage lender. (That is to say, if the seller doesn’t owe all of the proceeds to their own mortgage company). And many times sellers will go with the higher offer. Sometimes; however, there may be other factors influencing the seller’s decision.

continue reading »