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.

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Philadelphia’s recycling rate was just 4 percent three years ago. It’s now up to 20 percent, but representatives from RecyleNow say we could be doing better — like San Francisco’s 70 percent.

“Philly is a real together place, but we all it differently,” Maurice Sampson said of how the city works. Sampson is the chairman of RecycleNow, which has partnered with RecycleBank to help residents in the Northeast spread the word about recycling rewards. continue reading »

I usually use the space of this column to talk about the things I miss about Northeast that either I cannot get or does not exist in New Jersey, where I now live. However, as I write this in my parents’ house in the Northeast, I realize something that I miss, not necessarily geographically but from my childhood.

As I look out the window of my parents’ house the day after the most exciting holiday of the year, snow fills the street as it follows a perfect diagonal trajectory to the ground, making what some might consider a “white Christmas.” There is something missing though, to me at least.

Years ago, the snow used to have a soothing sort of reflection to it, aided by the soft glow of red-and-green or gleaming white icicle lights. However, as I look out my parents’ window, all I see is snow. No glow.

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The rain kept many folks away from last night’s monthly meeting of the Parkwood Civic Association, which now meets at Community College of Philadelphia.

With no highlighted speaker, the group got right to new business, which included quality-of-life issues like litter. The bulk of the discussion revolved around two topics: unhitched tractor trailers parked on the street and Junod playground. continue reading »

We were unable to attend Tuesday night’s meeting of the Parkwood Civic Association, but the board provided the following update: continue reading »

Friday — Sean Hagan, 17, was sentenced last week to 80 hours of community service. Hagan is better known by most as Red Man, the teenager who ran onto the field wearing a red bodysuit during a Phillies game last month. The Parkwood teen pleaded guilty to the charges and apologized. continue reading »

UPDATE (Oct. 7, 7:08 p.m.) — A sketch of the suspect has been released.

A Parkwood woman was found Tuesday after having been raped and robbed of three laptop computers $8,000 Tuesday.

According to reports, the woman answered her door on the 3200-block of Lester Road around 3:30 p.m. and was assaulted by a man with a gun. continue reading »

Image taken from video below.

The puker was from Jersey. But we lay claim to this one.

The 17-year-old who interrupted the Phillies-Braves game Monday is from Parkwood. Sean Hagan ran into the outfield at Citizens Bank Park at the bottom of the seventh dressed in a full red bodysuit. He managed to escape a couple security guards before Atlanta’s Matt Diaz tripped him (video below). continue reading »