It is difficult to sell the notion of God when times are bright and hopeful. People are extremely doubtful and question the validity of something which cannot be seen, felt or acknowledged. On the other hand, a good salesperson can pitch a deal for a car supported on the very fact that you can take a car for a ride, smell the new car smell, listen to all the bells and whistles and there are even times when the car literally sells itself.

God, on the other hand, is a mystery. So, a tragedy like Sandy Hook occurs and the message is, “Come to God and He will heal your aches and pains, especially the ones that strangle your heart strings and diminish any place for hope.” “Why?” Is the response that is bantered back and forth from every possible angle. Why would anyone believe in a God that allows such a traumatic event to occur? Why didn’t God enlighten someone to prevent this from happening? continue reading »

What could be worse than a TV news station reporting a shooting in Nicetown happened in Mayfair?

How ’bout rewriting the headline and the story to pretend the error never happened? continue reading »

Click to visit a larger version of the photo, taken by Joe Kaczmarek.

We knew Hurricane Irene would have an impact on the Northeast, only now are we started to get a better sense of what that impact was.

Above, photographer Joe Kaczmarek takes a shot of Northeast resident Hugh Owens, who just had his truck crushed at Solly and Castor. Find all of his work here, including a flooded Roosevelt Boulevard during Saturday night.

Sadly, though Owens was uninjured, as we reported this morning, a few people weren’t as lucky.

If you have photos, send them to info [at] neastphilly [dot] com, or use our Facebook or Twitter pages.

Below, we share some reader submitted videos and photos of Irene’s path.

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About a dozen protesters gathered Sunday outside St. Thomas Syro Malabar Catholic Church Sunday to oppose a zoning variance. Photo by Maureen Greene.

St. Thomas Syro Malabar Catholic Church at 608 Welsh Rd. has requested a zoning variance to allow them to rent their building to Tacony Academy Charter School for no less than two years.  There would be 150 kindergarten and first grade students housed there.  Since the School District does not bus kindergarteners, this would cause extreme traffic delays on a dangerous and congested stretch of Welsh Road.

Congregants packed a Greater Bustleton Civic League meeting to force the vote in their favor.  The Pastor admitted that they were looking for money for the mortgage and had only the hope of a flashing yellow light to potentially slow down traffic as any attempt to address the extreme safety concerns of the neighbors, some of whom have had relatives and friends injured or killed along that stretch of road.  The need for left hand turns into the narrow and nearly hidden driveway will create a major hazard. continue reading »

Champ had a big week. He recently graduated PetSmart’s dog school, and he’s looking pretty happy about it. Here’s hoping his diploma is edible.

If you can’t get enough pets, be sure to check out our Pet of the Week series. You can send us your own birthday, wedding and pet announcements and photos to info AT neastphilly DOT com.

-Photo submitted by Seth Kaplan

Snow looking stately in Tacony, by Lou Iatarola

Enjoy more reader photos of the most recent snowfall in our slideshow, including shots by Tacony historian Lou Iatarola and Bucks County’s Gail Elias.

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Marsden Street near Devereaux Avenue, by Melissa Mersereau Sanchez

Reader Melissa Mersereau Sanchez sent us these snow photos from her neighborhood. You can email yours to info AT neastphilly.com or upload them to Facebook.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

With Pennypack Park’s summer concert series in full swing, Northeast native Mike LeCompt played week three last Wednesday. Check out our calendar for the upcoming shows.

Thanks to Mayfair resident Donny Smith for the photos. You can see them all in this slideshow.

Photo by Donny Smith

We received several dozen photos of the chaos at Frankford and Cottman Monday night in honor of the Flyers entrance into the Stanley Cup playoff. As promised, we’re not running any of the suggestive ones, but check out our slideshow to see the nearly 50 shots from the celebration. continue reading »

Hundreds of people packed Frankford Avenue May 15 for the May Fair. Photo by Donny Smith.

UPDATE (May 24, 1:40 p.m.) — New photos added to slideshow.

NEast Philly reader and proud Mayfair resident Donny Smith took some great photos at last weekend’s Fallen Heroes Run/May Fair/Community Day.

Hundreds of people came out, and more than $10,000 was raised for the Mayfair Memorial Playground and Hero Thrill Show. You can see all of Donny’s photos in this slideshow.