Poor Wissinoming. When it’s not getting mistaken for Frankford, it may as well not even exist to the mainstream media.

When a store owner in Wissinoming fought off an armed robber last week, the media swept in with the cameras. They just weren’t sure where exactly they were sweeping in. continue reading »

Q: My house is currently for sale in Torresdale. Will the new city tax increase for the public schools dissuade buyers from looking for a home in Philadelphia and make it harder for me to sell my house?

A: There are people making an argument that the tax increase will hurt home sales. Another argument is it could drive prices down. But it will probably be hard to tell with the high amount of homes for sale in this market right now and the spring homebuyer market ending. continue reading »

Maggie's Waterfront Cafe owner Kevin Goodchild addresses the East Torresdale Civic Association. Photo by Danny Donnelly.

Since 1935, 9242 N. Delaware Ave. has housed several bars and restaurants. For the past three years; however, this address has been housing several concerns for the neighbors of  East Torresdale’s Pleasant Hill pocket.

Individuals present at Monday’s East Torresdale Civic Association meeting placed Maggie’s Waterfront Café, at the top of their list of issues facing the neighborhood.

John Swiker lives five blocks away from Maggie’s and says the dispute has been going on since he began attending the civic association’s meetings last year.

“It’s a quality of life thing. People don’t mind the bar, in actuality. I go to this bar. It’s the events that are going on,” he said. “The music is going too loud too long. If they kept it inside it wouldn’t be a problem. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.”

Current owner Kevin Goodchild purchased the building where Maggie’s now stands in 2008. Goodchild said he initially envisioned his business to be a small indoor restaurant and bar for local residents. continue reading »

Friday – A water main break early Friday evening rerouted traffic from the busy Bustleton Avenue/Red Lion Road intersection. A 12-inch main burst around 7:30 p.m. The Philadelphia Water Department said only three customers lost service. Repairs began Saturday. continue reading »

An early evening crash in Torresdale took the life of a motorcycle driver. A 40-year-old man was riding through the neighborhood Tuesday night and lost control on the 3900-block of Stevenson Lane. He was transported to nearby Aria Health-Torresdale around  7 p.m., where he was pronounced dead. He was not wearing a helmet.

This is the second in a three-part series covering the 6th District Council race. You can read Part 1 here.

UPDATE: On April 18, Mayor Michael Nutter and outgoing 6th District Councilwoman Joan Krajewski endorsed Bednarek.

As the City Council primary elections creep closer and closer, candidates for the Northeast’s 6th District are in full campaign mode.

For the first time in more than 30 years, Joan Krajewski will not be continuing her reign as the voice of the 6th District of Philadelphia, leaving her seat open to a new leader of the district.

Krajewski, who is known as the “Queen of Constituent Service,” flirted with retirement a few years ago. In 2007, she retired for 24 hours after she was re-elected, in order to collect her $297,466 DROP retirement payment. She returned the next day to begin her eighth term.

This time; however, she is serious about retiring.

As Krajewski finishes up her final months in office, three new candidates have been busy walking through neighborhoods, speaking to residents and expressing their ideas of change for the community. The three candidates for the 6th District position are Bobby Henon, Sandy Stewart and Marty Bednarek continue reading »

Police caught one of three suspects who stole a cash register from a Torresdale Wawa early Wednesday morning. Three suspects ripped the register from the counter and fled. continue reading »

Q: Some of the real estate agents who come show my home up for sale in Torresdale do not turn off the lights and/or do not leave their business cards. I have complained to my real estate agent about their laziness but she said she can’t do anything about it. Can I ban certain agents from showing it? Just these lazy ones?

A: Not every real estate agent showing and selling homes knows the business well and I won’t defend that type of agent. But there is a possibility here that one, or some, of the agents who have shown your home actually do know what they’re doing but may simply not have remembered to shut off lights. Especially if lights were on when they got there. It’s a possibility you can’t afford to discount.

continue reading »

Friday — The man police believe is responsible for several 7-Eleven robberies since Sept. 2009 made an appearance Friday at a Tacony 7-Eleven. But instead of robbing it again, he offered the clerk a wad of cash and apologized for taking the money in the past. The suspect (between 21 and 25 with short dark hair and a medium build), fled after the clerk told him to leave and pushed the police button. The suspect appeared to have track marks on his arm. continue reading »

Those pesky Upper Holmesburg flags. One minute they’re there, then a TV station comes along and they disappear. That must be what happened when NBC called Holmesburg Frankford in July. And the same thing happened to Action News Monday morning. continue reading »