MONDAY JAN 18 is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - a day of remembrance and community service. It is also a City holiday. City offices and the Free Library are closed, and trash/recycling pickup will be delayed one day all week.
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You know the mantra:
- stay indoors as much as possible.
- wear a mask when outside (it's mandatory) and practice social distancing
- wash hands frequently for at least 20 seconds.
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CPN'S ANNUAL HOLIDAY BASKET FOOD DRIVE
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This year's Holiday Food Drive was a smashing success: a heartfelt "Thanks!" goes to all who participated. The Holiday Basket committee is continuing to distribute grocery store gift cards and CPN hopes to have final statistics available in an upcoming newsletter.
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UPDATE TO 12/17/20 ZONING MEETING - PROJECTED DEVELOPMENT AT 48TH AND CHESTER
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A community meeting was held via Zoom on December 17, 2020, to review a project proposal for the site at 48th and Chester Avenue. A large number of community members attended, and many issues were brought to the table. At that time, the development team offered to return to the community on Thursday, January 14, 2021. CPN has received this further communication from the team:
"We certainly received a lot of feedback on a number of issues and the entire development team is currently working on providing additional information and considering possible physical changes as was suggested.
I know that we had tentatively scheduled a second meeting for January 14th. However, we are going to need some additional time in order to review and revise our plans and attempt to address some of the other issues raised and thus we are not going to be able to present on January 14th.
I will be back in touch once we are ready to again present to the entire community."
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STATEMENT BY CEDAR PARK NEIGHBORS ON RACIAL JUSTICE
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George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor - the list of racially motivated murders demands action. Black Lives Matter. The forces of change have motivated movements across the world, in our nation, and within our communities to fight for racial justice. This past Friday, June 19 was Juneteenth, commemorating June 19, 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas to ensure that all enslaved people were freed. Freedom, though, does not guarantee racial equality. Cedar Park Neighbors supports the human rights initiatives and protections embedded in the Black Lives Matter movement. We stand with our black and brown neighbors!
- June 22 2020
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CONGRATULATIONS TO
THE AWARDEES FOR THE 2020-2021 GARY BRONSON MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIPS
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Cedar Park Neighbors is happy to announce the recipients of our 2020-21 Gary Bronson Memorial Scholarship Awards. The names of this year's ten winners can be found on the CPN website. We congratulate these neighborhood students on their academic achievements, contributions to the community, and pursuit of their educational goals!
For more information about the scholarship program, see our committee website. You can also support our neighborhood students by donating to the scholarship fund online.
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The Gary Bronson Memorial Scholarship was renamed in 2015 in honor of our visionary neighbor and friend, who founded this scholarship 30 years ago.
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Monday's schedule includes an opening greeting and a dramatic reading of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech at 10:00 a.m., followed throughout the day by a Dreamline Workshop; Transcribe-a-thon; "John Lewis: Good Trouble"; Black Art and Visions of Freedom; Athletes and Activism
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PHILLY FIGHTING COVID OPENS UP MASS VACCINATION CENTER AND ALERT SYSTEM
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Philly Fighting COVID (PFC), founded just this year, has opened a "mass vaccination" site at the Convention Center, in the same hall most recently used for vote tabulation. Working in conjunction with the Department of Public Health, the site is currently helping carry out inoculation of health care workers, the first class of people scheduled to get the vaccine. However, they also offer access to an alert system where Philadelphians can sign up to "pre-commit" to get vaccinated. Getting the alert does not save you a "place in line" - but it lets you know when it's your turn, meaning people in your class are eligible to get vaccinated.
PFC warns that the site was initially having problems due to heavy demand, but they have requested more bandwidth.
The images shown at the top of this article are from a 1-minute video tour of the site. The entire video is visible here.
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WAYS TO SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES
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University City District (UCD) is sponsoring several programs to provide support to a number of local businesses and other institutions, including many in our area, during the pandemic.
You can donate to individual businesses and non-profits (sort of mini-GoFundMes) through the West Philly Forward program.
You can also support some businesses by buying gift packages through UCD's West Philly Favorites program. These packages are described as "curated series of gift packs filled with handcrafted and locally produced items from neighborhood small businesses". The program extends over four weeks beginning in mid-January. You can buy individual packs. up to two weeks before scheduled pick-up dates (the first pick-up date is Jan 29). Visit this website for fuller details.
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PREVENTION TRILOGY - A ZOOM EVENT ON PERSONAL SAFETY
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COMMUNITY RESOURCES FOR MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH
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COVID-19, lockdown, loss of income, loss of social interaction - it's a lot to cope with. Cedar Park Neighbors maintains here and on its website a list of resources that may help. We recommend those in our list because they are accepting of sliding-scale fees, especially for "self-pay" beneficiaries (those with minimal or no health care plan).
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REGULAR WEEKLY UPDATE SECTION
This section of the CPN Newsletter will continue to highlight new developments in areas where the COVID-19 health emergency has had an impact on our lives. Additional details can be found on the COVID-19 page on CPN's website, where it is just a click away.
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CITY CURRENT RESPONSE TO INCREASING SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS
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WHERE TO FIND RELIABLE COVID-19 INFORMATION
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[UPDATE 01/11/21:] The School District's Friday food distribution has restarted its regular schedule on Friday Jan 8.
The City, in partnership with the Philadelphia Corporation for the Aging and with Philabundance, is operating or helping to support several different kinds of free food distribution sites ( https://www.phila.gov/food/#/). These sites operate on different schedules and are aimed at different clienteles, but all serve the purpose of offering free access to food for those in need. All have been operating since early in the pandemic and continue to operate now.
YOU CAN FIND OUT THE LOCATION OF NEARBY SITES ON-LINE AT: https://www.phila.gov/food/#/. Some sites also list schedule information.
Families are encouraged to confirm locations and schedules by calling 311 or visiting phila.gov/food before their first visit to a site.. In some cases you may need to call the site to confirm the hours..
You can view further details and suggestions on the CPN website.
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EVICTION MORATORIUMS
The eviction moratorium issued by the Federal government, through the CDC, was extended until Jan 31, 2021 upon signing of the recent COVID-19 Relief "stimulus" bill.
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HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
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- Eligible companies are those with 300 (not 500) or fewer employees, and
can include sole-proprietors.
- You still need to apply through an SBA-approved lender.
- Loan forgiveness has been made easier on smaller loans.
- You can count several more kinds of expenses.
- Money has been set aside for loans in "Low to Moderate Income Areas"
THE NEW STIMULUS BILL: INFORMATION AND ADVICE FROM CONGRESSMAN EVANS'S OFFICE
The stimulus bill signed Dec 27 by President Trump contains provisions totaling $325 billion for small businesses, according to Congressman Dwight Evans.
The Congressman is making available a six-page fact sheet on the new legislation which was produced by the House Small Business Committee
The Congressman's office will also answer questions from small-business owners who call his office at 215-276-0340 asking about the provisions in the law and how they might apply.
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Clark Park :
Hours are:
9:30-10:0 for seniors and immunocompromised shoppers
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. for general commerce
Rittenhouse:
Market is back on regular Saturday schedule. Hours are Saturday 10 a.m.- 2 p.m., with 10 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. reserved for seniors and immuno-compromised customers.
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1965-08-03: Philadelphia Evening Bulletin photo captioned, "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., addresses street corner rally at 40th and Lancaster Avenue." via Temple Urban Archives.
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CPN Board Meeting 2021 Schedule
NOTE: public meetings including public sessions of the Board Meetings are cancelled until further notice due to the ongoing health emergency. The CPN Board will continue to meet in virtual fashion each month. The schedule below is informational only.
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Watch this space for the CPN Board's schedule of 2021 meetings.
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Have a topic, concern, project, or initiative you would like to submit to Cedar Park Neighbors for a potential board meeting presentation? Contact us!
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