City Councilwoman Quetcy Lozada, Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole and architect Seth Cohen spoke Saturday at a community meeting on a proposed district health center at Friends Hospital, 4641 Roosevelt Blvd. The crowd at Simpson Recreation Center was a mix of supporters and opponents of the plan. Many opponents believe...

Proponents of a subway up Roosevelt Boulevard have been stymied for more than a century, with plans thwarted by World War I, the Depression, a lack of funds and community opposition. Obstacles remain, such as significant engineering work, tunneling, station construction and track laying. Subway supporters are eyeing federal funding,...

Hanukkah (Dec. 7-15) and Christmas are almost here, with many people in the Northeast shopping for gifts and planning holiday feasts. Other, though, are struggling. The Times hopes to help those less fortunate folks in our community, with a big assist from our readers. The 75th annual Eleanor Smylie Community...

Bruce Szymborski was 7 when he began creating an enchanted Christmas village in the basement of his Rhawnhurst home. The Northeast Times chronicled his work in a 1982 story, when he was 16. After all these years, Szymborski still lives on Griffith Street and continues to create Christmas magic. Only...

Kutztown University will have 72 student-athletes representing its track and field program for the 2023-24 season. The Golden Bears competed in the Bison Opener on Saturday at Bucknell. Local members of the team are Anastasia Fratanduono, a senior distance runner and Archbishop Ryan graduate, and Don Hill, a junior sprinter and Neshaminy graduate. ••

Tiffany needs a special home. This poor girl deserves a nice, quiet life . Tiffany is 5 years old, 11 pounds and is looking for an adult-only home. Tiffany must be the only pet in the home. She is bossy with other dogs and cats and will challenge other pets in the home. She also does not like to share her people, like a typical Chihuahua. Tiffany takes a day or two to trust new people, but then will give you her whole heart along with all the kisses she can muster up. She’s a very sweet girl once you get to know her and see her shine. She loves playing with toys and napping in comfy beds. She enjoys sleeping cuddled up next to a warm human in bed. She will use pee pads as well as go outside. She’s a great eater, very food motivated and smart. Tiffany loves going on long walks and does well on the leash. This girl has been through a lot and is so deserving of a family to call her own. She will make someone very happy as a companion dog in a low-energy home.

I want to share an experience that my family had this weekend. There is so much negative in the world right now, but there is also compassion. A friend of mine invited my family and me to have breakfast with Santa, sponsored by LAOH Division 25 at the Red Rooster Inn. I have 2 grandsons; one is 5 and he is easygoing and friendly. Your typical 5-year-old little boy. I have a 10-year-old grandson who is non-verbal and autistic. He has good days and bad, like the rest of us. When we walked into the facility, we were greeted with open arms. We felt like everyone already knew us. Well Lucas, my 10-year-old grandson, had a hard time with all of the people and activities going on. My daughter had to take him outside. He goes into the car for a safe quiet space. After a while he came back in but on the other side, the bar area. It was quiet and no people.

Orleans Technical College last week honored 311 graduates in its building trades programs. The Nov. 29 ceremony took place at the Philadelphia Ballroom, 2014 Hornig Road, and recognized students who successfully completed programs in carpentry, residential and commercial electricity, plumbing, building maintenance and air conditioning, refrigeration and heating, including 34 property maintenance and repair graduates in the JEVS Human Services Project WOW program.

The Rockledge Fox Chase Business Association on Saturday afternoon sponsored a tree-lighting ceremony at Northeast Lions Park, 7964 Oxford Ave. There was face painting, crafts, vendors, hot chocolate, soup, soft pretzels, lollipops, live holiday music, a performance by Movement Dynamics Dance Company, a table to write cards to veterans and an appearance by Santa Claus. ••

Anthony “Stitch” Picariello, a mail carrier from Bustleton Post Office, is inviting children to write letters to Santa Claus. The mailbox for kids to drop off their letters to Santa and get a response is in the lobby of Bustleton Post Office, 9925 Bustleton Ave. - Advertisement -...

It’s that time of year, when homes across the Northeast are decorated with Christmas lights. Some of the displays are so nice, it’s worth a walking or driving tour to check them out. - Advertisement - One of those houses is 1306 Passmore St., and the owner welcomes...

Dear Readers: Email listings to news@northeasttimes.com. Eucharist Service All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Torresdale, 9601 Frankford Ave. 11 a.m. First Thursday of the month. Healing Movement with Donna Price KleinLife, 10100 Jamison Ave. 9:30 a.m. For adults 60+. Line Dancing Rosemary Montagno Senior Center, 12601 Townsend Road. 10:30 a.m. to...

There is an old-time Christmas movie in which the cast sings Everyone matters. Wouldn’t it be a better world if everyone would put these words into use. No matter what ethnic heritage, people need to have respect for each other. Maybe it starts with themselves. If there is a sense of respect, it will reflect onto people who come into everyday life. Start now, not tomorrow, to realize that everyone does matter.

Holmesburg Civic Association invites the community to its annual holiday party on Tuesday, Dec. 12, at 7:15 p.m. at Holmesburg Recreation Center, 4500 Rhawn St. Light refreshments will be provided. Raffle tickets will be available for purchase for a chance to win prizes and gift certificates for neighborhood businesses. ••

The footballs are tucked away, the soccer balls are collected and winter sports are in full swing. It’s officially winter, which means it’s time to turn the page on the fall season. And it was a very good fall season. We had some never-before-seen things like Nazareth Academy...

After a year-long restoration project, Glen Foerd’s pipe organ, built in 1902 by Philadelphia’s one-time C.S. Haskell company and installed in Glen Foerd’s Gilded Age mansion by industrialist Robert Foerderer, has come home to sing once again. On Friday afternoon, the Haskell organ was fired up for...

The Court of Common Pleas last week agreed with the district attorney’s office to dismiss charges against Eddie Ramirez, convicted for a brutal 1995 robbery-murder in a Northwood Laundromat. Ramirez has been released from prison. Last month, District Attorney Larry Krasner announced he believed Ramirez’s constitutional rights were violated...

Shelley Geltzer sees the world through rose-colored glasses. In fact, she sees life and her surroundings through a luminous lens. The soon-to-be retiree has also brought that bright, optimistic outlook to her nearly two decades as director of adult programming at KleinLife, the largest senior center in Philadelphia housed in the Raymond and Miriam Klein Building located at 10100 Jamison Ave. She will be capping off her KleinLife career as she officially retires from that position on Nov. 30, and before year’s end, marks another milestone — her 75th birthday.

Margaret “Peg” Conners turned 100 years old on Nov. 19. She has lived in the Northeast her entire life, raising her four children in Mayfair. Peg marked her centenarian birthday with 40 friends and family members at a luncheon at the Buck Hotel. Peg spent her long career...

Jimmy Binns, president and CEO of Holiday Meals for Heroes, last week welcomed families of local police officers who are severely disabled or died in the line of duty to a breakfast at Sunnybrook Golf Club in Plymouth Meeting. The families also took home Thanksgiving dinner donations. The event was...