July 5, 2007 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Local News

Fare hikes hit home
by KRISTIN PAZULSKI

A rider waits for the Route L bus at Chestnut Hill Newsstand. Bus transfers will be a thing of the past for SEPTA riders come Aug. 1, as the agency raises fares to compensate for its deficit. (Photo by Erin Vertreace)

To compensate for a large deficit in its budget, the SEPTA board voted to increase fare costs by 11 percent as of July 9.

Under this increase, referred to as “Plan A” by SEPTA, the biggest change in bus transit will be the elimination of the less expensive transfer fare. As of Aug. 1, the 60-cent transfer will be terminated, and all rides will cost $2.

Last week, as news of the increases spread, passengers seemed unengaged by it.

“It’s annoying, but what can you do,” said Joyce Weaver, who lives in Mt. Airy and works at Chestnut Hill Hospital. “Complaining isn’t going to help.”

Fresh start for Jenks with Brandt
by KRISTIN PAZULSKI

Stephen Brandt

The J.S. Jenks Elementary School received a breath of fresh air this month, with Stephen Brandt taking the helm as the school’s first new principal in 31 years, replacing Cheryl Eisenberg, who is retiring.

“I thought Jenks would be a good fit for me,” said Brandt, who is certified to be a principal for K-12 and has interned as a resident principal at the High School of Engineering and Science in North Philadelphia. He left his position as assistant principal at South Philadelphia High School for the Jenks position.

Brandt, a 31-year-old with energy that’s almost tangible, grew up in Roxborough and was educated in the Philadelphia School District from kindergarten through high school.

Penguin Photo to close
by JAMES KEOUGH

Bill Stroud at the grand opening of Penguin Photo in its current location. (Photo by Jimmy J. Pack Jr.)

Penguin Photo, Inc., will close later this month after 17 years of operation in Chestnut Hill, the last six and a half years under the ownership of Bill and Jamie Stroud of West Mt. Airy.

Penguin President Bill Stroud cited health reasons for the decision to close the store. He said he was diagnosed at the end of last year with prostate cancer with bone metastasis and has since undergone surgery and radiation treatment.

“We’ve enjoyed doing business in Chestnut Hill,” Stroud said. “It has been a great experience working with customers, helping them get the most out of their photographs, teaching photography classes and taking pictures of community events such as the Fourth of July Parade, Fall for the Arts and the Garden Festival.”

Energy in Houston School principal’s office
by KRISTIN PAZULSKI

Kim Newman

These days, you’d be hard pressed to find a more positive attitude toward the School District of Philadelphia than that of Kim Newman, the new principal at Henry H. Houston School in Mt. Airy.

Despite having been at the school for only four days, the 35-year-old principal confidently strolled the halls of Houston last Wednesday, giving the silent wave to excited kindergartners (silent wave is the up-and-down of the pointer finger) and reminding third graders gently, but firmly, that silence is needed in the hallways.

The students already recognize her, even if for now it’s only as “new principal,” as one third-grader greeted her.

“This is where I want to be,” Newman said moments later, sitting in Houston’s quiet library, with chairs set up for the Home and School meeting she’ll attend that evening to introduce herself to parents.

Germantown internet radio station defies tradition
by KRISTIN PAZULSKI

Jim Bear is the operator of G’town Radio, a local Internet radio station that allows locals to broadcast his or her own radio program. Bear recently moved the station from his home in Germantown to an office in Maplewood Mall.

While most Internet radio stations are currently in a state of panic — royalty fees for Web streams and Internet stations are about to skyrocket, increasing by 300 to 1200 percent for some stations — Jim Bear is busy expanding his Internet radio station by moving to a new studio and adding to the station’s programming.

At 24 Maplewood Mall, the address of G-town Radio’s new studios, Bear sits in the studio operation room, talking on the phone with his cable provider. The Internet isn’t working yet, and in three days Bear hopes to stream his first program from the Maplewood studio. (That would have been last Sunday, but the Internet wasn’t set up correctly so this Sunday is the new goal, Bear said.)

The studio, which looks like a small apartment, contains only four rooms — a kitchen, a bathroom and two rooms that house the operating studio and a “green room,” where guests congregate before going on the air.

The studio, painted a light green, has computer and sound equipment on top of plastic folding tables. The green room, which is actually painted a light yellow, contains a circle of chairs to be used as a meeting room. Bear said he hopes to even broadcast live performances from there someday.