August 14, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Local News

Caruso’s: the family market gets a makeover
by JOEL HOFFMANN

A BRAND NEW BAG Caruso’s new manager, Chris Weidenhammer says he wants to remake Caruso’s into a market that will give Hillers some much-needed convenience without sacrificing quality. (Photo by Erin Vertreace)

When Chris Weidenhammer became the new general manager of Caruso’s Market in May, he knew it would be difficult to convince the community that the store would improve under the ownership of local developer John Capoferri after being family-owned for 100 years.

LUPZ gives provisional OK to Treehouse Play Café
by JOEL HOFFMANN

The Chestnut Hill Community Association’s Land Use, Planning and Zoning Committee last week agreed to endorse the Treehouse Play Café project at 8524 Germantown Ave. on a provisional basis.

City to add incentives to its single-stream recycling
by JENNIFER KATZ

After announcing last month that the RecycleBank incentive-based recycling pilot program would be shut down, the Philadelphia Streets Department has revealed that it is working with the company to expand the rewards program citywide.

‘Beads’ project enables Kenyan to finally complete high school
by JOEL HOFFMANN

Patrick Papatiti, who leads 8,000 Maasai warriors in Amboseli, Kenya, speaks at Village Earth Bead Market about the need for more educational opportunities for women in his tribe. (Photo by Joel Hoffmann)

It’s not hard to see why education is so important to Patrick Papatiti.

Papatiti, 32, graduated from high school in November — 16 years after he dropped out because his father could no longer afford to send him.

A year of school for $360 may not seem pricey by American standards, but in Amboseli, Kenya, the cost is exorbitant — even for a tribal leader.

But Papatiti was fortunate to find a benefactor in Debby Rooney, co-founder of the nonprofit Beads for Education, Advancement, Development and Success, which raises money to educate and empower girls from Papatiti’s Maasai tribe through special events, individual sponsorships and the sale of handcrafted Kenyan bead jewelry.

“We have sponsored him because he’s the leader of the Maasai warriors, 8,000 men in his age set [16-32],” Rooney said at an Aug. 8 fundraising event at Village Earth Bead Market in Chestnut Hill. “He will always be their leader, and we thought he needed to have a complete education.”