Angry tenants voice complaints at CH Village
Residents upset by utility bills and safety issues.
by Joel Hoffmann

Chestnut Hill Village tenant Thomas Lind organized a meeting of disgruntled tenants. (Photo by Joel Hoffmann)

They stood almost 140 strong, most crammed shoulder-to-shoulder in the Chestnut Hill Village clubhouse common room, some spilling out into the hallway.

Their anger had been mounting for months. They had strength in numbers now, and they were demanding to be heard.

They had come to protest inflated utility bills, rodent visits and lingering safety concerns. Resident after resident expressed outrage toward the apartment complex’s management group, Denver-based AIMCO, and its third-party utility billing contractor, Tampa-based Ista North America.

Hands raised around the room when organizer Thomas Lind asked them if they had seen two- and threefold increases in their utility bills over the past year. 

3 Bishop Griswold spent Palm Sunday weekend in Cuatro Esquines (Four Corners) a largely agrarian community during his trip to Cuba.  Here Griswold is welcomed by some of the younger members of the congregation.

The idea of religion prospering in a communist country defies credibility, but, according to Bishop Frank T. Griswold III, the former head of the Episcopal Church in the United States, that’s exactly what’s happening in Cuba.

Griswold, who from 1998 to 2006 was the 25th presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church, has made three trips to the island nation in the past few years and finds that “there’s no overt hostility to religion.”

“Recently,” he reported, “particularly after the recent hurricanes, the [Cuban] government is realizing that the social services that many of the churches provide [and] rural projects of sustainable agriculture, that all these are positives.”

Bowman plans to restore properties
by Jennifer Katz

The Avenue in Chestnut Hill has become a reflection of the country’s economic crisis with more than 30 empty storefronts, many of which are attributable to the closing of long-standing businesses.

Though she learned long ago that philanthropy could be a thankless job, Ann Ward Spaeth has spent more than four decades making sure that those who would rob Chestnut Hill of its beauty or quality of life know the consequences.

As a founding member of the Chestnut Hill Historical Society, a former Chestnut Hill Community Association director and a longtime steward of the association’s bylaws, Spaeth has done much to improve the lot of all Hillers.

Spaeth, 74, will finally receive the recognition she deserves on April 22, when the Chestnut Hill Community Association will present her with the Chestnut Hill Award at its annual dinner.

“I am truly grateful for this award, and that there are those who believe I am deserving of it,” Spaeth said in a statement to the Local.

Local wins two prizes in PNA’s Annual Keystone Awards

Jimmy Pack, Jr. (left) and Joel Hoffmann (right): award-winning talent.

As a rule, journalists don’t like to pat themselves on the back. It’s not part of the program… We toil, generally without reward or recognition (and substandard pay) mostly because we love what we do (and because we like seeing our name in print).

This week we have some news that’s really worth a little self-congratulation, though. Last week the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association announced its annual Keystone Press Awards and staff writer Joel Hoffmann won the first place award for distinguished writing at a weekly paper. In other words, he was recognized as having produced the best piece of weekly writing in the state.

I knew Joel, who joined the Local in July of last year, was going to do great work for us. His first published piece of work was a feature for Local Life editor Len Lear in June of 2007 (A story about a local woman’s efforts to expand gluten-free food options in the area). Len said Joel was the most thorough freelancer he’d ever used. So when the writer position was open, Len made sure Joel applied.

Candidates stick to substance at CHCA candidates’ forum
by Joel Hoffmann

Nine candidates for the Chestnut Hill Community Association board of directors participated in a pre-election forum on Wednesday, April 15, giving their take on the future of the CHCA, the board's role as owner of the Chestnut Hill Local, the CHCA's relationship with the Chestnut Hill Business Association and Business Improvement District, and how the CHCA should address the Hill's most pressing issues.