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CH Hospital plans to break ground for $40 million project
by Wesley Ratko

Chestnut Hill Hospital will break ground later this month for a $40 million expansion that will include reconstruction of its emergency department and intensive care unit, according to hospital CEO Brooks Turkel.

Speaking to 40 residents and hospital employees at a June 28 meeting to discuss the project, Turkel said construction plans include an expanded surgical floor with larger suites designed to accommodate state-of-the-art equipment. This equipment – which requires surgical suites that are double their current 300-square-foot size – is necessary for the hospital to offer the minimally invasive surgical procedures that are fast becoming the industry standard.

Taken in the mid 70’s, this photo shows the co-op store in its earliest stage. (Courtesy of Weaver’s Way)

It is hard to imagine the Rochdale Pioneers, a group of weavers and craftspeople that started the first-ever co-op in Lancashire, England, in 1844, at the new Weaver’s Way store in Chestnut Hill. It is even harder to imagine that the Pioneers could have forseen that the movement they started would lead to the creation of a food co-op in Mt. Airy that would take its name from them and navigate more than three decades of social and cultural changes to become a $13 million operation.

When Weaver’s Way completed its expansion project this spring and opened its doors in Chestnut Hill, officially welcoming non-members and members alike, the one-time buying club became Philadelphia’s premier co-op. It had been doing fairly well, earning more than $8 million in sales at its cramped storefront on the corner of Carpenter Lane and Sedgwick Street in Mt. Airy.

Young chess expert to showcase skills at book festival
by Zoe Feingold

Will Fisher (right) before a game of chess with former CHCA president Tolis Vardakis (left) on the patio of the Chestnut Grill last Thursday.

In a few years, Bobby’s name might not be the first one we think of when hearing “chess” and “Fischer” together. Germantown Friends School Sophomore Will Fisher (only that mid-name “c” away from sharing a surname with Bobby) is a local up-and-coming chess champion, and he’ll be playing right here in Chestnut Hill on Sunday, July 11.

He will provide an interactive segment of the 2nd annual Chestnut Hill Book Festival, taking on challengers in Buckley Park, at Germantown Avenue and Hartwell Lane, immediately after Dan Heisman, a renowned Philadelphia chess master, introduces the chess portion of the festival at 5 p.m. at The Stagecrafters theater.

Fisher plans to play between 10 and 20 matches, depending on the level of his opponents. Anyone can challenge Fisher to a match on Sunday – a win would mean playing at the level of a National Master, a title Fisher is only 35 points away from grabbing.