The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program has recognized Springside Chestnut Hill Academy as a Level 1 arboretum, making it the third accredited arboretum in Chestnut Hill.

SCH arboretum scores international recognition

Among the historic architecture and red-brick paths, there are 32 tree species planted around Springside Chestnut Hill Academy’s 62-acre campus.
Pennsylvania officials have issued a “do not eat” advisory for the Wissahickon Creek basin after finding unhealthy levels of “forever chemicals” in sampled fish tissue. A Nov. 5 public meeting is set at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education.

Pa. issues ‘do not eat’ advisory, cancels Wissahickon trout stocking

The 23-mile-long Wissahickon Creek is a vibrant hub for trout, bass and sunfish. But anglers should not eat any fish from the water source.
Read this week's E-edition
In Pursuit: Philadelphia and the Making of America
Episode 1 summary: Freedom
Episode 1: “Freedom (until 1700)” will be screened Thursday, Oct. 29, at Germantown Friends School, 31 W. Coulter St., Germantown. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Episode 1: Penn’s ‘holy experiment’ sullied by slavery
The first Europeans to arrive on the East Coast encountered the indigenous people who had occupied the land for centuries.
About the ‘In Pursuit’ film series, local viewing schedule
“In Pursuit: Philadelphia and the Making of America” consists of 10 hour-long episodes releasing throughout 2026 and into early 2027.
Episode 2 summary: Land
Quaker ideals of religious freedom attract waves of immigrants from Ireland and Germany to Pennsylvania, but they cannot settle on land that has not been formally acquired through treaty from the Lenape.
‘In Pursuit’ and the making of a nation, coming to Northwest Philadelphia
The story of Philadelphia has unfolded in unpredictable, often disturbing, and yet astonishing ways. Central to the city’s early days was the very birth of our nation.
Features

Photos defining a movement, at Woodmere on Monday

Bob Brand and his work will be featured at Woodmere’s Smith Hall at an event on Monday, Oct. 26, from 6 to 8 p.m.
In photographer Bob Brand’s world, there are three sorts of people: those who stay in place, those who go away from it, and those who go toward it.
Phanatic gets his star turn in new documentary
When the late Bill Giles was the Philadelphia Phillies’ director of business operations in the early 1970s, part of his role was to mount nonbaseball entertainment that would draw people to Veterans Stadium.
Local resident Scott Bandura goes major league
Local resident Scott Bandura was called up to Major League Baseball on Sept. 13 by the San Francisco Giants, going 1-for-3 with a walk and scoring a run in his first game.
This week in Chestnut Hill Local history, 1966-2016
This week in Chestnut Hill Local history
Family Promise celebrates 25 years of Empty Bowl Dinner
Family Promise of Philadelphia is hosting its 25th Empty Bowl Dinner on Oct. 28 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at William Penn Charter School.
Halloween ghost story at Germantown ‘spooky house’
Jordon Ross Weinhold will help to celebrate Halloween with the theatrical adaption of Washington Irving’s 1820 short story, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 23 and 24, and at 3 p.m., Oct. 25.
Miraculous stroke recovery for former CHC director
From 2011 to 2018, Kristin Tracy Porter directed the Disability Resource Center at Chestnut Hill College. What she overcame before getting the position at CHC is the stuff of legends.
Local Calendar
Obituaries
Mt. Airy educator Mandel, led Miquon, Friends Select
Richard L. Mandel, a progressive educator who led The Miquon School in Whitemarsh Township and Friends Select School in Center City, died Oct. 5 of age-related ailments.
Richard L. Mandel, 84
Richard L. Mandel, of Philadelphia, a progressive educator who led The Miquon School and Friends Select School, died surrounded by family on Monday, October 5, 2026. He was 84. An educator and …
G’town music writer, Tom Di Nardo, dies at 89
Longtime Germantown resident and native Tom Di Nardo, 89, who went to Germantown Friends School and later became one of the region’s most prolific music writers, passed away on Sept. 19.
Community News
Mount field hockey closes season with 12-0 victory
In front of an enthusiastic Senior Day home crowd, the Mount St. Joseph Academy field hockey team finished out its 2026 league schedule with a 12-0 victory over visiting Sacred Heart Academy.
Learn to paint your pet in upcoming course at MALT
If you are a dog and cat lover, as I am, you have probably wished at some point in your life that you could paint your pets and have that keepsake even after they are gone.
GA, PC and SCH boys square off in cross country tri-meet
Runners from Penn Charter and Springside Chestnut Hill traveled to Germantown Academy Oct. 13 for a three-way boys’ meet.
Crime

Crime Report

The following is for crimes reported from Oct. 11 to Oct. 18.

Crime Report

The following is for crimes reported from Oct. 4 to Oct. 11.

Crime Report

The following is for crimes reported from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4.

Sports

SCH girls’ soccer tops GA, 2-0, raises overall record to 11-0

Jordan Wright, a GA senior, goes up for a head ball. Nearby are her teammate, sophomore Jemma Sinni, and Blue Devils junior Emma Schweizer (right).

The girls’ soccer team at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy continued its remarkable display of defense last Friday, defeating the visiting Germantown Academy Patriots, 2-0.

Schools
More schools are reinforcing cellphone policies
Springside Chestnut Hill (SCH) Academy understands cellphones aren’t inherently bad, but doesn’t want them in its classrooms.
Chestnut Hill
CHCA’s Fall Frolic draws a large, festive crowd
Good food, good music and a good time were enjoyed by the participants at last Thursday’s Chestnut Hill Community Association Fall Frolic.
Popular Chestnut Hill ghost walk rises again
Something is stirring on the Hill. On Saturday, Oct. 17, the “Ghost Walk of Chestnut Hill” returns, sending five lantern-led tours out from the Chestnut Hill Library at 5, 5:30, 6, 6:30 and 7 p.m.
Business
Pulling the curtain down on a top Manayunk restaurant
I can still remember going to Jake’s restaurant in Manayunk when it opened on Oct. 19, 1987, because that same day the stock market crashed, losing about 500 points.
New Maguire gallery is ‘love letter to artists’
Tara Maguire had never seriously created art until 2017, when she went to an art class at Woodmere with her mother, philanthropist and artist Frances (Frannie) Maguire.
Huge Japanese menu, exceptional quality at Ooka
Ooka, which means “cherry blossom” in Japanese, was founded by brothers Ben and Lenny Huang to be an authentic sushi and hibachi restaurant.
Truelove Seeds preserves culture through agriculture
On 1.7 acres of land in Roxborough, next to The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, Owen Taylor spends his days growing and harvesting seeds from more than 230 types of plants.
Fall restaurant week is returning to Manayunk
Foodies will take over Main Street from Sept. 14-20 at more than 20 locations, with special menus and prices as Manayunk Restaurant Week returns with old favorites as well as some newly opened hot spots.
Comforts of Home
Most Phila. residents feel prepared for a fire but lack escape plan, survey finds
Despite high confidence in fire preparedness, a survey commissioned by the American Red Cross found that 54% of Philadelphia residents do not have a home fire escape plan and only 6% have practiced one.
Senior Life
Have a serious medical problem? Call a secretary?
Fifty years ago, when I woke each morning, I completed a vigorous daily regimen of exercises we had done in high school gym class: push-ups, sit-ups, leg raises, burpees and squats.
Health & Wellness
When should my child see a dermatologist?
With the start of every new school year, sports season or social activity, your child will experience a healthy dose of change: a new classroom, a new teacher, new friends and possibly even a new school.
Opinion & letters
Editorials

Why we are feeling bullish at the Local

Laura Lucas
What a difference a year makes. This week marks one year since the Chestnut Hill Community Association stepped in to manage the Chestnut Hill Local and issued an emergency appeal to keep the paper afloat.

AI in the newsroom: It’s here, but needs guardrails

Artificial intelligence “is one more tool to come along in my career, a career shaped by evolutionary technology at every step along the way.”
The reality is this: Artificial intelligence is already well out of the box. While there should be clear guardrails — our elected officials are perilously perched behind the eightball on this — AI is here to stay.
Letters to the editor
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