August 12, 1976

Woodmere neighbor appeals variance

Bulldozers belonging to the Heyser Landscaping Company, of Norristown, arrived at Woodmere Art Gallery, 9201 Germantown Ave., on Aug. 2 to begin clearing ground for the gallery’s proposed parking area. The city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) gave the project its official green light last July 23. The bulldozers managed to cut down about four trees and all the shrubbery in front of the gallery, and they broke up about half of Woodmere’s driveway. Then all work stopped. A Woodmere neighbor filed an appeal against the ZBA decision. “I’m not saying that Woodmere shouldn’t have a parking lot, but any reasonable man in my position would be opposed to it,” the resident, whose house faces the Woodmere lawn, told the Local.

August 14, 1986

White-tailed deer are overrunning the area

There’s a population explosion problem in the area. The Schuylkill Valley Nature Center and its neighbors are experiencing the results of the explosion in the numbers of white-tailed deer that are living not only on the center’s property, but on that of near neighbors in Roxborough, Chestnut Hill and Lafayette Hill. At last count, about two weeks ago, the deer population on the nature center’s 400 acres is 18 times higher than that recommended by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, which has established a formula for deer herds.

August 15, 1996

Area schools to ‘learn together’

Putting computers into every classroom seems to be a generic goal these days among politicians and educators. But what happens once these boxes of electronic information are in place? How do schools integrate technology into everyday lesson plans? These are questions that Chestnut Hill Academy’s middle school and AMY Northwest hope to answer through a joint program they have developed called “Learning Together Through Technology.” With the help of a grant from the Pew Foundation and the aid of Apple Inc., the two schools are looking to develop ways to maximize the potential of having computers in the school system.

August 17, 2006

Cunningham Piano Co. plays again

The silky black and white keys play a tune as fine as if the piano were a day old. The wood gleams from its latest polish, and the piano’s elegant sound echoes through the expanse of the second-floor showroom. The high point of this visit to the Cunningham firm is the 10 Cunningham pianos on display in the store’s second-story showroom. Another 50 pianos are expected to arrive this September, when, according to Rich Galassini, sales manager for the Cunningham Piano Co., the company will formally announce the manufacturing of its own pianos. These pianos — both grand and vertical — are five of the first hundred Cunningham is manufacturing this year, the first time the firm has manufactured its own pianos since the factory closed its doors to piano production 65 years ago to specialize in restoration.

August 11, 2016

Area Olympians in action on first day

Springside School alumna Taylor Ellis-Watson, a member of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team’s 4 x 400 meter relay pool, must wait until Friday for the initial round of her event in Rio, but for three Mount St. Joseph Academy graduates, competition got underway last Saturday, Day One of the 2016 Games. First up, with a race just after 10 a.m. at the rowing course on Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, was 2010 Mount grad Chierika Ukogu. She excelled in crew at Mount St. Joe and Stanford University, and at the Olympics, she is representing Nigeria, where her parents were born and raised.