Nazareth holding bariatric sessions
Nazareth Hospital hosts free, online bariatric information sessions for the community to educate patients about weight-loss surgery options and support services at Nazareth Bariatrics.
Participants will have the opportunity to speak with Nazareth Hospital’s bariatric surgeons. The next information sessions will take place at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 16.
Registration is required. Upon registration, attendees will be sent a link to access the session virtually.
For more information and to register, call 215-335-2090. ••
Donate a toy
The annual Roxanne’s Run will not take place, as usual, at American Legion Cpl. John Loudenslager Post 366.
Instead, Roxanna Gambino Schroeder and the HellRaisers Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club will collect toys and deliver them before Christmas.
To donate an unwrapped toy, stop by the Dunkin’ Donuts parking lot at 8902 Frankford Ave. on Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. ••
Win a tower of cheer
St. Martha Parish is holding a Tower of Cheer raffle.
Tickets cost $10, or three for $25. They can be purchased after Mass. Or, pay through Venmo @STMARTHASCHOOL-NEPHILLY, including your name, contact information and “Tower of Cheer.”
The drawing will be Dec. 27.
Contact Helen Konstance at 215-292-3842 or rhkonstance@aol.com. ••
Virtual concert on Jan. 21
The Men’s Club of Congregations of Shaare Shamayim, is hosting a virtual musical evening on Thursday, Jan. 21, starting at 7:30 p.m.
Andrea Carlson will entertain with songs by Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers from her new CD, Out Of My Dreams. The cost is $18.
Call 215-677-1600. ••
Boys needed for High School Musical
St. Basil Academy is looking for boys 13-18 to audition for High School Musical, with performance dates in April. Basketball skills are a plus. After auditions, rehearsals will start in January. Email Terry Dillinger at tdillinger@stbasilacademy.org. ••
Meals available for 60-plus
Philadelphia Corporation for Aging is sponsoring complimentary Grab & Go meal distribution sites for adults 60 and above. KleinLife, 10100 Jamison Ave., is a participating center and is distributing meals every Tuesday, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., in its rear parking area. Seniors must pre-order Grab & Go meals and can receive up to five meals per week. To pre-order meals, call PCA at 215-765-9040. ••
Give input to Lawncrest improvements
Two Zoom meetings will take place for people to help design renovations to Lawncrest Recreation Center and Library.
The meetings are set for Wednesday, Dec. 9, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 12, from noon to 1:30 p.m.
To receive Zoom details and for more information, email Lawncrest@community-ventures.org. ••
Sabatina announces 2 grants
Sen. John Sabatina Jr. announced two local grant awards.
Riverfront North Partnership was awarded $340,000 for the first phase of construction of the Bridesburg Riverfront Park.
Tacony Community Development Corporation was awarded $10,875 for its Trash Can Improvement Project.
The Tacony CDC will use the funds to help upgrade its current wire-basket trash cans to new baskets with lids. The time frame is early 2021. ••
Tartaglione pushes COVID relief
State Senate Democrats unveiled a $4 billion COVID-19 relief and recovery plan.
“Funding for all of these needs was included in our prior PA CARES proposal – a proposal that Republican leadership in the General Assembly dismissed,” said Sen. Tina Tartaglione. “Instead, they used the $1.3 billion in federal CARES Act funding to balance the state budget. That’s why I voted against the budget.”
In her remarks, Tartaglione highlighted three areas of need among many: funding for high-volume Medicaid hospitals; higher education; and small, independent businesses, particularly restaurants, taverns, caterers and the hospitality industry.
The PA CARES 21 plan would allocate $100 million to high-Medicaid volume hospitals. It would distribute $136 million among State System of Higher Education and state-supported universities, community colleges and career-technical colleges as well as the Institutional Assistance Grant Program. It would also allocate $800 million for business assistance, including $300 million exclusively for restaurants, taverns, caterers and the hospitality industry. ••
Union boss Schwartz retiring
Rita Schwartz, longtime president of the Association of Catholic Teachers Local 1776, is retiring. The union represents the teachers in the 17 high schools of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Schwartz has served for 36 years as president. Prior to that, she served as executive secretary and union staff. In all, she served 53 years.
Schwartz began her career in Catholic education at St. Hubert High School, where, for 12 years (1963-1975), she taught English and worked as a guidance counselor.
Schwartz will continue in her role as president of the National Association of Catholic School Teachers, the union that assists Catholic elementary and high school teachers across the United States in their efforts to organize and bargain collectively with their employers.
Irene Tori, current ACT vice president, was elected president. She will take office on Jan. 1.
Joining her on the executive board are Thomas Imburgia (executive secretary) and David Sommers (legislative rep). Board member Katie Toennissen Innes steps into the vice president position. Newly elected are Frank Costantini as treasurer and James Brennan, Christine Hanley-Maldonado and Bridget Mierzejewski as members at large.
David McQuiston, Thomas McKeever, Tara Murphy and William Finnegan continue as ACT area vice presidents. ••
FCCC researcher earns award
The American Lung Association recently announced an investment in researcher Johnathan Whetstine, from Fox Chase Cancer Center.
Whetstine’s research, titled Enzyme Could Help Predict Effectiveness of Lung Cancer Chemotherapy, was given the Lung Cancer Discovery Award and received $100,000 for the 2020-21 fiscal year.
His research aims to define how KDM4A works in lung cancer cells, and whether levels of the enzyme are an important predictor of the effectiveness of chemotherapy against lung cancer.
“The support from the American Lung Association and the Lung Cancer Discovery Award has allowed us to push this novel area of discovery forward and helped us start to understand how lung cancer cells are able to alter their DNA copies so they can change their response to therapies. These studies tell us that not all DNA alterations in cancer cells are random but are regulated processes, which allows for therapeutic intervention in the future,” Whetstine said. ••
Distribution facility coming to Blue Grass Road
Colliers announced that Richard Gorodesky has concluded a build-to-suit lease for a new 282,800-square-foot specialized distribution facility on 21 acres at 9801 Blue Grass Road.
The transaction was facilitated on behalf of his client TJX, parent company of retailer TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods.
The new facility will be a state-of-the-art, 53-foot distribution facility with trailer parking.
The property is the former home of Horn & Hardarts and Hostess Bakery. ••
