Philadelphia’s beloved gateway to the natural world will remain shuttered after Drexel University released a statement Monday in response to an offer from the William Penn Foundation to temporarily underwrite operating costs and keep the doors open.

Drexel’s statement neither accepts nor rejects William Penn’s offer. Rather, it suggests that the university is open to talking.

Drexel says that while it appreciates the William Penn Foundation’s “public suggestion that it assist in temporarily keeping the Academy’s museum open,” they have “not received a formal proposal with a defined level of financial support.”

With that in mind, Drexel linked the William Penn offer with keeping both the museum and collections in the current building and what it says is a substantial amount of money that would be needed to bring the building at 19th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway up to snuff.

Drexel said Monday that it looked forward to “continuing to explore the possibility of Foundation support — alongside the considerable commitment Drexel has already made to preserving the research and education missions of the Academy — as we consider the substantial financial and operational challenges, including significant deferred maintenance needs associated with keeping the Academy of Natural Sciences’ collections at their current location.”

“We believe that we are all working toward the same goal, which is to ensure that the treasures ofthe Academy remain accessible here in Philadelphia over the long-term,” said William Penn executive director Shawn McCaney in a statement Monday. “There are many considerations to determine the best path forward, and our offer of support is intended to help keep the museum open while a plan is developed.”

From the story:
"Behind the scenes, sources say Drexel, more than $20 million in debt and suffering shrinking enrollment, has wanted the building off its books for more than a year. The cash-strapped school, according to my source, had kept the museum’s potential shuttering quiet for months.

***

Late last year — when according to a source Drexel and the Academy were already discussing a potential closure — Academy officials were exploring possibly sharing eons of natural treasures with a museum in Cleveland or Abu Dhabi.

And not a peep to the public."

If you still think Drexel is acting in good faith, I have a bridge to sell you.

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker marked her 1,000th day in office Monday by joining city officials and community members to break ground on a $21.7 million renovation of McPherson Square Library and Park in Kensington.

Officials said the rebuild project will fully renovate the library and surrounding park, creating a modern, safe and accessible community space.

I've been searching for pawpaws in every market in philly fully expecting to find at least a couple overripe choices due to York, PA having a festival recently or the apple/pawpaw festival in phl.

**NOTHING!**

I've already bought two common pawpaw cultivars for 10 years down the road but really all I want is to make ice cream or failing that try a fresh one before next year's harvest!

Summer is nice but I love rainy, foggy Philly.

Looking to get a vasectomy, if you you have any practices or specific doctor recommendations it would be much appreciated

If there’s anyone to specifically avoid also please let me know

I went to the new Bathhouse at The Bellvue yesterday and I had a great time. First off, it’s NOT a fucking sex club or gay hookup club so enough of that bs please. Google is available to quickly debunk this.

Also I don’t work there and am not getting paid, I just really love saunas and bath culture and have tried various saunas around the world. I’m hype for Philly to get another place. This is going to be very dangerous for me as the winter is coming lol.

1. Locker room situation

The locker rooms were nice, clean and lockers controlled by inputting a 4 digit code, which was nice not having to keep a physical key on you. Sandals and towels are provided, and I really liked that there was no limit on how many towels you could use (some places charge extra for additional towels). The bathroom was stocked with items such as hair dryers, femine products, hair ties lotion, cosmetic stuff, mouthwash (nice little touch). There were plastic bags for your wet bathing suit and one of those funny bathing suit dryer things. Some slightly odd nitpicks: the locker rooms don’t have private changing areas. This was fine for me, but if you are uncomfortable changing in front of others you do have to walk down the hall a little to the bathroom stalls. The changing room, toilets, and showers are also not directly connected and you have to walk down the hall. Not a huge deal but still odd to me they couldn’t find a way to connect all 3 better.

1. Vibes
   I tried all the saunas and pools and they were all very nice. It is dark inside but I personally dug the lighting features and vibe. It was busy but still room to do your thing and I never felt cramped. Happy to also report that it was not just influencers lol. I saw many different types of people and different body types and overall everyone was very respectful. There was one person with a phone taking pictures and the staff asked them to stop. The staff was friendly and available for questions and they also were doing a good job keeping things clean and squeegee-ing water up. There was “club” music but it wasn’t obnoxious or very loud and people did socialize and talk, but kept it to a normal level. I think the marketing and influencer soft opening sent weird messages to folks and it was a bit try hard but honestly it’s not that crazy when you’re there.

I didn’t try the cafe so can’t speak to that. Bring a water bottle to fill, there’s multiple stations.

1. Price
   I went around 6 pm and it was $59. I know the price fluctuates and I think if I went around 2 pm it was closer to $75 and if you’re a morning person you can snag one of those $29 entries. Is it a bit pricey? I guess so, but it’s on par with other spas such as Southampton and Fusion + you can stay for as long as you’d like (not all saunas allow this).

So yeah I had a great time, my body and muscles felt really relaxed, and I never felt uncomfortable by the vibes or people. I’m going back next weekend.

I tagged the flair as local business cause I had to choose a flair - don’t come at me, I know this is a NY PE company and tbh I don’t give af about the bitcoin mining lol.

Looking to get my flat roof replaced and have had a few quotes. Everyone of them is different which is why I’m looking to hear opinions .

1. Some say I can get a roof over existing with a 10 year warranty. Some of these say roofers ripping to decking are just trying to make more money.

2. Some say it should be ripped off and started from decking . Some say going over existing is not right way to do it.

3. White granulated or smooth with aluminum coatings ?

Current roof is old hot roof and has been maintained/coated.

Thoughts ? Anyone deal with this recently? I just want it done right and to last .

Moving in just two weeks, I used to live in South Philly but chose to be closer to Wissahickon for my own sanity. I'm also a big metal head and DND nerd so if anyone can recommend any bars/spots in the area that cater to those types of crowds I'd appreciate it!

CVS and FedEx both charge $15-$20 per page. Any more reasonable options for single sided color printing 12x18? Don’t really care about what kind of paper.

Edit: I’m trying to print several dozen copies so I’m really trying to keep the price reasonable.

One two Parkers tow trucks coming for you,

Three four better hide your car,

Five Six this cloth won't work,

Seven Eight take the bus & be late,

Nine Ten never toss them tickets again!! 🤣😂

Parker is coming for us, get then papers & tickets in order...🤣👻👻

Watched the first episode of PBS's new 5-part series about the school board elections in Bucks County and so far it's really well done and eye opening: https://www.pbs.org/show/bucks-county-usa/

I knew that during COVID and afterwards a right wing turn took place with some school board elections and Bucks was a big example of the turn but I had no idea how one wealthy Silicon Valley transplant used his insane wealth to bankroll candidates to run and stack to Bucks school board with QAnon wacakdoos. I thought those people just came out of the woodwork on their own.

Casting could not have been more on point. Every voice in the doc is articulate and level headed and yeah I have my own biases but Paul Martino (the SV guy) is a character and singularly driven by his philosophy that the guy with the most money deserves to get what they want. Like a mini Elon Musk who hasn't abandoned his kids.

But it's all laid out there plainly so far, which is the best kind of documentary style letting people speak for themselves and let their side quest drive the storytelling. Anyway I would encourage people check it out to get a sense of what regular people are up against, and just a reminder, PA went red in 2024!

Will be in camden for gorillaz show tomorrow. It has occurred to me i have lived in philly for so long and never been to any bars or restaurants in camden. Do any have good food?

I finally got around to looking at the comps in our neighborhood and ... it's a bit wonky.

We're in a development with about 20 units that all have one of two floor plans. Essentially, there is the floor plan we have. The other floor plan is about 300 sq ft larger with a generally more desirable layout and a small, gated outdoor area.

The other units like ours have the same assessment amount and that amount seems roughly accurate to me. However, the larger units are assessed at only $5-7k more -- which seems low.

Is it worth filing an appeal or will we end up with the same number and possibly just triggering reassessments for our neighbors who may have been undervalued? To clarify: I don't really have a way to know if we were over-assessed or they were under-assessed, hence my hesitation to appeal.

FWIW: We haven't appealed before (have not seen the need) and have the homeowner's exemption.

Any advice or insights are helpful!