CLOSE UP by Brian Rudnick

Adventist basketball player seeks gig in Israel

Kelvin Green hopes to play professional basketball in Israel, where the Jewish sabbath coincides with the sabbath he observes as a practicing Seventh-Day Adventist. Watch video interview taken outside House of Produce in Mount Airy, Philadelphia.

Israelis jail him for peaceful protest

Lucas Koerner from the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia talks about being seriously roughed up and arrested by Israeli police as seen in the video here during a trip with a peace group to Israel. He was subsequently jailed for two days for peacefully protesting the annual Jersulem Day parade which celebrates Israel's capture of East Jerusalem during the 1967 Mideast War.  Koerner reports that this was the first time that the parade was deliberately winding its way through an Arab neighborhood. Watch interview here.

Police Seargent to citizens: Get organized

HOW CAN WE HELP [YOU,] THE POLICE, DO YOUR JOB? The way citizens can help out the police department- we're supposed to work in partnership with each other. I would suggest that the best way is just to be visible. First, call us, 911, if you see anything that is suspicious or out of hand and the police can come and investigate it. But also, as a community, there's more that you guys have to take on your block. So it would be better to get organized and work with the police. You guys are out there every day, you're coming home from work, from school and play. You can just form up, you can have meetings on the corners that you identify as problem corners and inform us that you're doing it. Take charge of your block.

HOW DO THE PSA'S WORK?

The PSAs are police service areas and we've been up and running with the PSAs for at least two years already. Basically, we can identify problem areas, we can bring in specialists such as L&I, Abandoned Autos, on the specific problems you're having in the neighborhood. 

I NOTICED A YOUTUBE CHANNEL WHERE YOU HAVE VIDEOS,MAYBE SURVEILLANCE CAMERA? DO YOU KNOW IF THEY'RE EVER HELPFUL IN APPREHENDING ANYONE? With the technology these days, everything is helpful. If it's verbal, by telephone, or if it's video the detectives or police can definitely use it.

Philadelphia Police Seargent Michael Kennedy with daughter Lori after a Town Watch Meeting he helped lead at the 14th police district headquarters on Haines Street in Germanown, Philadelphia.

Watch video interview here.

Mount Airy Stars are Baseball Champs

After being tied with the talented and determined Panthers one game to one, on Friday evening, July 15, 2011, the Mount Airy Stars under coaches Andy, Kevin, Paul and Jerry, took the third game in their series to clinch the championship in Roxborough's 21st Ward baseball league play. This team is the pony minor team in the seniors division. The Stars overcame disabling injuries to some of its players in reaching the win. Coach Andy credits the win with lucky unwashed socks he's secretly been keeping in a trophy cabinet at home only taking out for championship games. Watch video clip of award ceremony here.

Homeless homeless advocate from DC comes to Philly

Eric Jonathan Sheptock was placed in foster care until the age of 5 after being battered in the head by his natural parents as an infant. At five, he was adopted by a Polish father and Italian mother into a family that eventually grew to 38 children, some biological, some adopted.

He has been in and out of homelessness for the last 17 years, and based out of a Washington DC shelter advocates for the homeless full time.

Sheptock was staying with a family in Chestnut Hill this past weekend while working on the campaign for Sheriff of Philadelphia homeless advocate Cheri Honkala.

Honkala, whose campaign motto is "Keeping Families in their Homes" promises that, as sheriff, she will not evict anyone - at least not until the economy gets better.

In the video here, Sheptock talks about growing up in a family of 37 kids.

In the video to be seen by clicking here, Sheptock talks about why he would find it difficult as a homeless advocate who has an adversarial relationship with the government, to work for the government himself but how Honkala would manage to do it if elected Philadelphia Sherif.

In the video to be seen by clicking here, Sheptock talks about his life, his struggles and the struggles of the homeless.

Readers are leaders: Chestnut Hill Book Festival 2011

Somewhere I saw, a long time ago, a button or bumper sticker that said "Readers are Leaders" And I think that's really true- that people who read find out details about the world and have things to talk about. And it's much more effective to be in the world with other humans when you have things to talk about.

We have a rule in our household that if there's a book that's been turned into a movie, you have to read the book first- the Harry Potter movies... there's been a lot of kids books that they've taken and changed around and made them into movies and it's been pretty funny. Because they change them! But I always insist that my kids read the books first. Of course we have to do that ourselves, mind our own rules. So my husband and I had to read "The Lord of the Rings" when that coming out as a movie a while back. We had to read them again. I had read them in high school It was actually work!

Being at this book festival, people are walking by and they're talking about books which is so much fun. And there were some women here earlier at my table and they were talking about kids books that were turned into movies, "The Hunger Games" and how excited they are about that. And we started talking about the books that we love, as adults but they also might be kids books. And then we started talking about the books that are narrated, that are read on tape or CD. And one of the leader-readers, it's so obvious, is Barack Obama, You know he got a grammy award for reading his own book aloud?.. That poor guy has such a job!

Laura Richlin, Chestnut Hill Book Festival 

Watch video interview here.

Bees make hive in home: Highland Avenue honey

It’s really great. They took the fascia off and the amazing thing to me is as they’re crow barring, and this and that , the bees completely ignored them. So they got everything opened up and there was this cavity with honeycomb in it. I have some great pictures, absolutely incredible. They take the honeycomb out. They put them in frames. The frames went in a bee box very similar to this one. And they actually vacuum the bees Once they get all the combs in the box, then the bees go back into the box and you’re done. The reason this is still here is for all the bees that are coming back from being out foraging. I think they have the queen in this one so when they come back they go into this box and not into the house. THESE ARE HONEYBEES, RIGHT? These are honeybees. And I got some honey out of it. So they take all the honeycomb because the bees need the honey but some of it won’t fit into the frames and there’s little pieces left over so I have some honey. LET’S GO SEE. I’ll show it to you. Here’s one- it’s totally clean. You have to try it. Break off a little piece. This one’s not as clean, do you see the white things there and there? They’re pupa or larvae. Those are the bees that are coming out of the thing and growing. AND THE BEEKEEPER WILL TAKE THE HIVE THAT’S NOW RELOCATED INTO BOX AND WHAT? Now they have another hive. If you’re a beekeeper and you have thirty hives, now you have thirty-one. Todd Breslow. Chestnut Hill. Watch video here.

Below is a picture taken by Todd Breslow of his beekeepers vaccuming the hive they removed from his house and below that, the hive between studs of the second floor overhang.

TV Weather Camerawoman

Fox 29 TV camerawoman gets sent out every day to different places to shoot the weather and people out and about for the station's morning show. She may be sent to the Jersey shore but won't have a chance to jump in the water. Or she may be sent to the scene of breaking news, like the guy who was barricaded in Marcus Hook. Watch video here.

Bocce Club's July 4th at the Water Tower

 

At the Philadelphia Water Tower Recreation Center in Chestnut Hill, a magician named John brought Anna and "Jimmy the Paleontologist" up on the stage as audience volunteers. July 4th Independence Day celebration produced by the Bocce Club.