Manayunk's 24th Annual Arts Festival will welcome 320 artists from across the states and Canada this weekend.

The event, the region's largest outdoor juried art show, will take place on Main Street between Green and Shurs lanes on Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. This year's theme is "Art: Unexpected. Creating New Genres."

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Could U.S. Congressman Bob Brady come to rescue of Philadelphia's schools, like he came to the rescue of the Manayunk bike race?

Sources tell WHYY/NewsWorks that Brady, as well as city and state officials, are in talks about attempting to secure federal funds to help plug the Philadelphia School District's $304 million budget gap. They said the plan would require the U.S. government to waive money now owed to it by the state.

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Police have confirmed the arrest of one suspect connected to a string of armed robberies in East Falls and Germantown.

Jamal Perkins, 21, of the 5300 block of Newhall St. in Southwest Germantown, was charged last week with 11 counts of robbery, aggravated assault, and related charges.

Perkins was already in police custody in relation to a prior robbery arrest, according to police and court documents. In addition to the current robbery charges, Perkins is also awaiting adjudication on an incident from 2012 for contempt of court. He was previously found guilty on charges of drug possession with intent. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 2. According to court records, Perkins remains in custody at the Philadelphia Industrial Correction Center on $250,000 bail.

At present, police are not releasing Perkins' image due to the ongoing search for an accomplice who participated in most of the robberies. This suspect, who remains at large, is described in earlier police reports as being a black male in his early 20s.

String of armed robberies 

Perkins' alleged crime spree began on April 4 with the attempted robbery of a cab from the Germantown Cab Company not far from his Newhall Street home. After threatening the cab driver, police say Perkins fled the scene and nothing was reported taken.

Three weeks later, Perkins surfaced in East Falls, allegedly robbing a female complainant of her cell phone at gunpoint on the 3400 block of Tilden St. on April 22. Four days later, a Philadelphia University student was robbed of his cell phone and laptop at gunpoint.

Two weeks later, on May 6, police say Perkins struck twice, taking an iPhone on the 3300 block of Bowman St. and, three hours later, another iPhone from a victim on the 400 block of W. Woodlawn St. in Southwest Germantown.

The following weekend, Perkins again doubled down, taking a cell phone on the 3200 block of Cresson St. in East Falls and allegedly firing a gun into the air, according to police. The next night, a few blocks away on the 3300 block of Midvale Ave., Perkins and his accomplice took yet another iPhone, along with a white MacBook and an iPad.

The robberies continued, with additional incidents in East Falls on May 25 and June 1. In addition, Perkins and company expanded their horizons in May, robbing a would-be SEPTA patron in East Mt. Airy and a cab driver in Germantown.

Increased police presence 

To catch Perkins, additional police resources were deployed to East Falls for several weeks. Numerous residents remarked upon the highly visible police presence in both patrol vehicles and on bicycles. In addition, local police officials said that plain clothes officers were also in place.

Captain Michael Craighead of the 39th Police District did not respond to NewsWorks' requests for comment.

Captain John Fleming of the 14th District said that he was especially thankful for the efforts of officers and commanders from the Northwest Detective Division, which he described as being "above and beyond."

"To clear this many robberies is really impressive," said Fleming.

Told of the apprehension, East Falls Town Watch President Mary Jane Fullam expressed relief that one of the alleged suspects was captured. Her organization has closely monitored the unfolding crime spree since its April onset.

"We're glad that the police apprehended one of the alleged suspects," she said, urging residents to "stay on guard" as at least one additional suspect remained at large.

"The more people that call 911 with information the better off we will all be," she said.

A newly minted Germantown High School graduate, Shyhiem Crump stood outside the New Covenant Church posing for pictures just before noon Wednesday. In his hands was a framed black-and-white graduation photograph of his late father Darnell.

Crump conceded that he was both a little nervous before the big day and bummed since he and his classmates represented the last graduating class in GHS' 99-year history.

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Eighty-nine students dressed in navy blue and white robes marched across the Roxborough High School football field on Wednesday morning for the Class of 2013's graduation ceremony. 

For many students and faculty members, it was a bittersweet send-off. 

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Philadelphia City Council members had some tough questions today for top city officials at the first of a series of hearings on demolition practices.

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Days after telling NewsWorks that the City suggested his youth girls-soccer program move its practice field from central Germantown, Soccer Sisters United head coach Walter Stewart reiterated his reasons for wanting to stay at Monday night's Friends of Vernon Park meeting.

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West Mt. Airy residents had the opportunity to talk with local government officials and leaders at a West Mt. Airy Neighbors' (WMAN) discussion panel highlighting goals for West Mt. Airy in 2020.

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On the 4100 block of Mitchell Street sits a city owned lot that has been dormant for nearly 30 years. Sarah Koenig has lived in the Roxborough neighborhood for 20 of those years and wants the vacant lot to now be put to use for the community.

Koenig has two dogs and has used the empty fenced in lot to allow her dogs to run and play, and said that many other dog owners in the neighborhood do the same. She is now spearheading an effort to officially turn the vacant city lot into a permanent community dog park.

"Having a dog park will enable responsible dog owners to allow their dogs to run free, play and socialize with other dogs."

She also stated that the community is truly in need of a local dog park. She says that although there is a dog park at Pretzel Park in Manayunk, just under a mile walk from the newly proposed park site, many residents don't like to go there because they say it's overcrowded. She adds that the number of dogs and their owners living in the Mitchell Street area also constitutes the need for the park.

Koenig is serving as president for the aptly named and newly formed group Roxborough Dog Park. The group met with a member of Fourth District City Councilman Curtis Jones Jr.'s staff about the idea and it was suggested that the residents form a 501(c)3 organization in order to better organize the project and to be able to better raise funds.

Carlos Nunez is also a resident of the neighborhood and is serving as vice president for the group. He said that the newly formed group already has about 40 members and many are lending their time to the project.

He said that a lawyer in the neighborhood is volunteering his time and expertise to help out with the legal aspects of forming a 501(c)3 organization. A local architecture group is also lending a hand by volunteering their time by rendering a design for the park.

Nunez said that once the organization becomes official and money is raised, they can then formally petition the city for establishing the park. At that point, the group will have six months to develop the lot into the Roxborough Dog Park.

The Roxborough Dog Park group will be holding their next meeting on June 24 at 8 p.m. at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church. 

Sean Smith and Kayla Cook are students at Temple University. This piece was produced for Philadelphia Neighborhoods in collaboration with WHYY's NewsWorks.