Live in West Chester? Want to? Follow along.
Have you seen the teepee in Everhart park? Well, here’s the backstory on the mysterious eight-foot structure that appeared during the height of the pandemic when schools were shuttered and the playground equipment was wrapped with caution tape. Six months after its completion it continues surprise and delight kids across the Borough (and beyond).
Up on the side of the building at 119 East Market Street lines are drawn. Large angular shapes are now visible. Vote is sketched loud and proud. Soon color will be added. Downtown West Chester’s first mural, in who knows how long, is coming together.
To help protect restaurants during the colder months and boost confidence in dining indoors, Pennsylvania recently launched its Open & Certified campaign. As of this writing, there are 39 West Chester restaurants participating including 18 in the Borough. See who is in and what it means to be certified.
Lanternfly tape is popping all over the Borough, and while, all those dead little bodies might make you feel good, is it doing more harm than good? A West Chester horticultural manager lobbies for an outright ban. Plus, follow these two best practices, if you are going to use it.
As we’ve known for a while now, the Borough of West Chester is in a bit of a financial crisis. Last month the Borough Department heads met to make their initial 2021 budget presentations to the Borough’s Finance and Revenue committee and the general takeaway is, if nothing changes, the Borough is expecting a nearly $1.7-million-dollar deficit to its general fund next year. There are generally two ways to deal with a deficit: cut projects or raise taxes.
In honor of National Black Business Month and the return of school, we are featuring a profile of West Chester’s own Tonya Walls and Little Faces Childcare Center. Tonya introduced the Borough to Little Faces 10 years ago when she noticed that families on the west end were lacking in childcare services.
Good news pups of West Chester, Everhart Park has added a pet water fountain to the premise!
In February, I announced seven new restaurants were coming to town. Most of which were planning to open in March, then the pandemic hit. It’s been a brutal time for established businesses, so how could a new restaurant survive? With the closing of Gay Street, I followed up to see who’s open, who’s not, and how things are faring under COVID-19 guidelines.
West Chester has been losing its old “legacy” trees at an alarming rate and it’s beginning to impact the health of the community. So last fall Borough Arborist Mike Dunn reached out to the West Chester Green Team for help identifying local trees in distress. This led to a new community initiative dedicated solely to watching the trees.
We just learned that starting on August 3, Gay Street will be closed to through traffic and open as a pedestrian mall. We also know that masks will be required at all times. Now imagine you are halfway to town to check out said open air marketplace, when you realize you forgot your mask. You can’t go into a store and buy a new one so looks like you are heading back home. Except, wait… one West Chester couple just may have a solution to all your PPE needs.
