Chestnut Hill

There is no doubt that Chestnut Hill is a most pleasant place to live. I have enjoyed it for years, first as a resident of nearby Mount Airy and now as a member of the Chestnut Hill community. And there is no doubt that the interest in the community by its residents and its community leaders has helped maintain that special quality of life. But in praising the Houston-Woodward family it should be kept in mind that overt racism and prejudice against members of religious groups has been one of the main weapons used in the "battle" to maintain the community's "specialness.

Chestnut Hill Academy's Andrew Malcolm had one word for the one pitch that kept eager Episcopal Academy hitters off-balance during yesterday's Inter-Academic League baseball game. "Junk," he said with a smile. Malcolm, a senior righthander, scattered five hits, and the Blue Devils scratched out a single run in the second inning and two more in the third during a crisp 3-1 victory over the visiting Churchmen. The triumph helped Chestnut Hill (2-3) stay in the thick of a taut Inter-Ac title race.

An armored car guard exchanged shots with a gunman yesterday morning when the guard was robbed of $13,000 in cash and checks outside a Chestnut Hill supermarket, police said. There were no injuries. Theodore Berry Sr., 40, an employee of Federal Armored Express Inc., was transferring a bag of cash and checks from the Super Fresh Food Market at Mermaid Lane and Crittenden Street to an armored car parked nearby about 10:25 a.m. Outside the store near the front door, a man pressed a gun against Berry's head, police said.

A Grays Ferry man was arrested early today and charged in the May 4 stabbing of a female employee of a Chestnut Hill bookshop, detectives said. Detectives said the man, identified by police as Larry Rush, 27, of the 2900 block of Pierce Drive, was arrested at 12:15 a.m. He was found hiding inside a closet at his girlfriend's apartment in the 3100 block of Morris Street in Grays Ferry, detectives said. Rush was charged with simple and aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and possession of an instrument of crime, according to detectives, who said he was being held pending arraignment.

1CHESTNUT HILL BANK IS ROBBED AT GUNPOINT Two armed men robbed a Sovereign Bank in Chestnut Hill yesterday, authorities said. The FBI and Philadelphia police said that the men entered the bank, at Germantown Avenue and Bethlehem Pike, about 12:57 p.m., and while one brandished a shotgun with a pistol grip and threatened employees, the other vaulted the teller counter. After obtaining an undisclosed amount of cash, the men fled south on foot through the parking lot. They were last seen getting into a silver sedan with tinted windows, possibly a Pontiac Grand Am, headed south on Ardleigh Street from Evergreen Avenue, police said.

The Latvian invasion of Chestnut Hill, prompted by the Crossing choir's Baltic-dominated concert Sunday, was complete, successful, and welcome. Three current composers - Maija Einfelde, Peteris Vasks, and Eriks Esenvalds - traversed idiosyncratic harmonic terrains in pursuit of whatever elemental truth they perceived in the texts they set to music in the final concert of the Crossing's Month of Moderns festival at Presbyterian Church of Chestnut...

WHEN WAS the last time you ate in Chestnut Hill? With six, count 'em, six new eateries opening along Germantown Avenue in the past year, there's no denying that tasty change is afoot in this leafy Philadelphia neighborhood. The opening of Weaver's Way Food Co-op, the presence of two regular farmers markets, and the plans for Fresh Market in the former Magarity Ford car dealership are more signs that the 11-block stretch between 7600 and 8700 Germantown Avenue is expanding its gastronomic horizons.

Authorities are offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of two men who robbed the Chestnut Hill post office Wednesday afternoon. The robbery occurred about 2:15 p.m. at the Chestnut Hill station at 8227 Germentown Avenue, said Reggie Wade, postal inspector for the Philadelphia division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. One of the men had a gun and jumped the customer-service counter. He took $600. No one was injured. Anyone with information is asked to call 877-876-2455 or visit the Website: postalinspectors.uspis.gov.

The operator of a Chestnut Hill barbershop was found stabbed to death inside his shop last night, police said. Orelio Ubaldi, who was in his late 50s and lived in the 8100 block of Devon Street in Chestnut Hill, was found dead about 9:30 p.m. inside the Continental Barbershop, in the 8100 block of Stenton Avenue, according to homicide detectives. Ubaldi was found by a passing off-duty Philadelphia firefighter, Stephen Kerrin, 37, detectives said. Detectives said Kerrin, a paramedic, was a customer and friend of the victim.

A Philadelphia couple has donated $1 million to the Woodmere Art Museum, the former mansion in Chestnut Hill that houses a priceless collection of fine paintings, sculptures, tapestries and other objects of art. The gift, by Harry and Catherine Kuch, is the largest in the 52-year history of the museum. The money will be used for general operating support, museum director Michael W. Shantz said yesterday. "What's so great about this gift is that the only restriction is that there are no restrictions," Shantz said.

The title Vermilion Vespers was an immediate tipoff that whatever the religious functions of a vespers service, this one would be anything but sanctimonious. Even so, the freewheeling, evening-length work that unfolded from the Haverford-based composer Curt Cacioppo — and opened the Crossing choir's "Month of Moderns" festival Saturday at Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill — was more like a musical funhouse in which arresting effects were cheek-by-jowl with less-than-stunning miscalculations.

Calvin Coolidge once said that "persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. " The fact that Councilman Bill Green is sharing a plate of Memphis nachos with his wife, Margie, on a breezy Sunday afternoon in Chestnut Hill is proof that the 30th president of the United States was right – even when it comes to Philly Democrats. The empty nesters get to talking about the night in 1986 when they caught each other's eye at the Hippodrome in London, where Green had fled to escape the massive shadow of his father, who served as congressman, mayor and head of Democratic City Committee.

Rowing FLICK/HORVAT SERIES REGATTA 1,500 meters on the Schuylkill. BOYS' RACES Lightweight double: 1, Malvern Prep, 5:57.66. 2, Haverford, 6:00.64. 3, Christian Bros., 6:05.56. Lightweight four: 1, Mons. Bonner, 5:33.00. 2, Father Judge, 5:37.81. 3, St. Joseph's Prep, 6:00.13. Lightweight four: 1, Don Bosco, 5:48.92. 2, Lower Merion A, 5:56.64. 3, Moorestown, 6:00.56. Lightweight four: 1, DeMatha, 5:59.32. 2, Don Bosco, 6:07.56.

Chris Bornholdt scorched an eighth-inning RBI single to the right-center-field gap, and Springfield (Montco) overtook visiting Chestnut Hill, 5-4, Friday in a nonleague baseball game. Bornholdt finished the game 3 for 4 at the plate with a run scored. Anthony Scafidi added a pair of hits and an RBI, and Doug Bauer pitched the final three innings for the win. In other nonleague action, Mike Piscopo allowed an inherited runner to score before he clamped down and saved La Salle's 5-4 win over visiting St. Augustine (N.J.)

Episcopal Academy bolted to a 9-0 halftime lead and cruised past visiting St. Joseph's Prep, 14-4, in a nonleague battle between two of the top lacrosse teams in the state Thursday. Tyler Odell registered seven goals and Dutch Buckley added four assists for the Churchmen, ranked No. 4 in the state by phillylacrosse.com. Tenth-ranked Prep was held to one goal through three periods. In other nonleague action, Mark Gurenlian of Springfield (Delco) won 22 of 25 faceoffs and Steve Halko scored five goals in an 11-10 win at Owen J. Roberts.

La Salle's Kevin Christy took a no-hitter into the seventh inning on a chilly Saturday afternoon at Hank DeVincent Field, but visiting Richmond broke through to grab a 2-1 Atlantic Ten victory. Christy (1-1) allowed both runs and took a hard-luck loss. The righthander from North Penn struck out eight to extend his A-10-leading total to 51 and now has 193 in his career, just six whiffs away from moving into third place all time for the Explorers (15-11, 3-2 A-10). Richmond improved to 14-10, 1-1. Widener's Bill Hollingsworth (Monsignor Bonner)

Chestnut Hill wrapped up its Florida road trip with an 8-6 nonleague baseball win Wednesday over North Jersey's Lenape Valley in Fort Pierce, Fla. Sam Feirson went 2 for 3 with a run scored and Dan Hull knocked in three runs and recorded a double. Mike Hayes picked up the win with a pair of perfect innings out of the bullpen and three strikeouts. The Blue Devils finished 6-2 on the trip. In other nonleague action, Kevin Huber went 2 for 3 and drove in a run to lead Interboro past host Ridley, 6-4. Dan Shane had three singles and Jake Gordon and Mike Kacergis each had two RBIs to lift Pennridge at Neshaminy, 9-4. Ches-Mont.

Kevin Kratochwill broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the seventh with an RBI single and St. Joseph's beat Temple, 4-1, in the Liberty Bell Classic at Skip Wilson Field in Upper Dublin Township. Kratochwill was 3 for 5 with a run scored and the RBI. The Hawks (7-18) will host a semifinal on Tuesday against either Lehigh or Delaware.   In other first-round games, Ryan Donahue struck out seven and allowed only three hits in 32/3 innings as La Salle (14-10)

WHEN WAS the last time you ate in Chestnut Hill? With six, count 'em, six new eateries opening along Germantown Avenue in the past year, there's no denying that tasty change is afoot in this leafy Philadelphia neighborhood. The opening of Weaver's Way Food Co-op, the presence of two regular farmers markets, and the plans for Fresh Market in the former Magarity Ford car dealership are more signs that the 11-block stretch between 7600 and 8700 Germantown Avenue is expanding its gastronomic horizons.