Banking on Germantown, Dilworth Award honors cleanup efforts, Mariposa’s move, Temple partners to bridge North Philly’s digital divide

Amy Z. Quinn cruised Germantown with local real estate investor Ken Weinstein, for PlanPhilly/NewsWorks. Weinstein, owner of the Trolley Car Diner, has been buying up and rehabbing commercial real estate in the area for more than two decades, and he says he would really like some healthy competition. To Weinstein, “Germantown is ready to take off. It just needs a little push.”

Carlton Williams, a deputy commissioner in the Streets Department won this year’s Dilworth Award for public service for his work to make Philly a cleaner city, the Inquirer reports. Williams is the man behind the city’s Recycle Bank program, “Unlitter Us” campaign, the BigBellies on street corners, and the Spring Cleanup day citywide.

March 7 is the last day you can shop at Mariposa Food Co-Op’s old location, reports West Philly Local. On March 17 Mariposa will open its doors at a new location down Baltimore Avenue in a beautiful former Belmont Trust Company Building. Their conversion of the former bank earned the Co-Op an award from the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia this year.

Temple University and Wilco Electronic Systems have partnered to develop apps with and for PHA residents, reports Flying Kite. The initiative will work with Temple’s Urban Apps & Maps Studio to help bridge North Philly’s digital divide and connect PHA residents with information and services.

The Buzz is Eyes on the Street’s morning news digest. Have a tip? Send it along.