December 7: Raised intersections on South Broad | LGBTQ housing groundbreaking | Tricked out holiday buses

The city will be adding raised intersections and crosswalks stamped red on South Broad at Chestnut, Sansom, Moravian and Walnut Street next spring, writes Inga Safrron. The Street Department’s interventions are designed to caution drivers to slow down and make intersections safer for pedestrians.

CNN political commentator Marc Lamont Hill’s newly opened bookstore and coffee shop on Germantown Avenue is quickly becoming a community asset “buzzing with coffee, conversation, and creative programming,” writes John Henry Scott for Hidden City. Hill opened the shop, located in historic storefront at Church Street and Germantown Avenue, as a tribute to his uncle Bobbie Hill’s home library, which he described as “a monument to a certain kind of expression and investment in Black people, Black ideas, and, ultimately, Black books.”

Pennsylvania’s first LGBTQ-friendly youth housing project broke ground Wednesday, WHYY News’ Annette John-Hall reports. Gloria Casarez Residence, funded by a public-private partnership led by nonprofit housing developer Project HOME, is named after Philadelphia’s first director of LGBTQ affairs. John-Hall highlights a few testimonies on the significance of providing housing targeted at this specific and vulnerable demographic.

How do you recycle scrap metal in Philadelphia? Green Philly Blog put together a few places where you can sell your old appliances, used batteries, and electronics.

All eight SEPTA bus districts competed in the annual holiday bus decoration contest at Frankford Transportation Center this year, showcasing their best from original artwork to scented interiors. The cheerful buses will be on display on Sunday in Center City.

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