Top 6 stories of the week in Northwest Philly

Here’s a look at the stories you may have missed this week in Northwest Philadelphia.

1. Among family and friends, Shane Montgomery is laid to rest

Hundreds packed the pews of a Northwest Philadelphia church on Friday for a funeral Mass mourning college student Shane Montgomery, who died “suddenly, cruelly and tragically” after leaving a Manayunk bar in late November. Here’s the full story. 

2. Mt. Airy book store owner branches out to open noodle house

Six months after taking over longtime Mt. Airy staple Walk a Crooked Mile Books, owner Jake Sudderth says he is pleased with the progess the store has made. So much so, he has opened a noodle house a few doors over at the former location of InFusion Coffeehouse, which closed in late Oct. The new joint, which held its soft opening at the end of Dec., is called Mt. Airy Noodle House and serves Vietnamese-style pho.

To read more about the new pho restaurant, and Sudderth’s plans for Mt. Airy Read and Eat — the new name of the book store — click here.

3. 96-unit apartment building coming to Falls Ridge site

A proposal for a 96-unit residential building on a vacant parcel at the north end of the Falls Ridge tract in East Falls has been accepted by the Philadelphia Housing Authority. The Pennrose Development company will lease the PHA site and build the four-story rental community, says Jacob Fisher, senior developer at Pennrose. Read more here.

4. Fattah prepares for a new term with visit to MLK

Democratic U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah was strolling the hallways and classrooms of Martin Luther King High School on Monday, the day before starting his 11th term in Washington. He wanted to get a closer look at one of the neighborhood schools served by his Second Congressional District. Here’s the full story.

5. As Bottom Dollar prepares to shut stores, some in Philly in despair

Cost-conscious shoppers across Pennsylvania will soon have to find another place to buy groceries. Sixty-six discount Bottom Dollar stores are slated to close this month. Bottom Dollar is being taken over by the Aldi supermarket chain.  It’s not clear what the fate of its Pennsylvania stores will be.

The Rev. Chester Williams, president of the Chew and Belfield Neighbors CIub in Northwest Philadelphia, said residents are praying for the neighborhood Bottom Dollar store, which just opened a year ago. Here’s the full story.

6. Feds: Ironworkers boss turned union into ‘700-man army to do his bidding’

Joseph Dougherty, former boss of Philadelphia’s Ironworkers Local 401, headed to federal court on Monday morning to face charges that he turned the union into a “criminal enterprise.”

Dougherty is charged with 10 counts including conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, using fire to commit a felony and extortion. Read the full story here.