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  #2661  
Old Posted Mar 16, 2009, 9:18 PM
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Originally Posted by crs921 View Post


Harrisburg mayor likely to halt sports museum plan
The Associated Press
Updated: 03/13/2009 09:36:31 AM EDT

HARRISBURG, Pa.—Harrisburg Mayor Stephen Reed says a lack of money is likely to force the cancellation of his plan to build a national sports hall of fame in Pennsylvania's capital city.
Reed says fundraising for the 120,000-square-foot facility never got off the ground and that the nine-year-old plan is all but certain to be canceled this year.

The mayor was previously forced to abandon plans for two other museums that he hoped would bring more visitors to the capital—a Wild West museum and an African-American history museum.

Two others are up and running—The National Civil War Museum and the Pennsylvania National Fire Museum.

Reed faces two opponents for the Democratic nomination in his bid this year for an eighth term.
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  #2662  
Old Posted Mar 16, 2009, 10:48 PM
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agreed

that was a financial disaster waiting to happen. now if we could just get reed out of office so harrisburg can see some serious progress...
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  #2663  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2009, 2:05 AM
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Originally Posted by crs921 View Post
that was a financial disaster waiting to happen. now if we could just get reed out of office so harrisburg can see some serious progress...
I am going to the Manicore at the end fo the month for a meet and greet of all democratic canidates. should be interesting. wonder if Reed's challengers will show....
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  #2664  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2009, 2:28 AM
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I wish I were up there so I could join you. I'd love to meet and help the campaigns of Reed's challengers. We need to get Reed out of that office. You should post who you recommend -- I trust your judgement because you have a clear interest in the progress of Harrisburg. We need young, progressive minds to take control in order for Harrisburg to move forward.
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  #2665  
Old Posted Mar 18, 2009, 8:22 PM
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Originally Posted by crs921 View Post
I wish I were up there so I could join you. I'd love to meet and help the campaigns of Reed's challengers. We need to get Reed out of that office. You should post who you recommend -- I trust your judgement because you have a clear interest in the progress of Harrisburg. We need young, progressive minds to take control in order for Harrisburg to move forward.
We might get progressive, but they won't be young. I am trying to get more involved in the community so that I will have a base to support me come next election time. I have joined CAN, Capitol Area Neighbors. There site isn't mighty. I think I will try to work on that. CAN was instrumental in stopping the courthouse from being located on the corner of North and 2nd. They even got a plaque for it and will be errecting it publically. The GSA ran into stiff competition in Harrisburg.

The website above has links to other area groups too. I am concerned that they might be a little Nimbish, but I guess that goes with the Territory.
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  #2666  
Old Posted Mar 24, 2009, 7:08 PM
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Harrisburg Receives Top Two National Fiscal Awards



Mayor Stephen R. Reed today announced that the City of Harrisburg has received the top two national fiscal awards.

One is the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting.

Stephen Gauthier of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) said, "The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management."

"The Certificate has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards including demonstrating a constructive spirit of full disclosure," Gauthier said.

The other is the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, the only national award in governmental budgeting in the United States.

Gauthier said, "It reflects the commitment to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America."

Gauthier said to receive the budget award, an entity has to satisfy nationally-recognized guidelines that assess how well an entity’s budget serves as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide and a communications device, and award recipients must be rated proficient in all four categories to be selected.

Reed said that for Harrisburg, it is the 21st consecutive year the city has received the Certificate for Excellence in Financial Reporting and the 18th consecutive year for the budget award. Previously, the city had never received either recognition.

Of the 2,564 municipalities in Pennsylvania, only 24 have received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the most recently-completed fiscal year, and only three have received both awards.

Both awards are conferred by the Government Finance Officers Association, a professional association of over 17,600 government finance professionals, whose office is in Chicago, Illinois.
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  #2667  
Old Posted Mar 24, 2009, 10:07 PM
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Nice aerial photo.
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  #2668  
Old Posted Mar 24, 2009, 10:33 PM
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And the excellent accounting reveals we're broke!!!
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  #2669  
Old Posted Apr 13, 2009, 10:11 PM
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Cool stuff!!:

ASIA MALL OPENS FOR BUSINESS IN SOUTH ALLISON HILL

Mayor Stephen R. Reed today cut the ribbon to officially dedicate the new Asia Mall, located at 1030 South 13th Street in South Allison Hill, which represents the opening of nine additional retail and food establishments in that neighborhood.

Reed said the Asia Mall is owned by Tang Van Le and Van Van Vy. The Asia Mall will be operated day-to-day by Thoa N. Vu. The 44,000 square foot indoor and outdoor complex, which used to house the Schaedler Yesco Distribution company, will house nine new Asian-owned businesses, including:

• K & H Supermarket (238-8686), which will sell a variety of pre-prepared Asian foods as well as Asian grocery products, including fresh seafood (K&H Supermarket is managed by the previous owner of the 88 Supermarket on Cameron Street, Hoa Dam)
• Miss Saigon Restaurant (232-0600), which will specialize in Asian cuisine
• KimSon Bakery (695-6765), which will sell a variety of Asian/French bakery items
• Café ChieuTim (233-1546), which will be an Asian/French-styled coffee shop
• Asia Nail Supply (233-8933), which will provide an assortment of nail and skin-care treatments and products, including the sale of manicure and pedicure spa equipment
• QueHuong Travel (221-1119), which will provide travel services for individuals coming to the area and traveling abroad
• V-Salon, which is a full-service beauty salon
• Gift Shop 128, which will sell a variety of Asian-style gifts and other items
• Video, which will rent and sell motion pictures to clients

"We are delighted to welcome the new Asian Mall to the South Allison Hill neighborhood," said Reed. "The City of Harrisburg and region have a growing number of Asian residents who, along with residents of every other race, color, and creed, will benefit from the numerous new restaurants, salons, shops, and other stores which are now a central focal point of the area."

"We have a lot of investment in big cities, and we truly believe Harrisburg is a first-class city whose employees have been nothing but a pleasure to work with," said Thoa Vu, Tang Van Le, and Van Van Vy.

Reed said the total cost of the Asia Mall project is $2.5 million and nearly 70 jobs have been created. Financing was provided by Commercial Bank & Trust of PA. Construction was completed by General Contractor Tang Le General Construction of Sheltonham, PA, with other work completed by Geo Technology of York, PA.
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  #2670  
Old Posted May 20, 2009, 8:51 PM
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My Dad talked to me last night and filled me in...WOW!


Linda Thompson trounces Stephen Reed as voters call for change after 26 years

Wednesday, May 20, 2009
BY DAN MILLER danmiller@patriot-news.com

Linda Thompson's convincing win over Stephen R. Reed on Tuesday came surprisingly early and seemed surprisingly easy.

Thompson led from the beginning as results from the first polls trickled in and she never relinquished command.

Shortly after 10 p.m., Thompson's top campaign adviser, James Ellison, announced that whatever precinct results were yet to arrive wouldn't be enough to overcome the large margin his candidate had built up over Reed, despite the incumbent having continuously held the office of Harrisburg mayor since 1982.

Minutes before making that announcement, Ellison had mocked poll numbers released by the media a few weeks ago that showed Reed with a lead of 44 percent to 29 percent.

"What they didn't realize was that the game had changed," Ellison said. "That's how dinosaurs become fossils."

The pre-election poll had said that a higher turnout would favor Thompson. Before the polls had closed, Ellison and City Councilman Brad Koplinski, a Reed supporter, had said separately that turnout was higher citywide than compared to a typical offyear, nonpresidential election.

Near-perfect weather certainly didn't hurt. But the Thompson camp also employed an aggressive get-out-the-vote strategy that seemed to leave Reed flatfooted by comparison.

Thompson campaign workers were seen approaching groups of youths on the streets, asking them if they were registered, if they had voted and if they had not, urging them to do so.

"Those kids went all over the city. They went to the south side, they walked up to every apartment in Hall Manor, and they banged on every door in Hall Manor to get people out to vote," Ellison said. "... Everybody was tenacious in this race. We all knew that, in order to beat Steve Reed, it had to be convincing. It couldn't be a squeaker."

Thompson, in a victory speech delivered before dozens of supporters in Heinz Senior Center on North Fourth Street, said she never allowed herself to be swayed by reports during the campaign that she would be hurt by the candidacy of fellow Democrat Les Ford, such as that she and Ford would end up splitting the black vote in the city.

In the end, Thompson's more than 1,000-vote margin of victory over Reed was hardly impacted by the 400 votes going to Ford.

"I said all along that no other person in this race was my opponent, that Steve Reed was my opponent, and I never took my eye off that prize," Thompson said.

Thompson seemed to relish the idea of a November fight against Reed as a write-in on the Republican ballot. On the Republican side, Nevin Mindlin, who was on the ballot as the endorsed Republican candidate, received 405 votes. There were 426 write-in votes, and the names of the candidates will not be known for several days.

Theoretically, if Reed had enough of those write-in votes, he and Thompson could face off again in November.

Through 2005, Reed had been able to lock up both major sides of the ballot -- Democrat and Republican -- in the mayor's race in five consecutive elections. Thompson would become the city's first woman chief executive, as well as its first black mayor.

"I think a lot of folks were warning [Reed] that he needed to make more effort to be in touch with his base and she just had a better organization. [Thompson's] still a Democrat," said Diane Bowman, chairwoman of the Democratic Party in Dauphin County. "I think this election definitely showed a message of change, a carryover from the Obama campaign. People had more than they wanted of incumbencies. Change is the message this election gave us."

"It's pretty stunning," said G. Terry Madonna, a Franklin and Marshall College pollster. "It's stunning that Reed would lose as convincingly as he is, but it indicates a different dynamic that's working in Harrisburg, a change dynamic. Voters want the city to change, and it's a familiar dynamic."

"It reaches a point where the incumbent goes to the well just once too often."

He noted that Reed's success in remaking downtown might have worked against him in this election: "Mayors can get focused on center city and forget the neighborhoods, and those people feel left out and pursue change."

The upset surprised longtime observers of local politics.

"Oh, my," said state Sen. Jeffrey Piccola, R-Dauphin County, when told of Reed's concession Tuesday night.

"It certainly represents a change for the city of Harrisburg. The mayor has made a lot of contributions," Piccola added. "He has improved the city tremendously over the years, and it was an honor to work with him on a number of projects and issues."

"It's certainly going to be a different Harrisburg without Steve Reed."

On Thompson, he said, "I don't know Linda very well, I know her a little bit, but I'm sure we'll be able to work with her."

Harrisburg School District Superintendent Gerald Kohn called Reed "a wonderful and inspirational leader for the city and the school district."

"He turned around the city, and I know that during the last eight years he brought improvements to turn around the school district," Kohn added. "There clearly have been great improvements in both the city and the district.

Thompson, during her victory speech, repeated a campaign pledge to replace Kohn with an urban superintendent who understands urban schools.

Kohn said, "I look forward to working with Mayor-elect Thompson in the same way that I worked with Mayor Reed to continue the improvements in the Harrisburg School District, because this is all for the children in the school district."

http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriot...450.xml&coll=1
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  #2671  
Old Posted May 20, 2009, 11:53 PM
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I came here to post but I see you beat me to it. I couldn't vote in the democrat primary, but I did cast my vote for Nevin. I hope he doesn't make it into the November election
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  #2672  
Old Posted Jun 22, 2009, 4:13 PM
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Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center to reopen after pause
By David Dagan

The Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center at 1110 N. 3rd St. will reopen its first wing to the public on Wednesday after a two-month pause that followed its grand opening.

The Stage on Herr music venue and bar hosted a month of special events in March but closed because of a delay in obtaining a liquor license, said John Traynor, one of the developers.

Stage on Herr can comfortably hold 200 people, Traynor said. The bar will open at 4 p.m. seven days a week and Wednesdays will be open-mic nights, he said. Local band Case 150 is scheduled to perform at 9 p.m. Friday.

The redevelopment plan for the former Jewish community and recreation center and Police Athletic League building also calls for a playhouse, film office, eatery and spa. The opening of those spaces was delayed by construction-cost overruns and difficulties obtaining part of the bank financing, Traynor said. The developers pulled together private financing and plan to open the remainder of the building in the fall, he said.

http://www.centralpennbusiness.com/a....asp?aID=71822

So glad this place is finally opening. If you haven't checked it out yet, it's probably the coolest place in Harrisburg.
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  #2673  
Old Posted Jul 2, 2009, 5:11 PM
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New Census Bureau estimates put Harrisburg's population at 47,148 for 2008, which is down 25 people from 2007 but still 23 people higher then 2006. From 2006-2007, estimates actually showed Harrisburg grew in population by 48 people.

I guess we'll find out for sure in 2010, but it definitely looks like Harrisburg's 50 years of massive population decline has finally come to an end! I think the next few years the population will continue to hold steady and possibly even gain around 100-200 (hopefully more).
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  #2674  
Old Posted Jul 3, 2009, 4:10 PM
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Excellent news! Harrisburg city is beating the recession when it comes to the housing market. 42 units reserved in one month...that is pretty strong not just for Harrisburg, really for anywhere in the country right now.

Beating the recession: Attracting interest
Residential developments take hold in Harrisburg



Dan Deitchman is renovating this 82-year-old apartment building on North Front Street in Harrisburg. A month after putting Riverview Manor on the market, he had 42 reserved units. Tenants will move in next month, he said. Photo/Kathryn Morton

Dan Deitchman said he thought he would sell 40 residential units in the first year at the former Harrisburg apartment building he and his wife are renovating.

But he said he has been more than pleasantly surprised since he had 42 reserved units in the first month of putting them on the market. Construction crews finished the model unit only last week in the historic six-floor building at 1519 N. Front St.

Despite the recession, the units are attractive because of location, product and price, Deitchman said. His units start at $79,900. There are one, two and three-bedroom units ranging from 700 to 1,300 square feet available in the khaki-colored brick building. The average price for one of the 76 units is $150,000. They go up to $250,000.

“The key rules of real estate are still the same in any economy,” Deitchman said.

Riverview Manor is across the street from the Susquehanna River, yet it is outside the flood plain and within walking distance of downtown.

Deitchman bought the 82-year-old building for about $3 million in November. Work started almost immediately and he listed the units in May. Deitchman would not disclose how much his company, Riverview Manor Associates, is spending to renovate the former apartment building. Tenants will move in next month, he said.

The units feature drywall recycled from the building’s old drywall. The spaces will include Wi-Fi, refinished doors, decorative fireplaces and Brazilian cherry and bamboo floors. Workers installed central air, and utilities are separately metered in each space. About 400 style-appropriate windows were replaced.

Among the biggest selling points are the views, said Pete Weigher, the listing real estate agent for Riverview who manages a team of agents with Re/Max Realty Associates Inc. based in Camp Hill. From the 2,500-square-foot rooftop patio, residents will be able to see the river, City Island, downtown, midtown and uptown Harrisburg.

A mix of people, including young professionals, city workers, middle-aged empty-nesters and retirees, are reserving units in Riverview. The Deitchmans said they are getting interest from out-of-staters, too, including people from Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.


Other city developers hope to attract the same interest.

Harrisburg’s TKP Schoolhouse Associates is putting together The Lofts@909. Mayur Patel and his wife, Tina, are developing studio-style units at 909 Green St. in the historic Boas School built in 1921. The company has $4 million invested in the project, Mayur Patel said.

The Lofts@909 will include 22 apartments for rent on the second and third floors and 6,000 square feet of office space on the first floor. Like Riverview, the old schoolhouse is a khaki-brick building with great sight lines. The Ronald H. Brown Charter School last occupied the building.

Construction should be completed by early August and Patel said he expects tenants to move in around the middle of the month.

Deitchman and Patel said they are confident their developments won’t compete with each other. The Lofts@909 feature 13-foot ceilings, 9-foot windows and are fully furnished; utilities are included in the rent. Rents range from $1,395 to $1,795 per month for the units that are 500 to 710 square feet. The lofts include a full kitchen, bamboo floors, spacious bathrooms with tiled showers, two flat-screen plasma televisions, desk and four to five windows. The units are metered separately. That could come in handy should Patel one day choose to sell the spaces, he said.

Patel started marketing the units this week, he said, and word of mouth has sparked initial interest. The building has parking, it’s about two blocks from the state Capitol and has a central location between midtown Harrisburg and downtown, he said. Patel said he is betting these factors will help make the project a success.

-------

Deitchman and Patel said their projects are not competing with the $22 million higher-end Tracy Manor condominium, office and restaurant project York-based Susquehanna Real Estate is developing along North Front Street.

The projects also will complement the 100,000-square-foot condo project Susquehanna Township’s Vartan Group Inc. plans to start building by next year, the developers said, as did Ralph Vartan, chairman of the Vartan Group.

The more projects there are going on in Harrisburg the better it is for the city, Vartan said.

“The city is on the up and anytime you see investors trying to design and bring products to the market that people want, it demonstrates enthusiasm for investing in the city of Harrisburg,” Vartan said. “Ultimately you will see (the projects) are successful.”

http://www.centralpennbusiness.com/w...530&aID2=71953
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  #2675  
Old Posted Aug 26, 2009, 12:59 AM
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A good read!

------------------------------

Q&A: Midtown Arts Center Co-Founder John Traynor
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 1:54PM

The Midtown Arts Center is a project that is almost too good to be true. With all of the positive things happening in Midtown Harrisburg, the center has the potential to be a major catalyst for neighborhood renewal. Housed in the former Police Athletic League and Jewish Community Center on Third Street, the ambitious renovation calls for a art gallery, a 10,000 square foot theater, a restaurant, a cafe, a spa and a smaller, more intimate music venue. That venue — the Stage on Herr — opened this summer. I recently stopped by the building to talk with John Traynor, one of the three partners involved in the project. Along with Gary Bartlett and Chuck London, Traynor has rescued a gorgeous old building that had fallen well beyond the state of disrepair. Who knows where the project will go or when it will be finished, but Traynor, a true character, had some interesting thoughts on life in Midtown and the local arts scene. Here's what he had to say:

Spotobe: The history of how this project came to be has been fairly well reported, but can you give us a quick rundown before we get into the good stuff?
John Traynor: We came to Harrisburg by mistake. It’s kind of a well-documented story that you might have read. We were on our way back from Pittsburgh and we just turned off and we thought, “Oh this is a cute little town.” Not knowing it was the capital or anything, we came back three days later because we were intrigued by the city. We ended up purchasing a couple of properties. Residential stuff; we weren’t really thinking of doing an arts center or a performing arts center. After we had purchased a number of houses, renovated them and sold them, our agent with with Century 21 told us about this building. He actually knew the building because he worked for the City at one point in his career. He said, “Come and have a look at this building,” so we came in and of course there was nothing. It was a disaster in here. There were no lights and about five inches of bird s**t in the main theater and the windows were all gone. But we looked at the building and we said, “Wow, what an amazing building.” I understood that the City owned the building, so I asked to see Mayor Reed, had a meeting with him, and explained my idea. It was always, “Let’s keep it what it was.” It was a community center and we thought, “Why don’t we just try to restore the building and open it up as something that would benefit the community but be arts-based because that’s our backgrounds.

I had the conversation with the Mayor and the Redevelopment Authority agreed to sell the building to us. We purchased the building at the beginning of December of 2007. We started work on the building in March of 2008 and we’ve been rolling along ever since basically. At the beginning of this year, we were about 80 percent complete with the interior renovations and we ran into some unexpected things which you do in a project of this size. Things like codes and sprinklers and fire. That sort of thing.

Spotobe: So has everything gone according to plan? You said you had hit some small snags. Are you basically on the timeframe you wanted to be on?
Traynor: No. No. I’m very optimistic, so I would make announcements like “We’re going to be done in a year!” However, I didn’t realize the amount of red tape involved. Even just securing a liquor license. I thought we could do it in three months and it took six months. One thing after another and negotiations and trying to get everything through in a timely fashion. It’s taken longer, however; we’re here for the long run. It’s not a short-term investment. Whether it takes us eight months or twelve months or two years. It doesn’t really matter to us. It’s just a matter of getting the facility open. That’s why it’s important for us to at least open a part of it to start doing things and start having some promotions and fundraisers and that sort of thing. Now that the Stage on Herr is open — we’re open seven days a week — we’re running it basically on bar hours. We do happy hour from five to seven. We only opened at the beginning of July and July and August are slow months anyway, however, we’ve been putting on some really interesting acts and some really great music is coming out of here. So we’re trying. September, October, November, December we’re fully booked out.

Spotobe: You mentioned that you ended up in Harrisburg by a happy mistake. What was your impression of the arts scene in Harrisburg once you got here. Having lived in London and New York it was obviously a little bit different.
Traynor: I didn’t come to Harrisburg for the arts scene so I really had no opinion of it whatsoever. I didn’t know that there even was one. I bought this building and started this project and I didn’t even know the Whitaker Center was here. That’s how much I knew. I was pretty clueless in that regard. I just saw the building and its potential. I guess that might sound eccentric or crazy to some, especially with the sums of money we had to put into it, but wow, this is just such a wonderful building. It was really the space, the volume of space and the feeling I got that was, I wouldn’t say spiritual, but it was more of a gut thing. It was really the building.

Once I made the announcement about what we were doing, then I started to discover the art community here in Harrisburg which is relatively small. Now we have the ArtHouse Lounge, but they weren’t here when we started the project. Gallery Blue wasn’t here when we started the project. It was really Arts at 510. The Susquehanna Art Museum, but they’re more of a museum than a gallery. Progressive Galleries was doing a few small events out of the Maennerchor on an irregular basis or a monthly basis. There was the Manits Collective, but they didn’t have a home and they were moving. I really don’t know the history of the Harrisburg arts scene, but it was certainly small and scattered. It wasn’t as cohesive as it might be say in Lancaster or other communities. Saying that, we actually developed 1633 N Third Street. We turned it into a gallery and they turned it into Gallery Blue. She is the newest gallery and we sort of expanded that way. Even though we were working on this project, we had a few smaller projects we were doing. We wanted to make it an arts-based scene. We thought that will encourage people to enter the Third Street corridor and that’s what we’re hoping that this project will do.

Also the Midtown Scholar bookstore moving down and expanding and bringing in people will help. He’ll be doing music as well and having a little gallery and a coffee shop. That’s a wonderful addition too. Between him and us and the other renovations that GreenWorks are doing down there — though that’s more straightforward commercial, at least it cleans up that end of the street. If we all work together, we could actually make Third Street an excellent corridor for the arts.

Spotobe: Are you encouraged by the direction that Midtown is moving right now?
Traynor: With the HACC developments that are going on down there; the Campus Square stuff, that really makes that whole end of Third Street very nice and attractive. By removing some of the dilapidated housing that was there and the warehouses which they are tearing down currently, it’s really made an impact. I’m not saying that low-income housing isn’t needed. It’s absolutely needed. This was privately owned, Section 8 housing with slumlords. They’re the problem in Midtown and Uptown. They’re the problem in Harrisburg. The slumlords that don’t look after their properties and are just interesting in getting money from the state. The tenants suffer for that. They have nowhere else to go so they really can’t complain. I think it’s good if the City works on cleaning up that sort of blight and trying to make our neighborhoods better and safer. That’s what I see changing in Midtown. I’ve lived here about three years or so and I’ve had my issues with Midtown — there’s no question. But everyone has issues wherever they live. I see the changes that are happening. By us renovating this building—which was a huge white elephant all boarded up with no lighting, we put in security cameras and cameras on the streets and we have security here — we’ve made it safe. That only helps the neighborhood as well.

Spotobe: You mentioned earlier that your background was in video production, but you’re obviously interested in other things. You seem to have a pasison for urban renewal, did you have an interest in it before taking on this project?
Traynor: No. I only had an interest in self indulgence. Luxury. I was actually living in Spain. I had a villa which we turned into a small boutique hotel. I had a bar and I was promoting flamenco music in Spain. We were there for four years and decided we were going to come back to the States. I always kept a house in New York City, so we went back to New York City. But I was looking to do something outside the City. I didn’t want to be in the City all the time. I was done with that after working in production for so many years. It’s very high-pressure and a lot of work and I thought I’d like something a little calmer and quieter.

That’s why we came to Harrisburg, but that was only to buy a couple of houses, flip them and see how we liked Central Pennsylvania. Then we saw this. I don’t stop thinking. It was, “Oh, what can we do here, this is exciting. My background is film and television, I love art, I love music, let’s bring all of that.” My partner Gary was also in television and worked for the Guggenheim for a time. He’s also a designer and decorator, so we said, “Why not bring all those talents in?” Chuck London, who is our other partner, is currently a supervising producer for Comcast International based in Los Angeles. He’s still working in film and television but as soon as we get the center open he’s going to relocate out here and run the film office.

Spotobe: And are you going to run the day to day operations? Will you book the music?
Traynor: Yes, we do all of that in-house. As I said, we just opened a few weeks ago, so it’s building the brand now, as they say. We had Tim Warfield last night and we had a nice turnout for Tim. We’re doing open mics on Wednesday, which are phenomenal. We’re getting really good talent and it’s just a great showcase. Also we have a state of the art audio system.

Spotobe: That definitely helps
Traynor: It’s probably the best in Central PA at this point. People can argue, but I say it’s the best. We have great audio mixers. We’re using Dave Neale and Mike Banks, well-known audio people. Tonight (Ed Note: conversation took place earlier this month) we have Jeffrey Gaines and tomorrow night we have this DJ named Nine Lives the Cat out of London with Channel Surfer, another DJ. He just flew in from Europe so it’s the beginning of an American tour. Sunday we have Soul Comedy Cafe. September we are fully booked every friday and saturday night with live music. Every Wednesday there’s live music. Thursdays we are developing. We have Tim Warfield every second Thursday. Tim Warfield invites people in to play and they do a jazz jam session.

Spotobe: This area really has been a mixed bag when it comes to live music. The Chameleon Club is what it is, but its booking is up and down. There really aren’t a ton of venues.
Yeah, getting quality music costs more money. That’s the thing. We could do the Hardware Bar scene. The jam bands. I think that’s what you are referring to with some of the mediocre music. Some of these bands, you pay them 200 bucks or 100 bucks; they just want a place to play. Then you pack the place and you do drink specials. That’s not our scene. We absolutely do not want that. What we want to do is encourage people. What we want to do is have a place where bands want to play. That’s really important. A place where they are treated well, where they want to play, where they are happy and the audience is happy.

We want to mix it up. To do everything from blues to bluegrass to country to rock to indie to pop. Really mix it up. A lot of people don’t want to do jazz because there’s no money in jazz. They don’t want to do bluegrass because there’s no money in bluegrass; the bluegrass people don’t drink. Right? I think sometimes you’ve got to be eclectic. Certainly if we are going to keep to the spirit of what we’re trying to do, it’s not about just putting on the next best thing. I mean, it is. Once we have the upstairs open, we will have the ability to book national acts, because that’s just based on ticket sales. That’s when it’s a business. However, you can still choose what you’re booking in. We’re trying to do a singer/songwriter series brining singer/songwriters together so they have a place to jam and play.

Spotobe: The stuff that Messiah College has booked over the years proves that people will come here. There just has to be a motivation and an audience.
Traynor: I actually have been talking with Messiah College. The guy over there is probably one of the authorities on bluegrass music in that genre and they do bring in some wonderful stuff. Harrisburg has not traditionally been on the map for bands coming through. They play Philly or they play Pittsburgh or they’ll go down to Baltimore or Washington or even to Ohio and they all cross Harrisburg. Or they come certainly within grabbing range. If you pay attention to tour dates for some of the bigger bands, you can say, “Look, we’re a secondary market, but really, we have an area that is 200,000 if you include the surrounding areas.” Those counties are really undeserved when it comes to live music venues. Especially live music venues of quality. Obviously Hershey just does the massive stuff.

Spotobe: Appalachian Brewing Company does some good things.
Traynor: They do more local and regional. They bring in stuff. Frightened Rabbit was a great show, I heard. You know, ABC — as good the events they have had are — it isn’t really set up as a stage. We’ve approached this as a music venue space. This isn’t a bar that will have bands. That makes a big difference. That’s why we have the raised stage. That’s why we have the LED lighting. We’ve spent a lot of money trying to perfect this. The bar side of this, while it’s nice and brings in some money, the main focus is on making it a stage for bands. What’s interesting is, the other stages like the Whitaker Center are very traditional theater-style seating, but most young people, even middle aged people like myself, don’t want to sit in a theater and listen to a rock band. It’s like Pretenders show. They’re playing the Forum and they’ll get a great turnout, but I prefer to see a band like that in a space like this, where I can have a cocktail and sit up a table and get up and dance. It’s much more informal. It’s a professional stage with an informal environment. I think that’s the way of the future. Before, the Chameleon Club and all these other places, they’re always something first and music second. We’re music first and then the fun around it.

Spotobe: Thank’s so much for your time. I hope you get people to come out. Sometimes around here people like to complain that there’s nothing to do but when there are things to do, they don’t come out and do them.
Traynor: Well, the truth is, I’m not really focused on the Harrisburg market. I agree with you. Really we want people to come into Harrisburg who live on the outside of Harrisburg. A lot of people just want to go out and have a drink and whatever. We want people who are interested in music and we’ve been attracting those people. People from the West Shore and people from Union Deposit and the surrounding towns. We’ve had people come down from State College for some events. We’ve had people coming from Carlisle and York and Lancaster and you really want to draw from that market. If you really just worry about your local market, they aren’t going to turn out all the time. It’s got to be about something bigger than that.

http://blog.spotobe.com/index.php/sp..._traynor/#more
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  #2676  
Old Posted Aug 28, 2009, 5:29 PM
danwxman danwxman is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Center City Philadelphia
Posts: 259
A couple news bits today:

"Upscale" gentlemen's club opening in the industrial part of Harrisburg between downtown and Allison Hill (the only place they could put it due to zoning). As you would expect, it's causing quite the stir in the region. Regardless of your opinion, it does go to show that this area is stepping out of its conservative past.
http://www.centralpennbusiness.com/w...684&aID2=72577

On another note...CAT is getting hybrid buses! Sweet.
http://www.centralpennbusiness.com/w...951&aID2=72580
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  #2677  
Old Posted Dec 29, 2009, 7:43 PM
MidtownMike MidtownMike is offline
Keeping the dream alive!
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Harrisburg, Penna.
Posts: 69
Patriot-News moving to Hampden Twp. (Not surprising. They've been looking for a new home for at least two years if not longer. At least they're not scared of pissing off the mayor.)

Oh, and this article is all spin and PR b.s. They're moving for $$$. Smaller place. Fewer employees. Less maintenance. You get the drift.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/ind...itorial_a.html

Patriot-News moving editorial and business offices to Hampden Twp.
By The Patriot-News
December 29, 2009, 1:12PM
The Patriot-News is consolidating its offices to the Cumberland Technology Park in Hampden Twp.

The move will reunite the company’s business offices and editorial department with its production facility off Interstate 81. The two halves of the operation had been split since 2000, when the company’s new production plant opened. Business and editorial offices had remained 10 miles away on Market Street in Harrisburg.

The move is expected to be completed in early 2010.

On a practical level, nothing will change for the company’s readers or advertisers.

All phone numbers will remain the same. Current post office box numbers for mailing will remain the same for the near future.

The new office location will not alter the newspaper’s coverage of either the city of Harrisburg or state government. Reporters and photographers, who have long been completely mobile and spend little of their time in the office, will continue to cover city and Capitol news as they always have.

The company’s advertising representatives, likewise, will continue to serve our advertisers just as before.


View full sizeThe Patriot-News/fileThe Patriot-News printing plant and packaging facility in Hampden Township. The newspaper's editorial and business offices will be moving to a building nearby.
The Patriot-News has been pursuing the idea of reuniting the company’s operations since early 2008, when it became clear that the split operation no longer fit the company’s needs.

In addition to its printing presses and packaging facility, the company’s Hampden Twp. plant houses the bulk of its technology infrastructure. However, other technology operations have, by necessity, remained at the Harrisburg location. This is just one example of a growing number of ways in which the split operation has caused both problems and additional expenses.

“As we have moved from a newspaper company to a media company over the past few years, we have had to change the way we work,” said Editor and Publisher John Kirkpatrick. “Where it once worked to have our operations on Market Street separated from our production facility, that no longer makes sense. This allows us to be more nimble and efficient in many ways.”

The Patriot-News remains committed to serving the readers and advertisers in central Pennsylvania.

“We are one of 25 newspapers in the nation to be growing readership and were Pennsylvania’s Newspaper of the Year for three years in a row,” Kirkpatrick said. “We aren’t changing our mission, just our address.”
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  #2678  
Old Posted Jan 2, 2010, 6:23 PM
EastSideHBG's Avatar
EastSideHBG EastSideHBG is offline
Me?!?
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Philadelphia Metro
Posts: 11,214
That town is a joke anymore, very sad.
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Right before your eyes you're victimized, guys, that's the world of today and it ain't civilized.
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  #2679  
Old Posted Jan 28, 2010, 5:21 PM
wrightchr wrightchr is offline
joining the rail club
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Harrisburg, PA
Posts: 2,496
High Speed Rail improvements planned

Pa. To Get $26.4M In High-Speed Rail Money

Posted: 6:39 am EST January 28, 2010Updated: 10:40 am EST January 28, 2010
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter said Pennsylvania will get $26.4 million of the $8 billion in federal stimulus money that President Barack Obama plans to award for development of high-speed rail corridors.

Specter, D-Pa., announced the state's share Thursday morning.

The money will finance a $750,000 study into the potential extension of the corridor west from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh.

However, most of the money will pay for improvements along the Keystone Corridor linking Harrisburg and Philadelphia, including the elimination of the last three public grade crossings to enhance safety.

"It's not just a question of moving people and dealing with congestion," Sen. Bob Casey said. "It's also doing it in an environmentally responsible way. So I think it's a big part of economic development, especially when to construct those high-speed rail lines, there are a lot of jobs in the construction field doing that."

President Obama is expected to make the announcement during an appearance in Florida.
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  #2680  
Old Posted Jan 28, 2010, 5:23 PM
wrightchr wrightchr is offline
joining the rail club
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Harrisburg, PA
Posts: 2,496
How are things?

I haven't posted on here in a while. I've been busy traveling with the military. I visited HBG a couple weeks ago and I'm amazed at how things keep changing. I think improvements like this high speed rail linking HBG and Philly are definitely a good investment.

Dave...how the heck are you?
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