Suprising Scranton & Wilkes-Barre PA

[donybrx]

I agree Ex-Ithacan. As I recall you provided us with a terrific shot of the tower in the early posts of this thread.......and East Market St.. It's gonna be kinda barren for a while. Ihope they get right to work on the conversion of the historic part of the Sterling into condos..that'll ease the pain.....

[donybrx]

Local companies ranking well among PA's 100 best places to work......

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Posted on Sun, Dec. 10, 2006

Best Places to Work in PA
Earning recognition
Local companies top 100 Best Places to Work list

By JERRY LYNOTT jlynott@leader.net

Benco placed 28th on the list of 50 large-sized companies with more than 251 employees. Two others from Luzerne County also made the cut; Pride Mobility Products Corp. of Exeter earned 17th place and Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania came in 48th. The list of medium-sized companies with 25 to 250 employees also contained two local firms. Hazleton-based Troy Manufacturing Inc., a maker of over-the-counter and personal care products, reached No.8 and Solid Cactus, a Wilkes-Barre e-commerce Web site developer, landed the 21st ranking.
Outside the walls of Benco Dental Co. word gets around about its reputation as an employer.

Sally Sidorek picked up on it.

“I heard that Benco was a great place to work,” she said.

Six months into her job as lease coordinator at the Wilkes-Barre-based company, the Dallas woman is a believer and so are the organizations that compile the list of the 100 Best Places to Work in PA.

Benco placed 28th on the list of 50 large-sized companies with more than 251 employees. Two others from Luzerne County also made the cut; Pride Mobility Products Corp. of Exeter earned 17th place and Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania came in 48th.

The list of medium-sized companies with 25 to 250 employees also contained two local firms. Hazleton-based Troy Manufacturing Inc., a maker of over-the-counter and personal care products, reached No.8 and Solid Cactus, a Wilkes-Barre e-commerce Web site developer, landed the 21st ranking.

Both were new to the list. The others have been there before.

Aside from enjoying the recognition, the five companies expect to use the coveted spots to promote themselves, attract employees and further improve their workplaces.

“It definitely helps to be listed among the best places to work for recruiting purposes,” said Joselle Lencicki, senior manager of human resources for Blue Cross.

The recognition is well-earned and the health insurance company aims to keep it that way by analyzing the results of a confidential employee survey that makes up two thirds of a company’s score. The employer survey accounts for the remaining third.

“Some of the areas that get identified we leverage,” in order to maintain them, Lencicki said.

Pride studies the data and works at improving areas where it scores low, said Ann Sadusky, senior vice president human resources and administration.

“Each vice president receives the overall data and we make corrections based on the information,” Sadusky said.

At Solid Cactus, company president Scott Sanfilippo planned to meet with the managers and review the results. It was the first time the company participated in the survey.

Sanfilippo pointed out his company’s business is completely Internet-based and likely has a younger and more technologically advanced workforce than others on the list.

“I think we do above and beyond” what many of those on the list do in terms of technology, he said. But there is room for improvement in other areas.

“It would be great to be number one,” he said.

A few years ago Benco received its worst score in the category dealing with how employees feel about the company’s contributions to the community, said George Rable, vice president of culture and people.

Even though the company was a big contributor, “we were not doing a very good job communicating to the employees,” Rable said. The company created a community booster committee to spread the word to its 400 employees.

Benco, a family-owned business started in 1930, uses the best places survey to supplement the two it conducts in-house annually. The resulting policies and practices have enabled the company to make the list, added Rable.

“We have a good management team. We think we’re hiring the right people,” he said.

The employees’ input to the operations is valued and rewarded and their ideas put to work as well. Sidorek suggested adding a service schedule to the logs kept in the company’s fleet of vehicles.

A walk through the company’s office drew positive responses from Russ Grodack, tech support manager and Dwayne Taggart in receiving.

“I think it’s the people that are here more than anything,” Grodack said of why Benco made the best places list for a fourth year. The Kingston resident has been with the company six years.

“They just treat you really well,” said Taggart a 15-year employee from Hanover Township.

Pride employees expressed similar job satisfaction whether they were the ones contacting field service technicians, making sales calls to the West Coast or assembling power wheelchairs.

Between the company’s headquarters in Exeter, its Duryea production facility and sales representatives its workforce totals nearly 1,000.

Charlotte Shaefer of Pittston Township worked in the garment industry before Pride hired her four years ago. She works in the company’s field service tech customer service department.

The good impression she received when she interviewed with the company remains. “You get recognized for your good work and your benefits are outstanding,” Shaefer said.

Jane Rosentel of Forty Fort started working at Pride two years after her son told her about the company. He was working for the company at the time and said it was great place, she said.

Today she is a regional account executive handling West Coast territories.

“Everybody is very professional and helpful here. And that’s why this company is so great,” Rosentel said.

A few miles away, in an assembly room across the Susquehanna River Linda Savoroski pulled a plastic housing from a rack. She’s been with Pride for 10 years and works as a line leader for sub assembly of the company’s Jazzy model.

“The company goes out their way to help you out in any situation,” Savoroski said.

GETTING LISTED

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The Best Places to Work in PA is a joint effort by the Team Pennsylvania Foundation, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry and the Central Penn Business Journal. The survey of companies is conducted by ModernThink, a partner of the Harrisburg-based Best Companies Group. A participation fee ranges between $695 and $1,195, depending upon the size of the company. To be eligible for the list, companies must complete the entire assessment process. The deadline for registration for the 2007 list is May 18. For more information, visit www.bestplacestoworkinpa.com.


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Jerry Lynott, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7237.

[Ex-Ithacan]

Good stuff dony, thanks.

[donybrx]

It is good...so much is going well for the area after so maany decades....now if they can get the crime thing resolved with a firm hand and a big push.....downtown has seen a healthy decline alreaady thanks to the presence of people and cops.......

[donybrx]

Big News. Wilkes-Barre's last coal breaker---the County intervenes---
finally some clear thinking about an icon specific to Wilkes-Barre and the region that deserves to be kept around for teaching, learning history and culture.

****************************
Posted on Tue, Dec. 12, 2006

Society supports county plan for Huber
Resolution backs effort by commissioners to preserve the historic breaker.

By RORY SWEENEY rsweeney@timesleader.com

ASHLEY – The Huber Breaker Preservation Society board of directors passed a resolution Monday afternoon “enthusiastically” supporting the efforts of the county’s board of commissioners to preserve the Huber Breaker, the last original anthracite coal breaker, according to the society’s Web site.

Offering “any and all support,” the board also recommended the commissioners, after securing the property, create an advisory board with the preservation society’s board as the advisory board’s “nucleus.”

“We wanted to clearly send a message that the organization that has been involved from the beginning is very supportive of what the county commissioners are trying to do,” said the society board Chairman Anthony J. Mussari. “All we want to do is throw whatever support we can.”

Commissioners Greg Skrepenak, Todd Vonderheid and Steve Urban have said the county, through the Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority, will pay a fair price for the site. The authority has offered to exchange 6 acres it owns near the breaker with the owner, No. 1 Contracting, for the breaker.

Company president Al Roman has stated he wants 21 authority-owned acres near the breaker, and an option to pay $60,000 for 3 additional acres, all of which are part of a 60-acre plot the authority has tagged for development into a business park.

The authority, which is planning on using that property as collateral for a state loan to buy utilities for the park, has said it can’t part with such a large portion of the collateral.

Mussari, whose father was a breaker boy, said the 68-year-old breaker needs to be preserved because it’s “as symbolic to the area as, say, the Eiffel Tower in Paris” and would allow the area “to have something that nobody in the country has.”

He said he realizes the preservation society will not have the influence it had before governmental funds poured in, but that the society wouldn’t be able to raise the funds on its own.

“Once this becomes the property of the county, they can make things happen,” he said. “Anything short of that, and it’s not going to be saved.”

[Ex-Ithacan]

Hip-hip-hooray. Thanks for the good news dony.

[donybrx]

My pleasure EX.....truly...if I had the bucks I'd save it me self......(let's see...where's last night lotto tix....? So many buildings. so few dollars.....heh.)

[donybrx]

Drugs, Gangs Violent Crime---all alien to the Wyoming Valley not long ago...just big city problems.

Well, folks in Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton and environs aren't in denial...more credit to them for that and for taking inistiative to beat it...is it enough? Time will tell. I sure hope so..

This is a national issue too.....a massive awakening is in order as is a dedicated plan of attack....

Posted on Tue, Dec. 12, 2006

OUR OPINION
Major drug bust opening salvo in war on gangs

GANGBANGERS” IN THE Wyoming Valley?

“Crips,” “Bloods” and other gangs in Hazleton?

As disturbing -- as sickening – as that sounds, it’s the awful truth: Northeastern Pennsylvania has a gang problem.

In Thursday’s “Operation Smackdown,” leaders of two drug rings operated by alleged members of the notorious New York City “Bloods” gang were charged by law enforcement agencies.

Police said that the Scranton-based gangs, which reportedly sold 3,000 bags of heroin a week, operated in Luzerne County and five Luzerne County residents are among those facing charges.

This is not an isolated incident. Two weeks ago, Hazleton Mayor Louis J. Barletta told a Times Leader reporter that as many as five gangs are operating in his city, including the “Bloods,” “Crips,” “Dominicans Don’t Play” and “MS13.”

“These gangs are active here and they are preying on Hispanic children in our city” Barletta said. “We are at a crossroads. If we don’t do something about it now, in five years it will be too late.”

It may already be too late a little to our east. In August, the Associated Press reported a drastic increase in gang activity in the Poconos’ gated communities. Authorities there believe the gangs consider the communities a haven where they can operate freely, the AP reported.

Let’s not let that happen here.

Drugs know no boundaries, and all children, not just Hispanics -- and all adults -- are in danger when gangs infiltrate.

Gangs are here and they are not going away.

We must face up to this fact and devote the resources in terms of money, personnel and law-enforcement units to stop the “gangbanging” before it spreads any further.

“Operation Smackdown” seems like a good beginning in the war on gangs. Let’s keep it going.

[Ex-Ithacan]

A scourge no doubt. Even little "enlightened" Ithaca has a gang problem - drugs, fights (stabbings and shootings), and neighborhood terrorizing. I think the lure of relatively easy money in a safer environment for their drug trade has prompted a movement from the big cities to the smaller burgs (even kind of rural). Until people quit using drugs, I don't see a way to get rid of the gangbangers.

[Snakeyes]

12/12/2006
ERA One Source Realty plans commercial office
BY DAVID FALCHEK
STAFF WRITER


One of the area’s largest residential real estate firms plans to spin off and expand its commercial division in Scranton.



ERA One Source Realty in South Abington Township plans to open a commercial division at 1301 Mullberry St., site of Vincent’s dress shop, said broker/owner Sunita Arora. She plans to buy the building in late February and open the 10- to 20-person office in the summer.

Ms. Arora’s firm joins an increasingly crowded group as several firms diversify into commercial real estate or focus on it completely.

Earlier this year, Hinerfeld Real Estate, long Lackawanna County’s dominant commercial firm, jettisoned its meager residential division to handle commercial work exclusively.

Last month, George Semian, owner of Semian & Gress Real Estate in Scranton, launched a commercial division with two agents pursuing certification.

Activity in Scranton, including the expansion of the University of Scranton, downtown revitalization and the proposed medical school, convinced Ms. Arora to locate in the city.

“The city is coming back to life and there is a lot going on,” she said. “Northeastern Pennsylvania is attracting savvy investors that would not have looked here three years ago.”

http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site...ewsid=17579236

[donybrx]

Good to see ya Snakeyes especailly with good news to post......

[Snakeyes]

Originally Posted by donybrx

Good to see ya Snakeyes especailly with good news to post......

Thanks...what doy ou think of the RED BARONS new name?

[donybrx]

^^^^gee, how original, huh? Not so hot.......no local personality in the name "Yankees"; it's probably better for marketing and making dollars......which goes against the fun in minor league baseball, since the majors are so completely about money.....

So, I don't care for it....how about you Snake? .......And others?

[donybrx]

Sensationally fast $ start for Scranton's proposed Medical School: another $25.......this from Blue cross. $75 M price tag is nearly in place!


12/14/2006
Proposed medical school gets booster shot
BY CHRIS BIRK
STAFF WRITER


The proposed Medical College of Northeastern Pennsylvania got another financial shot in the arm — and one step closer to fruition — on Wednesday.

Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania committed $25 million to the fledgling Scranton school as part of an expansive, $175 million investment into local health care.

Culled from the regional insurer’s surplus funds, the donation represents the second major chunk of funding secured by the school in the last three months. It also means stakeholders can account for more than three-fourths of the estimated $75 million needed to construct the institution.

“What we’re trying to do is give to this community, because we believe in it,” said Denise Cesare, president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross. “We saw the timing was right. It was just a natural, logical, beautiful fit.”

Billed as a catalyst for medical and economic revival in the region, the creation of a school has been championed by a team of local business and medical leaders and elected officials for the last two years. The state in October dedicated $35 million to the project, representing the largest economic development grant of Gov. Ed Rendell’s term.

The independent, regional school is expected to serve 360 students and have an annual operating budget of $25 million. Officials hope to enroll students in August 2009 and are already searching for a founding dean, a position they look to fill by February.

“The first $60 million came easier than I ever thought it would,” said Robert Wright, M.D., chairman of the Medical Education Development Consortium. “It’s an amazing time right now. This whole effort is transformational.”

Consortium officials estimate a “bare-bones” medical school will require $75 to $85 million in start-up funding. A search for new funding sources, both private and public, is running concurrently with the search for a founding dean.

In terms of location, the consortium has an option on the Howard Johnson property at Franklin Avenue and Mulberry Street, and the old Holiday Manor property across the street may also wind up in the mix. The footprint is expected to house the 180,000-square-foot facility and transform the northern entrance into the city.

“You don’t anticipate the possibilities. Additional sources of funds are numerous,” said Wright, adding that a Connecticut firm was hired to help conduct the funding search.

Meanwhile, the insurer’s outlay of $175 million will not affect current premiums, said Cesare.

Instead, she claims the investment will “have a positive impact on lowering the rise of health-care premiums in the future” because of more efficient and cost-effective medical care.

The insurance provider covers about 600,000 people in 13 counties in Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania.

“This is an historic event,” Cesare said.

cbirk@timesshamrock.com

[donybrx]

Arena for sale? can't imagine it.......
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Luzerne County insider says Big Win Ventures, owner of the W-B/Scranton Pioneers, interested
Wachovia Arena up for sale?


By JENNIFER LEARN-ANDES jandes@timesleader.com

WILKES-BARRE TWP. – Someone may be interested in buying the Wachovia Arena.

“I’ve just recently been informed that there may be a possible offer coming to purchase the arena,” said Bill Jones, a member of the Luzerne County Convention Center Authority that oversees the operation of the arena.

Jones said he is “open to discussion of any proposals” and will consider what’s best for the arena and the area as a whole. He said he can’t identify the potential buyer because he hasn’t received anything in writing.

A well-placed county insider has identified the interested buyer as Big Win Ventures, owner of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers arenafootball2 team.

Pioneers General Manager and team President Dave Berryman, a minority stakeholder in Big Win, didn’t confirm or deny the report.

“Big Win is always looking for opportunities in the localized marketplace,” he said. “As far as specifics about Wachovia Arena, I couldn’t say at this time.”

Big Win was among those interested in a shared management agreement with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, who were in search of a new Major League Baseball affiliate after the Philadelphia Phillies announced their departure earlier this year. The New York Yankees are the Barons’ new parent club, while California-based Mandalay Entertainment has taken over management of the Triple-A franchise.

Big Win has owned the franchise since November 2004. The Pioneers will begin their sixth af2 season on March 31.

Kevin Blaum, convention center authority chairman, said Friday that he knew nothing of any offers but would be “extremely skeptical” of any that come in.

“My initial reaction is that it’s an extraordinary public asset that should never be in private hands because we operate it in the best interest of the people of Northeastern PA,” Blaum said, noting the variety of entertainment that appeals to diverse interests, including families.

“While we always try to maximize our dollars, we are sensitive to the community,” Blaum said. “Once it’s gone, it’s gone. Then it can be resold or dismantled for scrap.”

If the arena ended up in private hands, the county could benefit from the deal. The arena collects 80 percent of the revenue received from the county hotel tax, which has amounted to more than $10.5 million since the tax went into effect in May 1996.

If the county did not have to fund the arena, that money could be used for other recreational or tourism needs.

Blaum has said that the arena’s hotel tax funding stream must remain intact because it’s legally earmarked to pay off the arena construction bond.

Minority Commissioner Stephen A. Urban said commissioners have no control over the arena, other than appointing the board members who serve. But he hopes the authority will consider any offers with an open mind and thorough public discussion because the arena is a fixed asset surrounded by thriving businesses that he thinks are here to stay, regardless of arena ownership.

Arenas are privately owned throughout the country, he said.

“Blaum is acting like they’re going to put the arena on a space ship and fly it away. It’s a fixed asset that’s not going anywhere. I’m sure anyone who would make a sizable investment in the arena would want to promote it and ensure it’s successful,” Urban said.

Times Leader sports editor Joe Petrucci contributed to this report.

[donybrx]

Quiet week, yet:

-----Wilkes-Barre's Wachovia Arena.....nope. Not for sale;
-
------Montage Mountain is now (ugh) Sno Mountain, thanks to (not so) slick Philadelphia investors who bought it...... Problem is.... Montage or Sno...there isn't any real stuff...too warm.....but, then again, not every city has its own ski resort within its borders.....even if the skiiing isn't great right now.....


12/17/2006
Mountain of changes under way
BY JAMES HAGGERTY
STAFF WRITER


Denis Carlson hopes a new look, new attractions, improved ski conditions and better marketing sweep Sno Mountain to financial success.

“When we looked at this place, what gave us the confidence to turn it around was that it was either outdated or it was done wrong,” said Mr. Carlson, president of Sno Mountain, a Philadelphia-based investment group that acquired the former Montage ski complex from Lackawanna County for $5.1 million on Nov. 6.

Sno Mountain was scheduled to open Friday, but unseasonably mild weather prevented snow making to hit that goal. The facility had 185 of its 193 new snowmaking guns in place Thursday, hopes to resume snowmaking Wednesday and open as soon as weather permits, Mr. Carlson said. Only 23 snowmaking guns were operable when the group acquired the property, Mr. Carlson said.

“They had no snow, so they had no people here,” he said.

The investment group has committed to about $20 million in improvements, including installation of a water park next summer. Engineering work on that addition is under way.

Analysts said the early steps look positive for Sno Mountain.

“If these guys have the right kind of background or have the right types of experience, they might be able to make a go where the county couldn’t,” said Bill Haralsen, a recreation and tourism consultant from Richardson, Texas, who did the feasibility study on the development of the Camelbeach water park at the Camelback ski resort in Tannersville. “Cities and counties really have a difficult time running properties like that. ... I think there’s a pretty good chance they’ll be able to pull it off.”

Major marketing changes are under way to turn Sno Mountain away from Montage’s financial difficulties. Montage lost about $700,000 last winter and $335,000 the season before.

“We’re putting about $450,000 into marketing,” Mr. Carlson said. “As we increase revenues, we’ll increase marketing.”

Sno Mountain has about 20 billboards posted along Interstate 81 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike and in the Allentown area, is advertising on radio and television and its Web site draws about 120,000 hits a day, Mr. Carlson said.

It has contracted with a Philadelphia-area bus company for more tours, is offering special rates to school districts for student skiing and has special four-hour lift tickets allowing people to ski in any period between the expanded hours of 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. Montage opened at noon.

Early marketing efforts are bringing results.

Montage only sold about 375 season passes last season, but Sno Mountain already has sold about 800.

“Why would you want to buy a season pass when the mountain doesn’t open until noon?” Mr. Carlson wondered.

Other skiing changes this season include a new terrain park with a half-pipe for snowboarding, a conveyor belt for snow tubers and youngsters too small for ski lifts, establishment of a ski school, new snow groomers and plow trucks, an overhauled ski shop, an expanded ski and snowboard rental area including an outdoor tent and all new equipment.

“The equipment that the county had for people was about 20 years old,” Mr. Carlson said.

In addition, the lodge has been renovated, including new kitchens and an overhaul of the bar and cafe area with expanded seating in both. A new day-care facility is in place and the medical center has been restored.

Although the preliminary steps look positive for Sno Mountain, ski areas require a lot of up-front investment in maintenance, upkeep and improvements before they begin turning the corner, said James Chung, president of Reach Advisors, a consulting firm in Belmont, Mass., that serves the recreation and resort industry.

“It’s hard to make it just off the lift ticket operations on their own,” Mr. Chung said. “They are going to have to be smart with capital allocations, marketing and customer service. If they can’t hit on those three, they are not the last owners of this place. They just have to be very business focused.”

Fixed expenses, such as maintenance and snow making, are the biggest financial burdens for ski areas to shoulder, Mr. Chung added.

“It costs a lot to run a quality ski area,” he said. “Once they cover the fixed costs, it’s all gravy.”

Mr. Carlson said Sno Mountain has some advantages at the start of operations.

The investors have about $8 million in equity in the complex, he said, adding, “We have very little debt on the facility at this point.”

Also, Sno Mountain will operate the restaurant, bar and vending area on its own, making healthy profits on services that were subcontracted when the county operated Montage, Mr. Carlson said.

“None of that revenue went into the mountain,” he said.

Spokesmen for other regional ski areas said Sno Mountain’s initial efforts address Montage’s deficiencies and are a positive for the regional ski industry.

“I think most of those improvements are a necessity,” said Gregg Confer, general manager at Elk Mountain near Union Dale. “You’ve got to have snow to make it a success in this business.”

Craig Low, spokesman for Camelback, said the investment at Sno Mountain helps the region’s reputation as a ski destination.

“It’s nice to see ski areas developing and growing. Any growth in our sport is good for everybody,” he said. “It’s better that we have a wide selection of ski resorts in the region.”

Contact the writer: jhaggerty@timesshamrock.com

[donybrx]

Interesting.....the new faces of NEPA business.....especially women and immgrants........Indian immigrants:


12/17/2006
New faces of business: Immigrants, women
BY DAVID FALCHEK
STAFF WRITER


The face of business in Northeastern Pennsylvania is changing, said two business brokers who sell area enterprise
More business buyers than before are immigrants or women, they say.

Sy Sebastianelli a Jessup-based business broker, said 70 percent of his inquiries are from nonnative born buyers. Jerry Thier, a business broker with PMJ Productions in South Abington, said 20 percent of those who buy businesses he lists are immigrants.

“Owning your business is the American way to be successful,” explained Mr. Thier. His listings on the Internet attracted queries from Europe.

Some buyers are Hispanic but most, the brokers say, are of Indian background. In the nation of 1 billion people, mom-and-pop businesses make up the bulk of the economy, garnering $19 of every $20 spent, by some estimates.

“The new American entrepreneur is coming from other countries — places like India,” Mr. Sebastianelli said.

In his 13 years in the business, Mr. Thier also noticed more women buying businesses.

Nationally, 44 percent of small businesses are owned by women. Mr. Thier said he knew the region was catching up with national figures when he started to broker women-to-women transactions. He estimates that 30 percent of his buyers are female.

Contact the writer: dfalchek@timesshamrock.com

[Ex-Ithacan]

^ Not surprising really. Seems that the old USA is still the land of opportunity. A good idea (and business plan), some seed money, long hours, hard work, and the gumption to stick-it-out, usually spells success. Good luck to those risk takers.

[Snakeyes]

Originally Posted by donybrx

^^^^gee, how original, huh? Not so hot.......no local personality in the name "Yankees"; it's probably better for marketing and making dollars......which goes against the fun in minor league baseball, since the majors are so completely about money.....

So, I don't care for it....how about you Snake? .......And others?

Not that big of a fan...like to see more emphasis on the S/WB rather than the Yankees....

[donybrx]

Originally Posted by Ex-Ithacan

^ Not surprising really. Seems that the old USA is still the land of opportunity. A good idea (and business plan), some seed money, long hours, hard work, and the gumption to stick-it-out, usually spells success. Good luck to those risk takers.

Emphasis on the gumption! Good to 'see' ya EX.......

merry, happy, safe & sound.....a good '07 all around.....zounds...