Author Archives: Maddie Conley

The Week that Was: News and features around Harrisburg

March 14, 2025 | by Lawrance Binda and Maddie Gittens

A past St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Harrisburg.

It’s been a full week here in Harrisburg, so if you missed any news, we’ve got you covered. All of our reporting is listed and linked, below.

Bob’s Art Blog showcases a recent exhibit at the Susquehanna Art Museum and encourages people to visit the Civic Club of Harrisburg for 3^rd in the Burg. Click here, to read.

Candidates for Harrisburg mayor and City Council submitted their nominating petitions this week. Find out who is running in this year’s crowded field, here.

City Council approved Harrisburg giving Governor’s Square money to help the affordable housing development get back to livable conditions, our online story reported. Council also made a move towards kick-starting the city’s police advisory board.

Harrisburg has lots of fun ways to spend springtime as a family. Our columnist has suggestions, including the outdoors and education, here.

Home sales and prices in the Harrisburg area both increased in February, our online story reported. For the region, 398 homes sold compared to 373 in February 2024, as the median price rose to $279,750 from $264,000.

Open Stage’s Good at Heart Festival will return from March 22 to 30, our magazine story reported. The festival includes the annual production of “The Diary of Anne Frank,” which is celebrating its 25^th year at the theater.

Sara Bozich has your guide to the weekend in Harrisburg, here.

Sawyers will reopen this spring in downtown Harrisburg under new ownership, our reporting found. Justin Browning, owner of JB Lovedraft’s Micro Pub, will revamp the club with a synthy ’80s Miami/South Beach vibe and update the menu with new drinks and quick-serve bites.

Small businesses will receive training and resources through M&T Bank and Harrisburg University’s Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s accelerator program, our online story reported. Applications are now open and the classes begin in May.

St. Patrick’s Day will be celebrated this weekend with a downtown parade on Saturday, our online story reported. The parade will feature dance groups, music, marching bands and more.

Tri County Regional Planning Commission is bringing back its Sober Ride Home program for St. Patrick’s Day weekend, our online story reported. The initiative offers bar and restaurant patrons free Uber rides home to deter drunk driving.

A Youth Commission spearheaded by Harrisburg City Council will restart this year, our online story reported. Council is looking to hire two advisors to oversee the program.

Do you receive TheBurg Daily, our daily digest of news and events delivered right to your email inbox? If not, sign up here!

Support quality local journalism. Join Friends of TheBurg today!

Area residents graduate from UPMC healthcare training program, launching future careers

March 14, 2025 | by Maddie Gittens

Freedom House program graduates.

A group of Harrisburg area residents are ready to kickstart their health careers, thanks to a local program.

UPMC Health Plan on Friday celebrated the graduation of its first cohort of students from the Dauphin County Freedom House Foundation training program.

The workforce development initiative, which also has cohorts in Erie and Allegheny counties, provides a free, five-week course to lower-income students interested in the healthcare field.

“They have put in a tremendous amount of hard work and shown immense dedication to learn not only valuable clinical skills, but professional development skills and interpersonal skills that will serve them really well as they embark on this new chapter of their journey,” said Leah Franklin, workforce development manager at UPMC.

In the course, 13 students learned the foundations of healthcare, setting them up for entry-level positions or for further education in the future.

“We are giving our students a very foundational knowledge that gives them a lot of opportunities,” said Trevor Mathey, project manager for Freedom House. “So whether they want to go and immediately become a medical assistant or a patient care technician or community health worker, they have that option. But they also have the option to continue their education and go on and become an EMT or a nurse or pursue many of the other health care professions.”

Not only was the course free, but students were paid while they took the classes and assisted with things like childcare, transportation and finances, which can often serve as barriers to education.

During the program, students attended training at Tec Centro Capital Region in Harrisburg.

“My mom’s a nurse, and I see how many people she helps,” said Tiana Higgins, a Harrisburg native and one of Friday’s graduates. “I want to be able to have that impact on people also and change people’s lives.”

Higgins said that the courses were hands-on, giving them chances to shadow healthcare professionals, take a CPR training course and learn to take a blood pressure reading, among other things. She plans to now begin working and eventually pursue her LPN and RN certifications.

According to Mathey, there is already a waiting list for the next cohort of the Freedom House program, which will likely begin in a few months.

For more information on UPMC Health Plan’s Freedom House Foundation, visit their website.

If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!

Harrisburg St. Patrick’s Parade, Lucky Charm race return this weekend

March 12, 2025 | by Maddie Gittens

A past St. Patrick’s Day parade in Harrisburg

This weekend, downtown will get green.

The annual Harrisburg St. Patrick’s parade will return on Saturday, March 15 at 2 p.m., bringing music, dance and Irish festivities to the city.

The parade, organized by the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District, will begin at the Market Street Bridge and head up Market Street before turning onto N. 2^nd Street. The parade will march down 2^nd Street until turning on North Street and then onto N. Front Street and back to the bridge.

The parade will include Irish dance groups, marching bands, antique cars, firetrucks and many more groups.

“There’s so many amazing groups that we have participate. We are looking at probably the most groups we’ve ever had since we’ve been putting on the parade for many years,” said Downtown Improvement District Executive Director Todd Vander Woude, during a presentation to city council on Tuesday.

The Lucky Charm Race, another St. Patty’s Day tradition, will lead runners on a four-mile route through downtown earlier on Saturday, beginning at noon. Vander Woude said that sign-ups are capped at 1,000 runners, and the race is almost full. It may be the largest turnout yet, he said.

On Saturday, Park Harrisburg will offer $10 event parking at the Market Square Garage.

For more information about the parade, visit their website. To sign up for the Lucky Charm Race, visit their website.

If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!

Harrisburg City Council to restart youth commission, hire advisors

March 12, 2025 | by Maddie Gittens

(From left) Council members Lamont Jones, Jocelyn Rawls and Danielle Bowers shared information about the Youth Commission at a press conference.

Harrisburg City Council will restart a civic educational program meant to inspire youth.

At a press conference on Tuesday, council member Jocelyn Rawls announced that council’s Youth Commission will return next school year, and is in need of advisors.

“Myself and members of city council are dedicated to providing middle school to high school age residents with greater opportunities for leadership, community government and involvement and first-hand experience in their local government because they are our future leaders,” said Rawls, chair of the parks, recreation and enrichment committee.

Council is looking to hire a senior advisor and junior advisor, both part-time. The advisors will serve as mentors to the youth and will organize meetings and community events and work with local officials. The advisors will report to Rawls and council President Danielle Bowers and have an office in the MLK City Government Center.

Applications for the positions are now open. Council expects to hire for the positions in April.

The commission previously operated for a period from October 2022 to August 2023. According to Rawls, she and Bowers decided it would be best to pause the commission to have time to revamp it to reach more students and to hire advisors who could devote more time to the program.

The youth commission will be open to Harrisburg students, from any school within the city, who are in sixththrough 12^th grade. Youth must apply, interview and be selected for the board, which will meet twice a month from September to June.

To apply for the Youth Commission advisor positions, visit the city’s website. For more information, contact Assistant City Clerk Jared Truesdale at 717-255-6500.

If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!

Harrisburg Council approves funds to help Governor’s Square, moves to start police advisory board

March 11, 2025 | by Maddie Gittens

Harrisburg City Council meeting

Harrisburg will help an affordable housing development in the city improve after years of neglect.

City Council on Tuesday voted in favor of giving $250,000 towards assisting the Residences at Governor’s Square, a bankrupt and dilapidated complex near N. 5^th and Maclay streets.

The money will go to a court-appointed receiver, who is slated to take over operations of the development and bring the properties into code compliance.

Last October, Governor’s Square’s owner Uptown Partners, Harrisburg and other parties to the bankruptcy case agreed to have the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas appoint a receiver to take over control of the property. The owners first filed for bankruptcy in May 2023, having received hundreds of city code citations and condemnations. While in bankruptcy court, the owner has struggled to find an owner with the necessary funding and United States Department of Housing and Urban Development approvals.

The money from the city will help get the receivership started, with the expectation that the funds will be reimbursed to the city eventually.

The court has yet to appoint a receiver However, the city has proposed Justin Heinly, owner of Harrisburg-based Midtown Property Management.

Also on Tuesday, council took a step forward towards kickstarting the Citizen’s Law Enforcement Advisory Board (CLEAC). Council approved the creation of the board in 2020, but the board has not yet met.

At its meeting, council made an amendment to the board, removing Mayor Wanda Williams’ two required appointments to the board. Now, council will have the power to appoint seven board members, instead of its previous five.

In March 2023, council appointed Brent Miller, Quinton Davis, Adrian Selkowitz, Gia Johnson and Lakichia Carrier to the board. The board is not able to function without all seven appointees. Once appointed, the board will select another two members for appointment.

During the public comment portion of the meeting on Tuesday, Harrisburg resident Vivian Brandler presented council with a petition related to the Broad Street Market. The petition included signatures from around 500 community members opposed to Harrisburg’s proposal to construct a new building in the market’s courtyard, between the two market buildings.

Brandler told TheBurg that she collected signatures over four days at the market, hearing from residents and out-of-town community members who were shocked and disappointed by the city’s proposal, one of several possible ideas for the future of the courtyard.

“There’s something to be said about a third space,” Brandler said. “It’s a meeting place.”

Brandler said that she also plans to deliver the petition to the mayor’s office and the Broad Street Market Alliance board “so they can understand what a representation of the general population thinks. People were really mad.”

Finally, council moved to reallocate $59,000 in the city’s budget to fund a new Harrisburg Youth Sports Association. The association, created by several community members, will help city youth pay for costs associated with local sports teams and memberships to the Harrisburg Area YMCA and Boys and Girls Club of Harrisburg.

If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!

Harrisburg entrepreneurs will get training, resources at annual business accelerator program

March 11, 2025 | by Maddie Gittens

(From left) Gloria Martin-Roberts, Harrisburg interim director of building and housing development, Jay Jayamohan, program director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Natalie Wech, central PA business banking regional manager for M&T Bank, and Nora Habig, central PA regional manager for M&T Bank, at city hall.

Local entrepreneurs will learn tips and tricks for business growth through an upcoming program.

The fourth annual Small Business Accelerator Program will kick off this spring to provide education and resources to area startups, announced organizers, including Harrisburg University’s Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, M&T Bank and Harrisburg officials, on Tuesday.

“Since the inaugural year, our team has worked with more than 90 small businesses, witnessing first-hand their incredible growth and success,” said Nora Habig, central PA regional president of M&T Bank, at a press conference in the MLK City Government Center. “We truly do this program as a catalyst for our community.”

The free, seven-week program will accept 40 participants and offer sessions on developing a business plan, establishing credit, accessing capital and funding and marketing, among other lessons. There will also be a chance for participants to enter a “Shark Tank”-style pitch competition at the end of the program. M&T Bank will award $10,000 in total to the winners.

The program begins on May 7 and concludes on June 18. Applications are now open and are due by April 12.

To be eligible, applicants must have been in business for no more than three years, have an annual business revenue of less than $350,000, and the owner must live in the Harrisburg area and be over 18 years old.

For more information, visit M&T Bank’s website.

If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!

The Week that Was: News and features around Harrisburg

March 7, 2025 | by Lawrance Binda and Maddie Gittens

Harrisburg City Council at a meeting this week.

Another week has come and gone in Harrisburg. We’ve been here to cover all of the news that impacts our community. Find our reporting, below.

City Council this week weighed the possibility of Harrisburg allocating money to assist the beleaguered Residences at Governor’s Square affordable housing complex, our online story reported. The money would help a court-appointed receiver begin work to bring the bankrupt development into code compliance.

Gamut Theatre Group presents “Frankenstein” this month, our magazine story reported. The play, an adaptation by Nick Dear based on the novel by Mary Shelley, explores humanity’s capacity for good and evil.

A Harrisburg homeless encampment has begun to face the impacts of PennDOT’s I-83 construction project nearby, our online story reported. However, encampment occupants shared that they have received no information from the city on what will happen to them long-term.

Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams held a press conference on Friday to respond to a recent article that included information on a federal lawsuit against her, our online story reported. A former city employee accused Williams of unfair management practices, claims that Williams said were “baseless.”

Live music is in full swing in the Harrisburg area this month, whether you’re looking for Celtic-inspired music for the holiday or any other genre. Our columnist makes her recommendations, here.

McGrath’s Irish Pub is gearing up for St. Patrick’s Day and shares some of its special and most popular drinks, in our Bartender’s Choice column.

Millworks is celebrating its 10^th anniversary as an arts and restaurant hub in Harrisburg. In our magazine story, find out more about the history of the Millworks and what it means to artists and the community at large.

Our publisher discusses local historic properties and the need to restore them, in his publisher’s note. He highlights the Historic Harrisburg Association as one of our city’s nonprofits, which we feature many of in our March issue of the magazine.

Roller skating is open to the community this month on City Island, our online story reported. Harrisburg is offering skating in the island’s carousel pavilion near FNB Field as a way to test out new initiatives to better use the island.

Sara Bozich has found all of this weekend’s happenings and listed them all for you, here.

Do you receive TheBurg Daily, our daily digest of news and events delivered right to your email inbox? If not, sign up here!

Support quality local journalism. Join Friends of TheBurg today!

Harrisburg mayor responds to allegations of nepotism, calls them “baseless accusations”

March 7, 2025 | by Maddie Gittens

Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams held a press conference in the MLK City Government Center on Friday.

Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams on Friday defended herself against recent allegations that have arisen from pending litigation and related press coverage.

At a press conference in city hall, Williams responded to a recent article published by Pennlive that shared information on a federal lawsuit against her, in which a former city employee accused Williams of unfair management practices.

In September 2022, former public works director Nathaniel Spriggs filed a lawsuit against Williams and the city, alleging that he was wrongly fired because he wouldn’t promote Williams’ son Dion Dockens. In his filings, Spriggs also stated that Williams had asked him to create positions for several of her other family members.

The civil rights lawsuit is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

On Friday, Williams said that the claims, which the Pennlive article referenced, were unfounded.

“I understand as mayor I am fair game for criticism and I accept that responsibility with the utmost respect. However, my family is not fair game,” Williams said. “I will not stand by silently as they are unfairly drawn into baseless accusations.”

Williams countered claims alleging that she had created positions for family members, saying there was no change to the city’s organizational chart to add jobs for them. She also noted that several of her family members, including her son and granddaughter, held positions with the city before she was elected mayor.

“I will not allow gossip and speculation to overshadow the real work being done,” Williams said. “The challenges we face as a city are just too important and the work ahead is too great for us to be distracted by disruptive rhetoric.”

At the press conference, members of the media questioned Williams on whether or not she was utilizing a city forum and city resources for the press conference for political reasons. Williams has previously said that she would run this year for a second term as mayor.

Earlier today, city Communications Director Mischelle Moyer sent an email media advisory stating that Williams would “address recent media reports related to nepotism and other unethical practices being unfairly touted for reaction and marring of her reputation during a mayoral race.” At the press conference, Moyer said that she misspoke in her email by mentioning the mayoral race.

Williams denied that her statements on Friday were politically motivated.

“This is concerning me personally, not for a campaign,” she said.

When asked what all of this means for her moving forward, Williams replied, “I will continue with my race for mayor.”

If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!

Harrisburg proposes funds to assist Governor’s Square, weighs police advisory board appointments

March 4, 2025 | by Maddie Gittens

Harrisburg City Council meeting on Tuesday.

Harrisburg may make a financial investment towards improving conditions at a dilapidated and neglected affordable housing development in the city.

City Council on Tuesday weighed the potential of Harrisburg contributing $250,000 to help get the Residences at Governor’s Square apartments back to livable and city code-conforming conditions.

Governor’s Square owner Uptown Partners LLC filed for bankruptcy in May 2023, following years of residents’ complaints about their quality of life, as well as hundreds of city code violations and condemnations. The bankruptcy case has been hung up in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania since then, as parties have struggled to find a buyer that had sufficient funds and that could get necessary approvals from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

In October 2024, Uptown Partners, the city and other parties to the case agreed to have the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas appoint a receiver to manage the property. Attorneys for Uptown Partners have previously stated that the company doesn’t have the money or the desire to maintain and retain possession of the property.

The city has since petitioned the court to appoint Harrisburg-based Midtown Property Management as receiver. Although, a county court judge will have the final say.

However, seed money is needed to allow the receiver to begin the process of creating a restoration plan and beginning work, which is where Harrisburg comes in. If approved by council, the city would provide the receiver $250,000, which, as currently stated in the proposal, would eventually need to be paid back to the city.

“It’s a fairly big lift that we are undertaking, but there’s no one else taking it,” said City Solicitor Neil Grover.

Grover noted that there will likely be more proposed allocations of city funding for the receivership in the future.

Over 20 of Governor’s Square apartments are condemned, and the city has issued hundreds of code violations on the properties. About half of the over 200 units are vacant.

The seed money would come from city funds that were originally awarded to Harrisburg through the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) for COVID relief. More specifically, the money would be drawn from the $8 million that council designated for affordable housing support.

According to Grover, if the money is approved by council at its next legislative session, a court order on the Governor’s Square receivership could potentially come down next week.

Also on Tuesday, council discussed taking a step towards kick-starting the years-delayed first meeting of a board that was created in 2020, shortly after the death of George Floyd and subsequent nationwide Black Lives Matter protests.

In November 2020, council approved creating a Citizen’s Law Enforcement Advisory Committee (CLEAC) to review actions of the Harrisburg Police Bureau. The approval came after months of community meetings and council discussions and revisions to the bill. Under the bill, council would appoint five board members, the mayor two, and then the board itself would select two which council would approve.

However, the board has yet to meet.

In March 2023, council appointed Brent Miller, Quinton Davis, Adrian Selkowitz, Gia Johnson and Lakichia Carrier to the board. However, the board cannot function without all seven appointees, according to Grover.

Before making its appointments, council members had stated that they wanted to wait to introduce all appointees, including the mayor’s, at once, but that Mayor Wanda Williams had not made her appointments.

On Tuesday, council proposed an amendment to the CLEAC bill that would give them the sole power to appoint the seven initial board members, taking away Williams’ power to appoint.

“It’s been going on since 2020. I just feel as though we are doing the right thing by at least trying to move this forward. It’s not that we don’t want to work with the administration,” council member Ralph Rodriguez said. “We just feel as though we had great people appointed, the board was nearly finished, and to wait numerous years just for one or two appointments is just a bit ludicrous.”

If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!

Harrisburg opens roller skating rink for the month, testing ways to bring more events to City Island

March 4, 2025 | by Maddie Gittens

Roller skating on City Island last weekend. Photo courtesy of the City of Harrisburg.

Harrisburg is offering the community a new way to have fun this month on City Island.

For the month of March, the city is hosting roller skating in the carousel pavilion, as a way to try new initiatives to better utilize the large island.

Roller skating kicked off this past weekend in the pavilion, which is located in front of the FNB Field stadium near the island train station parking lot. Skating will continue every Friday and Saturday through March 29.

“We heard a lot from the community asking for more fun things to do on City Island,” said Emma Simpson, community events coordinator for the city. “We are really excited to offer this.”

Family skate hours will take place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. with an adult skate from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Admission is $5 and skate rentals are $2. Chips and water will be available for $1 each.

Harrisburg owns the pavilion space on the island, renting it out as well, and purchased roller skates for the rink. They also made some updates to the pavilion’s polished concrete floor to fix cracks and make it safe for skating. Funding for the skating came from a sponsorship from Explore HBG and the Parks and Recreation Department’s events budget, Simpson said.

Simpson said that the first skate was a success.

“It went really well. Everyone was having a good time,” she said.

There will also be special themed nights for St. Patrick’s Day weekend and a “glow skate” on March 21 and 22.

While the rink is only slated to be open for the month, due to scheduling conflicts with the pavilion, Simpson said that the city may host pop-up skating events in the summer.

In another attempt to test a fun concept for City Island, Harrisburg will host an Arcade Night at the island’s old arcade building on April 26. From 5 to 9 p.m., the community can play games like Skeeball, Pacman, Donkey Kong and air hockey for free.

Harrisburg plans to rent about 12 arcade games for the night.

Simpson sees both the skating and arcade night as pilot programs to gauge community response and engagement. She said they are constantly receiving and considering community feedback that they get at parks and rec events, through surveys and that they see on social media.

And with the recent increase in the number of staff in the department, Simpson said that they have a higher capacity for implementing new ideas.

For more information on upcoming Harrisburg Parks and Recreation Department events, including roller skating and Arcade Night, visit their Facebook page.

If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like