Papenfuse Re-nominated
Incumbent Eric Papenfuse secured the Democratic nomination for Harrisburg mayor last month by a wide margin, putting him in a strong position to serve a second term.
With all precincts reporting, Papenfuse tallied 2,663 votes versus 2,048 for his nearest challenger, former City Council President Gloria Martin-Roberts.
In his acceptance speech, Papenfuse said he was “troubled” that the city appeared so divided during the election and that turnout was low.
“I’m committed to uniting this divided city,” he said, speaking at his business, Midtown Scholar Bookstore.
He also said he would make a strong effort to pass a home rule charter for Harrisburg in a second term.
“Home rule is the path to the city’s sustainable future,” he said.
For her part, Martin-Roberts appeared disappointed in her second-place showing, as she gathered with about 30 supporters at the Harrisburg Elks Lodge.
“We ran a good, clean race,” she said. “We took the high road.”
Trailing the field were challengers Jennie Jenkins (506 votes), Lewis Butts (124 votes) and Anthony Harrell (74 votes).
No Republicans ran in the primary. Papenfuse still must win the general election on Nov. 7, but he stands a strong chance in a city that is overwhelmingly Democratic. In fact, he also secured the Republican nomination by collecting the most write-in votes on the GOP side.
Council Incumbents Victorious
Harrisburg City Council incumbents emerged with wins last month in the city’s Democratic primary, while the results were more mixed in school board races.
Ben Allatt, Wanda Williams and Shamaine Daniels each won nominations for four-year terms, as did challenger Ausha Green. No Republicans ran in the primary.
For city school board, Democratic incumbents Judd Pittman and Danielle Robinson won nominations for four-year terms, as did challengers Brian Carter and Carrie Fowler. Incumbent James Thompson lost nomination on the Democratic side but cross-filed, so will appear as a Republican candidate in the general election. Newcomer Percel Eiland ran unchallenged for the nomination for the board’s lone two-year seat.
In other races, incumbent city Treasurer Dan Miller and incumbent city Controller Charlie DeBrunner ran unopposed, thus securing the Democratic nomination. There was no Republican challenger for either office.
Several races for magisterial district justice were hotly contested.
Incumbent Barbara Pianka defeated newcomer Josh Feldman for the Democratic nomination for district 12-1-02. Both candidates cross-filed for the Republican nomination, and, though very close, Pianka also won that race.
In Harrisburg district 12-1-04, incumbent Justice David O’Leary narrowly defeated former Harrisburg Treasurer Tyrell Spradley for the Democratic nomination. No Republicans competed for the seat.
And, in an open seat for district 12-1-05, Hanif Johnson came out ahead in a crowded Democratic field, defeating Harrisburg Councilwoman Destini Hodges, former Councilman Kelly Summerford and newcomer Claude Phipps. Only Phipps cross-filed on the Republican side, so he secured that nomination.
All of the winners must compete in November’s general election.
Illegal Gun Roundup
The Harrisburg Bureau of Police announced last month it has taken 82 illegally owned guns off the street from January to May.
Community policing, with a focus on getting firearms from illegal owners, helped the bureau obtain the 82 guns, said Police Chief Thomas Carter. He credited his bureau’s leadership, professionalism and training for rounding up the illegally owned guns with minimal injury.
“There are two guns right there: the police officer’s gun and the bad guy’s gun,” he said. “Those are opportunities that things could go bad or someone could get seriously hurt or even killed.”
Capt. Deric Moody asked Harrisburg residents for their support.
“Please continue to help us,” he said. “At least 13 weapons came from citizens picking up the phone and saying, ‘Here’s what I know, here’s what I found.’”
The guns will be destroyed if they cannot be returned to their legal owner, police officials said.
More Affordable Housing
Officials broke ground last month on the construction of affordable housing units on Hummel Street in Allison Hill.
Three units will be completely gutted and renovated, while five units will be demolished to make way for new townhouses for purchase by low-income families, said Gary Lenker, executive director of Tri-County Housing Development Corp.
The $2.25 million project, administered by Tri-County, is supported by grants from HUD’s Community Development Block Grant program, Dauphin County’s gaming grant program and the nonprofit, Impact Harrisburg.
The affordable housing project on Hummel Street plays into the city’s coordinated focus on the MulDer Square neighborhood near Mulberry and Derry streets, said Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse. A total of $31 million for housing, streetscape and infrastructure development is slated to flow to that area, he said.
“[This is] a tidal wave that can change the community,” he said.
Steelton Skate Park
Construction started last month on a skate park in Steelton Municipal Park.
Dauphin County commissioners Jeff Haste, Mike Pries and George Hartwick joined Steelton Council President Jeffrey Wright and Borough Manager Doug Brown to break ground on the project.
This will be the first skate park in Dauphin County. The skate park will replace the tennis courts, which officials said were underutilized. Plans include a dozen concrete skating features, including a bowl, officials said.
Homes Sales Jump
The spring home-buying season got off to a strong start, with area home sales jumping 16.8 percent in April.
For the month, 863 homes sold in the region compared to 739 sales in April 2016, according to the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors. The median sales price increased to $174,160 from $160,000, and average days on the market fell to 68 from 83.
In Dauphin County, sales totaled 288 units versus 255 in the year-ago period, while the median price jumped to $158,900 versus $139,900, said GHAR. Cumberland County sales increased to 327 units from 249 in April 2016, and the median price rose to $189,900 from $175,000.
In Perry County, 34 homes sold versus 35 in the year-ago period, while the median price was $123,387, a drop from $133,500.
GHAR covers all of Dauphin, Cumberland and Perry counties and parts of York, Lebanon and Juniata counties.
So Noted
Excel Interior Concepts & Construction of Lemoyne has received three awards for residential remodeling projects completed in 2016, including two awards in the best kitchen renovation category and one in the best bathroom renovation category. The recognition from the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Harrisburg came during the annual Pyramid Awards event.
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission last month appointed Patrick C. Morrison as site administrator to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg. Morrison, formerly the museum’s education director, replaced Jeffrey Bliemeister.
Roman Colon has been named the 2017 Oliver LaGrone Scholar, given each year to a graduate of Harrisburg High School. With the $7,000 scholarship, Colon plans to attend Penn State Harrisburg to study civil engineering.
Sweets on Market, an ice cream shop in Strawberry Square along Market Street, celebrated its grand opening last month. Mayor Eric Papenfuse, Harristown CEO Brad Jones and John Fulponi from state Sen. John DiSanto’s office joined owner TJ Grewel for a ribbon cutting.
TheBurg picked up 14 awards last month at the annual Keystone Press Awards banquet sponsored by the PA News Media Association Foundation. These included first-place awards for column writing, business/consumer story, feature photo and graphic/photo illustration, as well as the prestigious “Sweepstakes” award for best performance in our category.
Changing Hands
Bellevue Rd., 1914: C. Johnson to K. Bailey, $60,000
Boas St., 213: T. Stark to B. Wagner, $96,000
Boas St., 426: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development to N. Spence, $65,000
Briggs St., 1506: C. Jackson & K. Roach to S. Swartz, $110,000
Chestnut St., 2411: J. Andrews Jr. to P. & A. Maple, $140,000
Emerald St., 220: C. Shokes to HBG Rents LLC, $35,000
Jefferson St., 2635: A. & E. Ballard & S. Cornish to F. Brannon & H. Cabrera, $42,000
Kensington St., 2311: CJR Rentals LLC to L. Johnson & J. Ardrey, $68,000
Market St., 1912 & 1519 N. 6th St.: Rogue Enterprises LLC to CPenn Patriot Properties Midtown, $87,621
Muench St., 220: WCI Partners LP to Q. Vandermeersch, $172,000
Muench St., 608: LSF9 Master Participation List to Buonarroti Trust, $30,000
2nd St., 3217: M. Ruff to N. & L. Swett, $90,000
3rd St., 2447: Triple J. Associates Ltd. To Keynet Business Network Inc., $60,000
4th St., 1631: GWD Capitol Heights LP to K. Prince, $103,900
5th St., 2522: Rivas Property Investments LLC to I. Mirambeaux, $35,000
Front St., 1525, Unit 104: D. Waltz to D. & M. Liberatore, $123,000
Front St., 1525, Unit 501: C. Markley to C. Keefauver, $179,900
Front St., 1525, Unit 614: C. Fetterhoff Jr. to J. & D. Sciortino, $90,000
Front St., 1705: WCI Partners Inc. to Harrisburg Redevelopment Group LLC, $1,316,161
Peffer St., 224: D. Leaman to N. Dohner, $168,000
Penn St., 1624: M. Anderson & Y. Dilman to S. Hickey, $139,900
Regina St., 1440: M. Naranjo to CTD Group LLC, $30,000
Regina St., 1600: K. Yoder to J. Hendricks, $130,000
Reily St., 263: Nish Properties LLC to Cool2Zap Properties LLC, $180,000
Rudy Rd., 2492: US Bank NA to My Neighbor LLC, $33,600
Rumson Dr., 269: L. & J. Lewis to K. Bowman, $79,900
Showers St., 613: J. & B. Wildeman to L. Plummer, $160,000
3rd St., 11: Market View LP, Brickbox Enterprises Ltd. & Property Management Inc. to SOMA Associates LLC, $165,000
13th St., 1039 & 1300 Sycamore St.: Graybar Electric Co. to Brooks Property Holdings LLC, $720,000
17th St., 830: Greenleaf Investment Properties LLC to S. Flores, $35,000
21st St., 755: V. Tran to B. Zimmerman, $33,000
State St., 231, Unit 302: LUX 1 LP to E. Dice II, $107,000
Susquehanna St., 2306 & 2314: J. Cuevas & I. Padua to A. Salgado, $80,000
Swatara St., 2415: J. Saul to P. Mackie & M. Swanger, $160,000
Verbeke St., 213: J. & S. Bircher to J. & E. High, $135,000
Wiconisco St., 403: Willowscott Investments LLC to J. Negley, $113,800
Harrisburg property sales for April 2017, greater than $30,000. Source: Dauphin County. Data is assumed to be accurate.
Author: Lawrance Binda
