Balance & Harmony: The art of Ikebana blossoms in Harrisburg.

March 29, 2019 | by Phyllis Zimmerman

For Ellen Kelley, Ikebana isn’t about showing off an artist’s perfection or proficiency.

Instead, the minimalist art of Japanese flower arrangement is more a display of each artist’s “individuality and spirituality,” said the Dickinson Township resident.

“I love it so much that it doesn’t bother me that I’m not that accomplished,” she said. “Perfection is not the goal. Imperfection is part of the art. I find it very calming.”

Kelley is a member of the Harrisburg chapter of Ikebana International, a nonprofit cultural organization dedicated to the promotion and appreciation of ikebana.

In 1956, Ellen Gordon Allen of Washington, D.C., founded the organization, bringing to this country an art she learned while stationed with her husband in Tokyo. Since then, the volunteer organization has spread across the globe to 161 chapters in more than 50 nations, all united through Ikebana’s worldwide motto, “Friendship through Flowers.”

Harrisburg chapter #18 was chartered soon after, in September 1958, and celebrated its 60th anniversary last year. Alice Hartman of Linglestown joined in 1983, making her the chapter’s longest-serving current member. Hartman, 83, said she stayed on because “its purpose matched my purpose.”

“It’s extremely artistic,” she said. “About 50 percent of our charter is artists. I’m an interior designer, and there’s one other. Ten of our people are taking art lessons now. Many are people who are interested in flowers.”

Hartman also likes being part of a worldwide organization like Ikebana International that promotes cultural understanding, as well as the arts, she added.

Ikebana’s origins trace back to 15th-century Japan and Yoshimasa, the eighth Ashikaga shogun, according to Kelley.

Yoshimasa is remembered as a devout Zen Buddhist who embraced all related arts. Floral arts already were prominent in Buddhist temples and practices during this time. Monks who created arrangements as temple offerings are considered to be the first Ikebana artists.

“Ikebana is a very subtle and elegant sort of communion with nature,” Kelley said. “People love its aesthetics and beauty. It’s about going out into nature to find things for your arrangements. In any sort of art form, you have to love the process.”

She discovered Ikebana several years ago when stationed with her husband in Japan. She looked up the Harrisburg chapter after returning to central Pennsylvania in 2006. The club currently has 35 members.

“Ikebana doesn’t take a lot of flowers, so it’s economical,” she said. “A lot of things we use are just twigs and grass. It’s about taking something from your backyard and turning it into something beautiful.”

Ikebana is divided into several schools, or disciplines, in a method similar to martial arts. In Harrisburg, the schools of Ichiyo, Ikenobo and Sogetsu are represented, each with its own style. Proficiency levels range from beginners to masters, with classes taught by a variety of Ikebana experts hailing from Pennsylvania and Maryland.

“Our members come from many backgrounds,” Kelley said. “We have moms, teachers, librarians, a dentist. All came with little or no experience. We help you learn and grow. There is no timeline, no pressure.”

Each year, Harrisburg chapter members display their art at the annual Garden Faire at Fort Hunter Mansion and Park in Susquehanna Township. This year’s event is scheduled for May 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“It’s a great place to see what we are,” Kelley said. “People are full of questions when they see us. They’re used to the Western part of flower arranging. Ikebana is about balance and harmony. It satisfies in a way that intrigues people.”

The Garden Faire also features displays by the Susquehanna Bonsai Club, music, a café, plant and craft vendors, an art show/sale and more. For details, visit www.forthunter.org/events.

Hartman said that the Harrisburg chapter still carries the same purpose as when she joined in 1982, but the generations have changed since then.

“People have a different approach today,” she said. “It’s a whole different atmosphere.”

Hartman worries about the Harrisburg chapter carrying on because its membership is getting older. The club is hoping to attract a new crowd through more public exposure.

“Come when you can,” Kelley said, urging anyone who may be interested. “We don’t take attendance to keep track of who comes to a meeting. Many of our members were still working full-time when they joined. They came when they could.”

The Harrisburg Chapter of Ikebana International meets the first Wednesday of each month from September through May. Most meetings are held at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2000 Chestnut St., Camp Hill. For details, visit www.ikebanainternationalharrisburg.org.

Weekend Roundup with Sara Bozich

March 28, 2019 | by Sara Bozich

Happy Weekend! idk with this week. It looks up; things go downhill. I’m super productive; kid gets sick again. If someone is well enough, we’re headed to a wine dinner tonight — a prize attained at last year’s Trés Bonne Annèe event. The President/CEO of Wolfgang Puck is the host, and we’re told every wine on the list has been featured on the Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines in the last three years. An event of this magnitude means a low key remainder of the weekend, which is fine by me. April is Beer Week, and May starts a whole host of events, so I can use the downtime where I can get it. Since Saturday looks beautiful, though, I think we’ll be heading outdoors with everyone else.

What are you doing this weekend?

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A 1-Hour Tour: Harrisburg briefs ICA members on the city’s financial crisis, recovery.

March 26, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Members of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, who met today at Temple University in Strawberry Square.

Members of Harrisburg’s state-appointed oversight board jumped into the deep end on Tuesday afternoon, as the city took them on a thorough tour of its recent financial history.

Bruce Weber, the city’s budget and finance director, gave the seven-member Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (ICA) a presentation that explained in detail how the city suffered a historic financial collapse and the numerous subsequent measures taken to restore it to solvency.

“It’s hard to absorb all the recent past with the city in one sitting,” said Weber, a non-voting member of the board. “This has to be an ongoing learning process for everyone involved.”

Nonetheless, Weber offered a blow-by-blow review that stretched back to the city’s post-war deindustrialization and population loss. His presentation dug into the details of the past decade, including the incinerator crisis, state receivership, the Harrisburg Strong recovery plan, the numerous sources of debt, and the complex lease of the city’s parking system.

“This was a period of survival,” he said at the meeting at Temple University in Strawberry Square. “The city’s survival as we knew it was at stake.”

He also reviewed how, under the current administration, Harrisburg balanced its budget and stabilized its finances. However, the city now faces the loss of 18 percent of its operating budget in 2024, once its extra taxation authority expires.

The state legislature mandated the ICA as a condition for allowing Harrisburg to exit the state’s Act 47 program for distressed municipalities but retain its extra taxing authority for five more years. The ICA is now tasked with developing a five-year financial plan for the city.

“Fixing an 18-percent hole in the budget is very, very hard,” said meeting attendee Dan Connelly, senior advisor at Marathon Capital Strategies, a Haddonfield, N.J.-based financial advisory firm retained by Harrisburg.

Weber was only able to get through about half of his presentation before the hour-long public portion of the meeting abruptly ended. He will continue it at the ICA’s next meeting, slated for April 24.

“We’re so new, we have a huge learning curve ahead of us,” said ICA Chairman David Schankweiler as the meeting wrapped up.

Otherwise, the ICA approved three requests for proposals (RFPs): one for an executive director, one an auditor and one for a website designer.

The ICA also reviewed the timeline for what it needs to do over the next year. Importantly, the city and the ICA must develop a five-year financial plan by May 27 and send an initial report of recommendations to Gov. Tom Wolf and the state General Assembly by Aug. 25.

Scoot Along: Are electric scooters coming to a city street near you?

March 26, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

A Lime electric scooter parked across the street from the state Capitol today.

Could Harrisburg be hopping aboard the electric scooter craze?

That’s the hope of Shari Shapiro, who brought a few her company’s slender vehicles to the state Capitol today for a test-scoot.

Shapiro said that Harrisburg is one of four Pennsylvania cities where San Francisco-based Lime would like to deploy scooters if the state legislature passes enabling legislation.

Why Harrisburg?

“The uses are in places with a lot of density, where there are a lot of places to go,” said Shapiro, Lime’s director of mid-Atlantic government relations. “Cities should have a good mix of commercial and residential.”

About 30 percent of rides, she said, go to and from public transit and another 20 percent are for running errands and commuting–and Harrisburg has a lot of commuters and dense residential neighborhoods.

“It’s not really a recreational vehicle,” she said.

Rep. Greg Rothman (R-Cumberland) and Rep. Stephen Kinsey (D-Philadelphia) are co-sponsors of a House bill (HB-631) that would allow “electric low-speed scooters” to operate in specified places in the commonwealth. “Low-speed” is defined as not capable of exceeding 20 mph.

The bill cites numerous benefits of electric scooters, stating that they “help relieve traffic congestion, pollution and stress by reducing car trips and increasing access to public transit.”

If the proposal becomes law, Lime would need to enter into memorandum of understanding with Harrisburg in order to operate here.

In recent years, electric scooters have popped up in cities around the nation, and Lime scooters are deployed in more than 90 cities in the United States.

The scooters are dock-less, meaning that users don’t need to pick them up or return them to docking stations. Instead, riders download an app and scan a QR code, which shows them nearby scooters available for rent.

Lime charges $1 to unlock the scooter and 15 cents per minute of ride time. Shapiro said that the company typically returns 5 to 10 cents per ride back to the municipality, though financial terms, if any, would be set in a memorandum of understanding with the city.

Electric scooters haven’t been without controversy, and some cities have even stopped allowing their use because of concerns over safety and charges of being a public nuisance. Most cities, however, have continued to allow them to operate once approved.

“We’re very excited about the possibility of coming to the city of Harrisburg,” Shapiro said.

Strawberry Square soon will dish up “Curry in a Hurry”

March 25, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

The food court in Strawberry Square

Passage to India long has ranked as a favorite Harrisburg eatery, but, to some, the location has proven to be a barrier between them and their chicken tikka masala or vegetable curry.

Located in Shipoke, the popular Indian restaurant is just a tad too far for most state workers and downtown denizens to venture on a lunch break.

Soon, that will change.

Come early May, new owner Chenna Chakka plans to open an outpost in the heart of the 9-to-5 action—the food court in Strawberry Square—calling it Capital City Curry in a Hurry.

“A lot of our regular customers would like to come to Passage to India for lunch, but they don’t drive or don’t have the time,” Chakka said. “Numbers-wise, it makes perfect sense for us to be there.”

About two months ago, Chakka assumed the helm of the 26-year-old restaurant, taking over from the original owner, Leena Shenoy. Shenoy and her late husband, Vishnu, founded Passage to India in 1993.

Chakka said he met Shenoy about four years ago after he moved to the Harrisburg area. She even helped him establish his first restaurant, Jewels of India, which opened last year in Carlisle, he said.

Then tragedy struck.

In November, Shenoy suffered a serious heart attack and underwent triple bypass surgery. A few months later, Passage to India filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and Chakka took over the day-to-day operation as the new owner. Slowly, Shenoy is spending more time again in the restaurant, but only in her favorite place–the kitchen, Chakka said.

Chakka said that Brad Jones, CEO of Harristown Enterprises, which owns Strawberry Square, had wanted Shenoy to open up in the food court, and then asked the same of him. Specifically, Curry in a Hurry will operate in the former Arby’s location, which has been vacant for about a year.

“This new addition to the food court and Strawberry Square is very exciting and dramatically increases our already fantastic ethnic diversity of Mexican, Italian, Pan-Asian, American, and now Indian cuisine,” Jones said.

If all goes well, Chakka expects to open around May 1, offering several Indian specialties that will be prepared either at Passage to India or at Jewels of India, depending on the day.

Around the same time, Chakka said that he also expects to reopen the Passage to India food stand inside the Broad Street Market, which has been closed for several months.

“These are great opportunities for us to expand,” he said.

Passage to India is located at 520 Race St., Harrisburg, with plans to open in Strawberry Square. For more information, visit www.passagetoindiaharrisburgpa.com.

Weekend Roundup with Sara Bozich

March 21, 2019 | by Sara Bozich

Happy Weekend! We had an incredible turnout for last night’s Pop-Up Happy Hour at Strawberry Square! Thanks to everyone who stopped by, and of course, huge thanks to our awesome vendors for sharing their goodies with us (stay tuned to our Facebook page for photos later this week). I think tonight, Jimtern and I are doing wings and PIPA, the OG BAE (read: We will drink Tröegs Perpetual IPA alongside Chicago-style hot garlic wings). My weekend is otherwise pretty low key, just hanging with the babe, maybe hitting up a St. Paddy’s Day Parade party (because that’s the real deal, not 3/17), and on Sunday, it’s a birthday party for 3 year-old twins!

What are you doing this weekend?

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Got Parking? Federal government seeks hundreds of spaces for new courthouse.

March 20, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

A rendering of the new federal courthouse

Hey, Midtown Harrisburg—do you have any extra parking spaces? If so, the federal government would really like to hear from you.

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania today issued a request for information (RFI), asking for options for off-site parking for workers and visitors to the federal courthouse currently under construction at N. 6^th and Reily streets.

The 243,000-square-foot, $192.7-million courthouse will have just a few dozen on-site spaces as part of the project–and that’s not nearly enough to serve the hundreds of people who might use the building on a given day.

Therefore, according to the RFI, the court must arrange for hundreds of additional spaces by the time the building opens in spring 2022.

In addition to 11 federal judges and their staffs, the building will house the U.S. Attorney’s office, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services System and the U.S. Marshals Service.

“The new courthouse operations will include a steady stream of visitors: jurors, legal teams and other court-related stakeholders,” stated a press release from the court today.

This issue came up in December at a Harrisburg City Council meeting, when it became clear that the courthouse’s on-site parking would be vastly inadequate to meet its needs. The federal government does not guarantee parking for its employees or visitors, typically relying on private operators or municipally owned lots and garages to meet demand.

Specifically, the RFI calls for 118 to 174 spaces for court employees and another 150 to 300 spaces for jurors. Parking spaces must be located within an 1,100-foot radius of the site.

The RFI comes with a host of other requirements, including an on-site parking attendant, no stacking or double parking and an elevator for multi-level parking.

If you think you have the right parking stuff, you have until April 15 to respond to the RFI. An email can be sent to [email protected] or hand-delivered to the existing federal building at 228 Walnut St., Harrisburg.

To read the full RFI, visit https://www.pamd.uscourts.gov/sites/pamd/files/RFIPARKING-3-7-19%201.pdf.

Harrisburg releases “Vision Zero” plan, with a goal to eliminate pedestrian fatalities

March 20, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

City Engineer Wayne Martin spoke at today’s introduction of Harrisburg’s “Vision Zero” action plan.

Harrisburg has one of highest rates of pedestrian fatalities and injuries in the nation, a ranking that the city hopes to reverse with its new “Vision Zero” action plan.

Surrounded by public officials, Mayor Eric Papenfuse today introduced the city’s approach to improving road safety, especially for pedestrians and bicyclists.

The plan’s action items are wide-ranging and long-term, with the ultimate goal of eliminating vehicle-related deaths in the city by 2030.

“This is a fundamental commitment to safety for all street users,” Papenfuse said. “It really is a transformative document.”

Harrisburg has a long way to go to reach its goal of zero fatalities.

Over the past five years, 19 pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists have died on city streets, and another 105 have suffered serious injury, according to the report. In central Pennsylvania as a whole, pedestrian deaths have skyrocketed over the past 20 years, from eight in 1998 to 23 last year.

Vision Zero is a nationwide road safety effort that has been adopted by many cities. Harrisburg initiated its own program last year, following a rash of pedestrian deaths on a short stretch of State Street in Allison Hill.

The “action plan” released today offers a look at why the city opted to create a Vision Zero plan, the process leading up to it and the steps it expects to take to implement it.

The report particularly focuses on the plan for the first year, listing numerous steps and action items for evaluation, education, engineering and enforcement.

Several projects are already in the works.

Last year, the city began its “rapid response” project along State Street, upgrading lighting and traffic signals, among other actions.

Going forward, in conjunction with PennDOT, the city plans more extensive changes to the wide, state-owned road, which, at times, stretches to seven lanes. These include reducing the number of travel lanes, adding a sheltered bicycle lane and redesigning crosswalks.

When the changes to State Street are done, commuters likely will experience “a few extra minutes” of travel time, but the result will be a much safer road for non-motorists, Papenfuse said.

“This is the epitome of rebalancing roadway use,” said city Engineer Wayne Martin.

The project is intended to serve as a pilot, so that changes can be measured and evaluated.

“We’re going to real-time test these concepts and measure these concepts before we make them permanent,” Papenfuse said.

The process of converting much of N. 2^nd Street, from Forster to Division street, back to two-way traffic also is underway.

Last year, the city held a public meeting to explain broad concepts and get resident input, a meeting attended by more than 100 people. The project is currently in the design phase, and another meeting will be held this spring or summer to update residents on the project, Papenfuse said.

Other major road projects, which will incorporate pedestrian safety concepts under Vision Zero, include constructing a roundabout at the intersection of Mulberry and Derry streets at MulDer Square (construction in 2020) and reconstructing N. 7^th Street from Herr to Reily streets, adding a roundabout, a cycle track and two mid-block pedestrian crossings, among other changes (construction from summer 2019 to fall 2020).

The city also would like to reconstruct two other high-accident intersections, one at Forster and Front streets and another at Cameron and Maclay streets. In both cases, concepts were developed last year, and the city currently is seeking funding for final design and construction.

“Fundamentally, what we’re talking about here is a guiding document for the city of Harrisburg,” Papenfuse said. “This is correcting a failed auto-centric approach to urban planning.”

For more information on Vision Zero and to read Harrisburg’s action plan, visit www.visionzerohbg.org.

Citing population shifts, Dauphin County urges Harrisburg to adopt new ward, voting maps

March 19, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

The Ward 4 polling station in Harrisburg

A Dauphin County official made a pitch on Tuesday night to change and streamline Harrisburg’s ward map, a plan that would slash the number of wards in the city by two-thirds.

Jerry Feaser, the county’s director of the Bureau of Registration and Elections, briefed City Council on a proposal to cut the number of city wards from 15 to five.

He cited several factors for the proposed change, including population shifts that have created uneven voter distributions in the city and an effort to ensure that polling places are compliant with the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act.

“I am here to respectfully ask that the city and the Dauphin County Bureau of Registration and Elections work together on a plan to make improvements to the voting districts that comprise the City of Harrisburg,” he said.

Under the county’s plan, cutting the number of wards also would reduce the number of voting precincts in the city, which now stands at 28. Instead, each of the five wards would have five precincts, for a total of 25.

Over four decades, Feaser said, 42 election districts were whittled down to the current 28, as populations kept changing and shifting.

“We have arrived at a situation where some of the district lines just don’t make sense,” he said.

For examples, Feaser cited the fact that busy State Street bisects Ward 8 and that Hall Manor sits in two different wards.

He further said that the five new wards then could be used by the Court of Common Pleas to create new magisterial district judge boundaries.

The current Harrisburg precinct map (left) and Dauphin County’s proposed map (right)

Feaser’s presentation was one step in what could be a drawn-out process.

City Council would need to approve the appointment of a five-member commission, which would firm up a new map that may or may not comport with the county’s current proposal. Both council and the county commissioners then would need to approve the map. Lastly, it would go before voters for their approval.

Feaser emphasized that his plan was just “a starting point.”

“The creation of ward lines is totally within the authority of the city,” he said.

Feaser said that a plan probably would not finalized and ready for a vote by residents until the November 2021 general election. It made sense, he said, to wait for the results of next year’s U.S. census, which could significantly alter the population count and the distribution of residents within the city. Therefore, the first use of the new ward map wouldn’t take place until 2022, at the earliest.

“There really is time to absorb this and think about it,” said city Solicitor Neil Grover.

Even if the ward map isn’t changed, Feaser told council that his office will need to reconsider where some residents cast their votes, as a number current polling stations cannot be made ADA compliant and/or because several buildings may not be available any longer for voting.

Tensions mount at Harrisburg school board meeting, as debate over solicitor gets heated

March 18, 2019 | by Maddie Crocenzi

The Harrisburg school district’s administration building

A Harrisburg school board meeting devolved into a shouting match on Monday night, marked by a disagreement over the hiring of an in-house solicitor for the district.

During a discussion on fiscal matters, board President Danielle Robinson brought up the board’s desire to hire an in-house solicitor, framing the issue as a way to save money.

According to Robinson, the district currently works with some four different law firms and pays $800,000 to $1 million a year in legal fees.

“In the next three years, we’re going to be broke as a district,” Robinson said. “We’re going to be bankrupt as a district. This is a way for us to possibly save some money.”

The move was not, she said, a criticism of the board’s current Solicitor Samuel Cooper, who works for an outside firm, Philadelphia-based Dilworth Paxon.

Robinson said the district had two applicants and that she worked with Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney, as well as the district’s business manager and HR director, to have an initial discussion with the two candidates. The board then met with the two applicants and asked questions of them.

Although Robinson did not publicly confirm who the candidates were, she was questioned if one was Harrisburg attorney James Ellison, a former school board solicitor and long-time political player in the city.

“However anyone on the outside feels about these two applicants does not matter to me,” Robinson said. “The decision lies with this board. We have to become a strong board to make our own decisions.”

The district’s state-appointed Chief Recovery Officer Janet Samuels then expressed her frustration that the process the board used — a request for qualifications advertised in a local newspaper— was not adequate. She said that the district needed to seek out candidates from other firms experienced in representing school districts.

Robinson then accused Samuels of trying to slander a candidate.

“As the chief recovery officer, your job is to make sure we’re in line with the recovery plan, not to tell these board members what to do and who to vote for,” Robinson said.

After a verbal sparring match between Robinson and Samuels, Cooper appeal for calm. Cooper, who would likely need to stay involved to finish up ongoing legal work, asked everyone to maintain respect and civility.

“Conduct yourself with decorum and do the business at hand,” he said. “If you want respect from our citizens sitting here who spend their time coming here thanklessly that aren’t getting paid for it either, show them some respect too.”

Eventually, the board decided to table the vote. The issue was tabled with no specific date, meaning, Robinson said, that it could come up during the next public voting meeting or at the board’s next regularly scheduled meeting in April. If board members decide to accept new bids for solicitors, they can look at other candidates. If not, they will move forward with the two candidates they have, Robinson said.

For her part, Samuels said she was not surprised by Robinson’s reaction. She said that she gave the board information on possible solicitors in the Harrisburg area who were well-versed in education law, as well as information on how to appropriately select a solicitor. She said she wants to focus on the “great things” that can happen with the district instead of any “baggage” that comes with hiring a particular firm.

“There should be a standard of excellence in place in this district, whether it’s educating children or selecting a board solicitor,” she said.

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