Pop-Up Pour: sip@soma debuts to share PA craft beverages with Harrisburg.

February 22, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

The exterior of sip@soma on S. 3rd Street in Harrisburg

Don’t go to the beer. Let the beer come to you.

That’s the idea behind a new business that’s bringing in ales and stouts and sours from throughout craft brewery-rich Pennsylvania right to downtown Harrisburg. So, now, local beer-lovers can taste and sample and purchase without needing to venture all the way out to Erie or Easton or Philly.

sip@soma debuted last night with a soft opening at its storefront on S. 3^rd Street, featuring a dozen taps from Free Will Brewing Co.

What are the chances you’ll ever get to Free Will’s home brewery in Perkasie, Pa., a borough in Bucks County? Probably pretty small, but, thanks to sip@soma, you don’t have to.

“It’s so exciting to have these great producers from all over the commonwealth set up right here in downtown Harrisburg,” said Brad Jones, CEO of Harristown Enterprises, which is sponsoring the enterprise. “Pennsylvania is known for its great craft beer, and now you’ll be able to sample many of them from the tap right here.”

But it’s not just beer. sip@soma also plans to bring in Pennsylvania wines and spirits, all for limited engagements.

Right now, sip@soma is planning monthly events to coincide with 3rd in the Burg, Harrisburg’s arts and community celebration that takes place every third Friday of the month. In fact, Free Will Brewing will make a return visit for the March 15 3rd in the Burg. In addition, numerous events are planned for the 2019 Harrisburg Beer Week, which will run April 26 to May 5.

sip@soma’s snug tasting room features a small bar, 12 taps and just 20 seats, designed so that attendees can have an intimate experience, often with a chance to meet the brewer, vintner or distiller, Jones said.

A beer is poured at sip@soma.

Due to the limited seating, attendees must make reservations via free tickets.

Jones said that, besides introducing locals to these craft producers, it’s a chance for the brewers, vintners and distillers to get to know Harrisburg. His hope is that, once exposed to the Harrisburg market, they might be interested in a permanent spot in the city.

“We’re excited to introduce brewers and producers from around the state to the SoMa district—and vice versa,” said Sara Bozich, well-known local nightlife writer and CEO of Sara Bozich, an experiential marketing company, who is working with Harristown on sip@soma.

During events, customers can purchase beverages by the glass and packaged products to go. Vendors will use their state-provided exposition permits to sell in the space.

sip@soma will not sell food, but neighboring restaurants Bricco and El Sol will offer guests a small delivery menu.

Jones said that he hopes that sip@soma also will expose more people to the SoMa neighborhood and help create a critical mass of small shops in the newly restored storefronts along S. 3rd, Market and Chestnut streets.

“We believe this new tasting room will continue to create leasing opportunities for new boutiques and small businesses to occupy some of the available 1st-floor retail spaces in SoMa,” Jones said.

sip@soma is located at 13 S. 3rd St., Harrisburg. The next event is planned for March 15. For event updates and details, visit www.sarabozich.com and www.somaharrisburg.com.

Hot & Cold: 2nd Annual Ice & Fire Festival slides into Harrisburg.

February 21, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Devan Drabik of ExploreHBG speaks at today’s press conference announcing the 2nd annual Ice & Fire Festival in downtown Harrisburg.

The Harrisburg area found itself encased in ice this morning, seemingly the perfect day to announce the city’s second annual winter festival.

The appropriately named “Ice & Fire Festival” will feature a host of seasonal activities, including illuminated ice sculptures, a 33-foot ice slide, an ice-skating rink, an artist market and live musical performances, said Mayor Eric Papenfuse.

“I’m excited that our newest festival is entering its second year,” Papenfuse said. “It should be a great day in downtown Harrisburg.”

The festival, which takes place March 2 beginning at 1 p.m., will culminate in the late afternoon and early evening with fire jugglers, fire dancing and a concert by the local rock band, the Luv Gods.

There also will be food trucks, an enclosed sitting area, acoustic music, local performance groups, glass blowing workshops, a fire pit lounge with s’mores and more activities along 2nd Street from Market to Pine streets.

A “reverse” food truck will be on site to accept food donations, Papenfuse said. A few blocks ways, the HBG Flea will set up shop in Strawberry Square.

The $50,000 event is paid for exclusively through sponsorships, without the use of any taxpayer money, Papenfuse said.

Attendees have several parking options, according to the mayor.

The city will offer free parking on City Island on the day of the festival, and Park Harrisburg is offering a flat rate of $10 to park in the Market Square Garage from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Also, festival-goers can get four free hours of street parking downtown through the ParkMobile app by using the code “LUVHBG.” Street parking in most of downtown is free after 5 p.m.

Those driving through downtown may encounter some delays. One lane of 2^nd Street in the heart of downtown will be closed starting on Friday. The area of the festival, 2^nd Street from Market to Pine streets and several adjacent side streets, will be closed to all traffic on Saturday.

Appropriately, the long-term forecast calls for a return of winter temperatures for the first week of March.

“Make sure you bring your coats,” said Devan Drabik, the director of ExploreHBG, a festival sponsor and promoter. “It’ll be a little cold.”

The 2^nd annual Ice & Fire Festival will take place Saturday, March 2, 1 to 9 p.m., between Market and Pine streets in downtown Harrisburg. For more information, including a map of all events, visit www.harrisburgpa.gov/iceandfire.

Weekend Roundup with Sara Bozich

February 21, 2019 | by Sara Bozich

Happy Weekend!

I’m super stoked about a special preview event we have tonight (if you’re a member of our #CheersHBG group, you already know — and next week, we’ll officially launch). Tomorrow, we’re going to visit Shy Bear Brewing in nearby Lewistown by day. By night, it’s TheBurg’s 10th-anniversary party! I consider myself an honorary Burg member (maybe that’s even where you’re reading this!).

The rest of the weekend is unstructured, but that’s OK as we head into a busy last week of February.

Note: Our Pop-Up Happy Hour for this month was rescheduled to Feb. 27 — Hope you can join us!

What are you doing this weekend?

(more…)

Harrisburg school board rejects STEAM Academy charter school application

February 20, 2019 | by Mary Imgrund

The Midtown 2 building at N. 3rd and Reily streets in Harrisburg

The Harrisburg school board has overwhelmingly rejected an application for a new charter school.

By a vote of 7-0, the board on Tuesday night turned down the proposed PA STEAM Academy, which hoped to open this fall in the Midtown 2 (Evangelical Press) building at the corner of N. 3^rd and Reily streets.

“I think we need to make sure that people understand that it doesn’t matter who sits on the [proposed charter school] board,” said Harrisburg school board President Danielle Robinson. “It doesn’t matter who’s backing you. It doesn’t matter who’s behind you. We are not just going to hand over our children to you.”

That decision marked a sudden turn in the mood at the meeting, which was attended by dozens of teachers upset over the board’s recent rejection of a pay increase for veteran teachers. This time, they were on the board’s side.

Before the vote, numerous teachers and residents urged the board to vote “no” on the application.

“Why is this even on the agenda?” said Michele Rolko, vice president of the teacher’s union, the Harrisburg Education Association. “You should be voting this down.”

The audience cheered and chanted, “Vote it down.”

In November, a high-powered group, led by former state Secretary of Education Carolyn Dumaresq, proposed the PA STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) Academy. The charter school, with an initial enrollment of 120 students, hoped to open this fall for grades K-2, adding a grade of instruction each year and eventually becoming a K-8 school.

The school planned to take over more space at Midtown 2 as HACC left. HACC’s 15-year lease on the building expires in 2022, and the college plans to start moving programs out as early as this year.

In recent months, PA STEAM Academy board members have appeared before the school board three times to make their case. In December, they made their initial presentation and returned in January and February to answer questions.

The PA STEAM Academy now can appeal the decision to the Pennsylvania Charter School Appeal Board, a body that Dumaresq once headed as former education secretary. She has said previously that the school’s board of directors indeed would appeal if denied.

After voting 7-0 against the application, the Harrisburg school board voted 7-0 to approve the adjudication in support of the denial.

Harrisburg has a long history of denying charter school applications, with some board members saying that charter schools take students and funds away from the struggling public school system. In fact, that sentiment was echoed at the meeting.

“Don’t continue to drain money out of the district. [Charter schools] are like a placebo, they’re not going to work,” said one resident. “We need to fix the schools that are already here. Another charter school is not going to fix the current graduation rate.”

Robinson asserted that the board has stood firm against a proliferation of charter schools during her tenure.

“In my time here, we’ve had roughly nine charter school applications that have come through this board, and, as far as I know, only two have gone through,” she said.

Harrisburg teachers crowd school board meeting to protest pay for veteran teachers

February 20, 2019 | by Mary Imgrund

The Harrisburg school district’s Lincoln administration building on State Street

A sea of teachers dressed in red and carried homemade signs at a Harrisburg school board meeting on Tuesday night, protesting what they perceive as unfair pay.

Hundreds of teachers flanked the standing-room-only gymnasium and wore “Red for Ed,” demanding to know why the school board denied a grievance settlement last week that would have raised the pay of veteran teachers.

In response, the district claimed that the pay raises would be prohibitively expensive for the struggling district, saying, in a prepared statement, that “the settlement costs would run into the millions of dollars because of its continuing impact on salary costs in the district.”

At the heart of this fight is a set of intersecting problems: the Harrisburg school district’s budget issues, complaints of low pay and high teacher turnover rate. Veteran teachers demand that their pay reflect the time they’ve invested in Harrisburg schools, but the district asserts that veteran teachers are already being paid competitive wages.

“The more veteran the teacher is at Harrisburg, the more competitively they are paid under the negotiated salary schedule,” the statement read, drawing uproarious boos from the crowd. “The board also believes that if the [Harrisburg Education] association was so concerned about the turnover problem in the district, it would have recommended that this be addressed in our ongoing labor contract negotiations where the teachers have refused to make a salary proposal after 14 months of negotiations.”

“We haven’t refused anything,” Barksdale responded. “We have to settle this before we agree on anything.”

When asked if she was surprised by the large teacher turnout, Barksdale gave an emphatic, “no.”

“I’m not surprised at all,” she said, saying that teachers are fed up and want to know why their agreement wasn’t upheld.

The events culminating in last night’s display began in August when the Harrisburg Education Association filed a grievance against the board, claiming that veteran teachers were underpaid.

In it, they stated that the district had hired new teachers at rates higher than veteran teachers with equivalent experience, violating their contract. In January, the union reached a verbal agreement to raise the salaries of some of the lowest paid veteran teachers, but the board voted down that contract last week.

Teachers now are left wondering if their grievance will ever be resolved. In the meantime, the school district continues to suffer persistent vacancies and reliance on long-term substitute teachers to fill in.

At the end of Tuesday’s meeting, resident Douglas Thompson-Leader read a statement from Noel Gsell, a first-grade teacher who recently left the school district. In the statement, she said that, when she started teaching in the district, she was “ready to change the world,” but left after feeling abandoned by the district with little training or support for her classroom.

“The administration made me feel… that it was my fault for not being able to control my classroom,” she said, “Harrisburg school district, it’s your fault for not providing a safe space for our kids. It’s your fault that our students aren’t getting the help they need, and it’s your fault that I left and other good teachers continue to leave.”

With questions about past bills, Harrisburg Council puts proposed lobbying contract on hold

February 19, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg City Council on Tuesday night

Maverick Strategies will need to wait a few more weeks to find out if its lobbying contract with Harrisburg will be renewed.

City Council was expected to vote tonight on a one-year, $60,000 contract with the city-based lobbying shop, but pulled the resolution at the start of the meeting.

At a previous meeting, Council had asked Maverick for detailed billing statements for their prior contract, which ended Dec. 31. That information was just received that afternoon, and council needed time to review the bills, said President Wanda Williams.

“We need clarification on these invoices,” Williams said. “City Council has additional questions they want to ask.”

Williams said that they’ll request that Maverick appear at the next council work session, which is slated for March 5. A final vote on the contract likely will be delayed until the following legislative session on March 12.

Council has already adjusted the proposed contract, limiting it to just one year, retroactive to Jan. 1. It originally was crafted as a multi-year agreement, with automatic renewals unless cancelled with 60 days written notice.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse said that, despite the delay, he didn’t anticipate any problem passing the new contract.

“I believe that council just wants to go over the billing information that was sent,” he said.

He added that he believes that retaining Maverick is vital because Harrisburg needs professional representation before the state legislature.

“We have long-term relationships with the commonwealth that we need to maintain,” he said.

Papenfuse has said that he believes that Maverick played a critical role last year as the legislature passed a bill that allows the city to maintain elevated taxation levels even after it leaves Act 47, which it plans to do this year. The legislation also created a five-member financial oversight board, the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, which is due to meet for the first time next Tuesday.

In other action tonight, council approved several appointments:

Zachary Monnier to the Harrisburg Planning Commission
Gretchen Little to the Harrisburg Human Relations Commission
Kevin Burrell to the Harrisburg Human Relations Commission

City Council also agreed to seek funding from Impact Harrisburg, a nonprofit created as part of the city’s financial recovery plan, for a community and economic development position. The city’s former director of community and economic development, Jackie Parker, left last year for a job in the private sector.

Burg Review: “The Wolves” shoots, scores, in dramatizing the turbulent lives of teen girls.

February 19, 2019 | by Amy Mastrangelo

Adolescence is a turbulent time, and Sarah DeLappe’s fast-moving play, “The Wolves,” thrusts nine girls, all maturing at different speeds, onto the same soccer turf.

This Open Stage production, directed by Rachel Landon, dives right into dialogue while the girls stretch their calves and quads. There’s no time to catch your breath on the bench; the stream-of-consciousness banter is relentless. The teammates have numbered jerseys, pigtails and braided hair. Several water bottles are strewn in the background.

Even though the girls are not referred to by name, it is easy to tell them apart. Each teammate blossoms into a complex individual—much more than a simple trope.

The compelling performances make it is impossible to pick a “main character.” The players are: #11 (Maura McErlean), team captain; #25 (Benny Benemati); #13 (Vanessa Marie Hofer); #46 (Erin Shellenberger); #2 (Carly Lafferty); #7 (Katherine Campbell); #14 (Kalina Jenkins); #8 (Hailey Lockner); and goalkeeper #00 (Lidi Nyambi).

The tone smoothly transitions from serious to playful in mere seconds. While one clique discusses immigration, the others fret over bad grades in social studies class. #2 says, “curse word,” and #7 makes fun of her and swears profusely. Some girls talk about the “Plan B” pill, while others have never heard of it. Innocent #8 proclaims her desire to live in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Middle Earth.”

One shining moment occurs when the girls execute a “spiderweb” passing drill. It looks so natural despite that they are kicking, walking and talking all at once. The pacing is impressive.

But don’t get too comfortable with the recurring warm-up routines. “The Wolves” also serves as a reminder that life is unpredictable. #7 is only the best striker on the team until a better striker comes along. Obscenities ensue.

“The Wolves” is a play about soccer without showing a single character scoring or blocking a goal. A whistle blows offstage to signify the start of a new game. Then, flashes of light in the darkness provide glimpses of the girls running on and off the field.

Watching “The Wolves” is redolent of eating orange slices and strapping off sweaty shin guards, but there is a bigger picture. These teen girls mature at different rates, but they still grow and learn side-by-side. They come together as a team to discuss life’s ups and downs. Once you see this play, it is sure to spark some great conversations of your own.

“The Wolves” runs through March 10 at Open Stage Harrisburg, 25 N. Court St., Harrisburg. For tickets and more information, call 717-232-6736 or visit www.openstagehbg.com.

Pictured above: Cast of the “The Wolves.” Photo by Haley Harned.

Burg Review: Gamut offers powerful, distressing political tale in “All the King’s Men.”

February 18, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Nick Wasileski as Willie Stark

“As Mark Twain said, ‘History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.’”

So stated Producer Melissa Nicholson as she introduced “All the King’s Men,” a drama that opened on Saturday night at Gamut Theatre Group’s historic theater in downtown Harrisburg.

Read into that statement what you will, as the theatrical adaptation of Robert Penn Warren’s famous novel tells the story of an amoral, populist politician with a soiled personal life and an edifice complex.

We first meet Willie Stark, the semi-fictional, Depression-era governor of Louisiana, as he stands tall on a balcony and delivers a stemwinder before a fawning crowd of poor, yet proud, self-described “hicks.”

As usual, he’s promising them something—in this case, a $10 million ($175 million in 2019 dollars) medical facility—“the best and biggest hospital,” he boasts, with characteristic hyperbole. His motivation, as always, is self-serving and his words insincere. Stark is less interested in providing world-class health care than he is in buying people’s loyalty through a massive public project.

The play then ventures into the past to show Stark’s ascent to power, a rise marked by increasing professional corruption and personal debasement.

Core company actor Nick Wasileski stars as Stark, and he captures the ambitious politician soundly in the character’s two incarnations—as a principled, small-town lawyer and as a Machiavellian predator. This transformation, sparked by crushing disillusionment and fueled by demon rum, takes root because, well, it works, and Stark soon claws atop the rat heap of Louisiana politics.

Of course, no man can rise alone, and Stark surrounds himself with a circle of enablers and fixers who themselves are troubled, conflicted and, increasingly, compromised. In fact, the play becomes as much about this group of satellites and sycophants as about Stark himself.

Ross Carmichael delivers a standout performance as Jack Burden, a stoic newspaperman who, despite his depth and detachment, falls disastrously into Stark’s orbit. And Tara Herweg-Mann’s spectacular turn as aggressive, carpet-bagging political adviser Sadie Burke is worth the price of admission alone.

Judge Irwin, played powerfully by Gamut veteran Jeff Wasileski, inhabits the other end of the moral spectrum. He refuses to allow himself to be co-opted, though that does not shield him from calamity.

In this way, Director Clark Nicholson shows us the disease that is Willie Stark. If you get too close, either by choice or by circumstance, you become infected. It may be because of his professional corruption (bribes, kickbacks, mendacity) or it may be because of his personal failings (boozing, womanizing, bullying). Nonetheless, once in his presence, you cannot escape contamination.

Nicholson also demonstrates how little humankind changes, even as the decades pass. “All the King’s Men” takes place in the 1930s, yet it recalls circa-1600 Shakespearian tragedies: a powerful man, blind ambition, obsequious followers, inevitable disaster. Meanwhile, comparisons with today’s politics are practically unavoidable.

The play’s larger message appears to be that all actions have consequences, as, in the end, the characters seem to reap what they sow. For optimists, this message may prove hopeful. But, if you’re a realist, you may leave the theater, brace yourself against the cold winter air, and think to yourself, “At what price?”

“All the King’s Men” runs through March 3 at Gamut Theatre, 15 N. 4^th St, Harrisburg. For more information, call 717-238-4111 or visit www.gamuttheatre.org.

Harrisburg police tout progress in removing illegal weapons from city streets

February 15, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Flanked by seized firearms, Harrisburg police Commissioner Thomas Carter today explained his bureau’s progress in taking illegal weapons off the streets.

Harrisburg police have seized hundreds of firearms over the past few years, following a department-wide push to take illegal guns off of city streets, officials announced today.

At a press conference, police lined three long tables with handguns, rifles and shotguns, which they said was a small sample of the 646 illegal weapons confiscated from 2016-18.

Capt. Gabriel Olivera said that, in 2016, city police Commissioner Thomas Carter instructed officers to focus on the epidemic of illegal weapons in the city.

“All these guns were seized mostly without officers engaging these individuals with gunfire,” Olivera said. “Our officers have shown great restraint.”

According to Olivera, 196 guns were seized in 2016, 252 in 2017, and 198 in 2018. The far majority of these weapons have been handguns.

Carter said that, even before 2016, his officers routinely seized illegal firearms. But he wanted them to be more mindful of illegally owned guns, most of which have been stolen, as they patrolled and made arrests.

“I work with these amazing men and women on a day-in and day-out basis, and I know their capabilities,” he said, referring to his officers. “It’s something the entire agency bought into.”

Olivera mentioned that, for 2018, Harrisburg had about a 10-percent drop in “Part 1” offenses, which include the most serious crimes like murder, robbery and aggravated assault, compared to 2017. He also cited a 5- to 6-percent reduction in “Part 2” crimes, such as simple assault, disorderly conduct and most drug possession offenses, which are generally considered to be less serious. Detailed crime data for Harrisburg should be publicly available next month, he said.

“I can’t tell you that the number of guns have reduced the homicide rate,” Carter said. “But I can tell you that it has reduced violent crime.”

Olivera said that, after police seize a stolen gun, officers try to determine the rightful owner, so it can be returned. If no owner is identified, the gun eventually is destroyed, he said.

While Carter praised the work of his department, he admitted that the three-year seizure tally represented only a fraction of the illegal weapons in the city.

“This doesn’t even shake the basket of what’s out there,” he said. “We’re just going to do everything we need to do to be able to make sure elderly people and young people can walk down the street without fear of being mugged or robbed or something like that.”

Court action may delay Harrisburg school board appointment for months

February 14, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

The Harrisburg school district’s Lincoln administration building

It may be months before Harrisburg residents learn who will be the newest member of the district’s school board, as a court hearing in the matter isn’t slated to take place until late April.

Court of Common Pleas Judge John McNally has scheduled an April 23 court date to hear a citizen’s group response to a petition supporting Ralph Rodriguez, a city resident who wants to fill the vacant seat.

The group known as Concerned about the Children of Harrisburg (CATCH) responded to the petition filed on Jan. 24 on behalf of Rodriguez. As part of its response, CATCH asked the court to appoint its own preferred candidate, Cornelius Chachere.

This petition response appears to have triggered a series of events that will take several months to resolve.

CATCH now has until Feb. 21 to file its answer to Rodriguez’s petition, followed by 45 days for discovery and an April 23 court hearing.

Jayne Buchwach, a member of CATCH, said that her group opted to respond to Rodriguez’s petition, as opposed to filing an original petition in support of Chachere, after they saw that Rodriguez’s supporters had filed first.

“The response states our objections,” she said. “It also tells the court—this is who we think should be on it.”

The response touts Chachere’s qualifications and, like an original petition would, asks the court to appoint him.

“Respondents say that Mr. Chachere is the most qualified candidate that has expressed interest in being appointed by the Court for the existing vacancy on the HSD Board of Directors,” according to CATCH’s response.

To add further complexity to this issue, former school board Director James Thompson also has filed a petition with the court for the seat. Technically, this makes four candidates for the seat: Rodriguez, Chachere, Thompson and Marva Brown. In their petition, Rodriguez’s supporters mention that appointing Brown also would be acceptable to them.

The board seat became empty following the Dec. 16 death of school board Director Melvin Wilson. The remaining board members, split between Rodriguez and Chachere, failed to muster a majority of five votes to replace Wilson within a 30-day time period, throwing the matter to the court.

Buchwach said that she wasn’t concerned about having only eight members on the board for an extended period.

“The board is contentious,” she said. “So, having eight there or nine there—it really doesn’t matter.”

Meanwhile, five of the nine school board seats will be up this election this year. Next week, on Feb. 19, candidates can begin circulating nominating petitions to run. Completed petitions are due by March 12. The primary election is May 21.

CATCH has vowed to put up its own slate of candidates for the board seats.

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

What are you doing this weekend?

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