TheBurg Podcast, May 5, 2017

May 5, 2017 | by TheBurg Editor

Welcome to TheBurg Podcast, a weekly roundup of news in and around Harrisburg.

May 5, 2017: This week, editor-in-chief Lawrance Binda and city reporter Danielle Roth pick apart Tuesday’s mayoral debate and discuss each candidate’s performance. Binda catches listeners up to speed with Friends of Midtown’s City Council forum, which he moderated, and the State’s corruption probe into the Harrisburg Incinerator. Binda and Roth discuss President Donald Trump’s weekend visit to Harrisburg.

Subscribe to TheBurg Podcast on iTunes and Google Play.

Special thanks to Paul Cooley, who wrote our theme music. Check out his podcast, the PRC Show on iTunes.

Find the stories referenced in this week’s podcast, plus candidate Q&As and a list of upcoming debates:

Mayoral Debate: Veteran candidates talk experience, others try to make a mark.

Burg Blog: One Down

Take Your Pick: Harrisburg City Council and Mayoral candidates to debate, participate in forums

Mayoral Candidate Q&A: Candidates outline visions for Harrisburg.

Harrisburg in the Balance: 6 candidates vie for 4 seats on City Council.

This Is the End: State closes Harrisburg corruption probe with suggestions, not charges.

Burg Blog: Wrong Place

Burg Blog: Promises Made

Burg Blog: Last Words

Tour Beautiful: HYP Home Tour ventures to leafy Bellevue Park.

May 5, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

One of the many lovely homes that will be featured this month during the HYP Home Tour in Bellevue Park.

In Harrisburg, there are a few annual events that you can mark your calendar by: the holiday parade, the summer festivals and, each May, the HYP Annual Home Tour, organized by Harrisburg Young Professionals.

This year, the Home Tour, for the first time, travels up to Bellevue Park, a leafy, rustic enclave of large homes and beautiful gardens that outsiders rarely get to see.

If you’re unfamiliar with this neighborhood, Bellevue Park was laid out in 1910 at the height of the “City Beautiful” movement. Renowned landscape architect Warren Manning designed the neighborhood’s layout, including the “reservations” (common green areas) and ponds that fill in the spaces between home lots and along roads. The area features winding lanes, wooded streets and many natural elements.

For this year’s event, guests will get to tour 17 homes, each with a one-of-a-kind story. Each home will be partnered with a unique food and drink sponsor from the local area. There also will be an after-party, with food and live music, held at the Bellevue Park Community Center.

Proceeds from Home Tour benefit the HYP “Home in the City” program, which provides $1,000 grants to qualified HYP members who are purchasing a home in Harrisburg. In 2016, the organization provided $9,000 to HYP members through the program.

“This has been one of our longest-running events, and, by far, the most impactful in the Harrisburg community,” said Joe Tertel, 2017 HYP president. “We have the opportunity to bring hundreds of individuals to an area in the city that they may not be aware of. From these types of events, we hope to bring awareness to the uniqueness of architecture and history that our city provides.”

The 2017 HYP Home Tour takes place on Saturday, May 13, noon to 5 p.m., in Bellevue Park. For more information, including how to purchase tickets, visit www.hyp.org.

Author: Lawrance Binda

Burg Blog: One Down

May 4, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

Tuesday’s debate shook awake a rather sleepy mayoral campaign in Harrisburg, one that, until then, was marked by little more than Facebook posts and midnight runs along N. 3^rd Street to plant signs.

It was the end of the “phony campaign” (to use a war analogy), when, with great anticipation, the sides stare each other down but little happens face to face.

For the first time, in an awkwardly laid-out room at HACC’s Midtown II building, all five candidates were present, sitting close to one another, to answer a barrage of questions from CBS21’s John Hanrahan and PennLive’s John Micek and Christine Vendel.

So, what did we learn?

From a superficial standpoint, we didn’t learn much that we hadn’t already read from the candidates’ websites and social media posts: Lewis Butts has never met a development gimmick he doesn’t like; Jennie Jenkins thinks she can sweet talk SP+ into turning the parking system back over to the city; and all the challengers think the city could be safer and cleaner.

But, on a deeper level, there was more to learn.

First of all, the debate exposed something that had been simmering beneath the surface for months—that the old, Reed-era Harrisburg establishment has coalesced behind challenger Gloria Martin-Roberts.

During the debate, Martin-Roberts was asked, for instance, about former Mayor Linda Thompson, a long-time ally who circulated a nominating petition for her. In responding, Martin-Roberts defended Thompson’s tenure, saying “she did quite well” despite “some hiccups with personality,” which may be the most generous analysis of Thompson’s term I’ve heard.

Martin-Roberts also was asked about James Ellison, who is serving as her campaign treasurer. Ellison has been a fixture around Harrisburg for about 20 years, serving as counsel and chairman of the Harrisburg Authority, as counsel to the Harrisburg school district and as a top campaign aide to Thompson.

In one of his most noted actions, Ellison voted to approve the final bond issue to retrofit the Harrisburg incinerator, doubling the facility’s debt load, an action also supported by Martin-Roberts as a councilwoman. He also advised the school district’s board of control that it legally could fire former Superintendent Gerald Kohn, though 16 months remained on Kohn’s contract, a measure driven by Thompson and supported by Martin-Roberts. Kohn eventually won a $1.2 million settlement for wrongful termination.

But it’s not just Ellison. City Treasurer Dan Miller, who served on City Council during that same period, also supports Martin-Roberts. And, just recently, it was revealed that Reed himself sent out an email encouraging a friend to donate to the Martin-Roberts campaign.

Papenfuse mentioned some of this during the debate, as he feels that Harrisburg’s old guard wants back in power, a group he’s battled for years. For her part, Martin-Roberts said that neither Thompson nor Ellison would serve in her administration. That said, Martin-Roberts certainly is not distancing herself from Harrisburg’s recent, troubled past, an interesting decision that voters will have to weigh seriously.

Secondly, voters got to look at several of the challengers for the first time. I generally wasn’t impressed by their performances, though I’d say Jenkins presented better than Anthony Harrell or Lewis Butts. Jenkins had a few rough patches, but probably did well enough to continue the momentum she’s built up over the past few months.

Without question, Jenkins has run the most visible and energetic campaign among the mayoral hopefuls. While I don’t always agree with her tactics, I can’t deny that she’s run a solid campaign, beginning early and continuing over months with consistent effort. I doubt this will be enough for her to win, though it may be sufficient to play the role of spoiler.

Conventional wisdom has it that Jenkins will take more of the vote away from Martin-Roberts than Papenfuse. I don’t disagree with that, but it remains to be seen just how much support she’ll earn citywide and, thus, how many votes she’ll grab from her fellow challengers.

Because of this, I thought we’d see Martin-Roberts go after Jenkins more directly. I’ve been told that that’s not her style, though I’ve seen her, as a councilwoman, be plenty tough.

With the first debate behind us, we move on. Next is the HYP debate at the Hilton Harrisburg on Tuesday, and I’ll be on the reporter panel for that. It will be interesting to see if the gloves come off, if the candidates decide to shift what they say and to whom they direct their fire.

Author: Lawrance Binda

Weekend Roundup with Sara Bozich

May 4, 2017 | by Sara Bozich

A busy, busy weekend ahead. Tonight, we’re off to a wine dinner at the Hilton that my husband bid on at last year’s Tres Bonne Annee, so that should be fun.

Tomorrow evening, it’s Over the Rhine at Midtown Scholar, amid rain showers.

Saturday, my usual Next Step/Broad Street Market routine before Derby Day.

On Sunday, I have both a morning wedding and an afternoon baby shower to attend, capped by dinner with a friend in the evening. Whew.

What are you doing this weekend?

(more…)

A Field Day for Nonprofits: Harrisburg Hoopla raises money with friendly competition.

May 3, 2017 | by Danielle Roth

city island in the middle of the river on

Harrisburg Hoopla will take place June 3 at City Island’s Skyline Sports Complex.

Typically, professional athletes compete at Harrisburg’s City Island. However, come June 3, amateurs will have their day to play, while raising funds for local nonprofits.

Harrisburg Hoopla will give participants a day of friendly competition that ends with cold drinks, snacks and live music. Groups of at least six will face off in the Skyline Sports Complex in eight events of field day classics, such as the dizzy bat race and dodgeball.

The Emerging Philanthropist Program (EPP), a partnership between Harrisburg Young Professionals and the Foundation for Enhancing Communities (TFEC), created Harrisburg Hoopla this year to raise awareness and funds for local charities.

“We want to raise awareness for different causes and local nonprofit organizations,” said event organizer Devin Langan. “There are some organizations that are out there that are doing really good work, but people may not know about them.”

Teams select different local nonprofits to support. The winning three teams take the bulk of the donations for their charities. The first-place team takes 30 percent of funds raised. Second and third place teams, respectively, take 20 and 10 percent of funds raised.

After the field day activities end, the event turns into a party complete with live music, alcohol, snacks and a food truck.

“We have a little bit of everything,” Langan said. “People can relax, have fun and enjoy the weather.”

The winning teams will be given a platform to talk about their charity of choice.

So far, teams have been selected to compete for the Samara Center for Individual and Family Growth, the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and a charity to benefit those with cystic fibrosis.

The event also serves as a fundraiser that will sustain next year’s event and EPP’s grant-making fund.

“Instead of just focusing on raising money for EPP, we can raise awareness of the local charities,” he said.

The program acquaints a class of 15 young adults with Harrisburg’s local nonprofit community. At the end of the yearlong class, the group doles out a $5,000 grant to a nonprofit. In its fourth years, EPP has donated $15,000 to local groups, including the YWCA and the Shalom House.

After completing the program, Langan and other event organizers wanted to create an annual event that would engage all the community and benefit the nonprofit community they became connected with.

“We want to keep Harrisburg growing and improving,” he said.

Participants must register to compete. Attendees can purchase tickets to come for the evening festivities. Register before May 7 for an early bird rate. Event organizers suggest that those supporting and cheering on teams during the day donate.

“[Harrisburg Hoopla is] open to everyone. We want as many people to come as possible,” Langan said.

For more information about Harrisburg Hoopla, including how to register, please visit www.tfec.org/hbghoopla/registration.

Author: Danielle Roth

Mayoral Debate: Veteran candidates talk experience, others try to make a mark.

May 3, 2017 | by Danielle Roth

five candidates in suits and business wear sit in front of PennLive and CBS21 signs.

Mayoral candidates sat in the order they will appear on the ballot. From left to right: Lewis Butts, Gloria Martin-Roberts, Mayor Eric Papenfuse, Anthony Harrell, and Jennie Jenkins.

Harrisburg mayoral candidates Gloria Martin-Roberts and incumbent Eric Papenfuse defended their records last night, taking jabs at each other, while challengers Lewis Butts, Anthony Harrell and Jennie Jenkins tried to introduce themselves, and their ideas, to a live TV audience.

The moderators, CBS21 Anchor Robb Hanrahan, PennLive Opinion Editor John Micek and PennLive City Reporter Christine Vendel, asked candidates about pressing city issues and their backgrounds. Candidates sat in the order they appear on the May 16 Democratic primary election ballot. About 60 audience members filled the room at HACC’s Midtown Campus for last night’s hour-long, live-recorded event.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse took the first rhetorical punches at Martin-Roberts as candidates answered a question about improving blighted neighborhoods.

Martin-Roberts started off the panel’s responses with a common phrase of her campaign.

“I don’t have a favorite neighborhood, and I’ve been saying this,” she said. “This entire city would be the city that I love. I would start focusing on those neighborhoods that have been overlooked for a very long time.”

She added that, as mayor, she would listen to the needs of the community, use the law’s full force with absentee landlords and encourage buyers “to see blighted properties as diamonds in the rough.”

Papenfuse responded first with a dig at Martin-Roberts.

“I first would l to say that I do not have a favorite neighborhood,” he said. “I care about this whole city equally, and I find Ms. Martin-Roberts’ rhetoric, frankly, divisive. If the city is going to succeed, we are going to have to look for all of us to succeed together.”

He cited South Harrisburg’s sinkhole remediation plan, Allison Hill’s $3 million grant-funded MulDer Square development project and LERTA, a city-wide investment incentive program, as three of the “most important anti-blight remediation efforts” in many years.

Harrell, a veteran, mentioned a program to help veterans purchase houses before turning his answer back to crime.

“As long as crime is on the rise, no one will move into [these neighborhoods],” he said.

Butts referenced his “Harrisburg First” plan to train workers and contractors with a trade center in an attempt to connect job creation with neighborhood development.

Jenkins said she would go after federal funding for crime and blight, before criticizing the current administration.

“I thought three years ago, that’s what we were going to do: fight blight,” she said. “Here we are, three years later, wondering about blight,”

“Any funding that comes in for blight, that is what I am going to use it for,” she said of her plan.

Jenkins defended her troubled career as a police officer. The city fired her after accusing her of misappropriating $7,000 from the city’s Police Athletic League. She also found herself in trouble when thieves stole two guns from her unoccupied car. Currently, she is in a federal discrimination lawsuit against Police Chief Thomas Carter.

When asked about her transparency with these lawsuits, she said she couldn’t talk about the discrimination lawsuit as it is currently in progress. She said lawsuits prevented her from speaking about the embezzlement case with the city, though the case ended in January 2016.

Moderators asked a follow-up question about how, as mayor, she would manage a police department led by Chief Thomas Carter, who she said she would keep in office. She said that the discrimination lawsuit would be over in January, before she would take office.

“I don’t hold anything against anyone,” she said. “I’ve grown from it. I’ve learned from it.”

Martin-Roberts also defended her record in response to questions about her City Council vote to increase the incinerator debt and about her connections to former Mayor Linda Thompson and to James Ellison, a former associate of Mayor Stephen Reed.

Though Thompson had “hiccups with her personality,” she had “her hands deep in the Harrisburg Strong Plan,” she said.

“We would not be where we are today without her work,” she said.

She said that Ellison, now her campaign treasurer, would not serve in her administration. Ellison, a lawyer, found himself in controversy while serving both with the Harrisburg Authority under the Reed administration and, later, as counsel to the school district of Coatesville, Pa.

Papenfuse’s responses to certain questions elicited their fair share of groans, including one about the lack of a residency requirement for police officers.

“As a result, we have been able to attract some of the best and brightest from the nation and across the state,” he said.

Coming after Harrell and Butts commenting that police officers should reflect city neighborhoods, some members of the audience took Papenfuse’s comment as an insult.

As Harrell offered his closing remarks, Midtown resident Chris Siennick crashed the live television recording, introducing himself—complete with red headband and skateboard—as the Socialist candidate in the November general election.

After the audience erupted in laughter, Hanrahan closed the evening with these remarks: “[Last night was] a great example of how anything can happen on live television.”

Author: Danielle Roth

Burg Blog: Last Words

May 1, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

The Farm Show’s New Holland Arena, where President Trump spoke on Saturday.

Over the past few days, some people have been surprised that I’ve written several critical pieces on the visit of President Donald Trump to Harrisburg, as he marked his 100th day in office.

TheBurg’s the nice guy on the block, right?

Actually, we’ve weighed in on politics and government from the very beginning and, as you may know, there’s often nothing more fraught than local politics. In my magazine column this month, I mention that, every election cycle, I get into “trouble,” as I begin to step on toes with my annoying opinions. And, as soon as Trump announced his visit to Harrisburg, deeming it a “campaign” stop, it became a local political story, as well.

Over the past few days, I’ve written two main pieces for TheBurg’s website about the Trump visit. They’re quite different, written for different reasons.

In the first, I suggested that Trump’s people did not choose wisely when deciding to come to Harrisburg to mark his Day 100. I found it odd that, seeking affirmation, he would visit a deep-blue city in an increasingly blue region.

I wrote that piece for two main reasons. First, I had been asked all week why I thought Trump selected Harrisburg, so decided to share my belief that his people likely didn’t understand where they were going—that Harrisburg seemed like a conveniently situated place in a state that had swung for Trump–and that was as far as their thinking went. But I also wanted the national media not to make the same mistake—to think that Harrisburg is the heart of Trump country, because it’s not. (For a totally different opinion on this, click here.)

And, in fact, yesterday, I exchanged a couple of emails with Marc Fisher, a Washington Post senior editor, about his story in the Sunday Post, which touched on exactly this issue. His response to me was:

“I had looked into the vote numbers and sought in the story not to make any sweeping statements about Harrisburg. But inevitably the name of the locale gets conflated to some degree with the larger region from which the crowd travels. I think the individual stories of Trump fans within my article demonstrate that the supporters came from many rural and suburban areas, not mainly from Harrisburg.”

Secondly, I wrote a satirical piece about Trump’s address. This was unplanned, but I wrote it spur-of-the-moment (maybe you can tell) after hearing his speech, which I found to be hateful, divisive and self-obsessed, far beneath the standards that we should expect of our president. Moreover, I was taken aback by the blind loyalty of some of his supporters, despite his constantly shifting logic, statements and policies.

I’ll be honest—I’m no Donald Trump fan, never have been. I grew up in the 1970s just outside of New York City, so have read and heard about him all my life—from his playboy/Roy Cohn/Studio 54 years to his many mistresses and marriages; from his high-wire builder and casino mogul days to his numerous bankruptcies; from his lurid chats with Howard Stern to his embarrassing appearance at a Comedy Central roast; from the books he didn’t actually write to the university he didn’t actually run; from his shameless branding to his reality show persona; from his sudden switch from mildly liberal, pro-choice plutocrat to spitting-mad conservative plutocrat. For 40 years, I’ve had a seat to the Donald Trump show and have enjoyed almost none of it.

When Trump declared for president—famously descending that golden escalator at Trump Tower—I thought to myself, “Another publicity stunt.” And, to this day, I believe that’s what it was supposed to be, another way for Donald Trump to direct the spotlight on Donald Trump. To attract attention in a large field of Republicans, he took the lowest road possible, demonizing entire groups of people while making wild promises (e.g. bringing back coal jobs, forcing Mexico to pay for the wall) he’ll never be able to keep. It was all strategy without sincerity, but it worked, which may be good for Trump (or maybe not), but, I believe, is terrible for the country.

In any case, Trump has now left the building (and the city). So, I’ll return to the tamer (not really) world of Harrisburg politics, where, after a rather quiet campaign, the mayoral candidates have begun swinging at one another in the manner to which we’re accustomed. I’ll have more on that later.

Author: Lawrance Binda

Burg Blog: Promises Made

April 30, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

As a public service, TheBurg offers a “fair and balanced” interpretation of President Donald Trump’s speech last night at the state Farm Show Complex.

Trump: I’m delighted to be here in Harrisburg to mark Day 100 of my presidency. Everyone knows that I’ve had more success in my first 100 days than any president ever.

Crowd: Wild applause

Now, some of you, I’m sure, are aware of all the promises I made during my campaign and in my “100-Day Contract,” which is why the banner in this hall reads, “Promises Made, Promises Kept.” We’ve kept them all, folks!

Huge applause

And I promised you that I would repeal Obamacare on Day 1!

Crowd: Hooray!

And have I?

No!

No, I have not, but that’s only because no one knew that healthcare reform could be so hard. No one. But the fake news media won’t tell you that, folks.

Boo!!

That’s right. They won’t tell you about all my tremendous accomplishments, and I know because that’s where I get most of my false information.

Boo!! Boo!!

From Fox primarily.

Yay!

Hey, we’re gonna build that big, beautiful wall on the border with Mexico—and who’s gonna pay for it?

We are!

That’s right, you are! You and you and you over there, way in the back. Mexico might, someday, maybe, because Donald J. Trump will pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.

Hamburger!

And then none of those MS-13 thugs will flood over the border into our great American nation to rape and rob and murder, even though MS-13 is actually a Los Angeles gang that spread from the United States into Central America. But you don’t know that, do you?

We do not!

Hey, and speaking of Mexico, I repeatedly promised that the United States would withdraw from NAFTA. Worst deal ever! So, have we?

No!

No, we haven’t. But, don’t worry, folks. Mexico and Canada will come back to the negotiating table because . . . hey, what about our amazing veterans, folks? Give our vets a huge round of applause!

U-S-A! U-S-A!

Then there’s China.

Boo!

You all remember what I said about China, right?

Unfair trader! Currency manipulator!

And our new best friend!

Hooray!

Chant begins: Lock her up! Lock her up!

We’re not doing that.

Yay!

Now, I also promised to drain the swamp. I admit, we’re a little behind in that effort, since I’ve only nominated 37 people for 530 senior-level jobs in the agencies. So, if anyone in this room would like to be an associate deputy undersecretary in the Department of Labor or a deputy United States Trade Representative, please let Mike Pence know. Anything not claimed by the end of the night is going to Jared Kushner.

OK, now folks, let’s talk tax cuts.

Wild applause.

I promised you that, within the first 100 days, I would slash the corporate tax rate from 35 to 15 percent. Is anyone in this room a corporation? No? Over here? No? That’s OK. I haven’t done much about that either.

More wild applause.

But it’s not just corporations, folks. I also plan to eliminate the despised death tax, hated by everyone with an estate over $5.45 million. I’m sure that applies to almost everyone here.

Now, I made a bunch of other crazy promises in my 100-day contract—things like the “Restoring Community Safety Act,” the “End the Offshoring Act,” the “Affordable Childcare and Eldercare Act” and the “Restoring National Security Act.” But you folks have never heard of any of these—and I haven’t done anything about them anyway, so we’ll just forget about them.

Hooray!

In conclusion, I would like to reminisce for a moment about my wonderful campaign, and I know you all were there for me. Give yourselves a big round of applause for Making America Great Again!

Wild applause.

So, I once said, early on, during a campaign stop in Iowa, that I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and still not lose my voters. Bang! Good night!

Author: Lawrance Binda

Burg Blog: Wrong Place

April 28, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

The scene outside the state Farm Show Complex today.

Last Saturday, during my weekly trip to the Broad Street Market, a fellow reporter stopped to tell me that President Donald Trump planned to host a 100-day-in-office celebration, campaign-style, at the state Farm Show Complex. Right here in Harrisburg. In a week.

And my reaction was, “Huh?”

It wasn’t just me.

Over the course of the coming days, several other people I spoke to had the same reaction: Why here? Why Harrisburg?

Eventually, the conventional wisdom seemed to be that Trump, wanting to bask in the glow of a fawning crowd, needed a large venue (check) in a swing state he won (check) that was close to D.C. (checkmate).

So, Harrisburg it was, a few minutes north from the White House as the plane flies.

However, if Trump’s people had done more checking, they may have decided to put a little more fuel into Air Force One and gone farther afield to, say, Bradford or Erie or Ohio. The city of Harrisburg, after all, went for Hillary Clinton by an overwhelming margin, and Dauphin County was one of just two counties between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to turn blue during the last presidential election.

It wasn’t always this way.

Harrisburg was reliably Republican until the 1970s and Dauphin County even longer. However, today, every political office in the city is held by a Democrat, the city so blue that not a single Republican is competing in the May 16 primary for mayor, City Council or school board. Therefore, the Democratic primary winners almost certainly will be victorious in November’s general election, barring a shock from an independent or write-in.

It turns out that Harrisburg is following national urban trends, just a decade or so later than everywhere else—as usual. In large, northern cities, Democrats displaced Republicans almost entirely by the late 1960s. The close-in, older suburbs followed, and Republicans, now largely a rural party, today have trouble getting elected even in the wealthy, sprawling suburbs and exurbs outside cities like New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. So, I personally wasn’t surprised that Clinton won Dauphin County by nearly 3 percentage points, bucking the larger trend in central Pennsylvania.

This is all a prolonged way of saying that Trump, seeking friendly ground, could have chosen more wisely.

Could this be why, 24 hours before he’s due to take the stage to great adulation, tickets are still available for his campaign rally? I find this very surprising, as Trump, though low in the polls, still has many passionate supporters and is coming here to celebrate a milestone as president (and poke a stick into the eye of the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington). I’m shocked he’s had trouble filling the New Holland Arena, as I expected the 10,000 or so tickets to be gone in minutes or, at most, hours.

However, I personally know more people planning to attend the counter-protest than the actual campaign rally, which, if nothing else, says something about the general mood within the city proper.

So, Mr. President, welcome to Harrisburg. I hope you’ll enjoy your motorcade ride in from the airport, and looking out the rear window of your limo, discover that we have a charming little city and hardly the “war zone” you once claimed it was.

But you also should know that Harrisburg isn’t really Trump country. It’s deep blue, a Democratic stronghold, an urban island and the seat of a county that also preferred your opponent. So, if you’re looking for blind adoration—and I’m pretty sure you are—I’m sorry to report that you’re holding your campaign event in the wrong place. Is it too late to book something outside Lancaster?

Lawrance Binda is editor-in-chief of TheBurg.

Movies to Nosh On: Global flavors, Jewish stories set the table for the annual Harrisburg Jewish Film Festival.

April 28, 2017 | by Barbara Trainin Blank

To learn about a culture, taste its food.

The Harrisburg Jewish Film Festival enters its 23rd season with this idea fueling its opening night event.

Filmgoers can taste a spectrum of Israeli gastronomy with a buffet highlighting stops on the culinary journey featured in the night’s film, “In Search of Israeli Cuisine.” Award-winning Israeli chef Michael Solomonov takes viewers on a tour of the people driving Israel’s dynamic food scene.

Beyond opening night’s medley of yummy offerings (which also includes post-film desserts), attendees will enjoy a feast of Jewish-themed stories all week long.

The festival’s diverse offerings always impress audiences, said Julie Sherman, festival coordinator. But this year, it’s a “wow,” she said.

“It’s really balanced—kids’ movies, documentaries, special events, dramas and comedies,” she said.

Some films, such as “In Between,” show a slice of life. This film takes place in present-day Tel Aviv and follows three young Palestinian women as they negotiate life and share a flat in the city.

Other documentaries, such as “Operation Wedding,” take on more serious subjects.

In 1970, young Jewish dissidents tried to hijack a small plane to fly to Israel after being denied permission to emigrate from the Soviet Union. This group used the pretext of attending a bridal ceremony as a reason to rent the entire plane. The daring escape attempt became known as “Operation Wedding.”

Filmmaker Anat Zalmanson-Kutznetsov, daughter of dissidents Eduard Kuznetsov and Sylva Zalmanson, created the documentary of the same name.

“It wasn’t so much anti-Semitism that motivated my parents,” Zalmanson-Kuznetsov said. “They just didn’t feel Russia was their home. They wanted to be free.”

The Soviet Union considered the dissidents “terrorists.” But, all her life, the 37-year-old filmmaker said she has been asked, “Do you know your parents were heroes?”

The film captures this complexity and will be followed by a local angle—a panel discussion of Soviet Jews who immigrated to Harrisburg.

Another documentary film in the festival, “On the Map,” takes place in Israel but under the shadow of the USSR. In 1977, the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team unexpectedly won the European Cup after beating the Soviet team that initially refused to compete against them.

“[This win is] a big story in Israel, maybe like in America the walk on the moon,” said Director Dani Menkin.

A few films center on the Holocaust and World War II.

The French-Belgian war drama, “Fanny’s Journey,” was inspired by the true story of a group of children fleeing Nazi-occupied France to Switzerland.

The German historical thriller, “The People vs. Fritz Bauer,” takes viewers into 1950s Germany. Bauer, a German attorney general, shared information about Adolf Eichmann, who was responsible for the mass deportation of Jews.

The World War II theme takes a lighthearted turn to Uruguay, with the comedy-drama, “Mr. Kaplan.” In it, an older Jewish man experiencing an existential crisis thinks a new-to-town German might be a Nazi. He tries to capture and bring him to justice.

Other lighthearted films also should give viewers a laugh or two.

“The Women’s Balcony,” a hit Israeli comedy-drama, depicts women in a modern Orthodox synagogue and the charismatic, young rabbi who challenges them. He appears at first to be a savior, but slowly starts pushing fundamentalist views.

The family-friendly drama, “Abulele,” plays with the idea of the monster that Israeli parents use to threaten misbehaving kids. In this film, the monster is “pretty friendly,” Sherman said.

“It’s a really sweet movie,” she said.

The festival highlights famous Jewish Americans, such as Star Trek icon Leonard Nimoy and novelist Philip Roth.

For 3rd in the Burg on May 19, Midtown Cinema presents “For the Love of Spock,” a documentary about Nimoy made by his son, Adam.

On May 21, the annual “Sunday Morning Book Club” will gather to discuss Roth’s novel, “Indignation,” and watch the film based on the book. The New York Times’ Stephen Holden wrote that this film is “easily the best film made of a Roth novel, which is saying a lot.”

Literature and writing professor Yelena (Helen) P. Khanzhina-Wexler will join the group at that event to help guide the discussion about the book and its film adaptation.

Once again, food will play an important role, as bagels and coffee will precede the event.

The Harrisburg Jewish Film Festival opens May 18 at the Jewish Community Center, 3301 N. Front St. The festival continues until May 25 at Midtown Cinema, 250 Reily St. For more information, visit www.jewishharrisburg.org or www.hbgjff.com. Find ticketing information for the rest of the festival at www.midtowncinema.com.

2017 HARRISBURG JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

Thursday, May 18
Jewish Community Center
6 p.m.: Israeli Buffet Feast (reservations required)
7 p.m.: “In Search of Israeli Cuisine,” followed by a dessert reception

Friday, May 19
Midtown Cinema
6 p.m.: “For the Love of Spock”

Saturday, May 20, 8:30 p.m.
Midtown Cinema
“The Women’s Balcony”

Sunday, May 21
Midtown Cinema
10 a.m.: “Indignation,” followed by a book club discussion
2 p.m.: “Abulele”
4 p.m.: “Mr. Kaplan”
7 p.m.: “On the Map”

Monday, May 22
Midtown Cinema
3 p.m.: “The Pickle Recipe”
5:30 p.m.: “Fanny’s Journey”
7:30 p.m.: “Sabena Hijacking: My Version”

Tuesday, May 23
Midtown Cinema
11 a.m.: “In Between”
3 p.m.: “The Women’s Balcony”
3:15 p.m.: “My Hero Brother”
5:15 p.m.: “Mr. Kaplan”
5:30 p.m.: “On the Map”
7:15 p.m.: “The Pickle Recipe”
7:30 p.m.: “The People vs. Fritz Bauer”

Wednesday, May 24
Midtown Cinema
3 p.m.: “Sabena Hijacking: My Version”
5:30 p.m.: “In Between”
7:30 p.m.: “Operation Wedding,” followed by a panel discussion

Thursday, May 25
Midtown Cinema
3 p.m.: “The People vs. Fritz Bauer”
5:30 p.m.: “The Women’s Balcony”
7:30 p.m.: “Fanny’s Journey,” followed by closing night reception

Author: Barbara Trainin Blank

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