A Wine Wonderland: Our wine guy gives his picks for an every day sip, a special holiday pour.

November 30, 2015 | by Steve Juliana

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year …”

Those words are in the air wherever you go during the holiday season. And why? Gift-giving is certainly one reason, but so are food and drink, as special meals and wines add to the joy and appreciation of spending time with friends and family.

With that in mind, I recently attended a Chairman’s Selection® tasting, sponsored by Fine Wine & Good Spirits. Steve Pollack, the buyer for the Chairman’s Selection programs, took us on a guided tour of the offerings, pointing out nuances in these quaffs and educating the participants about the vinous personalities of the amazing wines.

Whether you need a gift for that certain person or a unique bottle for a meal or celebration, I present my tasting notes to help guide you in your selections.

WHITE WINE

Claudie Peguet Pouilly-Loché Blanc 2014, code 78039, $ 19.99: Clean citrusy, peachy Chardonnay from Burgundy, France.

Robert Mondavi Fumé Blanc Oakville 2013, code 33924, $23.99: Rich, melon-nosed Sauvignon Blanc from Napa. Silky, creamy finish.

RED WINE

Tenuta Ulisse Amaranta Montepulciano D’Abruzzo 2012, code 33929, $17.99: Rich, complex Italian wine with spice and licorice flavors, matching a fruity finish.

Concha y Toro Marques de Casa Concha Syrah 2011, code 33975, $14.99: Ripe and complex with fruit and herbs on the palate. Ready for red meat.

Pianirossi Sidus Montecucco 2012, code 78032, $12.99: Violet-nosed with juicy fruit and an easy-to-drink style. From Tuscany’s “wild west.”

Dezzani Barbaresco Starde 2011, code 33953, $16.99: Tasty Nebbiolo with spices, fruit and an elegant, smooth finish.

Bersano Barolo Nirvasco 2010, code 33949, $24.99: Another Italian Nebbiolo, this one to lay down. Big and powerful.

Windmill Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2011, code 33873, $19.99: Classic Napa Cab with cassis and cherry. Soft and balanced.

Havens Winery Black and Blue 2012, code 33969, $19.99: Interesting Napa blend of Syrah and Cabernet. Cocoa nose leads to dark fruit and smooth finish.

Stonehedge The Nobel Red 2012, code 33966, $19.99: Odd blend of Merlot and Zin makes for an easy drinking fruit and vanilla quaff.

Gandolini Cabernet Sauvignon Las 3 Marias Vineyards 2011, code 78023, $29.99: Exquisite blend from Chile. Classic to drink now or lay down. 92 percent Cabernet. Spice, cassis and dark fruit dominate.

Château Latour A Pomerol 2006, code 33927, $54.99: Well-aged Bordeaux with balance and elegance. Drink now or cellar.

DESSERT WINE

Feuerheerd’s 10 Year Old Tawny Porto, code 33882, $19.99: Showing a sweet side with caramel, raisin and hazelnut flavors. Nice, dry finish.

Offley Late Bottled Vintage Porto 2010, code 33879, $13.99: A delicious wine to finish a meal or just to enjoy.

Barao de Vilar Vintage Port 2011, code 33937, $39.99: A huge and complex wine. Zings the palate, great finish.

Keep sipping, Steve

TheBurg Podcast, Nov. 27, 2015

November 27, 2015 | by Admin

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

To listen to this week’s episode, click here.

Nov. 27, 2015: This week, Larry and Paul talk about Mayor Papenfuse’s proposed 2016 budget, the final resolution of a long-running dispute with the county tourism bureau, fact versus fiction in the corruption charges against former Mayor Reed, and the notion of Harrisburg “outsiders” you hear invoked from time to time around town, even from elected officials.

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

You can now subscribe to TheBurg podcast in iTunes!

Still Short-Staffed, City Seeks to Hike Tax on Residents and Commuters

November 25, 2015 | by Paul Barker

Workers leaving state offices Tuesday afternoon in downtown Harrisburg’s Strawberry Square.

When Mayor Eric Papenfuse proposed his 2016 budget for Harrisburg Tuesday night, he justified its millions of dollars in new expenses in part by saying they would be “building critical capacity” at a pared-down city hall.

To help cover those costs, he is asking for a $3 million hike in the local services tax, a flat-rate levy on people who work in the city that would increase from $52 to $156 per year.

It’s a tax with a lot of tradeoffs. It affects both residents and commuters, in a city where a huge portion of the workforce lives outside town. That means it hits the wallets of people who rely on city services, but who also can’t vote against it.

It’s regressive, eating up a larger portion of your income the poorer you are, though it also has exemptions for retirees and people earning below $15,600 per year.

It’s temporary, meaning Papenfuse or his successor will have to find a replacement for it or else slash the budget again, in at most five years. That’s the latest the proposed hike could be authorized under current rules for cities like Harrisburg in the state’s financial distress program.

And if passed, the hike will represent yet another cost borne by residents of Harrisburg and its commuters, in a recovery that has paired austerity in city services with higher income and real estate taxes and increased parking fees.

“It’s painful thinking about it,” said Councilman Ben Allatt, chair of the budget and finance committee. “We’d like to see what other options are there. I wish we could do it another way.”

Council has yet to fully vet the mayor’s proposal, which will be revisited in more detail during budget hearings on Dec. 8 and 9 before a final vote Dec. 15.

But, both as a matter of practicality and of state law, the city has few other means of raising revenue. A tax on earned income is already maxed out under the law, and money from the parking system has come in below expectations. In December council will likely face a choice: either approve the hike, or cut the budget.

To take effect, the local services tax hike would first have to be authorized by the Commonwealth Court, which still has jurisdiction over the state plan guiding the city’s recovery. It’s not clear how soon court approval will be sought or granted, although Papenfuse’s budget estimates assume full enactment by March or April.

A spokesman for Fred Reddig, who oversees the plan as its coordinator at the state Department of Community and Economic Development, said Wednesday that the local services tax hike will be “an element of the modifications” being considered for the city’s recovery plan. He would not say whether Reddig supports it.

Papenfuse, in his presentation Tuesday night, described the tax hike as the “least painful” of the city’s options for raising what he says is essential revenue. That met with mixed reactions from elected officials—Councilman Brad Koplinski, for example, has questioned its necessity—as well as from residents and commuters.

Zach Monnier, a self-described “rare bird” who both works and lives downtown, said he supports the hike because he believes it is the necessary cost of fixing the city’s decaying infrastructure. “The only way to do that is to pay more money,” he said. “The city is looking for revenue streams, and this is a viable one.”

A legal assistant at the state Department of Banking and Securities, Monnier said he felt confident that the city really did need the additional tax revenues and would not squander them. “It doesn’t look like anyone’s trying to waste money,” he said. “It looks like they’re trying to improve services.”

Another state worker, standing apart from the flow of commuters from offices downtown on Tuesday afternoon, said she had learned about the tax increase that morning and opposed it, though she didn’t know all the details.

“That’s a big jump,” said the worker, who declined to give her name, saying she was not supposed to speak to media without authorization from her employer. “Me, as a single mom, that’s a lot,” she added, referring to the $104 increase in annual taxes.

The worker said she commuted from Tower City, in northern Dauphin County. “We work here, but we don’t live here,” she said, noting that she and many neighbors came to the city to work because there were few job opportunities closer to home.

A pair of valets at the downtown Hilton, Cameron Clarke and Justin Weber, had slightly different takes on the tax hike, when asked about it late Tuesday afternoon.

Clarke, who commutes from New Cumberland across the river, opposed it, saying non-residents contributed plenty to the city economy already. “This mayor needs to keep in mind, all the revenue is coming from commuters,” he said. “I hate to say it, but not much is coming from the residents. I think everyone should be against this.”

Weber, who lives in the city’s Midtown neighborhood, mostly agreed, though he said he was open to hearing the mayor’s position. “If he has a reasonable justification for it, I’d be OK with it,” he said. “Not necessarily happy about it, but I’d be OK with it.”

Papenfuse, Departing from State Plan, Proposes Tax Hike, New Hires

November 25, 2015 | by Paul Barker

Mayor Papenfuse on Monday announcing a sponsorship deal with Mary Smith, director of the Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau, that the city says will help fund two full-time hires next year. The 2016 budget adds dozens of new positions at city hall, about half of them funded through outside sources.

In an unapologetic rebuke to the state’s recovery plan for Harrisburg, Mayor Eric Papenfuse on Tuesday night proposed a 2016 budget that includes at least $5 million in additional expenses and 36 new positions, paid for in part by $3 million in new taxes he says are needed to provide essential services for the Pennsylvania capital.

Presenting City Council with his spending plan in preparation for December’s budget hearings, Papenfuse described the expenses as a way of fixing a state plan he has repeatedly said is not working and of “building critical capacity” at city hall.

Some of the additional expenses are inherited, and Papenfuse was quick to point blame at incorrect projections by the state regarding the price of certain budget items. Among these are health care and pension costs, which the administration said will each be $1 million higher than initially projected for next year.

At the same time, however, Papenfuse sent a clear signal through his proposal that he will demand much faster growth at city hall than the state was prepared to recommend in the guiding document it drafted two years ago.

The mayor wants the growth to be paid for in part through the tripling of the local services tax, a flat tax on anyone who works within city limits, which would increase from $52 to $156 per year, or from $1 to $3 per week. After a few months’ delay before the hike can be enforced, the city expects it to net $3 million next year.

Calling it the “least painful” of available revenue sources, Papenfuse said the local services tax hike would not affect retirees and people earning below $15,600 per year, while being distributed between working residents and commuters.

The budget’s new hires would encompass 28 union and eight management-level jobs, ranging from additional firefighters and police officers to public works employees, bill collectors and staff devoted to managing the city’s annual festivals.

About half of the new positions would be funded by sources other than city taxpayers. Five additional police officers will be partly funded by federal community policing grants, while four new firefighters are expected to pay for themselves through savings in overtime. A litigator position in the city solicitor’s office is expected to pay for itself, as are three additional bill collectors.

Eighteen of the proposed hires—17 union workers and one manager—will fall under the umbrella of a new “neighborhood services” division Papenfuse plans to create next year. The new division, building on recommendations in a consultants’ report last year, will merge trash collection with tasks like street repair, park maintenance and fielding 311 calls in a single unit with a $15.8 million budget.

The neighborhood services budget, which is separate from the tax-dependent general fund, will be funded almost entirely by Harrisburg trash customers.

Papenfuse described the additional sanitation staff, along with $1.3 million he plans to invest in new equipment, as essential to providing reliable services to both residents and the hundreds of commercial trash accounts the city hopes to win back from private haulers in the next two to three years.

Papenfuse said Tuesday night that he had reached agreements with many commercial customers, along with the three major private trash haulers in the area, to switch their accounts back to the city. But the campaign to win back such clients has also hit snags, including a lawsuit last year accusing the city of “unconscionable” trash rates that it said subsidized government expenses unrelated to sanitation.

The proposed 2016 budget depends heavily on revenues the city is set to lose if it ever leaves the state oversight program for financially distressed municipalities. These include the hike in the local services tax, which cannot be assessed without approval from the state court overseeing the city’s recovery, and an increase in the local income tax that has been in effect since 2012.

Papenfuse, addressing this concern Tuesday, said he hoped to make up for these losses in future years with a combination of revenues from new residents and businesses and a permanent authorization of certain tax hikes through a home rule charter initiative. He also said, in reference to the state’s 2018 deadline for the city’s exit from state oversight, “There is no chance we’re getting out on their timeline.”

Even if council approves the mayor’s budget as proposed, it doesn’t necessarily mean the city will spend all the money it’s asking for. Since taking office, Papenfuse has consistently scaled down or withheld expenses until the city had demonstrated it had sufficient revenues coming in to pay them.

But the administration was resolute in defending the new expenses. Comparing the city to a “ship that isn’t sinking anymore, but needs some repairs and investments in human and physical capital to make her seaworthy,” finance director Bruce Weber said the choice was either to spend now or “put her out in dry dock and go home.”

“If we can’t run the city functionally at a minimum of capacity, with some realistic plan for future improvements, then you might as well close up the city now,” he said.

Nov. 23-27: This Week in Harrisburg

November 23, 2015 | by Admin

Monday, Nov. 23

Harrisburg City Council Budget & Finance Committee, 5:30 p.m.
City Hall, 10 N. 2^nd St.

On the agenda: Two housekeeping items—a contract with an outside tax collector and an agreement with the school district on business privilege, mercantile and amusement tax collection.

Tuesday, Nov. 24

Harrisburg City Council Legislative Session, 6 p.m.
City Hall, 10 N. 2^nd St.

On the agenda: First reading of Mayor Papenfuse’s 2016 budget. The city is still under state oversight, so watch for disagreements between the city and state over the revenue sources and staffing levels in the spending plan. Papenfuse said in September that the city will need to raise taxes. But some of those hikes would expire if the city ever left state oversight, which the mayor also wants it to do.

Wednesday, Nov. 25

Dauphin County Commissioners, 10 a.m.
Dauphin County Administration Building, 2^nd & Market Sts., 4^th Floor

On the agenda: Presentation of the county’s 2016 budget.

Harrisburg School Board Community Relations Committee, 6 p.m.
District Administrative Offices, 1601 State St.

On the agenda: Unknown. The superintendent’s office said an academic committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday was cancelled, and that the same might be true for Wednesday. The board is in a period of upheaval, with the surprise resignation last week of its president, Jennifer Smallwood. The nine-member board will soon have five new members— four newly elected, one appointed to replace Smallwood—after two straight years of declining test scores under a state recovery plan. The board’s reorganization meeting is scheduled for Dec. 7 at 6:30 p.m.

Mayor, County Agency Strike Deal on Tourism Dollars

November 23, 2015 | by Paul Barker

Images from the Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau’s “Find Your Way Here” marketing campaign, which was launched earlier this month without the involvement of city officials.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse and the county tourism bureau today announced a four-year, $620,000 agreement to fund city marketing efforts, marking the first long-term compromise in nearly two years of an often bitter dispute over tourism dollars.

The agreement will provide the city $95,000 in sponsorships each year to promote four main Harrisburg events: the 4^th of July festivities, the Kipona festival in September, the November holiday parade and the New Year’s Eve celebrations. The bureau will also spend $60,000 on direct marketing of these events each year.

Mary Smith, the bureau’s director, described the four events as the city’s “large, annual, signature events” and said that marketing them formed a key part of Harrisburg’s tourism strategy.

The agreement modifies an earlier request by Papenfuse for the bureau to fund two city hires, a marketing director and a web content manager, which he had said would build necessary capacity at city hall. Papenfuse said these hires would still form a part of his 2016 budget, which he is set to present to City Council Tuesday.

Officially, the bureau’s $95,000 annual commitment will be characterized as a sponsorship, though Papenfuse said the city is treating it as money that will fund the hires. The sponsorship characterization, he said, will address the bureau’s concern that its tourism dollars not be used for purposes other than traditional marketing.

The bureau had concerns about agreements that “set us up for any one of our partners to say, ‘Hey, we need a person,’” Smith said. “That’s where approaching it as a sponsorship really does make sense.”

The $95,000 in sponsorships will be funded as direct grants from the bureau’s budget, while the $60,000 in ads will come out of hotel tax money earmarked for spending on the city.

The agreement marks a compromise on a proposal Papenfuse put forward earlier this month during revived negotiations with the bureau, after the bureau launched its own marketing campaign created without the input or approval of city officials.

Addressing the mayor’s demand for city involvement, the bureau and Papenfuse also announced Monday that they have agreed to reconstitute a city marketing committee, which will include two city representatives.

The bureau, whose full name is the Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau, is the agency designated by the county to promote area tourism. It crafted its campaign over a six-month period, with input from downtown and Midtown businesses.

The campaign, under the slogan “Find Your Way Here,” broadcast an image of Harrisburg as a hip, off-the-beaten-path destination for millennials on a website and in a series of billboard and radio ads.

Papenfuse sharply critiqued the campaign, saying it was out of touch and insulting to demographic groups other than millennials. He also accused the bureau of having developed the campaign in secret, betraying what he said was an agreement to freeze city marketing dollars until a spending plan could be negotiated.

Monday’s compromise will leave the “Find Your Way Here” campaign intact, though it will be guided in future months by the newly constituted committee. Papenfuse expressed a hope that the city’s involvement would improve the campaign.

The mayor and the bureau have been battling over tourism spending since late 2013, when the newly elected Papenfuse learned about a 15-year commitment to use marketing dollars to subsidize the National Civil War Museum in Reservoir Park.

The commitment, inked under former Mayor Stephen Reed, locked the city into a long-term subsidy of the museum out of a portion of a tax on visitors to area hotels.

Papenfuse wanted the bureau to cut off the subsidy, saying it was draining resources meant to be spent on marketing the city as a whole. The bureau declined, saying it was legally obligated to pass the money to the museum.

The ensuing stalemate appears to have reached an end with Monday’s announcement, with both the mayor and the bureau describing it as a win for both parties. “We really do feel this is a great deal,” Smith said.

TheBurg Podcast, Nov. 20, 2015

November 20, 2015 | by Admin

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

To listen to this week’s episode, click here.

Nov. 20, 2015: In this week’s “Utility Edition,” Larry and Paul talk about improvements at the site of the Harrisburg incinerator, a new rule on “woody waste,” and the 2016 water and sewer rates approved by Capital Region Water. They also give a farewell to the Uptown Chicago Grill at 2nd and Maclay and chat about some really antiquated light circuits in city hall. Can you guess which of these were the Most Harrisburg Thing This Week?

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

You can now subscribe to TheBurg podcast in iTunes!

Hallmark to Close, Among Many Changes in Strawberry Square

November 20, 2015 | by Lawrance Binda

Part of Strawberry Square in Harrisburg.

A retail era is coming to a close in Harrisburg, as the Strawberry Patch Hallmark store is slated to close in January.

Owners Ed and Linda Baer have informed Harristown Enterprises that they plan to retire and so will not renew their lease after 36 years in business. The couple have operated their store in Strawberry Square since 1979, said Brad Jones, CEO of Harristown, which owns and manages the downtown, mixed-use complex.

“We are sorry to see them go, but understand that they wish to retire after all these years,” said Jones.

Jones acknowledged that retail has become increasingly challenging for brick-and-mortar stores, which must compete with online vendors. Nonetheless, he said that Harristown is seeking, but has not yet found, a new tenant for the large, prominent space on the main floor.

He also characterized the store’s departure as part of the ongoing evolution of Strawberry Square.

Built in the 1970s, Strawberry Square was designed as office and retail space to better compete with suburban malls, which then were in vogue. However, as that style of shopping has gone out of fashion, it has tried to change with the times, responding to new types of demand, he said.

For instance, Best Friends Day Care recently moved into another large retail space, one long occupied by apparel retailer Dressbarn. Also, a large swath of Strawberry Square along Market and 3rd streets is being converted from offices to 22 high-end apartments, the first residential units in the complex as interest in downtown living has grown. In addition, a Little Amps Coffee Roasters kiosk opened last week on the main floor, responding to the influx of 900 state workers into the former Verizon Tower building.

Harristown also said that about 200 employees with Deloitte Consulting and Deloitte Advisory soon will move into about 20,000 square feet of space at 30 N. 3rd St. And, recently, RGS Associates and Sellers Dorsey announced their intention to take space in Strawberry Square.

“We continue to adapt to the changes in the market,” said Jones.

The Hallmark store owners plan a retirement sale, said Jones, so shoppers should look for that in January.

Click here for more information about Strawberry Square.

Harrisburg Announces New Rules for “Woody Waste”

November 20, 2015 | by Lawrance Binda

Sanitation workers remove leaves along N. 2nd Street in Harrisburg.

Harrisburg today issued new rules and guidelines for “woody waste,” which includes brush, bark and limbs.

Until Jan. 1, the city will collect this waste on street-cleaning days. It must be picked up separately from the regular trash because it has been banned from the incinerator, said the city.

Earlier in the fall, the city administration asked residents to put out leaf waste separate from the regular trash. On street cleaning days, Harrisburg now collects leaves that has been placed in compostable bags, which is then sent to Swatara Township’s composting facility.

The city also announced that it will pick up Christmas trees left at curbside from Jan. 1 to Jan. 30.

The city’s full press release, with more detailed guidelines, follows:

CITY ANNOUNCES NEW GUIDELINES FOR BRUSH AND WOODY WASTE COLLECTIONS

Harrisburg, PA – The City of Harrisburg’s Public Works Department is notifying residents of immediate changes in collection of brush and woody waste.

“The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has notified the City that we can no longer bring brush and branches to the former Harrisburg incinerator for disposal,” said Mayor Eric Papenfuse. “This means we must institute new procedures for collecting brush, branches, limbs and other woody waste that was usually collected with trash.”

From Nov. 21, 2015 until Jan. 1, 2016, residents should set out their branches, limbs and woody waste separately from trash on street cleaning day, which now occurs twice each month during street cleaning seasons.

Branches are to be cut in lengths not to exceed four (4) feet, and tied securely in bundles not to exceed two (2) feet thick.

A City truck will collect the branches, limbs and woody waste and deliver them to the City’s Public Works yard at 1820 Paxton Street, Harrisburg. There, the City will grind the materials into wood chips, place the wood chips in a truck and deliver the materials to the compost site located in Swatara Township.

The City is investigating plans to site its own yard waste composting and management facility. Once the new City compost site is up and running, these materials may be delivered directly to the new composting site for storage and processing.

Processing is expected to include chipping or grinding of the materials, with potential recycling/use of the mulch end-product by the City.

Residents will be able to set out branches, limbs and woody waste during street cleaning days until January 1, when scheduled street cleaning stops for the snow/plowing season.

According to the new guidelines:

From January 1 of each year, until street cleaning again recommences (typically in Spring/Summer), residents may drop off bundles of branches, limbs and woody waste to the Public Works Yard at 1820 Paxton St.

Public Works staff will receive the materials, grind them, and truck them to the Swatara Township composting site (until the new compost site is in operation, when trucks may deliver these materials directly to the new compost site for processing).

Seasonal Christmas tree collection and handling will continue to occur under the current program, as follows:

From January 1 through January 30, the City Highway Department will collect Christmas trees set out at the curb by residents and will take them to the Swatara Township compost site for storage/processing.

TheBurg Podcast, Nov. 13, 2015

November 13, 2015 | by Admin

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

To listen to this week’s episode, click here.

Nov. 13, 2015: This week, Larry and Paul talk about the roll-out of two new front-end loaders, the latest additions to the city’s incrementally improving sanitation fleet. They also talk about how the mayor and council don’t seem to be singing “All Together Now” on city finances, before debuting a new podcast segment, “The Most Harrisburg Thing This Week.”

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

You can now subscribe to TheBurg podcast in iTunes!

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