Green, All Year Long: Hardcore gardening equals a greenhouse.

August 10, 2012 | by Jay Stanton

As a hobby greenhouse owner, most people tell me how they’d like a hobby greenhouse to start seeds for flowers and vegetables.

That always leads to a conversation about what it takes to germinate seeds – lots of light, a constant bottom heat of about 70 degrees and misting to keep new plants moist. I advise new gardeners to be careful about starting plants too early. The reward of being careful is a whole bunch of plants ready to be transplanted into the garden in the spring. It’s a challenge, but many folks really enjoy the process and have wonderful success.

Other people tell me they want to build a greenhouse to grow orchids and houseplants year-round, or use the greenhouse’s protection to extend the growing season of vegetables. Some people grow veggies during the winter months.

I have another reason for our little greenhouse: We over-winter tropical plants rather than buy new hibiscus, angel trumpets and the like every spring. All of our tropical plants are maintained in large containers that we arrange around the garden, deck and patio for our outside seasons. Rather than planting, potting and replanting, we keep these tropical plants in their containers, where we can move them in and out easily. With containers, however, more maintenance is required – watering and fertilizing.

Back to greenhouses: There are two types – free-standing and attached to your house or garage. You need transparent glazing to let in the sun. There are three types – thin plastic that comes on a roll and only lasts a few years, but is inexpensive; glass, which is expensive and difficult to install, but lasts forever with care; and the new polycarbonate glazing that is found in newer lightweight eyeglasses.

Most new hobby greenhouses are glazed with a double-walled polycarbonate, with air spaces between for better heat insulation. There’s also the old standby known as the cold frame, a window frame covering some plants in a hole, but let’s not get too technical.

Greenhouses are fun. I really enjoy just stepping into ours. As a gardener, I enjoy stepping into anybody’s greenhouse. The warmth and smell of living plants just lifts my spirit. Maybe you feel the same way.

My parents were in the commercial greenhouse business and I grew up learning the business venture. I could have moved home and taken over the business with my brother, but by that time I had my own hobby greenhouse and that scratched my itch.

If you’re thinking about building your own hobby greenhouse, there are a few basic requirements. First, is a town code permit needed? Do you have water and electricity? What type of heat and ventilation will you use? Is there ample light in the winter months? If it’s an extension of your home to share with plants, you may need to consult an architect or a company that specializes in constructing sun rooms.

If you plan on a standalone structure, there are several options. Buy a kit, from a catalogue or online that is delivered to you or have a greenhouse company build it for you. I designed and built my own. Not having a computer at the time, I used the public library and read as much as I could about the subject. I contacted the Penn State Extension educator who had knowledge of greenhouses and visited Delaware Valley College, where I spoke to the horticulture professor about new materials and current trends.

As I began construction, I entered the Dauphin County Master Gardener program, where I was required to give a presentation. With photos, I showed the concrete block foundation, 2 x 6 construction with full insulation of the north half, and a fully glazed southern exposure. I built in thermal efficiency such as a stone pit as a heat sink/source, a brick floor, green-painted back block wall and an unvented propane gas heater.

If you’re thinking about pursuing this adventure – and make no mistake, it’s an adventure – a good place to start would be to attend a meeting of the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the Hobby Greenhouse Association, www.hobbygreenhouse.org. You will meet people like me who will be happy to share their success stories, and their biggest mistakes, to keep you from making the same ones.

If you’re interested, contact me at [email protected] or 717-566-3415. I’ll be happy to get your feet planted on the right path.

Jay Stanton, a Hummelstown gardener, is founder of the Susquehanna Hosta Society, and a member of the Hobby Greenhouse Association.

Going Dutch (Cookie-wise): Stroopies land sweetly in the Harrisburg area.

August 10, 2012 | by Sylvia Grove

Hold on, biscotti. Take a backseat, pizzelle. And welcome a new international cookie, the stroopwafel, to central Pennsylvania’s confection scene.

A stroopwafel is a traditional Dutch cookie, literally meaning “syrup waffle.” The “stroopie” consists of gooey caramel syrup pressed between two pie-crust-thin, cinnamon-spiced waffles.

Traditionally, the cookie rests on the rim of a hot cup of coffee for a few seconds before eating to soften the caramel – an ode to taking time to eat, to drink, and to be.

“My customers keep saying, ‘Oh, they’re caramel! Oh, they’re Dutch!’” said Ambreen Esmail, owner of Cafe di Luna on 3^rd Street in Midtown.

Esmail has carried the cookies since late June, to complement her array of small batch, independently-made desserts and internationally-inspired coffee beverages. “Not many people have heard of stroopwafels, but they’re delicious,” she said.

Domestically, Stroopwafels are made at Stroopies, a Lancaster-based company managed by a husband and wife team, Jonathan and Jennie Groff.

“We both grew up in small family businesses, and we wanted one of our own,” Jennie said, herself the daughter of a dairy farmer. Jonathan is the son of the founders of Groff’s Candies in Lancaster.

Owners Ed McManness and Dan Perryman founded Stroopies in 2008 to make cookies and provide jobs to underprivileged men and women. They operate a branch in, of all places, Moradabad, India, with six full-time workers.

Jonathan and Jennie joined the company two years ago and wanted to market the cookies in Pennsylvania. Since then, laboring in the back room of Groff’s Candies, they have made every stroopwafel from scratch.

Four cookie-size balls of homemade dough are placed on an authentic Dutch stroopwafel griddle and pressed for 80 seconds. Each waffle is transferred to a cutting board, filleted in half, and drizzled with house-made caramel syrup. The halves are then pressed back together, cooled, and hand-packaged.

“Our very clean hands are all over the stroopwafels that you buy,” laughed Jennie.

In addition to traditional stroopies, the Groffs offer stroopwafels dipped in Wilbur’s dark chocolate. They are experimenting with gluten-free stroopwafels, fresh pecan stroopwafels, and chocolate-dipped stroopwafels that are sprinkled with locally-roasted espresso from Lancaster’s Square One Coffee.

There’s a balance between keeping it simple and being creative, Jonathan said, “but I do think the espresso stroopwafels are out of this world.” The couple hopes to eventually introduce a new stroopie variety each year.

Like the India branch, the couple hopes Stroopies can provide employment opportunities to immigrants in Central Pennsylvania.

“Specifically, we see a need among refugees that the U.S. has welcomed,” Jonathan said. “Sometimes they have a hard time finding work. We love working with internationals, so to be able to provide work for people from other parts of the world would be an enjoyable privilege for us.”

That inspires Café di Luna’s Esmail. “I promote Stroopies’ cookies because they bring people together,” she said. “So much is lost these days with the way we rush. I believe we need to go back to our values, and I try to promote products that do the same.”

Stroopies, 105 Old Dorwart St., Lancaster, www.stroopies.net. Café di Luna is at 1004 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg.

Pack Some Precaution: Be careful, prepared when vacationing.

August 10, 2012 | by Dr. John Goldman

Each year over 1 billion people travel across the world. Approximately 10 percent of travelers will experience some kind of illness on their journey, one to five percent will become ill enough to seek medical attention either during or after their trip, and one out of 100,000 will die during their travels.

Typically, when one imagines a serious illness while traveling, one imagines contracting an exotic disease (malaria, yellow fever, or typhoid). However, the most common causes of illness are actually much more pedestrian and include cardiovascular disease (heart attacks and strokes) and trauma (most commonly due to a car accident). Consequently, preparing for travel involves taking precautions to prevent common illnesses and using common sense to avoid unnecessary risks.

If you have any kind of chronic medical condition or take any kind of medication (prescription or non-prescription) it is important that before you travel you get enough medication to last through your entire trip. Many insurance companies will require that you get a “vacation exemption” in order to get medications early or to get enough medication to last through a long trip.

In case you lose your medications, take a complete list of your prescriptions including the generic name, (the brand name may vary in other countries) and the dose and frequency. If you do, in fact, lose your medications, many of the national chains (CVS, Rite-Aid, Walmart) will be able to transfer your prescription to a nearby drug store.

Be aware that, in the event of a lost prescription, you are likely to have to pay full price for the medication (which will be expensive) and you are not likely to be able to replace any kind of pain killer or narcotics, if they are lost.

If you become ill while traveling, it is important that your treating physician gets information on your past medical history. In addition, to your list of medications, you should bring a list of your medical conditions, the name and contact numbers for your primary care physician and any specialists you might see, and emergency contact information.

Remember, if you travel outside the United States, your domestic health insurance is unlikely to cover the cost of any hospitalization. It is not uncommon for travelers to be requested to pay cash or put the cost of any medical care on their credit cards. Consequently, if you travel internationally, it is often a good idea to purchase health insurance specifically for the trip.

Also, outside of the U.S., the quality of healthcare varies widely. It is not uncommon for ill travelers to find they are unable to secure the quality of medical care that they are used to back home. Consequently, it is often a good idea to purchase health insurance that will pay for a medical evacuation back to the United States.

When on vacation, it’s not uncommon to eat more than usual, drink more than usual, and sometimes do things you might not do at home. It is extremely important that in all circumstances (but especially if you imbibe more than usual) to stay aware of your surroundings, stay in safe areas, and never drive if there’s a chance you are not 100 percent sober.

It’s not uncommon for travelers to engage in short-term sexual relations while traveling (approximately 5 percent of short-term travelers and as many as 50 percent of long-term travelers engage in casual sex). Many parts of the world have much higher rates of sexually transmitted diseases in general, and HIV in particular, than the U.S. It is extremely important that travelers practice safe sex. Our travel clinic will go as far as to recommend bringing U.S. made condoms (foreign made have higher rates of breakage), if there is any possibility of sexual activity on the trip.

Travel is usually safe, fun, and a welcome break from your usual routine. A little bit of preparation and common sense precautions can often prevent an illness or accident from ruining your trip.

What’s Old is New: Need furniture? Tight budget? Make a stop on 3rd Street.

August 10, 2012 | by Peter Durantine

Between Muench and Peffer streets in Midtown stands an old one-story building with a modest sign: 3^rd Street Used Furniture.

Inside, behind a counter with some toys and plenty of candy, is 28-year-old owner Phil Wagner. He cheerfully greets customers, most of whom are also his neighbors, who like to stop in – when not buying furniture – for a soda and some conversation.

“I’d say at least 80 percent of our sales are very local, probably from Forester to Division, and from Front to 7^th street,” Wagner said. “Every now and then I’ll get up on the Hill, but most of it is Uptown and Midtown.”

Wagner grew up in the furniture business. His mother, Diane Werner, is an antique dealer whose Country Collectibles is in Dillsburg. His stepfather, Don Stoner, had 3^rd Street Used Furniture for 10 years before deciding to get out of the business.

Stoner sold the building, originally used as a machine shop, to WCI Partners, but two years later, with a hankering to have his own furniture business, Wagner re-opened the store, renting the building from WCI.

“With the economy, people aren’t buying new furniture,” he said. For his customers, he said, it’s “function over style.”

Dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, Wagner is easy-going and casual as he deals with a couple of customers looking for mattresses. He buys his stock at estate sales, always with an eye out for unique but practical pieces, and prices them affordably.

“I appreciate antiques, but I wanted to sell stuff that I would want to use in my house,” Wagner said. “I just try to price to sell.”

Stoner said of his stepson’s furniture business acumen: “Does a great job of it, better than me.”

Furniture in his two spacious showrooms, the walls decorated with art and photography also for sale, look solid and practical. But there are special pieces such as a custom-made cherry china cabinet that looks like a steal at $249.

Many of his customers are just looking for starter furniture, he said. He works with Keystone Human Services that brings clients by who have modest budgets in which to furnish their new apartments.

Wagner has some choice furniture – a brown, retro ‘50s vinyl industrial sofa, for instance – for customer seeking something special. Neil Choquette, of Neil Choquette Fine Upholstery on 2^nd Street, said he has bought a few quality pieces from Wagner.

“He really provides a niche for providing neighbors with affordable furniture,” Choquette said.

For neighbors, the store is a place to socialize, visit with friends, sort of like the old country store where people sat or stood around the pot belly stove.

“It’s good to be friends with everyone,” Wagner said. “I’ve been in every house on this street and the next one over … you get to know people and they’ll stop in and say, ‘I like that dresser you got. I’m not ready to buy anything, but I just wanted to say that.”

Wagner smiled. “That part is the fun of it.”

3^rd Street Used Furniture, 1918 N. 3^rd St., Harrisburg, Mon. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tues. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wed.-Sat. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Sunday. 717-920-9800 or [email protected]

Denver Group Checks In: Harrisburg Hilton, Bricco bought by Greenwood.

August 10, 2012 | by Peter Durantine

The 341-room Hilton Harrisburg, the landmark project that lead to a downtown renaissance in the 1990s, and the upscale dining restaurant, Bricco, have been sold to Greenwood Hospitality Group, a Denver-based hotel investment and management firm.

The announcement was made June 29 by Mayor Linda Thompson, along with Russell C. Ford, president and CEO of Harristown Enterprises Inc., which built the Market Square hotel in 1990 as part of Harristown’s downtown revitalization efforts.

Thompson praised the sale because, she said, it showed the investment potential global investors see in Harrisburg and also because it frees the city of the millions of dollars in bonds it had backed for the hotel.

“Although the hotel has always paid this debt as scheduled,” Thompson said, “the fact that nearly $17 million in city-guaranteed debt has been permanently removed from the city’s balance sheet as a result of this transaction in an important outcome benefiting the city.”

Harristown’s hotel debt is not related to the city’s $326 million incinerator debt. Thompson said the city’s receiver, William Lynch, was consulted about the sale, though not required to authorize it, and gave his blessing.

Ford said Harristown decided to sell the hotel because it wanted resources to do more economic development projects in the city.

“We’ve looked at a number of ways to help this city,” he said. “This transaction does allow us to recover resources and re-invest them.”

Neither Ford nor Thomas W. Conran, a principal of Greenwood who works out of Hartford, Conn. and will oversee the hotel, would discuss the sale’s financial terms.

“It’s a purely private transaction,” Ford said, explaining public dollars used to help finance the hotel’s construction 22 years ago had long been paid off. And despite the city backing the bond financing, the hotel is a private business.

According to Dauphin County tax records, the hotel and its .77 acres of property combined are valued at nearly $20 million, on which the Harrisburg Hilton paid nearly $111,000 this year in county taxes. The hotel paid $148,870 in city real estate taxes and $404,074 in school taxes.

Conran said Greenwood, which has ownership interest or operates hotels in eight cities around the country including Baltimore and Princeton, N.J., intends to spend in the range of $5 million over the next three years upgrading and updating the hotel’s guest rooms and public spaces.

At the moment, there appears to be no plans for Bricco, which opened in 2006 at the corner of S. 3^rd and Chestnut streets. Greenwood owns not only the hotel’s and restaurant’s businesses but also the properties.

Greenwood, which had been working with Harristown over the last year to purchase the hotel, has negotiated a long-term agreement with the Hilton and intends to keep the hotel’s 400 employees, half of whom reside in Harrisburg.

“Everyone over there will keep their jobs,” Thompson said at the press conference at City Hall, directly across the street from the hotel.

In addition, Bill Kohl, current president and CEO of the Hilton Harrisburg, will stay on in a management role as well as become a principal at Greenwood. Conran said he and Kohl have known one another for more than 25 years.

Tax abatements to help start the hotel two decades ago have long expired. City and Harristown officials said the hotel pays significant business and property taxes as well as generates more than $120 million in economic activity downtown.

“It’s a tremendous economic generator,” Kohl said.

Moreover, Thompson said, the millions of dollars in upgrades and renovations that Greenwood intends to make could lead to a reassessment of the property and potentially more tax revenue for the city.

While the Hilton brand and quality staff helped attract Greenwood’s interest, it was the hotel’s solid, consistently top-performing financials in a sound market that convinced the management group to make the purchase, Conran said.

Conran dismissed questions about whether the city’s fiscal troubles, known internationally, concerned Greenwood. “There’s a lot of chatter,” he said. “We believe the best days of Harrisburg are ahead.”

HU Endures Trying Times: The university weathers its critics, moves forward.

August 10, 2012 | by Peter Durantine

Eleven years after its founding in 2001, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology is to its supporters a success story that is growing and evolving as any new university, particularly in an era driven by constant technological change.

In a region with dozens of traditional colleges and universities, HU, they say, has raised the bar, graduating students well-trained in their fields of endeavor, compelling other schools to increase their emphasis on math and science.

“I think it’s made everyone better,” said Robert Scaer, president and chief operating officer of Gannett Fleming in Camp Hill and a HU board of trustee member.

At the local liberal arts college in his Lancaster County town, Robert Dolan, chairman of Conrad Siegel Actuaries and HU’s board, said, “In just the last few years I’ve seen them emphasize their math and science education.”

Despite its academic success and growing enrollment, the university’s finances are “fragile,” which school’s administrators readily admit, but say is not unheard of in this economy – most schools are strapped, particularly a new institution like HU.

Critics, though, think otherwise, challenging whether HU can succeed.

“It’s not a question of the need for the project,” said Eric Papenfuse, a former board member of the Harrisburg Authority and owner of Midtown Scholar Bookstore. “It’s about the financing of the project.”

In June, Papenfuse conducted a public forum about the university that featured a fierce critic of HU, Steve Barrows, who had been blogging anonymously. He revealed that his wife was a university faculty member whose job was recently eliminated.

The forum’s audience included current and former HU staff who challenged the assertions made about the school’s finances including claims of deception made by Barrows. Barrows defended himself, but acknowledged his information could be wrong.

In a city teetering toward bankruptcy after years of financial mismanagement, HU officials believe that some of their critics unfairly lump them with such things as Harrisburg’s costly incinerator and struggling school district.

“I think we’ve been included in other issues,” Dolan said. “I think if they knew the complete picture they would feel very proud of what’s been going on at HU the last 10 years.”

The mission that business, academic and government leaders set down for HU zeroed in on what the university’s former president, Mel Schiavelli, called a curriculum for the 21^st century: science, technology, engineering and math – the STEM subjects.

From U.S. presidents to high school principals, STEM is viewed today as the curriculum needed to build the nation’s economic competitiveness.

“Central Pennsylvania thought up this idea before George Bush and [President] Obama heard of STEM education,” he said. “I’ve never been to a place that lives its mission as much as we do.”

Schiavelli’s departure to become executive vice president at Northern Virginia Community College, one of the largest such institutions in the nation, signals HU is progressing, Dolan said.

“Mel’s done a terrific job for us; he’s really put the structure of what the business community and the broader community wanted for the university,” Dolan said. “We’re evolving and it’s time to take us to the next level.”

Over the next year, the university’s board will seek Schiavelli’s replacement, but for the interim, Dr. Eric Darr, formerly the provost, will serve as president. Darr said his plan is to carry on: “Do more, produce more graduates in science and technology fields.”

As president, Schiavelli oversaw construction at 4^th and Market streets of HU’s 16-story tower, acquire housing downtown for 180 students, and build an education program in which more than 75 percent of the students land jobs after graduation.

That’s largely because HU’s non-traditional teaching methods – it doesn’t require SAT scores for student entry – include internships in the field the student is majoring. Often students are hired by the companies in which they interned.

“For Gannett Fleming, it’s been very helpful,” Scaer said, noting his engineering firm, which first went to HU in need of students skilled in geospatial fields, has hired some of its interns upon graduation. “One in particular is a rock star at the firm,” he said.

This year, HU has 320 full-time undergrads out of 440 total students, Darr said.

In the seven years since classes began – and in the five years since its first graduating class of nine students – HU has contributed economically and academically to the city and the region, Dolan said.

“We have provided workforce, shown by the high percentage of students who have gotten jobs,” he said. “I think it has benefitted the city of Harrisburg by attracting students who live downtown.”

For more information about Harrisburg University, visit www.harrisburgu.net.

There’s Corn in My Pasta!: Add an Italian flare to summer’s bounty.

August 10, 2012 | by Rosemary Ruggieri Baer

We are now in the fullness of summer and I am at it again: going to all the local farmers markets and farm orchards and buying more fresh produce than I can possibly use.

I am my mother’s daughter here. One summer, when our little family was at the beach for our annual vacation, my mother returned from her daily trip to the roadside produce stand with an entire basket of cantaloupes. It wasn’t a small basket. After consuming melon at every meal for the better part of a week, we began voicing complaints. We still laugh at her forlorn response: “Ooooh … Who’s going to eat all these?”

Well, I can walk away from cantaloupes, but I can’t resist the wonderful sweet corn of summer. So many varieties to choose from now: milk and honey (a mix of white and yellow), traditional yellow, and all white like the famous Silver Queen (my mother’s favorite). At the outdoor market at the Harrisburg Farm Show Building, farmers back their trucks right up to the stands and pile their freshly picked corn into small mountains. Now, why would anyone buy just a couple of ears when a baker’s dozen is such a bargain?

Over the years, I have eagerly searched cookbooks and magazines for different ways to cook fresh corn. This versatile vegetable shines in so many dishes beyond boiled corn on the cob. In the summer, when I am sautéing fresh vegetables like zucchini or snap peas, I throw in a cup or two of corn kernels along with a few cloves of garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes for a great side dish. I throw leftover cooked corn into grilled summer salads and make a fresh corn salad seasoned with apple cider vinaigrette.

At our house, we grill buttered corn on the cob, either wrapped in foil or husked and placed right on the cooking grates. Just a few minutes of cooking time result in ears that are slightly charred and incredibly sweet. If you have a favorite buttermilk pancake recipe, add a cup or two of fresh corn to make corn fritters. They are a surprise accompaniment to grilled chicken, steaks, and ribs.

And believe it or not, fresh corn is showing up in contemporary pasta and risotto dishes, making for new Italian traditions. Although not currently on their menu, Carley’s Ristorante in Harrisburg makes a pasta dish with fresh corn, crab, and a light cream sauce. It is wonderful and on my list to try at home.

The recipe that follows is one that takes advantage of ripe summer tomatoes as well as corn. It can be prepared quickly and there is very little actual “cooking” involved. It calls for pappardelle (very wide pasta noodles) but if you can’t find them, fettuccine works just as well.

Pappardelle with Fresh Tomatoes and Corn

Fill a stockpot with 6 quarts of water and bring to boil. While waiting for the water to boil, husk and wash 4 ears of fresh corn.
When the water comes to a boil, cook the corn until barely tender, about 2 minutes. When done, let the ears cool on a towel. Keep the water simmering until it’s time to cook the pasta.
In a large bowl, combine about 3 pounds of very ripe tomatoes, skinned if you prefer. Cut the tomatoes into chunks, whatever size you like.
To the tomatoes, add ½ cup olive oil, a pinch of red pepper flakes, a handful of chopped parsley, some chopped garlic if you are a garlic fan, and about a teaspoon of salt. (If you like cilantro, you could substitute that for the parsley).
When the corn is cool, cut the kernels off the cobs with a sharp knife and combine with the tomato mixture. Adjust seasoning to your taste.
Cook the pasta according to package directions, drain when done, and combine with the tomato corn mixture. Serve with additional chopped parsley on top.

This pasta dish is one that certainly celebrates all the fresh good tastes of summer. As a matter of full disclosure, my husband usually places corn in the same unpleasant category as peas. But he seems to accept my many attempts to jazz up this bountiful summer vegetable. Now, if only I could find a use for all those cantaloupes.

All in the Family: Now, listen to a tale of three Pinots.

August 10, 2012 | by Steve Juliana

In the world of wine there is a family of grapes known as the Pinots. They are called this because the French word for pine cone is pinot, which the grape clusters resemble. The grapes are the black, the grey, and the white.

The black grape (pinot noir), is the glory of French Burgundy and the biggest challenge to vintners everywhere. A difficult grape to grow, it has a wonderful flavor and velvety texture unmatched by any other varietal. Once only grown in France, it has spread across the globe with a proliferation of styles that expresses the true terrior of the region in which it is grown.

The wine has been known to drive people to the point of obsession, a muse in a glass that causes clear-headed individuals to seek only the most sensuous wine. It possesses such clarity in the color of its garnet shades that it is truly one of the most beautiful of all wines. Whether the cherry-cola quaffs of the West Coast or the light offerings from Tasmania, this is a wine worth pursuing.

The grey grape (pinot gris), is actually a mutation of pinot noir. It was discovered centuries ago in France when a vine showed its grapes to be bluish grey. It was cultivated and spread throughout Europe. It is arguably the most popular white wine in the U.S.

When grown in northern Italy, the grey grape, called pinot grigio, makes wine that is light and mineral-like with overtones of citrus and good acidity that shows it to be a good match for light fare. However, too much grigio is flat, bland and insipid. This is where you get what you pay for.

In the Alsace region, pinot gris is a different pedigree. The wines are full and rich with fruit, floral scents and a certain spice that permeates the palate. It matches well with rich, heavy food, matching the cuisine of this area between France and Germany. This wine is easy to spot on the shelf at your local store as it is bottled in the straight un-shouldered bottles that are an identifying feature of German wines. Try the gris, a truly exceptional drink and one of my favorites.

Pinot Blanc is our last subject and is the white grape. It is also a mutation from the pinot noir vines. Once again, the best examples are from northern Italy and Alsace. The wine itself is light and supple with freshness that means it should be drunk young. It is very much like a chardonnay without the oakiness that ruins so many examples today. Think of it as lighter, un-oaked Chablis. You may have a hard time finding it, but it is well worth the search.

Three wines all from the same vine. Much like any family, it is sometimes hard to believe they are related, but all three bring much joy to our world.

Keep sipping, Steve.

Steve Juliana of Hummelstown is a wine adviser and a life-long lover of wines.

Mall Shopping: New owners promise big future for Harrisburg Mall.

August 10, 2012 | by Peter Durantine

Harrisburg Mall’s new Maryland-based owners are wasting no time in their plan to reverse the fortunes of this one-million-square-foot retail center, which was hit hard by the 2008 recession and has struggled to recover ever since.

Since purchasing the property at 3501 Paxton St. in June, St. John Properties Inc. of Baltimore and its venture partner Petrie Ross Ventures of Annapolis have hired a director to oversee operations and removed a five-year-old eyesore blocking the front.

A ceremonial demolition of the nearly half completed Sega Sports Restaurant, a deteriorating reminder of the former owner’s grand ambitions before the economy collapsed, was done with fanfare, inviting press, public and government officials.

“What we hope to do is show people consistent progress in turning this asset around,” said Gerard Wit, senior vice president of marketing for St. John.

Malls generally have been on a downward trend, but St. John and Ross Petrie see retail potential in Harrisburg Mall, citing its strong demographics, the region’s economic stability, and the mall’s design, enhanced by $60 million in renovations a few years ago.

Nonetheless, the owners are sensitive about the appearance of the mall, built in 1969. In an informal survey of area residents about the mall, half said it should be torn down, said Walt Petrie, chairman of Petrie Ross Ventures.

“We are evaluating every aspect of the mall’s interior and exterior to determine other areas that can be feasibly improved,” Petrie said. “This is being accomplished simultaneously with an aggressive marketing and leasing strategy to attract compelling new retailers to the project.”

The owners plan some initial minor changes such as landscaping, including a park-like area with a gazebo where the demolished building stood. More importantly, though, the new owners intend, over the next few years, to raise the quality of retail.

Bass Pro Shops and Macy’s are strong anchors to the mall, but smaller tenants, which may lack the quality retail the new owners believe necessary to compete with the region’s other malls and attract families, will not have their leases renewed, Wit said.

The Daniel Group, a national mall consultant, has been hired to help bring in new retailers including one for the empty anchor space that had been occupied by Boscov’s until it closed its store in 2008.

“This is a great men’s mall,” Wit said. “What we want to do is bring ladies and children here. Our primary goal is getting the national retailers back.”

For information about the mall, visit www.shopharrisburgmall.com.

That Other Building: Ryan Building has sat next to the Capitol for 120 years.

August 5, 2012 | by Jason Wilson

The Ryan Building, the oldest structure in Capitol Park, was the newest and most modern when it was completed in 1894. It also ranks as the building having the most names: the Capitol Annex, the old Museum Building, and the Ryan Building. But officially it was titled “the Executive, Library and Museum Building” upon its completion.

The need for a new “fireproof” building for the state’s artifacts and library was evident from the 1870’s onward as the size of the legislature grew. The debate centered around whether to build a new Capitol or renovate the Hill’s Capitol. Instead the compromise was to build a new structure beside the Hill’s Capitol.

The architectural design of the building stemmed from the 1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition, which revived the ideas of classical architecture in America in a movement known as the “American Renaissance.” The building was designed by Philadelphia architect John T. Windrim and constructed by contractors Doyle and Doak.

The state gave strict guidelines for the construction and completion of the building. The contract was signed on September 28, 1893 and construction was to begin on October 2^nd. The deadline for completion was December 1, 1894 and the contractor would have to pay a $250 dollar per day penalty for each day past this deadline.

The first problem the contractors had to address was moving the 1868 Mexican War monument to a different location. This movement was completed throughout the fall of 1893 and the cornerstone of the building was laid on December 15, 1893. Owing in part to a mild winter, construction progressed at break-neck speed and by October 31, 1894 the building was handed over to the Commonwealth – two months ahead of schedule.

The Italianate-style building was praised for being early and under budget and also for how impressive it was architecturally. It is also the first time the sitting governors of the state had offices and reception space. The building also had room for 500,000 books in the new state library and housed the growing collections of the state historical collections, including the famous 32 x 16 foot Battle of Gettysburg painting by Peter F. Rothermel.

The library moved to the newly-built Education (Forum) Building in 1931 and the now state museum to its present location in 1964. In the mid-1990s, the building underwent restoration. It was renamed in 1999 for the late Matthew J. Ryan, who had been speaker of the House for two years in the ‘80s and from ’95 until his death in 2003.

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

You May Also Like

You May Also Like