Area residents graduate from UPMC healthcare training program, launching future careers

March 14, 2025 | by Maddie Gittens

Freedom House program graduates.

A group of Harrisburg area residents are ready to kickstart their health careers, thanks to a local program.

UPMC Health Plan on Friday celebrated the graduation of its first cohort of students from the Dauphin County Freedom House Foundation training program.

The workforce development initiative, which also has cohorts in Erie and Allegheny counties, provides a free, five-week course to lower-income students interested in the healthcare field.

“They have put in a tremendous amount of hard work and shown immense dedication to learn not only valuable clinical skills, but professional development skills and interpersonal skills that will serve them really well as they embark on this new chapter of their journey,” said Leah Franklin, workforce development manager at UPMC.

In the course, 13 students learned the foundations of healthcare, setting them up for entry-level positions or for further education in the future.

“We are giving our students a very foundational knowledge that gives them a lot of opportunities,” said Trevor Mathey, project manager for Freedom House. “So whether they want to go and immediately become a medical assistant or a patient care technician or community health worker, they have that option. But they also have the option to continue their education and go on and become an EMT or a nurse or pursue many of the other health care professions.”

Not only was the course free, but students were paid while they took the classes and assisted with things like childcare, transportation and finances, which can often serve as barriers to education.

During the program, students attended training at Tec Centro Capital Region in Harrisburg.

“My mom’s a nurse, and I see how many people she helps,” said Tiana Higgins, a Harrisburg native and one of Friday’s graduates. “I want to be able to have that impact on people also and change people’s lives.”

Higgins said that the courses were hands-on, giving them chances to shadow healthcare professionals, take a CPR training course and learn to take a blood pressure reading, among other things. She plans to now begin working and eventually pursue her LPN and RN certifications.

According to Mathey, there is already a waiting list for the next cohort of the Freedom House program, which will likely begin in a few months.

For more information on UPMC Health Plan’s Freedom House Foundation, visit their website.

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Sawyers set to reopen with fresh music, food, drink options, as new owner aims to revive downtown nightlife

March 13, 2025 | by Skye Leppo

The exterior of Sawyers in downtown Harrisburg

Sawyers recently changed hands, and now the details are out.

As you may have heard, the downtown mainstay has a new owner, and he’s planning big changes for the popular nightlife venue.

Starting this spring, Justin Browning, who also owns JB Lovedraft’s Micro Pub, is revamping the 2nd Street club with a synthy ’80s Miami/South Beach vibe, featuring an updated drink menu and quick-serve bites.

More importantly, Browning said that the music will be at the forefront of entertainment at the space.

“We’re updating the music—that was the first big ask from everyone,” he said. “The logo has been the same for quite a long time,” as he turned his phone to show me the new look. “We’re keeping the name but changing the style of it.”

The new Sawyers logo

Folks can still expect to dance with the talents of DJs filling the space, but Browning wants to bring back monthly musicians to the club, too.

“That’ll be more early evening,” he said, mentioning that he plans to start with tribute acts first, “to help with early dinner hours” for guests dining outdoors at Cafe Fresco and Stock’s on 2nd as well.

“The diner hasn’t had food for at least 10 to 15 years,” Browning said, referencing the diner car on site at Sawyers, which will now offer items like tacos and nachos. “They briefly had hot dogs when The Spot closed, but it’s been a long time.”

The bar’s soft opening will be April 3, with plans for a grand opening weekend on April 4 and 5.

“Our goal is to bring entertainment to 2nd Street,” Browning said.

He added that he really wants to rejuvenate “Restaurant Row” and nicknamed his efforts the “Restaurant Row Reboot.”

“This used to be the heart of the city,” Browning said. “We’re planning to give it our best to bring it back.”

He added that Judd Goodman, owner of the former Federal Taphouse, and longtime Harrisburg club owner Ron Kamionka have been encouraging and helpful to him throughout this process.

Browning, who also owns Nocturnal Nightclub, recently acquired the former Federal Taphouse building at 234 N. 2nd St. but declined to elaborate more on plans for the space at this time.

“I hope that what we’re doing encourages more people to come back and open new things, and hopefully we can get back to that status of ‘Restaurant Row,’” Browning said. “I think the city is on the brink of a new fruitful era. Things are blossoming. I know everything looks like gloom and doom right now, but it’s really not. We definitely wouldn’t have invested so heavily if we didn’t feel like something was capable.”

Sawyers is located at 210 N. 2nd St., Harrisburg. For updates, visit their Instagram page here and their Facebook page here.

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Weekend Roundup with Sara Bozich

March 13, 2025 | by Sara Bozich

Plan your weekend with my weekly list of things to do around Harrisburg and central PA!

What you’ll find ⤵️

For something new: Range + Rye, formerly Greystone Brewhouse (Dillsburg) is now open! Worth noting: Saturday is the 2025 Harrisburg St. Patrick’s Day Parade Things on my agenda this weekend: BFF hang Friday; kid/mom hang Saturday; tbd (laundry, cleaning, catch-up)

For your weekend planning

Got a big giveaway for you on Instagram on account of my bday (yesterday)
See what else you missed on the blog

Below are more options for your weekend.

A Look Ahead

Grab your (exclusive discounted) tickets to Harrisburg Regional Chamber’s VIBE featuring Jon Taffer on April 29
Add to calendar now: The Super High-Tech Jet Fighters FREE in Strawberry Square Friday, March 21. Check out the full Strawberry Square Music Series lineup here!
Grab tickets for the food event that feeds people — April 6 in Harrisburg!
Are you on my email list?
Submit your events for the Weekend Roundup

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Harrisburg St. Patrick’s Parade, Lucky Charm race return this weekend

March 12, 2025 | by Maddie Gittens

A past St. Patrick’s Day parade in Harrisburg

This weekend, downtown will get green.

The annual Harrisburg St. Patrick’s parade will return on Saturday, March 15 at 2 p.m., bringing music, dance and Irish festivities to the city.

The parade, organized by the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District, will begin at the Market Street Bridge and head up Market Street before turning onto N. 2^nd Street. The parade will march down 2^nd Street until turning on North Street and then onto N. Front Street and back to the bridge.

The parade will include Irish dance groups, marching bands, antique cars, firetrucks and many more groups.

“There’s so many amazing groups that we have participate. We are looking at probably the most groups we’ve ever had since we’ve been putting on the parade for many years,” said Downtown Improvement District Executive Director Todd Vander Woude, during a presentation to city council on Tuesday.

The Lucky Charm Race, another St. Patty’s Day tradition, will lead runners on a four-mile route through downtown earlier on Saturday, beginning at noon. Vander Woude said that sign-ups are capped at 1,000 runners, and the race is almost full. It may be the largest turnout yet, he said.

On Saturday, Park Harrisburg will offer $10 event parking at the Market Square Garage.

For more information about the parade, visit their website. To sign up for the Lucky Charm Race, visit their website.

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Harrisburg City Council to restart youth commission, hire advisors

March 12, 2025 | by Maddie Gittens

(From left) Council members Lamont Jones, Jocelyn Rawls and Danielle Bowers shared information about the Youth Commission at a press conference.

Harrisburg City Council will restart a civic educational program meant to inspire youth.

At a press conference on Tuesday, council member Jocelyn Rawls announced that council’s Youth Commission will return next school year, and is in need of advisors.

“Myself and members of city council are dedicated to providing middle school to high school age residents with greater opportunities for leadership, community government and involvement and first-hand experience in their local government because they are our future leaders,” said Rawls, chair of the parks, recreation and enrichment committee.

Council is looking to hire a senior advisor and junior advisor, both part-time. The advisors will serve as mentors to the youth and will organize meetings and community events and work with local officials. The advisors will report to Rawls and council President Danielle Bowers and have an office in the MLK City Government Center.

Applications for the positions are now open. Council expects to hire for the positions in April.

The commission previously operated for a period from October 2022 to August 2023. According to Rawls, she and Bowers decided it would be best to pause the commission to have time to revamp it to reach more students and to hire advisors who could devote more time to the program.

The youth commission will be open to Harrisburg students, from any school within the city, who are in sixththrough 12^th grade. Youth must apply, interview and be selected for the board, which will meet twice a month from September to June.

To apply for the Youth Commission advisor positions, visit the city’s website. For more information, contact Assistant City Clerk Jared Truesdale at 717-255-6500.

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Harrisburg Council approves funds to help Governor’s Square, moves to start police advisory board

March 11, 2025 | by Maddie Gittens

Harrisburg City Council meeting

Harrisburg will help an affordable housing development in the city improve after years of neglect.

City Council on Tuesday voted in favor of giving $250,000 towards assisting the Residences at Governor’s Square, a bankrupt and dilapidated complex near N. 5^th and Maclay streets.

The money will go to a court-appointed receiver, who is slated to take over operations of the development and bring the properties into code compliance.

Last October, Governor’s Square’s owner Uptown Partners, Harrisburg and other parties to the bankruptcy case agreed to have the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas appoint a receiver to take over control of the property. The owners first filed for bankruptcy in May 2023, having received hundreds of city code citations and condemnations. While in bankruptcy court, the owner has struggled to find an owner with the necessary funding and United States Department of Housing and Urban Development approvals.

The money from the city will help get the receivership started, with the expectation that the funds will be reimbursed to the city eventually.

The court has yet to appoint a receiver However, the city has proposed Justin Heinly, owner of Harrisburg-based Midtown Property Management.

Also on Tuesday, council took a step forward towards kickstarting the Citizen’s Law Enforcement Advisory Board (CLEAC). Council approved the creation of the board in 2020, but the board has not yet met.

At its meeting, council made an amendment to the board, removing Mayor Wanda Williams’ two required appointments to the board. Now, council will have the power to appoint seven board members, instead of its previous five.

In March 2023, council appointed Brent Miller, Quinton Davis, Adrian Selkowitz, Gia Johnson and Lakichia Carrier to the board. The board is not able to function without all seven appointees. Once appointed, the board will select another two members for appointment.

During the public comment portion of the meeting on Tuesday, Harrisburg resident Vivian Brandler presented council with a petition related to the Broad Street Market. The petition included signatures from around 500 community members opposed to Harrisburg’s proposal to construct a new building in the market’s courtyard, between the two market buildings.

Brandler told TheBurg that she collected signatures over four days at the market, hearing from residents and out-of-town community members who were shocked and disappointed by the city’s proposal, one of several possible ideas for the future of the courtyard.

“There’s something to be said about a third space,” Brandler said. “It’s a meeting place.”

Brandler said that she also plans to deliver the petition to the mayor’s office and the Broad Street Market Alliance board “so they can understand what a representation of the general population thinks. People were really mad.”

Finally, council moved to reallocate $59,000 in the city’s budget to fund a new Harrisburg Youth Sports Association. The association, created by several community members, will help city youth pay for costs associated with local sports teams and memberships to the Harrisburg Area YMCA and Boys and Girls Club of Harrisburg.

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Large field of candidates to run for Harrisburg mayor, City Council, as nominating deadline passes

March 11, 2025 | by Lawrance Binda

Campaign signs outside of Harrisburg city hall last November

Harrisburg voters soon will cast ballots in highly competitive primary races for mayor and council, as the deadline passed on Tuesday for candidates to submit their nominating petitions.

For mayor, incumbent Wanda Williams faces a large field of Democratic competitors, including city Treasurer Dan Miller, City Council member Lamont Jones, community activist Tone Cook Jr. and former candidate Lewis Butts Jr., according to the Dauphin County Bureau of Registration & Elections.

Williams is vying for a second term in office, following a long tenure on city council. Miller, in his third term as treasurer, also has served on city council and as city controller. Jones is serving his second year on council. Cook hasn’t held elected office previously but is known as an anti-crime and anti-gun violence advocate. Butts has run unsuccessfully for mayor several times before.

All candidates are Democrats. No Republicans filed to run for mayor for the May 20 primary.

For city council, three incumbents, all Democrats, submitted nominating petitions for re-election for the four, four-year seats: Ausha Green, Jocelyn Rawls and Ralph Rodriguez. Three-term incumbent Shamaine Daniels did not file for re-election, leaving one seat open.

In addition to the incumbents, challengers Leslie Franklin, Lisa Glenn, Sharon Horne, Elyse Irvis, Robert Lawson, Willie Ross, Rich Sanders, Lori Saulisbury, Karl Singleton and Basir Vincent filed to run in the Democratic primary for council.

Like in the mayoral election, no Republicans chose to run for council in Harrisburg, an overwhelmingly Democratic city.

For city controller, attorney Karen Balaban filed for the Democratic nomination. Notably, long-time controller Charlie DeBrunner did not submit for re-election. No Republicans filed to run.

The Harrisburg school board has four, four-year seats and one, two-year seat up for grabs this year.

At the petition deadline, Democratic incumbents Roslyn Copeland, Danielle Robinson, Brian Carter and Jaime Johnsen filed for the four, four-year seats, while Annie Hughes, appointed to the board last year, will run for the two-year seat. No Republicans filed to run.

Dauphin County also has elections for several row offices this year.

For prothonotary, incumbent Matt Krupp of Harrisburg is seeking re-election, running as a Republican. Harrisburg resident Antonio Carreno is the sole Democrat seeking the office.

The clerk of courts primary is competitive, as Tina Nixon and Timothy Pianka, both of Harrisburg, are vying for the Democratic nomination. John McDonald is seeking the Republican nomination for the office.

For county coroner, long-time incumbent Graham Hetrick is seeking another term, running as a Republican. John Harris Jr. filed for the Democratic nomination.

The candidate fields are preliminary, as petition signatures can be challenged through March 18. The ballot will be finalized on March 26, with the primary election slated for May 20.

The candidates in this story are those listed by Dauphin County as of 5 p.m. on Tuesday. We will update the story if candidates are added or removed. Click here to see the full list of candidates running for office in Dauphin County.

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Home sales, prices both higher in February in the Harrisburg area, says report

March 11, 2025 | by Lawrance Binda

A house for sale in Harrisburg

Harrisburg-area home sales and prices both ticked higher in February, according to the latest report on previously owned houses.

For the three-county region, 398 homes sold compared to 373 in February 2024, as the median price rose to $279,750 from $264,000, according to the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors (GHAR).

In Dauphin County, 195 homes sold in February versus 171 in the year-ago period, and the median sales price increased to $260,000 from $220,000, GHAR stated.

Cumberland County had 179 home sales, a dip from 185 the prior February, while the median sales price rose to $315,000 from $299,900, GHAR said.

In Perry County, 24 houses sold, an increase of three, as the median sales prices dropped to $237,500 from $260,000 in the year-ago period, according to GHAR.

The pace of sales slowed a bit, as the “average days on market” rose to 34 days versus 31 days in February 2024, GHAR said.

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Harrisburg entrepreneurs will get training, resources at annual business accelerator program

March 11, 2025 | by Maddie Gittens

(From left) Gloria Martin-Roberts, Harrisburg interim director of building and housing development, Jay Jayamohan, program director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Natalie Wech, central PA business banking regional manager for M&T Bank, and Nora Habig, central PA regional manager for M&T Bank, at city hall.

Local entrepreneurs will learn tips and tricks for business growth through an upcoming program.

The fourth annual Small Business Accelerator Program will kick off this spring to provide education and resources to area startups, announced organizers, including Harrisburg University’s Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, M&T Bank and Harrisburg officials, on Tuesday.

“Since the inaugural year, our team has worked with more than 90 small businesses, witnessing first-hand their incredible growth and success,” said Nora Habig, central PA regional president of M&T Bank, at a press conference in the MLK City Government Center. “We truly do this program as a catalyst for our community.”

The free, seven-week program will accept 40 participants and offer sessions on developing a business plan, establishing credit, accessing capital and funding and marketing, among other lessons. There will also be a chance for participants to enter a “Shark Tank”-style pitch competition at the end of the program. M&T Bank will award $10,000 in total to the winners.

The program begins on May 7 and concludes on June 18. Applications are now open and are due by April 12.

To be eligible, applicants must have been in business for no more than three years, have an annual business revenue of less than $350,000, and the owner must live in the Harrisburg area and be over 18 years old.

For more information, visit M&T Bank’s website.

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Free ride vouchers available this weekend, coinciding with St. Patrick’s Day parade, festivities

March 11, 2025 | by Lawrance Binda

A band makes its way up 2nd Street during last year’s St. Patrick’s Day parade in Harrisburg.

The local “Sober Ride Home” program is set to return, though only for the coming weekend.

On Tuesday, Tri-County Regional Planning Commission (TCRPC) stated that Sober Ride Home would offer ride vouchers on Friday, March 14, and Saturday, March 15, from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. each day, for Dauphin, Cumberland and Perry counties.

The program’s revival coincides with Harrisburg’s St. Patrick’s Day parade on March 15, which kicks off at 2 p.m. downtown.

The service offers free, $15 Uber vouchers to people who have consumed alcohol at bars and restaurants in the tri-county region. The program is available through a partnership between TCRPC, Uber and Commute PA.

TCRPC ran a pilot “Sober Ride Home” program last July then launched a full program in late December, in time for New Year’s Eve. However, it soon needed to suspend the program after unanticipated heavy use quickly depleted available funds.

According to TCRPC Executive Director Andrew Bomberger, 40% of fatal crashes and 30% of serious injury crashes in the region involve impaired drivers. The hours of operation were chosen because the majority of DUI crashes happen during those peak periods, he said.

“Ultimately our goal is to improve safety on local roadways and decrease DUI crashes through safe, accessible transportation alternatives,” Bomberger said.

The program is made possible through a grant from the Federal Highway Administration and the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program, Bomberger said.

Sober Ride Home vouchers are available only while supplies last. Users must have an active Uber account with a credit card on file to access a voucher.

Users can visit the Sober Ride Home website at www.soberridehome.org to scan a QR code and access a one-time, non-renewable Uber voucher for $15 (tip not included).

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Plan your weekend with my weekly list of things to do around Harrisburg and central PA!

What you’ll find ⤵️

For your weekend planning

A Look Ahead

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

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