News

Papenfuse tops Thompson in Harrisburg mayor's race

2013-05-22T09:30:00Z

Photo by papenfuseformayor.com

(Harrisburg) -- Democratic voters in Harrisburg's primary have chosen business owner Eric Papenfuse over incumbent Mayor Linda Thompson.

"I want to thank the people of Harrisburg, who have placed their trust in me to lead this city into a new era of pride and prosperity," Papenfuse said in a victory speech Tuesday night.

A video of his comments is posted on RoxburyNews.com.

The owner of the Midtown Scholar Bookstore beat city Controller Dan Miller by nearly 400 votes.

Papenfuse garnered nearly 2,500 ballots in unofficial results, and bested Thompson by more than 660 votes.

He's now turning his attention to the general election.

"Without your support, we never would have convinced our neighbors to join us to create a new city," Papenfuse told a cheering crowd. "Without your support, we won't be able to take the next steps to ensure this victory was not in vain."

Papenfuse will likely face competition in November from Nevin Mindlin, who is running as an independent.

Mindlin lost to Thompson when he ran as a Republican in 2009.

A fourth candidate in the primary, Lewis Butts, got just 64 votes.

He has been charged with defacing some of Papenfuse's campaign signs.

The state capital is the only Pennsylvania municipality under a state takeover — the result of a multi-million-dollar debt on its municipal trash incinerator that pushed the city to the edge of bankruptcy.

Harrisburg officials hope to negotiate a bailout that includes the sale of the incinerator.

Platts, Flannelly secure nominations in judge's race

2013-05-22T09:00:00Z

Photo by Scott LaMar/witf

(York) -- Former Congressman Todd Platts will be on the ballot for a York County judgeship in the November election.

Platts got the Republican party's nod in the primary.

Fellow Republican Michael Flannelly took the nomination on the Democratic ballot.

Both men cross-filed for this election, and because they both won on opposite tickets, they will now face each other in the general election.

York County boroughs approve liquor referendums

2013-05-22T08:28:32Z

(York) -- Unofficial voting returns show two York County boroughs will allow alcohol sales.

Dillsburg voters approved a referendum ending the borough's dry spell by a more than 60 percent margin, with 229 people voting in favor of the measure.

Voters in Dallastown also approved a liquor referendum.

More than 200 voters, or more than half of those who came to the polls in the borough, approved the question.

The votes will allow restaurants to obtain liquor licenses from the state.

Dem. Kevin Schreiber wins 95th District Pa. House seat

2013-05-22T02:31:33Z

Photo by kevinforyork.com

Democrat Kevin Schreiber has won election to the Pennsylvania House 95th District, replacing former Rep. Eugene DePasquale of York County who was elected state auditor general.

Schreiber, a city official, was one of three York residents vying for the seat, including Republican Bryan Tate, who works for a charity and Green Party candidate William Swartz, a businessman.

Schreiber will complete his predecessor's term, which runs through November 2014.

Polls close in Pa. primary and the counting begins

2013-05-22T00:07:11Z

The polls are now closed in Pennsylvania's primary election and now the counting begins.

Most of Wednesday's balloting was by Democrats and Republicans to choose nominees for the Nov. 5 general election. Officials said turnout was around 20 percent.

The biggest races include contested mayoral nominations in Pittsburgh, Scranton, Harrisburg and York, as well as a three-way Democratic primary for Philadelphia city controller.

The only statewide contest is for the Democratic nomination for an open seat on the state Superior Court. The candidates are Allegheny County Judge Jack McVay and Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge Joseph C. Waters.

Former Justice Melvin to appeal corruption conviction to Superior Court

2013-05-21T17:32:31Z

(Pittsburgh) -- Attorneys for former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin have filed a notice that they intend to appeal her campaign corruption conviction and sentence to the state Superior Court.

The 57-year-old former justice was convicted in February of theft of services and other charges for allegedly using her former Superior Court staff and the state-paid staffers of her sister, former state Sen. Jane Orie to work on 2003 and 2009 campaigns for Supreme Court.

Melvin is serving three years on house arrest and must pay $128,000 in various penalties including a $55,000 fine, restitution and court costs.

The notice of appeal filed Monday does not contain the reasons for the appeal, which her attorneys will spell out in legal papers in the coming weeks.

Empty primary ballots leave room for write-ins

2013-05-21T16:44:24Z

(Undated) -- While low voter turnout is expected today, county election officials say there are also fewer choices on the ballot- with vacant spots leaving room for more write-in candidates.

It’s the same story in many midstate counties- local primaries leave space on the ballot for write-in campaigns.

Monica Dutko is the Adam’s County director of voter registration and elections.

She estimates that as many as a third of today’s local races in the county lack candidates on the ballot.

“In the local elections we normally have more vacancies than the other elections," Dutko explains. "Typically for borough offices or township offices if they don’t do a petition then they’ll do a write-in campaign.”

And for some offices, a candidate needs as few as 10 write-in votes.

“These people, the supervisors, borough council, people at the local level, really control the purse strings on the local level,” Dutko says.

Election officials in Lancaster and Lebanon counties say they see the same phenomenon on primary days for municipal election races.

They report voter turn has been light so far today, but the polls are still open until 8 p.m.

Lancaster Police: Abducted woman calls 911 from trunk of car

2013-05-21T16:22:49Z

(Lancaster) -- Police in Lancaster County are searching for two suspects after a woman called 911 from the trunk of a car to report that she had been abducted by strangers.

Lancaster police say the 33-year-old woman called 911 around 8:45 a.m. Tuesday and said she had been abducted in the city of Lancaster.

Police Lt. Todd Umstead says that based on her communications with dispatchers, authorities were able to determine she was likely in Lancaster County Central Park.

Police then located the woman in the trunk of the car about 15 minutes later. She is being treated for minor injuries.

Dozens of police officers have been searching the park, using a helicopter and bloodhounds.

Investigators say they are still trying to determine exactly where the abduction happened.

Update: Hershey launching new candy bar in China

2013-05-21T14:53:47Z

Photo by The Hershey Company

(Hershey) -- The Hershey Company says it's launching a new "milk candy" bar in three Chinese cities next month, followed by a wider distribution next year.

The Dauphin County-based company says it will mark the first brand new brand it's launched outside the United States in its nearly 120-year history.

The new candy brand will be called "Lancaster" and be launched in the cities of Wuhan, Hangzhou and Chengdu in June.

Company officials say it was created in the company's innovation labs and did very well in consumer testing.

Hershey says China is a priority market and that it will play a big role in the company's goal of reaching $10 billion in worldwide net sales by 2017.

This story has been updated.

Pa. primary will settle municipal, judicial, races

2013-05-21T12:20:39Z

It's primary day in Pennsylvania and a slew of nomination battles for municipal and judicial offices will soon be settled.

Polling places across the state will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Most of the balloting is limited to Democratic and Republican voters, who will be choosing nominees for the Nov. 5 general election. Only about one in five registered voters is expected to cast ballots.

The most closely watched races include contested mayoral nominations in Pittsburgh, Scranton, Harrisburg and York, as well as a three-way Democratic primary for Philadelphia city controller.

Voter ID requested, not required at polls today

2013-05-21T09:27:53Z

(Harrisburg) -- Voters heading to the polls for today's primary election will be asked - but not required - to show photo ID.

The Department of State says this is the third-straight election where the identification has been requested, but not needed.

A court case to decide whether it will be fully implemented is scheduled for July.

State Department Spokesman Ron Ruman says voters are being encouraged to make their choices in local races on today's ballot.

"Very often, these folks at the local level impact your life more than the people in Harrisburg or Washington," Ruman says. "They're the ones who decide what your property tax rates are, when the garbage gets picked up, whether the streets get plowed, what kind of fire and police protection you have, what the curriculum is in your schools, what your school taxes are."

Ruman says first-time voters and people voting for the first time at a new precinct will have to show ID, in accordance with a law that's more than a decade old.

He says acceptable IDs include driver's licenses or utility bills with addresses.

Voters will choose candidates in races like Harrisburg Mayor, and a special election for the 95th state House district in York County.

The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Companies explore using gas to power fracking

2013-05-21T09:02:13Z

(Harrisburg) -- Another natural gas exploration company says it's experimenting with the gas to power huge pump engines that drive the hydraulic fracturing process.

Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. said Monday that it successfully tested an engine last month in northern Pennsylvania's Susquehanna County with gas from other wells it had already drilled.

A Cabot spokesman says the Houston-based company has two multi-engine units active in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale formation.

The formation is thought to be the nation's largest natural gas reservoir.

A number of increasingly cost-conscious oil- and gas-field companies are trying to save money by using natural gas to run trucks and drilling rigs.

The conversion of the hydraulic fracturing pump engines to natural gas is particularly challenging because of the amount of horsepower necessary to power the pumps.

Tree planting honors fallen soldiers at Battle of Gettysburg

2013-05-21T09:00:00Z

(Gettysburg) -- A special tree-planting ceremony today in Adams County will honor fallen soldiers and mark the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.

It's part of the Living Legacy Project of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership.

The group wants to plant or dedicate 620,000 trees in the 180-mile swath of land from Gettysburg to Charlottesville, Virginia, an area seen as significant to the Civil War.

Partnership President Cate Magennis Wyatt says the trees honor every soldier who died in the war.

"It does so by creating a more beautiful place in what was otherwise the largest concentration of battlefields in the country," Wyatt says.

Two new trees will be planted at the ceremony at the Lutheran Theological Seminary and Seminary Ridge Museum in Gettysburg.

Another so-called "witness" tree will be given a special tag.

People with smartphones will be able to scan the tag on the tree that stood during the July, 1863 battle.

Wyatt says the entire project comes with a $65 million price tag.

"I often hear people say, '$65 million to plant trees?!'" Wyatt muses. "My response is, 'no, we're raising $100 to honor each of the 620,000 men who died,' and that is nothing, it's quite achievable," she says.

The partnership is still raising funds for the project.

Wildwood Park to reopen to public

2013-05-20T20:36:04Z

Photo By Marie Cusick

Wildwood Park, owned and operated by Dauphin County, will reopen to the public on Tuesday, May 21. The park has been closed since May 9 while crews cleaned up fuel that seeped into the park’s wetlands after a nearby tanker truck fire in Susquehanna Township, Dauphin County.

Because the fuel spill has affected the air, land and water at Wildwood Park, the park opening is subject to the following advisories and restrictions:

It is recommended that individuals with respiratory ailments refrain from activity in the park; all others are advised to proceed with caution.
Nothing may be harvested from the waters of Wildwood Park.
Fishing in the park shall be “catch and release” only until further notice.
No fish or game is deemed safe for consumption at this time.

While clean-up efforts have been completed, the air may still contain material that will affect those with sensitivity and respiratory concerns, and the flora and fauna may still be recovering from the adverse consequences of the spill.

“We will continue to monitor the conditions at the park and lift the restrictions once safety for all can be assured,” said Dauphin County Commission Chairman Jeff Haste, who has oversight of the county’s Parks and Recreation Department

Wildwood has received assistance from many organizations, including HazMat, Environmental Products and Services, Dauphin County Emergency Management Agency, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, and Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research, Inc.

Booms are still in place along the banks of the lake to absorb the fuel, and will remain in place for about one month as a precaution. Approximately 10 acres of the park’s 200 acres were impacted by the fuel leak.

Wildwood Park is open daily from dawn until dusk.

Casey wants federal probe of midstate tanker fire

2013-05-20T18:59:24Z

U.S. Senator Bob Casey wants federal regulators to investigate a fiery tanker crash that caused serious damage at the interchange of Interstate 81 and U.S. Routes 22/322 in Dauphin County.

Casey said Monday he asked for the probe in a letter to the National Transportation Safety Board.

The Democrat says the investigation could provide additional details about the May 9 crash and help efforts to increase highway safety in the Harrisburg region.

The tanker was hauling 7,500 gallons of diesel fuel northbound from Carlisle when it flipped over on an on-ramp to Route 22/322 that crosses over I-81 and under another section of Route 22-322.

The driver escaped serious injuries, but I-81 was closed for several days as part of repairs that are expected to take months.

Follow our continuing coverage of the I-81 tanker fire.