Jeffrey Vasser has been named president and CEO of Discover Lancaster effective May 5. He succeeds Ed Harris, who left the tourism marketing agency last year to head the Williamsburg Tourism Council, which markets the Virginia town and its colonial past.Vasser has worked since 2018 as executive director of the New Jersey Division of Travel & […]
Rachel Farzin has been named advocate supervisor for the Dauphin County Court Appointed Special Advocate Program, or CASA.Farzin will oversee community volunteers who represent the best interests of foster children in the child welfare system. She was a founding CASA board member and fundraising chair for the organization. Her addition to the nonprofit brings a […]
Quandel Construction Group has promoted two executives.The Harrisburg-based company has named Sarah Knehr as COO and executive vice president, while Nicholas Bagdonis has been named vice president of Quandel Energy Solutions and strategic projects.Knehr, a former high school intern at Quandel, has risen through the company from assistant project manager to project executive.Bagdonis joined Quandel […]
Just over a month after a deadly attack at UPMC Memorial hospital in York County, state lawmakers are poised to take up legislation addressing violence in the healthcare workplace.The legislation, House Bill 926, is scheduled for a vote March 25 in the House Labor & Industry Committee.Advocates note that healthcare workers are more likely than others to experience […]
A state lawmaker is seeking support for legislation that would make it easier for regulated electric utilities to invest in and possibly own power plants, an idea recently floated by executives at Allentown-based PPL Electric Utilities.The concept responds to growing concerns that the electric grid is not adding enough new power to accommodate a surge in demand […]
The rating for bonds issued for Harrisburg University of Science and Technology have been cut.Amid concerns over the university’s cash position, ratings agency S&P Global Ratings downgraded the university’s bonds from BB- to B-, which reflects a heightened risk of default. The bonds were issued by the Dauphin County General Authority on the school’s behalf.S&P noted that HU’s […]
An industrial park in northern York County has attracted another out-of-state investor.An affiliate of New York-based real estate investment firm The Lightstone Group paid $9 million for an industrial building at 503-509 Industrial Drive in the Fairview Industrial Park in Fairview Township, according to county deed records. The seller was an affiliate of High Street Logistics Properties, a Boston-based […]
Peter Wisniewski has been hired as director of investor relations for Investment Real Estate Group of Companies, a York-based self-storage operator.Wisniewski has over 10 years of expertise in financial strategy and cross-sector collaboration. Most recently he worked as a development manager, where he streamlined operations and cultivated relationships within the real estate industry. His background […]
Jose Lopez has been named to the board of Ephrata National Bank. He is a new addition to the board, according to a spokesperson for the Ephrata-based bank.Lopez worked most recently as president and CEO of the Lancaster-based social services nonprofit Spanish American Civic Association and its affordable-housing arm, SACA Development Corp. An Army veteran and Lancaster native, Lopez oversaw […]
A York tax preparer is facing charges for allegedly falsifying applications from businesses seeking loans under an emergency federal program designed to help businesses meet payroll after the Covid-19 pandemic tanked the economy in early 2020. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Harrisburg has indicated tax preparer Dommonick T. Chatman on 20 counts of bank fraud and […]
Mark Kandrysawtz has been promoted to senior vice president and chief innovation officer at York-based health system WellSpan Health. He was previously vice president and chief innovation officer.Kandrysawtz leads innovative solutions that reimagine healthcare to allow for faster adaptation, scale and, ultimately, impact for consumers and patients. He is credited with helping WellSpan position itself […]
A change in ownership is coming to Dutch Wonderland, a theme park along Route 30 in East Lampeter Township, Lancaster County. The park’s parent, Spain-based Parques Reunidos, is selling it and other U.S. properties to family-owned amusement company Herschend, based in Atlanta. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.The sale follows a strategic review of Parques’s U.S. […]
A Harrisburg-area developer is sparring with a Lancaster County township and authority over sewer tapping fees assessed on a recent apartment project.In a lawsuit filed at the end of last year, the developer, an affiliate of Lower Paxton Township-based Triple Crown Corp., argues that the fees were excessive, and it demands a partial refund.“They were charged […]
Passenger traffic was up in 2024 at Harrisburg International Airport. More than 1.44 million people passed through the Dauphin County airport last year, up 10.8% from about 1.3 million in 2023, according to airport statistics. American Airlines and Allegiant Air drove much of the growth, according to HIA spokesperson Scott Miller.“Travel in this region has been pretty strong over the […]
The residential real estate market is poised to enter the traditionally busy spring and summer season. But buyers in Central Pennsylvania are still waiting for interest rates to slide before making the move to a new home, according to local real estate agents and lenders.The hesitation is showing up in statistics showing homes sitting on […]
Harrisburg-based insurance agency URL Insurance Group has promoted eight staff members.Matt Allina has been promoted to life markets manager. He joined URL as a life markets specialist in 2004. He was the life markets final expense manager for several years and will now use his knowledge of all life insurance products to drive growth and […]
Jeff Balestrini has been hired chief consumer lending officer for Members 1st Federal Credit Union, an Enola-based lender, effective March 10. He succeeds Jeff Ernst, who retired last year after more than three years in the role, according to a credit union spokesperson.Balestrini worked most recently as chief lending officer at Service 1st Federal Credit Union in […]
Doug Barton has been hired as the first-ever CFO for Saxton & Stump, a Lancaster-based law firm.Barton worked most recently as director of financial planning and analysis at Harrisburg-based Orrstown Bank, which merged last year with York-based Codorus Valley Bancorp. Over his nearly four-decade career, Barton also has worked for accounting firms Baker Tilly and Beard & Co., as well as Sterling […]
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