Drew Mousetis understands the benefits of employee ownership.As a lead consultant for employee-owned software company Cargas in Lancaster, he enjoyed a sense of financial security that allowed him and his wife to purchase a new home in Lancaster County where they are raising their four young children.“You just can’t really put a value on that,” […]
In a party-line vote, a House panel approved legislation on June 12 to exempt Pennsylvania sales taxes from so-called swipe fees — the fees assessed to process transactions involving credit cards.Fourteen Democrats on the committee voted for the legislation, House Bill 2394, while 11 Republicans were opposed.The exemption would mean that on a $1 purchase in […]
Pennsylvania banks and credit unions are pushing back on proposed state legislation that would exempt the sales-tax portion of retail purchases from so-called swipe or interchange fees — the fees charged by financial services companies for processing credit card payments. The fees are typically 1% to 3% of a transaction. Under the exemption, on a […]
The slowdown in home lending has challenged banks and mortgage brokers over the last year. But it has created opportunities for the firms that offer them advice and technology to improve their operations.It is those opportunities that helped spur a merger for Teraverde, a financial software and consulting company based in East Hempfield Township Lancaster County. The […]
The founders of Inch & Co. are looking to raise $20 million from investors interested in backing the York-area company’s forays in multifamily housing.For the last 15 years, the company has leaned on its own resources, buttressed by capital from friends and family, said Jeff Inch, a co-founder and co-owner of Inch & Co.“Now it’s time […]
Lancaster County-based Bank of Bird-in-Hand is seeking shareholder and regulatory approval to form a holding company, a common step for banks as they grow. The holding company would be called GELT Bancorp Inc., incorporating the Amish word for money. The bank also uses the word for its mobile branches, called Gelt buses.Existing bank shareholders would become shareholders in […]
Lemoyne-based insurance and benefits agency Gunn-Mowery is expanding its footprint in York CountyThe firm has acquired Central Penn Benefits, an insurance and benefits agency in West Manchester Township, York County.Terms of the transaction, which closed May 1, were not disclosed. But Central Penn Benefits will continue to operate under its own name and from its existing office as […]
LinkBancorp is selling its newly acquired operations in South Jersey for an after-tax gain of about $10.5 million, according to LinkBancorp CEO Andrew Samuel. The buyer is Philadelphia-based American Heritage Federal Credit Union, which has more than 310,000 members and assets of more than $4.8 billion.Expected to close in the second quarter of this year, the […]
Harrisburg University of Science and Technology failed to make a monthly loan payment on May 1 in default of its loan agreement, according to a disclosure last week to its bondholders.Under the agreement, monthly payments to the bond trustee roll up into semiannual payments on interest and principal on the university’s bonds.Those semiannual payments are still being […]
Fulton Bank was on the receiving end on the afternoon of April 26 when state regulators shut down and brokered a sale of Republic First Bank, a troubled Philadelphia-based lender that does business as Republic Bank. As a result, Fulton has acquired most of the assets and branches of Republic First, expanding the Lancaster bank’s footprint in the competitive […]
York County commissioners last week approved the county’s participation in a program that offers specialized financing tools for clean-energy and energy-efficiency projects. The program, offered in partnership with Schnecksville-based Sustainable Energy Fund, is called the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy program, or C-PACE.How does it work: Commercial and nonprofit property owners tap the program to secure private-sector […]
The chief banking subsidiary of Chambersburg-based Franklin Financial Services has broken ground on a new branch at 4765 Linglestown Road in Lower Paxton Township.It will be F&M Trust‘s first free-standing, full-service branch in Dauphin County. “It’s a natural progression of our growth and activity in the capital region, specifically Dauphin County,” F&M Trust president and CEO Tim Henry said […]
Pennsylvania officials are tapping an Allentown-based lender to operate a statewide program funneling money to homeowners who want to make their homes more energy efficient.The program, called the Keystone Energy Efficiency Program, could provide up to $10 million in loans to eligible homeowners in amounts ranging from $2,000 to $25,000.The amounts are generally too high […]
A private equity-backed holding company is buying a majority stake in Harrisburg’s minor league baseball team from the family of the late Mark Butler, a co-founder of Harrisburg-based discount retailer Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings. Butler, who died in 2019, bought a majority interest in the Harrisburg Senators in 2014. That stake is now being sold to Diamond Baseball […]
R.F. Fager Co., a West Shore distributor of plumbing, heating, roofing and other supplies, has a new partner.New York-based private equity firm Tenex Capital Management has made an undisclosed investment in the company. Efforts to reach R.F. Fager and Tenex were not successful, But in a statement to trade publication PE Hub, Tenex managing director Gabe Wood said, […]
New York-based private equity firm Broad Sky Partners has snapped up Punctual Pros, a regional franchisee for three high-profile consumer-facing brands.Based in East Hempfield Township, Lancaster County, Punctual Pros serves customers across Central Pennsylvania as an operator of One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing and Mister Sparky Electrical franchises.The company is hoping to expand its footprint through acquisitions, said company […]
Rising interest rates and record inflation stifled mergers and acquisitions last year, leading to an 18% drop in activity compared to 2022 for Central and southeastern Pennsylvania, according to a report this week by accounting and professional services RKL LLP.Lancaster and the capital area bucked the regional decline, which reflected the national scene. Nonetheless, M&A activity […]
A nonprofit investor that tracks corporate performance on environmental, social and governance issues is asking Sunbury-based Weis Markets to beef up its disclosures on climate change and supply chain risks.The Massachusetts-based nonprofit, The Accountability Board, is seeking a shareholder vote on the issue during Weis’s annual meeting this spring.The resolution calls on Weis to produce a report on […]
R.F. Fager Co., a West Shore distributor of plumbing, heating, roofing and other supplies, has a new partner.New York-based private equity firm Tenex Capital Management has made
On March 8, 2022, a fire ripped through a Penn Waste recycling facility in Manchester Township, York County, knocking it out of commission. Now, three Penn Waste insurers are suing local contractors involved in building the facility and installing its sprinkler system.The insurers, which include Connecticut-based XL Insurance, are seeking to recover $26 million in damages from York-based Kinsley Construction, York-based Susquehanna […]
A Harrisburg-area engineering firm has added two new offices, including its first-ever location in Maryland.HRG has opened offices in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and Hagerstown, Maryland, hoping to make greater inroads in both areas. The additions bring the firm, based in Swatara Township, Dauphin County, to a dozen offices, with 10 in Pennsylvania and one each in […]
Business groups are decrying a recent directive from Gov. Josh Shapiro designed to increase the state’s use of project labor agreements, deals that generally require the use of union labor on public projects.Issued last week, the directive calls on state agencies to review contract solicitations for capital projects to determine which ones would be good fits for […]
Everything is bigger in Texas, including spending on roads, bridges, pipes and other infrastructure.“It’s the place to be in our world,” said Bob Scaer, CEO of engineering firm Gannett Fleming. “And you can’t penetrate that by hiring a person to start growing. The only way in is acquisition.” For Camp Hill-based Gannett Fleming, that acquisition was […]
About a dozen years ago, several members of East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church in Lancaster banded together to start a nonprofit focused on creating affordable housing, with a focus on people experiencing homelessness.Their first project was the purchase and conversion of a single-family home at 639 E. Chestnut St. Over the next decade, the nonprofit […]
Efforts to redevelop the former Red Lion Country Club in York County have taken a second hit.At a meeting on Feb. 27, zoning officials in York Township voted 3-2 to deny a developer’s request for a special exception to allow age-restricted housing under the property’s current zoning, which is for commercial office. “I don’t think […]
Pennsylvania’s top court has backed a lower court’s decision in a closely watched case involving application of the state’s prevailing wage law.The case hinged on conflicting views of the law, which sets a minimum wage for workers on publicly funded projects. What’s the issue: Whether prevailing wages should be paid on a private-sector project funded by […]
State officials have narrowed the list of projects they are considering for a new funding program designed to prep industrial sites for development.The program, announced last fall by the Shapiro administration, drew more than 100 applicants seeking a total of more than $236 million.Officials are now focusing on a short list of 32 applicants — […]
A Maryland developer has revealed its vision for what will replace the Harrisburg Mall, a longtime suburban destination destined for the wrecking ball. Baltimore-based St. John Properties is proposing a roughly 550,000 square-foot development — dubbed Swatara Exchange — that includes a mix of retail and commercial buildings, with a smidgen of office space. While the plan calls for […]
Kinsley Properties and Royal Square Development & Construction have formed a joint venture to convert a vacant office building in downtown York into a 43-unit apartment.The 38,000 square-foot building is the former Fox Bakery at 204 N. George St., not far from WellSpan Park. Construction on the $7 million project began this week and is expected to wrap up […]
Two years after christening a brand-new headquarters in Cumberland County, West Shore Home has opened its third corporate office.This one is an 82,000 square facility in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas, that includes office space for more than 120 employees. “West Shore Home is growing at an explosive rate and this is the next step in our goal to […]
Contractors typically face some liability for issues that arise after they finish their work for a property owner.A Supreme Court ruling this week potentially expands that liability.In a split opinion, justices ruled that a contractor could be held liable for allegedly defective work even if the property owner knew there was a problem.Under previous legal interpretations, […]
The ground may be cold but battles over land use in Central Pennsylvania are heating up.Residents and developers are clashing on several fronts across the region.Not surprisingly, proposed warehouses are among the sharpest points of contention.Large-scale solar projects have triggered outcries, as well.But disputes also have arisen over housing, most notably in Lancaster city, where a […]
With spending on bridges and highways expected to ramp up, a Florida-based investment firm has bought into Flagger Force, a Hummelstown-based company whose crews can be found directing traffic around work sites.Blue Sea Capital said yesterday it had invested in Flagger Force as part of a strategic partnership to support the company’s growth. Terms of the deal were […]
York County has lost two of its most prominent business and philanthropic leaders.Brothers Jonathan and Timothy Kinsley died Monday while on a skiing trip in British Columbia. Jonathan, 59, was an executive with York-based Kinsley Enterprises, which oversees the Kinsley family’s business assets, including Kinsley Construction. Timothy, 57, was president of Kinsley Properties, a real estate development and […]
Robert Grubic is retiring as CEO of the engineering firm that has borne his name for just over four decades.As of the end of this year, the next CEO of Harrisburg-based Herbert Rowland & Grubic will be Jason Fralick, who has been its president since 2019.Grubic plans to remain chairman of the board at the employee-owned company.“HRG is […]
A mixed-use development is taking shape along Route 15 in Upper Allen Township, Cumberland County.Camp Hill developer Linlo Properties began site work in May for the project, dubbed The Mills at Shepherdstown Crossing.Once completed, it will bring 54 apartments, retail space, a Burger King and a Chick-fil-A to the intersection of Gettysburg Pike and South Market Street, which offers access to Route […]
Pittsburgh-based law firm Dickie McCamey & Chilcote has opened an office in Lancaster after plucking two attorneys from Barley Snyder. The office at 100 N. Queen St. is Dickie McCamey’s 20th overall and seventh in Pennsylvania.Staffing the Lancaster office are managing attorney and shareholder Luke Weber and associate Tasha Stoltzfus Nankerville. Weber chaired Lancaster-based Barley Snyder’s healthcare […]
As client needs evolved in an era of hybrid and remote work, leaders at Phillips Workplace Interiors came to a realization.“We were too big to be small and too small to be big,” said Michael Bistline, a co-owner of the office furnishings and interior services company based in Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County.He and co-owner Hope Roadcap […]
A massive hydroelectric project proposed for a site along the Susquehanna River in York County is facing questions from an unexpected source. An Oklahoma man who fought against a similar project in his state is challenging the credentials of an engineer listed on documents that the York County project’s developer filed with federal regulators. In focus […]
Ronald Ladyka has been named COO of Navarro & Wright Consulting Engineers Inc. He succeeds John O’Connell, who died unexpectedly in early May. O’Connell, who was 64, worked at the New Cumberland-based for 15 years.In a statement, the firm described O’Connell as an “impeccably loyal colleague and mentor who always strived for the betterment of the […]
Harrisburg University of Science and Technology is winding down its undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Philadelphia after deciding they were no longer sustainable.The programs are slated to close Aug. 31, though the university will maintain programs offering college-level classes to high school students in the city.“These efforts allow us to remain deeply connected to the region […]
Developer Jordan Ilyes has acquired properties at 200 Main St., 144 Main St., 140 Main St, and South Second Street in McSherrystown. He plans to transform the sites into a mixed-use development with multifamily residential units and a retail center. Tony Plakas of NAI CIR represented the transaction.Get Smart Discount Grocer LLC paid $720,000 for […]
Lisa Kelly has joined Camp Hill-based Boyer & Ritter LLC as a paraprofessional supporting the firm’s accounting services team.Kelly worked for several organizations as an office manager and bookkeeper. In addition to financial management skills, she has experience in recruiting, onboarding, training and other human resources functions.She has a bachelor’s degree in professional development with […]
After listening to both sides of a loan dispute yesterday morning, a Dauphin County judge outlined a potential truce and asked attorneys to put it in writing.Harrisburg-area flooring supplier Frontier Surfaces claims it is on the brink of financial collapse following efforts by regional lender Mid Penn Bancorp to collect on a $4 million loan to the company.Mid Penn […]
A state appeals court last week upheld a decision by local officials to deny a mixed-use development that included a proposed Sheetz store in Derry Township, Dauphin County. Dubbed Governor’s Crossing, the project was proposed for the southwest corner of West Governor and Fishburn roads south of downtown Hershey. But in November 2023, supervisors in Derry Township […]
Private equity is bingeing one of York County’s most iconic retail brands.A consortium of three firms, led by Swander Pace Capital, has acquired Maple Donuts Inc., a family-owned donut and pastry maker based in Springettsbury Township, York County.The deal comes just over a year after the death of the company’s longtime leader, Charlie Burnside.Terms of the transaction […]
The York Water Co., which serves more than 212,000 people in Adams, Franklin, Lancaster and York counties, is asking state regulators for permission to raise rates for water and sewer service. Under the proposal, residential water customers would pay an additional $14.16 per month, while sewer service would go up by an average of $35.85 […]
After a period as interim CEO, Brent Emore has been named CEO of AHF Products, a flooring manufacturer based in West Hempfield Township, Lancaster County. He succeeds Brian Carson, who left the company in February to become CEO of Pittsburgh-based The Pittsburgh Paints Co. Emore joined AHF in 2024 as CFO.He worked previously at flooring giant Mohawk Industries, including […]
A $15 billion data center project proposed for rural Cumberland County cleared a crucial hurdle.At a meeting Friday morning, supervisors in Middlesex Township approved an ordinance creating a special zone where data centers are allowed — an agricultural tract of roughly 700 acres along Country Club Road and the Conodoguinet Creek.The ordinance incorporates best practices […]
The former Frog, Switch & Manufacturing plant in Carlisle has officially changed hands. The Real Estate Collaborative, an arm of the Cumberland Area Economic Development Corp., closed May 29 on its acquisition of the roughly 26.7-acre site at 600 E. High St. The sale price has not yet been recorded in county deed records, and Real Estate Collaborative chair […]
A York contractor claims it has not been paid in full for work it performed earlier this year on a multimillion-dollar project to expand a local hospital.In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in York County court, Kinsley Construction LLC says it was hired by other contractors in 2024 to provide concrete for the foundation of a new surgical […]
Dr. Michael Kupferman has been named CEO of Penn State Health effective June 23. He succeeds Steve Massini, who retired last fall after five years in the top post at the regional health system. Deborah Addo, Penn State Health’s president and COO, has been serving as interim CEO.Kupferman has worked most recently as president of the […]
It wasn’t long after he joined the board of Carlisle Country Club in late 2023 that business owner Mark Toigo grasped the venue’s financial challenges.“It was just burning cash,” Toigo said in an interview with biznewsPA.Rather than see the club and its golf course close, Toigo assembled a group of investors who bought the club in Middlesex […]
Joseph “Joe” Flanagan has been hired as vice president, commercial loan officer and agricultural lender in the Greater Harrisburg area market for Mid Penn Bank. He will support both commercial and agricultural customers and report to regional president Justin Manning.Flanagan worked most recently as a vice president and commercial loan officer for Gettysburg-based ACNB Bank, […]
Federal funds are boosting plans to transform the banks of the Codorus Creek in York.The York County Economic Alliance has landed a $15 million infrastructure grant to help pay for the transformation plan, known as the Codorus Greenway project.“It’s certainly a big chunk, and it definitely helps propel the project,” said Kevin Schreiber, CEO of the YCEA.The […]
Insurers could soon be facing a new requirement if they want to sell policies through Pennsylvania’s subsidized health insurance marketplace, known as Pennie.The operator of the marketplace is proposing a regulation that would require insurers to become accredited in health equity.The Pennsylvania Health Insurance Exchange Authority argues that health equity is a “well-recognized accreditation standard” […]
A state review panel signed off June 20 on rules designed to make it easier for people with criminal records to earn professional licenses. The approval is one of the final steps needed before the rules take effect.The Department of State, which oversees professional licensing in Pennsylvania, first proposed the rules in 2022. They lay […]
A state agency is showering about $7.4 million on Central Pennsylvania developers and nonprofits aiming to alleviate the shortage of affordable housing and combat homelessness.The grants announced this month by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency range in size locally from less than $50,000 to an award of $500,000, which is being given to a construction company involved […]
Accenture, which has landed some big-ticket state contracts, has opened an office in downtown Harrisburg at 20 N. Second St. The international professional services firm is leasing about 3,100 square feet on two floors of the building, which is also home to lobbying and communications firm Bravo Group.Accenture, which also has an office in Philadelphia, is […]
In a party-line vote, a House panel approved legislation on June 12 to exempt Pennsylvania sales taxes from so-called swipe
Pennsylvania banks and credit unions are pushing back on proposed state legislation that would exempt the sales-tax portion of retail
State officials are taking another crack at finalizing proposed rules that would make it easier for Pennsylvania residents with criminal records to earn professional licenses in fields ranging from accounting and nursing to cosmetology and real estate. The Department of State, which oversees professional licensure, issued a revised version of the rules this month after an earlier draft was […]
Contractors and some lawmakers are pushing back against efforts to change how Pennsylvania officials apply prevailing wage law, which sets a floor for wages on publicly funded construction projects.Their target is legislation before the state House and Senate that critics argue will drive up costs for public works.“It’s simply the wrong solution for Pennsylvanians,” state […]
In a ruling handed down last week, a Pennsylvania court overturned an effort by health officials to recall hundreds of vaping products previously approved for use in the state’s medical marijuana program.The controversial recall, ordered in February 2022 by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, was tantamount to a regulation, according to the ruling in Commonwealth […]
In a regulatory proposal published this month, Pennsylvania tax collectors are offering up a revised definition of business income, a move that sounds innocuous on its face. But observers question whether the new definition would do more than just clarify which corporate profits are subject to state taxation.The proposed changes, the observers say, could open […]
An Atlanta-based IT staffing company has settled federal claims that it failed to protect confidential health information after Pennsylvania officials hired the company to oversee contact tracing during the Covid-19 pandemic. The company, Insight Global LLC, has agreed to pay $2.7 million to resolve allegations that its handling of data violated the federal False Claims Act, according […]
Following a flurry of comments from customers and consumer advocates, state utility regulators altered the penalties imposed on electric utility PPL Electric Utilities over billing issues that led to overcharges for some customers, among other problems.In a 3-2 vote on April 25, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission approved a settlement agreement requiring PPL to provide more reporting […]
State officials may be taking another swing at drafting rules designed to make it easier for people with criminal records to earn professional licenses in Pennsylvania.That’s because a regulatory review panel gave the latest version a thumbs down at a meeting last week.Members of the Independent Regulatory Review Commission were concerned about some of the […]
A Harrisburg lobbying firm has formed a business affiliation with a Philadelphia-area law firm.Under the arrangement, lobbying shop The DT Firm and law firm Lamb McErlane will refer clients to each other, said Joel Frank, chairman and managing partner of Lamb McErlane. While many law firms have created in-house lobbying divisions over the last few years, Lamb McErlane has […]
In a series of bipartisan votes yesterday, a state House panel approved a package of four bills designed to tweak the process for selling public water and sewer systems to private companies.The tweaks would amend a state law known as Act 12, which paved the way for greater consolidation of local water and sewer systems. Advocates note […]
Business groups are decrying a recent directive from Gov. Josh Shapiro designed to increase the state’s use of project labor
A state House panel has passed bills on party-line votes that would strengthen protections against workplace discrimination.One bill would lower the threshold for state anti-discrimination enforcement to businesses with as few as two employees, down from the current threshold of four.Another bill would tweak provisions covering gender-based wage discrimination. It would, for example, bar disparate […]
Barbara Grimm, above left, worked with David Cooper to create the School Responder app (photos/submitted). During more than a decade working in the Lampeter-Strasburg School District in Lancaster County, Barbara Grimm saw a growing problem. More and more students needed help grappling with behavioral health issues, said Grimm, who worked in a variety of administrative […]
After taking a break during the Covid-19 pandemic to focus internally, a Lancaster-based venture formed by some of the region’s biggest players in health care is welcoming its first outside partner in nearly two years: SkinIO, a Chicago-based company using technology to broaden access to dermatology screenings.People can use the SkinIO app to take pictures […]
A team of 20 medical professionals from the U.S. military plans to spend another 30 days pitching in at WellSpan York Hospital as the facility contends with a spike in Covid-19 cases.
Moon Dancer Vineyards & Winery is poised to reopen this weekend following a court order rescinding an earlier ruling that closed the 50-acre winery and event venue overlooking the Susquehanna River in Lower Windsor Township, York County.The winery shut down June 9 after it lost a six-year land-use battle with neighbors who claim the business violated restrictive covenants […]
Moon Dancer Vineyards & Winery, a winery and event venue overlooking the Susquehanna River in Lower Windsor Township, York County, was forced to close as of June 9 as the result of a court order in a six-year-old legal battle between winery owner Jim Miller and neighboring homeowners Matthew Balsavage and Amanda Perko. In a lawsuit […]
In a lawsuit filed May 31, a federal consumer watchdog is alleging that the Harrisburg-based Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency misled student borrowers into thinking they still owed money after their student loans were discharged through bankruptcy. The crux of the lawsuit is a distinction between two types of student loans — those that can be […]
In a ruling handed down last week, a Pennsylvania court overturned an effort by health officials to recall hundreds of
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving application of prevailing wages to a $17.2 million build-to-lease project for a State Police barracks and training center in Luzerne County.Administrative rulings sought to apply prevailing wages to the project, based on the notion that the state’s 20-year lease for the property essentially paid […]
A Dauphin County winery and related businesses have filed for bankruptcy as they look for a buyer for their operations.Spring Gate Winery parent company Schoffstall Farm LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 14 after experiencing six-figure losses in 2021 and 2022, according to a petition before U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.Based […]
A new twist is complicating the bankruptcy case of Uptown Partners LP, the Maryland-based owner of Governor’s Square apartment complex in Uptown Harrisburg. The company managing the affordable-housing complex, Landex Management LLC, is asking the court to void its contract with Uptown Partners, arguing that the owner is not providing enough resources to manage the beleaguered property effectively.Uptown, […]
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided this week not to accept an appeal from Gratz Borough over a lower-court ruling that favored a company seeking to develop a solar farm in the northern Dauphin County municipality.The appeal followed a Commonwealth Court ruling last fall that the borough failed to properly advertise a meeting where it set stricter zoning standards for […]
The state’s top court has agreed to hear a case that turns on whether employers must pay for CBD oil and other over-the-counter products under Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation program.The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will consider several questions, including whether workers’ comp law requires employers and their insurers to reimburse injured workers who buy CBD oil and other […]
An Atlanta-based IT staffing company has settled federal claims that it failed to protect confidential health information after Pennsylvania officials
Ben Ried and John B. Zonarich entertained merger proposals from other law firms. But none seemed as right as the union they unveiled yesterday between their respective Harrisburg firms, Mette Evans & Woodside and SkarlatosZonarich LLC.“There were other opportunities,” Zonarich said in an interview with biznewsPA. “But there were no other opportunities like this.”Zonarich and […]
In a case that drew national attention, Pennsylvania’s highest court backed a married couple seeking a bigger award after winning a lawsuit against an insurer they accused of engaging in fraud and negligence when it sold them a life insurance policy.In 2020, an Allegheny County jury found the insurer, Ameriprise Financial, liable for $120,570 in […]
Following a flurry of comments from customers and consumer advocates, state utility regulators altered the penalties imposed on electric utility PPL
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing Sheetz, arguing that the company’s use of criminal background checks in hiring is discriminatory.The agency noted that Sheetz was not motivated by race in making hiring decisions. However, the agency claims that the convenience-store chain’s hiring practices disproportionately screened out job applicants who are Black, Native American, Alaska […]
A network of healthcare providers in western Pennsylvania is suing Aetna over what the providers allege is unfair treatment under the terms of a value-based contract.The contract took effect in 2023 and is supposed to reward the network, Bridges Health Partners, for reducing the cost of care while improving the health of people enrolled in Aetna’s Medicare Advantage […]
A Harrisburg lobbying firm has formed a business affiliation with a Philadelphia-area law firm.Under the arrangement, lobbying shop The DT Firm and
On March 8, 2022, a fire ripped through a Penn Waste recycling facility in Manchester Township, York County, knocking it
It could be another four weeks before a bankruptcy court decides the fate of the beleaguered Governor’s Square apartment complex in uptown Harrisburg.The court had been scheduled to hold a hearing April 2 on a proposed sale of the 222-unit complex But the hearing has now been moved to April 30 at the request of the property’s […]
After steering one of the region’s largest private companies onto the public market, Utz Brands CEO Dylan Lissette is stepping into a new role.After 27 years with the Hanover-based snack maker, Lissette will become executive chairman of the company’s board on Dec.15.Utz’s new CEO will be Howard Friedman, currently COO of St. Louis-based Post Holdings, a consumer-packaged goods […]
As it gears up for a move to Philadelphia, Harsco has unloaded its longtime Wormleysburg headquarters this year for $4.3 million.However, the roughly 42,000 square-foot building will remain a corporate headquarters.A partnership that includes Lemoyne-based Rhodes Development Group bought the building and plans to move there, along with two of its operating divisions, according to Larry Kluger, president and CEO […]
Graham Engineering, a York-based equipment maker, has purchased a Berks County company with a complementary business.Graham Engineering makes machinery used in producing — or extruding — plastic parts ranging from car bumpers to catheters.Its new acquisition, Birdsboro-based Kennedy Tool & Die, specializes in making molds and tooling used in plastics-manufacturing processes called blow molding, rim molding […]
The bankruptcy case of Armstrong Flooring is nearing its end.U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary Walrath approved the sale yesterday of the company’s North American assets to Mountville-based flooring manufacturer AHF Products and Boston-based Gordon Brothers.An AHF spokesperson said yesterday the company hopes to close on the $107 million deal by next Friday, July 22.Then what: AHF will continue to operate […]
After disclosing buyers for some of its operations in North America, Armstrong Flooring has unveiled deals to sell its remaining businesses.In a news release July 11, the company identified buyers for its operations in Australia and China.Who: The Australian assets — including a factory in Braeside, Victoria — are going to a group of companies identified as the Cowes […]
After two months in bankruptcy, Armstrong Flooring is on the verge of dealing its way out.The Lancaster-based manufacturer said yesterday it has agreed to sell its North American assets to a consortium that includes AHF Products, a former division of Armstrong Flooring.Mountville-based AHF and Boston-based Gordon Brothers have agreed to pay $107 million in cash and assume unspecified liabilities in exchange for […]
Armstrong Flooring has once again pushed back the deadline for wrapping up a sale.The Lancaster-based manufacturer now expects to finalize a sale by a court hearing slated for Tuesday, July 12.In a statement issued early on Friday, July 8, a company spokesperson said the company has finalized a deal to sell its operations in China […]
Mobile Climate Control, which already has a distribution Center in York County, is consolidating all of its U.S. operations at a new facility in West Manchester Township.
The Conrad Co. is the name of a new holding company unveiled this year by Penn-Air & Hydraulics Corp., a growing manufacturing services company based in Springettsbury Township, York County. The holding company encompasses PennAir, a company acquired by PennAir in 2019 and three other companies acquired since then, according to Seth Bray, the CEO of PennAir and […]
A state court has delivered a partial win for Pennsylvania in a year-old lawsuit seeking damages from ag giant Monsanto and related enitities over PCBs.An 84-page Commonwealth Court ruling on Dec. 30 swept aside six of Monsanto’s nine objections to the state lawsuit, paving the way for the next phase of litigation.Judges, however, did uphold two of the […]
J&J Pallet and Recycling LLC is planning to purchase, upgrade and move into a 16,400 square-foot industrial building at 1690 Opportunity Ave. in the Cumberland Valley Business Park in Greene Township. The company, which sells recycled shipping pallets, is currently based in leased space at 1051 Sheffler Drive in Chambersburg.The company has been approved for […]
After 15 years of leading York-based Royal Square Development and Construction, Josh Hankey is stepping into a new role at the company he founded in 2009.Hankey is poised to become CFO and pass the CEO baton to Dylan Bauer, who joined Royal Square in 2014.In an interview, Hankey said the two executives had been giving thought […]
The former Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg is on the market amid a dispute between its owner and its chief tenant, a development company led by a former NFL player.Owner Jeremy Hunter of William Penn Holdings Inc. announced the building was for sale in a Facebook post on May 24.The post has led to “many” […]
After a bruising legal battle to develop their land in Manheim Township, Lancaster County, the Hurst family has sold it to another developer.The family, which owns the Oregon Dairy supermarket and restaurant, sold the store’s land and building on May 10 to Jerry Horst and his sons, Mark and Chad, who operate Manheim Township-based Vanguard Development Group. The sale […]
Adam Maust poured millions of dollars over the last four years into the Atlas Building, an edifice in Uptown Harrisburg that had fallen into disrepair by the time Maust bought it in 2020.He is now passing the torch to a new owner, a Harrisburg-based nonprofit called the Pennsylvania Social Equity Land Trust, which paid $14.5 million […]
The founders of Inch & Co. are looking to raise $20 million from investors interested in backing the York-area company’s forays
A new twist is complicating the bankruptcy case of Uptown Partners LP, the Maryland-based owner of Governor’s Square apartment complex in
A buyer with a growing portfolio of Pennsylvania shopping centers has added another one.A partnership led by Leo Ullman of New York-based retail developer Vastgood Properties paid $6.63 million at the end of April for Shippensburg Marketplace, according to Brad Rohrbaugh, executive vice president and retail director for York-based Bennett Williams Commercial.Rohrbaugh and Bennett Williams […]
The potential buyers of a Lancaster County-based tiny-homes company are taking a new tack.Chase Packaging Corp., a New Jersey-based shell company, had been planning to take Tiny Estates LLC and two related entities public through a merger.The companies are led by CEO Abby Shank, a former KPMG auditor who started a tiny-home community outside Elizabethtown in 2018.But the two sides […]
When Penn Center Harrisburg hit the market in summer 2022, the asking price for the three-building complex was $22 million. The half-vacant property in the 2600 block of North Third Street ended up selling for $1.45 million late last month following the bankruptcy of its owner, Penn Center Harrisburg LP. The buyer is an affiliate of Pennmark, a Philadelphia-area […]
Over the last few weeks, real estate agents have begun bracing for the end of a common practice in home sales.It’s not the 6% commission, which agents argue is something of a misconception. It is the ability to signal that a homebuyer’s agent will be paid from the proceeds of a sale along with the […]
It could be another four weeks before a bankruptcy court decides the fate of the beleaguered Governor’s Square apartment complex
A regional nonprofit is poised to spin off its senior-living operations to a larger peer based in Missouri.Topton-based Diakon, which has a finance and support center in Middletown, has agreed to merge its senior-living subsidiary into St. Louis-based Lutheran Senior Services. Terms of the transaction, expected to close this summer, were not disclosed. “This was a strategic […]
About a dozen years ago, several members of East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church in Lancaster banded together to start a
A court hearing on the bankruptcy sale of Governor’s Square apartment complex in uptown Harrisburg had been scheduled for Feb. 29. However, it has been moved to April 2 per an order from Chief Bankruptcy Judge Henry Van Eck of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.Why is this happening: The complex’s […]
Federal housing officials are objecting to the proposed sale of Governor’s Square, a beleaguered Harrisburg apartment complex whose owner declared bankruptcy last year.In a court filing this week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development argues there are not enough guarantees that the potential deal will preserve the complex’s status as affordable housing. HUD […]
A tiny-home startup in Lancaster County is poised for the big time.A publicly traded shell company has agreed to buy Tiny Estates LLC and two related companies, Endeavor Tiny Homes LLC and Tiny Communities Fund LLC. The companies are led by CEO Abby Shank, a former KPMG auditor-turned-entrepreneur who started a tiny-home community outside Elizabethtown in 2018. Shank, who went on to build […]
Lancaster-area officials, nonprofit executives and business leaders gathered yesterday to mark the next step in a nearly four-year journey to redevelop the former UPMC Lancaster campus along College Avenue.Nonprofit developer HDC MidAtlantic broke ground Feb. 7 on the first phase of redevelopment — a $23 million, 64-unit affordable-apartment building at 213 College Ave., the site of a vacant office […]
A state court has tossed aside regulations that would have enrolled Pennsylvania in a multistate carbon-cutting program, regulations that were a climate-change priority for the former administration of Gov. Tom Wolf.At issue was whether the heart of the program — a market in which companies must buy credits to emit carbon — represented a fee or […]
A Harrisburg-area financial advisory has joined the wave of consolidation washing over the industry.Comprehensive Financial Associates, based in Susquehanna Township, has been acquired by insurance and benefits brokerage AssuredPartners, according to a press release from Wise Rhino Group, the M&A firm that advised Comprehensive Financial. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. But it also includes an […]
McNees Wallace & Nurick has picked 10 small, Black-owned businesses to receive free legal services in the third annual installment of the Harrisburg-based law firm’s program to overcome barriers to business growth and success.The small businesses, introduced last week at a reception at the King Mansion in Harrisburg, hail from across Central Pennsylvania, as well as […]
The challenges for childcare providers have not eased since the pandemic. If anything, they have grown steeper, as providers struggle to retain and attract workers at a time of rising wages.But if business leaders have learned anything over the last few years, it is that working parents need access to quality childcare if they hope […]
The ground may be cold but battles over land use in Central Pennsylvania are heating up.Residents and developers are clashing
Fraudsters drained nearly $250,000 from bank accounts of the Center for Independent Living of Central PA, and the Harrisburg-based nonprofit wants its bank, Mid Penn Bank, to refund the money, according to a lawsuit filed last week in Dauphin County court.The Harrisburg-based bank allegedly failed to enforce “commercially reasonable” security controls on the accounts and thus it […]
Construction on $15 million affordable-housing project in Lancaster city is pulling closer to the starting bell.The developer, a Lancaster-based real estate investment fund called OZFund Inc., has landed a low-interest $1.8 million loan to help cover the costs of stormwater remediation and a “green roof” for the project, which is slated for 800 S. Queen St. in […]
Thanks to a recent court ruling, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania could be on the hook for more than $100 million in tax refunds to businesses.The ruling came in a case that arose over provisions outlining how companies can use past losses to lower their tax bills.Some corporate taxpayers have claimed, successfully, that provisions that have […]
State officials fired the starting gun and now economic-development officials across Central Pennsylvania are off to the races.In an announcement Sept. 13, the Department of Community and Economic Development unveiled the local agencies that will play a role in distributing $246.7 million to small businesses statewide under a federal program called the State Small Business […]
Like their peers around the U.S., local businesses were battered in 2021 by inflation, labor shortages and supply chain glitches – not to mention the persistent challenge of navigating Covid-19.But there also were ups and downs unique to Central Pennsylvania.Like what: On the upside, a new hospital opened — and another is on the way […]
Contact tracing is turning into a mess rather than an effective tool to stop Covid-19. People aren’t cooperating, contact tracers are becoming overwhelmed and the virus continues to spread at a record rate.“It’s almost like we’re at a dead end with that approach,” said Victor Owuor, chief product officer at Lancaster-based investment firm Aspire Ventures.The […]
When its doors reopen this month, York County manufacturer Weldon Solutions will be proceeding with caution: The company plans to bring back a portion of its 40 workers at a time. “I want to see what it looks like to bring more and more people in,” said Travis Gentzler, Weldon’s president. “I don’t want to bring […]
Given the limits imposed by social distancing, Doug Koozer considered canceling the opening scheduled for this weekend at his art gallery on the West Shore. But he and his business partner, Jason Kreiger, decided to forge ahead.
Online sales are still flowing for Bollman Hat Co. in Lancaster County. And the company has started making and selling wool felt masks. But revenue is 10% of what it was before the Covid-19 pandemic. That has meant some tough decisions at the employee-owned company.
The orders are the easy part for Allegheny York LLC, a small manufacturer in Manchester Township, York County.They have been pouring in ever since a TV news feature on the company’s efforts to make plastic face shields, said Elisha Weir, vice president and sales lead for Allegheny York, which she co-owns with her husband, Aaron. […]
Over the last decade, Anne Kirby transformed The Candy Factory from an object of curiosity into a beacon of community. This year — the 10th anniversary of the Lancaster coworking space — was poised to be its best yet, she said.Then, in mid-March, Kirby began the difficult process of winding it down, even before the […]
The consultants at Work Wisdom were used to the video-conferencing app Zoom, the instant-messaging service Slack and other tech tools that connect people remotely. The team at Work Wisdom in Lancaster, from left: Mary Alice Fallon Feskey; Jamie Arroyo; Kate Coleman; Donunshae Sanders; Kedren Crosby; Kimberlee Peifer; Sarah Colantonio; Randy Berridge; and Anne Parmer. (PHOTO/SUBMITTED)So when […]
Sam Beiler and Jared Neff had been drawing up growth plans for their Lancaster-based startup, but the Covid-19 pandemic dashed their forays into raising outside capital. Now, their goal is to begin generating a profit more quickly.“That’s kind of the mindset of any startup right now,” said Beiler, co-founder and CEO of a social media […]
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