As uncertainty over tariffs froze customer orders in the spring, JLS Automation in York County laid off 10% of its workforce. Business began to come back over the summer, JLS president and CEO Craig Souser said in an early August interview. The York-area company, which employs about 130 people, assembles automated packaging lines for food companies. “It’s […]
Mark Shell has been named chief technology officer at Ephrata National Bank, a new role for the growing Lancaster County-based lender. The new exexcutive is coming on board as Ephrata National prepares to absorb its first-ever acquisition, a $30.8 million deal for Maryland-based Cecil Bancorp expected to close in early 2026. Shell, who has 25 years of IT […]
West Shore Home is relocating its branch on the West Shore. The Cumberland County-based home improvement contractor sold a 13,225-square-foot flex space at 5024 Simpson Ferry Road in Lower Allen Township and is moving into 22,000 square feet of leased space at 5073 Ritter Road in Upper Allen Township, according to Lemoyne-based real estate firm Campbell Commercial […]
Painterland Sisters, an organic yogurt maker based in Lititz, just raked in a seven-figure sum from a bevy of investors, according to company spokesperson Chloe Schwartz. Schwartz declined to share the precise amount raised in the seed funding round, which was disclosed yesterday. But the money will provide working capital to support innovation and operations for […]
Derek Shive has been named regional director for Central Pennsylvania for Community Options, a Princeton, New Jersey-based nonprofit providing services to people with disabilities. The Central PA region includes offices serving Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster and York counties. Shive succeeds Stacy Buchmann, who left for another job opportunity. Shive worked most recently as executive director of […]
Restaurants in Pennsylvania overcame a key obstacle in their long-running effort to recover tens of millions of dollars in fees from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board that the restaurants argue they never should have been charged. In a 31-page ruling last week, a Commonwealth Court judge said the restaurants could pursue a class-action lawsuit against the […]
Robert “Teke” Drummond has joined United Disabilities Services Foundation as senior vice president of business development. Drummond worked most recently in leadership roles at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, including as stint as director of outpatient services. At Lancaster-based United Disabilities, Drummond will focus on building new partnerships, driving sustainable growth and advancing the nonprofit’s […]
Frederick, Maryland-based WLR Automotive Group is planning to build a car wash at the northeast corner of Route 30 and North Hills Road in Springettsbury Township, York County, one of the busiest intersections in the county. WLR operates car washes under The Auto Spa and The Auto Spa Express brands. Township supervisors signed off on land development plans earlier this year, […]
Regional nonprofit Pennon is juggling two media operations amid stiff financial headwinds. Its signature public media station, WITF, is facing a loss of federal funding. Its newspaper business, LNP Media Group, is laboring under declining ad sales and relatively stable fixed costs. Pennon’s board is eyeing operational changes, but leaders are not yet ready to share details. “We are […]
Vitetta, a DRG Architects Company, is leasing 3,250 square feet of office space on the second floor of an office building at 211 House Ave. in Camp Hill. Vitetta will be relocating from their existing office on North 12th Street in Lemoyne. Jessica Gasper and Art Campbell of Campbell Commercial Partners represented both parties in […]
Flooring manufacturer AHF Products is closing a factory in Somerset, Kentucky, and moving production to other facilities. The decision follows an internal review finding that consolidating production is the best way to match the company’s factory capacity with the current and projected demand for its products, according to a company release. The Kentucky plant employs […]
It took a York County judge about 25 minutes to approve the closure of a business that has operated for more than 20 years. Barring any last-minute legal twists, Moon Dancer Vineyards & Winery in Lower Windsor Township must close “immediately” under an order approved at a hearing yesterday morning before Court of Common Pleas Judge Matthew […]
Michael Killion has been named vice president of McNees Government Relations, the lobbying arm of Harrisburg-based law firm McNees Wallace & Nurick. Killion worked most recently as deputy general counsel for Canonsburg-based Equitrans Midstream Corp., where he led state and federal government affairs. He previously worked as corporate director of government affairs for Pittsburgh-based EQT […]
A suburban Harrisburg golf course is preparing to swap drivers for data. The Dauphin County General Authority voted yesterday to sell the Dauphin Highlands Golf Course for $45.6 million to a Texas company planning a data center on the 228-acre property in Swatara Township and Steelton. But there’s time for a few more rounds of golf. The […]
Chief executive is not the only job turning over at The Hershey Co. this week. Kirk Tanner took over on Monday as president and CEO, succeeding Michele Buck, who is retiring after leading the candy and snack maker for eight years. But Hershey also named a new chair for its board and a new chief human resources officer. […]
Warren Pattison has been named vice president of digital experience at PSECU, a Harrisburg-based credit union. Pattison worked most recenty as general manager of digital servicing for Alliant Credit Union, where he led business units focused on productivity and operational excellence. He worked before that as vice president of emerging technology and innovation at United […]
A real estate investment firm based in East Syracuse, New York, paid $4.7 million last month for Newberrytown Auto Salvage in Newberry Township, York County. according to Keith Kahlbaugh, an agent with York-based real estate firm Bennett Williams Commercial. Kahlbaugh and Bennett Williams agent Denny Neiman represented the salvage company’s sellers, who are retiring. The new owner, investment […]
A state court rejected an appeal from a York County winery fighting orders that it shut down. The decision last week by Superior Court of Pennsylvania forestalls one of the last legal avenues available to Moon Dancer Vineyards & Winery in its long-running battle with neighbors who want the venue to cease operations. The neighbors — Amanda […]
Three York-based law firms are becoming one in a merger slated to close Oct. 1. The firms are Blakey Yost Bupp & Rausch; Griest Himes Herrold Reynosa; and MPL Law Firm.“We all have great respect for each other and we have always worked well together even when on opposing sides,” said James Sanders, an attorney at MPL. “We decided that […]
A state court has sided with online retailers who say they are being unfairly targeted by Pennsylvania tax collectors. In a ruling Friday, Commonwealth Court blocked efforts by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue to collect state sales and personal income taxes from the retailers, which sell their products through Amazon.At issue are back taxes the state […]
State health officials have dropped a legal action seeking to reinstate their controversial recall of medical marijuana vapes. The move before the state Supreme Court doesn’t end the legal fight. It simply means the Department of Health is no longer appealing a lower-court ruling that put the recall on holdNonetheless, it was welcomed by the medical […]
Local banks are telling a Lancaster County court that they need more time and information to assess a deal that would settle debts from the estate of the late developer Richard Welkowitz. The estate has proposed selling off its stake in ventures that own more than 5,000 ATMs for $13.8 million to a Lancaster-based private equity firm, Heller […]
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet has joined a string of retailers accused of improperly denying overtime pay to people who hold management jobs in their stores. Two salaried employees in New York have filed lawsuits claiming Ollie’s should have paid them overtime since their duties were “virtually indistinguishable” from those of hourly workers.The suits, filed in a federal […]
A state court has reversed a decision that could have added millions of dollars in costs to construction projects financed with bonds issued by municipal authorities. The ruling last week by Commonwealth Court revolved around interpretations of the state’s prevailing-wage law, which sets a minimum wage for workers on projects funded by public money.The case arose […]
After trading legal blows for more than a year, the feuding owners of United Fiber & Data have reached a settlement. The confidential deal ends legal sparring that began in 2020 over the company, which was founded in York by members of the rock band Live and their business partner, Bill Hynes. The fight had narrowed in recent months to […]
The estate of late Lancaster County developer Richard Welkowitz is hoping to make a deal to settle its debts, according to a filing in Lancaster County court. The proposed deal would funnel money to the estate’s secured and unsecured creditors and it would allow the estate to avoid a potential tax hit, according to the […]
McNees Wallace & Nurick has launched HR Influenced, a subsidiary that will offer HR consulting services under the umbrella of the Harrisburg-based law firm, which also houses a labor and employment legal practice. The new venture is headed by Kristen Evans, an experienced HR executive.Her career includes stints at York-based PACE Resources, Cintas, Harrisburg-based developer […]
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 […]
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 […]
The Covid-19 pandemic has fueled a range of legal battles in Pennsylvania. Those battles are now the subject of a seminar at Widener University Commonwealth Law School.
A popular Lancaster County attraction has joined a growing throng of companies taking a federal agency to court after being denied grants designed to help live-event venues survive the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Pennsylvania Builders Association doesn’t oppose standards that ensure buildings are accessible to people with disabilities. It opposes the most-recent revision process, which could raise construction costs for multifamily buildings going forward,
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 […]
Jabron Taylor wanted to tempt local taste buds with something new. Inspired by the 2019 chicken war between Popeyes and Chick-fil-A, Taylor settled on a recipe based on the Nashville hot chicken sandwich, the signature dish of America’s country music capital but a rarity in Central Pennsylvania. Since November 2019, he and several partners have […]
Editor’s note: This story first appeared in the April 22 issue of BizNewsPA What do a pizzeria, a dental practice and a bridal shop have in common? They are among the plaintiffs in a string of class-action lawsuits seeking to force insurers to reimburse businesses for income lost during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a joint […]
A new developer is getting a crack at bringing life to a former industrial tract in York. At a meeting last week, the Redevelopment Authority of the City of York awarded a six-month option on a 4.4-acre site in the Northwest Triangle to Statewide Partners, a regional firm with offices in Harrisburg and York. Preliminary sketches from Statewide show […]
A buyer has finalized the $10.01 million purchase of the Ronald Reagan Federal Building in downtown Harrisburg. However, the buyer’s identity remains a mystery.A deed filed with Dauphin County lists the buyer as R.R.F. Building LLC,which has a tax billing address at a law firm in South Carolina. Efforts to reach the law firm, De Bruin Law, were not […]
The warehouse project is still a long way from approval. But concepts floated by Missouri-based NorthPoint Development show roughly 1.5 million to 2 million square feet of warehouse space in multiple buildings, according to Tim James, manager of Manchester Township, where the project is being considered.
Bidding is scheduled to open Jan. 31 in an auction for the 129-room Comfort Inn & Suites York, which is off Interstate 83 at 2250 N. George St. in Manchester Township.
Seeded by a $1 million donation from grocery chain The Giant Co., Harrisburg University is hoping to plant a new center for agricultural research in the capital city.
The past year in Central Pennsylvania real estate was punctuated by some high-profile deals, as well as a torrid market for warehouses and other industrial properties. Here’s a look at what transpired in 2021.
A New York investment firm paid $24.4 million for a roughly 255,000 square-foot warehouse in Hampden Township, Cumberland County, continuing a string of multimillion-dollar deals for area warehouses. The property, acquired by Brickman, is fully leased, according to real estate firm JLL Capital Markets, which marketed the building at 301 Railroad Ave.The seller was a subsidiary of a […]