PSoTD

It is true, the Conodoguinet offers some quite soul-satisfying views.

I've always thought that the Harrisburg area is a good area for raising kids because of the cost of living...

The midstate is a top place to live for people who can't afford expensive cities such as New York and Los Angeles.

The Harrisburg-Carlisle area ranks third in a 2008 MSN Real Estate survey that looked at the best bargain markets nationwide.

MSN, Microsoft Corp.'s Web portal, asked Bert Sperling of Sperling's Best Places to come up with the nine most affordable housing markets by analyzing the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the United States.

Here's the nine most affordable markets:

Wichita, Kan.
Omaha-Council Bluffs (Nebraska-Iowa)
Harrisburg-Carlisle
Madison, Wis.
San Antonio
Indianapolis
Pittsburgh
Dallas-Fort Worth
Tulsa, Okla.

We'll be watching this eventually, I suspect.

But not THAT surprising, from Pennsylvania State Bank...

In early April 2008, we officially joined PNC. Later this summer, the Sterling Financial family of banks will join the PNC Bank network.

We couldn’t be more excited about the possibilities of what we will accomplish together.

We have a well-deserved reputation for exceptional financial services professionals who provide outstanding customer service. And it is our highest priority that this tradition continues.

Still... We have a business checking account AND a line of credit at Pennsylvania State Bank, and the first I heard of this was when I saw a new flyer at the bank counter on Thursday. Kinda wish they told me before I ordered 400 more checks.

On the upside, the closest branch is a much closer drive.

For those of us that travel west, this is sad but was a clearly impending development:

Harrisburg International Airport will lose daily nonstop flights to Pittsburgh at the beginning of September, airport spokesman Scott Miller said today.

US Airways has decided to eliminate its two daily nonstop flights from HIA to Pittsburgh, Miller said. US Airways did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

For the first 10 years that we lived in Central Pennsylvania, we probably flew US Airways 80% of the time. There were two main reasons for this:

The price out of Harrisburg on US Airways was very competitive with any other airport, as we were almost always flying to San Francisco.

We hate O'Hare as a transfer spot, and the Pittsburgh airport is great, and particularly easy when you have small kids.

So, cost and convenience, plus the flexibility of all the flights out of Harrisburg to Pittsburgh and then connecting directly to the West Coast, was cake.

Of course, US Airways' troubles ended that. First, their prices out of Harrisburg increased ridiculously, especially since we could find considerably lower priced flights out of Baltimore or Philly to the West Coast. Second, the cut back in flights out of Harrisburg to Pittsburgh made it a lot less convenient. It was a slow, but seemingly certain, demise in Harrisburg.

Harrisburg really needs a quality low-cost carrier to get flyers to a major hub to go elsewhere. Southwest would be great for Harrisburg. And could be great for Pittsburgh as well.

Celebrate them on Saturday, July 19, 2008.

Why does the city of Harrisburg believe that the cost of a parking ticket should be $14 if paid in the first 96 hours, and then $15 for 5-10 days after the violation? Why doesn't some intrepid Patriot reporter try to find out the believable reasoning for this price structure?

You may want to contribute to your community's Wikipedia entry, particularly the history. It jumps from 1765 to 1950.

June 30, 1863.

Prices are pretty good. My meal was pretty good, and my dumpling soup was delicious. The menu, and pricing, makes it look like it's a pretty darn good lunch deal as well. This is a reasonable review based on our experience.

Gotta remember to not try to drive through Mechanicsburg tomorrow afternoon after camp pick up. We've been to Jubilee Day before, and it's fine, but I'm not really hankering for funnel cake right now.

It really does - a group that will promote that location as a hub for quality businesses. Not necessarily retail, but quality.

I'm talking primarily of the part of the Pike from the Naval center to the intersection of the Pike (aka Market Street) and the Camp Hill Bypass. Anyone that drives that section of the Pike realizes that there is a large and growing population of empty buildings for lease on that stretch of road.

As business grows along the Carlisle Pike to the West, it is clearcutting the strip malls and other buildings on the Eastern section of the Pike of their occupants. There are several reasons why certain retail businesses would find the western section of the Pike more attractive - land for construction, more parking space areas, 4 lanes of traffic rather than 2 - but one good reason is because the developers of the malls and other businesses on the Western side are trumpeting the location to any business who can hear.

Eastern Carlisle Pike has no such voice. And there are benefits to this area for business locations as well. I suspect that more people actually live within walking distance of the Eastern Carlisle Pike than the Western Carlisle Pike, as defined above. Some of it offers views of the Conodoguinet Creek. It has a more local building flavor than the Western CP, which basically looks like buildings you can see on any main road in the country. I'm sure there are more - but nobody thinks about it, and nobody promotes them.

The last thing that residents near the Eastern Carlisle Pike should want to see are continuing and structural vacancies on this main artery. That can be the first step in a slow decline of the whole area, particularly if economics pressure property owners to lease properties to less reputable businesses. The Eastern Carlisle Pike needs a citizen group to work towards improving the visibility and reputation of that stretch in a way compatible with the area.

I had NO idea.

"Out of the polluted waters of the Susquehanna, rises the fiendish yet sexy collective of mutant mama's. Get ready for some radioactive action in the skating rink!"

Big ones are coming.

36% rate increase

22% increase

16% increase

15% increase

Central Pennsylvania: Seen your PP&L bill yet? An increase is proposed.

At the Hampden Township Pool. And the water wasn't so cold that people didnt' go in, but one or two swim times in the pool was enough for our family.

The pool has always been nice in our experience, but they've made some improvements in the offseason to the toddler pool and the dressing rooms, and it's even better. It's by far one of the best entertainment values on the West Shore, so a tip of the hat to the Hampden Township Commissioners and staff that make it work every year.

It doesn't appear that Orrs Bridge in Hampden Township "made" the Rebuild PA Accelerated Bridge Program.

Greek Festivals happened all over the country this past weekend. We went Sunday to the Camp Hill festival after the rain finally passed. We try to do this every year because we love the food. Very low attendance at 2:30 on Sunday, they were actually selling desserts at a 2 for 1 price. If only they would do that with the gyros and souvlaki!

Looks like weather played havoc with their crowds, but it has to rain harder than that to keep us away.

This sounds familiar.

The line just a few hours after the first Five Guys hamburger haven opened in Monroe County on Sunday showed that patrons at the Shoppes at Stroud Center are hungry for a change of pace.

"I was thrilled," said owner Ann Negvesky after the opening. "Monroe (County) has embraced our burgers. It exceeded expectations."

Negvesky said that a demographic study indicated the Route 611 shopping center in Stroudsburg is the most feasible spot in the area. Although it is a bit tucked away from the focal point of shoppers' vision, the distinguishable red-and-white logo captured the curiosity of enough patrons to keep the line rebuilding as a coterie of employees bumped elbows providing brisk service.

Galvanized pails of peanuts were placed on the tables, and in the back of the business there were 30 sacks of potatoes and a dozen boxes of peanut oil.

"We want people to see that everything here is fresh," said Negvesky. "We pride ourselves as a cool, fun place to be. There's no frills here. What you'll expect is the best burger you ever had."

You know, the same story basically played itself last year in Mechanicsburg at the Five Guys on the Carlisle Pike. Their parking lot was full every day. But here it is, a year later, and I drive past the place almost every day around lunchtime, and usually the lot is less than half full. Monday there were four cars in the lot.

Their burgers are tasty, but this IS a premium priced fast food hamburger. And in today's economy, I wonder how well such a place can do for the long haul. You can still figure out a meal for 4 for $7 at the grocery, which is what a burger and a soft drink will set you back at Five Guys. It just seems like more people are likely to go the grocery route now than they did just a few months ago, and that's probably the way it will be for a while.

For whatever reason the official site isn't working, but it's coming up in Camp Hill, May 16 - 18.

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church Greek Festival in Camp Hill PA May 16 to 18 2008

Start Date/Time Friday, May 16, 2008 11:00 AM

End Date/Time Sunday, May 18, 2008 4:00 PM

The Greek Festival at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church will take place from May 16 to May 18 2008 on the church grounds of the church located at 1000 Yverdon Drive, Camp Hill, PA.

They won the regional 24 tournament today. And it was pretty cool to see 17 schools support their math student teams that were enjoying this game so much.

Nick Tran reads and writes as well as any other fourth-grader, but he communicates best in a language without letters, one he visualizes.

He found a club of like-minded students at Sporting Hill Elementary School, in the Cumberland Valley School District, and a teacher who stays with them after school so they can connect.

Student conversation is rapid-fire and goes like this: "Three times eight is 24, five minus four equals one, and one times 24 equals 24!"

The Sporting Hill students "speak" in numbers as teacher Joan Gillis coaches them through rounds of a game called Math 24.

They're proving fluent.

Nick, classmate Braydon Kylor and fifth-graders Rachel Kang, Cece Kessler and Matthew Heidelbaugh last month outscored Math 24 teams from six other district elementary schools.

Today, they're matching wits with students across the midstate in the 24 Challenge Math tournament hosted by Cumberland Valley.

Young mathematicians in attendance are from Mechanicsburg, Camp Hill, Lower Dauphin and Steelton-Highspire school districts and Holy Name of Jesus and Saint Joan of Arc Catholic schools.

They are competing to be the fastest to add, subtract, multiply and divide numbers on four corners of the blue Math 24 game cards to reach a total of 24. Students who reach a solution first must tap a card, then cite every step of their answer within 15 seconds.

Players must have rules of number operations committed to memory to be competitive. Many also memorize exact formula sequences to solve dozens of cards. But that isn't necessary to play well.

"I can't memorize things, so I have to [solve] each one," said Rachel, who is Sporting Hill's individual champ.

In last week's practice, it was clear she and her teammates enjoy the mental math. Laughs and high-fives follow the verbal equations that rush between them.

"In language arts, you have to read; but in math, you just do problems," Nick said.

This time, the U.S. Postal Service Kiosk. I wonder what will happen with this space - it has a slab for something more than parking.

I use inkJETS Printing for various business and other printing projects, and am very happy with their work. They've opened up a shirt printing business as well, and I wanted to give them a plug. They're in the Carlisle Pike in the strip mall behind the Five Guys.

The Ninth Annual Country Classic, with events for runners, joggers, walkers, and cyclists, takes place on May 3, 2008, in Washington Borough.

We had dinner at Carley's in Harrisburg last night to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. Very good, we really enjoyed the asparagus in brandy and cream sauce, we'll return. But they do need to fill out the details on their web site.

Weather-wise we couldn't have asked for a nice evening to be walking around downtown Harrisburg...

It's likely to become a popular topic of discussion for the near future.

An accident this morning in Cumberland County is causing headaches along the Carlisle Pike. Around 9:15am a dump truck and a tanker truck carrying fuel collided in front of the Cumberland Valley School District Complex. As a precaution, the district's administration building was evacuated, but students at the high school are not in any danger. Classes are going on as scheduled, but there will be no outdoor activity.

According to John Bruetsch, the Cumberland County Public Information Officer, the tanker was carrying 8,000 gallons of fuel. At this time they are not sure how much of it spilled into a nearby storm drain. Both hazmat crews and members of the Department of Environmental Protection are at the scene to do soil samples and water testing.

The Carlisle Pike is closed from Rich Valley Road to Locust Point. Cleanup is expected to last several hours.

Another shot of a mall, slowly losing stores...

It's bad when the parking lot has plenty of room for trucks.

You see these signs all over the Pike...

Local guy makes the blogs! What's next for Bruce Barclay? Courtesy of Talking Points Memo.

What is the deal with this property on the Carlisle Pike? It's been vacant for a long, long time - how come?

No, not for any sport - for Haar's Drive-In in Dillsburg.

We've become fans.

Slowly emptying.

Our neighborhood is over 40 years old in many parts (including the part where we live) and many of the trees in various yards were planted when the development was being built. We have a beautiful neighborhood of mature trees, plenty of summer shade, plenty of fall color, lots of raking...

And what seems to me to be a growing woodpecker population. I've always heard them around here, but as we wait at the bus stop, you can listen to their working signatures from various points in the neighborhood. At this time of year, most of the trees still appear dormant, so it may take a while to find the sickly oak or maple that is being worked upon, but there are a growing number of "feeding" trees for the woodpeckers. Tree cullers are going to be an even more common site in our neighborhood this summer...

BTW, we have 9 species of woodpeckers that either live year-round in Pennsylvania or visit the state in winter.

Finally got around to visiting our new casino up at Penn National last week and came away with mixed impressions.

The Good

Traffic was no problem and parking is free and easy. There's a parking garage attached to the casino with only a short walk to an entrance.

The horseracing experience has been upgraded. The set-up is similar to the old Penn National without the second and third floors and the grandstand seating. The Mountainview Terrace Restaurant occupies the lowest level, then box seats and finally an area at the top with concessions, tables and betting windows. I'm not sure but it appears you may need to go down through the casino to get trackside. They've also added a Simulcast Theater.

Tough for me to judge the slots. I'd find more entertainment value in tossing quarters off the Walnut Street bridge. But they have plenty of them - although I didn't see some of the most popular machines I've seen in Vegas like "Price is Right". They have an automated $10 Blackjack kiosk game that seats about 15 which was always full. There is also small section of video poker games in the back of the casino which I do like to play.

The entire facility was clean and well-lit.

The Not So Good

Their design consultant ripped them off. The Hollywood theme is cheesy and unimaginative. It basically consists of large movie poster billboards around the place - mostly for recent B movies - and some fancy lighting. The lounge showpiece is a large sky screen over the stage but it seemed kind of pointless to me. They are booking local acts but the music experience is antiseptic with recording music cutting off the bands if they play past their allotted time. Not a place to go for music.

The Bad

Hollywood Casino advertises six restaurants but only two offer table service. One of those is the expensive Mountainview Terrace Dining Room which serves a limited menu and is geared to horseplayers. The other is the Hollywood Skybox Sports Bar. Moderately priced pub menu but since it's the only sit-down restaurant, it fills up fast when the casino is busy. The other four are not much more than glorified concession stands. Place your order and take a number. Very disappointing.

Service in general was average to below. Tough to get a drink in the casino. The bartenders in the lounge were slow and I was never approached by a cocktail waitress in my limited slot time. Not as bad up in the race area but the beers are 4.00 there as opposed to 2.50 at the OTB's.

Also this is not an "Under 21"-friendly place. They can get into the horseracing area upstairs but they are not allowed on the casino floor. Unless your children are fascinated watching degenerates gamble on horses, I would advise against bringing the kids.

Conclusion

Even though it's far from what it could have been, you'll probably still have a good time at the Casino (especially if you are lucky enough to win some money) simply because it's a different kind of experience for the area.

Just remember... bet with your head not over it!

By the way, I'm happy with the peace sign by Atom Age Tattoo if you're looking for some artwork on your body on the West Shore.

After all, today is supposed to be a school day.