Latest news with #TimesLeader
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9 hours ago
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Wilkes-Barre Area celebrates Class of 2025
Jun. 4—WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Wilkes-Barre Area celebrated the Class of 2025 Wednesday with a commencement ceremony at the Mohegan Sun Arena. This year's seniors were the first to graduate after spending four full years in the new high school. Speakers included Valedictorian Angelena Tokiko Mendola, Salutatorian Angelique Maxine Calise Martinez, Principal Michael Grebeck and Superintendent Brian Costello. For more information about the ceremony, including a full list of graduates, be sure to check out the Times Leader's special graduation section publishing later this month.
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3 days ago
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Look Back: Anniversary of D-Day this week
Jun. 1—This week marks 81 years since Operation Overlord — the Normandy landings in German occupied France by Allied forces during World War II — was launched on June 6, 1944. Wyoming Valley residents learned of the landings, known as D-Day, either by the crackle of a radio or the Wilkes-Barre Record newspaper with the bold headline, "Allies Invade France Across English Channel," published June 6, 1944. A large crowd gathered outside the Times Leader/Evening News/Record building on North Main Street, Wilkes-Barre, to hear reports from a radio placed in a window. Many churches and Jewish synagogues opened their doors for services with Catholic churches reciting the Holy Rosary every hour on the hour. Stores and coal collieries delayed opening, and many homes and businesses displayed the American flag upon hearing the news of D-Day. Following the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941, thousands of young men enlisted at local military recruiting offices. Upon completion of basic training, those young men were put into service either in the Pacific Theatre or the European Theatre during World War II. Anxious mothers and fathers waited days to hear if their sons took part in the Normandy landings. One of the first stories involving local servicemen being involved in D-Day was published in the June 10, 1944, editions of the Times Leader and Record. U.S. Army sergeants James P. Franklin Jr., of Shickshinny, and Samuel L. Latona, of Pittston, were aboard a glider-towing twin-engine Dakota when they were shot down by German flak just off the Normandy coastline, the newspapers reported. "They made a forced landing in the English channel about 10 miles off the coast and piled into a dinghy," reported the newspapers. After several hours floating in the channel, a British destroyer rescued the two local servicemen along with the rest of their crew. In early July 1944, local newspapers began reporting those who were killed, wounded or lost on D-Day. "World War 2 has claimed the lives of two more servicemen from the area, another is reported missing in action, and four are listed as wounded in action in latest casualty announcements by the War and Navy Departments," reported the Record July 5, 1944. The first notification of killed-in-action of local servicemen were U.S. Army Pfc. George Kashula, 22, of 38 Park St., Korn Krest, Hanover Township; and U.S. Army Pfc. Bernard John Loboda, 25, of 405 S. Sherman St., Wilkes-Barre. Kashula, who served in the 453rd Quartermaster Truck Company, 5th Engineer Special Brigade; and Loboda, with the 5th Ranger Battalion, Company F, were killed on Omaha Beach on the first day of the Normandy landings.
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5 days ago
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Political consultant, Ed Mitchell, dies at 77
May 30—KINGSTON — Longtime political consultant Ed Mitchell passed away Thursday at the age of 77, following a short illness. A complete story of Mitchell's life, including comments from family and close friends, will appear in the Sunday editions of the Times Leader. — Bill O'Boyle
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
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Wilkes-Barre hotel project moved from former Hotel Sterling site to old Martz Trailways building on Public Square
May 15—WILKES-BARRE — A long-awaited hotel and convention center originally planned for the former Sterling Hotel site will now be located in a vacant office building on Public Square, project officials announced Thursday. During a press conference at Wilkes-Barre City Hall, Mayor George Brown, along with developer Hysni 'Sam' Syla and project engineer George Albert, unveiled plans to use the old Martz Trailways building at 46 Public Square as the location for the $20 million project. "The hotel will be a milestone for Wilkes-Barre. The project will attract tourists, business travelers and large events, while creating good jobs for our residents. It's the perfect fit for our city's vibrant downtown and strategic location, making Wilkes-Barre a go-to destination for Northeastern Pennsylvania," Brown said. Renovations are expected to begin in the fall of this year, with a grand opening slated for mid-fall 2026. According to project officials, the hotel will feature 110 rooms and a 10,000-square-foot banquet hall capable of hosting 500 guests. Amenities are to include a fitness center, restaurants and a business lounge. According to Albert, the building has over 100 surface parking spaces located in the rear. Additionally, more parking is available at a public parking garage on North Main Street. Albert also said the hotel will be under a national brand, but it was too early in the process to release information on the name. Plans for the Sterling site are now once again up in the air, but Syla told the Times Leader Thursday that he is developing new plans for the site that should be announced soon. H&N Investments LLC originally purchased the property from the city in 2018 and later announced plans to construct a Gateway Hyatt Place Hotel and Conference Center there. Over the years since then, updates on the project came in fits and starts, with the last one in December 2024, when the developers were approved for several variances by the Wilkes-Barre Zoning Hearing Board to build a parking garage and lot on the proposed site. Stephen Barrouk, a commercial real estate broker, who Albert said is now no longer involved with the project, told the Downtown Residents Association back in March that he expected to break ground on the project in a few months. However, Albert explained at the press conference that the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed the dynamic of the hospitality business, causing supply chain issues and labor shortages that are still affecting the industry today. "The hotels essentially shut down, ultimately making it almost impossible or very challenging to obtain financing for the project and ultimately resulting in cost increases of almost a hundred percent for construction," Albert explained. The engineer said what was once a $20 million project ballooned to over $40 million this year. "Ultimately, over time, the project scope there got chiseled away," Albert said. "We had a big rooftop bar, we had multiple restaurants, we had a huge banquet facility. And as the dollars rose and the cost increased, we continued to squeeze out the scope of that project to only being a hotel with a small internal restaurant." There also wasn't adequate parking at the Sterling site and Albert said construction of a parking garage on the property would have compromised half of it. However, with the recent acquisition of the building on Public Square, project officials are planning to return to their original, grander plans for the project. In closing, Albert thanked Brown, city council and the community at large for helping move the project forward for the last roughly 6 years. "We want to see the city succeed and this is our goal," Albert said. Syla also expressed his gratitude to the mayor and the city, as well as to Sen. Marty Flynn Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski for their continued support. "Today I am very happy. Not just for me, for myself, which I do something. But six years ago, I promised here to everybody, to people, we're gonna do hotel," he said. Additionally, Flynn expressed his commitment to securing state resources to ultimately finish the project. He said the hotel will fill a demand that has yet to be fulfilled in the city. He continued, "You know, the downtown is really buzzing, but the investment in downtown has been historic year after year for the past 10 years. And we — this will be a wonderful addition to downtown Wilkes-Barre and we're interested in getting this to the finish line." Pashinski expressed similar sentiments. "The bottom line is, I think what's going to occur with this development is gonna be very, very important, very special to Wilkes-Barre and also to the surrounding areas," he said. According to previous reporting, 46 Public Square was previously scheduled for online auction beginning April 7. The building once housed the Martz bus terminal before it moved to the nearby James Conahan Intermodal Facility and also was home to Mimmo's Pizza, which closed last April after 42 years.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- General
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Wilkes-Barre apartment building condemned, residents displaced
Apr. 30—WILKES-BARRE — Residents of an East Union Street apartment building that included King's College students were forced to vacate their homes this week after the building was condemned due to significant building code violations. A sign taped to the door of 16-22 East Union St. said the building was unfit for human occupancy as of Tuesday. The notice, signed by Wilkes-Barre Building Code Official Dan Kratz, said a roof leak and plumbing issues were among the reasons for the posting. The building also does not have a fire alarm and is an electrical hazard, he said. Additionally, Kratz told the Times Leader that the elevator does not have current certification. According to a work permit posted to the window, the building is owned by Juanta Raja LLC, Janti Rani LLC, and Kathal Realty LLC. City Administrator Charlie McCormick said the building was inspected about a month and a half ago due to a complaint about the roof leaking into an apartment. Inspectors then found other issues that needed to be addressed. The issues were not fixed when inspectors returned this week, McCormick said. McCormick said he believed some residents were students of King's College and that the school had a process with which to find alternative housing for them. King's College Public Relations Manager Will Skaggs told the Times Leader that 12 students in total were displaced, all of whom were offered emergency on-campus housing as well as help securing on-campus housing for next year. In addition, Skaggs said the college will provide them with food and parking assistance as needed. City Health Department Social Worker Gail Malloy, a registered nurse, offered additional help, directing residents to various community resources. McCormick stated that no one would be able to move back into the building until all of the violations were resolved. Efforts to reach the building owners for comment Wednesday were not immediately successful.
