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Miami Herald
12-06-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
As health grants shrink, memory cafes help dementia patients and caregivers
Rob Kennedy mingled with about a dozen other people in a community space in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. The room, decorated with an under-the-sea theme, had a balloon arch decked out with streamers meant to look like jellyfish and a cloud of clear balloons mimicking ocean bubbles. Kennedy comes to this memory cafe twice a month since being diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease in his late 50s. Everyone here has a degree of memory loss or is a caregiver for someone with memory loss. Attendees colored on worksheets with an underwater theme. They drank coffee and returned to the breakfast bar for seconds on pastries. A quick round of trivia got everyone's minds working. 'We start out with just little trivia — many of us cannot answer any of the questions,' Kennedy said with a laugh. 'We all have a good time going around,' he added. 'You know, we all try to make it fun.' The northeastern Pennsylvania memory cafe Kennedy attends is one of more than 600 around the country, according to Dementia Friendly America. The gatherings for people with cognitive impairment and their caregivers are relatively cheap and easy to run — often the only expense is a small rental fee for the space. As state and local health departments nationwide try to make sense of what the potential loss of $11 billion of federal health funding will mean for the services they can offer their communities, memory cafe organizers believe their work may become even more important. Losing memory, and other things, too Kennedy's diagnosis led him to retire, ending a decades-long career as a software engineer at the University of Scranton. He recommends memory cafes to other people with dementia and their families. 'If they're not coming to a place like this, they're doing themselves a disservice. You got to get out there and see people that are laughing.' The memory cafes he attends happen twice a month. They have given him purpose, Kennedy said, and help him cope with negative emotions around his diagnosis. 'I came in and I was miserable,' Kennedy said. 'I come in now and it's like, it's family, it's a big, extended family. I get to meet them. I get to meet their partners. I get to meet their children. So, it's really nice.' More than 6 million people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with some form of dementia. The diagnosis can be burdensome on relationships, particularly with family members who are the primary caregivers. A new report from the Alzheimer's Association found that 70% of caregivers reported that coordinating care is stressful. Socializing can also become more difficult after diagnosis. 'One thing I have heard again and again from people who come to our memory cafe is 'all of our friends disappeared,'' said Beth Soltzberg, a social worker at Jewish Family and Children's Service of Greater Boston, where she directs the Alzheimer's and related dementia family support program. The inclusion of caregivers is what distinguishes memory cafes from other programs that serve people with cognitive impairment, like adult day care. Memory cafes don't offer formal therapies. At a memory cafe, having fun together and being social supports the well-being of participants. And that support is for the patient and their caregiver — because both can experience social isolation and distress after a diagnosis. A 2021 study published in Frontiers in Public Health indicated that even online memory cafes during the pandemic provided social support for both patients and their family members. 'A memory cafe is a cafe which recognizes that some of the clients here may have cognitive impairment, some may not,' said Jason Karlawish, a geriatrics professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine and the co-director of the Penn Memory Center. Karlawish regularly recommends memory cafes to his patients, in part because they benefit caregivers as well. 'The caregiver-patient dyad, I find often, has achieved some degree of connection and enjoyment in doing things together,' Karlawish said. 'For many, that's a very gratifying experience, because dementia does reshape relationships.' 'That socialization really does help ease the stress that they feel from being a caregiver,' said Kyra O'Brien, a neurologist who also teaches at Penn's Perelman School of Medicine. 'We know that patients have better quality of life when their caregivers are under less stress.' An affordable way to address a growing problem As the population grows older, the number of available family caregivers is decreasing, according to the AARP Public Policy Institute. The report found that the number of potential caregivers for an individual 80 or older will decrease significantly by 2050. In 2024, the Alzheimer's Association issued a report projecting a jump in dementia cases in the U.S. from an estimated 6.9 million people age 65 or older currently living with Alzheimer's disease to 13.8 million people by 2060. It attributed this increase primarily to the aging of the baby boom generation, or those born between 1946 and 1964. As cases of memory loss are projected to rise, the Trump administration is attempting to cut billions in health spending. Since memory cafes don't rely on federal dollars, they may become an even more important part of the continuum of care for people with memory loss and their loved ones. 'We're fighting off some pretty significant Medicaid cuts at the congressional level,' said Georgia Goodman, director of Medicaid policy for LeadingAge, a national nonprofit network of services for people as they age. 'Medicaid is a program that doesn't necessarily pay for memory cafes, but thinking about ensuring that the long-term care continuum and the funding mechanisms that support it are robust and remain available for folks is going to be key.' The nonprofit MemoryLane Care Services operates two memory cafes in Toledo, Ohio. They're virtually free to operate, because they take place in venues that don't require payment, according to Salli Bollin, the executive director. 'That really helps from a cost standpoint, from a funding standpoint,' Bollin said. One of the memory cafes takes place once a month at a local coffee shop. The other meets at the Toledo Museum of Art. MemoryLane Care Services provides the museum employees with training in dementia sensitivity so they can lead tours for the memory cafe participants. The memory cafe that Rob Kennedy attends in Pennsylvania costs about $150 a month to run, according to the host organization, The Gathering Place. 'This is a labor of love,' said board member Paula Baillie, referring to the volunteers who run the memory cafe. 'The fact that they're giving up time — they recognize that this is important.' The monthly budget goes toward crafts, books, coffee, snacks, and some utilities for the two-hour meetings. Local foundations provide grants that help cover those costs. Even though memory cafes are inexpensive and not dependent on federal funding, they could face indirect obstacles because of the Trump administration's recent funding cuts. Organizers worry the loss of federal funds could negatively affect the host institutions, such as libraries and other community spaces. Memory cafe hot spot At least 39 states have hosted memory cafes recently, according to Dementia Friendly America. Wisconsin has the most — more than 100. The state has a strong infrastructure focused on memory care, which should keep its memory cafes running regardless of what is happening at the federal level, according to Susan McFadden, a professor emerita of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. She co-founded the Fox Valley Memory Project, which oversees 14 memory cafes. 'They've operated on the grassroots, they've operated on pretty small budgets and a lot of goodwill,' she said. Since 2013, Wisconsin has also had a unique network for dementia care, with state-funded dementia care specialists for each county and federally recognized tribe in Wisconsin. The specialists help connect individuals with cognitive impairment to community resources, bolstering memory cafe attendance. McFadden first heard about memory cafes in 2011, before they were popular in the United States. She was conducting research on memory and teaching courses on aging. McFadden reached out to memory cafes in the United Kingdom, where the model was already popular and well connected. Memory cafe organizers invited her to visit and observe them in person, so she planned a trip overseas with her husband. Their tour skipped over the typical tourist hot spots, taking them to more humble settings. 'We saw church basements and senior center dining rooms and assisted living dining rooms,' she said. 'That, to me, is really the core of memory cafes. It's hospitality. It's reaching out to people you don't know and welcoming them, and that's what they did for us.' After her trip, McFadden started applying for grants and scouting locations that could host memory cafes in Wisconsin. She opened her first one in Appleton, Wisconsin, in 2012, just over a year after her transformative trip to the U.K. These days, she points interested people to a national directory of memory cafes hosted by Dementia Friendly America. The organization's Memory Cafe Alliance also offers training modules — developed by McFadden and her colleague Anne Basting — to help people establish cafes in their own communities, wherever they are. 'They're not so hard to set up; they're not expensive,' McFadden said. 'It doesn't require an act of the legislature to do a memory cafe. It takes community engagement.' This article is part of a partnership with NPR and WVIA. KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.
Medscape
11-06-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Memory Cafes Help Dementia Patients and Their Caregivers
Rob Kennedy mingled with about a dozen other people in a community space in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. The room, decorated with an under-the-sea theme, had a balloon arch decked out with streamers meant to look like jellyfish and a cloud of clear balloons mimicking ocean bubbles. Kennedy comes to this memory cafe twice a month since being diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease in his late 50s. Everyone here has a degree of memory loss or is a caregiver for someone with memory loss. Attendees colored on worksheets with an underwater theme. They drank coffee and returned to the breakfast bar for seconds on pastries. A quick round of trivia got everyone's minds working. 'We start out with just little trivia — many of us cannot answer any of the questions,' Kennedy said with a laugh. 'We all have a good time going around,' he added. 'You know, we all try to make it fun.' The northeastern Pennsylvania memory cafe Kennedy attends is one of more than 600 around the country, according to Dementia Friendly America. The gatherings for people with cognitive impairment and their caregivers are relatively cheap and easy to run — often the only expense is a small rental fee for the space. As state and local health departments nationwide try to make sense of what the potential loss of $11 billion of federal health funding will mean for the services they can offer their communities, memory cafe organizers believe their work may become even more important. Losing Memory, and Other Things, Too Kennedy's diagnosis led him to retire, ending a decades-long career as a software engineer at the University of Scranton. He recommends memory cafes to other people with dementia and their families. 'If they're not coming to a place like this, they're doing themselves a disservice. You got to get out there and see people that are laughing.' The memory cafes he attends happen twice a month. They have given him purpose, Kennedy said, and help him cope with negative emotions around his diagnosis. 'I came in and I was miserable,' Kennedy said. 'I come in now and it's like, it's family, it's a big, extended family. I get to meet them. I get to meet their partners. I get to meet their children. So, it's really nice.' More than 6 million people in the US have been diagnosed with some form of dementia. The diagnosis can be burdensome on relationships, particularly with family members who are the primary caregivers. A new report from the Alzheimer's Association found that 70% of caregivers reported that coordinating care is stressful. Socializing can also become more difficult after diagnosis. 'One thing I have heard again and again from people who come to our memory cafe is 'all of our friends disappeared,'' said Beth Soltzberg, a social worker at Jewish Family and Children's Service of Greater Boston, where she directs the Alzheimer's and related dementia family support program. The inclusion of caregivers is what distinguishes memory cafes from other programs that serve people with cognitive impairment, like adult day care. Memory cafes don't offer formal therapies. At a memory cafe, having fun together and being social supports the well-being of participants. And that support is for the patient and their caregiver — because both can experience social isolation and distress after a diagnosis. A 2021 study published in Frontiers in Public Health indicated that even online memory cafes during the pandemic provided social support for both patients and their family members. 'A memory cafe is a cafe which recognizes that some of the clients here may have cognitive impairment, some may not,' said Jason Karlawish, a geriatrics professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine and the co-director of the Penn Memory Center. Karlawish regularly recommends memory cafes to his patients, in part because they benefit caregivers as well. 'The caregiver-patient dyad, I find often, has achieved some degree of connection and enjoyment in doing things together,' Karlawish said. 'For many, that's a very gratifying experience, because dementia does reshape relationships.' 'That socialization really does help ease the stress that they feel from being a caregiver,' said Kyra O'Brien, a neurologist who also teaches at Penn's Perelman School of Medicine. 'We know that patients have better quality of life when their caregivers are under less stress.' An Affordable Way to Address a Growing Problem As the population grows older, the number of available family caregivers is decreasing, according to the AARP Public Policy Institute. The report found that the number of potential caregivers for an individual 80 or older will decrease significantly by 2050. In 2024, the Alzheimer's Association issued a report projecting a jump in dementia cases in the US from an estimated 6.9 million people aged 65 years or older currently living with Alzheimer's disease to 13.8 million people by 2060. It attributed this increase primarily to the aging of the baby boom generation, or those born between 1946 and 1964. As cases of memory loss are projected to rise, the Trump administration is attempting to cut billions in health spending. Since memory cafes don't rely on federal dollars, they may become an even more important part of the continuum of care for people with memory loss and their loved ones. 'We're fighting off some pretty significant Medicaid cuts at the congressional level,' said Georgia Goodman, director of Medicaid policy for LeadingAge, a national nonprofit network of services for people as they age. 'Medicaid is a program that doesn't necessarily pay for memory cafes, but thinking about ensuring that the long-term care continuum and the funding mechanisms that support it are robust and remain available for folks is going to be key.' The nonprofit MemoryLane Care Services operates two memory cafes in Toledo, Ohio. They're virtually free to operate because they take place in venues that don't require payment, according to Salli Bollin, the executive director. 'That really helps from a cost standpoint, from a funding standpoint,' Bollin said. One of the memory cafes takes place once a month at a local coffee shop. The other meets at the Toledo Museum of Art. MemoryLane Care Services provides the museum employees with training in dementia sensitivity so they can lead tours for the memory cafe participants. The memory cafe that Rob Kennedy attends in Pennsylvania costs about $150 a month to run, according to the host organization, The Gathering Place. 'This is a labor of love,' said board member Paula Baillie, referring to the volunteers who run the memory cafe. 'The fact that they're giving up time — they recognize that this is important.' The monthly budget goes toward crafts, books, coffee, snacks, and some utilities for the 2-hour meetings. Local foundations provide grants that help cover those costs. Even though memory cafes are inexpensive and not dependent on federal funding, they could face indirect obstacles because of the Trump administration's recent funding cuts. Organizers worry the loss of federal funds could negatively affect the host institutions, such as libraries and other community spaces. Memory Cafe Hot Spot: Wisconsin At least 39 states have hosted memory cafes recently, according to Dementia Friendly America. Wisconsin has the most — more than 100. The state has a strong infrastructure focused on memory care, which should keep its memory cafes running regardless of what is happening at the federal level, according to Susan McFadden, a professor emerita of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. She co-founded the Fox Valley Memory Project, which oversees 14 memory cafes. 'They've operated on the grassroots, they've operated on pretty small budgets and a lot of goodwill,' she said. Since 2013, Wisconsin has also had a unique network for dementia care, with state-funded dementia care specialists for each county and federally recognized tribe in Wisconsin. The specialists help connect individuals with cognitive impairment to community resources, bolstering memory cafe attendance. McFadden first heard about memory cafes in 2011, before they were popular in the US. She was conducting research on memory and teaching courses on aging. McFadden reached out to memory cafes in the UK, where the model was already popular and well connected. Memory cafe organizers invited her to visit and observe them in person, so she planned a trip overseas with her husband. Their tour skipped over the typical tourist hot spots, taking them to more humble settings. 'We saw church basements and senior center dining rooms and assisted living dining rooms,' she said. 'That, to me, is really the core of memory cafes. It's hospitality. It's reaching out to people you don't know and welcoming them, and that's what they did for us.' After her trip, McFadden started applying for grants and scouting locations that could host memory cafes in Wisconsin. She opened her first one in Appleton, Wisconsin, in 2012, just over a year after her transformative trip to the UK. These days, she points interested people to a national directory of memory cafes hosted by Dementia Friendly America. The organization's Memory Cafe Alliance also offers training modules — developed by McFadden and her colleague Anne Basting — to help people establish cafes in their own communities, wherever they are. 'They're not so hard to set up; they're not expensive,' McFadden said. 'It doesn't require an act of the legislature to do a memory cafe. It takes community engagement.'
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Late Dickson City councilman remembered for dedication, vision for town
Mike Fedorka had a vision for Dickson City and spent more than 20 years fostering new development and improving a town he cared about deeply. Whether it was working with health care institutions on projects worth tens of millions of dollars or spearheading efforts for a new Borough Building, the longtime planning commission chairman and four-term borough councilman spent more than two decades committed to enhancing Dickson City. Fedorka, 69, died Sunday night after he was fatally injured in a head-on collision in the 700 block of North State Street in South Abington Twp. He was a husband, father and grandfather. 'There are few people who cared as much about Dickson City as Mike Fedorka did,' said council Vice President and planning Vice Chairman Robert Hall, a longtime friend of Fedorka's. Hall and Fedorka worked together on the planning commission for more than 20 years while also serving together on council. Fedorka won his first term on council in 2007 and was reelected four years later, serving through 2015. He was elected again in 2019 and reelected in 2023, with his current term set to expire Dec. 31, 2027. He also ran for Lackawanna County commissioner in 2023. * Democratic commissioner candidate Michael Fedorka debates in University of Scranton's Loyola Science Center in Scranton, Pa., on Thursday, April 27, 2023. (TIMES-TRIBUNE FILE) * Show Caption 1 of 2 Democratic commissioner candidate Michael Fedorka debates in University of Scranton's Loyola Science Center in Scranton, Pa., on Thursday, April 27, 2023. (TIMES-TRIBUNE FILE) Expand In a phone interview Tuesday, Hall recalled the 9 p.m. phone calls he'd receive as his colleague pored over planning documents into the night. 'He was sitting down at the Borough Building, looking at drawings, just trying to make things better, trying to help developers to move into our town,' Hall said, emphasizing that the planning commission is volunteer work and unpaid. 'He gave 110%, 100% of the time.' With about 25 years heading Dickson City's planning commission, Fedorka helped facilitate developments throughout the borough. 'Mike always had a vision, a long-term vision to bring these developers here, to add to our tax base,' Hall said. 'He just had it. He saw into the future a little bit.' Council President Jeff Kovaleski, who was elected to council in 2011, said he could only describe it as a friendship working with Fedorka. 'You might have differing sides on things, but at the end of the day, you're friends,' he said. 'Mike and I really all had the best outlook for Dickson City that you could possibly have. He always looked out for the citizens in the community.' Fedorka always put Dickson City residents first and looked at things 'from all different angles,' Kovaleski said. 'He was a true community guy,' he said. 'He lived in the community. He coached in the community. He constantly sponsored Little League teams.' Through his company, Fedorka Cabinetry, Fedorka sponsored local Little League teams for at least 15 years, including the Teener League team that Kovaleski currently coaches. 'I am so proud to wear the Fedorka shirt,' he said. Despite the time he committed to Dickson City, Fedorka always emphasized the importance of family, Kovaleski said. 'One of the things he had always said to me was, 'Always make time for your kids because you can't get that time back,'' Kovaleski said. 'He loved spending time with his family.' Mayor Robert MacCallum knew Fedorka for about 20 years, predating his political career, and worked with him first as Dickson City's controller and later as mayor. On Tuesday, MacCallum said the borough had received messages from elected officials at all levels of government in Pennsylvania regarding Fedorka's passing, including Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan and state Rep. Bridget Kosierowski, D-114, Waverly Twp., as well as from representatives on behalf of state Sen. Marty Flynn, D-22, Dunmore, and Gov. Josh Shapiro's office. 'He was always part of the community, and then he was just one of the best people to work with,' MacCallum said, praising Fedorka's work with both council and the planning commission. 'I view Mike as a family member.' Fedorka was always looking for new businesses and opportunities for Dickson City, MacCallum said. 'You knew things were going to be moved as quickly as they could be — government has a lot of red tape — but Mike was a stickler to the rules,' he said. 'We felt total confidence in Mike.' Both Kovaleski and Hall credited Fedorka for his role in helping Dickson City get a new Borough Building at 901 Enterprise St. 'I think that would be something that, if you asked Mike, he would look back on and say that was the thing he'd be most proud of,' Hall said. In early 2010, Dickson City council voted to purchase the building for $1.15 million, and the town received a $5.7 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fund a project to convert the building into a new municipal headquarters. When Lackawanna County put the building up for sale, Fedorka pitched the idea of buying it to his fellow council members, worked with the USDA to secure a low-interest loan and then essentially acted as the borough's construction manager, going to the construction site daily, Hall said. Carl Scartelli, right, gives a tour of construction in April 2013 at 8 Eagle Lane, that will be the site of Dickson City's new borough building. On the tour from left are: Alan Cerep, Dickson City Borough Engineer and construction manager; Cesare Forconi, borough manager; Mike Fedorka, borough council; Scott Allen, SDA Architects and Carl Scartelli. (TIMES-TRIBUNE FILE) The previous Borough Building on Boulevard Avenue was cramped with the Police Department working out of the basement, and it was not wheelchair accessible, Hall said. The end result was a Borough Building with a state-of-the-art police station and great Department of Public Works facilities, Hall said, calling it 'Mike Fedorka's vision.' Kovaleski also considers Fedorka a key figure in the development of Geisinger's $58 million project to construct a 61,000-square-foot cancer center off Viewmont Drive, which is set to open next month. 'When it's all said and done, to be able to leave your stamp on something that benefits hundreds, thousands of people who have cancer, I think that is going to be his most important signature item in Dickson City,' he said. Borough Manager Cesare Forconi said Fedorka was a friend and colleague for more than 25 years. He was instrumental in bringing both the Lehigh Valley Hospital–Dickson City on Main Street and Geisinger's cancer center to the borough, Forconi said. 'He was instrumental in developing the policies and functions of the Dickson City Planning Commission, working tireless hours, meeting with developers to help them meet the borough's requirements,' Forconi said. As a councilman, Fedorka supported council's vision for revitalizing Main Street, refurbishing parks and 'working together with the entire council to make many great things happen for Dickson City,' he said. 'His experience will be difficult, if not impossible, to replace,' Forconi said. 'We are all saddened by his untimely passing.' The borough hung bunting Tuesday on its Borough Building and flew its flags at half-staff in honor of Fedorka, Kovaleski said. Borough officials are now seeking legal advice for the processes to fill Fedorka's seats on planning and council.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Thursday event offers opportunity to meet Scranton School Board candidates
Voters will have a chance Thursday to meet the candidates for Scranton School Board before casting their ballots in Tuesday's municipal primary election. The Greater Scranton Martin Luther King Commission is sponsoring Thursday's meet-the-candidates event, which will run from 6-8 p.m. in the fifth-floor Rose Room of the University of Scranton's Brennan Hall. It will feature a Q&A session where members of the MLK Commission will ask questions of the candidates and give audience members an opportunity to ask additional questions, organizers said in an email. Heather Rhodes, Greater Scranton MLK Commission vice president, said the community has approached the commission over the years seeking information about candidates for the Scranton School Board. 'As a non-partisan group, we collectively decided to give the people the opportunity to learn who the candidates are and what they intend to do for our students if they are elected by hosting a 'Meet the Candidates' event at the University of Scranton,' Rhodes said in a statement. 'We are providing a platform where parents and members of the community may have the opportunity to submit questions or share personal anecdotes for the candidates to consider. This fosters the principle that voters will be equipped with vital information to make informed decisions on May 20th.' A total of six primary candidates for Scranton school director are vying to advance to November's municipal election, when four seats on the nine-member school board are up for grabs. They include incumbent school Director Danielle Chesek, recently appointed Director Jenna Strzelecki, former Director Carol J. Cleary and fellow candidates Julien M. Wells, John Howe and Joe Brazil. Chesek, Strzelecki, Wells, Howe and Brazil are all cross-filed, meaning they'll appear on both Democratic and Republican primary ballots seeking both Democratic and Republican nominations to advance to November. There are four Democratic and four GOP nominations to be won Tuesday, respectively, meaning a candidate could hypothetically finish outside of the top four in one party's primary and still secure enough support in the other's to earn a spot on the November ballot. Cleary, who isn't cross-filed, seeks only a Democratic nomination. She was previously appointed to fill a vacant seat on the school board in January 2022 and served until December 2023, following an unsuccessful run for a full term. Chesek won election to the school board in 2021, currently serves as the board's vice president and seeks a second term. Board members appointed Strzelecki late last month to fill the vacancy created by former Director Katie Gilmartin's resignation. She's serving the remainder of Gilmartin's term, which expires in December. That seat is on the ballot this year, with Strzelecki seeking election to a full four-year term. Brazil is the school district's retired former chief information officer. Light refreshments will be served at Thursday's MLK Commission-sponsored event. School directors serve without compensation.
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
School board past colors Scranton Democratic mayoral primary election
SCRANTON — The race for city mayor has raised issues of transparency, fairness and residency. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti faces in the May 20 primary Scranton Democratic Party Chairman Bob Sheridan. Two Republicans, Patricia 'Trish' Beynon and Lynn Labrosky, are running against each other for the GOP nomination. Scranton's first female mayor, Cognetti switched from Democratic to independent for the 2019 special election to fill the unexpired term of corrupt former Democratic Mayor Bill Courtright and won that crowded race. She sought reelection in 2021 as a Democrat to a full, four-year term and handily defeated Republican Darwin Shaw. Seeking reelection to another four-year term, Cognetti has cited as achievements her stewardship in improving city finances and stabilizing budgets, restoring integrity at City Hall, modernizing processes and upgrading technology, helping local businesses and improving parks throughout the city. While challenges remain, the city has been on the right track, she contends. The challengers, in their own ways, think the city is not on the right track in areas including crime, blight and taxes. The Republicans have refrained from fighting each other and have focused on Cognetti's tenure. During debates April 22 at the University of Scranton, the three challengers also separately raised as issues transparency, fairness and residency. Sheridan and Labrosky each stress they are lifelong city residents, while Beynon has lived in the city for over 34 years. Cognetti, a native of Beaverton, Oregon, made Scranton her home in 2016, about two years after earning her MBA from Harvard Business School. School board bad blood Previous challengers tried to paint Cognetti as an opportunistic interloper using City Hall as a stepping stone to higher office. Sheridan raised that opinion during the debate. Cognetti and Sheridan both previously served on the Scranton School Board, though not at the same time. Sheridan, a former eight-year member on the school board, lost in the 2017 primary and his second term ended Dec. 4, 2017. He was board president in his final two years. In October 2017, then-Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale issued a scathing audit of the Scranton School District that he called the worst he'd ever seen. The audit sharply criticized the district's poor financial condition and its bus contract payment of $26.1 million to Dunmore-based DeNaples Transportation over a 10-year period, including more than $4 million in questionable fuel surcharges. In mid-December 2017, the school board voted 8-0 to appoint Cognetti to fill the last two years of a vacancy. At that time, her MBA and experience as an adviser at the U.S. Treasury and an investment adviser at Goldman Sachs made her a strong candidate to help the financially struggling school district. She resigned from the school board in December 2018 to become a special assistant with an emphasis on school transportation contracts in the state Auditor General's Office. During her year on the school board, Cognetti questioned the legitimacy of the district's no-bid busing contract that was highlighted in DePasquale's audit. Board members viewed her contributions as helping increase transparency and accountability. At the April 22 debate, Sheridan cited comments Cognetti made on an April 10 podcast that 'she blamed me for … forging a contract.' During the podcast by The Philadelphia Citizen titled 'How to Really Run a City, Powered by Accelerator for America, Where Local Matters,' Cognetti spoke of her motivations in joining the school board and running for mayor, as well as her tenure so far and seeking reelection. She recalled how in 2017 she was reading in the newspaper about 'this corruption on our school board and in our school district,' and how she then spent 2018 on the board pushing for reforms. Then, Courtright's resignation in disgrace in 2019 also pointed to an 'unfortunate culture of corruption' in Northeast Pennsylvania, and she ran for mayor and won. Now, her primary election challenger is 'the school board president who just drained that district and gave health care to non-employees and forged bus contracts, things like that, he's running against me in the primary,' she said on the podcast, without mentioning Sheridan by name. During the debate between the Democrats, Sheridan said he'd like to see her back up that assertion of him forging bus contracts. In an interview Wednesday, Sheridan said he never forged a bus contract. 'Absolutely wrong. Lie,' Sheridan said. 'She outright lied. Outright lied. There was no evidence, ever. … She's trying to run on what happened to Bill Courtright and now putting me in that pail. Not right. Not right at all.' In an interview Thursday, Cognetti said, 'Bob was the president of the school board at a time when there was false billing for auto maintenance, there was non-employee health care, there were no-bid bus contracts and addendums to those bus contracts that were not procured, which was not legal. The district at the time had a financial adviser who was pulling in a commission-based payment to the tune of over $2 million in the course of four years. Bob Sheridan was the school board president when all of this happened. In the case of the health care and the auto maintenance bills, two people pleaded guilty to felonies in that. Sheridan was the board president at that time and it's interesting that he's trying to rewrite history. We're not going to let him do that.' Sheridan stressed he was never charged with forgery. Asked by The Times-Tribune if he committed forgery, Cognetti said, 'Bob Sheridan was president of the school board when a host of bills and contracts and documents went through the school board that allowed criminal activity to happen.' Residency rumors During the debate at two different times, Sheridan asked Cognetti whether she would serve out the full term if elected and whether she has lived in Scranton during her entire time as mayor. She did not reply to either question. During the first question, the moderator asked Sheridan, 'are you finishing your response,' and then moved on to another topic. During the second question, the moderator said, 'There won't be questions between the candidates' and 'Questions between the candidates will not be answered,' because the candidates agreed beforehand to rules of the debate that included not questioning each other. On Thursday, Cognetti said she has lived in the city since 2016. Regarding contentions otherwise, she said, 'It's been a false rumor for years. It's a very, very silly thing.' As for whether she would serve out another full term, Cognetti was noncommittal. 'I am running again because we have a great deal of more work to do. We have come a very, very long way from the disappointment of the former mayor, the disappointment of corruption in our area. People don't want corruption. They want good government.' Sheridan several times during the debate noted he is a retired city police officer and he knows what being an officer entails. Cognetti said of him, 'This is also a person who was involved in 'Exam Scam' (a conspiracy to rig city civil service tests) in the Police Department testing in 1985. People have not forgotten that. He can try to rewrite history as much as he wants but we're just going to do what the people of Scranton want, which is to run good, clean government.' Sheridan said he was a victim in Exam Scam and he passed the test fair and square. 'That was 40 years ago. I was just a victim like everybody else. There was 20 police officers. I took the test honestly, passed the test honestly. Nobody went to jail for that, no police officers went to jail. There was nothing (there) — it was administrative,' Sheridan said. 'There were 20 police officers, highly decorated officers, retired now most of them, living a happy life with their pensions, with their families. She's trying to make me into that whole 'back room boys.' I'm not.' Sheridan has recused himself as chairman of the city Democratic Committee while he runs for mayor. Financial transparency Beynon, who has lived in the city for over 34 years, is an accounting executive with Don Scartelli Construction Services and General Contractors of West Scranton. Her job includes managing the entire office, including preparing and submitting city and state documents, overseeing budgets, processing payroll, balancing the company's books and executing and submitting bids for construction projects, according to candidate background information posted online by the university for last month's debate. The Cognetti administration and the Scartelli firm have battled in court in recent years in two lawsuits involving renovation of the former Serrenti Army Reserve Center at Pine Street and Colfax Avenue, the Novembrino Splash Park in West Side, the South Tower of City Hall and the Capouse Splash Pad and Playground Project. The city sued the firm in 2023 to rescind the Serrenti Center contract with Scartelli, and that lawsuit referenced disputes over the Novembrino and South Tower projects. Last year, Ralph Scartelli sued the city over its rejecting the low bid of $1.99 million from the Scartelli firm for the Capouse project. This lawsuit aimed to prevent the city from awarding the contract to a different bidder, and the city agreed to rebid the project. The rebid held last month split the project into two parts. The city and the Scartelli firm were working on a joint settlement of both cases as recently as Thursday, according to a court scheduling order. During the debate between the Republican candidates, Beynon cited as a top priority transparency, saying, 'We don't know where all the money is going in the city of Scranton. … I would say have an audit of the city of Scranton to find out where the money is going. If we do a complete audit, we'll have a better understanding of where the money is going … something is going on behind closed doors, we need to find out what that is.' The city has an annual audit done. In an interview Wednesday, Beynon — who is engaged to Don Scartelli — said she'd like to see more details of finances and spending in annual budgets and audits, 'to break it down more so people could see more what's happening.' She also expressed frustration with what she believes have been unfair bidding processes. Cognetti replied Thursday that city budgets and audits are available on the city website. The administration also presents annual proposed budgets in detail to Scranton City Council during caucuses. 'Our administration is the most transparent administration that Scranton has ever seen,' Cognetti said. 'We came in because of a lack of transparency, as was the case with the Scranton School District, when I got a board seat there to try to clean things up.' Funding fairness The city received $68.7 million under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. During the debate, Labrosky, who along with her husband owns Labrosky's Automotive Service Center in South Scranton, found fault with the city's handling of the federal funds. 'I don't believe that that money was maybe managed as it could have been,' Labrosky said. 'We had applied for an ARPA grant for our business and we did not qualify for that grant, even though we qualified in every way, except at the end we were told we could not get the grant because we didn't have an occupancy permit.' She continued: 'Not funding a small business just because they don't have an occupancy permit doesn't make sense because there's things in place in Scranton, like grandfather laws and things like that, that could have helped with that.' The Labroskys bought the garage in 2012, according to the candidate background posted by the university. In an interview Wednesday, Labrosky said the couple applied last year to the city for a matching grant from ARPA funds to install new windows at the business, to recoup half of the total $10,000 cost. She spent weeks preparing the application but only found out at the end they didn't qualify for lack of a certificate of occupancy. When they bought the building, the garage was the same use as the prior owner and they were 'grandfathered in' and did not need a certificate of occupancy, she said. Labrosky said she suggested 'why not give money to help such those (grandfathered) businesses to mitigate to get up to code' to qualify for an occupancy permit. Cognetti said she could not speak specifically to Labrosky's ARPA grant application, but the city contributed almost $5 million in grants during the COVID years to help small businesses stay afloat. 'We are very proud of what we were able to do to help small businesses,' Cognetti said. 'We have very specific processes. We want to make sure that all of our recipients have all of their documents in order. We make sure everybody is all paid up on their taxes. We certainly want everything to be right from a code enforcement perspective. We're very particular. We have very high standards and we were successful in pushing out quite a lot of rescue plan dollars to help keep our economy going and keep family businesses afloat.' The winners of the primary will advance to the Nov. 4 general election. * Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti, at left, and Bob Sheridan, Democratic candidates for Scranton mayor in the May 20, 2025 primary election, shown during a debate on April 22, 2025 at the University of Scranton. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * Patricia 'Trish' Beynon, at left, and Lynn Labrosky, Republican candidates for Scranton mayor in the May 20, 2025 primary election, shown during a debate on April 22, 2025 at the University of Scranton. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * Scranton Mayor-Elect Paige Gebhardt Cognetti at Scranton City Hall in Scranton on Nov. 7, 2019. * Robert 'Bob' Sheridan, candidate in the 2025 Democratic primary election for mayor of Scranton. (PHOTO SUBMITTED / COURTESY OF BOB SHERIDAN) * Patricia 'Trish' Beynon, Republican candidate for Scranton mayor in the May 20, 2025 primary election. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * Lynn Labrosky, Republican candidate for Scranton mayor in the May 20, 2025 primary election. (PHOTO PROVIDED / COURTESY OF LYNN LABROSKY) * Current mayor Paige Cognetti reacts to comments from candidate Bob Sheridan during the mayoral candidate debate at the Loyola Science Center at the University of Scranton on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) * Democratic candidate Bob Sheridan responds to a question during the mayoral candidate debate at the Loyola Science Center at the University of Scranton on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) * Republican candidate Patricia Beynon responds to questions during the mayoral candidate debate at the Loyola Science Center at the University of Scranton on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) * Republican candidate Lynn Labrosky responds during the mayoral candidate debate at the Loyola Science Center at the University of Scranton on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) Show Caption 1 of 10 Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti, at left, and Bob Sheridan, Democratic candidates for Scranton mayor in the May 20, 2025 primary election, shown during a debate on April 22, 2025 at the University of Scranton. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Expand
