The fire, which was set in the building which houses the church’s offices located at the same address, caused approximately $350,000 worth of damage to the interior of the building. The building, which was used as a carriage house in the 1800’s, suffered no structural damage, and the church has plans to rebuild. As is customary with church burnings, the ATF has been called in to investigate the incident.

A number of speakers took part in the ceremony Friday night, including Rabbi Charles Arian of the Temple Ohev Shalom. The Rabbi, whose synagogue has fallen victim to acts of hate in the past, expressed his empathy and support for the bereaved church. "There are two kinds of people in the world: those who know they’re right, and those who think other people may have a point, too. The person that did this ‘knows’ that he or she is right and that you’re wrong."

Despite their hardship, the church’s congregation seems hopeful with regard to the rebuilding process. Friday’s ceremony ended with a procession around the affected carriage house building. Though the fire has not yet been officially designated as a hate crime, setting a church on fire isn’t exactly an act of compassion. Friday’s ceremony, however, was benevolent, and indicated the presence of a stalwart cushion of community support behind the church’s restorative efforts.

Central PA booklovers’ ears have been buzzing with the news that we’re about to get two super stores in the area soon.

Harrisburg can expect a Borders to be up and running by July in the Jonestown Plaza.

Borders Bookstores began in 1971, and as they grew they became known as a group of the finest bookshops in the world, as well as one of the nation’s leading book and music retailers. Borders stores feature a vast inventory of books, music, and videos, and host a fascinating series of in-store appearances by authors, musicians, and artists. Most Borders stores also offer a casual espresso café, which happens to be the case for the store being built in our community.

But Borders isn’t the only major company opening a bookstore in our area. Barnes & Noble is opening a new location in the Camp Hill Mall. The projected opening date is set for the end of November. This enormous and widely known bookstore will be one of the 520 plus superstores Barnes and Noble have been offering. The mission they live by: to provide customers with places to relax and read, comfortable cafés, unique children’s sections, music departments and calendars of events featuring author appearances and discussion groups. Barnes & Noble stores stock an authoritative selection of book titles and provide access to more than one million titles

Because the same variety will be found in both of the Borders and Barnes & Noble bookstores, each of these stores will be uniquely designed to complement its environment and to create an ambiance for book lovers to enjoy.

Bookstores are creating a pathway of knowledge around the world, and by offering a variety of stocked items, ranging from books to software to anything under the sun, our own Media Play and Encore bookstores may have something to fear. And for the small bookstores in the malls, you have to wonder if they’ll become extinct.

"We’ve been quietly busy," says Rothman. Recently, the group helped kick-off Harrisburg’s "First Fridays", a series of music and food events in center city. Besides their ritual tree planting, HYP also recently raised raised $3,000 for the Harrisburg Symphony.

"Our 2nd Annual Home Tour drew 300 people and later that day 740 people braved the cold, rainy evening to dance at our Block Party on North Third Street," Rothman said. Project leaders included Becky Christoff, Reyne Gillin, Erica Bryce, Cathy Nolan, Dana Milke, and Hilary Bower.

Last month, HYP members Alex Hartzler, Chris Black, Jeff Walters, and Rothman attended Harrisburg Region Chamber’s Intra-City tour of Louisville, Kentucky.

Interest earnings from 1999, a 32.8% increase from those of 1998, have helped to fund a variety of current projects in the Harrisburg community. According to Paul Wambach, Harrisburg City Treasurer, all investments were made pursuant to Pennsylvania Investment Statutes for Third Class Cities of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The interest earnings, totaling over 1.5 million, will provide an opportunity for Harrisburg to succeed in bettering its community. "Obviously, the interest we were able to accrue on City funds was crucial to our fiscal health, it is money that continues to pay for services to the citizens of Harrisburg." Wambach said.

In the brutal search for low cost ways to produce plans, and the act of implementing them, the Treasury Department found one way that is working quite well. In addition to the money generated for projects, the Treasury’s acceptance of credit and debit cards as a payment option has helped The Office of the City Treasurer collect over 31 million for the Harrisburg School District. The net cost incurred by the City for this customer convenience was less than $300 for 1999. This was accomplished by offsetting the program cost with a government investment vehicle offered by Pennsylvania Local Government Investment Trust.