Harrisburg City Council plans to hire independent counsel to review Mayor Stephen R. Reed's 75-year lease proposal of the Harrisburg Parking Authority's parking facilities and meters, council members said last night during their legislative meeting.

The independent counsel should include an attorney and a financial consultant not connected to the city, which can make an unbiased recommendation to the legislative body, said Dan Miller, council vice president.

"The decision cannot be reversed once we make it," Miller said. "I encourage council to hire independent counsel and hope we are not forced into any artificial timelines."

After an ordinance was read, which introduced the proposal to council, President Linda D. Thompson placed the ordinance in council's administration committee. It will be further discussed in committee, she said. The next administration committee meeting has yet to be scheduled, said Beth Ann Gabler, city clerk.

Council is obligated to take a piece of legislation like this and perform the due diligence necessary to make sure the deal is in the best interest of Harrisburg, Thompson said. She said it is the third largest deal that has come before her on council. The deal would deliver $215 million to the city up front but hands parking operations over to an outside company.

"I have been through similar situations. The first was the incinerator. The second was the incinerator," Thompson said of the failed retrofit of the Harrisburg Authority's incinerator, which left the authority buried in approximately $300 million in debt. "The incinerator went through 14 public hearings. This one will not go without expert review."

Council members Wanda R.D. Williams, Gloria Martin-Roberts and Susan Brown-Wilson said before the meeting they also feel the deal should be analyzed at length before a vote takes place.

Vartan Group Inc. plans to break ground on its $13 million 100,000-square-foot mixed-use residential and retail building in Harrisburg by November, said Hovig Ralph Vartan, who heads the Susquehanna Township-based development company at an afternoon press conference.

The company might even have to wait until next spring to break ground on the project to complete the land-development process and to wait out the winter freeze-thaw period, Mayor Stephen R. Reed said. Construction would take about a year to complete, Reed said.

The five-story building would sit on a half acre in the 1500 block of North Sixth Street. The property is mostly empty except for several abandoned, blighted buildings, Reed said. The developer hopes to construct the building to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, Reed said.

It would house 40 residential apartments and lofts on the top four floors. The first floor will include an approximately 3,580-square-foot family-style restaurant and neighborhood-style retail spaces. It might feature a barber and dry-cleaning store, Vartan said of the style of business the company is hoping to attract.

Most of the residential units will sell between $150,000 and $350,000, Vartan said. Rentals will go for about $1,000 per month for a one-bedroom apartment, he said. The company expects to attract mostly young professionals to live in the building that make between $35,000 to $75,000 a year, Reed said.

There will be a 60-space garage beneath the building and a common area on the roof for residents to use, Reed said.

The project will be financed with private dollars, Reed said.

The building is the first of a series of development projects Reed said are in the works for a section of the city that he has dubbed The Northern Gateway. The Northern Gateway project will include a staged integration of development projects and the widening of North Seventh Street. It runs from Maclay Street to Herr Street and includes the Sixth and Seventh street corridors.

The Northern Gateway is expected to attract professional, clerical and retail jobs in the North Seventh and North Sixth Street corridors and surrounding neighborhoods, Reed said. The ambitious plan calls for more than $150 million in improvements throughout the area.

Hersha Hospitality Trust will sell 6 million common shares at $9.90 per share as part of a public offering that opened yesterday, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Net proceeds of the offering will be about $56.4 million, before expenses.

The Harrisburg-based real estate investment trust plans to use the proceeds to repay outstanding debt under its revolving credit line. Hersha drew significant portions from the line to fund a number of acquisitions, including the acquisition of Towneplace Suites by Marriott in Swatara Township, Dauphin County. The company bought the extended-stay hotel with 107 suites May 8 for $12.8 million, according to the filing. The hotel opened May 9.

Hersha also granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to 900,000 additional shares at the public offering price within 30 days to cover any over-allotments.

Hersha trades shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol HT.

Mennonite Central Committee is raising money to support organizations providing emergency relief in China and Myanmar.

The Akron, Lancaster County-based nonprofit is funneling the funds to partner organizations in both countries. China is reeling from an earthquake that struck Monday. Myanmar - formerly known as Burma - was hit by a powerful cyclone about two weeks ago, but the military government there has been slow to accept international help. The death toll exceeds 12,000 in China and 30,000 in Myanmar, according to media reports.

MCC support will help groups in Myanmar improve water supplies, distribute food and medicine and provide medical care, according to a statement the group released yesterday. MCC supports peace, emergency relief and economic development projects worldwide. For information about donating, visit MCC's Web site.

The Hershey Center for Applied Research today launched its social-networking site, www.hcarknowledgemesh.com

HCAR held an event at its research park in Derry Township, Dauphin County, to kick off the site's release.

"It was the next natural step for establishing the center as a concierge," said Laura Butcher, HCAR's executive director.

The event featured a speech by Simon Revell, manager of enterprise 2.0 technology development with New York-based Pfizer Inc.

Revell spoke about the value of internal blogs, wikis and other Web 2.0 applications to companies.

Revell, who worked for Pfizer's research and development department in Sandwich, England, and others from the drug-manufacturer started the first company blog about two years ago without permission. They were convinced that the new online technologies had value for the company, he said.

"This is still a relatively new thing to do in a big company," he said.

As the blogs and "Pfizerpedia"- an online company knowledge library similar to Wikipedia - gained popularity, the company brass also warmed to the ideas, he said. Today, Web 2.0 technologies have a prominent place in Pfizer's corporate culture, he said.

It illustrates the importance of developing networking sites like KnowledgeMesh. It will link the academic, corporate, scientific and investment communities to build Central Pennsylvania's biotechnology sector.

"The technology isn't really important," Revell said. "It's the way it changes communication."

This item was modified from its original version to correct the Web address www.hcarknowledgemesh.com.

Rite Aid Corp. today announced a partnership with Washington-based MultiCare Health System. MultiCare Express Clinics will open this summer inside two Rite Aid stores in Washington.

The clinics are staffed with certified nurse practitioners who provide patients with care for common illnesses, such as strep throat, bladder infections and bronchitis. The clinics also will offer laboratory tests, immunizations and health screenings.

The clinics can provide treatment information to the patient's primary-care provider. Patients who require additional services can access the physicians and hospitals of the MultiCare Health System.

In other news, Rite Aid today announced the resignation of Robert A. Mariano, who was elected to the board in June 2006. Mariano is the chairman and chief executive officer of Wisconsin-based Roundy's Supermarkets Inc.

Mariano's seat will be filled by Jim Donald, the former president and chief executive officer of Starbucks Coffee Co. Donald will sit on the board for the remainder of Mariano's term, which will expire in June 2009. Donald is expected to stand for re-election at that time.

East Pennsboro Township-based Rite Aid shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol RAD.

Click here to watch today's Small Business School clip.

York's ambitious Northwest Triangle project hopes to bring a combination of residential development and retail and commercial space. In any downtown project, which type of redevelopment should happen first: the retail/commercial or the residential?

Please send responses here with your name, company and title.

Have rising food prices affected your business? Why or why not?

Click here for Yes.

Click here for No.

Results will be published in the Fri., May 23 edition of the Business Journal. Comments may be published. If you wish to comment, please include your name and the county where you live. The deadline to respond is 10 a.m. Tues., May 20.

Inflation pressures eased a bit in April despite the biggest jump in food prices in 18 years.

The Labor Department today reported that consumer prices edged up 0.2 percent last month, compared to a 0.3 percent rise in March.

The lower inflation reflected a flat reading for energy, which helped offset a 0.9 percent jump in food costs as prices climbed for many basic items, from bread and milk to coffee and fresh fruits.

The unchanged reading for energy reflected a big 4.8 percent jump in natural gas prices, offset by a 2 percent decline in gasoline costs.

The reported drop in gasoline prices reflected the government's accounting process, which discounts expected seasonal price changes. -The Associated Press

More U.S. homeowners fell behind on mortgage payments last month, driving the number of homes facing foreclosure up 65 percent versus the same month last year and contributing to a deepening slide in home values, a research company said.

Nationwide, 243,353 homes received at least one foreclosure-related filing in April, up 65 percent from 147,708 in the same month last year and up 4 percent since March, RealtyTrac Inc. said.

Nevada, Arizona, California and Florida were among the hardest hit states, with metropolitan areas in California and Florida accounting for nine of the top 10 areas with the highest rate of foreclosure, the company said. -The Associated Press

Authorities in a Florida town where at least 40 homes have been gutted by wildfires have arrested a man they believe may have sparked the blazes.

Palm Bay Deputy Police Chief Doug Muldoon says the man was arrested this morning. No other information is being released until a news conference with other city officials.

The fires reported in Brevard County have burned more than 15 square miles. Officials say they're getting closer to containing the blazes.

The Florida Division of Forestry says 40 homes in the Palm Bay area were destroyed and about 120 other structures were damaged. Officials said the total damage estimate was approximately $9.6 million. -The Associated Press

A steamship that sank off the Louisiana coast during an 1846 storm has produced a trove of rare gold coins, including some produced at two largely forgotten U.S. Mints in the South, coin experts say.

Last year, four Louisiana residents salvaged hundreds of gold coins and thousands of silver coins from the wreckage of the SS New York in about 60 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico, said David Bowers, co-chairman of New York-based Stack's Rare Coins.

"Some of these are in uncirculated or mint condition," Bowers said, predicting the best could bring $50,000 to $100,000 apiece at auction.

Of particular interest to coin experts are gold pieces known as quarter eagles and half eagles, which carried face values of $2.50 and $5 in the days before the United States printed paper currency. -The Associated Press

Rescuers arrived for the first time in the epicenter of China's massive earthquake, scouring flattened mountain villages for thousands of victims and distributing air-dropped supplies to survivors.

The official Xinhua News Agency said some 2,000 soldiers were sent to repair "extremely dangerous" cracks in the Zipingpu Dam upriver from the earthquake-hit city of Dujiangyan.

The government said late today experts had inspected the dam and declared it safe, according to a statement broadcast on state TV and posted on the Sichuan government Web site.

Still, another report said the reservoir behind the dam was being emptied to relieve pressure on the structure.

Four-inch cracks had opened up on top of the dam, and landslides poured down on the hills on either side, the report said.

China's top economic planning body said that the quake had damaged 391 mostly small dams. -The Associated Press

Heavy rains and another potentially powerful storm today headed toward Myanmar's cyclone-devastated delta. The U.N. warned that inadequate relief efforts could lead to a second wave of deaths.

The International Red Cross said in a new estimate that the death toll may already be between 68,833 and 127,990 - considerably higher than the government's latest official count of 38,491 dead, announced tonight on state television.

The Red Cross said it made the estimate by adding figures gathered in affected areas by other aid groups and organizations and extrapolating the total.

An estimated 2 million survivors are still in need of emergency aid, but U.N. agencies and other groups have been able to reach only 270,000 people affected by Cyclone Nargis so far. -The Associated Press

A man who dressed up as Darth Vader, wearing a garbage bag for a cape, and assaulted the founders of a group calling itself the Jedi church was given a suspended sentence yesterday.

Arwel Wynne Hughes, 27, attacked Jedi church founder Barney Jones - aka Master Jonba Hehol - with a metal crutch, hitting him on the head, prosecutors told Holyhead Magistrates' Court in Holyhead, Wales.

He also whacked Jones' 18-year-old cousin, Michael Jones - known as Master Mormi Hehol - bruising his thigh in the March 25 incident, prosecutors said.

The two cousins and Barney Jones' brother, Daniel, set up the Church of Jediism, Anglesey order, last year. Jedi is the faith followed by some of the central characters in the "Star Wars" films.

The group, which claims about 30 members, says on its Web site that it uses "insight and knowledge" from the films as "a guide to living a better and more worthwhile life."

"We all love the films and what they stand for. Obviously some people are going to laugh about it," Barney Jones said last month. "But a lot of people do take it seriously."

Unfortunately for Hughes, his March attack was recorded on a video camera that the cousins had set up to film themselves in a light saber battle.

"Darth Vader! Jedis!" Hughes shouted as he approached.

Hughes claimed he couldn't remember the incident, having drunk the better part of a 2½-gallon box of wine beforehand.

"He knows his behavior was wrong and didn't want it to happen but he has no recollection of it," said Hughes' lawyer, Frances Jones.

District Judge Andrew Shaw sentenced Hughes to two months in jail but suspended the sentence for one year. He also ordered Hughes to pay $195 to each of his victims and $117 in court costs.

In the 2001 United Kingdom census, 390,000 - 0.7 percent of the population - listed Jedi as their religion. -The Associated Press