• Renovation plans for Swan Hotel in downtown Lancaster no longer plan for speakeasy: The plans to renovate the former Swan Hotel at the corner of Queen and Vine Streets in Lancaster will forgo the first-floor bar to add more suites. The plans now call for an 11-suite boutique hotel, up from nine rooms. The building is located across Vine Street from the Lancaster County Convention Center, which is the current owner of the Swan Hotel building. The Convention Center has a Marriott hotel attached to it, though the authority behind the center says that the boutique hotel will serve within a niche separate from that hotel. Beyond the rooms, the plans also call for adding a rear addition for stairways and an elevator. (Source: LNP)
• Tony Dastra announces campaign for Lancaster mayor: Tony Dastra, who worked on the city planning commission and the home rule study commission, is running for mayor of Lancaster City. His priorities as mayor would be equitable housing, ethical policing, transportation and environmental stewardship. He will be running as a third party, and he hopes to act as a check on what he sees as too much power given to the city’s Democratic Committee. While the Committee welcomed the competition, they said that unity is needed to face the current federal administration. (Source: LNP)
• Fines increased for Harmony Tower owners as hot water woes continue: Multiple apartments in the downtown Harrisburg Harmony Tower have been without hot water since before Thanksgiving, and the City of Harrisburg is stepping up its efforts to get the building’s owners to work to solve the problem through fining them every day. The city’s codes department was at the building every day last week, checking each apartment down from the 22nd floor, and determined that 15 apartments still lacked hot water. The fines will now be per apartment rather than for the entire building. (Source: ABC 27)
• Five apartment-style hotels coming to Pa., including Lancaster: An apartment-style hotel brand has said it will open five new locations in Pennsylvania, including in Lancaster. stayAPT Suites announced that they had started a franchise deal with Destiny Partners, LLC. to open the locations. The other locations to be opened are in Reading, York, Allentown, and Bethlehem. The Lancaster hotel is set to have 94 rooms over four stories and will begin construction in Spring 2025. stayAPT’s rooms feature full kitchens and separate bedrooms to make them similar to accommodations found at home for their guests. (Source: ABC 27)
• Nation/world: Republicans fear potential upset in Florida election (Source: BBC News) Far-right French politician Marine Le Pen supported by right-wing allies in legal battle (Source: BBC News) U.S. says international humanitarian law applies to ‘all parties’ in Gaza after medics killed by Israel (Source: BBC News) Industry experts fact check Trump’s claims of ‘American made’ cars (Source: NBC News)
