Hospital Births

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After years of dejection, proponents of gun laws see hope

Thanks, Suzanne.Not only for the knowledge on your cuisine, which you were more than happy to share, but also for your attentiveness to our crazy table &#8211; a hodgepodge of people out to celebrate my comrade Alan&#8217;s birthday.Our zaniness, coupled with your patience, was the perfect combination.I&#8217;ll explain.Flash back to Thursday night.Rainy and dismal in the City of Wilkes-Barre, a group of friends and I visited the aforementioned Suzanne, our waitress and the bar manager of Le Manhattan Bistro, where we chose to dine to celebrate the ever-popular Alan Peterson, head of local lending company Golden Mile Funding.Alan is quite the &#8211; well &#8211; jolly type. Funny and entertaining, you could laugh for hours with Alan. And, after a gin and tonic or two, I laugh loudly.We sat at the bar for what seemed like hours, reminiscing of years ago and planning some weekend birthday festivities as well.As another &#8220;man about town,&#8221; Alan frequents many popular places, so it was much to my surprise when he explained he&#8217;d never been to the French restaurant on South Main Street.Surely you jest, I thought.The restaurant &#8211; known for its Sunday Brunch, French cuisine and even traditional platters &#8211; is somewhere any foodie should visit regularly.My duck confit &#8211; a crispy duck leg served with frisee lettuce and herb-garlic potatoes &#8211; tickled my fancy this night.Seeing Sharon Hourigan at the eatery made me happy too.You may remember a 2009 article on the inspiring Hourigan, written by yours truly.At the time, the recently named the head of Luzerne County&#8217;s Cultural Council shared her personal story about her rise in the local art community, her passion for the area in which she was raised, and her love of family.For me, being around town and running into people like Sharon makes this crazy lifestyle of mine worth it.But, the most gratification for a career in journalism, media and the like is when someone you&#8217;ve interviewed expresses their gratitude.Take Sharon, for instance.She thanked me again for a story many may not even remember.Seeing her reminded me of why I got into this business and why I stay committed to the community I love.&#8220;Do you think it&#8217;s better now?&#8221; she asked, referring to Wilkes-Barre and its people.I, for sure, do. I see college kids walking about downtown Wilkes-Barre freely and jovially. I see young people wanting to make a difference. I see business professionals, who at one time couldn&#8217;t be bothered with community groups, getting involved.Nothing shines a light on this belief better than the Wilkes-Barre Chamber.As a new member of its new Marketing &amp; Branding Ambassadors Committee, I heard firsthand during a Wednesday luncheon about the many things its members and the community at large are supporting: an upcoming employment expo, a self-defense seminar, a young professionals mixer, a reading day and other events designed to keep the community positive and progressive.I&#8217;m glad my talk with Sharon and my visit to Le Manhattan Bistro reminded me of that.And while Le Manhattan Bistro is still considered a newer restaurant &#8212; I encourage you to try it, if you haven&#8217;t &#8212; a spot you&#8217;ve heard of just down the road celebrated a milestone last week: River Grille.It&#8217;s 10-year anniversary was all sorts of fun last Saturday. Owner Mark West and his team know how to plan a party &#8211; and plan new construction apparently, as was evidenced by the brand-new state-of-the art bar outside. Its more inviting, cozier deck bar makes the popular weekend spot more attractive looking than ever.If you&#8217;re reading Around Town this morning and want to see for yourself, come visit me at the River Grille.I&#8217;m likely brunching at this very moment.Bon appetit.<style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Mike McGinley is the Times Leader Media Group&#8217;s major accounts executive. Reach him at mmcginley@www.timesleader.com or 570-704-3945.</shirttailMeta></div>

Around Town: A birthday celebration, French cuisine and a local milestone