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Former Misericordia hoops coach Woodruff lands Bucknell women’s job

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Harry Potter-themed coffee shop opens in Kingston

<p>WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; State and local officials gathered at the base of Giants Despair Thursday to support completion of Delaware &amp; Lehigh Heritage Trail gaps in Luzerne County, including a connection from their meeting spot to the Susquehanna River in downtown Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>The 165-mile, federally designated D&amp;L trail follows anthracite coal&#8217;s past route from Wyoming Valley mines to market in Bucks County near Philadelphia, passing through White Haven and historic Jim Thorpe in Carbon County.</p><p>A D&amp;L trail loop is in the planning that will link the bottom of Giants Despair to the Seven Tubs Nature Area in Plains Township and continue to Laurel Run at a spot called Oliver Mills and then Mountain Top. A state-funded study is underway to identify the best path through high-traffic Wilkes-Barre Township and Wilkes-Barre for the trail connection to the River Common along the Susquehanna.</p><p>An estimated $10 million would be needed to complete 17 miles of trail gaps in this county, and around $500,000 has been secured to date, said state Sen. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke.</p><p>When finished, the D&amp;L trail will be the longest multi-use trail in the state, said Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn.</p><p>Yudichak, Dunn and the third state official speaking Thursday &#8212; state Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre &#8212; held up the proposed Restore Pennsylvania initiative as a viable funding source to complete the trail and other infrastructure needs.</p><p>Under the proposal, a still-to-be enacted severance tax on the natural gas industry would generate an estimated $300 million per year to pay down about $4.5 billion in bonds used to prevent flooding, eliminate blight, expand broadband to all Pennsylvanians and fund trails and other green projects, officials have said.</p><p>Dunn said Pennsylvania is the only gas-producing state without a severance tax, and the one proposed here would be comparable to what is being paid in Texas.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s very reasonable and in line with what other states are doing,&#8221; Dunn said.</p><p>About 80 percent of Pennsylvania&#8217;s natural gas is going out of state, which means most of the tax would be paid by those outside the state, Dunn said. Some Pennsylvania residents receive natural gas from other states, which means they are paying severance taxes that help another state, she said.</p><p>&#8220;We are the suckers here,&#8221; she said of the failure to impose a tax.</p><p>Yudichak, who hiked and biked the entire D&amp;L trail last year, said Restore Pennsylvania has some bi-partisan legislative support and would provide needed resources.</p><p>The D&amp;L passes through five counties and attracts more than 250,000 visitors annually, generating close to 5,600 jobs and more than $480 million in economic impact, Yudichak said.</p><p>Pashinski said the natural gas belongs to the &#8220;people of Pennsylvania&#8221; and argued the tax would not be a &#8220;detriment&#8221; to the natural gas industry because other states have one.</p><p>&#8220;This money would complete the 17 miles (of trail) and do a heck of a lot more to preserve this magnificent state that we have,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Elissa Garofalo, executive director of the D&amp;L National Heritage Corridor, told the group the trail is about 93 percent complete. Cities across the country are building trails and greenways to improve their communities and attract businesses seeking a good quality of life, she said.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s going to happen,&#8221; she said of the trail completion to Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>County Manager C. David Pedri, also in attendance, said before the session that the D&amp;L falls in line with a possible branding theme identifying Luzerne County as Pennsylvania&#8217;s &#8220;trail county,&#8221; which would include traditional hiking/biking paths but also trails for enjoying ethnic foods, history and architecture, entertainment, wine and spirits, pizza and other interests.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">State Sen. John Yudichak holds up a hiking stick that was presented to him by state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn last July after he hiked and biked the 165-mile Delaware &amp; Lehigh Heritage Trail. The two gathered with other officials Thursday to push for completion of trail gaps. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_TTL071418biketrail1.jpg</photo0><caption0>State Sen. John Yudichak holds up a hiking stick that was presented to him by state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn last July after he hiked and biked the 165-mile Delaware &amp; Lehigh Heritage Trail. The two gathered with other officials Thursday to push for completion of trail gaps. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Completion of D&L trail into Wilkes-Barre promoted