The U.S. Postal Service plans to sell its former Harrisburg mail sorting facility at 813 Market St., Mayor Stephen R. Reed said today.

The facility sits on dozens of acres, Reed said. He said he did not know the exact acreage, but said the Postal Service is in the process of putting the site on the market. He said he does not know what the asking price is for the site.

The post office has been there since the 1960s. Its Harrisburg sorting operation, which is a major mail hub for Central Pennsylvania, now is along Crooked Hill Road in Susquehanna Township. But the post office still has a retail presence at its Market Street location. The Postal Service wants to move the retail post office to a downtown location with 5,000-6,000 square feet of space, Reed said.

Reed said he spoke with the Postal Service today about the sale and expects developers to get creative with ideas for the site.

The former sorting facility probably will be razed, Reed said, and he envisions a hotel and retail space going up in its place. A shopping center also would work well there, Reed said.

Freight and passenger rail lines run past the site, which Harrisburg University of Science and Technology almost chose for its permanent home several years ago. The university is now a few blocks away, at Fourth and Market streets. The train lines would help bolster the site by bringing people and products to the location, Reed said.

The Postal Service could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association called Pennsylvania's continuing intent to toll Interstate 80 a "greedy and irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars."

The group slammed PennDOT and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in a news release, saying tolling the interstate amounts to double taxation and Pennsylvania is just looking for a bailout of its transportation infrastructure.

"It's curious that critics never seem to consider the obvious benefits of tolling, namely, the economic stimulus from a significantly increased level of capital spending on I-80 enabled by tolls," turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo said.

Investment in I-80 would jump from $60 million annually to $250 million, he said. The increase would create jobs for communities along the interstate, he said. Many drivers also would be able to take advantage of EZPass incentives that would allow them to go 50 miles before paying a toll, he said.

The state submitted additional information Oct. 30 to the Federal Highway Administration for the I-80 tolling.

The association has been opposed to tolling I-80 since the state announced plans two years ago. It also has called for the repeal of Act 44, the state legislation that would toll the highway and use revenue to plug transportation funding gaps.

The association, a Missouri-based group representing 158,000 independent truckers and small companies nationwide, would rather see the state increase gas taxes and adjusted them for inflation as long as the revenue is dedicated to highways, spokeswoman Norita Taylor said.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission today said it unanimously approved Arkansas-based Windstream Corp.'s acquisition of Lancaster County-based D&E Communications Inc., clearing the way for the companies to close the deal.

The approval was the final hurdle in the regulatory process, D&E spokesman Dave Moore said.

The companies expect to close the $330 million deal before Dec. 9, James Morozzi, D&E president and CEO, said Sept. 24 following shareholders' 96 percent approval vote.

D&E with headquarters in Ephrata is traded on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol DECC. The company provides local and long-distance phone, high-speed Internet and video services.

Windstream, based in Little Rock, Ark., provides digital phone, high-speed Internet and high-definition video services to residential and business customers in 16 states, including Pennsylvania. The company has about 3 million access lines and $3.2 billion annual revenue.

Windstream is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol WIN.

In a move designed to save money and boost employee productivity, retention and engagement, Highmark Inc. today opened a health clinic at its offices at 1800 Center St. in East Pennsboro Township.

The clinic will serve about 5,000 employees, including those from subsidiary United Concordia Companies Inc. and Highmark's nearby Senate Plaza offices, according to spokesman Leilyn Perri.

The clinic is operated by Conshohocken-based Take Care Health Systems, a part of Walgreens Health and Wellness Division. It is Take Care's only facility in the area, said Andrea Bonaparte, director of site operations.

Carved out of former classroom space, the facility includes a full-service pharmacy, three exam rooms, a lactation room, a procedure room, a physical therapy room and areas for basic lab work, including blood draws and drug testing.

The 10-person staff includes a physician and nurse practitioner, as well as registered nurses and medical assistants.

Employees will not be required to use the facility, said Kenneth R. Melani, Highmark's CEO and president.

A similar clinic will open at Highmark's Pittsburgh offices Nov. 20, according to the company.

The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. today announced it will close its furniture gallery in Trotwood, Ohio.

Bon-Ton decided to close the Salem Furniture Gallery following a review of its performance, Bud Bergren said in a written statement. Bergren is the company's president and CEO. The York County firm acquired the store in 2003 when it purchased Ohio-based The Elder-Beerman Stores Corp.

The gallery is expected to close in the beginning of December. The 10 employees who will be laid off will be able to apply for positions at nearby furniture galleries operated by Bon-Ton or receive a severance package, the statement said.

Springettsbury Township-based Bon-Ton operates 279 stores, including 12 furniture galleries, in 23 states. The York County company's shares trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol BONT.

Select Medical Holdings Corp. yesterday reported third-quarter income attributable to the company of $583,000, compared with an $823,000 loss for the year-ago period.

The Cumberland County-based company posted a third-quarter loss of 9 cents per diluted share, compared with a loss of 11 cents per diluted share for the year-ago quarter.

Analysts had estimated earnings per diluted share of 4 cents, according to Yahoo! Finance.

Earnings per diluted share rise to 9 cents when excluding costs related to the company's recent initial public offering and preferred dividends.

The IPO, which closed Sept. 30, raised $279.1 million, after expenses.

Select operated 89 long-term, acute-care hospitals and five acute medical rehabilitation hospitals as of Sept. 30, according to its financial statements,

Shares of the company are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SEM.

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