Over the past year, we've been working on something we think can help bridge an important gap in our community: access to local information. Too often, the resources that shape our daily lives—records, events, business listings, property data, local news—are scattered across dozens of sites, paper forms, or not online at all.

Lackawanna Connect is our attempt to change that. It's an early experiment right now, but the vision is clear: one place where residents, businesses, and organizations can find and share what matters in Lackawanna County.

What's Here Now

At launch, things are simple. You'll see a framework beginning to take shape:

A foundation for real estate and parcel data (already flowing in daily)
Early directories for businesses, events, and community resources
Some initial integrations with public records
Local news aggregation from county sources
An AI-powered property search covering all county parcels

This is not the finished product—it's a sketch, a scaffolding. But it's real, and it's moving.

What's Coming Soon

Here's the roadmap we're most excited about:

Government records and transparency tools: searchable meeting minutes, zoning documents, and ordinances
Real estate insights: daily and weekly digests of property sales and transfers
Community pulse: events, surveys, and local polls so residents can see what's happening—and have a voice
Business visibility: a centralized directory and promotion tools for local businesses and organizations
Hyperlocal landing pages: each borough, township, and neighborhood with its own hub and AI assistant

Think of it like a living system: starting with a few essential data streams, then branching out to cover more of the county's daily rhythm.

Why Build This?

Because right now, local information is locked up. You need to know exactly where to look—on a county site, a state bulletin, a PDF hidden three clicks deep. That slows down residents, business owners, and even government staff.

By pulling these sources together, making them searchable, and adding modern tools like AI, Lackawanna Connect aims to make our local knowledge work for us instead of against us.

How You Can Help

This is just the beginning. If you're a:

Resident who wants alerts about your neighborhood,
Business owner looking to get found,
Community group with events to share, or
Local official who sees the value in transparency—

...we'd love to hear from you. Your feedback now will shape where this goes next.

The Road Ahead

Lackawanna Connect is not just a website. It's a platform we hope will grow into a backbone for how we access, share, and act on local information. The groundwork is being laid today. The rest will come from steady building, partnerships, and community involvement.

So take a look. Poke around. Watch as new sections light up in the weeks ahead. This is the start of something we think our county has needed for a long time.