Editing Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (section)

===20th century===
[[File:Child Labor in United States, coal mines Pennsylvania.jpg|thumb|Children working in Wilkes-Barre's coal industry in 1906 prior to the implementation of federal child labor laws]]
[[File:South Main Street, from Public Square, Wilkes-Barre, Pa (70260).jpg|thumb|South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre, {{Circa|1940}}]]
Wilkes-Barre is located within Pennsylvania's [[Coal Region]]. The anthracite coal mining industry, and its extensive use of [[child labor]] in the early 20th century, was one of the industries targeted by the [[National Child Labor Committee]] and its hired photographer, [[Lewis Hine]]. Many of Hine's subjects were photographed in the mines and coal fields near Wilkes-Barre. The impact of the Hine photographs led to the enactment of [[child labor laws]] across the country.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/art/photo/hinex/empire/biography.html | title = About Lewis Wickes Hine | publisher = New York Public Library | access-date = 2007-05-22 | first = Anthony T | last = Troncale |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070308123219/http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/art/photo/hinex/empire/biography.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-03-08}}</ref>

The coal industry continued despite several disasters, including an explosion at Wilkes-Barre's [[Baltimore Mine Tunnel Disaster (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania)|Baltimore Colliery]] in 1919, which killed 92 miners. The industry declined when the United States switched to other energy sources, and most coal operations had left Wilkes-Barre by the end of [[World War II]]. The 1959 [[Knox Mine Disaster]], resulting in the flooding of numerous mines, marked the end of large-scale coal mining in the area. Industrial restructuring also caused the city to lose jobs and begin a decades-long decline.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pagenweb.org/~luzerne/mines/knox.htm|title=Knox Mine Disaster|website=www.pagenweb.org|access-date=October 10, 2018}}</ref>

In 1926, [[Planters|Planters Peanuts Company]] was founded in Wilkes-Barre by two Italian immigrants. The company maintained its headquarters in the city until 1961.<ref>Staff. [http://www.pennlive.com/life/2016/07/14_things_you_didnt_know_about.html "14 things you didn't know about Mr. Peanut as he heads to Mechanicsburg"], ''[[The Patriot-News]]'', July 13, 2016. Accessed March 26, 2017. "Amedeo Obici, along with his friend and business partner, Mario Peruzzi, founded Planters Peanut Co. in Wilkes-Barre in 1906."</ref>  In 1929, baseball player [[Babe Ruth]] hit one of the longest home runs in history at [[Artillery Park (baseball)|Artillery Park]] in Wilkes-Barre.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.milb.com/news/gcs-269068 |title=Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees |publisher=Minorleaguebaseball.com |date=October 12, 1926 |access-date=June 24, 2010}}</ref>

On November 8, 1972, Wilkes-Barre became the birthplace of modern [[cable television]] programming when [[HBO|Home Box Office (HBO)]] launched over the city's Teleservice Cable system (now [[Service Electric|Service Electric Cable]]). Around 365 Teleservice subscribers were the first to receive the premium cable service when it commenced broadcasts. As local ordinances prohibiting direct-to-cable telecasts of theatrical feature films prevented [[Time Inc.|Time-Life]] from launching HBO over its New York City-based Sterling Manhattan cable franchise, the company initially sought an agreement with Teleservice to launch it on the provider's [[Allentown, Pennsylvania|Allentown]] system; possible [[Blackout (broadcasting)|television blackout]] conflicts for HBO-televised [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] games, as Allentown was located within the [[Philadelphia 76ers]]'s {{convert|75|mi|km|adj=on|disp=sqbr}} blackout radius, resulted in Teleservice electing to offer it on its Wilkes-Barre system instead.<ref>Nissley, Erin L. [http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/local-history-nepa-put-hbo-on-the-dial-1.1579237 "Local History: NEPA put HBO on the dial"], ''[[The Scranton Times-Tribune]]'', November 3, 2013. Accessed March 26, 2017. "Home Box Office, known more commonly as HBO, got its start in 1972 with about 365 subscribers in Wilkes-Barre. It was the channel's first affiliation."</ref>

Wilkes-Barre became the site of [[1982 Wilkes-Barre shootings|a mass shooting]] on September 25, 1982. George Emil Banks killed 13 people and wounded one.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/26/world/gunman-kills-13-in-a-pennsylvania-rampage.html|title=GUNMAN KILLS 13 IN A PENNSYLVANIA RAMPAGE|first1=William|last1=Robbins|first2=Special To the New York|last2=Times|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 26, 1982}}</ref> Banks was deemed incompetent to be executed yet currently resides on death row.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://inmatelocator.cor.pa.gov/#/|title=Inmate/Parolee Locator|website=inmatelocator.cor.pa.gov}}</ref>

====Flooding====
[[File:Flood Walls on Market Street in Wilkes-Barre.jpg|thumb|Temporary [[flood wall]]s on Market Street in Wilkes-Barre in September 2011]]
[[File:Wilkes Barre Flood.jpg|thumb|Wilkes-Barre during the September 2011 flood]]
Manufacturing and retail remained Wilkes-Barre's strongest industries, but the city's economy took a major blow from [[Hurricane Agnes|Tropical Storm Agnes]] in 1972. The storm pushed the [[Susquehanna River]] to a height of nearly {{convert|41|ft}}, four feet above the city's [[levee]]s, flooding downtown with nine feet of water. A total of 128 deaths were attributed to the storm. Most drowning deaths were caused by people trapped in their cars. Almost 400,000 homes and businesses were destroyed and 220,000 Pennsylvanians were left homeless (as were hundreds of thousands in other states). Damage was estimated to be $2.1 billion in Pennsylvania alone. President [[Richard Nixon]] sent aid to the area, after flying over in his helicopter on his way to his [[Camp David]] retreat (on June 24, 1972).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/hurricane-agnes-a-look-back-after-40-years/2012/06/21/gJQAnDS0sV_blog.html|title=Hurricane Agnes: A look back after 40 years|first=Don|last=Lipman|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=June 21, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtonian.com/2012/06/19/deluge/|title=Retrospective: The Damage Caused by Hurricane Agnes – Washingtonian|date=June 19, 2012}}</ref>

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Wilkes-Barre attempted to prevent the damage from storms as intense as Agnes by building a levee system that rises {{convert|41|ft}}; completed in January 2003, the network of levees cost roughly $250 million.<ref>Skrapits, Eizabeth. [http://citizensvoice.com/news/four-years-later-levee-system-standing-tall-1.1939307 "Four years later, levee system standing tall"], ''[[The Citizens' Voice]]'', September 9, 2015. Accessed March 27, 2017. "The levee was officially completed on Jan. 14, 2003. The cost totaled more than $250 million. Belleman said the system was designed for an Agnes-level flood of 41 feet, but it held up under the larger Tropical Storm Lee flood."</ref> It has successfully resisted other threatening floods in 1996, 2004, and 2006. The [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Army Corps of Engineers]] has praised the quality of the levees. In 2006, the city made the front page of national newspapers when 200,000 residents were told to evacuate in the wake of flooding that was forecast to reach levels near that of 1972, though the flooding fell short of predictions.<ref>Staff. [http://www.cnn.com/2006/WEATHER/06/29/east.flood/index.html?eref=sitesearch " Levees hold Susquehanna; Delaware River rages; Wilkes-Barre evacuees head back home; death toll rises"], [[CNN]], June 29, 2006. Accessed March 27, 2007. "The news was better in northeastern Pennsylvania, where a mandatory evacuation affecting up to 200,000 people in Wilkes-Barre and a nearby valley area was lifted.Officials said the city's $175 million levee system held back the rising Susquehanna River despite floods caused by overflowing tributaries and creeks, and rain that averaged a half-inch an hour in some areas."</ref>

In late August 2011, [[Hurricane Irene 2011|Hurricane Irene]], centered off the [[New Jersey]] coast, caused the Susquehanna River to rise to flood level, but there was no cause for alarm. Then, from September 6 to 8, heavy rains from the inland remnants of [[Tropical Storm Lee (2011)|Tropical Storm Lee]] and [[Hurricane Katia (2011)|Hurricane Katia]] offshore funneled heavy rain over the Wyoming Valley and into the Susquehanna River watershed. The Susquehanna swelled to record levels across the state. In Wilkes-Barre, it crested on September 9 at an all-time record of {{convert|42.66|ft|0}},<ref>{{cite web|url=http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=bgm&gage=wbrp1|title=Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service for the Susquehanna River at Wilkes-Barre |publisher=NOAA National Weather Service |access-date=September 9, 2011}}</ref> nearly {{convert|2|ft|1}} higher than water levels reached during Hurricane Agnes in 1972. The levees protected Wilkes-Barre, but nearby boroughs did not escape, as [[West Pittston, Pennsylvania|West Pittston]], [[Plymouth, Pennsylvania|Plymouth]], and parts of [[Plains Township, Pennsylvania|Plains Township]] were affected by extreme flooding.