Jake Higgins grew up in the Poconos before graduating from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications with a dual degree in Broadcast/Digital Journalism and Information Management and Technology. He has over a decade of experience in newsrooms across the country and started at the Times Leader in September 2025.
After graduating from Syracuse, Jake was briefly a high school football stringer for the Pocono Record before accepting a multimedia journalist role with News Channel Nebraska. He worked in television for a year before switching to the newspaper industry, where he worked as a general news reporter, sports reporter, and ultimately a sports editor at the Cedar County News in Hartington, Nebraska. In 2019, Jake worked for Rosebud Media and the Mail Tribune in Medford, Oregon before moving back to Northeast Pennsylvania.
In his free time, Jake enjoys spending time with his family, his dog, and watching whatever sports are on TV that day.
Margaret Roarty started at the Times Leader in 2023 as a general news reporter and recently transitioned into covering Wilkes-Barre City and other municipal government news. In her weekly Times Leader column, "In Frame," she shares her passion for filmmaking by exploring the rich arts and entertainment history in Luzerne County, while also offering movie recommendations and reviews.
In addition to her reporting for the Times Leader, Margaret is a former contributor to The Film Magazine, an online publication focusing on film analysis and reviews. Her entertainment writing can also be found on Cherry Pickers, Directed By Women, and the Bright Lights Film Journal. Her short fiction can be found in Dark Sire Literary Journal's 9th issue. She is also co-host of "Women Are Reading," a book club podcast where she interviews authors and reviews books with her sister, Katie. In 2026, she joined The Luzerne County Arts and Entertainment Hall of Fame arts committee.
Margaret grew up in Luzerne Borough and currently resides in Forty Fort, along with her fiancé, a library full of books, and their orange cat, Jack. In her free time, Margaret can be found obsessively logging films into her Letterboxd, cooking pasta, and writing fiction stories about romantic and fantastical things.
Liz Baumeister started her local Journalism career in 2011 as a reporter/photographer at The Abington Journal in Clarks Summit. She has since held various positions at newspapers throughout the region, and in February 2024, she joined The Times Leader staff as news editor.
Liz was born in South Jersey but grew up in Overfield Township in Wyoming County and now resides in Plains Township. She graduated from Luzerne County Community College with an associate degree in journalism in 2012 and an associate degree in photography in 2014. She is a charter member of Restored Church in Wilkes-Barre.
She enjoys reading, watching black-and-white movies, birding, photography, attending concerts and music festivals and crafting. Her favorite movie of all time is “Arsenic and Old Lace,” her favorite TV show is “Doctor Who” and her favorite book is “Blue Like Jazz” by Donald Miller.
Her favorite quote: “Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant.” – Cary Grant
Bill O'Boyle is the Times Leader Media Group's news columnist/staff writer. His popular "Beyond the Byline" column on Sundays and occasional "Feet to the Fire"commentaries are fixtures on our pages. Bill has written for the Times Leader since April 2007, covering everything from Wilkes-Barre City to presidential races and local, state and national politics to breaking news to the repair of the Wyoming Monument. A native of Plymouth now residing in Plains Township, O'Boyle volunteers with Victory Sports for adults with mental and physical challenges, the Hope Center Free Clinic of Wyoming Valley and he serves as a judge in the annual Plymouth Kielbasa Festival contest. A child of the sixties, O'Boyle often visits the site of the 1969 Woodstock Music & Art Fair in Bethel, New York, and his radio is locked into the music of that time.
Jennifer Learn-Andes is the Times Leader Media Group reporter covering Luzerne County government. Jennifer started working at the Times Leader as in intern in 1991 while attending Wilkes University. After covering features, the Hazleton Area School District and municipal government, Jennifer has been concentrating on the county beat since 2000. She lives in the Hazleton area and enjoys spending time with family, watching classic films, exploring state parks and hunting for cheap antiques.
Mary Therese Biebel is a Times Leader Media Group arts and entertainment reporter. She enjoys writing about local folks whose accomplishments, challenges or zest for life might make you want to stand up and cheer them on. Mary Therese began working at the Times Leader as an intern in 1983 and has filled roles as diverse as obit clerk, city desk reporter and social editor. She lives in Wilkes-Barre with her husband, Mark; dotes on her nieces and nephews; and enjoys hiking, swimming and cross-country skiing.
John Erzar is a Times Leader Media Group reporter covering high school football, baseball and softball, NASCAR and IndyCar racing, and Little League. He is an avid fan of the Baltimore Ravens, Washington Nationals and Cleveland Cavaliers. He enjoys weight training and music, particularly Marillion and Mushroomhead. He also volunteers his time as a coach at the Wyoming/West Wyoming Little League.
Derek Levarse is the Times Leader Media Group's Penn State football beat reporter. He has covered that beat since 2007, and covered the program for various outlets since the 2003 season, including while serving as a writer and editor for four years at The Daily Collegian in State College. A Pittsburgh native and Penn State alum, Derek also covers Wyoming Valley Conference high school baseball and Freedom Conference college basketball.