On Sunday, November 2nd, the instrumental ensemble Trans Siberian Orchestra comes to the Giant Center in Hershey. The concert is at 3:00 p.m. Tickets start at $39.50. Visit http://www.hersheypa.com/events/giant_center for further information.

On Tuesday, Oct. 28 at 5:00 p.m., “Find out how public art can play a key role in creating a vibrant community in Downtown Lancaster. Be the first to hear about the Public Art Action Plan proposed for the City of Lancaster. A presentation will be made by Renee Piechocki, artist and public art consultant and founding director, Office of Public Art, Pittsburgh. Free. 5 p.m. Pennsylvania College of Art & Design Atrium, 204 N. Prince St. 717-396-7833. www.pcad.edu“

Also happening Tuesday: “With heat prices expected to jump this winter, consider attending the Energy Solutions for City Homes workshop presented by L.I.V.E. Green. This workshop was created to help urban homeowners create an action plan to use energy more efficiently and cut costs. Bring your energy costs for at least 12 months. $5 donation requested. 6 – 8 p.m. Southern Market, 100 S. Queen St.”

Or, during the same time slot Tuesday evening: Enjoy a “lecture by David Lahti titled, ‘The Better Angels of Our Nature: Evolution and Morality’ at Bonchek Lecture Hall, Barshinger Life Sciences and Philosophy Building, Franklin & Marshall College. Free. 7:30 p.m. Lahti discusses, ‘are we, as humans, essentially altruistic beings whose natural state is to care for others–or is socialization the only thing holding us back from utter selfishness?‘”

On Thursday, Oct. 30, “Noted biographer and novelist Francine du Plessix Gray, widow of post Abstract Expressionist artist Cleve Gray, will give a gallery talk on the exhibition, ‘A Considered Life: Large Format Paintings by Cleve Gray‘ at the Dana Gallery (Steinman College Center), Franklin & Marshall campus. 4:30 p.m. Free. Francine donated ‘Jonquil,’ a painting Gray created in 1976, to the Phillips Museum of Art.”

On Thursday, Oct. 30 at 7:00 p.m., “Catch a film that is part of the 4th Annual Festival of French and Francophone Films…’Molière’ (2007) by Laurent Tirard, (French with English subtitles) is about the life of the famous French playwright known as Molière. Stahr Auditorium, Stager Hall, Franklin & Marshall Campus. 7 p.m. Free. For details, call 717-239-4296.”

Also Thursday at 7:00 p.m., Millersville University is showing the film “Returned” for free in Myers Auditorium of McComsey Hall as part of its Humanities Film Series. “‘Returned’ is a feature length documentary video that follows several Nepali youths as they attempt to reintegrate back into civil society after their association with armed groups linked to the ‘People’s War.’”

“Billed as ’seedy and sensual,’ ‘Cabaret’ takes you to a place you will not soon forget.’ Join the Kit Kat Klub boys and girls on a wild, deliciously decadent romp through 1930s Berlin. The Green Room Theatre, Franklin & Marshall College. Tickets are available at the Roschel box office, or at 717-358-4858. Through Nov. 2. $5 for students or seniors; $10 for F&M employees; $15 for off-campus patrons.” Showtimes are Thursday, Oct 30 at 8 p.m., Friday, October 31, 8 p.m. & Midnight, Saturday, November 1 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, November 2 at 2 p.m.

The Leola Freeze & Frizz will be showing free movies at 7:00 p.m. on both Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. The titles are to be announced horror flicks. Bring your own blankets or lawn chairs. Food is available for purchase but outside food is not permitted on the premises. The Leola Freeze & Frizz is located at 2250 New Holland Pike in Leola.

October 31 is “Greek Day” at The Red Rose Restaurant in Lancaster. “Opa! The Red Rose Restaurant offers Greek Day the last Friday of every month! Originally started in 2004 to commemorate the return of the Olympic games to Athens, Greek Day has become a mainstay of the Red Rose calendar. Enjoy home-cooked authentic Greek food, such as spanakopita and mousaka (to name a few) and yummy pastries!” Hours are 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The Red Rose Restaurant is located at 101 E. King St.

This weekend (Oct. 31 to Nov. 2) is the “Keestone Katz Club Cat Show” at the Lancaster Host Inn & Resort. “Cat show exhibiting over 200 cats on international competition. Bring a can of cat food and get one dollar off.” Admission is $4 for children and seniors, $6 for adults. For a past account of the fun, read the Intelligencer Journal article posted here. For more information, call 717-299-5500 or e-mail Judy Bernbaum.

November 1 is the Millersville Community Parade. “Visit downtown Millersville to view the exciting community parade, featuring 20-25 bands, clowns, community groups, high school and college organizations, floats, fire trucks, Victorian high wheelers, pogo squad, baton groups, sports mascots and more.” Starts at 9:00 a.m. Visit http://parade.millersville.edu for further information.

Saturday, November 1 is “Roll Hunger Out The Door” at The Castle roller skating rink. “From 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. “Roller skating party to benefit the Central PA Food Bank. All donations help fight hunger locally. Come have fun and support a good cause.” Admission is $2 or a canned good donation. The Castle is located at 1400 Elm Ave. For more information, call 717-291-3232.

Starting Saturday, November 1 is “The 2008 Christmas Show” at the American Music Theatre (AMT). “Constantly compared to Radio City Music Hall, AMT’s Christmas Show is widely hailed as one of America’s best. Enjoy a variety of secular and sacred Christmas songs, and delight in fun comedy sketches. Make this holiday season the most memorable with Lancaster’s Christmas show. Prices and times vary, see website for details.” The American Music Theatre is located at 2425 Lincoln Highway East.

The Wine & Cheese train at the Strasburg Railroad runs on Saturday, November 1 at 6:00 p.m. For a $30 fare, you can take a scenic 45-minute train ride through the countryside while sampling fine wines and cheeses. For more information and tickets, visit http://www.strasburgrailroad.com/wine-and-cheese.php.

On Sunday, Nov. 2 at 4:00 p.m., the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd will present music by its Baroque Chamber Ensemble. “The comnemplative beauty of this time of year is well suited for a baroque chamber ensemble. Strings, oboe, trumpet, recorder, and harpsichord will fill the nave with the works of Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, Couperin, and others.” There is no charge for admission. The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd is located at 750 Greenfield Rd.

Also November 2, there is a lecture and performance at the Pennsylvania Academy of Music as part of their Beethoven Piano & Colloquia Series. “2 pm lecture, 3:30 pm concert. Beethoven Piano Sonatas Op. 26; Op. 81a (Les Adieux); Op. 10, No. 1; Op. 110. Pre-Concert lecture, Performance Practice Problems in Beethoven, by Dr. Immanuel Willheim.” Tickets or membership required. Visit http://www.pamusacad.org for additional information.

Nov. 2 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. is “Empty Bowls” at Kevin Lehman Pottery in Lancaster. “Empty Bowls is an grass-roots event, organized locally, to fight hunger. The proceeds for the Empty Bowls event, held at Kevin Lehman Pottery will be donated to the Crispus Attucks Community Center in Lancaster. Please come and join us, help fight hunger in Lancaster, take home a hand-made bowl and hear a rarely-heard local musical talent.” Admission is $15. Kevin Lehman Pottery is located at 560 S. Prince St. For more information, visit http://www.emptybowls.com.

Sunday Nov. 2 is also “Family Science Sunday” at the North Museum of Natural History and Science in Lancaster. “Science fun for everyone! Explore the Museum and participate in the hands-on activities, science demonstrations, interactive events and more. Family Science Sunday is included in admission.” Hours are 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is “$7 for adults & $6 for juniors (3-12) and seniors (65+). Planetarium shows are an additional $1.50 to the price of admission. Free for children under 3.” The North Museum is located at 400 College Ave.

NewsLanc received the following clarification from a representative of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation in response to our difficulty in determining from the Drivers Manual the law concerning pedestrians standing in cross walks:

I am responding to your recent inquiry regarding crosswalks and crosshatches.

If you have additional questions or concerns please feel welcome to contact our customer care center at 1-800-932-4600.

Now all that is needed is for all drivers to pay attention to the law, especially when driving on Chestnut and Walnut Streets while youngsters are trying to go to and come from school! The most dangerous situation is when a car stops in the lane closest to the pedestrian but a trailing car passes in the other lane.

Lancaster County has reached a milestone.

At their weekly Wednesday meeting, the County Commissioners are expected to approve the expenditure of $686,320 in county money to preserve 259.83 additional acres of land on three area farms.

With this action, Lancaster County will have preserved 1,000 farms, totaling just under 80,000 acres.

Preservation is achieved when the owner voluntarily sells to the county an “agricultural conservation easement,” which is a deed restriction preventing future development of the land. The County pays the farmer an appraised value to not sell the land to any developer.

Lancaster County and Pennsylvania continue to lead the nation in farmland preservation. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has preserved over 400,000 acres, according to available statistics.

Maps of preserved areas by municipality and countywide are available at http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/lanco/cwp/view.asp?a=371&q=606791&lancoNav=|&lancoNav_GID=985.

I’m voting for Home Rule. Five commissioners are better than three.

The provision for referendums is very important – no more convention centers, Conestoga View real estate giveaways, or ill-conceived YICs. Also – more efficient, less political management of county government.

Power to the people!

The Board of Trustees of the Lancaster Public Library will meet at 4:00 PM today, Tuesday, to decide whether to move ahead with plans to fully renovate and upgrade the building or to postpone the project for several years until sufficient funds can be raised to both renovate and expand the facility.

A state Keystone Grant and a matching private grant would provide one million dollars of the $2.3 million estimated to cover the cost of the renovation.

The meeting is open to the public and will be held on the second floor of the library at 125 North Duke Street

The base for an elevator shaft within the Convention Center has been misaligned, Executive Director of the Lancaster County Convention Center Authority Kevin Molloy announced Monday night.

A hole drilled for a freight elevator shaft is nine inches off, Molloy said.

The error has resulted in an $86,000 change order to re-drill and correct the problem.

That change order will be before the full board for ratification on Thursday night.

Molloy pledged to find out who is responsible for the error and potentially seek to recover damages.

Molloy and Chairman of the Board Art Morris said that the Authority is just in the beginning steps of finding out who is responsible and what happened.

Board member R.B. Campbell suggested that details could not be discussed since the issue may involve litigation.

Morris said that the unanticipated cost would not significantly affect the current budget, since the amount is within a budgeted line item for change orders.

State Sen. Gib Armstrong has committed $3 million in contingency funds for the struggling convention center.

Chairman of the Convention Center Authority Board, Art Morris, said that Armstrong finally promised the funding in a phone conversation between the two on Monday afternoon.

The $3 million will be granted specifically to the Convention Center Authority and need not be shared with Penn Square Partners, he explained.

Morris went on to say that he “has been assured” by Armstrong that an additional $1 million in requested state funding is also in the pipeline for the Convention Center Authority.

The funding comes at a critical time for the LCCCA. The project is over committed by just over $1 million as of September 31, according to the Authority’s accountant, Steve Geisenberger.

Morris said that the commitment of state funding gives the authority “a decent shot at completing the construction portion of the project… within the present projections.”

I was in Easton over the weekend. I spoke to a colleague who is a principle player in the Lehigh Valley Revitalization group. She mentioned that the new Lehigh Valley convention Center has been shuttered, and the Sands has halted plans for the hotel to adjoin the new casino on the Bethlehem Steel site.

FYI, the largest venue in the Lehigh Valley now is the Holiday Inn, so in Lancaster we already have several more venues to accommodate large groups than the megopolis of Allentown Bethlehem Easton.

The reason for the demise of the Convention Center (off I – 78) is lack of business.

It has been so long since I have heard the word “revitalization.” What happened with that direction? As I drive through Lancaster City I am seeing all the corners redone to accommodate disabilities. The few restaurants and shops are struggling more than those outside of the City due to the economy.

Real estate sales that were brisk months back are absolutely stale. Looming in the background is the over anxious investors that want this ‘child’ to be born; the pregnancy is well overdue. Unfortunately the marketing team of the hotel and convention center are coming up with events and bookings that will not generate big spenders.

Out in the county the old Holiday Inn is in trouble; tourism and meetings are way down.

As the economy tightens, crime rises, seniors and event goers to the Fulton question night trips to the City.

All the money being poured into the Home Rule situation is due to the desperate special interest groups that need to keep the merry go round going. Unfortunately the money from Harrisburg is drying up; yet the Chamber as well as some of the Lancaster Alliance members need to keep the ball rolling. The tax payer is
going to get the shaft royally one way or the other.

Where has all the conservative Lancaster County people gone? Is this recession/depression going to wake them up?

Homeowners who live in the Northwest Revitalization District, such as myself, have been told that our property values will increase with the relocation of the Norfolk-Southern Rail yard from F&M’s North Campus into a suburban residential area called Barrcrest.

When the news first broke about these plans, I drove into the Barrcrest neighborhood to see first-hand why the rail yard relocation was opposed by many homeowners. When I saw the well-kept homes in the $500,000 market range, I could not believe that an institution like F&M that purports to be “a good neighbor” and a benefit to the community, would even consider putting a rail yard, one that may have as many as 16 tracks, into this nice residential area.

A similar idea from a Talkback correspondent, who said that he would not personally be affected by the Rail yard Relocation, recently posted the following comment on Lancaster Online: “Because of our location, it is six of one and half dozen of the other as to distance from us. But a rail yard the size of this one does not belong at this location. Norfolk Southern had no plans whatsoever for a rail yard here. This was an F&M proposal to free up their own backyard. LGH is going along for the ride with their partner on the Armstrong land deal, and Norfolk -Southern said, “What do we get out of it?” when John Fry wanted the tracks removed from behind College Row. That is evidenced by how little Norfolk-Southern is contributing to the project.”

After reading this, I checked to see just how little Norfolk-Southern is paying. Out of the total $42 million dollar cost, Norfolk-Southern is paying only $2 million. F&M, who will gain the most land from the deal, is paying $6 million. LGH is matching F&M with $6 million of its own money. Taxpayers will foot the remainder of the bill, a cool sum amounting to $28 million. They will pay this even though they have had absolutely no say in the project.

But the principal reason to oppose relocating the rail yard to Barrcrest is the location. A rail yard and an upscale residential neighborhood are not a good mix.