Orwell’s ghost grinned when the Sunday News hit the stands. Maybe it’s a sign of our time when a liberal-minded reporter like Gil Smart pens a piece lauding the fact that the people of Lancaster will be watched over by a jury of nincompoops in a viewing booth. He found no source for a dissenting opinion on this troubling development that he finds praiseworthy: Lancaster stakeholders headed up by the Steinman family will install surveillance cameras throughout the city (“… thanks to a broad coalition of public and private souces.”).

How about asking the opinion of one of many Lancaster taxpayers who will have to pay the salaries, benefits and pensions of the joystick operators?

How about the inequality of the installation plan? Are there more existing and phase 1 cameras in our neighborhoods of color? Of course there are!

This is not the future I want to see.

Will there be no public discussion of this matter? If no, that’s a real shame, despicable in fact.

The irony is so thick … Mayor Gray and others of such ilk, who shout about troubling aspects of the Patriot Act, seem to have no problem with a camera watching their front door!

…Can I really trust my doctors in the Lancaster General Health (LGH) system? After all, the hospital’s top administration officials are partners–along with Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) and Norfolk Southern (NS)–to dig up a former municipal dump and replace it with a Norfolk Southern switching yard.

There are many problems with the switching yard relocation plan. Most notably, the switching yard and its public health hazards (ex: chemical spills, diesel emissions) will be relocated to just 1200 feet from long-established neighborhoods (School Lane Hills, Madison at Barrcrest, Barrcrest, Windsor Court and Gentry Heights).

Also, the former dump contains Armstrong asbestos-backed vinyl sheet flooring. At a recent meeting in Manheim Township, the partners’ remediation firm, ARM, denied its existence—even though local residents discovered photos of it in a 1,000+ page report funded by the project partners. Those photos led one resident to go out to the dump, pluck a sample right from the top of the dump, and send it to an environmental engineer who believes the asbestos is potentially friable (i.e.: a potential public health hazard).

A local advocacy group, The Rail Road Action and Advisory Committee (TRRAAC), formed in response to the switching yard plans. They have suggested a number of alternative locations (including one that was originally suggested by a former NS engineer at the world-renowned RL Banks and Associates). None of their suggestions have been independently evaluated. TRRAAC requested an independent evaluation from Penn Dot, but has not yet received a favorable response.

Thus far, the only studies on the affects of the switching yard relocation have been conducted by F&M and LGH co-conspirators—ARM and Gannett Fleming. The results of their studies were released at a well-orchestrated June 19 meeting. Residents were given approximately one hour to digest the results of year’s worth of studies on approximately 30 display boards. And then hundreds of residents were given approximately one hour to ask questions. It was suggested that they ask only one question each so that everyone could have an opportunity to ask a question!

All of the data and analysis used to create the display boards were released one month later. F&M and LGH claimed June 19 was our one and only public meeting. After many complaints, they agreed to appear once more in early November at a Manheim Township-sponsored meeting. F&M’s Keith Orris spoke mostly through his attorney, and refused to answer any question that wasn’t related to the remediation of the dump. We were told to submit all other questions via email and he’d be sure to get back to us. The only LGH representative, Vice President Jan Bergen, arrived late and never spoke.

At the Manheim Township meeting, retired and well-respected Dr. Albert Price announced that he recently moved out of one of the affected neighborhoods because of the switching yard plans, and expressed his disappointment in LGH. Jan Bergen never acknowledged Dr. Price or looked up from her doodle pad.

So, it seems LGH is putting a sweet land deal ahead of public health. If that is the mentality of the LGH leaders, and since, other than Dr. Price, none of the other doctors are speaking up, could that also mean that they’d put hospital profits before my personal health? They’d be easy dots to connect. LGH claims it’s “by your side”. If the top administrators and physicians are really on our side, then they should partner with TRRAAC and ensure that all alternative sites are properly vetted before our health is needlessly put at risk.

Bad times are the seeds for better times, provided the government follows well charted Keynsian economic policies.

Auto and trucks wear out over time. Sooner or later they will have to be replaced. And when the recovery starts, the demand will combine both the normal with the postponed.

Families are formed, grow and then shrink again. Their housing needs alter. They put off the purchase of a new home until things look brighter, and then suddenly the market picks up, and once again homes are sold at strong prices and new construction takes off.

Obviously this applies to clothing, home furnishings, roads and highways and just about everything else.

Better times are on their way, perhaps earlier than anticipated, provided we don’t screw up. We don’t think the incoming administration will do so. The economy may receive a psychological boost come inauguration day. And at this point of the cycle, it is mostly about confidence.

We don’t understand why an affiliate of one of the most successful firms in the county (www.TheManorGroup.com) has not received a single inquiry concerning the following well paying opening, but we sure wish we could find the right person. If you know a good candidate, please bring the opportunity to his / her attention, even if working for the competition.

Competitive wages and benefits are available for a qualified journalist. Must be self starter. Healthy skeptism an attribute. Here is an opportunity to make a difference!

Resumes should be sent to info@NewsLanc.com . Experienced journalists may call 717-940-1221 to discuss opening. All inquiries treated with discretion.

Excerpted from the New Yorker, Dec. 22, 2008. “News You Can Lose” by James Surowiecki

“Newspaper readership has been slowly dropping for decades—as a percentage of the population, newspapers have about half as many subscribers as they did four decades ago—but the Internet helped turn that slow puncture into a blowout. Papers now seem to be the equivalent of the railroads at the start of the twentieth century—a once-great business eclipsed by a new technology…

“Does that mean newspapers are doomed? Not necessarily. There are many possible futures one can imagine for them, from becoming foundation-run nonprofits to relying on reader donations to that old standby the deep-pocketed patron. It’s even possible that a few papers will be able to earn enough money online to make the traditional ad-supported strategy work.

But it would not be shocking if, sometime soon, there were big American cities that had no local newspaper; more important, we’re almost sure to see a sharp decline in the volume and variety of content that newspapers collectively produce.”

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2008/12/22/081222ta_talk_surowiecki

I want to say how much I admire the work you are doing…

My sympathies and concern are with the residents of School Lane Hills, Barrcrest and the Farmingdale Road area, in regards to the unenviable situation (the Dillerville Rail Yard that F&M wants to put in their midst) in which they find themselves… For this reason, I check the trraac.com website from time to time to learn about the latest developments. …Today I found that new information had been posted.

I am forwarding this to you in case you have not seen it.

“On Friday, December 5, 2008 Governor Ed Rendell publicly announced that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was awarding $10 million for the Rail Yard relocation project. This was not news. This was simply a confirmation of the fact that Lancaster General Hospital and Franklin and Marshall College acquired some funding from the State. Notwithstanding the Governor’s press release, NONE of these funds can be used to move the existing track. The only news was that it was made public in a manner that garnered a great deal of public attention.

“Does that mean that the rail yard relocation is now a “done deal”? Absolutely not! The fact that monies have been appropriated does not change the fact that TRRAAC is still working hard to speak with the project sponsors in an effort to change the proposed SITE of the relocation of the Dillerville rail yard. That has always been, and continues to be, TRRAAC’s sole mission: to find a site that meets the project’s goals without hindering the health and welfare of any residential community. We support the rail yard relocation in general terms.

“TRRAAC leadership has met with Lancaster General Hospital’s President and CEO Thomas Beeman, Jan Bergen and Bob Macina in an effort to find common ground and mutual understanding between LGH and the residential communities this site would affect. Meetings with elected officials at the local, state and federal levels are currently in the works, in an effort to make them aware of the ramifications of choosing the proposed site over other suitable sites.

“On the legal front, TRRAAC’s attorney, William Cluck, has filed a Notice of Appeal of the PA Department of Environmental Protection’s approval of the cleanup plan, for a number of reasons including inadequate opportunity for the public to review and comment on the cleanup plan, the failure to investigate the groundwater contamination on the F&M side of the rail tracks, and inadequate standards to clean up the asbestos containing materials.

“Regarding the environmental issues that arise because of the federal funds earmarked by Senators Casey and Specter, we are still awaiting notice and an opportunity to comment on noise, air quality, vibration and historic resource studies, so that we can independently evaluate the potential impact of the relocated rail yard on our families and properties. We have been filing freedom of information act requests with federal agencies to obtain information on the project and studies that the project partners refuse to release to the public.

” Thursday, December 11, 2008, PennDOT’s grant coordinator informed TRRAAC that PennDOT did not approve F&M’s request for an additional $9.2 million, because the project was neither ‘ready to go’ nor did it contribute the same level of economic development as other competing projects offered.

“We can only continue to support this cause through the work of the talented attorney and environmental engineer who have joined forces with TRRAAC. These two professionals are largely responsible for TRRAAC’s progress to date. In order to continue retaining the services of these consultants, we ask that every household affected by this site contribute generously.

“Please know that TRRAAC is comprised totally of volunteers who live in your neighborhood. We are not paid at all. We volunteer our time and contribute our own personal funds because we believe that another site exists that will fulfill the project goals without detriment to our communities.

“But we can no longer rely on a generous few to support our cause and our neighborhoods. We ask every household to contribute toward the collective welfare of our neighborhoods. Please give generously, as this may have a tremendous impact on our health, our children’s health, our quality of life and our home values for years to come.”

Jacques Gibble, guest education columnist for the Dec. 21st Sunday News, states:

“I agree that telling a student he is doing well when he is not is immoral and has a chilling effect on long term growth. But for many years our schools have operated on the belief that academic success is mainly controlled by inherited ability…My reading of the research is that ’smart’ can be learned. Refocusing a child’s beliefs from ability to effort can increase his engagement in learning. When a child believes that his efforts matter, he shows greater persistence in learning and improves his outcomes.”

One of the most pernicious infuences on the lives and education of our senior generation was that intelligence levels were determinative in outcome. We were fixated on IQ scores.

According to research reported by author Geoff Colvin, author of “Talent is Overrated”, highly successful people are those who are well taught and concentrate for long periods of time on learning particular skills.

Talk show host Charlie Rose relates how all of the successful people he has interviewed have had one thing in common: They say they work extremely long and hard, and most insist that extraordinary effort, not talent, is the key to their success.

Rose’s interview of Colvin can be viewed at http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/9856 .

Their Dec. 21st editorial “Gift exchange” states “Earlier this month, the commissioners learned that an unexpected reimbursement of farmland preservation funds from the state, for two farms the county had already paid to put on the preservation rolls, would add almost $1.08 million to the general fund. It would be fitting, and a good Christmas gift, if the commissioners could give a little of that to the library system.”

WATCHDOG: At last week’s Commissioners Meeting, our reporter posed the question of using the funds to replace budget cuts across the board. He was told the $1.08 million was for reimbursements of prior county outlays that enable the county to carry forward un-utilized current State grant money for farm conservation purposes into 2009.

It is good to both attend meetings and to seek clarifications! We cannot recall a representative of the Lancaster Newspapers asking a question at a public meeting. NewsLanc does so all the time, which results in more informative and provocative reporting.

All three then county commissioners came to agree that the sale of the Conestoga Nursing Home was conducted with inappropriate haste.

Yet many will recall how enraged and outspoken then Sunday News columnist Art Morris was that in private hands the quality of service would greatly suffer.

It appears his concerns and those of many others were at least premature. According to the Dec. 18 New Era, the Conestoga View Nursing Home was recently rated four stars out a maximum of five by an agency of the federal government.

Morris concerns were deep and sincere. But it served the purposes of convention center adversaries of Dick Shellenberger and Molly Henderson, with the cooperation of then District Attorney Donald Totaro, to make a mountain out of a mole hill and all but run honorable public servants out of town.

The announcement of high rise condominiums by a first rate team of developer Steve Risk, architects John De Vitry and Ken Hammel, and real estate broker Marilyn Berger bodes well for downtown Lancaster.

The Museum Tower Condominiums would be built above the combination museum and parking garage to be constructed on the vacant northeast corner of Queen and Chestnut.

The sizes will range from a minimum 1,150 square feet to as large as 4,000 square feet.

We believe there is a need for upscale condominiums in downtown Lancaster and, if an entire floor were to cost in excess of $2 million, under appropriate conditions we suspect that well heeled buyers would be waiting in line.

But unlike the potential that existed with the historic and beloved Watt & Shand building, the Museum Towers will need to compensate for its lack of ground floor space and not quite prime location. Further, were the opposite Brunswick Hotel still a Hilton with vibrant restaurants and ongoing entertainment rather than playing poor cousin to the Marriott, it would serve as an attractive amenity. Instead, the neighborhood lacks style and vibrancy.

Donald Trump understands the importance of a sense of ‘presence.’ Without a ground floor with a sumptuous lobby, security and meeting rooms, and without a dramatic entrance fitting for Lancaster’s foremost downtown address, the facility may lack the allure required by those wealthy empty nesters who are interested in moving from their fashionable suburban homes to a prestigious downtown condominium.

It will be interested to see if the project moves ahead and, if so, to what stratum of the market it is directed.

If this location doesn’t work out, may we suggest the current Bulova building site? Moreover, for those willing to wait a few years longer, there may be another opportunity for condos in the former Watt & Shand.