[The following letter responds to a reader's comment posted beneath NewsLanc's "COMMENTARY: 'Capitalistic Cronyism'"]

Au Contraire!  F&M has never shared the original improvement plans for the rail yard east of the Dillerville Road, pre- 2005 contract between F&M and Norfolk Southern.  Maybe Norfolk Southern’s plans may have been open to selling off the eastern most tip and/or working out another solution for the road reconnection.

Where is the documentation that the question was asked and the negotiations ensued?   NO WHERE, that’s where.  If you look at the projected development plans, the only thing the vacated rail yard will hold is F&M’s new athletic fields.  The street reconnection may have been possible without the rail yard relocation. The Nursing school was already planned for the vacated Armstrong property.

The Northwest Gateway is a good and beneficial project and was on track before 2005.  Its goals were to clean up the former Armstrong World Industries brown-field, build a nursing school, and expand a college campus, creating a cleaner more economically viable area in the city. At the same time there was also an internal plan for Norfolk Southern to upgrade their rail yard west and east of the Dillerville Road.

But in 2005, F&M College’s leadership said wait a minute to Norfolk Southern and proposed a contract (paraphrased) “If you change your plans and move your noise and dirt out of our future campus, we’ll find a location and secure public money to make it happen.”  The result is that F&M College wrapped a bunch of poop inside a worthy and already in-progress public project to achieve their private goals, changing the cost of the rail yard improvements from $2 million in private Norfolk Southern funds to $46 million, $32 million of it your tax money.

As part of this, the Governor gave a card board check for $10 million because the ‘project’ (remember the original Northwest Gateway Project?) would create thousands of jobs.  What he failed to mention in his speech is that the Northwest Gateway Project WAS NOT AND IS NOT dependent on the relocation of the rail yard.  Both the rail yard improvements and the Northwest Gateway were already on track before the relocation idea was pushed by F&;M College.

Also Gov. Rendell failed to mention that the thousands of jobs applied to the Northwest Gateway project but that the money would actually be spent on cleanup of a benign former municipal dump where there is a viable responsible party, LCSWMA.  Instead of being responsible for their pollution, LCSWMA will profit by charging tipping fees for re-disposal of their waste at another of their landfills. All this tax payer money is to be used to facilitate the rail yard relocation from F&M’s future campus and the real jobs that will be created  from the public monies be spent on rail yard improvements (as stated in Norfolk Southern documents) is estimated at twelve jobs over 10 years.

The Governor, Norfolk Southern, F&MCollege, and their silent partner, Lancaster General Hospital, all think spending $32 million plus in public monies to create twelve jobs is a good idea. And you wonder why your taxes go up, necessary services are cut back, and you always feel cheated?

But it’s OK because the newspaper researched this and determined that this is in your best interest.  You shouldn’t be bothered with details, such as, the DEP inspector who identified 180 instances of overweight trucks transporting this waste from the former dump to the Frey Farm Landfill, the air-borne asbestos “anomaly” during the excavation, or that maybe $10 to $32 million dollars could be better spent on a project such as the Corridor One public passenger train project which really would provide a public benefit and really would result in reducing air pollution on Route 283 in contrast to F&M College’s claim of removing 55,000 truck trips which, by the way, currently do not exist.

This issue really is as the NewsLanc  article describes.   I months ago I moved from the neighborhood so I can no longer be smeared with the NIMBY mud.  I remain involved because this issue is so much greater than a location for the rail yard.  I’ve seen intelligent people of means afraid to speak out as a result of subtle, implied pressure from Lancaster’s controlling interests.

I have seen a monopoly newspaper (one of Lancaster’s controlling interests) that even after two full days of interviews with an attorney, reviewing and receiving stacks of documents and recording it all for later review, printed, as a result, a ‘fluff’ piece, which instead of providing both sides for public awareness, chooses instead to be the final judge of the truth.

Whose ‘truth’ do think they picked for you?  Do you feel safer knowing the Lancaster Newspapers are saving you from having to think on your own?  It’s a privately-owned paper, they can print what they want was an explanation.  I’ve seen, once again, the powerful and politically connected get a free lunch on the tax payers tab, your tab.

I feel for my former neighbors who will need to bear the real hardships as a result of these ‘sleights of hand‘ while the rest of us read, utter a exclamation of mock outrage, and then just go on about our daily lives.

What is described above truly affects everyone, every week when you get your paycheck.  It is wasteful and morally bankrupt but we all accept it because “Well, that is how these things work”. Your silence is the desired acknowledgement and blessing on the process that the powerful and connected expect and rely on. Do something brave, do the unexpected.

The last two paragraphs in an article headed “‘Drugs 101′ aims to alert Manheim Township parents” state:

“To combat student drug abuse, Manheim Township School District plans to expand its drug and alcohol counseling and education programs.

“It’s also considering implementing stepped-up searches of student lockers by drug-sniffing dogs and adopting a mandatory drug-testing program, an idea supported by superintendent Gene Freeman.”

WATCHDOG: So foolish and so sad. Visit http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/node/37 and see the excerpt below.

The majority of youngsters experiment with marijuana the same as they experiment with beer. However, traces of marijuana are detectable for two weeks. The youngster who tests positive is no different that his or her classmates. But he or she drew the short straw, and now will become grist for the drug warrior mill: shamed, singled out, ostracized. Manheim Township needs a new superintendent, not drug tests.

From DrugWarFacts.org:

“Drug testing of any kind, including for cause or suspicion, was not a significant predictor of marijuana use. These results remained for all samples, even after controlling for student demographic characteristics.”

Source:

Yamaguchi, Ryoko, Lloyd D. Johnston & Patrick M. O’Malley, “Relationship Between Student Illicit Drug Use and School Drug-Testing Policies,” Journal of School Health, April 2003, Vol. 73, No. 4, p. 163.

[Full disclosure: NewsLanc’s publisher Robert Field is co-chair of Common Sense for Drug Policy which publishes Drug War Facts.]

According to the Intelligencer New Era of September 30, former mayor and Republican candidate Charlie Smithgall described the proposed streetcar scheme to a church group as ”a waste of time, effort and money.” The Intell further reports “And, if he is elected Nov. 3, Smithgall said he will pull the brake on a $150,000 study planned to determine if a $14.1 million trolley line is feasible.”

In defense of his intention to spend a $150,000 for a study, Mayor Rick Gray responded “Much has changed since 2001. Cities across the country have adopted trolley systems as a quick, efficient way to move people between restaurants, shops and businesses.”

What cities have successfully introduced streetcars to narrow streets and experienced success? NewsLanc researched and wrote articles on these supposed success stories and found them either to be rapid transit systems running on special easement or failed systems that lack riders, gush losses and are heavily subsidized.

The last time Gray asked for a feasibility study, then regarding the covention center project, the County Commissioners spent around $150,000 to provide it for him. But the mayor ignored its findings! (Yet Interstate Hotels and Resorts later used its data and projections as the basis for a marketing plan.)

If Gray continues to shoot himself in the foot with the unpopular streetcars and his failed bid to continue providing police protection to Lancaster Township, Smithgall may yet make this a contest.

“Where is the Old Dog these days? Too busy checking out sandwich shops and movies. While Lancaster Township moves its police protection from Lancaster City to Manheim Township officers, NewsLanc sleeps.

“We have to wonder why. Why hasn’t NewsLanc bothered to ask the tough questions? How long does it take a patrol officer to drive from the Lancaster Airport to the New Danville Pike? How many officers does Manheim Township actually have working at any given time? Their web site says they have 54 sworn officers, but take away the Chief, lieutenants, detectives, and other non-patrol officers – then ask how many are actually patrolling.

“Here we have Lancaster Township buying “8” officers. But it takes more than 8 for 24/7 coverage. Even the Old Dog can do this math: 8 hours per workday, times 3 shifts, times 7 days means 160 hours. Even the Old Dog could wag his tail to count that 8 hours out of each week won’t be covered. Hmm, Old Dog, maybe that’s actually 16 hours – don’t forget both sides of the township.

“Old Dogs should ask tough questions, like what Manheim Township Police are going to do court time (when the Lancaster Township Patrol Officer must be in court). Will there even be any coverage?

“NewsLanc, what’s your interaction with Manheim Township’s Police Chief. He doesn’t seem to be available to local media. Will he grant you an interview? Or is he too busy? Or maybe you are too busy to bother about a true issue facing a large portion of the local citizenry.

“My job is to put together a bill that will become law,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus said before the vote on Rockefeller’s amendment to the proposed Public Health Plan. “I fear if this provision is in this bill as it comes out of this committee, it will jeopardize” the overhaul effort, he said.

WATCHDOG: Better no new Plan than a bad one.

The September 29 County Commissioners Work Session was characterized by an unusually hectic tone as Purchasing Director Barry Hitchcock laid out the County’s options for securing a new energy contract within the next two days. With the only remaining bid now in limbo, and over one hundred municipalities potentially participating in the contract, the Commissioners strove to balance transparency with efficiency in determining their next steps.

Hitchcock was accompanied by David Butsack, a representative of American PowerNet, the County’s energy consultant. During the Work Session, the two officials dialoged with the Commissioners to make sense of this complex yet critical juncture.

The search for a new energy provider was prompted by PP&L’s approaching 2010 deregulation and rate cap removal, which is expected to increase customers’ energy bills by as much as 40%. The County, which currently contracts with PP&L, has sought a replacement provider to minimize the impact on County operating costs.

Through the Lancaster County Cooperative Purchasing Board and Energy Consortium, hundreds of regional municipalities could “piggy-back” on the contract in question, Hitchcock told NewsLanc. According to Hitchcock, most of these municipalities are presently “sitting by their phones,” awaiting the Commissioners’ resolution.

The process of seeking a new vendor has been troubled since the request for bids. Few companies have been interested in contracting with a consortium that includes so many small municipal governments—especially in the State of Pennsylvania. According to Butsack, one vendor retracted their offer due to a perceived instability in Pennsylvania’s economy and state budget.

Ultimately, of the 15 companies invited to bid, only five responded. Of those five vendors, three removed their bids before today. At 9:45 this morning, Hitchcock said, yet another vendor backed out, leaving only a single company in the running.

Hitchcock would not disclose the name of the remaining contractor. The bid itself was reported to offer energy costs 13% lower than PP&L costs projected for 2010.

The remaining bidder’s proposal was contingent upon closure before 2:30 this afternoon; and, when the County requested an extension until 5 p.m., the price was moderately increased. A memo had been sent to consortium members, requesting that they execute and return their contracts and confirmations by 5 p.m.

Matters became further complicated at the Tuesday meeting, however, when it became clear that the Commissioners would not be able to approve the resolution during their morning meeting. The decision was already publicly advertised to occur at a special 7:30 meeting that night in Mount Joy Borough.

“The difficulty for us is we want to be nimble so we can get the best pricing that we can,” Commissioner Craig Lehman asserted, “But we also want to be transparent so that public knows what we’re doing.”

After a fifteen minute recess, the Commissioners decided that Butsack will ask the bidder to refresh their price and hold the offer from 5 p.m. until a definite time tomorrow morning. The other bidders will be likewise contacted for good measure. The Commissioners will then end the 7:30 p.m. meeting in recess until a time, likely tomorrow morning, when the Purchasing Board and consortium members are prepared for an official bid approval.

UPDATE: Tuesday, September 29, 9:30pm

At the evening Commissioners Meeting in Mount Joy Borough, Hitchcock recommended that the Commissioners recess their meeting until 10:30 a.m. Thursday. During the meeting, Hitchcock further clarified that the purpose of the postponement is to properly coordinate the Commissioners’ decision with the bidder’s energy pricing schedule.

It was a lack of such coordination, Hitchcock implied, that brought about the day’s confusion: “What happened was that the pricing came in and they said, ‘It’s good until five o’clock tonight.’ Well, it’s obviously eight o’clock [now], so our prices expired, and we actually have nothing to award [tonight].“

In recent days, we have encountered an apt term that helps explain the offenses that have repeatedly occured here in Lancaster and throughout the nation, resulting with the top one percent of the population ever growing richer over the past two decades while the balance remains the same or declines. It is called “Capitalistic Cronyism”, the working among a group of the already very wealthy to further enrich themselves at the expense of the rest of society.

We need look no further locally than the building of the Convention Center Project against the wishes of almost 80% of the population and the ramming through of the relocation of the Norfolk Southern railroad yard without proper consideration of alternative locations. Now we see the apparent determination of Lancaster General Hospital, a public foundation, to waste its vast profits resulting from market dominance on an unneeded and unwanted new hospital in West Earl Township, in direct competition with the healthy Ephrata Community Hospital.

Now that we have the word for the disease, let’s see what we can do to eradicate it so that Lancaster and the nation’s business can be conducted on a level playing field.

Page A5: “Homeless sex offenders in Ga. Sent to live in woods; Laws keep many out of shelters”, “Video shows teens beating student to death”, “Abuse led British woman to kill disabled daughter, self”.

WATCHDOG: The stories make us sick, so a wag of the tail to the Intell for publishing them.

Ostracism of so-called “sex offenders” lumps the many who committed youthful indiscretions or crimes in with the few hardened adult predators. (Those prosecuted youngsters were usually only a small percentage of those violating what, in some cases, are questionable laws.) Gang violence is due in large part to inadequate poverty and social safety net programs.  The tragic suicide resulted from on-going harassment by neighbors and police inaction.

These cruelties don’t just happen elsewhere. Only the utmost vigilance and outspokeness can contain them here.

“If we continue to allow hundreds of thousands of our young people—black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, white—to grow up without a feeling that they have a stake in this society, if we let them come into young adulthood without ever holding a meaningful job, without any sense of hope, I think we are asking for trouble. We can’t retreat from them. We can’t turn our backs on them. We can’t circle the wagons in suburban developments with armed guards at the gates and believe that we are safe. The people, the masses, will eventually arrive at those gates, angry and upset, and then it will be too late. We must reach out to one another now. We must realize that we are all in this together. Not as black or white. Not as rich or poor. Not even as Americans or ‘non’-Americans. But as human beings.”

From “Walking with the Wind, A Memoir of the Movement” by Civil Rights leader and Congressman John Lewis, 1998.

In his column in reference to the recent community activist Acorn scandal of an isolated case of improperly advising sex workers, Public Editor Clark Hoyts reports:

“Jill Abramson, the managing editor for news, agreed with me that the paper was ‘slow off the mark,’ and blamed ‘insufficient tuned-in-ness to the issues that are dominating Fox News and talk radio.’ She and Bill Keller, the executive editor, said last week that they would now assign an editor to monitor opinion media and brief them frequently on bubbling controversies.’”

WATCHDOG: The position of “public editor” is the Times’ ombudsman, its in-house “watchdog.”