Month: March 2010

LT supervisors approve proposed fire house location

At a Thursday, March 31 special public meeting, the Lancaster Township board of supervisors voted unanimously to recommend that the administration formally present the School District of Lancaster board with their latest emergency services location proposal. The newly proposed location also satisfied the majority of previous complaints from local residents regarding potential loss of park space and impact on nearby residential streets…

Convention Center fails to meet economic predictions

I’ve confirmed through numerous sources that the vast majority of the staff that works events at the Convention Center are working for temp agencies. This allows Interstate Hotels and Resorts to hire a minimum number of people, while keeping their personnel and benefit costs down. As far as I know, there are only three businesses […]

US companies cut 23,000 jobs in March

From the FINANCIAL TIMES: US companies continued to cut jobs in March, dashing hopes that private sector employers would begin hiring for the first time in two years. Private businesses cut 23,000 workers this month, according to a survey from ADP employer services. on Wednesday. That failed to meet expectations of Wall Street analysts who were expecting gains of 40,000, but was the smallest monthly total of job losses since February 2008.

Modest quilt show gains for downtown shops

The Lancaster County Convention Center has long been billed as a boon to downtown businesses and a catalyst for local revitalization. Last week’s American Quilt Society show at the center, perhaps the largest expo of its kind to ever be held in Lancaster, could be viewed as a significant litmus test for that longstanding claim. NewsLanc surveyed 23 downtown shops this week to see how much their business was up during the course of the show…

Is Mayor Gray promising more than he can deliver?

“Gray told NewsLanc that the City has recently been looking into other means of covering the costs of future event-related services necessitated by the convention center. In particular, he mentioned the possibility of setting aside a portion of funds already given to the City each year by the Penn Square Partners.” Has Lancaster City actually […]

Obama to allow oil drilling off Virginia coast

From USA TODAY / AP: — In a reversal of a long-standing ban on most offshore drilling, President Obama is allowing oil drilling 50 miles off Virginia’s shorelines. At the same time, he is rejecting some new drilling sites that had been planned in Alaska. Obama’s plan offers few concessions to environmentalists, who have been […]

INTELLIGENCER NEW ERA

An article “Convicted killer of 2 dies in prison” goes on to say “LeRoy Stoltzfus always maintained he was innocent…” WATCHDOG: We felt sad for both Stoltzfus and the victims. Modern day DNA testing would have established whether Stoltzfus was indeed guilty of the rape and murder. Where the evidence still exists, scores of people […]

Health bill to create standards for food labeling

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The health care reform legislation that became law last week served up at least one change that many in the restaurant industry seemed almost relieved to see: the promise of a national standard for nutritional labeling requirements on menus… The National Restaurant Association quickly claimed the new requirements as a win […]

Study: People would donate kidneys for payment

From USA TODAY: Paying people for living kidney donations would increase the supply of the organs and would not result in a disproportionate number of poor donors, a study by researchers from the   University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center concludes. The study, published this month in the Annals of Internal Medicine, […]

COMMENTARY: Contributor sends Einstein quote

“All of us who are concerned for peace and triumph of reason and justice must be keenly aware how small an influence reason and honest good will exert upon events in the political field.” Albert Einstein Editor’s note:   Ongoing studies of the workings of the human brain establish that, once views are formed, it is […]

Corbett raising $$ as health-law foe

From the PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS: State Attorney General Tom Corbett insists he helped file a federal lawsuit last week challenging health-care-reform legislation because he thinks it’s unconstitutional to require people to purchase health insurance. That’s policy. Then there’s politics. Corbett, who’s running for governor, used the issue to raise money for his campaign, sending supporters […]

Specter wins state AFL-CIO backing

From the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: Sen. Arlen Specter won the backing of the state’s largest labor organization yesterday, with the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO endorsing him over Rep. Joe Sestak in the May Democratic primary. It was a powerful affirmation of how smoothly Specter has managed his political transition to the Democratic Party since leaving the Republican Party […]