I am aware that the Hotel Tax is County. I am waiting for the group to come to the County for all or more of the tax dollars. Stuckey and Martin have reaffirmed that not one cent will be given to help the project and that they are not going to raise the hotel room […]
Month: November 2008
City, not County, is “on the hook” for hotel
Lancaster City has nothing to do with the “hotel tax”, which is a County issue that makes the bond payments for the convention center and subsidizes its losses. Lancaster City is on the hook for the hotel only. Don’t be surprised if S. Dale High and/or Nevin Cooley come crying to City officials for more […]
If Lancaster City survives…
May I explain your taxes: Home owners pay two taxes per year: A little tax in the spring and a big tax in the fall. The little tax is made up of the County tax that we all in Lancaster County pay the same: 3.41 mills and it was announced at this weeks commissioners meeting […]
Armstrong’s vision for city was wrong
My personal vision for the Watt & Shand site was a beautiful upscale condo complex with the basement housing the Y or some health complex that so many younger and older city residents would use and the first floor of the Watt & Shand building would have small businesses to service the FOOT TRAFFIC as […]
Connection to the “money powers”
…The TIF funding grant is predicated on sales tax collected. (subject to an annual approval.) If fewer dollars are collected, there is no grant. …A great tragedy is that the mammoth construction prevents virtually any other use for the real estate. I am confident that both Sen. Armstrong’s support for the project represents a … […]
Convention Center already impacting city tax payers
In response to a comment made on LancasterOnline TalkBackon November 21, 2008, regarding State Sen. Gib Armstrong and his hotel and convention center project: “It depends which taxpayers you’re talking about. Lancaster City and County taxpayers aren’t paying ANYTHING unless and until it fails, operationally, isn’t that right? So the public burden so far is […]
LETTER: City worse off due to Gib Armstrong
In response to the NewsLanc.com article titled, “Too soon to Judge Gib Armstrong’s career” which was published on Friday, November 21, 2008: I beg to differ with some of the conclusions of this article: “His service to his constituents will ultimately be determined by whether the convention center and the hotel succeed or fail. Thanks […]
Too soon to Judge Gib Armstrong’s career
It is clear from the New Era’s Nov. 21st interview “Sen. Armstrong looks back on his political life” that Gibson Armstrong considers the Convention Center – Hotel Project to be the cap stone of his public career. According to Armstrong, “I was not going to run again but then the convention center kind of fell […]
NIMBY not enough reason to oppose project
My unanswered question for the writer who had all the unanswered questions is, are you a TRRAAAC member. And if so, how is your opposition anything other than ‘Not in my backyard.’ The moral outrage at the ‘big institutions’ by people who wouldn’t even be paying attention of they lived somewhere else gets very tiring. […]
COMMENTARY: Local auto dealers have it wrong
According to the Nov. 21 Intelligencer Journal headline “Local car dealers say it’s imperative taxpayers help industry survive.” It goes on to report “Mark Stine, of the Pennsylvania Automobile Association, said if there is no rescue now for General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, the consequences for the economy of the country are severe.” The dealers […]
Unanswered questions re rail yard proposal
After all this time, and after all the “public meetings”, I still have unanswered questions regarding the railroad switching yard. First, if this project is so desperately needed by Norfolk-Southern, why are they only contributing $2 million to the project? That is the least amount of any of the “partners”. Second, if this project is […]
Convention Center facing $809,987 projected opening-year deficit
Interstate Hotels & Resorts, the operations manager for the Hotel & Convention Center, is forecasting an operational loss of $809,987 for the convention center & shared space for Fiscal Year 2010, it was revealed at Thursday night’s Convention Center Authority board meeting. Projections regarding the Marriott Hotel were not reported to the authority, which oversees […]
Sports can detract from education
I write from the prospective of someone who lettered in four different sports while going through the School District of Lancaster. While I see SOME value in sports – it’s my feeling that the emphasis placed on sports has created false realities and dreams for many. The result of this poor prioritization is a de-emphasis […]
Are Lancaster prison guards more dangerous than the inmates?
A yet to be identified inmate from Brooklyn, New York allegedly hung himself at the Lancaster Prison on Nov. 19. According to a report in the Nov. 20 Intelligencer Journal, “While Warden Vincent Guarini said the death was ‘definitely’ a suicide, Lancaster County Coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni said he would not rule on the manner […]