In his weekly column, Editor Marv Adams queries: “If you opposed President Obama’s health plan, would you have opposed it had it been President Bush’s plan?” “If you support Obama’s plan, would you be supporting it if Bush had raised the idea?” WATCHDOG: Good questions.
Month: September 2009
SUNDAY NEWS
In his weekly column, Associated Editor Gil Smart suggests that opposition to Lancaster General Hospital building locating in West Earl Township is analogous to complaints against Walmart stores driving out smaller competition. (He only does so for illustrative purposes to make another point.) WATCHDOG: This is not a valid comparison. Walmart is a for-profit business […]
EDITORIAL: Manheim Township underbid and can’t perform
The Sunday News lead article “Many ‘suspects’ in cop switch; A look at how city lost out in bid to police Lancaster Township and how Manheim Township won. Or did it?” is otherwise comprehensive, apart from leaving out the most important concern voiced at last week’s Lancaster Township Supervisors meeting: Given the distance, can Manheim Township police project sufficient police force when police are most needed?
History as an action film: “The Baader Meinhof Complex”
If you’re game for a trip to Philadelphia this weekend I highly recommend a stop at the Ritz where “The Baader Meinhof Complex,” one of the most ambitious films ever made in Germany, is currently playing. If not, put it on your Netflix list. The movie is an epic chronicle of a dark period in recent history that resonates on a couple of levels.
Power from the audience
One thing I have learned from elected officials is that I personally can do more from the audience than on a board or in an office… NOT that I would ever try to run for anything! Attending meetings and asking questions keeps issues out there.
Uncommon management: PSP flexes muscle
If the lawsuit between county hotel owners and the government sponsors of the hotel and convention center project was among the first early skirmishes in the bloody civic civil war in Lancaster, then the fight over who would manage the taxpayer-financed convention center was its first major battle.
Ephrata Hospital already has plans to handle population growth
According to Ephrata Community Hospital (ECH) spokeswoman Joanne Eshelman, “We regularly evaluate our facility needs and have a plan in place to further develop our main hospital campus to meet the needs of this community.” This fact may come as surprise to the public, considering Lancaster General Hospital’s intention to develop an inpatient hospital and medical center within three miles of ECH’s central facility.
H1N1 will be Lancaster’s primary flu this year
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DoH), the H1N1 virus, which is the world’s dominant flu, will likely account for the majority of flu infections in Lancaster during the colder months of this and next year. Brent Ennis, District Executive Director of the DoH’s Southeast District Office, addressed the Commissioners at their September 16 […]
Task Force may consider library tax, system improvements
At the September 16 County Commissioners Meeting, a “Lancaster County Public Libraries Task Force” was appointed to assess the funding and administrative oversight in place for the county’s fourteen public libraries. Commissioner Craig Lehman described the group as an opportunity “to see if we can do things better.”
School Board welcomes LT facility plan
At the Tuesday, September 15, School District of Lancaster Board Meeting, Lancaster Township Manager Bill Laudien presented the Board with the Township’s plan to construct an “emergency services facility” immediately behind Planet Fitness on Millersville Pike. Plans for the facility, which would be funded and run by the Township itself, were well received by the Board…
EDITORIAL: What do officials have against profits?
Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray bristled when a member of the Lancaster Township audience mentioned that the City had built into its police service bid a 10% profit margin. He insisted it wasn’t so. The person wanted to make the point to the supervisors and audience that, in contrast, Manheim Township had no margin for profit and thus MT’s very low bid for police services was all the more in jeopardy.
County may assess Facilities Department efficiency
At their September 15 Work Session the County Commissioners discussed plans to evaluate the “staffing levels and skill sets” of the County’s Facilities Management Department. If an agreement presented by Administrator Charles Douts is passed tomorrow, the County will hire McCullough Consulting Group for a $34,550 contract to prepare its assessment by October 30. In […]
INTELLIGENCER NEW ERA
A page A5 Associated Press dispatch is headed “Obama warns Wall Street not to block new regulations” and goes on to say “[President] Obama insisted Monday that there is an urgent need for tighter financial regulation, and he cautioned his audience not to try to block it.” WATCHDOG: Although the article devotes 18 column inches […]
INTELLIGENCER NEW ERA
The newspaper carries a full back page ad stating “Wanted 25 people who have difficulty hearing and understanding in background noise. These 25 people are needed to evaluate [——]’s latest and most advanced digital hearing instrument and the effectiveness of the directional microphone system in background noise.” It below offers “tremendous savings” and says “Candidates will be selected by September 18th, 2009.”