After challenging the concept of streetcars for initial cost, applicability to a small city such as Lancaster, and obstructing traffic during rush hour, Carol Petersen’s column re streetcars concludes: “Many of the cities with so-called ‘heritage’ lines cited by Lancaster streetcar fans found their ridership dropped off steeply after an initial period of either free […]
Month: January 2010
PA not expected to return to prior peak employment for three years
Jim Diffley of Global Insight, the state’s economic forecaster, told the Pennsylvania House Appropriations Committee that it will take three years for non-farm job payrolls to exceed the early 2008 high. It is expected this will take place early in 2013. The Harrisburg region is expected to reach that level a half year earlier. Members […]
U.S. Can’t Afford Not to Have a Second Stimulus Package
Daily Finance: Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, and Rudolph Penner, a fellow at the Urban Institute and former Congressional Budget Office director, both said Friday that an additional stimulus package would be required to improve the U.S. economy and allow the nation to avoid a double-dip recession… Mark Zandi said we need to […]
Ford’s sales jump 10% in January
Bloomberg.com — Ford Motor Co. said its U.S. sales rose at least 10 percent in January as optimism about the economy spurred business customers to boost vehicle purchases. Deliveries to so-called fleet buyers jumped by more than 50 percent from a year earlier, helping offset a drop of 1 percent to 2 percent among individuals, […]
Prisons: America’s growth industry
The following was forwarded by a viewer: HartfordAdvocate.com: Inside the borders of the United States resides a separate nation of 2.3 million people. It’s a nation in constant flux, with 700,000 residents released each year, their places soon taken by 700,000 others. It’s a land where the meals are free but the doors are always […]
Getting eye to eye with children
One of the things parents tell me about smoking cannabis is how much more it puts them in touch with their kids and how it reduces the urge to punish them corporally. In fact, these are both really important to parents, and if there was some way to integrate these notions, eg., “I never had […]
Gentrification is not a bad word
In social justice circles, say the word “gentrification” and you get sneers. Rising values often mean higher taxes which drive lower income neighbors out. And the idea of latte-drinking, Volvo-driving yuppies taking over a community sends shudders down our collective spine. But there are other view points. Some think that new grocery stores, restaurants and shops will only ever open with the push that higher-income neighbors can provide.
“Nullification” was an unknown option for Woomer jury
NewsLanc takes no position on whether Jay O’Shea Woomer administered the morphine to 11-year old Brent Weaver that resulted in his death. But we do disagree with the anonymous juror interviewed by a reporter from the Intelligencer New Era who made the following assertion: “There were many tears, but that’s what we believed happened. It was very, very painful to follow the law. We were doing our duty and following the rules of the law.”
US Economy Grew at at 5.7% annual rate
AOL.COM — The economy grew faster than expected at the end of last year, though the engine of that growth — companies replenishing stockpiles — is likely to weaken as consumers keep a lid on spending. The 5.7 percent annual growth rate in the fourth quarter was the fastest pace since 2003. The Commerce Department […]
CC loss could be $2, $3 or $4 million
Revenue should not be the concern. Even in the face of ever falling occupancy, the supply of newer rooms within the marketplace will continue to deliver revenue consistently and probably with a very slight average annual increase over time. This was never the concern. The problem that neither Mr. Molloy nor his or this project’s […]
We must grow our way out of recession
The dithering Chicago school [of economics] has proved wrong time and time again. They have no alternatives or excuses for the boom/bust cycles they categorize as inevitable. The Volcker scenario worked well during the Reagan years, but we live in a different financial world now, and there is no going back to that other time. A […]
Pa. left at the station for high-speed funds
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: “President Obama yesterday revealed his plans to spend $8 billion on high-speed rail projects heralded as the start of a new era in American transportation, but Pennsylvania’s share will be only a tiny fraction of that amount. “Pennsylvania’s $25.6 million – or 0.3 percent of the total – will go to improving the […]
CC director reluctant to predict impact of hotel room tax revenues
At the January 28 meeting of the Lancaster County Convention Center Authority, NewsLanc asked what the impact will be from recent and future declines in hotel room tax revenue. Executive Director Kevin Molly, however, was reluctant to make any definite projections: “We really don’t have any idea, but if we have to provide our best information, we see a slight increase for next year,” Molly asserted, “The impact of that—too early to tell.”
AOL.COM
“The Senate on Thursday confirmed Ben Bernanke to a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve by a strong majority just three days before his current tenure expired, ending a surprisingly tenacious confirmation process that underscored widespread anger at the government’s response to the financial crisis. “The 70-30 tally followed a tense procedural vote […]