From USA TODAY: …Reading, now 58% Hispanic, is the latest harbinger for a more diverse America in regions where Hispanic migration has been a relatively recent development. “If you look at the Census data from 2000 and now 2010, you can see that there’s this phenomenon of Latinos moving to parts of the United States where there hasn’t been Latinos before,” says Stanton Wortham, a University of Pennsylvania researcher who specializes in linguistics and immigrant studies.
Month: June 2011
Move Drexel east, says new president John Fry
Drexel University’s pending “Campus Master Plan” is shifting the school’s expansion focus away from West Philly and toward Center City. “North traditionally was where Drexel expanded, up to Powelton Ave.,” through the neighborhood now crammed with student rentals, new President John Fry told me in his Chestnut St. office.
Jury Convicts Rod Blagojevich On 17 Of 20 Counts
From the HUFFPOST: Rod Blagojevich, who rode his talkative everyman image to two terms as Illinois governor before scandal made him a national punch line, was convicted Monday of a wide range of corruption charges, including the incendiary allegation that he tried to sell or trade President Barack Obama’s Senate seat. The verdict was a […]
Alert to Lancaster Township Authorities, Police and Citizens Watch
A crime wave is under foot in School Lane Hills to which township officials and the Manheim Township Police apparently have given a blind eye, let alone sniffed out. Neatly wrapped plastic bags with dog feces are on almost every street, usually besides sign posts and fire hydrants. Even a casual glance suggests the dog […]
The facts that many rich people want to conceal
Robert Reich article “ The Growing Desperation of the Don’t-Raise-Taxes-on-the-Rich Crowd” reports: “During almost three decades spanning 1951 to 1980, when the top rate was between 70 percent and 91 percent, average annual growth in the American economy was 3.7 percent. “Between 1983 and the start of the Great Recession, when the top rate dropped […]
Threat of $100bn hit if US top rating lost
From the FINANCIAL TIMES: Investors in the US government bond market could face losses of up to $100bn if the largest economy loses its triple A rating, according to a research arm of McGraw-Hill, the parent of Standard & Poor’s. A ratings downgrade that results in higher bond yields and lower prices could also mean […]
Pennsylvania laws pitting public schools against private
From the PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW: For charter schools, only three-quarters of teachers must be certified by the state. For districts, 100 percent must be certified. State certification is intended to prove teachers’ qualifications, and the federal government uses it to determine whether a teacher is “highly qualified,” as laid out in the No Child Left Behind […]
LGH physician: A hero amongst mercenaries
In a Sunday News column, one of Lancaster’s most dedicated and self sacrificing physicians, Jeffrey T. Kirchner, pleads with the public to routinely be tested for HIV infection. He points out: “In the U.S., it’s estimated about 21 percent of all people infected with HIV are unaware of their infection.
Western Libya Earns a Taste of Freedom as Rebels Loosen Qaddafi’s Grip
From the NEW YORK TIMES: But after an improbable series of military victories over the past three weeks — with fewer than 100 rebel fighters killed, their military leaders say — residents of a broad area in this mountain region are celebrating virtual secession from Colonel Qaddafi’s Libya. While there have been defeats, and the […]
A Clinical Study as Accidental History
Both American drug policy and its current iteration as a “war” on drugs are historical phenomena that should be amenable to study. One of several impediments to any study of human activity that’s been declared illegal is identification of those who engage in it because they might face prosecution or other adverse consequences. In essence, […]
Joe Biden Warns Republicans On Debt Ceiling Talks
From the HUFFPOST: Vice President Joe Biden said Saturday the Obama administration wouldn’t let middle class Americans “carry the whole burden” to break a deadlock over the national debt limit, warning that the Republican approach would only benefit the wealthy. Addressing Ohio Democrats, Biden said there had been great progress in talks with Republican lawmakers […]
New self-defense law is a solution seeking a problem
From the READING EAGLE: Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams got it right when he told The Philadelphia Inquirer that Pennsylvania’s expanded self-defense law was unnecessary but the best that could be hoped for since Republicans in the Legislature were determined to change the statute The castle doctrine to which Williams referred is the law – […]
SUNDAY NEWS
From editorial “What a sad state (of affairs)”: [It] “ goes to show how senseless it was for Gov. Corbett to make a no-new-taxes pledge during the campaign last year. Now he’s hemmed in, even though polls consistently show Pennsylvanians of both parties support a tax on the lucrative Marcellus Shale industry… Gov. Corbett, it’s […]
SUNDAY NEWS
Headline under a photograph of college president Dan Porterfield tells it all: “The ‘mindset to make a difference’; Students’ attitude inspires new Franklin & Marshall president, an academician, pragmatist and purveyor of ice cream. The welcome mat is out; a new era for college begins.”