NewsLanc believes that the incredible greed and dishonesty by business leaders throughout our nation which triggered the current severe recession also occurred in Lancaster over the past decade.
It’s culmination was an almost $200 million Convention Center Project without a single supportive Market or Feasibility Study, and a district attorney witch hunt of conscientious former county commissioners who had opposed the project.
These deceptions could not have occurred without the opportunistic and disingenuous reporting of the Lancaster Newspapers, Inc., a principal investor in the Convention Center Project.
The scam was so duplicitous and far-reaching that only an extended NewsLanc series examining its widespread manifestations can cover the full story. The series is yet only about one-third of the way through. The ultimate question is whether Lancastrians suffered from predatory business practices or a criminal conspiracy. And certainly even more will be learned in years to come.
To date, the costs have been staggering: Poor city planning, potential higher City and County taxes, and the displacement of worthier projects have all been results of this single campaign. If the Lancaster public doesn’t look itself in its face, it will again be victimized.
