“…somebody in each era must make clear the facts with utter disregard to his own wish and desire and belief. What we have to know, so far as possible, are the things that actually happened in the world. Then with that much clear and open to every reader, the philosopher and prophet has a chance to interpret these facts; but the historian has no right posing as scientist, to conclude or distort facts; and until we distinguish between the two functions of the chronicler of human action, we are going to render it easy for a muddled world out of sheer ignorance to make the same mistake ten times over.“
W. E. B. Du Bois, Pg. 722, “Black Reconstruction in America; 1860 – 1880”
Oh please. You’re a real estate developer and hotel owner who didn’t like that your properties were being taxed to benefit your competitor. Your competitor was getting a sweet deal on what you thought was a stupid project and you were being asked to pay for it. You just couldn’t stand it, especially because you always wanted to develop a project downtown yourself.
You’ve raised a few important issues over the years and you support good causes but mostly this site has just been about promoting your opinions and your interests under the pretense of practicing journalism. Where’s the reporting? What gives you the credibility to editorialize? It’s a blog about local issues and also Russia and drugs for some reason.
I had no hotel in or near Lancaster County. The closest hotel we owned was in Harrisburg. Wo we were not “competitors” although we did pay real estate taxes on an apartment complex and on our home in Lancaster County.
Neither Dick Schelenberger (RIP), Molly Henderson or I necessarily felt the Convention Center or the publicly subsidized Marriott Hotel was “stupid”. All that was asked was that a feasibility study be made by a reputable company indicating there would not be ongoing losses for tax payers to cover. There have been great convention center losses. They continue now. And there will be more in the future.
The commissioners were led to believe the grand jury was about to announce felony charges, which was untrue as became obvious from the grand jury’s later issued report which said quite the contrary. And then LNP took the two minor misdemeanors (that never occurred) that the commissioners accepted to avoid prosecution as cause for headlines the size announcing the end of the Second World War. The entire matter was perhaps the most shameful episode in the history of the county.