Personally, I do not think Interstate put really seasoned management here from the presentations that the current sales and management provided. Also, the over one million dollars that the LCCCA gave for their services was spent mostly on attending shows to drum up business. That money could have remained in the area and brought much […]

Note that the previous end of March opening date – which itself had earlier been changed from January 1 – was set while Ted Darcus and Dave Hixson were still running the LCCCA with iron fists. But who actually had demanded such an unrealistic date? Was it someone from the Penn Square Partners? Art Morris […]

Talking to a contractor tonight – he said he did not think they will not make the new deadline.

ALL business should open and close with longer hours and be consistent for at least the first 6 months. That would give a consistent shot to drawing visitors onto the street. Otherwise, forget it, they will not leave the building unless they are staying at the Brunswick or the Arts Hotel and are going to […]

It is a shame that we could have made state and national history by saying to Gib Armstrong and Dale High, “thanks but no thanks, we do not need a convention center downtown.” We have Ford, Thibualt and Shaub to thank for this white elephant that is only going to take business from other conference […]

It seems like the people who designed and built the hotel and convention center project have had no real-world experience with convention centers. Cooper-Carry created all of the structural designs and layouts, includingthe appearance of the outside of the building. Interstate Hotels andResorts (IHR) selected ALL of the materials, patterns, and furnishings inside the entire […]

I questioned the number of events booked at a recent LCCCA meeting. According to Mark Moosic, the number of events being quoted include ALL from BOTH the hotel and the convention center, and “events” in the hotel include food-only bookings PLUS blocks of rooms booked at the same time which use *NO* meeting space! Talk […]

NewsLanc publishes civil letters regardless of their stances. We welcome controversy and debate. However it got here, it is now OUR convention center and OUR Marriott hotel. (Both largely built with tax payers’ money or guarantees.) So we want to see them do well. We especially welcome communications saying positive things about the project.

I had a lengthy conversation with a local person who was invited on a Marriott Hotel and Convention Center walk through tour. This person called with tons of information knowing my personal opinion of the project.First of all, the layout is too choppy, too many small rooms. That the convention center is not separate from […]

The Marriott Hotel drop off at Penn Square has one of the ugliest porticos ever designed and, so radically detracts from the facade of Watt and Shand, that retaining the facade seems like an afterthought. Let me re-phrase…It’s not that the portico is so ugly as that it is SO inconsistent with the facade, and […]

Taxpayers who oppose state and federal funding of the Relocation Project of the Dillerville Norfolk Southern Rail Yard should write to their state and federal officials, and let them know how they feel. This includes President Obama, who is opposing the use of earmark money. Following is a copy of the letter that I have […]

Are you interested in looking into how divorce lawyers and the county judgeship are milking divorce suits to the point where there is no money left? About 130 men are in jail right now for failure to pay court ordered support. How does that help the situation?

We have a professional Fire Department with Fire Inspectors that have been trained in the operation of alarms, who are going to be the ones responding to any emergency. Are these gentlemen and women not competent to inspect and test the system and work with the contractor that is doing the installation? Lets give them […]

The $32,000 budgeted by the Convention Center for a third party to “inspect” the fire prevention and safety systems at the facility seems like an extreme waste of money. The Lancaster City Bureau of Fire, a “third party” with no vested interest in the CC project already staffs 4 Fire Inspection officers.These officers perform plans […]