Tag: News and Commentary

EDITORIAL: Intell / New Era finally merge

“That was to be expected” was the response of most astute Lancastrians in seeing the Intell headline this morning “Intelligencer Journal, New Era will combine.” The marvel is that it took so long in coming about.

But that was representative of how Lancaster old money has been squandered by a generation of inept managers and custodians of the wealth generated by others. This has lead to dreadful misdirection of community efforts and the enrichment of opportunistic business interests.

CC Optimism at Downtown Barbers and Salons

Even with its opening delayed until May 11th, all of the five Downtown hair-care businesses interviewed by NewsLanc were generally hopeful that the Convention Center will have a positive impact on business. This optimism, however, was tinged with a realistic awareness of problems that might come along with the package. Eddie Hall, the owner of […]

County Commissioners meet in Marietta Borough

Tonight the Lancaster County Commissioners held their weekly public meeting in the picturesque Marietta Borough Municipal Building in Downtown Marietta. The meeting, which is typically held in Downtown Lancaster, continued a longstanding tradition of County Commissioners periodically meeting in other parts of the County to more effectively engage with the diverse communities of this immense […]

The collapse of journalism threatens democracy itself…

An article “The Death And Life Of Great American Newspapers” by John Nichols and Robert W. McChesney appears in the April 6, 2009 edition of The Nation. It contains many interesting observations and recommendations. Here are two excerpts with our comments: “Journalism is collapsing, and with it comes the most serious threat in our lifetimes […]

Thomas Hylton lectures on "Growing communities, not sprawl".

By Cliff B. Lewis Monday evening, as a kickoff to Franklin and Marshall’s annual Sustainability Week, Pulitzer Prize-winner Thomas Hylton was hosted by the college for a lecture entitled “Save Our Land, Save Our Towns: Growing Communities, Not Sprawl.” Hylton, a lifelong Pennsylvanian and resident of Pottsville, focused his lecture upon how communities like Lancaster […]

No lingering under Marriott portico

A NewsLanc reader, viewing the Marriott Hotel canopy being constructed in front of the Watt & Shand facadel, inquired “When one drives up to check in, what happens with the traffic?”

We asked Tom Smithgall of High Associates: “How many lanes are there for the traffic under the portico.”

EDITORIAL: Naivete or hypocrisy, or both?

The Sunday News “Perspective Section” rails against greed and privilege on the national level (Gil Smart: “Too big to suffer the consequences”) and corruption on the state level (Editorial: “The State for Scandal.”)

What is missing is any censorship of local practices, as though Lancaster has remained pristine during an era that was recently aptly described as notable for the “Incredible greed and dishonesty of the ruling class of America.”

What really happened at TMI 25 years ago

Special to NewsLanc from H. Michael Gray. Gray wrote the original screenplay for “The China Syndrome.” His book, “The Warning: Accident at TMI,” is based on his on-scene reporting, operator interviews, and the five official studies that followed.

The “unplanned event” at Three Mile Island 30 years ago this month was set in motion by the failure of a $20 check valve in a half-inch copper pipe. That minor incident led to a series of cascading failures that presented the men in the control room with a situation they had never seen before and had never been trained to handle. With key instruments gone haywire, flying blind, they made a couple of bad choices that wiped out the plant and released a still unknown amount of radioactivity into the air.

Art community voices concerns at CC meeting

At Thursday’s Lancaster County Convention Center Board Meeting, several local artists addressed the Board with concerns that the surrounding art community was not properly informed of a potential business opportunity. On February 19, a Request for Proposal (RFP) was published by the Lancaster County Convention Center Authority (LCCCA) for over $78,000 worth of art for Lancaster County Convention Center.

Veri and Jamanis wow New York audience

Thursday evening Lancaster’s duo-pianists Veri & Jamanis performed “An Evening with George Gershwin” before a packed Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. The audience of almost three hundred expressed great enthusiasm after each number and gave them a standing ovation at the concert’s conclusion.

Downtown stores for old books are local jewels

The used books business is a tough one these days. With big-box outlets drawing the masses to their pseudo coffee shop environments, and with online networks connecting buyers to individual booksellers, people too quickly overlook the simple pleasure of strolling through aisles of thoughtfully arranged hardbacks or the sweet dry fragrance of time on pages once-read.