At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Mayor Rick Gray reported that the Lancaster Square demolition project is two weeks behind schedule. He said certain problems in the original structure were discovered that will require the installation of supports. This could result in around $80,000 worth of additional work.
Tag: News and Commentary
Lancaster Catholic in Regional Finals
For the Regional Mock Trial competition, Lancaster Catholic defeated York Catholic on Tuesday in what a local observer described as a “clear victory.”Strong on arguments, York faltered on technicalities, failed to object even once, and stumbled over cross examination of a witness. Lancaster Catholic, which squeaked by McCaskey on a split decision for the county […]
Castration by consent when all else fails
Given the considerable interest by the New Era and a portion of the Lancaster population concerning sexual predators, we offer the following excerpt from the March 9 New York Times without taking any position: “The Czech Republic has allowed at least 94 prisoners over the past decade to be surgically castrated. It is the only […]
City grants SACA $200,000 for River Plaza planning
By Cliff B. Lewis Lancaster’s Spanish American Civic Association (SACA) was granted a $200,000 boost from the City tonight for their proposed Conestoga River Plaza on a 5.7 acre riverside tract near the intersection of Chesapeake and South Duke St., adjoining the Lancaster County Park. The grant will be used towards a six-month design and […]
SACA serves growing Latino community
Over one third of Lancaster’s population is Latino, a diverse Spanish-speaking group of cultures and nationalities. The stated mission of the Lancaster’s Spanish American Civic Association (SACA) is “to foster and facilitate the cultural, social, civic and economic development of the Latino Community of the City and County of Lancaster through the provision of human […]
Recession impacts apartment complexes
In the past year, most major apartment complexes in Lancaster County have experienced a moderate rise in vacancies. To attract prospective tenants, some especially hard hit local apartment complexes are offering several weeks of free rent and have minimized security deposits. One is providing up to $500 in free prizes at an upcoming open house. […]
Convention Center Revenue: A Guessing Game
Courtesy of http://www.lookingatlancaster.blogspot.com/ Any project that involves cash flow needs to have a business plan. This includes the taxpayer-financed convention center project in downtown Lancaster.Unfortunately, the few convention center revenue projections released to the public seem to be a part of some kind of guessing game. One of the first “pro-forma” projections available was a […]
EDITORIAL: A depressing self fulfilling prophesy
(Please excuse us for getting off subject.) Will somebody explain to us the following: Unemployment has grown by 4% over the past six months. Gross Domestic Product has fallen by 6.2%. Yet auto sales are off a whopping 37% in February. Why would a disproportionate percentage of the 92% employed people, presumably earning at least […]
Downtown merchants paying price now for future improvements
By Cliff B. Lewis In the coming months, Downtown Lancaster will gain a spruced-up image due to the streetscape improvements currently underway; but for now, certain center city businesses are paying the price. In the early ’90s, Tony’s Fashions, offering clothing, jewelry, and accessories at 14 S. Queen St, was patronized largely by shoppers from […]
Commissioners approve flexible care for Mental Health
At Wednesday’s public meeting, the County Commissioners approved a collection of agreements and amendments on behalf of the Lancaster County Mental Health/Mental Retardation/Early Intervention Program. Of the eight total changes, the most notable shift in funding was an additional $497,150 for the administration of Person or Family Directed Supports. Person/Family-Directed Supports (PFDS) are a channel […]
Chapter Four: Full Court Press: Lancaster Newspapers takes sides
After the Stadium Bill became law, in February 1999, Lancaster Newspapers’ role in the convention center and hotel project started to seep into its reporting, and bias began to show.
Urgent health care without the wait and expense
By Cliff B. Lewis Since February of last year, Urgent Care Center Lancaster has been providing emergency health care services at a fraction of the typical hospital Emergency Room (ER) costs. On average, visitors spend 40 minutes at the Urgent Care Center (UCC), as opposed to sometimes hours spent waiting in the ER — or […]
Facts re Bill Ayers’s past
By Cliff B. Lewis With Bill Ayers slated to speak at Millersville on March 19, the media has again fallen abuzz for the former Vietnam-era radical. At least in Lancaster, it has. And again, as was the case with the national media coverage last fall, there remain two critical facts regarding Ayers that have been […]
How Smithgall gambled and lost millions for City
NewsLanc sent the following inquiry to Patrick S. Hopkins, Business Administrator, City of Lancaster: “The Feb. 25th New Era article tells how five year ago the City ‘entered into a deal with Wachovia Bank to refinance a series of municipal bonds, essentially replacing one set of bonds for another.’ The idea was to lower the […]