On the first day of the new year, readers encountered the prominent front page headlines “Weis to lower, freeze food prices; 2,400 items affected; will last 90 days.” Although a by line was given to an Intelligencer Journal staff member, the entire article had all the markings of a promotional hand out from one of […]

“WGAL is reporting that the hotel and convention center plans to hire 150 people, at $8.50 to $15 an hour. It was not made clear how many of these jobs would be full-time or part-time. “So far, the project will cost taxpayers well over $140 million, nearly half over 40 years, plus interest. In addition, […]

A Dec. 30 lead story is headlined “Rail move set to go, but legal battle looming.F&M says work to begin mid-January. Opponents eye injunction to stop it.” The article mentions neighbors concerns about the release of friable asbestos upon the excavation of the dump, but then uncritically publishes F&M’s response. It is only in the […]

“From the Lancaster Sunday News published on November 23, 2008, page D-2, under “Briefly” ‘Interstate Hotels & Resorts, the company managing the center and the adjoining Marriott Lancaster at Penn Square hotel, said it has more than 90 commitments for conventions, meetings and other functions at the new center.’ “For those of us who have […]

Bold Dec. 28th headline at NewsMax.com : “Christmas Tally: Retail Sales Plummet” “Retailers’ sales fell as much as 4 percent during the holiday season, as the weak economy and bad weather created one of the worst holiday shopping climates in modern times, according to data released by Spending Pulse.” In other words, despite the bad […]

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is a welcome departure for a director known for offbeat thrillers; David Fincher. It’s also a high point for Brad Pitt, and a nearly heroic gamble for the two studios behind it, Warner and Paramount. This is a quixotic, meditative movie with a sensibility unlike any other in recent […]

An earthquake of a Magnitude 3.4 was felt in parts of Lancaster County shortly after midnight on Saturday, December 27th. A report from the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program can be found here.

The following observations were made from the Library System of Lancaster County “Operating Expenses, Years Ended December 31, 2007 and 2006.” (NewsLanc has requested a copy of the proposed 2009 budget, will pose questions to System Executive Director Susan Hauer, and report further at a later date.) Salary increases: Page 5 of the County funding […]

At their Dec. 17th meeting, County Commissioners Scott Martin assured a member of the audience that the new vendor’s prices for the prisoners’ commissary are comparable with those at Walgreen’s and other local merchants. NewsLanc obtained a list of the prices charged prisoners for their sundry items and arranged for comparisons at local stores. Most […]

CONTRIBUTOR: “I have been warning the convention center authority that Interstate having a contract with the authority and the PSP can’t serve both well since the authority is EXPECTING a deficit. “Interstate will be tempted to PUSH expenses to the public side of the project and lower expenses to the PRIVATE side of the project. […]

It isn’t only the Lancaster Newspapers that are becoming thinner, month by month. Published reports indicate that even the advertising revenue for the vaunted New York Times fell about 21% in November as compared to a year earlier. This is after a 16% drop in October. Classified ad revenue, one of the most profitable segment […]

“The Journal Register is the old Ingersol group… They were facing backruptcy in the early 1990s because they had so much debt in junk bonds. “These people are ruthless, don’t give a damn about newspapers other than to make money. It is sad that they were able to acquire so many publications. The debt from […]

“I wonder if Lancaster Newspapers is not already in default mode, already assuming that its readers are getting the important news from other sources. “The front page of today’s New Era has a huge story — ‘Extra! Extra! Read all about it, folks!’ — about people who wear shorts year-round. I am relieved that Cindy […]

Presumably the City went to the great expense of installing parking meters throughout downtown for two reasons: 1) To ration scarce parking space, in some locations to half an hour, others an hour, and others two hours. 2) To raise revenue. (Just this year the City raised the cost from $0.25 for 15 minutes to […]