The past few years have been frustrating for advocates of the “rails to trails” initiative along the old Norfolk Southern Railroad line running through seven municipalities in the southern end of the county. The previous board of commissioners attempted to create the rail trail unilaterally, by taking the 23-mile strip of land by eminent domain. […]

At Tuesday’s meeting of the City Traffic Commission, Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray laid his proposal for angled (as opposed to parallel) parking on the table for consideration. Gray wants to try angled parking spots, into which motorists would have to back in, on College Avenue between Lemon Street and Harrisburg Pike, Lemon Street from College […]

According to a letter in the March 3rd Intelligencer Journal from Candace Roper and Alison Kibler, the School District of Lancaster Board is due to vote on March 18 to approve or deny a request to establish a Lancaster Science Academy at 240 Harrisburg Pike. Roper and Kibler report attending a prior meeting and were […]

NewsLanc articles and Letters to the Editor have hypothesized that the ‘end game’ for the convention center project is the incorporation of a casino. Although to date, only slot parlors have been permitted in the several such facilities recently licensed elsewhere about the state, there has been much speculation that table gambling will soon be […]

Dave Pidgeon from the Intelligencer Journal was at the LCCCA board meeting last night (Feb. 28th). This was the first board meeting he had attended in quite a few months. I’ve noticed that Lancaster Newspapers’ coverage of LCCCA meetings has been lacking for quite a while. I wonder if NewsLanc’s prompt and thorough reporting about […]

President Judge Louis Farina and others deserve credit for exploring two innovations for the treatment of those accused of crimes. According to the Feb. 29 Intelligencer Journal, Farina has “a court driven task force [which] plans to set up a mental-health court in Lancaster County.” Clearly a large portion of prisoners, some estimate 20% to […]

At their full board meeting, Thursday night, the members of the Lancaster County Convention Center Authority voted unanimously to approve contract extensions with two law firms for ongoing legal consultation. The first is a renewed engagement letter with Fenningham, Stevens, & Dempster dated February 21, 2008. Authority Solicitor Chris Hausner explained that Fenningham, Stevens & […]

LCCCA Board member Kevin Fry, who is also Chair of the Authority’s Public Relations, Marketing, and Hospitality Committee, announced at the board meeting, Thursday night, that board member R.B. Campbell has been selected to accompany Authority Chair and Acting Executive Director Art Morris in negotiations with Penn Square Partners over the status of certain controversial […]

In response to a question from NewsLanc regarding whether they have considered taking steps to move forward the stalled “rails-to-trails” project on the old Norfolk Southern rail line in the southern end of the County, the Commissioners acknowledged that they have not. While Commissioner Craig Lehman agreed that the rail trail would be a wonderful […]

The guest at Wednesday’s weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of Lancaster was Former County Commissioner and recent Convention Center Authority appointee Sharron Nelson. Dr. Nelson offered some opinions on what it takes to be a good leader. She decried the prominent role political ideology plays within government, calling instead for competent managers. “I think […]

At their weekly meeting Wednesday morning, the County Commissioners voted to approve the Planning Commission’s application for state funding for the “Rooftop Greening Project.” As reported yesterday, the State Department of Environmental Protection and Office of Energy and Technology Deployment will make as much as $479,000 available to the project. “Roof greening,” the practice of […]

According to the Feb. 27 Intelligencer Journal, “plans to demolish portions of Lancaster Square are being finalized and pieces of the concrete eyesore could start coming down this summer.” Elsewhere similar-appearing projects built in the 1960s continue to be successes and are a source of community pride. So the problem with Lancaster Square was not […]

Mayor Gray announced at Tuesday’s City Council Meeting that “the city is working with ARRO Engineering on a Public Works project to finalize engineering and design work in preparation for selective demolition of some of the east side of Lancaster Square.” “The intent of the demolition,” he continued, “is to open up the square, reduce […]

Among the items up for discussion during tomorrow’s County Commissioners meeting is a proposed contract between the Lancaster County Planning Commission and the Pennsylvania Departments of Environmental Protection and Energy and Technology Deployment for funding for the “Lancaster County Roof Greening project.” The contracts could secure as much as $479,333 for the project over the […]