At the Thursday, May 28, Lancaster County Convention Center Authority (LCCCA) Board Meeting it was announced that, largely due to recent setbacks, the current construction budget has fallen to a negative $423,106. As explained by Laura Douglas, Chair of the Finance & Audit Committee, the nearly half-million-dollar budget overrun is the result of recent change orders.
Tag: News and Commentary
Federal grand jury investigates murder of Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Luna
More than five years after his violent death, a federal grand jury is at last investigating the murder of Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Luna, according to a letter from the Lancaster County PA district attorney’s office.
Commissioners urge for “responsible” State budget
At the Wednesday, May 27, County Commissioners’ Meeting, the Commissioners passed a resolution to urge the Pennsylvania General Assembly to adopt a reasonable and “responsible” budget for 2009-2010. As stated in the resolution itself, the Commissioners’ primary concern is the shifting of “costs onto the local level.” In other words, the adoption of an overly stringent State budget would merely “pass the buck” down into local government budgets.
EDITORIAL: The manipulating of public opinion
The May 24th article by LookingAtLancaster.com titled “Projects concealed from taxpayers until too late” touches upon the root cause of so much that has and is yet going wrong in Lancaster. It groups the current “streetscape” improvement program, the proposed streetcars, and the convention center project as “Significant but unnecessary projects costing huge sums of taxpayer dollars have been constructed without any meaningful input from the people who must pay the bills, and will forever live with the consequences.”
Freedom to speak, yes; Freedom to peddle, no
In a May 24th Letter to the Editor of the Sunday News headed “Ballpark ambush”, Joy Schwanger writes: “At the front gates people approach you, stating that if you give them your name and phone number you will be entered to win a free car. What they don’t tell you is you give them your information, it will be sold to a company called Sundance Vacations, which will relentlessly call you trying to ‘give’ you free vacations.”
Projects concealed from taxpayers until too late
For the past decade, Lancaster has seen more dramatic changes than at any time since the disastrous “Urban Renewal” projects of the 1960s and 1970s. Like “Urban Renewal”, these changes will have a lasting impact on Lancaster for decades to come. Also like “Urban Renewal”, these projects were implemented without any meaningful input from the taxpayers and voters whose money is being spent to create these changes.
SACA promotes Latino workforce investment at annual fiesta
On Thursday evening, May 22, the Spanish American Civic Association (SACA) hosted its 28th annual fiesta at the Centro Hispano building on Pershing Avenue in the Southeast section of Lancaster City. The fundraising event was attended by hundreds of guests, and bounced with a bright tone of celebration—for the Hispanic and Latino community in Lancaster and for the work done by SACA to strengthen that community.
Chapter Fifteen: Not Just an Act: The sweetheart deal of Act 23
With the RACL purchase of the Watt & Shand building, the city authority would now apply for state loans or bonds on two issues of $24 million and $12 million, totaling $36 million. The bonds for the $12 million issue would be funneled through the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) under the Infrastructure and Facilities Improvement Program (IFIP), ratified in 1990.
The Lancaster Urban League: Much to do with little means
NewsLanc recently interviewed three project directors involved with the Lancaster Urban League (LUL): Regina Duell, Director of Operations; Zeltha Ellis, Director of Adult and Youth Education Support Services; and Melinda Zapp, Director of Project Hope. The LUL exists to empower poor and underprivileged minority groups, primarily living in Lancaster City.
SDoL faces “catastrophic” costs in 2012
At the Tuesday, May 19, School District of Lancaster (SDoL) Board Meeting, the Board discussed a painful rise in District pension costs that will begin in 2012. That year, schools all across the state will experience a jump in retirement rates that will, in turn, demand that schools reciprocally increase their payments to the Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS).
Hour Glass Foundation event moved to PAM
The Hour Glass Foundation has announced the relocation of its June 4th program from the Lancaster Convention Center to the Pennsylvania Academy of Music at 42 N. Queen Street, Lancaster. The presentation portion is titled “Great Places Make Great Cities.”
New Era publishes exit polls one last time
In the May 19 New Era article, “Early voters favor lifting alcohol ban,” the publication went ahead and published premature exit polling results from West Lampeter Township in the afternoon edition. The article was posted around 11 a.m., with over nine hours left for citizens to cast their ballots. The article described the New Era’s polling procedure: “The survey was conducted by four reporters in the first couple hours of voting. It is only a snapshot of early voting activity, but it has proven in past years to be a reliable indicator of voter preferences.”
Addiction services chronically under-funded
With the current state of the economy and its impact on State and Federal budgets, Kastner recently noticed a lot of discussion from other government agencies about funding cuts. This led him to take a look back at the LCDAC’s allocations from previous years. “As I suspected,” Kastner said, “we actually were being cut for the last seven or eight years.”
Measuring success of Convention Center Project
We have been told many times that the hotel and convention center project currently under construction in Lancaster, PA will help to revitalize its downtown area. The $139.4 million (plus interest) taxpayer dollars spent on this project (so far) has been called an investment in the future of Lancaster.