As the number of swine flu cases seems to be diminishing here, two of the county's four hospitals finally have obtained H1N1 vaccine for employees who have direct contact with patients.This seemingly backward series of events is a result of insufficient supplies of vaccine nationwide.Vaccine is arri...

It's not like they can hang their work in an art gallery.For the talented tattoo artists in and around Lancaster, a good showing of their work usually means lifting up a pant leg or rolling a sleeve.Most of their art lives in the dark.But for at least one night, six regional tattoo artists will ...

During my visit to Fiorentino's at the Lancaster Airport, I felt like I was in a modern-day reproduction of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," replete with the requisite diversity — in Italy with Three Pasta Bowls.We journeyed to the airport location with a visiting friend who had...

Bright lights. Big city. If she could make it there, she could make it anywhere, or, at least, that's what Pittsburgh native Susannah Perlman thought when she first made the decision to move to New York City in the mid-1990's."I'd just graduated from college, and I had no idea what ...

Start with a base of youthful energy, add a generous portion of ambition, top with a dash of verve, and serve it on Penn Square.What you've got is Matt Shaffer's recipe for a second Tropical Smoothie Café.Shaffer opened his first a year and a half ago at The Shoppes at Bloomfield Vill...

The number of people infected with the H1N1 virus continues to climb in Lancaster County, with the state Department of Health reporting 51 confirmed cases as of Thursday.There's also one probable case of the virus here.On June 11, the World Health Organization declared H1N1 — commonly known as...

Manuel Torres likes to keep a lot on his plate.He's labored long and hard not only to ensure that his El Serrano Restaurante along Columbia Avenue serves exceptional food, but also to create a sensational setting to go along with the Latin American cuisine.It's been 15 years since Torres ope...

Editor's note: "On Your Plate" is an occasional series designed to sate the local appetite for newsworthy tidbits that relate to the local food-service industry."Welcome to Sherwood, my lady!" Erroll Flynn once said when he played the dashing outlaw hero Robin Hood. These day...

It's the holiday when a nation celebrates the dawn of its independence, when parades fill city streets, when families gather for picnics and fireworks light up the nighttime sky.The Fourth of July? Yes ... and, no. America's birthday was eight days ago.We're talking another red, white an...

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has reached an $80,000 settlement with Lancaster landlord Tony Papadimitriou for his failure to disclose known lead-paint hazards to tenants in his city-owned properties.Settlement terms dictate Papadimitriou must pay an $8,000 fine to the EPA and then spe...

Darren Parmer is passionate about his work.In response to a question about the impact lead paint can have on children, the city's certified lead-risk assessor leans forward in his chair and begins, "Now you got me going" before delivering a rapid-fire answer.His response was related to...

When it comes to being a professional musician, there are plenty of challenges, especially when it comes to marriage.And, especially when one of you works a standard 9-to-5 job and the other is constantly touring."It's hard. But going into this field you kind of have an idea that it comes w...

Ahhh, summer — now what?Need something to do?How about going to a mud sale?Wait, Lancaster County's famous mud sales are in the spring, when rain muddies the grounds at local fire companies holding their annual mega auctions.Not so fast. There are three mud sales this summer. Maybe we should c...

Two feuding motorists brawled in an Ephrata Borough parking lot before one man pulled a knife and stabbed the other in the neck, investigators said.Ephrata police Chief William Harvey said a "road rage" incident on South State Street led to the stabbing at Brights Family Restaurant Re...

Thanks to the "pooling" of resources, a summertime favorite has returned to Buchanan Park.After a two-year hiatus, swimmers can once again cool their heels in the park's wading pool, thanks to the generosity of some local groups.Although the pool opened last week, an official ribbon-cu...

Chad Fisher squatted on the hillside, held up his iPhone and recorded his nephew, Roman Thomas, 11, as he strained to gain a few extra feet in the pedal tractor pull."You have to get a good start and keep pedaling hard," Roman said after the event.The two helped illustrate the contrast bet...

Three widows are trying to forgive Sarah Timblin, the drunken driver who killed their husbands last year. But they aren't letting her, or those who they charge enabled her, off the hook for restitution.Marlin Banks Sr. and brothers Inocente Sanchez and Luis Sanchez were killed when Timblin's...

When Tim Carr and his friends bought a restaurant in downtown Lancaster, the dream of a new Lancaster County Convention Center was supposedly right around the corner.That was almost nine years ago.But next week, when the ceremonial ribbon is cut and the Lancaster County Convention Center finally ope...

About three weeks after Lancaster County's first confirmed case of the H1N1 virus — more commonly known as swine flu — the state Department of Health has reported five more cases here.On Friday, Lancaster Catholic High School notified parents and staff that one of its students was diagno...

Students at Donegal middle and Riverview elementary schools are starting summer vacation a day early today after district officials closed their schools because of swine flu concerns.No Donegal students have been diagnosed with H1N1 influenza, commonly called swine flu, but elevated absences at the ...