2012-05-09 21:51:00
BERNARD HARRIS
A dozen years ago, when proponents of a Lancaster County convention center were proposing building a meeting center, county business leaders would annually drive to Hershey for the Chamber of Commerce dinner.
On Wednesday, the morning after former British Prime Minister Tony Blair address......
2012-05-06 21:28:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Correction May 8, 2012 — An earlier version of the article below failed to include state Rep. John Bear as a co-sponsor of House Bill 1329, a proposal to amend the state's prevailing wage law.
...
2012-05-03 20:14:00
TOM MURSE
U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts outraised his major-party challenger by more than 2-to-1 during the first three months of this year in his bid for a ninth term in the House, new campaign finance reports show.
The Chester County Republican reported bringing in $124,293 from Jan. 1 thr......
2012-04-23 22:51:00
TOM MURSE
Most of the congressional and legislative candidates seeking election this year are unopposed in the party primaries and will face their first and only challenge in November.
Here's a look at those candidates on the ballot in Lancaster County.
Congress
Rep......
2012-04-23 22:18:00
BERNARD HARRIS
More than a half-century ago, when the minimum hourly wage was raised from $1 to $1.15, the state required prevailing wage rates be paid for government projects costing more than $25,000.
Since 1961, the federal minimum wage rate has increased to $7.25, but the threshold for municipalitie......
2012-04-09 21:31:00
JEFF HAWKES
Letting voters decide if they want to shrink the 253-member state Legislature is an overdue idea for reform that finally has legs.
The House (203 members) passed a measure last Wednesday. The Senate (50 members) seems poised to follow suit.
And Pennsylvania voters just might get t......
2012-03-29 00:01:00
BRETT HAMBRIGHT
Ripples from the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State University have stretched across the state — including here in Lancaster County.
Local prosecutors say more potential sex-abuse victims are coming forward since Sandusky was charged in November.
Awareness of sex abuse is ......
2012-03-15 20:17:00
TOM MURSE
Time for a round of Who Said That?, an occasional feature highlighting some of the most notable quotables in politics. Take your best guesses at who said or wrote these 11 things. The answers appear at the bottom.
• 1. "I realized that the president and his ......
2012-03-05 23:11:00
BERNARD HARRIS
The simple bicycle could be the answer to a host of social ills.
Riding a bicycle can improve health; reduce air and noise pollution; cut down on traffic congestion; and increase transportation, recreation and employment options, especially for children and low-income individuals.
...
2012-02-16 23:01:00
TOM MURSE
Obama who? Romney what?
The year 2012 promises to be a big one in politics — and we're not even talking about the presidential contest. The slate is chock-full at the local and state levels, where the rubber really meets the road.
...
2012-02-08 23:19:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Pending legislation in the state House of Representatives would allow the National Rifle Association to sue Lancaster and 29 other Pennsylvania cities.
The bill, co-sponsored by six of Lancaster County's eight House members, would allow judges to impose triple damages against a city if a ......
2012-02-05 00:02:00
STATE REP. MIKE STURLA, In My Opinion
Recently, Gov. Tom Corbett proposed implementing an asset test on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients. His assertion that this is good policy is misguided at best, but assuredly mean-spirited during these challenging economic times. If the Corbett administration were tru......
2012-01-29 00:15:00
BRIAN WALLACE
John Weigel said something at Saturday's county Democratic Party convention that one doesn't usually hear at a Democratic political event. "I am proud to say I am a follower of Jesus Christ," Weigel announced to the 125 people gathered Saturday morning at The Country Barn, adding, "and that ......
2012-01-23 22:04:00
JEFF HAWKES
Along comes state Rep. Mike Sturla with an idea for reforming the government.
Will wonders never cease. Pay-hike Mike thinks we should amend the state constitution!
But before you go check on weather conditions in Hell, be advised Sturla's proposal is as much about good government......
2012-01-17 23:12:00
TOM MURSE
Tom Corbett's handling of the Penn State child sex abuse investigation as attorney general has raised numerous questions — chief among them, why did it take nearly three years for charges to be filed, and only after he became governor?
Critics in the Legislature who say Corbett drag......
2011-12-22 22:45:00
TOM MURSE
Kannscht du Deitsch schwetze?
State Rep. Mike Sturla had pretty much everyone in Harrisburg scratching their heads this week when he began speaking Pennsylvania Dutch on the House floor.
Among them were the folks who were responsible for recording and transcribing the leg......
2011-12-21 22:28:00
TOM MURSE
Lancaster's Republican state House delegation railed for months against a proposal to split the county into two congressional districts, the apparent byproduct of a plan to shore up the re-election chances of a GOP congressman from suburban Philadelphia.
They tried to pressure their leade......
2011-12-15 22:34:00
TOM MURSE
A few political notes, quotes and anecdotes this week:
New 16th District
U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan's obscenely gerrymandered 7th Congressional District, which cuts across southeastern Pennsylvania and deep into Lancaster County, would make the "Pen......
2011-11-01 22:55:00
TOM MURSE
Lancaster County is growing in population.
It might soon be growing in number of politicians.
The county could be represented by three additional members of the state House beginning in 2013 because of its growth over the past decade, newly unveiled legislative maps show.
......
2011-10-27 22:45:00
BRIAN WALLACE
The three state senators representing Lancaster County voted Wednesday for a bill that would implement a state-funded voucher program in Pennsylvania next year.
But their counterparts in the House aren't ready to endorse the controversial legislation.
Senate Bill 1 was approved We......
2011-09-21 22:34:00
TOM MURSE
Is it political ideology run amok?
Just a flawed idea?
Or a genuine attempt to reflect the will of Pennsylvania's 8.2 million voters a little more accurately?
A surprise proposal to dramatically revamp the way Pennsylvania awards electoral votes in presidential elections h......
2011-09-09 21:25:00
DAVID O'CONNOR
With so many people in need in the Lancaster area, it's "wonderful to be able to say to them, 'We have — please come in!' " Jennifer Eaton said Friday.
A clothing-bank co-ordinator for the Lancaster County Council of Churches, Eaton on Friday was looking at head-high stacks of cloth......
2011-08-17 22:34:00
TOM KNAPP
In retrospect, the state representative from Lancaster city said, he regrets his use of the word "womenfolk" to describe Pennsylvania's female population.
Rep. Mike Sturla, a Democrat, is drawing flack from the state GOP for remarks — described by Republican Party leaders Wednesday ......
2011-06-24 19:52:00
TOM MURSE
All Pennsylvania voters including the Amish would be required to show government-issued identification in every election under legislation passed by the state House this week.
But Plain sect voters could claim an exemption, based on their religious objections, from the provision requiring......
2011-06-17 22:35:00
BRIAN WALLACE
State Rep. Mike Sturla of Lancaster is co-sponsoring legislation that would increase state oversight of public charter schools and shift tuition costs from local school districts to the state.
The bill, introduced this week, would save districts $187 million statewide, including $7.7 mill......
2011-05-06 15:10:00
BRETT HAMBRIGHT
County Commissioner Craig Lehman touted Lancaster Central Market as a community "gem."
Former Lancaster city mayor Art Morris called it "the jewel of center city."
But it needed to be polished, no doubt.
Seven million dollars, countless man-hours, and 16,000 red bricks lat......
2011-04-10 00:20:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
Lancaster County has a reputation for Pennsylvania Dutch frugality. The county's 11 state legislators say that a commitment to thrift guides their staffing and salary decisions. But even so, the dollars spent on the legislative staff are no chump change. The county delegation emplo......
2011-03-20 17:35:00
STAFF
People wanting to learn more about the extraction of natural gas in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale formation will have two opportunities to do so Wednesday.
• Two members of Marcellus Shale Coalition, a Pennsylvania-based group made up of energy companies, will speak to Rotary ......
2011-03-08 22:04:00
TOM MURSE
The biggest winners in Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed budget, according to a chorus of local Republican legislators?
You, the taxpayers.
"No new taxes. Restrained spending. A focus on jobs — I see it as a win for the working folk," said state Rep. Scott Boyd of West Lampeter To......
2011-03-08 11:23:00
Staff
Here is contact information for federal and state officials who represent Lancaster County.
FEDERAL
President Barack Obama, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20500; phone: 202-456-1111; fax: 202-456-2461; e-mail: ...
2011-02-07 22:51:00
TOM MURSE
Gilbert Arroyo was convicted of raping a child in New York in 1999.
Arroyo later moved to Pennsylvania and, theoretically, was required to register as a sex offender and keep his current address on file with state police.
But when local prosecutors went after the 41-year-old Lanca......
2011-01-04 20:34:00
TOM MURSE and AD CRABLE
Two state senators from Lancaster County have won prized committee chairmanships for the new two-year legislative session.
Sen. Mike Brubaker of Warwick Township, a former chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, has been chosen to lead the influential Senate Financ......
2011-01-04 20:25:00
TOM MURSE
When Ryan Aument arrived at his new office in the east wing of the state Capitol Tuesday morning, the phone already was ringing.
On the other end of the line was his predecessor, retired state Rep. Katie True from East Hempfield Township.
"She called to wish me the best, right whe......
2011-01-04 15:46:00
TOM MURSE
Cuatro millones de dólares.
Es una figura que vamos a oír mucho sobre el próximo semestre.
Esa cifra - $ 4,000,000,000 - estará traqueteando en la mente del nuevo grupo de legisladores de Pennsylvania.
Es el tamaño del défici......
2011-01-03 21:11:00
TOM MURSE
Four billion.
It's a figure you're going to hear a lot about over the next half year.
Amid the pageantry set to take place in the gilded chambers of the state Capitol Tuesday afternoon, that number — $4,000,000,000 — will be rattling around the minds of Pennsylvania's ......
2010-12-01 21:17:00
BERNARD HARRIS
After six years of talking, planning and fundraising, work began last month on Eastern Market Plaza.
The construction site sat empty and equipment idle as rain fell Tuesday, but Tabor Community Services president Bob Thomas said he believes much of the work could be completed by Christmas......
2010-11-29 21:34:00
TOM MURSE
Thanks, but no thanks.
All 10 state lawmakers who represent Lancaster County and are returning to Harrisburg in January said they will turn down the mandatory 1.7 percent pay raise for 2011 that will be added to their paychecks beginning Wednesday.
Most said they'll write checks i......
2010-11-28 00:13:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
State Rep. John Bear figures the third time could be the charm.
When Gov. Tom Corbett and the new Republican-controlled legislature take office in January, one of the top priorities will be a proposal that's gone down in flames twice: selling the state store system.
Two of Corbett......
2010-11-10 19:17:00
JEFF HAWKES
It's the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter. Your team is down by a point and has the ball.
But then your quarterback walks off the field and out of the stadium, and he's followed by the running back. The center accuses the other team of cheating, and he leaves, too.
As the ......
2010-11-04 21:53:00
TOM MURSE
Republicans picked up at least a dozen seats in the state House on Election Day, and they expect to have at least a 111-92 majority in the chamber during the next two-year legislative session.
Who will lead them?
They'll decide that Tuesday, when the caucus holds leadership electi......
2010-11-04 21:35:00
TOM MURSE
A telling scene late on Election Day: Tom Corbett, the Republican who had just been elected Pennsylvania's next governor, offered this glimpse of the future to his supporters.
"Look across the river," he said.
Meaning to New Jersey, to its own Republican governor, Chris Christie. ......
2010-11-03 00:29:00
TOM MURSE
By wide margins, Lancaster County voters helped thrust Tom Corbett and Pat Toomey into office, while granting state lawmakers and congressman new terms and picking a Republican to replace retiring state Rep. Katie True.
In the most high-profile races on the ballot — the statewide co......
2010-11-03 00:18:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Voters in Lancaster city and areas just outside the city line in Manheim and Lancaster townships on Tuesday returned State Rep. Mike Sturla to Harrisburg to serve another term.
Sturla, 54, will continue to be the longest-serving member of the county's state legislative delegation and the ......
2010-11-01 21:48:00
TOM MURSE
Pennsylvania voters are angry — or at least wildly dissatisfied.
They consistently give legislators poor marks for job approval and overwhelmingly believe Pennsylvania is headed in the wrong direction, polls show.
So why, then, do they give their state lawmakers a pass year ......
2010-10-31 22:28:00
BRIAN WALLACE
Democratic and Republican candidates, committee members and volunteers pounded the pavement and flooded the phone lines over the weekend in a last-minute push to get out the vote for Tuesday's election.
Both parties are hoping for a large turnout when voters go to the polls, which will be......
2010-10-31 00:16:00
TOM MURSE
Ask a farmer what keeps him up at night nowadays, and you'd better be prepared to listen. And listen. And listen. Lois Herr found that out on the campaign trail this weekend. The Democratic congressional hopeful, meeting with a group of Amish farmers here Saturday, asked a sim......
2010-10-28 22:35:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Tom Garman said he wasn't happy with the direction the government was headed, but it was the economy that prompted him to do something about it.
"When people don't have money, don't spend money, it affects my bottom line," said Garman, the Republican candidate for the 96th state House Dis......
2010-10-25 17:48:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Lancaster city's economic development has been the envy of other Pennsylvania cities in recent years, but underneath the new buildings and downtown street improvements is a shaky financial foundation, business leaders say.
Lancaster's city government is in a much better position than Read......
2010-10-20 19:50:00
JEFF HAWKES
Meeting recently with this newspaper's editorial board, state Rep. Mike Sturla seemed more talkative than usual, if that's possible.
He arrived a little early, had lots to say about any topic we threw at him and seemed happy to keep going. And he would have continued, I think, even after ......
2010-10-12 18:05:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Tom Garman said he believes a state tax on natural gas would be a job killer and the state Legislature could close a projected $5 billion budget gap with a line-by-line budget review to cut spending.
Mike Sturla said Pennsylvania is the only state in the nation without a severance tax on ......
2010-09-26 00:14:00
JON RUTTER
Maureen Powers says axing the Lancaster County Human Relations Commission would consign disabled claimants to a difficult alternative –– Harrisburg. The YWCA Lancaster executive director knows firsthand. She uses a wheelchair. And she has attended job-related discrimination heari......
2010-09-02 20:10:00
TOM MURSE
A few odds and ends this week.
Larry's crystal ball
If you're wondering just how awful Nov. 2 is going to be for Democrats, look no further. The director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, Larry Sabato, predicted this week t......
2010-08-22 00:02:00
STATE REP. MIKE STURLA, In My Opinion
This session I have been advocating for bringing equity to the police funding issue. The Pennsylvania State Police provides 83 percent coverage by land mass, not population. Only about 21 percent of the state's population relies on full-time PSP services and another 6 percent relie......
2010-08-03 20:49:00
TOM MURSE
A Lancaster city man who intended to challenge Democratic state Rep. Mike Sturla as an independent candidate was denied a spot on the November ballot.It's not that Paul Culbreth didn't have enough signatures.In fact, he and his supporters gathered nearly 600 of them — ......
2010-08-03 14:15:00
TOM MURSE
Un hombre de Lancaster buscando desafiar al representante estatal Demócrata Mike Sturla como candidato independiente logró ser parte de la boleta electoral de noviembre para la fecha límite de ayer lunes a las 5 p.m.No es que Paul Culbreth no tuvo suficientes firmas....
2010-07-29 23:53:00
P.J. REILLY and TOM KNAPP
Four counties in Pennsylvania have their own human relations commissions.Whether that makes Allegheny, Erie, Philadelphia and Lancaster county leaders progressive or proponents of duplicative government services was the subject of debate Thursday night in downtown Lancaster.About 30......
2010-07-29 23:25:00
TOM KNAPP
A handful of young children danced in the spray of the Binns Park fountain Thursday evening as, around them, some 250 people gathered to speak out for civil rights.Lancaster County Commissioners were scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. and hear comments on the fate of the local Human Relations Com......
2010-07-15 21:37:00
TOM MURSE
Democratic state Rep. Mike Sturla has easily beaten back challenges from a long line of Republicans over the course of nearly two decades.But he never has come up against a formidable, well-known independent who could have the potential to appeal to Democrats in the heart of the district, ......
2010-07-15 15:18:00
TOM MURSE
El representante estatal demócrata Mike Sturla ha derrotado fácilmente los desafíos de una larga línea de republicanos durante casi dos décadas.Pero nunca se ha enfrentado a un formidable y bien conocido independiente que podría tener el potencial ......
2010-07-02 20:14:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
Whether it's ridding Lancaster of graffiti, feeding hungry families or spotlighting black history through a recent Juneteeth celebration, Cheryl Holland-Jones' life has been about bettering her community.Holland-Jones, 56, has been the director of Crispus Attucks Community Center s......
2010-06-28 12:49:00
BRIAN WALLACE
La Cámara estatal aprobó una nueva formula de financiación para los servicio s de educación especial, pero la medida no incluye a los incrementos de los fondos estipulados que esperaban algunos funcionarios de las escuelas y los defensores de los minusváli......
2010-06-27 21:47:00
BRIAN WALLACE
The state House has approved a new funding formula for special-education services, but the bill doesn't include the mandated funding increases hoped for by some school officials and advocates for the disabled.In fact, the bill's sponsor, state Rep. Mike Sturla of Lancaster, said st......
2010-06-20 00:11:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
On June 19, 1865, some 2½ years after it took effect in the rest of the nation, the Emancipation Proclamation was read to slaves in Galveston, Texas. After more than a century of bondage, the entire black race in America was finally free. To commemorate the event, Crispus Attucks Comm......
2010-05-18 23:33:00
TOM MURSE
Voters had little to decide at the local level in Tuesday's primary.None of the seven local state House members or two state senators seeking re-election this year faced opposition in Tuesday's primary. Only three of them face opponents in the fall.Likewise, Republican U.S. ......
2010-05-13 20:53:00
TOM MURSE
A few final thoughts about Tuesday:• It's not really a "primary election," though that's the way Pennsylvania's Department of State refers to it. As a friend and political sage correctly notes: "NO ONE will be ELECTED on May 18. They will be......
2010-05-07 16:06:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
Un acta propuesta en Harrisburg, semejante a la nueva ley en Arizona, que permitiría que la policía detuviese a cualquier persona sospechosa de ser un inmigrante ilegal, es indignante, racista y totalmente antiamericana.Esos fueron algunos de los términos utilizados pa......
2010-05-06 22:20:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
Correction May 7, 2010 — Legislation being considered in Harrisburg would require police to check a person's immigration or citizenship status only if it's suspected the person is in this country illegally, and only after that person......
2010-05-02 22:10:00
BRIAN WALLACE
A bill that would mandate sexual-education instruction for all public school students in Pennsylvania is gaining ground in the state Legislature.The House Education Committee Wednesday approved House Bill 1163, which would mandate "age-appropriate" sex-education classes covering ......
2010-04-18 00:12:00
MANDY STOLTZFUS
Republican talking points took center stage Saturday morning at the quarterly Lancaster County ACTION breakfast meeting at Leola Restaurant. About 100 members of ACTION, Americans for Christian Traditions in Our Nation, were in attendance to hear keynote speakers U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts, who is ......
2010-04-01 21:46:00
TOM MURSE
State Rep. Tom Creighton won't face a primary challenger after all.Republican Barry I. McFarland, who initially appeared to have collected the 300 signatures necessary to run against Creighton in the May 18 Republican primary, has withdrawn from the race.The retired industrial-a......
2010-04-01 20:01:00
TOM MURSE
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Politically Speaking Index, where we break down the campaign season by raw numbers.Let's begin.• Number of state legislators representing parts of Lancaster County who are seeking re-election this year: 9....
2010-03-27 00:02:00
TOM MURSE
Lancaster County's Republican state House delegation is backing Attorney General Tom Corbett in a controversial and potentially costly legal challenge of the federal health care law."The federal government is usurping powers and authority that were never granted it by the Constitu......
2010-03-26 00:04:00
AD CRABLE
Just a few years ago, the public was told the safest way to dispose of expired and unused medicine was to flush it down the toilet or throw it out in the trash.We now know that those practices have contributed to pharmaceuticals entering the nation's waterways and eventually getting in......
2010-03-16 00:03:00
TOM MURSE
When she was pregnant with her son, Nicole Spadea Jackson would sit at night with her oldest daughter and quietly imagine what Max would look like and sound like when he came into the world."My daughter had all kinds of plans for him," Jackson said.But on Dec. 28, just one......
2010-03-11 00:03:00
BRIAN WALLACE
Back in 2002, Act 38 certainly seemed like a good idea.School districts and the state were reeling from the recession following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.So was the state-run Public School Employees' Retirement System, which had lost billions on investments during ......
2010-03-09 22:20:00
TOM MURSE
State Rep. Tom Creighton, a 9-year veteran of the state House, is facing a surprise challenge for the Republican nomination in May.A retired industrial-arts teacher from Penn Township has collected the 300 signatures necessary to appear on the GOP's May 18 primary ballot, according to ......
2010-03-05 00:01:00
TOM MURSE
Gov. Ed Rendell's three-county traveling roadshow will make a stop in Lancaster at noon today.Pennsylvania's Salesman-in-Chief will be pitching his sales-tax expansion plan to a friendly crowd at Filling's in College Row, an upscale clothier across from Frankli......
2010-02-28 00:21:00
MARY BETH SCHWEIGERT
Office workers are paying higher health-insurance premiums. So are farmers, store clerks and factory employees. But while health care costs skyrocket for most Americans, one group still gets its coverage for free: Members of the state House of Representatives. Pennsylvania taxpayer......
2010-02-28 00:17:00
MARY BETH SCHWEIGERT
As health care grows increasingly expensive, government workers and elected officials — with the exception of state House members — are shouldering more of the costs, just like their private-sector counterparts. Here's a look at national and local elected officials' health benefi......
2010-02-28 00:16:00
MARY BETH SCHWEIGERT
Why do government employees' health plans tend to have higher-than-average premiums? Government employees often trade relatively low salaries for job security and better benefits, health-care expert Jon R. Gabel explains. Strong benefits can serve as a recruiting tool for government wor......
2010-02-26 00:01:00
TOM MURSE
The afternoon of Nov. 16 was, for many in Pennsylvania's House of Representatives, a tad uncomfortable.The legendary Philadelphia Republican John M. Perzel had taken his seat for the first time since being charged in a wide-ranging public corruption probe of the Genera......
2010-02-21 00:19:00
DAVID O'CONNOR
Joe Sestak didn't need a microphone. Instead, the congressman and candidate for U.S. Senate, declining a spot up at the podium, stepped out among fellow Democrats at the Lancaster Host Resort & Conference Center on Saturday. "We promised ... we promised the people ......
2010-02-16 23:08:00
TOM MURSE
Republicans showed up determined to get an endorsement.And that's precisely what they did.Members of the Lancaster County GOP took less than half an hour and just two ballots Tuesday night to back a successor to retiring state Rep. Katie True: 32-year-old Ryan Aument of Landisvi......
2010-02-09 20:52:00
TOM MURSE
Thomas L. Garman Jr. will try to do what Republicans have failed to achieve for two decades: unseat Democratic state Rep. Mike Sturla.Garman, who runs a Lancaster city landscaping business, said in an interview Tuesday that he will challenge Sturla in November if for no other reason than t......
2010-02-08 08:30:00
BRIAN WALLACE
Martha Harris' daughter was born with a life-threatening condition called non-immune hydrops.But Kathryn Harris beat the odds and is preparing to attend college, despite the learning difficulties, vision impairments and other physical and emotional disabilities related to her condition......
2010-01-29 00:01:00
TOM MURSE
Some of you — not many, some — revile the idea of turning the nation's largest full-time Legislature back into a part-time outfit, a proposal crafted by a handful of lawmakers from Lancaster County and declared dead on arrival by leadership."New Jersey has a part-time ......
2010-01-22 00:01:00
TOM MURSE
Five local lawmakers are behind a plan to turn the nation's largest full-time legislature — yeah, that's ours — into a part-time operation.Republican Reps. Bryan Cutler, Gordon Denlinger, John Bear, Scott Boyd...
2010-01-19 00:01:00
JEFF HAWKES
Stranger things have happened than die-hard Democrat Mike Sturla endorsing Democrat-come-lately Arlen Specter.The new ad in which Domino's admits its pizza is barely edible comes to mind.Still it's almost surreal to find Sturla's name on a list of endorsements at ...
2010-01-15 00:01:00
TOM MURSE
A few tidbits from the political notebook.Who's No. 1 for No. 2?
Former county GOP chairman Chet Beiler raised a few eyebrows here when he won last weekend's round of straw-poll balloting for lieutenant governor. He had been keeping his candidacy quiet until the meeti......
2009-12-18 00:01:00
TOM MURSE
State Rep. Katie True announced her plans to retire from the House more than a month ago, and only one of the half-dozen people who've said they are considering a run has made a decision.Ryan Aument of Landisville said earlier this week that he will, i......
2009-12-17 00:01:00
JEFF HAWKES
Pennsylvania for too long has stacked the deck against taxpayers in Columbia, Lancaster and other high-poverty communities where schools are burdened by greater than average numbers of students who require special education.Every year since 1991, the Pennsylvania Legislature has treated al......
2009-12-13 00:13:00
JACK BRUBAKER
Mayor Rick Gray believes he has cut expenditures in Lancaster City's $46 million general fund budget close to the bone. And because he believes the city is not spending too much money but receiving too little revenue, the mayor is organizing a march on Harrisburg to demand a more flexibl......
2009-12-08 00:26:00
LORI VAN INGEN
John C. Pittenger, former Pennsylvania Secretary of Education and former state representative died Sunday at Homestead Village from complications of Parkinson's disease. He was 79."'Pitt,' as he was affectionately known, was a true patriot, serving his nation, his state an......
2009-11-15 00:19:00
JON RUTTER
Sixty-seven people put to work, to the tune of $109.8 million. That's the stimulus payback reported by the federal government for the 16th Congressional District, which includes all of this county, a large chunk of Chester County and a strip of western Berks. It's a waste, fumes......
2009-11-08 00:20:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
State Rep. Mike Sturla's bill to require rural municipalities to pay more for state police protection is taking fire from all sides. House Bill 1500 remains bottled up in the House Appropriations Committee, but throughout Pennsylvania municipal officials have ripped the legislation, and ......
2009-10-19 09:30:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Dot Evans remembers being in a grocery store in her native New Orleans when she saw a child take a box of cereal off the shelf and tell his mother that he wanted it.The mother told the boy to put it back. The child didn't and did not come when called.The mother, in anger and fru......
2009-10-14 10:09:00
TOM MURSE
Maribeth Madonna got the phone call from the Capital One credit card company just before Christmas in 2005. It wanted to verify that she had, in fact, applied for a new account."I was startled," Madonna recalled in an interview.Madonna had not applied for a new credit card......
2009-10-11 00:14:00
PAULA WOLF
Contacted Saturday for his reaction to Gov. Ed Rendell's signing of a new budget, Mark Esterbrook had a ready reply. "It's about time," said the CEO of Community Action Program of Lancaster County. Local social service providers like Esterbrook, and other recipients of state money, are ......
2009-10-03 00:04:00
STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Democrats in the Pennsylvania House sent a plan to the Republican-controlled Senate late Friday that would tax natural gas extraction and tobacco products to replace a previous proposal to tax small games of chance and tickets to arts events.The 103-to-98 vote came exactly two weeks after ......
2009-10-02 00:02:00
TOM MURSE
The handshake agreement that was supposed to end Pennsylvania's protracted budget stalemate two weeks ago appeared to fall apart Thursday as House Democrats backpedaled on the deal and came up with a new plan on their own.Frustrated Senate Republicans said such a move would send things......
2009-10-02 00:01:00
TOM MURSE
If you want to vote in the November elections you have until 5 p.m. Monday to register if you do it in person at the county Voter Registration office, 150 N. Queen St.If you're doing it by snail mail, make sure your application is postmarked Oct. 5 or earlier.We have the registr......
2009-09-27 00:16:00
JEANNETTE SCOTT
After years of failing to convince the state Legislature to raise the prize limits on small games of chance, groups may have gotten their wish. But at a price. Veterans posts, fire companies and fraternal clubs operating games such as raffles and punch cards under the Local Options Smal......
2009-09-18 08:01:00
JEFF HAWKES
Pennsylvanians can now buy hypodermic needles without a prescription, a change that research shows reduces the spread of AIDS and other viruses among users of illegal drugs.Public health activists hailed the state Board of Pharmacy's lifting of the restriction as a way to lessen risky ......
2009-09-13 00:19:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
It's an urban jungle out there. Last week the mayor of Reading announced that he'd asked the state to declare Reading a "distressed city." With a $15 million budget gap, Mayor Tom McMahon has said as many as 45 police officers and 35 firefighters could be laid off. Harrisburg is debatin......
2009-09-12 06:02:00
TOM MURSE
Deal? What deal?Gov. Ed Rendell quickly put the kibosh on a $27.9 billion budget framework hashed out by three of the four legislative caucuses and unveiled Friday morning. ...
2009-08-24 00:10:00
Tom Murse
Three high-profile Democrats here are endorsing U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak in his bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter next year, bucking their party's establishment. Lancaster County Commissioner Craig Lehman, city Councilman Tim Roschel and a state committeewoman from Manheim ......
2009-08-06 09:18:00
TOM MURSE
More than 77,000 state workers, some of whom have been relying on food banks to get by during the budget stalemate, will get their first full paychecks in nearly a month beginning next week. Democrats in the state House?They've already paid themselves.The Democrats dipped......
2009-08-02 00:08:00
SUZANNE CASSIDY
At the Lancaster County Democratic Committee's annual corn roast Saturday, there was plenty of humidity, but not so much of the humility that used to surround Democrats living in this traditionally conservative county. Some 130 local Democrats gathered at Long's Park for a dinner of roa......
2009-07-31 00:01:00
TOM MURSE
It wasn't exactly a cage match to the death.But anyone who caught the latest round of the State Budget Blame Game — courtesy of Republican Rep. John Bear and Democratic Rep. Mike Sturla — should have a decent feel for why Pennsylvania is in......
2009-07-29 10:12:00
TOM MURSE
Everyone in the Griest Building has a theory.What caused a hefty chunk of terra cotta to break loose from the 84-year-old skyscraper and hurtle nearly 200 feet to the ground?Gravity.Ba dum bum."Maybe it's all the jack-hammering going on down on the street,&quo......
2009-07-08 10:04:00
TOM MURSE
Pennsylvania's 253 state lawmakers have been working without pay during the week-old budget stalemate. But that doesn't mean they're scraping to get by.More than 200 legislators, including two from Lancaster County, are being reimbursed by taxpayers for meals on the days they&#......
2009-07-03 00:01:00
JEFF HAWKES
Sen. Arlen Specter in Lancaster on Wednesday said that being a Democrat "feels very comfortable."Specter had better realize his comfort level is beside the point.Since he switched parties at the end of April, what matters is whether Democrats are comfortable with Specter....
2009-07-02 10:07:00
TOM KNAPP
Municipalities that don't have their own police departments soon may be asked to pick up the cost of state police coverage.A measure to impose fees on those municipalities — about 20 percent of those in Pennsylvania, including several townships in Lancaster County — passed ......
2009-07-02 00:03:00
JEFF HAWKES
They're worried about making ends meet, and they're a little miffed, these mayors from Pennsylvania's blue-collar, rust-belt cities that Bruce Springsteen might sing about.At a news conference in Lancaster to plug tax reform that would give cities a fighting chance to reverse d......
2009-07-01 00:05:00
TOM MURSE
Now that the deadline to pass a state budget has come and gone and there's no prospect of an agreement anytime soon, you might be wondering: What makes this year different?It is true that the Legislature and Gov. Ed Rendell haven't been able to approve a spending plan before July 1......
2009-06-30 00:06:00
TOM MURSE
Forget midnight.In fact, some Harrisburg insiders say, forget July.The disparate factions warring over next year's state budget are still miles apart, which means reaching an accord before the constitutional July 1 deadline — or even over the next several weeks — is ......
2009-06-24 00:32:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Mayors of five Pennsylvania cities — Lancaster, York, Reading, Easton and Bethlehem — announced Tuesday they've formed a coalition to meet the challenge of paying for municipal government.The cities had been the subject of a study earlier this year by the Pennsylvania Econo......
2009-06-18 00:01:00
Budget battles in Pennsylvania are rarely collegial. Rather than working to bridge the gap between revenue and expenditures, the two parties tend to migrate to their own aisles and throw barbs at each other.Faced with the largest deficit in state history, lawmakers this year have reverted ......
2009-06-17 01:02:00
DAVE PIDGEON
An income-tax increase proposed Tuesday by Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell probably won't pass, state lawmakers said Tuesday.But as Democrats and Republicans look to slash spending in ways that will have consequences for local governments, most people will probably end up paying higher taxe......
2009-05-21 10:52:00
TOM MURSE
The Draft Smithgall effort appears to have succeeded. Former Lancaster Mayor Charlie Smithgall got enough write-in votes in Tuesday's Republican primary to run as the GOP nominee against Democratic incumbent Rick Gray, an initial vote count by elections workers showed. "Repu......
2009-05-12 01:09:00
JEFF HAWKES
State Rep. Mike Sturla calls it "outdated, unfair and … an abuse."He could have called it absurd, too.The target of his scorn is special-education funding in Pennsylvania.The state, by law, must provide special-needs children with schooling that prepares them......
2009-05-12 00:01:00
Most would agree that Pennsylvania's state police are very good at what they do. They patrol highways, arrest bad guys, break up drug rings and respond when called.But as well-trained as they are, they cannot be in two places at the same time.Yet, they are being asked to do more......
2009-05-06 00:39:00
PATRICK BURNS
The Rendell administration is rolling out a plan to quickly spend $252.8 million in stimulus money on the statewide Weatherization Assistance Program.At a hearing Tuesday in Harrisburg, lawmakers and other officials discussed a preliminary plan that would bolster spending on the program th......
2009-04-30 00:23:00
BRIAN WALLACE
State Rep. Mike Sturla has introduced legislation that would revamp Pennsylvania's special-education funding formula.The Lancaster city Democrat is co-sponsoring House Bill 704, which would replace the current funding formula with one based on the 2007 "costing-out" study com......
2009-04-23 00:01:00
DAVE PIDGEON
A bill approved Tuesday by the state House on Tuesday would add more stringent requirements for landscape architects to acquire a license to practice in Pennsylvania.The bill would mandate anyone wishing to obtain a landscape architecture license pass an exam and take 24 total hours of con......
2009-04-14 11:22:00
TOM MURSE
Charlie Smithgall might be headed for a political comeback. He just doesn't know it. And he might not even want it. Supporters are orchestrating a write-in campaign for the affable former mayor in next month's mayoral primary — and haven't bothered to tell their own candidate....
2009-04-10 01:28:00
JEFF HAWKES
Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray needs a shovel to do his job. Pennsylvania gives mayors a wheelbarrow instead.A wheelbarrow is a handy thing to have. No doubt mayors put them to good use.But when you need to dig, you want a shovel.Even before the recession, mayors were trying to di......
2009-04-02 01:28:00
DAVE PIDGEON
The state Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill Tuesday that would bar illegal immigrants from accessing public benefits such as Medicaid.But the bill's future is in doubt as it moves to the Democrat-dominated state House, and Gov. Ed Rendell has signaled his displeasure with it.T......
2009-03-26 12:39:00
TOM MURSE
The case of the once-powerful state lawmaker accused of misusing money from a nonprofit he founded is likely to shed light on a small number of similar foundations in Pennsylvania, including one started by Rep. Mike Sturla here. Investigators with the state Attorney General's Office are "scruti......
2009-03-23 00:01:00
The federal stimulus package notwithstanding, Pennsylvania faces a budget deficit that is inching toward $3 billion this fiscal year.In an attempt to balance the budget, Gov. Ed Rendell has laid off workers and placed restrictions on the use of automobiles and state-owned planes. Lawmakers......
2009-03-20 11:11:00
CINDY STAUFFER
No news became news Thursday, as Bill Ayers came and went at Millersville University, and nothing happened. A phalanx of police officers from across the county ringed the building where Ayers appeared, checking everyone who entered with a metal detector, closing nearby streets and keeping a ......
2009-02-25 00:43:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
Under Gov. Ed Rendell's proposed budget, some of the state's historic sites could become, well, history.Barbara Franco, executive director of Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, told legislators at a meeting of the House Appropriations Committee on Monday that proposed c......
2009-02-19 01:26:00
JEFF HAWKES
More often than not, state Rep. Mike Sturla gets it.He's a dependable champion of such noble causes as insuring the uninsured and funding schools so every student has a fair opportunity to achieve.Local progressives never fail to rally around Sturla because he's the one and ......
2009-02-06 00:23:00
DAVE PIDGEON
House Democrats rolled back a few reforms that grew out of the 2005 pay-raise controversy Wednesday night, an action that drew little notice as Gov. Ed Rendell's proposed budget dominated media discussions."Now, unfortunately, because of these rules before us, it's a step back......
2009-02-05 11:42:00
ROBYN MEADOWS and CINDY STAUFFER, Staff
It's not going to save that much money. It will eliminate neighborhood schools. It will wound local pride. Several local school officials said today they do not think Gov. Ed Rendell's proposal to consolidate the state's 501 school districts to about 100 districts could work....
2009-02-05 10:58:00
TOM MURSE
Republican state lawmakers from the county found much to dislike about Gov. Ed Rendell's latest budget — namely that it hikes spending and relies on federal stimulus money. But, when prodded, some also gave the Democrat an atta-boy — namely for kicking off the months-long process of......
2009-01-28 00:26:00
DAVE PIDGEON
As of Tuesday evening, five members of the Lancaster County delegation had returned their 2009 pay raises to the state Treasury and two others had donated theirs to charity."People are getting laid off," said state state Rep. Scott Boyd, a West Lampeter Township Republican who ha......
2009-01-07 00:18:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Lancaster County's newest state senator on Tuesday decided to pick up where his predecessor left off.Shortly after taking the oath of office, State Sen. Lloyd Smucker introduced legislation to increase penalties for violations of the state's open government laws.Smucker, alo......
2009-01-05 01:04:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
A part of Lancaster's controversial downtown urban renewal project, which swept away a block of "blighted" buildings in the 1960s, will itself soon be history.The pedestrian walkway over the 100 block of North Queen Street is coming down, part of a demolition project intended......
2008-12-29 00:01:00
When the Legislature reconfigured the 13th Senatorial District following the 1990 Census, we wondered if state Sen. Gibson E. Armstrong would fully represent the city's interests. After all, Armstrong's previous districts in both the state House and Senate had been largely rural in nature......
2008-12-04 00:39:00
DAVE PIDGEON
The state Legislature's new session is still about a month away but Democrats and Republicans already are at odds as the two sides sparred Wednesday over an old topic — pay raises for legislators.The row began when House Democratic leaders announced Wednesday morning they would f......
2008-12-03 10:58:00
TOM MURSE
House Democratic leaders say they are voluntarily giving up this year's 2.8 percent pay hike in light of the faltering economy and the state's dire financial situation. And they are encouraging all rank and file in the 203-member House to pay back their own $2,151.35 raises — a......
2008-12-02 00:01:00
The grand vision of Lancaster Square is coming down piece by piece.Planned as a downtown mecca for shoppers and businesses, the complex included two connecting parking garages, movie theaters, an anchor department store, a bank, a hotel and tiny shops, boutiques and business offices peerin......
2008-11-30 00:19:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
For Deb Fitzkee, it started in Elstonville two years ago. Her husband called: He was taking her to a club picnic. He was a hunter; she knew there was a "turkey shoot" scheduled. She figured the archers would be firing arrows into polyfoam targets. Instead, the targets were mad......
2008-11-27 00:03:00
DAVE PIDGEON
As volunteers and officials served an estimated 300 people a Thanksgiving meal Wednesday in the Water Street Rescue Mission dining hall, they also were talking about some troubling trends.Single women with children now make up a greater portion of all homeless people nationally compared wi......
2008-11-26 00:29:00
DAVE PIDGEON
The bespectacled and bow-tied Rick Gray slouched in his chair late Tuesday afternoon, and his eyes drooped toward a 43-page budget document resting on his lap.Gray, the mayor of Lancaster city, was in the middle of his third newspaper editorial board meeting in 24 hours about his proposed ......
2008-11-19 00:02:00
DAVE PIDGEON
For the first time in seven years, a Lancaster County lawmaker will hold a leadership position in the state House of Representatives.The Democratic caucus Tuesday elected state Rep. Mike Sturla, a 10-term Democrat from Lancaster city, to chair the House Democratic Caucus' policy commit......
2008-11-13 00:53:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Politicians from Lancaster County remembered Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll on Wednesday night as a woman who smashed gender barriers yet treated even her toughest political opponents with respect.Knoll lost her four-month battle with cancer Wednesday at the age of 78, ending an accomplish......
2008-11-12 01:14:00
DAVE PIDGEON
In the aftermath of last week's election, a showdown for the top positions in the state House is brewing, and that could force Lancaster County-based legislators to make some tough choices.At stake are the most influential posts inside the chamber — house speaker and majority lea......
2008-11-07 01:37:00
JEFF HAWKES
Half of all Latino students at McCaskey High School drop out.That stark fact is in a report Frances Rodriguez keeps on her desk.Every day when Rodriguez, 45, comes to work as chief of staff at state Rep. Mike Sturla's office, she can't miss seeing that report.It's......
2008-11-05 08:35:00
CINDY STAUFFER
Sen. John McCain needed to win big in Lancaster County to help propel him to victory in Pennsylvania. He won, but by a smaller margin than past Republican candidates here, and Sen. Barack Obama took the state and the nation in the presidential race. McCain won almost 56 percent of the v......
2008-11-03 01:29:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Bruce Beardsley, chairman of the Lancaster County Democratic Committee, stood at a podium in the party's campaign headquarters Sunday beneath a banner reading "CHANGE VS. MORE OF THE SAME.""Forty-eight hours," Beardsley said as about three dozen fellow Democrats che......
2008-10-31 02:02:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
No, Thaddeus Stevens will not be rising from his grave at Shreiner-Concord Cemetery on Halloween night.But friends of the cemetery at Mulberry and Chestnut streets will be on hand from 6 to 8 tonight projecting larger-than-life images of Stevens and others on a freshly painted brick wall, ......
2008-10-29 01:00:00
PATRICK BURNS
A new, centrally located visitors center is scheduled to open this spring in the shadow of Lancaster County Convention Center.The newly named Lancaster Visitors Center will draw tourists to the first floor of the Heritage Center Museum in Penn Square and be operated by Pennsylvania Dutch C......
2008-10-24 01:17:00
MADELYN PENNINO
For Fran Rodriguez, "Latinos in Lancaster County" was a harsh dose of reality.The report, released in December by the Lancaster County Workforce Investment Board, examined the social, economic and academic challenges confronting the county's Latino community.To Rodrigu......
2008-10-18 01:03:00
MICHAEL YODER
As the sun cast long shadows on the infield of Clipper Magazine Stadium on Friday evening, more than a dozen workers set up steel barriers, a stage and a walkway stretching the entire length of the right-field line in preparation for a political powerhouse.This morning, Alaska Gov. Sarah P......
2008-10-16 10:58:00
CHAD UMBLE
The news from Harrisburg is grim. This morning, the 11 members of Lancaster County's state legislative delegation painted a bleak picture on a host of state issues. Speaking at a legislative issues breakfast sponsored by The Lancaster Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the lawmakers took tu......
2008-10-05 00:17:00
PAULA WOLF
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius may not have been in Kansas anymore, but she seemed right at home Saturday speaking to a crowd of excited, and motivated, Democrats in Lancaster city's Binns Park. The two-term Kansas governor, representing the campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama,......
2008-10-02 00:04:00
MICHAEL YODER
Gazing eyes in Penn Square turned upward Wednesday afternoon as a single steel beam — painted white — was hoisted into place atop the former Watt & Shand building.In a topping-off ceremony that drew close to 200 business leaders, politicians and project supporters, the last......
2008-09-29 00:32:00
TOM KNAPP
Shawn O'Connell had a look of fierce concentration on his face as the massive wheels of his forklift churned up great gouts of mud and water and he threaded a bucket handle with several tons of machinery.Pouring rain may have turned the 12th annual ABC Construction Rodeo into a swampy ......
2008-09-20 00:42:00
CARLA DI FONZO
It's the perfect time to celebrate a 100th anniversary, say the members of Conestoga Lodge 140 of the Improved Benevolent Protective Order of the Elks."It's an honor to be in an organization like this — particularly at this time," said the Elks' state president,......
2008-09-20 00:32:00
LORI VAN INGEN
As burgers sizzled on the grill, hungry Lancaster residents lined up at Water Street Rescue Mission's Community Cookout to sink their teeth into the tasty meal Friday afternoon. ...
2008-09-14 00:21:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
People may not call them WAMs anymore, but the bottom line is that local legislators gave out more than $3 million in discretionary funds during the 2007-2008 fiscal year. Once referred to as walking around money, or WAMs, those funds now come under the purview of the state Department of Commun......
2008-09-09 11:31:00
TOM MURSE
Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin, on their way to Lancaster for an afternoon rally today, will portray themselves here as reformers who will "drain the Washington swamp" and fight special interests, aides and recent appearances suggest. The GOP presidential nominee will renew h......
2008-08-30 00:58:00
CARLA DI FONZO
Whether or not Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is the best choice as Sen. John McCain's running mate depends on whom you ask.Some suggest that Palin, the first woman chosen by the GOP to run for vice president, looked like a good option after the McCain camp reviewed polls indicating a signifi......
2008-08-26 01:15:00
MICHAEL YODER
Five Lancaster County residents took their place Monday among the Democratic Party delegates who have converged on the "Mile High City" of Denver.On the opening day of the Democratic National Convention, in which Michelle Obama gave the keynote address, talking about her first me......
2008-08-25 11:37:00
TOM MURSE
Democrats gathering for their party's convention in Denver this week will pay homage to U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton's historic run for president — then finally unite behind soon-to-be nominee Barack Obama, local delegates said today. "We'll have an opportunity, as I see it, for people to ce......
2008-07-18 01:35:00
JEFF HAWKES
Last week's column hailing Pennsylvania's school funding overhaul prompted good questions from reader Tim Wentworth of Manheim Township.In the column, I explained that the Legislature finally recognized something'......
2008-06-21 01:08:00
BRIAN WALLACE
Officials at Lancaster County school districts find themselves in a frustratingly familiar situation this year.They must adopt 2008-09 budgets and establish property tax rates for their residents without knowing how much money the state will give them to run their schools.In Februar......
2008-06-09 00:03:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Ambivalence.That word best describes Titus Peachey's reaction to the international treaty signed by 111 countries at the end of May to boycott cluster bombs.Cluster bombs scatter smaller explosives across a battlefield. Most units explode, but sometimes a few duds are left behin......
2008-06-07 00:01:00
PATRICK BURNS
Sam Beiler could have taken his pretzel empire anywhere, but he never considered moving Auntie Anne's anywhere other than downtown Lancaster.The public got a view of the company's new headquarters Friday, at the historic former Lancaster Post Office building at Chestnut and Prince ......
2008-06-02 00:02:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Elections are the purest means of holding government officials accountable.And if you desire accountability, it's essential to have as many competitive races as possible each November.Sadly, Pennsylvania has about as many truly competitive contests this year as the Phillies have......
2008-05-23 01:19:00
DAVE PIDGEON
In what might be a first in the nation, Pennsylvania received approval to use federal Medicaid money to pay for support programs for autistic adults and their caregivers.•••The road from diagnosis to college has been long for the Snyder......
2008-05-01 11:37:00
BERNARD HARRIS
In the first report done on Lancaster County's Latino community, Hispanic leaders today called for sweeping but short-term initiatives to improve the lives of the county's largest minority population. Among the recommendations they believe could be completed within six months are:...
2008-04-25 01:12:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
Lancaster Public Library is gearing up for its huge spring book sale in the Overlook Activities Center in Overlook Park set for next week.More than 200,000 books will be for sale at the three-day fundraiser that is visited annually by more than 6,000 readers."We have some reall......
2008-04-23 02:47:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Just a few minutes before 9 p.m., half a dozen television screens in Villa Nova West tuned to CNN declared Hillary Clinton the winner of Pennsylvania's hard-fought Democratic primary.The room full of local Clinton supporters in the Columbia Avenue restaurant erupted in applause, raisin......
2008-04-22 01:29:00
SUSAN E. LINDT
State Rep. Mike Sturla's campaign finance records have been subpoenaed as part of a grand jury investigation into a Scranton millionaire casino owner's alleged mob connections.In 2005, nearly one-quarter of Sturla's campaign contributions came from Mount Airy Casino Resort owne......
2008-04-21 00:53:00
P.J. REILLY
Bill Neff, candidate for the state Senate seat in the 13th Legislative District, on Sunday did what any Republican would do two days before Pennsylvania's primary election.He and his wife, Barbara, left on a 10-day "religious pilgrimage" to Europe with about 50 other members ......
2008-04-20 00:21:00
HELEN COLWELL ADAMS
"I was never political," Danny McFadden said. "... I never really even voted." He will this year. For Barack Obama. McFadden, of Lancaster, was in the crowd of thousands — Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray estimated it at 6,000 to 8,000 — who flocked to the Lan......
2008-04-01 01:06:00
TOM KNAPP
It didn't take long for Sen. Barack Obama to invoke the same "fierce urgency of now" that drove the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to fight for change in his time.For Obama, the "urgency of now" refers to an immediate need for change in the way America does business....
2008-03-30 00:16:00
HELEN COLWELL ADAMS
Seventy-two years ago, the state Legislature levied a tax on alcohol to help finance relief efforts after the St. Patrick's Day flood in Johnstown. "It's no longer an emergency in Johnstown," as Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray puts it. Not a water emergency, anyway. But li......
2008-03-30 00:13:00
GIL SMART
Difficult as the situation may be in Lancaster, it could be worse. City officials are still tallying figures from 2007, but in 2006, a total of 630 properties, assessed at $560 million, were exempt from city real estate taxes. They included churches and charities, state and local government pro......
2008-03-27 11:08:00
TOM MURSE
Prepare yourself for Obama-mania, Lancaster County. U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, whose rock star-like status and popularity among young voters vaulted him ahead in the bruising Democratic primary race, will campaign here on Monday. The Illinois Democrat is expected to appear here, likely after ......
2008-03-25 01:02:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton on Monday unveiled a package of proposals aimed at easing the country's housing crisis and boosting consumer confidence."Our housing crisis at heart is an American dream crisis," the New York senator told a University of Pennsyl......
2008-03-06 00:46:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
Who'd have thought it possible?Pennsylvania could play a key role in deciding the Democratic presidential candidate, and eight local people are waiting to see which of them will be part of that process.Pennsylvania's primary is usually too late in the campaign to make any di......
2008-02-22 11:10:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Years of marketing Lancaster County as a buggy-ride-shoofly-pie place have paid off. The county is well known for its Amish-themed attractions, said Christopher Barrett, president of the Pennsylvania Dutch Convention & Visitors Bureau. Now, local tourism promoters are working to add......
2008-02-13 11:55:00
TOM MURSE
Everyone knows what Democratic strategist James Carville thinks about residents of our fair state: "Pittsburgh to the west, Philadelphia to the east, and Alabama in between." Gov. Ed Rendell apparently feels that way, too — albeit to a lesser extent. "You've got conservative whites h......
2008-02-13 00:47:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Pennsylvania's primary may still be 10 weeks away, but passion for presidential politics is running deep among local Democrats.And if the lists of delegates for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are any indication, local Democratic leadership is divided on who could best represent the p......
2008-02-12 01:20:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Bitter adversaries just four days ago, leaders for House Democrats and Republicans brokered compromise legislation Monday evening to comprehensively alter the state's open-records law.House lawmakers unanimously agreed to the compromise, which would protect identities and business inte......
2008-02-11 00:02:00
DAVE PIDGEON
How bizarre are things in Harrisburg? Quite.Last month, Republicans lined up in support of a plan would eliminate school property taxes for senior homeowners earning $40,000 or less, and Democrats cried "foul" because the plan left out every other homeowner.Then last week,......
2008-02-07 01:33:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Democrats, who control the state House by one vote, appear coy about debating school property tax reform just one week after unsuccessfully trying to push several bills through the bitterly divided chamber.Last week, a Republican measure that would completely eliminate property taxes for m......
2008-02-06 02:09:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Gov. Ed Rendell's plan to provide $400 tax rebates to Pennsylvania's working poor faces a high hurdle with Senate Republicans, whose leader says he favors tax relief for more than just low-income earners.Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, a Delaware County Republican, said he ......
2008-02-06 02:02:00
BRIAN WALLACE
Lancaster County public schools are in line for a hefty 5.6 percent increase in state funding as part of a proposed $28.3 billion 2008-09 budget outlined Tuesday by Gov. Ed Rendell.The increases would range from a low of 3 percent for Solanco School District to almost 17 percent for School......
2008-01-31 02:11:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Once the most powerful Republican in the state House, Rep. John Perzel re-emerged this week with a proposal that may derail Democratic plans to provide broadly based property tax cuts.What's being called "Perzel's amendment" passed 159-36 with strong bipartisan support Tu......
2008-01-14 00:05:00
DAVE PIDGEON
If you wanted a clearer picture Saturday of who will emerge in the Republican primary to replace retiring state Sen. Gibson E. Armstrong, well, the only words I can offer are: "Not yet."Although local businessman Lloyd Smucker was the top votegetter in the straw poll taken by loc......
2008-01-12 01:59:00
DAVE PIDGEON
There's something noticeably absent in this year's local legislative campaigns: Democrats.No Democrat, except for incumbent state Rep. Mike Sturla, has stepped up to campaign for the state Legislature.So far, that is.Bruce Beardsley, chairman of the Lancaster County D......
2008-01-04 12:18:00
CINDY STAUFFER
It's unanimous. Every state representative in the county is running for another two-year term. State Reps. Tom Creighton, Gordon Denlinger, Dave Hickernell, Mike Sturla and Katie True all said in interviews today that they are seeking re-election. They join state Reps. John Bea......
2007-12-17 12:20:00
TOM MURSE
Republican Steve McDonald's state Senate campaign is getting a big boost from former U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey, whose popularity among conservatives here nearly helped him beat U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter three years ago. Toomey endorsed McDonald's bid for the 13th District seat being vacated by......
2007-12-10 00:03:00
STAFF and WIRE REPORTS
One year ago, a film set in western Pennsylvania would probably have been filmed in upstate New York, simply because of the northern state's more attractive tax incentive program.But the tide has quickly turned.Today, a filmmaker is more likely to seek out Pennsylvania for a mov......
2007-12-10 00:02:00
DAVE PIDGEON
It would be hard to decipher what's going on in Harrisburg these days without considering it in the context of the 2008 legislative elections.A great example is the current row between Republicans and Democrats (including Gov. Ed Rendell) over providing health insurance for the more th......
