The recession hasn't dampened people's appetites for dining out. Drive past many local restaurants, and you'll still see packed parking lots, especially on weekends. But more value-oriented diners are keeping a close eye on their tabs. "They're looking for more......

West Lampeter Township budgeted $300,000 to resurface 12 streets this summer. Then the price of oil used to make asphalt skyrocketed. Then state officials ruled that workers laying asphalt for municipalities must receive higher pay. To make up for the higher road paving costs, West......

Lucy is a good dog. She's house trained, easygoing, just fine spending the day home alone. The 3-year-old boxer used to love hanging out with her family. But Lucy's family lost their home in foreclosure recently, and they had to give their dog up to the Humane League of Lancas......

Wearhouse Consignment Shop owner Jill Hartman is selling a lot of old clothes to new customers. As food and fuel prices continue to climb, budget-conscious local shoppers are tightening their belts and exploring new territory: consignment, thrift and resale shops. At Hartman's Landi......

The Old Mill Stream Campground, out on Route 30 in the midst of the county's tourism strip, is taking summer reservations from folks in some unexpected places. Leola. Mount Joy. Quarryville. Ephrata. "Staying closer to home is the trend, I think," says Jim Breneman, the campg......

As long as people still fall in love, there will be weddings. And there will still be brides who want the special day of their dreams, complete with a beautiful gown, flowers and a traditional tiered wedding cake. So, is the recent economic crunch taking a bite out of the wedding industry?......

Ann Gehman grows her own lettuce, broccoli and tomatoes primarily because they taste better than store-bought vegetables. "The kids seem to eat a lot more salad ever since I started growing it," she says. But there are other reasons that Gehman and her husband and two sons have e......

Folks are looking for bargains on everything these days. Even Trix cereal and Breyer's yogurt. A sagging economy is making for a busy time at local discount grocery chains such as Sharp Shopper and Amelia's Grocery Outlet, which sell close-out groceries for up to half off tradition......

Every weekend, a small army of cars and minivans comes up from the south. They descend on a warehouse-looking building out in the farmland of southern Lancaster County. They come carrying cash. And looking for bargains. And as the national economy continues its much-publicized tumble,......

Keith Hufford rolls his bicycle into the door of Lancaster's Amtrak station and in seconds, he has folded it into a tight package of metal bars, wheels and gears. Within minutes of leaving his North Charlotte Street home, Hufford is standing on the platform, folded bicycle in hand, waiti......

Plan to pay more for your kids' school meals come fall. Every public school district in Lancaster County is expecting to increase meal prices — ranging from a nickel to a quarter — for the 2008-09 school year. It's not just Lancaster County. School districts nationwi......

A year ago, cab driver Skip Reese was making $100 a week in tips. A few days ago, he had a customer who had a $6.99 fare. "They handed me seven ones and wanted their penny back," the Friendly Transportation driver said with a sigh. "I'm serious. It's getting reall......

Lakeba Mitchell is having a tough time making ends meet on her full-time job, earning $11 an hour at a medical billing office. So the single parent from Lititz is hunting for a second job. "Look at the gas prices!" she says. "I can't even afford to drive around."...