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....
2009-07-03 00:01:00
TOM MURSE
Republican Charlie Smithgall has understood from the get-go he would be fighting an uphill battle against Rick Gray, the city's Democratic mayor, in a rematch of 2005's mayoral election."I am absolutely an underdog," he said.But th......
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 10:01:00
BERNARD HARRIS
When political candidates announce they are running for office, they often hold a press conference in which they are backed by a crowd of family and friends.When former Lancaster Mayor Charlie Smithgall said last Friday that he would challenge current Mayor Rick Gray, he stood alone outsid......
2009-07-02 00:11:00
TOM MURSE
U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter came to town Wednesday morning to talk about the $5 million in federal stimulus money going to Red Rose Transit Authority. ...
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 ......
2009-06-30 00:01:00
TOM MURSE
Wesley A. Snyder was able to keep his $29 million mortgage brokering scam hush-hush, for a time, by withholding crucial information — namely account statements — from his clients.Such a practice soon will be illegal.Gov. Ed Rendell on Monday signed into law a measure tha......
2009-06-27 00:41:00
BRIAN WALLACE
Lancaster city residents appear split on whether Charlie Smithgall's decision to run against Mayor Rick Gray in the fall election is a good idea.In a sampling of patrons at Friday's Celebrate Lancaster! festivities downtown, five people said they don't support Smithgall, and fo......
2009-06-26 11:01:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Charlie Smithgall — Lancaster's most famous cannoneer — wants to take another shot. The former two-term city mayor announced this morning that he will seek a third term in City Hall. His announcement late this morning, comes nearly four years after his re-election loss to D......
2009-06-25 01:01:00
JEFF HAWKES
With inner-city Fulton Elementary School as his backdrop, Gov. Ed Rendell defended his call for higher state taxes as a "moral obligation" to children.Noting that Republican lawmakers have drawn a line in the sand against a tax increase, the governor drew his own line.&quo......
2009-06-25 00:36:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
"The library is a wonderland of endless possibilities. There is so much to do and see and learn."Those words are part of a letter written by a Quarryville resident in support of Lancaster County libraries, which face drastic cuts in the proposed Pennsylvania budget....
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......
2009-06-24 00:24:00
BRIAN WALLACE
Gov. Ed Rendell issued a simple warning Tuesday to Republican lawmakers who want to slash millions in public school funding from next year's state budget: "Don't mess with education."Education is too important to the state's future to fall victim to cost-cutting in th......
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......
2009-06-16 00:19:00
DAVE PIDGEON
The Joe Pitts-Lois Herr rivalry has become a trilogy.The Federal Elections Commission confirmed Monday that Democrat Lois Herr filed paperwork to make her third run at unseating Pitts, the venerable Republican congressman from the 16th District who first took office in 1997.Should P......
2009-06-12 00:18:00
JEFF HAWKES
State Sen. Lloyd Smucker of Lancaster County last week described the Senate Republicans' no-tax-increase budget bill as putting Pennsylvania on "the new road of responsibility."Sen. Jake Corman, the Centre County Republican and Appropriations chair, similarly called the deep ......
2009-06-10 01:13:00
DAVE PIDGEON
A local Republican and the Democratic governor will hold dueling press conferences today to lay out ideas about how to jumpstart the housing industry and the general economy.State Rep. John Bear, a Lititz Republican, will go first at 10 a.m. from the steps of the state Capitol. He will int......
2009-06-10 00:31:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
I just checked the Weather Channel on TV. I wanted to make sure hell hadn't frozen over.The reason I suspected this might have occurred is that I find myself agreeing with a letter to the editor written by fellow Ephratian Anna Mae Ressler. I know Anna Mae and, politically, we don'......
2009-06-06 01:33:00
JEFF HAWKES
If the state budget were a jungle in which you were lost, you'd appreciate having someone like state Sen. Jake Corman around.He'd take a machete and chop his way to the rescue.How satisfying to whack away at everything and anything impeding the mission.As Senate Appro......
2009-06-05 01:41:00
TOM KNAPP
An ongoing dispute over police matters in East Hempfield Township heated up again Wednesday as board members and residents bickered and a top Republican official chastised supervisors for humiliating a township police officer in a public forum.Although the board was supposed to focus on po......
2009-06-03 22:48:00
Correction — The editorial below regarding proposed changes in the state slots law, posted on LancasterOnline Tuesday, noted that casino applicant Louis DeNaples failed to disclose a 1978 conviction to the Gaming Control Board. That is incor......
2009-05-28 00:53:00
BRETT HAMBRIGHT
Police on Wednesday accused a former Lititz mayoral candidate who also served as the youth group leader at a borough church of having a sexual relationship with a pre-teen girl.Gregory J. Nies, 56, of South Spruce Street, was arraigned Wednesday morning on two felonies and two misdemeanors......
2009-05-28 00:36:00
P.J. REILLY
Lancaster County commissioners are listening to the chatter in Harrisburg about the state's 2009-10 budget.What they're hearing has them worried."The goal of Senate Bill 850 is no tax increases, and I think that notion is a fallacy," Commissioner Craig Lehman said.......
2009-05-26 22:36:00
STEPHEN J. ENGLE
Lately, there seems to be no such thing as "business as usual" at Pequea Township supervisors meetings, and a May 20 event was true to form. Tempers flared between supervisor Virginia Brady and a few residents, overshadowing the evening's regular business.Before the meeting m......
2009-05-22 01:13:00
JEFF HAWKES
At budget time, here's the easiest argument to make: cut spending, do more with less.Matthew Brouillette of the Commonwealth Foundation, which promotes free enterprise and limited government, made that pat argument Thursday before the state House Appropriations Committee.The pan......
2009-05-22 00:56:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
If the budget passed by the Senate in Harrisburg were implemented, Pennsylvania history could be put on hold.The $27.3 billion spending plan proposed by Senate Republicans and approved along party lines earlier this month would cut funding to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commissi......
2009-05-22 00:01:00
The Berlin Wall fell, but for years thereafter American Cold Warriors were mocked for not giving up on the old fight they seemed to have grown to love.Well, Obama's in the White House, but some Democrats appear to be stuck on the past like a fading "01-20-09" label on a Prius......
2009-05-22 10:45:00
PAUL FRANZ and GIL SMART
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2009-05-20 20:08:00
LARRY ALEXANDER and P.J. REILLY
Correction — In a tight primary race in Manheim Township, incumbent commissioner Rick Casselbury polled 101 votes more than the next nearest candidate, James M. Martin. The wrong number was included in the article below, posted on LancasterO......
2009-05-20 17:41:00
JENNIFER TODD and BRIAN WALLACE
Correction — Timothy Craven, who is running for Ephrata Area school board, will appear on the November ballot as a Democratic candidate. The article below, posted on LancasterOnline Wednesday, contained inaccurate information about his statu......
2009-05-20 03:44:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Tuesday turned into happy hour for those who wanted to overturn a prohibition on alcohol sales in West Lampeter Township.Because residents voting in a referendum chose to reverse the township's 74-year-old ban on alcohol sales, major changes are likely in store for Willow Valley Resort......
2009-05-20 03:06:00
TOM KNAPP and MICHAEL YODER
C. Chuck Mummert, an Elizabethtown Borough councilman for the past four years, handily snatched the vacant mayor's seat away from political newcomer Donald Keller in one of six Republican face-offs for mayoral slots in Lancaster County.Mummert, a salesman for a home-re......
2009-05-19 00:33:00
SUSAN E. LINDT
On election eve, hundreds of the county's Republican elite turned out for the GOP's spring dinner, where fourth-term congressman and possible gubernatorial candidate Jim Gerlach pumped up the party.In a short speech Monday night at Willow Valley Palm Court, the congressman from Che......
2009-05-19 00:01:00
It would be encouraging to report that today's primary election was attracting lots of attention. We would like to tell you that voters here are just as interested in municipal and judicial elections as they are in voting for president. We would like to see more than 60 percent of eligible voters......
2009-05-15 09:51:00
RYAN ROBINSON and DAVID O’CONNOR
Ten townships in Lancaster County have contested Republican races for supervisor/commissioner positions. They are Clay, Colerain, Conoy, East Cocalico, East Hempfield, Fulton, Manheim, Paradise, West Donegal and West Earl townships. No townships here have contested races for supervis......
2009-05-15 09:00:00
PAUL FRANZ and GIL SMART
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2009-05-14 01:04:00
JEFF HAWKES
After the state Senate, on a party-line vote, passed a budget with sweeping spending cuts, Sen. Jake Corman (R-Centre County) predicted the savings would position Pennsylvania for "the long-term future."And Corman just might be right — if the long-term future he has in mind......
2009-05-14 00:19:00
BRIAN WALLACE
Voters will head to the polls Tuesday to decide which school board candidates get to run for office in the November general election.While the outcome of the primary is far from certain, it's clear the fall ballot will feature plenty of new faces.Thirty-two seats are contested i......
2009-05-13 01:21:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
What's happening to Lancaster County?First we had "unrepentant terrorist" William Ayers at Millersville University spreading his radical philosophies on how to improve inner city schools.Then Richard Wolff, a professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts Am......
2009-05-13 00:33:00
BRIAN WALLACE
The five candidates for four seats on the School District of Lancaster board shared their views Tuesday night on everything from school board protocol and parental involvement to phonics, early education and Everyday Math.Real-estate agent Nick Jabbour of 427 Rabbit Hill Lane, attorney Ric......
2009-05-12 10:35:00
JACK BRUBAKER
Pennsylvanians owe more than $3 billion in delinquent taxes. The state is looking at a budget deficit this year approaching a similar number. State Rep. John Bear, a Republican from Lititz, has rubbed those two facts together and come up with a partial solution to the deficit dilemma....
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......
2009-05-09 01:18:00
BRIAN WALLACE
The five candidates running for four seats on the School District of Lancaster board in the May 19 primary will participate in a candidates' forum Tuesday at Fulton Elementary School.The forum, scheduled from 6:30 to 8 p.m., was organized by district parents John Moore, a member of the......
2009-05-07 14:37:00
The Associated Press
Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge says he's not going to challenge Sen. Arlen Specter next year.
Ridge is a moderate Republican who was the nation's first homeland security chief. He said in a statement Thursday that his party is facing challenges and he will work with the GOP, b...
2009-05-06 00:54:00
DAVE PIDGEON
As recently as a month ago, some Republicans in Harrisburg slammed Gov. Ed Rendell for proposing a deep $8.3 million cut in funding for the Department of Agriculture in 2009-10.On Monday, Senate Republicans, including state Sens. Mike Brubaker and Lloyd Smucker, backed a $27.3 billion stat......
2009-05-05 12:00:00
TOM MURSE
If you haven't been paying attention to this year's state-budget tango, here's the story line so far: Gov. Ed Rendell pitched a $29 billion plan back in February that would have boosted overall spending by 4 percent, using a combination of stimulus money, tax increases — and,......
2009-05-05 00:27:00
DAVE PIDGEON
State Rep. John Bear said Monday that his attendance last fall at a leadership conference in Switzerland did not violate state ethics laws.But Bear had to file a report last week, nonetheless.The trip — underwritten by the American Swiss Foundation for $6,500 — did not c......
2009-05-04 11:13:00
RYAN ROBINSON
Some Southern Lancaster County Republicans are crying foul over a Democrat filling a previously GOP-held township supervisor position. Little Britain Township Supervisors voted 3-1 at a special meeting Thursday night to appoint Democrat Curtis Jones to replace Dave Eller, who died suddenly Apri......
2009-05-04 00:02:00
DAVE PIDGEON
He glided with broad shoulders through downtown Lancaster during the Fall of 2008 as if he'd come back to the city block where he grew up. One of the most recognizable Republicans anywhere, he mingled with shop owners and competed in a good-spirited jabfest......
2009-04-30 00:48:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
Local politicians and medical professionals are not high on a proposal coming out of Harrisburg.State Rep. Mark Cohen, a Democrat representing Philadelphia County, has introduced a bill that would permit the use of marijuana for medical purposes."As time goes on, citizens and g......
2009-04-30 00:32:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Republican Matt Holden announced Wednesday an unusual measure in his bid to win a seat on Lancaster City Council — he's trying to nab one of four Democratic nominations as well as one from the GOP.Holden, the only GOP candidate in the race, said Wednesday he's urging Democrat......
2009-04-30 00:28:00
MICHAEL YODER
State Sen. Mike Brubaker's initiative to provide oversight of the spending of billions of dollars from the federal stimulus program passed its first hurdle Tuesday.Senate Bill 6, which was unanimously approved by the State Government Committee, would create a bipartisan commission to p......
2009-04-30 16:30:00
PAUL FRANZ and GIL SMART
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2009-04-29 11:00:00
TOM MURSE
U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter's defection to the Democratic Party achieved what many thought impossible. It united the Republican Party. At least for a few minutes. Conservatives and moderates alike — including many who have bemoaned the GOP's rightward shift and seeming lack ......
2009-04-29 01:16:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Intrigue and disappointment ran deep in Lancaster County's political circles Tuesday in the wake of U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter's switch from 44-year Republican to the state's newest Democrat.The centrist Specter announced Tuesday in Washington, D.C., that he would run for re-elect......
2009-04-29 00:01:00
He voted for the death penalty, for permanent tax breaks, for a federal "flat tax," against gun-control measures including a ban on assault weapons and against the Employee Free Choice Act. He entered the 1996 presidential primary because, he said, President Bill Clinton was neglecting ......
2009-04-28 12:32:00
STAFF and WIRE REPORTS
Veteran U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, facing what would have been the political fight of his life in 2010's Republican primary, announced today he is switching parties to become a Democrat. The 79-year-old, five-term Pennsylvania lawmaker said in a statement announcing the switch: "I am ......
2009-04-28 01:21:00
JEFF HAWKES
The sky might be falling on Sen. Arlen Specter.The latest poll has the five-term Republican incumbent down by 21 points to right-wing challenger Pat Toomey.The same poll shows that nearly 60 percent of Republicans are less likely to vote for Specter because he crossed party lines to......
2009-04-27 11:03:00
TOM MURSE
U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter says his vote in favor of the controversial $787 billion stimulus bill has caused "an enormous political problem for me." But the 29-year veteran lawmaker, who faces the political fight of his life in 2010, said he supported the package as a "matter of nec......
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......
2009-04-21 10:57:00
TOM MURSE
Lancaster County has purged nearly 13,000 inactive, deceased or relocated voters from its rolls ahead of this year's municipal primary, shrinking the gain made by Democrats before the hot 2009 presidential contest. Still, the biennial cleaning of voter rolls left intact an important if symb......
2009-04-21 00:01:00
A questionable decision by Gov. Ed Rendell has triggered the first dustup of the 2010 gubernatorial election — a race in which Rendell will not be a candidate.Patrick Meehan, the former U.S. attorney in Philadelphia and a likely Republican candidate for governor, has challenged the R......
2009-04-18 01:06:00
MICHAEL YODER
Turkey jerky, red and green peppers, horseradish pickles, celery, Utz pretzels and potato chips and a peanut butter milkshake.It wasn't millions of dollars pumped into the Lancaster County economy, but U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. did his small part with several purchases at Central Market ......
2009-04-16 01:14:00
MICHAEL YODER
When Chris Wright introduced then-Sen. Barack Obama at a campaign rally in Buchanan Park in September, the registered Republican said two core beliefs had drawn him to the GOP.One was fiscal responsibility, where "the ends justify the means." The other was personal responsibility......
2009-04-16 01:02:00
MICHAEL YODER
The rally cry of a frustrated public weary of more taxes and larger government arose across the nation Wednesday, all the way from Lancaster, Calif., to Lancaster, Pa.More than 400 people braved a steady downpour of cold rain Wednesday afternoon to attend the Lancaster Tea Party in Musser ......
2009-04-15 11:31:00
TOM MURSE
Pat Toomey, the Republican whose insurgent 2004 U.S. Senate run nearly knocked off Arlen Specter, announced today he will challenge the veteran lawmaker again in 2010. And supporters here in Lancaster County — the epicenter of Toomey's conservative base — believe their candidate......
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....
2009-04-14 01:06:00
JEFF HAWKES
First-term County Commissioner Scott Martin railed against Somali pirates last night in an address to a joint session of Congress."Lawlessness on the high seas cannot stand," Martin said in a 96-minute prime-time address interrupted 17 times by applauding members of Congress and ......
2009-04-09 01:21:00
BILL HANNEGAN, Staff and CIVIA KATZ, Correspondent
The president of Manheim Central school board announced her resignation Tuesday in a letter she read at a district executive meeting.Dixie Winters said Wednesday that her departure, effective April 30, was not linked to a controversy over administrative pay raises, but resulted from change......
2009-04-09 00:56:00
P.J. REILLY
Democratic Lancaster County Commissioner Craig Lehman on Wednesday accused his Republican colleagues of "pandering and trying to score political points" and of attempting to "divide this board" through a resolution targeting the proposed Employee Free Choice Act of 2009....
2009-04-07 10:50:00
TOM MURSE
State Sen. Mike Brubaker is calling for a halt to paying prevailing wages on school and local government building projects until the economy recovers — a move he says could save taxpayers millions in labor costs. The Warwick Township Republican says his bill would allow schools and munici......
2009-04-07 00:01:00
Sen. Stevens was victim of prosecutorial misconduct, but doesn't merit reinstatement•••Let's get one thing straight at the start.The Justice Department — the Republican Justice Department of the Bush administration ......
2009-04-03 01:02:00
P.J. REILLY
Republican Lancaster County commissioners Dennis Stuckey and Scott Martin see the proposed Employee Free Choice Act of 2009 as a threat to workers' "fundamental right" to vote on unionizing by secret ballot.Democratic Commissioner Craig Lehman disagrees."This act ......
2009-04-03 00:50:00
TIM STUHLDREHER
Advocates of stricter gun laws are hailing a Lancaster County judge's decision this week to uphold an ordinance against discharging firearms in Lancaster city.Curtis L. Swinton was charged under the ordinance in December 2007 when he fired what he told police was a warning shot to stop......
2009-04-02 10:25:00
TOM MURSE
Pennsylvania's top state senator, Joe Scarnati, says the most critical issue facing lawmakers is cleaning up after the numerous Harrisburg scandals that have eroded public confidence. "Without out doubt, there is no issue more important today. The No. 1 issue we have is restoring respe......
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......
2009-04-01 00:36:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Republican state Sen. Mike Brubaker said Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell's attempts to bring accountability to how federal stimulus funds are spent don't go far enough.Rendell announced Tuesday the creation of a bipartisan Pennsylvania Stimulus Oversight Commission, charged with reviewi......
2009-03-31 10:24:00
CHAD UMBLE
Nearly five months ago, voters put the kibosh on a proposed home rule charter, stopping a plan that would have dramatically changed the structure of Lancaster County government. But next Tuesday afternoon, those who served on the home rule study commission will gather for one final meeting to s......
2009-03-21 01:02:00
TOM MURSE
If the last couple elections taught us anything, it was that voters were fed up with Republicans who controlled the White House and Congress. They remain so. "Many people began to view Republicans as the problem — not part of the solution," former U.S. Rep. Bob Walker, who spent two ......
2009-03-18 01:09:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Republican state Sen. Mike Brubaker has joined with other GOP lawmakers in calling for legislative involvement in determining how federal stimulus funds will be spent in Pennsylvania.On Tuesday, Brubaker introduced in the state Senate a bill that would create a nine-member bipartisan commi......
2009-03-16 00:01:00
The 226th anniversary of Marbury v. Madison passed a few days ago. But the scrum for power in the three branches of the federal government, the centerpiece of that landmark case, is still kicking up mud.Last week, President Barack Obama told his subordinates to check with the Justice Depar......
2009-03-15 00:15:00
PAULA WOLF
A few weeks after being snubbed by the Manheim Township Republican Committee in his bid to win endorsement for a third term, incumbent township Commissioner J. Michael Flanagan confirmed last week that he's running again. And he's being joined by two others who also failed to get the GO......
2009-03-15 00:10:00
PAULA WOLF
The candidates put forward by new Lancaster County Republican Committee Chairman Craig Ebersole to hold GOP executive offices were confirmed last week by members of the committee's advisory committee. Abby Odell, of Providence Township, is the new vice chair. A member of the Republican Committe......
2009-03-14 01:19:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Members of the public will not be able to attend Bill Ayers' controversial presentation at Millersville University next week.By 9 a.m. Friday, students and faculty had nabbed all 300 tickets for the event in the Lehr Room of Gordinier Hall, where the noted urban education expert with a......
2009-03-13 00:39:00
MICHAEL YODER
Sam Rohrer senses average Americans have grave concerns about rapid and aggressive changes coming from the federal government.The state representative from Berks County said that, as a result of that concern, a growing number of his constituents are calling on legislators to re-examine the......
2009-03-13 00:29:00
BRIAN WALLACE
Four newcomers will be replacing four incumbents on the School District of Lancaster board at the end of the year.Incumbent board members Jackie McCain, Nenita Miller, Patrick Snyder and Marta Howell are not seeking re-election.Five SDL board candidates, including two attorneys, are......
2009-03-12 01:01:00
JENNIFER TODD
"Umm … I don't know who that is," a confused Kelsey Houdeshel said when asked what she thought about Bill Ayers' visit to Millersville University next week.When the MU freshman was told that Ayers is an expert on urban education and a former radical whose appearanc......
2009-03-10 01:54:00
JEFF HAWKES
We're 39 days into the William Ayers controversy with nine more to go until his talk at embattled Millersville University, and what have we learned?First and foremost, we've learned that MU president Francine McNairy is a leader with strong guiding principles and a backbone even st......
2009-03-10 01:13:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Gov. Ed Rendell announced Monday a $31 million package of emergency measures to protect needy Pennsylvania families from the stormy economy. ...
2009-03-09 00:01:00
DAVE PIDGEON
The ship has struck rocks and is taking on water before it even sails out of harbor.Gov. Ed Rendell's proposal to have a commission study the viability of merging the state's 501 school districts into 100 regional territories had all the makings of a long-term Democratic Party plat......
2009-03-07 00:43:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
Despite the efforts of seven Lancaster County state legislators, William Ayers' March 19 lecture at Millersville University will go on as scheduled.The seven Republicans — Reps. Scott W. Boyd, John Bear, Tom Creighton, Bryan Cutler, Gordon Denlinger, David Hickernell and Katie Tr......
2009-03-07 00:01:00
U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts took to the floor of the House of Representatives the other day to decry President Barack Obama's proposed budget.This, of course, came as no surprise. Pitts, a solid conservative Republican, so far has found little to like about the plans and programs of the new De......
2009-03-06 11:08:00
TOM MURSE
Members of the county's Republican House delegation were meeting with top officials from Millersville University and the state's higher education system this afternoon. The politicians want to know why the university invited 1960s radical-turned-professor Bill Ayers to speak, and who's paying f......
2009-03-05 01:09:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Long derided as pork or praised as investment in community and economic development, a taxpayer-funded program may vanish from the state budget for the next fiscal year.Last month when Gov. Ed Rendell proposed cutting 101 programs out of his budget, he included on the list the Community Re......
2009-03-04 02:13:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Life is transitioning from tragedy to advocacy for 22-year-old Jacy Good.Good is in the midst of restructuring her life after a May 2008 car crash that took the life of both her parents and left her in a temporary coma.Starting next week, she'll try to sway state legislators to ......
2009-02-28 00:54:00
DAVE PIDGEON
The state chancellor of higher education will meet Friday with Republican lawmakers outraged about Millersville University hosting a controversial education expert next month.GOP state Reps. John Bear, Scott Boyd, Tom Creighton Bryan Cutler, Gordon Denlinger, Dave Hickernell and Katie True......
2009-02-27 11:20:00
JACK BRUBAKER
The county Republican delegation's request to Millersville University officials to cancel former anti-Vietnam radical turned education professor Bill Ayers' appearance at the university has drawn two responses. Ayers has invited the legislators to attend his March 19 lecture. And t......
2009-02-25 11:25:00
CINDY STAUFFER
The nurse, the manufacturing manager, the physical therapy assistant and the floor installer all had hope today. Hope that President Barack Obama will be successful in reviving the national economy. Hope that his ideas and plans will make life better for Americans. Hope that he will be able to ......
2009-02-25 00:50:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Republican U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts said Tuesday night he favored much of President Barack Obama's first speech to a joint session of Congress, in which the Illinois Democrat laid out much of his first-term agenda. ...
2009-02-24 22:07:00
JOHN FRIEL
A political initiative begun in anger is moving forward seeking harmony.At Blue Ball Fire Hall Thursday night, Elanco School District residents met six citizens who each want one of four school board seats available in this year's election. About 30 people attended the event, sponsored......
2009-02-24 01:01:00
MICHAEL YODER
Sen. Arlen Specter knows the political risks of voting for a bill that goes against party philosophy.His support of the 2009 economic stimulus bill, along with that of two fellow Republican senators — Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine — was a vote he has called "pol......
2009-02-23 00:01:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Any organization with a $2.3 billion budget hole is going to desperately seek new revenue sources.And there's new interest in Harrisburg for charging municipalities that depend on state police coverage a fee.The state House Appropriations Committee held a hearing Thursday on the......
2009-02-20 00:56:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Two state lawmakers from West Lampeter Township say they won't get involved in a debate over whether the municipality should allow alcohol sales."It's a local decision, and it's up to the voters of West Lampeter Township to decide the direction and the future of their town......
2009-02-18 10:50:00
CHAD UMBLE
County Republicans handed the leadership of their party to Craig Ebersole on Tuesday, entrusting the Lancaster County treasurer with their fortunes for the next two years. Ebersole, 56, of Ephrata, takes leadership of a party that still dominates local elections but has recently seen Democrats ......
2009-02-18 00:17:00
DAVE PIDGEON
He's a stocky former sheriff raised on an Ephrata-area farm who turned his career toward finance.Now Craig Ebersole is the new chairman of Lancaster County Republican Committee.Ebersole, currently in the middle of his second four-year term as Lancaster County treasurer, defeated......
2009-02-18 00:01:00
President Barack Obama's signing of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act secures for him a place in the history books.It is his first major initiative. As such, his first term in office and likely his entire presidency will be judged by the success or failure of this......
2009-02-17 10:30:00
CHAD UMBLE
After tonight, the county GOP will have its first new chairman since 2002. The Republican Committee of Lancaster County meets at 7 p.m. to pick either Craig Ebersole or Frank Fryburg to replace Dave Dumeyer, who retired last month. The 362-member county committee will also be endorsing thr......
2009-02-17 00:33:00
PATRICK BURNS
Elanco Taxpayer Alliance members believe the ball is squarely in their court following their successful skirmish last year with the Eastern Lancaster County school board.The citizens' group has now formed a political action committee.Alliance founder Tim Shay said the PAC will w......
2009-02-17 00:25:00
P.J. REILLY
When former state Sen. Gibson Armstrong pushed to strip deputy game wardens of many of their powers last year after his son had been cited by one, state Rep. Bryan Cutler said the senator was going too far.Cutler, a Republican lawmaker from Peach Bottom, agreed changes were needed in the l......
2009-02-14 00:38:00
JENNIFER TODD
Whether or not the $787 billion economic stimulus package approved by the House and Senate on Friday will succeed in reviving the country's souring economy isn't the question.More people, it seems, are asking, "What exactly is this stimulus thing everybody's talking about,......
2009-02-13 10:55:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Matthew Holden won't be traveling lightly as he goes door to door in Lancaster City. For the next nine months, Holden will carry the weight of Republican hopes. Holden, 24, is now — and is likely to remain — the sole Republican candidate running for office in the heavily-De......
2009-02-13 00:23:00
DAVE PIDGEON
If Lancaster City Republican Committee is destined to make a comeback in 2009, its hopes appear pinned to a youth movement.Matthew Holden, a 24-year-old insurance claims manager, became the first — and what appears to be the only — Republican to announce a bid for one of four o......
2009-02-12 00:01:00
DAVE PIDGEON
The moment Vice President Joe Biden strolled into the state Capitol's media center, the fortunes of the Obama administration's first legislative battle began looking more favorable.Just an hour earlier, as Biden with Gov. Ed Rendell walked over a crumbling Cumberland County bridge,......
2009-02-11 20:13:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
Correction — The institution where William Ayers, who will speak at Millersville University next month, teaches was misidentified in the article below, posted on LancasterOnline Wednesday. He is a professor at the University of Illinois at C......
2009-02-11 00:24:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Doors opened, and into the East Hempfield Township building lobby strolled a smiling R.B. Campbell, a city Republican who's running for Lancaster County controller."They only asked me one question," he said Tuesday night, referring to the Hempfield GOP committee, which had ju......
2009-02-08 00:07:00
PAUL FRANZ
If there was one thing Republicans could agree on Wednesday night, it was renewing the party's focus on fiscal issues. "It should trump everything else," said county prothonotary Randall Wenger in a political panel discussion hosted by the Young Republicans of Lancaster County. The audienc......
2009-02-06 22:00:00
U.S. REP. JOE PITTS
I understand people may be frustrated with what they see as partisanship in Washington. The House passed a $1.2 trillion (when you include the interest on the borrowed money) "stimulus" plan this week. I, along with all of my Republican colleagues in the House, opposed the bill. Let me ......
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 00:36:00
P.J. REILLY
Gov. Ed Rendell slipped a surprise proposal into his budget speech Wednesday that would give counties the ability to impose their own sales tax.He suggested that counties be allowed to tack on a sales tax of up to 1 percent on top of the state-imposed 6 percent sales tax in the name of doi......
2009-02-05 00:35:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Democrat Ed Rendell, the barrel-bodied governor with the husky voice and knack for rhetorical persuasion, inspires both support and distrust among legislators from Lancaster County.Three of those local legislators will have prominent voices in how Rendell's recently proposed budget wil......
2009-02-04 00:22:00
DAVE PIDGEON
At some point recently, Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell considered how to plug a $2.3 billion chasm between costs and revenue when constructing his proposed 2009-10 state budget.While increasing personal income or sales tax rates must have seemed tempting, Rendell never gave it a thought, accor......
2009-02-02 00:31:00
DAVE PIDGEON
State Sen. Mike Brubaker is taking another crack at reforming the mortgage industry.Brubaker, a Warwick Township Republican, intends to reintroduce a pair of bills that together would protect whistle-blowers and prevent mortgage brokers from withholding key information from their customers......
2009-02-02 00:30:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Imagine this:You're watching evening television. It's September 2010. On your television screen, in high definition, comes a political advertisement.IMAGE: A husband and wife at a kitchen table. Their faces look concerned. They are perusing bills (could be mortgage, electric......
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......
2009-01-26 00:01:00
Last week, state Senate Republicans introduced a 10-bill reform package designed to make state government a bit brighter and, perhaps, a bit lighter.The bills include ramping up fines for Sunshine Law violations, posting all government salaries online, banning bonuses to government employe......
2009-01-25 00:10:00
ELIZABETH JENSEN, New York Times
At the start of the new year, filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi was in HBO's midtown Manhattan editing suite putting the finishing touches on "Right America: Feeling Wronged," which debuts Feb. 16, Presidents Day. Talking to her editors, she ordered a change on the soundtrack. "I don'...
2009-01-21 00:35:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
Tuesday night was a chance for Lancaster County Democrats to howl.More than 200 people, mostly Democrats with a smattering of Republicans, gathered at the Lancaster Elks post at 219 N. Duke St. to join, at least in spirit, the partying going on in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the inaugur......
2009-01-15 21:11:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Correction — Guests of the Washington Plaza Hotel who purchased a two-night package through the Pennsylvania Democratic Party will receive a complimentary bottle of Rhapsody in Blue, produced by the Bainbridge-based Nissley Vineyards & W......
2009-01-15 02:02:00
LORI VAN INGEN
Lancaster County Council of Churches' second annual Unity Prayer Breakfast will honor and encourage elected officials as they begin a new year of service.The event, slated for Friday, will bring together leaders from the Democratic and Republican parties and the faith community "t......
2009-01-12 00:02:00
DAVE PIDGEON
She's the gregarious, boisterous lady in the candy-red hat seen at numerous Lancaster County Democratic functions.And she doesn't want to be known as the first female mayor elected in Mountville history who also failed to win re-election.She's Connie Guy."I&#......
2009-01-10 00:01:00
We return to a familiar theme today.In the aftermath of the November presidential election, Republicans have been discussing the need to expand their base. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said the party must become more open to minorities. Outgoing Lancaster County Republican Commit......
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......
2009-01-06 00:01:00
Remember those ads calling President-elect Barack Obama the "most liberal" presidential candidate in history?Well, let history record that if his Cabinet choices are a reflection of the way he hopes to govern, then the person the nation elected to office is a centrist, not a radi......
2009-01-01 00:02:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Pennsylvania's unemployment rate is rising, state tax revenue is lagging by $658 million and the 2009-10 state budget is facing a projected $1.6 billion deficit.Where else would two businessmen turned state senators want to be than on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, which......
2008-12-23 00:01:00
What is it about President-elect Barack Obama and ministers?First, it was the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose sermons on patriotism and race threatened to undo Obama's attempts to reach out to moderate and conservative Americans. It led, ultimately, to a very public divorce between Obama a......
2008-12-18 00:52:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Rick Gray wants four more years.Gray, 64, ended weeks of speculation Wednesday afternoon by announcing in front of his North Prince Street home he will ask Lancaster city voters for another four-year term as mayor.If he is re-elected, City Hall would begin focusing on improving the ......
2008-12-17 00:01:00
In the wake of the November elections, the Republican Party has been doing some soul-searching. Should it move to the center or stay to the right? Should it recast itself? What does it need to become dominant again?Last week, a pair of Republicans who are leaders in their own camps said th......
2008-12-12 01:01:00
DAVE PIDGEON
December marks the end of the year — and the beginning of the end of Dave Dumeyer's tenure as the face and voice of the Lancaster County Republican Committee.Dumeyer announced Thursday he will step down as chairman of the county GOP effective Jan. 18, ending a six-and-a-half year......
2008-12-11 11:45:00
RYAN ROBINSON
The chairman of the county Republican Party is stepping down. Dave Dumeyer told GOP committee members at their monthly meeting Tuesday night that he will resign from the post, effective Jan. 18. "It takes a certain level of intensity," Dumeyer said today. "After six and a ha......
2008-12-09 01:05:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray is about to graduate — Class of 2008, Electoral College.The goateed and always bow-tied Gray will be among 21 Pennsylvanians Monday who will cast Electoral College ballots, officially electing Democrat Barack Obama the 44th president of the United States....
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......
2008-11-26 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 ......
2008-11-14 02:54:00
JON FERGUSON
James McMurtry used to steer clear of political songwriting.The Texan always figured that the surest way to ruin a perfectly good tune was to sharpen it to a fine polemic point."Most of them suck," McMurtry said of political songs during a telephone interview, "and th......
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......
2008-11-13 00:01:00
In the weeks leading up to Election Day, Congressman Joe Pitts was asked if a Barack Obama victory would sound the death knell for moderate Republicans seeking the presidency — at least in the near term.Pitts, a traditional conservative, said he did not believe that would be the case......
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......
2008-11-11 00:44:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Capt. Ed Davis' legacy as a Vietnam War POW and local activist extends far beyond macadam and bricks, but his name will forever be linked to a much-used bridge in western Lancaster city.Local dignitaries and family members on a blustery Monday morning dedicated a green-and-white sign t......
2008-11-06 01:37:00
JEFF HAWKES
I simply do not believe Lancaster County voters oppose controls on taxes, spending and debt.I simply do not believe they think it's a bad idea to expose county government to greater public scrutiny.I simply do not believe they aren't in favor of checks and balances, term lim......
2008-11-06 01:10:00
DAVE PIDGEON
The buzz of clippers blended with the R&B bass groove on the stereo at Champ Hall's Barber Shop in Lancaster city Wednesday afternoon. Black youths silently sat in barber chairs and watched in the wall-length mirrors as stylists trimmed their hair and beards.For at least five month......
2008-11-05 11:03:00
TOM MURSE
NEWS ANALYSIS
You've heard it time and time again in the last two years — how important Lancaster County would be to winning the all-important battleground state of Pennsylvania. Well, it was. To Democrat Barack Obama. The U.S. senator from Ill......
2008-11-05 11:00:00
CINDY STAUFFER
Sen. John McCain needed to win big in Lancaster County to help him win big in Pennsylvania. Neither happened, and Sen. Barack Obama won the presidential race Tuesday, sweeping into office on a message of change and hope in a country feeling battered by the economy and unhappy with the current R......
2008-11-05 11:30:00
RYAN ROBINSON
Another election, another landslide win for U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts. Democrats did not come close on Tuesday to budging the six-term Kennett Square Republican. The dour economy and voters' disapproval of President George W. Bush did not help three challengers — Democrat Bruce Slater,......
2008-11-05 03:13:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Nelson Polite suddenly stood, leaned forward and tried to peer through the crowd huddled in front of the television.NBC News at 10:58 p.m. declared Democrat Sen. Barack Obama the nation's first black president-elect.Polite, the venerable 85-year-old civil rights leader and Lanca......
2008-11-05 02:58:00
P.J. REILLY
Lancaster County voters said "no" to home rule in overwhelming numbers Tuesday.As a result, the county's form of government, which has remained relatively unchanged for the past 277 years, is preserved."It's done," said county Commissioner Scott Martin. &......
2008-11-05 02:44:00
MICHAEL YODER
Lloyd Smucker began Tuesday morning with a tickle in his throat: the beginnings of a cold. He still had his voice when he talked to voters in Manheim Township in the afternoon, but he could barely speak by the time he was savoring victory around midnight at Penn Cinema in Lititz.Smucker, a......
2008-11-05 02:31:00
JENNIFER TODD
While Democrats made considerable gains in Congress on Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts pulled off a solid GOP victory in the 16th District.Pitts, a Kennett Square Republican, said he was confident voters would consider his experience and responsible fiscal record and elect him to a seventh tw......
2008-11-05 02:10:00
TOM KNAPP
The desire for change that seemed to sweep the nation Tuesday appears to have left the 98th state House district alone.Republican incumbent Rep. Dave Hickernell easily defended his seat Tuesday, earning a fourth term from voters in northwestern Lancaster and eastern Dauphin counties....
2008-11-05 01:38:00
CARLA DI FONZO
As the Republican GOP gathering drew to a close Tuesday night, attendee Jennifer Davis sighed deeply."Wow, that election was like a marathon," the Lititz resident said, looking at her friends. "Is anybody else tired?"No one can say we didn't campaign hard. It......
2008-11-04 00:05:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Election Day has finally arrived, and when it concludes, Lancaster County will learn if Democratic registration gains here have affected local, state and maybe even national races.Lancaster also will learn whether America will elect its first black president or give the nod to a Vietnam Wa......
2008-11-02 00:21:00
HELEN COLWELL ADAMS
Tuesday's election could produce a record turnout. And that, advocates of the home rule charter agree, could be the charter's best shot at passage. In a normal election cycle, the fact that the the county Republican committee is working against voter ratification of the charter ......
2008-11-02 00:16:00
JEANNETTE SCOTT
Fayra Molina, of Lancaster, gave the Obama campaign 71 $9 money orders at a rally for the Democratic presidential candidate at Penn Square Saturday afternoon. Nine dollars because Molina is nine years old. But her first money order was $22 because she collected it April 22, the date of the......
2008-11-01 01:16:00
LORI VAN INGEN
For more than 25 years, Bob Fritz has been the "official unofficial" mayor of Smoketown — a town that has no mayor.This year, however, Fritz just may be unofficially elected the honorary president of the United States.Signs have been popping up in Smoketown urging vo......
2008-11-01 01:10:00
PATRICK BURNS
Topics of discussion at Clair Ansel's barbershop in Terre Hill have been all over the map since the business opened in 1947.Baseball is a perennial favorite. Photos of Ansel's two sons pitching for Garden Spot High School dot the shop's walls. One features his son Ted with Bruc......
2008-10-30 00:29:00
JENNIFER TODD
Rep. Joe Pitts knows that when voters head to the polls Tuesday, many will have change on their minds.But the Republican congressman said he is confident voters will consider his record and experience and elect him to a seventh term in the 16th District."They need someone in th......
2008-10-30 00:04:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Tennessee's former Sen. Fred Thompson stumped for Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain here on Wednesday, and Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey Jr. did the same for Democrat Sen. Barack Obama, the same day a new statewide voter survey showed Obama maintaining a solid lead.Thomp......
2008-10-29 01:14:00
DAVE PIDGEON
The Vietnam War veteran, dressed in a dark suit and blue tie, still stiff from wounds he received as a POW but nonetheless smiling, leaned into the microphone and told about 10,000 supporters inside the Giant Center he would win the presidential election come Tuesday."I'm not afra......
2008-10-28 11:38:00
TOM MURSE and AD CRABLE
Republican presidential nominee John McCain vowed to "fool the pundits" and win Pennsylvania a week from today, while running mate Sarah Palin sharply criticized Democrat Barack Obama's spending and tax plan, referring to him as "Barack the wealth spreader" at a raucus ral......
2008-10-27 00:05:00
DAVE PIDGEON
All right, Pennsylvania. Get ready for the political limelight.Whether or not it makes sense, Republican Sen. John McCain appears to be making a last stand in our state, essentially willing Pennsylvania into being his gateway to the White House.And Democratic Sen. Barack Obama has n......
2008-10-26 00:21:00
HELEN COLWELL ADAMS
The yard signs sponsored by opponents of the county's proposed home rule charter say it all: "Home rule = Bigger Govt. = HIGHER TAXES." Except, proponents of home rule say, that's not true. Home rule counties actually have a lower rate of tax increases over time, and a be......
2008-10-26 00:12:00
HELEN COLWELL ADAMS
Voters are likely to be inundated with claims and counterclaims about taxes and home rule in the next week, as the battle over the charter heats up. Last week, every household in the county got a postcard from the Lancaster County Government Study Commission outlining features of the charter....
2008-10-25 00:33:00
MADELYN PENNINO
Since an apparent act of vandalism at the GOP headquarters this week, all has been quiet.However, Lois Herr, the executive director of the county Democratic Committee, said people are calling Democratic headquarters daily to report signs being stolen from their property."I woul......
2008-10-24 10:02:00
TOM MURSE
There's less than two weeks until the election, and emotions are running high. But this is a little ridiculous. Vandals firing either pellet guns or real firearms blew a pair of small holes through a window at the county GOP headquarters earlier this week. They also to......
2008-10-24 01:41:00
MICHAEL YODER
Claudia Sciarretta supports Sen. Barack Obama in his run for president, and she's sick of receiving e-mails saying the Illinois Democrat is a Muslim and a socialist who hangs out with terrorists.So when she opened up a copy of a local advertising newspaper this week with a voters' ......
2008-10-24 01:28:00
DAVE PIDGEON
The Straight Talk Express bus pulled up to a Lancaster city curb beneath a building whose windows were decorated with campaign signs for Sen. Barack Obama."It's a 'We're Not Bitter' tour!" said former Gov. Tom Ridge, stepping off the bus to the welcome of a local ......
2008-10-23 02:20:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Who's winning the race for president depends on who's asking the question.A poll released by Franklin & Marshall College on Wednesday says Democrat Sen. Barack Obama is up 5 percent nationally over Republican Sen. John McCain among likely voters.But wait. An Associated P......
2008-10-22 01:29:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Republican Sen. John McCain attempted Tuesday to sow doubts about his Democratic opponent's readiness to handle a crisis by using the words of Sen. Joe Biden."This weekend, Sen. Biden guaranteed that if (Democrat Sen. Barack Obama) is elected, we will have an international crisis ......
2008-10-21 02:03:00
JEFF HAWKES
OK, who's responsible for knocking some sense into Lloyd Smucker?Whoever you are, they're not paying you enough.Back in April, before winning the four-man GOP primary race for state Senate, Smucker had this to say at a forum about school funding:"If additional fu......
2008-10-21 01:31:00
STAFF REPORT
Former presidential hopeful and U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee will headline a Lancaster Republican luncheon Oct. 29.A private reception will begin at 11:15 a.m., with lunch at noon. The event will be held at Lancaster Host, 2300 Lincoln Highway East, East Lampeter.Tickets for......
2008-10-21 01:28:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Pennsylvania's secretary of state accused state Republicans on Monday of filing an "unwarranted" lawsuit against him and the community activist group ACORN to undermine the upcoming election.The state GOP filed the suit Friday, accusing ACORN of fostering voter registration f......
2008-10-19 00:21:00
PAULA WOLF
With the GOP ticket trailing in national and swing state polls as the general election draws near, Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin urged a crowd of about 8,000 supporters Saturday who packed Clipper Magazine Stadium to help McCain-Palin pull off a comeback win. The Alaska gover......
2008-10-19 00:18:00
JON RUTTER
"Isn't She Lovely?" A handful of Sarah Palin detractors didn't see her that way Saturday morning. But legions of her fans did. They cheered loudly when the Republican vice presidential candidate took center stage in Clipper Magazine Stadium, Stevie Wonder's 19......
2008-10-18 13:15:00
STAFF and WIRE REPORTS
Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin made her pitch for a ninth-inning comeback in Pennsylvania at Clipper Magazine Stadium Saturday morning. Palin hit Democratic rival Barack Obama hard on tax policy, drawing enthusiastic support and boos for her rival from the estimated crowd of......
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......
2008-10-17 11:17:00
CINDY STAUFFER
Paul Kaylor did a double-take when he got a new voter ID card in the mail two weeks ago. A lifelong Republican, the 45-year-old now was registered as a Democrat. "I was pretty ticked off about it, to be honest with you," said Kaylor, who has GOP signs hung all over his city home. What......
2008-10-17 01:03:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Joe the Plumber was the star of Republican Sen. John McCain's rally here Thursday.McCain, speaking to about 2,000 supporters inside a gymnasium, said small business owners like Ohioan Joe Wurzelbacher — whose videotaped sparring over taxes with Democrat Sen. Barack Obama thr......
2008-10-16 12:45:00
STAFF
Dozens of people lined up Thursday morning at Lancaster County Republican headquarters to pick up free tickets for the Saturday visit by GOP vice-presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin at Clipper Magazine Stadium. The rally is set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The governor of Alaska, Palin will spe......
2008-10-16 01:49:00
JEFF HAWKES
Is Sen. Arlen Specter conflicted about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin? The reluctant endorsement he offered Tuesday in Lancaster says it all.Specter said the folksy governor of Alaska is "obviously an intelligent woman" who has "potential."Potential?Isn't tha......
2008-10-16 01:17:00
DAVE PIDGEON
The final presidential debate between Democrat Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain may not have produced an obvious winner, except maybe a new icon for the American middle class: "Joe the plumber."That was the conclusion of several political observers from the regio......
2008-10-16 01:05:00
DAVE PIDGEON
A tidal wave of Republican politicos is bearing down on the region less than three weeks before the Nov. 4 election.Republican Sen. John McCain is scheduled to rally supporters in Downingtown around noon today, the second time in as many weeks that he has followed up a high-profile televis......
2008-10-15 11:41:00
RYAN ROBINSON
Sarah Palin is coming back to Lancaster County. The Republican candidate for vice president will speak at a rally at Clipper Magazine Stadium sometime Saturday morning, local campaign officials confirmed today. Tickets will be available between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday at G......
2008-10-15 01:11:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
A side effect of presidential elections is the proliferation of campaign signs decorating lawns.Invariably, some of those signs end up missing when supporters of one candidate take offense to such a visible show of support for the other side.Given the contentiousness of this year......
2008-10-15 01:00:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Republican Sen. John McCain told a GOP crowd in this Philadelphia suburb the nation's economic conditions require the "government to act," as the presidential hopeful unveiled a new $52.5 billion plan.The plan includes making unemployment benefits tax exempt, slashing capital......
2008-10-15 00:56:00
MICHAEL YODER
Educational issues took center stage Tuesday night at McCaskey High School in a debate between candidates for the 13th District state Senate seat.Lancaster Foundation for Educational Enrichment and Good Schools Pennsylvania hosted the forum with the three candidates seeking incumbent Sen. ......
2008-10-15 00:28:00
MADELYN PENNINO
U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter didn't mince words Tuesday when he talked to local college students about the recent Wall Street bailout or Republican vice presidential candidate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's credentials to lead the country. ...
2008-10-14 00:16:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Former White House hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton led 2,000 people in chants of "Jobs, baby, jobs!" during her second day stumping for Democrat Sen. Barack Obama in Pennsylvania.Her 30-minute speech to a modest crowd gathered in the pastoral setting of Graeme Park, the 18th-century......
2008-10-13 00:04:00
DAVE PIDGEON
The loud thud you heard coming from Harrisburg last week was the sound of Gov. Ed Rendell's second-term agenda hitting the floor of the state Senate.Whether it can stagger back to its feet remains in serious question.Senate Republicans — arguably the most influential polit......
2008-10-12 00:15:00
HELEN COLWELL ADAMS
In Leola on Saturday, Republican Party officials were attacking the county's proposed home-rule charter as a special-interest power play. A half-hour later in Lancaster, other Republicans, including former Congressman Bob Walker, were defending the charter as the best opportunity to move La......
