today’s news and information gleanings from here and there! Today’s Weather!   Today in History!

Quote for today… “Is your heart filled with pain, shall I come back again? Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight?” – Elvis, from the song, “Are You Lonesome Tonight”, written by Turk and Handman

• There is just “so much” information today; this list is longer than normal. But … we think you’ll find interesting reading here!
• Weis recalls guacamole dip over listeria concerns (York Dispatch)
• We received this attachment to an email from a reader. The reader saw this statement, “Honest debate is the first step toward honest ideas and good solutions for the betterment of our country.”, and thought, gee, this is good for communities, too. We agree; citizens need to become involved in “honest debate” to inspire honest ideas and good solutions in Columbia, too.
• The Planning Commission met last night; here is the agenda from the meeting. All of the board members, several borough employees (including the borough manager and the codes officer) and nine citizens were in attendance as Chairperson Don Haines brought the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 pm. Several of the items on the agenda received the larger share of time.
• LEGAL NOTICE: The Zoning Hearing Board of the Borough of Columbia will meet on Wednesday, August 31, 2011, at 7:00 P.M., in the Municipal Building at 308 Locust Street, Columbia, PA, to consider the following application(s) and/or appeal(s): Todd and Lauren Kauffman, is requesting a modification to a previous zoning decision condition for Kauffman’s Salon located at 310 North Eleventh Street in a Low Density Residential (LDR) zoned district. TMIS, LLC, is requesting special exception(s), variance(s) for parking and/or a modification of a previous zoning decision at 401 Locust Street in a Downtown Commercial (DC) zoned district. Jaydesh Properties, LLC, is requesting special exception(s) and/or variance(s) for construction of a 4 unit mixed use building with parking at 400 Locust Street in a Downtown Commercial(DC) zoned district. If you are a person with a disability wishing to attend this meeting and require an accommodation to participate in the meeting, please contact the Columbia Borough Office at 684- 2467 to discuss how the Borough may accommodate your needs. Jeffrey M. Helm, Zoning Officer
• We noticed this signage posted on the “vacant land” at the corner of Fourth and Locust Streets on the way to last night’s meeting: 

We also noticed this “sign” and spoke with the owner of the little store that used to occupy space on the main floor of this building. Chris Brown related the “sad tale” about his brief retail experience here. It appears he was meeting expectations “until the upstairs apartments became occupied.” According to him, there are 10 people residing in the two apartments on the second floor. He noticed a “rodent invasion” which is not conducive to operating a food-selling retail store. We spoke with him as he was “closing out” his business; removing salvageable canned goods and cleaning before vacating up the area . 

• “Letters to the editors” from two Columbians in today’s Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era. Russell Stepanchak – Robert G. Miller
• Legislator introduces bill to push motorcycle safety program – (York Dispatch)
• Definitions: This deliberation of what’s a condominium versus an apartment building took place at last night’s Planning Commission meeting. Here is the agenda from the meeting. Meanwhile, … “The difference between a condominium and an apartment complex is purely legal: there is no way to know a condominium from an apartment simply by looking at or visiting the building. What defines a condominium is the form of ownership. The same building developed as a condominium (and sold in individual units to different owners) could actually be built someplace else as an apartment building (the developers would retain ownership and rent individual units to different tenants). As a practical matter, though, builders tend to build condominiums to higher quality standards than apartment complexes because of the differences between the rental and sale markets. Condominiums have conditions, covenants, and restrictions, and often additional rules, that govern how the individual unit owners are to share the space.” (Source: Wikipedia)
• Again, Cole Umber sets the bar way up there. Here’s a sketch (from his Website http://columbiapa17512.blogspot.com/) reproduced here with his consent. Cole, if you were at last night’s meeting, you observed this “Greek tragedy” in spades. Two people contributed probably 90 percent of the oral statements during the meeting, and the “standard setter” was a primary contributor. His impassioned pleas to the Commission to accept the “grant request” amalgamation had to be seen and heard to be appreciated. Did you know, for instance, that some of the cabins have been in the cabin owners’ (but land renters’) families for “hundreds of years”? 

August 16, 1977 … Elvis has left the building for the last time. “Every year, thousands of Elvis devotees flock to Memphis to remember the singer’s death on Aug. 16, 1977. The main event of “Elvis Week” is the solemn candlelight vigil at Graceland, his longtime home, at midnight Tuesday.” (ELVIS PRESLEY photo: AP) Read more here.

• We were out-of-town and away from the main computer on August 5. Consequently, we neglected to commemorate the anniversary of the passing of another American iconic legend … Marilyn Monroe died on August 5, 1962.