today’s news and information gleanings from here and there! 

• Today’s Weather! 
• Today in History!
• Traffic Cam Rts. 30 & 441
• The Official Time! – Population Clock (U.S. and World)

Quote for today… “Elections are won by men and women chiefly because most people vote against somebody rather than for somebody. – Franklin Pierce Adams

• LEGAL NOTICE (published in the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era, December 27, 2011) – “Notice is hereby given that a Special Meeting of Columbia Borough Council will be held on Wednesday, December 28, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. in the Borough Municipal Building, 308 Locust St., Columbia, PA to address 2011 Budget changes, and any other Borough business. If you are a person with a disability wishing to attend and require an accommodation to participate in the meeting, please contact the Borough Office at 684-2467. Norman B. Meiskey III Borough Manager.”
• “Taylor Elementary School makes the list: “2010 Keystone Achievement Awards Recognize Pennsylvania Schools for Academic Achievement” – PrnNewswire.com. Follow-up article from today’s Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era
• “Between 100 to 120 Sears & Kmart stores to close” – York Dispatch

Christmas sky at dusk one.

• More on the $250,000 grant to SGHA – “The plan also calls for working with Susquehanna River towns Wrightsville, Columbia and Marietta to bring more economic development projects into those areas. SGHA also plans to work with Lancaster County officials to do a Veterans Memorial Bridge lighting project that includes placing historic cast iron lights above the bridge, which connects Wrightsville and Columbia, Platts said.” – York Dispatch
• Now in effect! “The teen driving law, signed by Gov. Tom Corbett in October, took effect at 12:01 a.m. (yesterday) morning. Teens with learner’s permits will need 65 hours of driving experience to get a junior license, up from 50 hours. Teens can get a junior license starting at age 16. There is also a new experience requirement of five hours of bad-weather driving and 10 hours of night driving.” – York Dispatch

Christmas sky at dusk two

• York County man’s goats eat left-overs … old Christmas trees! – York Daily Record
• Another Christmas song list: “ASCAP — the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers — has updated its list of most-played songs of the 2011 holiday season. For the second year in a row, “Sleigh Ride” tops the list of songs, which were all written or co-written by members of ASCAP.” Click here to see the 2011 top-ten played song list. – ASCAP Website
• A worth-while comparative read! Harrisburg Patriot-News report on communities with highest taxes and lowest taxes and the differences.
• Is armed contractor a euphemism for mercenary? “No troops, but an army of contractors in Iraq” – National Public Radio
• They never leave with less than they came with: New York Times article identifies the wealth gap of U.S. elected “public servants” and the people they are supposed to represent.