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… “We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share and everyone plays by the same set of rules.” – President Barack Obama, 2012 State of the Union

• “Called to a new life -Pastor’s legacy lives on as wife, son embrace ministry” – Interim pastor, Mary Anne Kingsborough will be ordained at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Columbia on Jan. 27. – York Daily Record

• You may recall the Columbia news, views & reviews article about the movie, Margin Call. Turns out the co-producer is a York County native and his movie, “a Wall Street financial thriller starring Kevin Spacey, Stanley Tucci, Demi Moore and other Hollywood A-listers, was nominated (for an Academy Award) for best original screenplay.” – York Dispatch

• The judges saw the same “ferhoodled” boondoggle citizens saw: “Court throws out redistricting plan” – Scranton Times-Tribune

• We are delighted that the gorilla is here! – When we first wrote about the capabilities and potential of micro-reporting, we hoped MyColumbiaNews, indeed, would provide coverage that only an organization with a news-gathering force can do. Lancaster Newspapers, Inc. does an excellent job of reporting the news for this burgeoning county of just under 520,000 people and the micro-zone digital publications are doing what they are supposed to do … keep the citizens informed. The correspondents who cover the local Columbia scene are doing an excellent job. Here are just two examples: “Columbia Borough officials are considering new regulations on pawn shops and salvage yards to help track stolen goods.” – “Tip from victim’s neighbor leads to burglary charges for Columbia woman” – MyColumbiaNews

• “The global economy is slowing sharply and is at far greater risk of recession than was thought just months ago, with Europe’s debt crisis creating “fertile ground” for a rapid collapse, the International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday. – The Washington Post

• In case you have not checked in with the PolitFact “Truth-O-Meter” in a while, here are the stats the former Senator from Pennsylvania. What did you expect?

• “It is inaccurate to think that all retirees do not work. In fact, as of the end of last year, 7.3% of Americans 75 and older were employed — the highest level since 1966, according to The Wall Street Journal. But as the number of job seekers among retirement-age people has increased, so has the unemployment rate among that age group. It is now twice what it was five years ago. Read more here. – 24/7Wall Street

• Vietnam “do-over”: “Army to Cut Brigades Amid Tighter Spending” – The Wall Street Journal

• POLICE LOG: “MARIETTA: Michele L. Baillis, 23, of 3 W. Fairview Ave., Marietta, was charged after allegedly creating a disturbance at Kirchner’s Korner, 30 W. Market St., Monday night. – MARIETTA: Matthew M. Fryberger, 19, of 388 E. Front St., Marietta, was charged after allegedly yelling at a woman outside his home Jan. 5. – EAST DONEGAL TWP.: Thomas S. Krzykowski, 29, of 12 Hampshire Court, Marietta, was charged after an alleged physical altercation with a woman at his home on Jan. 14.” – Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era
• “Everyday low pricing do-over” – “JCPenney aims to draw shoppers with everyday low prices …” – Cleveland Plain Dealer

• The news on the financial pages of today’s Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era ought to be disturbing for the average wage-earning citizen [NOTE: These are “opinions”]: Bon-Ton’s new president will be paid at least $5,700,000 a year. The new CEO comes from Lord & Taylor; this is probably related to the just announced acquisition of Lord & Taylor by Canadian company, Hudson’s Bay Co. and this announcement in the Vancouver Sun: “Bonnie Brooks has been named president of Hudson’s Bay Co. as part of its purchase Monday of U.S. sister company Lord & Taylor Holdings LLC and will run both The Bay and the department store chain Lord & Taylor.” – “Susquehanna Bancshares on Wednesday posted sharp increases in net profits available to common shareholders for the fourth quarter and full year. The quarter’s net profits surged 96.4 percent to $19.1 million (12 cents a share), up from $9.7 million (8 cents a share) in 2010’s fourth quarter. For the full year, net profits more than tripled to $54.9 million (40 cents a share), up from 2010’s $16.3 million (13 cents a share).” Aren’t you just thrilled that a bank that was the recipient of $300,000,000 in bail-out funds is having a surging profit? And Wells Fargo is crowing about “WELLS FARGO REPORTS RECORD QUARTERLY AND FULL YEAR NET INCOME – Q4 Net Income of $4.1 billion; Q4 Revenue of $20.6 billion” – then again this bank was given $25,000,000,000 bail-out funds in 2008. How do you think you would be doing today if you were given “bail-out bucks” in 2008?