today’s news and information gleanings from here and there!
Quote for today… “‘We dishonor them,’ (President Barack) Obama said, ‘when we turn things like this into a political circus.’ Indeed. But it’s what we turn almost everything into.” – Extracted from this New York Times column: “Our Ceaseless Circus.”
- “psychological barrier” against school tax increase – LancasterOnLine
- “clean opinion” on Columbia’s annual financial audit – MyColumbiaNews
- “Ephrata’s new open-air market will debut Saturday. Located in Whistle Stop Plaza outside the borough’s 124-year-old train station, the market will feature a mix of baked goods, locally grown produce, processed food from small, in-home businesses and arts and crafts.” – LancasterOnLine
- Crime city:” … York ranks higher than Baltimore on a list of the top most dangerous cities in the U.S. Neighborhood Scout ranks York 18th. Baltimore is 27th most dangerous and Harrisburg is 30th on the list. Sarasota, Florida is at the bottom of the list of 100. To see the complete list click here. – Fox43-TV
- The Columbia Borough council May “meeting-of-the-whole” will be held on Tuesday, May 28. This announced change of dates was made at Monday’s council meeting. The change is necessary because the meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, May 21. That’s the same date for the primary election; the borough council chambers is a designated polling place.
- “Taking the politics out of legislative redistricting could be a ridiculously easy task: Do what Iowa has done for years. Let a computer draw the lines, based solely on population, with a law that specifically prohibits political or even demographic considerations.” – Harrisburg Patriot-News
- There was discussion about the reduced revenue from the “liquid fuels tax” at the Monday evening council meeting. One councillor said this is a problem because people are driving less. This New York Times article lends to that premise: “Young Americans Lead Trend to Less Driving.”
SOURCE: Emergency Management Magazine
- Curiously coincidental article considering the recent water incident in Columbia: “Protecting the Water Supply Requires a Multipronged Approach” – Emergency Management
- News release – Columbia Borough Police Department
- The drawing for the estimated $360 million jackpot is tonight.
- Hickernell to Host Veterans ID Card Event in E-Town – Representative Hickernell’s Website
- Another topic that received a good bit of discussion at Monday’s Council meeting was ACT 46: “Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act – Cancer in the Occupation of Firefighter – Act of July 7, 2011, Public Law 251, No. 46.”
- “A law in Pennsylvania demonstrates the problem of unintended consequences. In 2011, lawmakers approved Act 46 of 2011—the Firefighter Cancer Presumption Law—which designates cancer as an occupational disease for firefighters and enables them to receive workers’ compensation benefits if they develop cancer and can establish exposure to certain carcinogens at fire or hazmat incidents during their careers.” – Workers Compensation Institute
- Firefighters pushed for this legislation – Pennsylvania Fire & Emergency Services Institute
- Economic development continues with these just opened in Columbia: Mullen Books and Kozee Kandles – MyColumbiaNews
- Another free ride for someone with money! llaskoske. this Lancaster New Era editorial points to the differences in penalties if someone’s rich, famous or “connected” versus someone who’s not.
- “A Mountville woman working as a traffic flagger was struck by a dump truck Monday in Manheim Township, police said. The 23-year-old was directing traffic in the 1000 block of North Duke Street at 12:05 p.m. when the dump truck drifted and struck her, Manheim Township police Sgt. Tom Rudzinski said.” – Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era
- “fiscally-healthy” hospitals identified in this report – Harrisburg Patriot-News
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