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

Quote for today … “The penalties under the act are insignificant and very rarely imposed.” – comment following this 2016 Lancaster Online article. Which is why elected public servants choose to violate it. It’s even less severe than stealing money from a church, kids soccer club, PTO or fire company. Secondly, for too many of these elected public servants, ethics is not a word they recognize.

[NOTE: In 2007, then Attorney General Tom Corbett said “the grand jury made the following recommendations concerning the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act and other regulations: * The Legislature should significantly clarify and strengthen the Sunshine Act. * Civil and administrative enforcement provisions and penalties should be added to the Act. * Criminal penalties should be strengthened and broadened. * The Legislature should use the structure of Pennsylvania’s Ethics Act as a model for enhancements to the Sunshine Act.” You see, how things change – and the more things change the more they stay the same.

• Former Eagle coming back to Philly – Pennlive

• Columbia’s Northwest survives the cut in branch cuts – Central Penn Business Journal

Beginning February 23, “Burger King will roll out two kinds of hot dogs to its menu starting Feb. 23, the first time the chain has offered franks. It will become the biggest restaurant seller of hot dogs in the country with the launch. (Photo: Burger King)” – USA Today

• Inspection stickers going away – law enforcement gets high tech spy equipment to detect expired stickers – The Morning Call

• “If teachers ran their classrooms the same way the school district’s governing board ran its meetings, they would no doubt be met swiftly with punishment. If my children acted in such a manner, they too would be on the receiving end of substantial consequences and have to figure out a way to make retribution to those they wronged.” – from a column written by a Manheim Township resident, former school board director and mother in today’s LNP – Always Lancaster.

• Every letter-to-the-editor in today’s LNP – Always Lancaster is about the Manheim Township school board illicit practices.

• Even TV has chimed in – WGAL-TV

• Still no Columbia in MUNICIPAL briefs; you can find info about this month’s borough council meeting here and here. And the minutes to council meetings can be found at the Borough Website under the ORDINANCES link.

• FOX43-TV investigates York’s housing authority

• One responsibility of media in a free society: “uncover abuses, pressure for their rectification.” Kudos to LNP – Always Lancaster and FOX43-TV and others that do this job.

• Kim’s way to defeat political enemies – Pennlive

• But … in the land of dysfunctia … Pennlive

• “Legislators like things just the way they are. It’ll never happen, nor will reducing the size of legislature, going part-time (the salary part, the work part they of course are already there), eliminating automatic salary increases, etc. Everyone hates government except for their rep so the same losers get re-elected time after time. Meanwhile, people with real skills, imagination and a sense of social responsibility remain in the private sector. Who would want to be associated with career politicians?” – comment following this PennLive column