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

Quote for today … “When you go to the polls, ethics and morality should be part of the evaluation.” – John Shimkus

A second quote for today (from the 21st century) … “Change is always difficult — particularly when you’re changing how an institution such as the General Assembly functions and does business. You have members that have become accustomed to operating in a certain way.” – State Senator Ryan Aument in a page one LNP – Always Lancaster article about “reform” in the state legislature.

A third quote for today (from the 16th century) … “There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. For the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order, this lukewarmness arising partly from fear of their adversaries … and partly from the incredulity of mankind, who do not truly believe in anything new until they have had actual experience of it.” – Niccolo Machiavelli

Quokkas are the cutest and happiest animals in the world.

• Deal maker weaseled by the weasel – Vox

• There goes that promise. The Wall Street Journal

• “VA, DOD study a major breakthrough for understanding PTSD” – Veterans Affairs news release

• “Susquehanna River could feel effect of Trump budget” – WITF

• Remember the “no-choice” election last November that sent Pat Toomey to the US Senate? Well, the “elected public servant” party hack voted last week that it’s OK for “Internet service providers such as AT&T, Comcast and Verizon (to NOT) obtain customer consent before they share sensitive user information such as browsing and app activity with advertisers and other parties.” Yep, he’s totally on-board with the  Wonderland “roll-back” theme.

• “How Noisy Is Your Neighborhood? Now There’s A Map For That.” – WITF

• A page one article in today’s LNP – Always Lancaster is about “housing insecurity” in Lancaster County and the many vicissitudes that families who rent housing encounter. “The Lancaster County Community Foundation, the Mayor’s Commission to Combat Poverty and The Steinman Foundation have come together in a collaborative effort to welcome Matthew Desmond, the bestselling author of Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, as the featured speaker at HDC MidAtlantic’s 2017 Faces of Affordable Housing Banquet on Wednesday, April 26, 2017, at the Marriott at Penn Square in Lancaster, Pa. Reception kicks off at 5 pm, followed by dinner at 6 pm.” – HDC-MidAtlantic Webpage

• Another “shaking our head” in disbelief moment: rodent droppings! – Lancaster County’s food serving places’ inspections. – Lancaster Online

• York County’s food serving places’ inspections includes 18 violations at the Village Green Restaurant.– State Database Webpage

• Click here to go to the state’s Website of inspections … and the listing of the violations at each location. The statewide directory lists inspections for all municipalities in York County and Lancaster County.… except those in Columbia – Columbia persists in having its own inspection system with its own forms and inspection items – rather than the one used statewide.

Because there’ve been questions and because information is sometimes not understood or accurate, here are several sources for veterans and veterans’ families.

Click on the graphic to download the pre-planning guide. 

• What to do when a veteran has passed away [a website] = VeteranAid.org

• What to do when a veteran passes away [a one page sheet from Veterans Affairs]

• How to find out in advance whether a veteran qualifies for burial in a Veterans Affairs national cemetery and other burial benefits – Veterans Affairs Webpage

• For retired U.S. Service men or women, how to Report a Retiree’s Death. – Defense Finance and Accounting Service Webpage

• The obituary notices in today’s LNP – Always Lancaster show at least a half-dozen veterans, one as young as 29. Among the veterans is a long-time colleague, Bill Cifuni, a legend at WLAN radio.