Pancakes forever! | “Holiday Inn Express offers free pancake maker to teacher suspended for making pancakes during PSSAs” – Lancaster Online

Augusta Canal, GA is a designated National Heritage Area.

A page one article in today’s LNP – Always Lancaster states, “In the wake of recent testimony from Columbia Mayor Leo Lutz and Susquehanna Heritage President Mark Platts, the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources on Wednesday approved a bill by U.S. Rep Lloyd Smucker to create the designation.” The article is now online.

So, what’s a National Heritage Area? “National Heritage Areas (NHAs) are designated by Congress as places where natural, cultural, and historic resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally important landscape. NHAs are a grassroots, community-driven approach to heritage conservation and economic development.” – What’s a National Heritage Area Webpage

There are 49 national heritage areas in 32 states across the country that support a diversity of conservation, recreation, education, and preservation activities. – Discover NHAs Webpage

A National Heritage Area is not a National Park! “A National Park is a scenic or historically important area of countryside protected by the federal government for the enjoyment of the general public or the preservation of wildlife.” National Parks are staffed by the National Parks Service.

Here are Pennsylvania’s National Parks.

Are National Heritage Areas a boondoggle, a form of social welfare or corporate welfare? | A dozen or so years ago, a writer at The Heritage Foundation thought so: “National Heritage Areas: Costly Economic Development Schemes that Threaten Property Rights.”

… but that’s when the other side was the majority in Wonderland! It’s different now.

What happens when National Heritage areas are not funded by the guv’ment? | “MotorCities National Heritage Area under risk of defunding in proposed federal budget” – Hemmings Daily

The LNP – Always Lancaster article goes on to say that former US Representative Joe Pitts thought that money allocated for National Heritage Areas could “be better spent on underfunded national parks.” But that’s changed now; can you hear that giant sucking sound?

Payback time | “Wells Fargo will be fined $1 billion” – CNN Money

Wonder what happened at the April 9 Columbia Borough Council meeting? Here’s one side of the story. A better way to find out is to attend the meetings. Another way is to wait a month or so to see another side of the story: the borough’s official FINAL MINUTES.

Also in the Municipal Briefs column in today’s LNP – Always Lancaster, West Hempfield Township’s Fire Department announced it has 0 officially sold its old building in preparation to move into a new 33,000-square-foot municipal complex at 3476 Marietta Ave. that will house fire and police services along with municipal offices. Ney said the fire department received four bids for the property, and a plumbing company was the buyer.”

And from the POLICE LOG: “EAST PETERSBURG: Jeremy D. Crouse, 41, of Columbia, was charged at 7:33 p.m. April 17 after he was seen urinating in a residential area in the 6400 block of Hollow Drive during daylight hours, police said.”