And not last year nor the year before that or the year before that … sigh!

December 2016 (above photo) | This Lancaster Online article, “Free on-street parking offered in downtown Lancaster from Dec. 17-24” sharply contrasts the difference in communities’ willingness to support small merchants during the critical holiday shopping period when sales can account for as much as 30% of the merchants’ yearly revenue.

Interesting reading | The arrests and incidents at the Columbia Police Department CrimeWatch page.

Where do you get your truth? | Beware the claims that are sometimes posted at facebook sites! A recent post stated a local police department was the “busiest” in the county. Here are the “Lancaster County-Wide Total Dispatches per Police Department” for 2017 according to Lancaster County’s Countywide Communications (9-1-1). People can say anything; reliable documentation is better.

Racism in high school sports | Yes. – The New York Post

Aument & Martin | Municipalities should decide on truck-stop gaming – Central Penn Business Journal

Columbia’s issues | There’s a post and string of comments with comments about Columbia and some of its issues at “What’s Happening in Columbia, Pa. and Surrounding Area” — the post begins with:

“I was eating dinner tonight with a lady who has her masters and is very productive professionally. We were talking about the school districts and the towns we grew up in. She hailed from Ephrata and I obviously Columbia.”

MAGA | Making Americans Gag Again – The New York Times

DIC: “I’ll take ownership” | “No, I won’t.” – The Washington Post

Note to Kurd allies | Friends like US you do not need – The Washington Post

DIC’s gift to dictators | Here you go ISIS – The Guardian

Now what? | DIC wants to deport Vietnamese immigrants – Al Jazeera

Gr-r-r-r | Nasdaq: the bear is back – Reuters