Meeting today | “CCCA to hold Public Meeting & Membership Drive Sunday, October 27” 

Though Joe promised … | that he’s not “take contributions from registered lobbyists” that promise evidently skips over the Political Action Committee (PAC) big bucks “CORPORATE LOBBYISTS FOR HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY, WEAPONS MAKERS, FINANCE,” and FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS. – The Intercept

On November 5 | Don’t vote for arrogance: There are three types of arrogance – Futurity

Penn State study | “Our politics and political party affiliation may help shape our beliefs and morality” – Futurity

Look out | “Fiscal hawks have long warned of the economic dangers of running big government deficits. Yet the apocalypse they fear never seems to happen, and the government just keeps on spending.” Jim Smith, one-time Columbia Borough councillor repeatedly warned about kicking the fiscal can down the road. That time is nearing, many fear, as “The Trump administration reported a river of red ink Friday. The federal deficit for the 2019 budget year surged 26% from 2018 to $984.4 billion — its highest point in seven years.” 

Road Construction update | Lane Restriction Scheduled for Sign Installation on Route 30 in Lancaster County – news release

Dependability! | You can find lists the weekly food inspections for Lancaster County’s food serving establishments at Lancaster Online’s Website and you can find all the restaurants across the state at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Website. Beginning on January 1, 2020, Columbia’s food-serving establishments will be posted there too; The Borough recently began posting its own conducted surveys at the Borough Website at the end of each month.

news release | Help us protect vital senior programs against illegal gambling machines – Pennsylvania Council on Aging

The vital senior programs that are funded by the Pennsylvania Lottery are facing a tremendous threat. ‘Pennsylvania Skill Games,’ gambling machines that are unlicensed, untaxed and considered illegal by the commonwealth, are the driving force behind this threat. At the current saturation point, these illegal gambling machines are annually costing the Lottery approximately $192.5 million in sales. That means the Lottery-funded programs that thousands of older Pennsylvanians rely upon will lose millions of dollars each year if these machines are not stopped.

These critical programs provide property tax and rent rebates, transportation, care services, prescription assistance, and local services including senior centers and meals. Since the Lottery’s first tickets went on sale in 1972, the Lottery has contributed more than $30 billion to fund these programs. We need to do everything we can to protect these vital programs and continue to provide support to thousands of older Pennsylvanians every day.

We can work to achieve this by urging lawmakers to support proposed legislation, such as House Bill 931, proposed by state Rep. Ed Neilson, and Senate Bill 710, proposed by state Sen. Tommy Tomlinson. Both bills would address these illegal gambling machines and protect funding for senior programs by helping law enforcement crack down on them.

The reality is that we need to take action now to ensure that our older residents will have peace of mind in knowing that the Lottery-funded programs they rely upon will not be threatened by the illegal gambling machines that are flooding communities throughout Pennsylvania.