Council meeting | Click here to watch the meeting. It was livestreamed at the borough facebook page. It’s ‘archived there, too. But Columbia will migrate to YouTube.

Enhanced audience | Far more people can watch / participate in the democratic process with livestreaming than attending in person. At this posting, 562 viewers have watched at least part of the meeting.

2-1-1 | has been on the Columbia news, views & reviews Website since 2015. 2-1-1 is the local, statewide and nationwide number to call for social services resources. For instance, In Lancaster County, persons experiencing homelessness should first call 2-1-1.

“Call, text, or chat with your local 211 to speak with a community resource specialist in your area who will help you find services and resources that are available to you. You’ll find help with:

• • supplemental food and nutrition programs
  • shelter and housing options and utilities assistance
  • emergency information and disaster relief
  • employment and education opportunities
  • services for veterans
  • health care, vaccination and health epidemic information
  • addiction prevention and rehabilitation programs
  • reentry help for ex-offenders
  • support groups for individuals with mental illnesses or special needs
  • a safe, confidential path out of physical and/or emotional domestic abuse”

New executive director at CEDC | Bill Kloidt, a Columbia Economic Development Corporation board member,  introduced himself last night as the new executive director for the Columbia Economic Development Corporation. Maybe with a new person at the helm, the CEDC will maintain its website and facebook page and keep them current.

digital “connectivness” | The accelerated pace of digital technology is providing Internet access to so many more people than imagined. Devices that are 5G-ready can access and harness the Internet without being tethered to cable, lessening the utility of “hotspots” and costly hookups.

tone deaf | “Armed vigilantes antagonizing protesters have received a warm reception from police.” – The Intercept

OPINION: Executive session | An executive session to discuss “use of force?” Police “use of force” decisions on citizens ought to be open for citizen input. Citizen review boards should be in place; communities should be so much better than to have to be reactive rather than proactive. This nation and the communities has had several hundred years of living practice. It should be a whole lot more evolved than “executive sessions.”

from Columbia news, views & reviews | Thursday, September 1, 2016

• Well, that municipality has one! “Harrisburg’s use-of-force policy bans several controversial police techniques.” [NOTE: Interestingly, the publication had to submit a right-to-know request to access it.]

• Most times it takes a tragedy (e.g., Baltimore, Ferguson, etc.) to find out the police department has no continuum of force policy or it’s blatantly ignored. See this June, 2011 Columbia news, views & reviews post:  Report: Police can do better with “de-escalation” – “Most law enforcement agencies have policies that guide their use of force. These policies describe an escalating series of actions an officer may take to resolve a situation. This continuum generally has many levels, and officers are instructed to respond with a level of force appropriate to the situation at hand, acknowledging that the officer may move from one part of the continuum to another in a matter of seconds.” – National Institute of Justice

White backwalking | A page one LNP – Always Lancaster article today, has an LCBC pastor recanting on something he said during a sermon that was racially inflamatory. In the article, he now says, ““Last week, I made a statement that was inflammatory. I went too far. … I was wrong for making it.” Geez, think first. Quit with the white privilege crap, padre.

Nationalism is wrong | Letter to the editor in today’s LNP – Always Lancaster.