Help for small businesses | “The Phase 2 funding portal will open soon! Lancaster County small businesses (with 100 or fewer employees) can apply for grants starting Monday, July 20 at 8am EST through Friday, July 24 at 5pm EST! The grant award recipients and grant amounts are based on a variety of criteria, not on a first-come, first-served basis. All applications are reviewed and considered based on a scoring system that uses the same set of criteria for all applicants. – Recovery Lancaster

Local interest Obituaries | Shannon Diane Rivera

Internet theft | So many plagiarists delight in the cut & past function — especially on facebook. Plagiarism is “an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author’s work as one’s own, as by not crediting the original author,” according to dictionary.com. In plain speak, it’s stealing. It’s trying to make yourself look smarter than you are or it’s being lazy, rather than creative. An example  take a look at the comment at the Columbia Spy’s facebook page post about the “Governor’s new restrictions for PA businesses post” that begins: “This is the strangest virus I’ve ever heard of. It’s very dangerous in the way it spreads.” This stolen and not attributed example is all over the Internet. Extremist ideologists from both ends of the spectrum are prone to plagiarism.

SOURCE: Columbia Borough Police Department CrimeWatch

Tonight | “Don’t forget School Board Meeting at the High School Auditorium, … Thursday at 6pm to discuss the Re-Opening Plan for the 2020-2021 School Year. Wear a mask and hope to see you there!” – Columbia Borough School District facebook page

Food distribution today | “Thursday, July 16 is a Healthy Columbia Crisis Meals distribution day. The team from CHI St Joseph Children’s Health will be greeting our friends from throughout the community with meal sets (5 meals, fresh fruit and snacks) just outside of our Columbia office (401 Locust St) starting at 11:30am” – Healthy Columbia facebook page

Find out | how local not-for-profit entities report their finances to the IRS; click here to research their filed Form 990s. Are their finances as poor as they claim?

How long do you think? | How many years will the crook who was found guilty of a “15-year fraud that sank the company, costing all 275 employees their jobs” will actually spend in prison? Will he be treated to white men justice and be released way before the sentence is completed? – Lancaster Online

Were he a person of color | his sentence would have been longer. – United States Sentencing Commission 

hard choices| The reality that hits every personal or family budget when reduced revenue streams are interrupted is something that municipalities have to face as well. One is preparing for that. – Lancaster Online

Ya’ think? | Wonder if this Lancaster Online letter-to-the-editor writer is onto something when writing, “The only way that America has a chance of being great again is to remove all government officials who have chosen politics over science?”