There are several ways besides grant money that only [Paul] Thibault will be able to find IF he gets elected and can pork up some bills. Another way is a one-time tax by the city onto the property owners and, of course, you can always raise the city tax to increase the funds to maintain a budget.
Just addressing our County and each of our municipalities, permits and transfer taxes are down approximately 56%... We are currently spending budgets that were approved on speculation of last years income.
Therefore SMART government would take a look at projected projects that are not necessary this year and put them on hold as the funds are 1/2. Even taxes due to foreclosures are down as income.
This is all going to cause a HUGE tax increase next year to property owners or a special tax to make up the loss.
Here the city which is the highest taxed municipality in our county is going crazy to spruce up the area that will appear very similar to Atlantic City, but of course on a smaller scale. As the years go on, businesses will foot the bill as grant money will dry up.
ONLY the upper middle class and higher or the VERY poor will be able to call Lancaster City their home. This will culminate in about 5-10 years and the train is going very fast these days.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
F & M "Public Forums" Biased
I have attended enough F&M "public forums" to know first hand how these "forums" are conducted. What they really are, are well-planned professionally-run presentations of the current project that F&M wants the public to accept unconditionally.
They are strictly controlled meetings in which the administrator in charge (usually Keith Orris) knows in advance of the meeting who is in favor and who is not; the former are allowed to speak, the latter are not. Any ideas that do not conform to F&M's ideas are stifled. Other views or ideas are not solicited or permitted to be aired at the meeting...
F&M tries to equate their "public meetings" with "open hearings." They are public meetings in that the public may attend. "Open hearings," that is, meetings in which various viewpoints may be presented, they are not.
They are strictly controlled meetings in which the administrator in charge (usually Keith Orris) knows in advance of the meeting who is in favor and who is not; the former are allowed to speak, the latter are not. Any ideas that do not conform to F&M's ideas are stifled. Other views or ideas are not solicited or permitted to be aired at the meeting...
F&M tries to equate their "public meetings" with "open hearings." They are public meetings in that the public may attend. "Open hearings," that is, meetings in which various viewpoints may be presented, they are not.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Questions ACLU statistics
ACLU representative cites 428 violent crimes in Hazleton -- only four "committed" by illegal immigrants,.
Are we to assume that ALL of the 428 violent crimes were solved, the offenders convicted, and only 4 were illegals?
Or do we believe that only 4 illegals were arrested, tried and convicted and weighed against an unknown number of domestic villains, also tried and convicted?
Is NewsLanc solely about the Convention Center?
My wife and I were handed one of your flyers when we entered the market on April 5th. I was very excited while reading this while my wife was shopping, I couldn't wait to get home to my laptop.
I am well aware of how the media never reports the whole story or very little good news. My question to NewsLanc would be: is this project going to have anything to do with anything other than anti-Convention Center bias?
Don't get me wrong, I have never been in favor of the Convention Center. I just think the Lancaster County has many other problems. Try driving the speed limit on Routes 222, 283, or 30 and see how you are a traffic hazard.
For years it was excepted by the police to drive 7 mph over the speed limit, now it's more like 15 to 20 mph over. With gas at only $3.25 a gallon we all can afford it. Maybe when it gets to $6.00 a gallon as it in Europe we will slow down.
Editor's Response: A resounding YES! We welcome leads or articles on all subjects and our staff (as small as it is) reports on the most important regional meetings and performs investigations. Nevertheless, the Convention Center requires critical coverage because it is not about to come from the monopoly press.
I am well aware of how the media never reports the whole story or very little good news. My question to NewsLanc would be: is this project going to have anything to do with anything other than anti-Convention Center bias?
Don't get me wrong, I have never been in favor of the Convention Center. I just think the Lancaster County has many other problems. Try driving the speed limit on Routes 222, 283, or 30 and see how you are a traffic hazard.
For years it was excepted by the police to drive 7 mph over the speed limit, now it's more like 15 to 20 mph over. With gas at only $3.25 a gallon we all can afford it. Maybe when it gets to $6.00 a gallon as it in Europe we will slow down.
Editor's Response: A resounding YES! We welcome leads or articles on all subjects and our staff (as small as it is) reports on the most important regional meetings and performs investigations. Nevertheless, the Convention Center requires critical coverage because it is not about to come from the monopoly press.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Interest In 5thEstate.com Closing
As of a few minutes ago, there are nearly 8,000 hits on the LancasterOnLine.com talk back thread about Ron Harper closing down 5thEstate.com.
Just yesterday I was reading how media companies and sources follow a curve from introduction to maturity to demise. It is a typical business model.
This Convention Center issue may have eroded the credibility of LNP and accelerated its downslide. The introduction of new technology and new competition are also classic reasons for a business's decline.
Maybe the 8000 mark will be reached before thy close the thread down. It should send a signal to LNP that folks are listening to critics.
Editor's Note: Eight thousand hits represents about a thousand people.
Just yesterday I was reading how media companies and sources follow a curve from introduction to maturity to demise. It is a typical business model.
This Convention Center issue may have eroded the credibility of LNP and accelerated its downslide. The introduction of new technology and new competition are also classic reasons for a business's decline.
Maybe the 8000 mark will be reached before thy close the thread down. It should send a signal to LNP that folks are listening to critics.
Editor's Note: Eight thousand hits represents about a thousand people.
Friday, April 4, 2008
The importance of legacy
In my own philosophy, the "afterlife" is actually the legacy each of us leaves. The more positive and loving the legacy: Heaven. Negative memories or legacy: Hell. Heaven and Hell are not PLACES, but represent the legacy each of us leaves
Tiptoeing through local history
The legacy Art Morris will leave? How about the shutdown of the Southern Market, turning it into meeting rooms, and GIVING a large portion of it to the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce and Industry for their headquarters - the same Lancaster Chamber which created the Lancaster Alliance and the Lancaster Campaign, which answers directly to the biggest corporations in Lancaster County, and which is behind the hotel and convention center project.
Had the Southern Market been properly promoted instead of intentionally forced to wither and die by Art Morris, Lancaster wouldn't "need" a convention center to bring tourists into Lancaster - they would already be here. I remember when one the biggest issues in downtown Lancaster was 'too many tourists,' brought in by too many tour buses, and where to park the buses. Former mayor Tom Monaghan - the architect of the "Urban Renewal"destruction of so much of downtown Lancaster - pushed through a silly $4 tax on each tour bus, which drove the tour operators away from downtown Lancaster.
As mayor, Art Morris could have reversed this mistake through appropriate aggressive action, however he instead gave in to powerful interests (the same interests behind the hotel and convention center project) and turned one of Lancaster's greatest historical assets into a pseudo-town hall combined with a prestigious home for the lobbying organization which represents so many of the most powerful special interests in Lancaster.
And speaking of "legacy": don't forget about "Arthur E. Morris Parkway", off Pitney Road, which services the water plant.
Had the Southern Market been properly promoted instead of intentionally forced to wither and die by Art Morris, Lancaster wouldn't "need" a convention center to bring tourists into Lancaster - they would already be here. I remember when one the biggest issues in downtown Lancaster was 'too many tourists,' brought in by too many tour buses, and where to park the buses. Former mayor Tom Monaghan - the architect of the "Urban Renewal"destruction of so much of downtown Lancaster - pushed through a silly $4 tax on each tour bus, which drove the tour operators away from downtown Lancaster.
As mayor, Art Morris could have reversed this mistake through appropriate aggressive action, however he instead gave in to powerful interests (the same interests behind the hotel and convention center project) and turned one of Lancaster's greatest historical assets into a pseudo-town hall combined with a prestigious home for the lobbying organization which represents so many of the most powerful special interests in Lancaster.
And speaking of "legacy": don't forget about "Arthur E. Morris Parkway", off Pitney Road, which services the water plant.
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