Lancaster Mayor: Advantages Of College Use Of Former Armory Site Outweigh Price

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lancaster County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology officials came to City Hall and asked the city to sell them the former National Guard armory site, Mayor Rick Gray’s answer was “no.”

The armory was an unexpected windfall for the city, but the city needed it badly.

The buildings which had been used to service military vehicles would become a new maintenance garage to replace the city’s crumbling facility.

But, eventually, college officials persuaded Gray an expansion of the technical school was in the best interests of the college and the surrounding neighborhood.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/lancaster/news/mayor-advantages-of-college-use-of-former-armory-site-outweigh/article_1b928054-0646-11e4-b8d3-0017a43b2370.html

Lancaster City Wants To Be A Haven For Bicyclists

Bicyclists are being welcomed onto Red Rose Transit buses, businesses are opening their doors to bikes or designating parking areas for them, and city officials are considering ways to improve bicycle transportation.

During May, national bike month, efforts are being made around Lancaster city to enhance cycling safety and promote cycling as a form of transportation.

For example, during National Bike to Work Week, May 13-17, RRTA is offering free rides to bicyclists.  They can mount their bikes on the racks on the front of the buses and ride in and out of the city without charge during the work week.

Each rack holds two bikes, RRTA marketing manager Jennifer Boley said.  Additional bikes may be carried in the aisle.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/847168_Lancaster-city-wants-to-be-a-haven-for-bicyclists.html#ixzz2Sl7ekt41

Sensor Gear Helps Lancaster City Rate Streets

Researchers spent about 10 days last summer cruising Lancaster city’s streets looking for the good, the bad and the ugly.

And, they did so looking straight down.

The specially equipped van carried laser-guided sensors that recorded details of every inch of the 110 miles of city streets, 10 miles of city-owned alleyways and the 20 miles of state roads that cut through the city.

The result of the collected data is the city’s first pavement management plan.

The plan lists the city streets and ranks them by which ones most need repair and repaving.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/811319_Sensor-gear-helps-Lancaster-city-rate-streets.html#ixzz2K3prMFwe

New Lancaster City Arts Manager Hits Ground Running

There was a learning curve when Lancaster city hired its first two public arts managers — the first from Colorado and the second from Indiana.

Tracy Beyl, who took over the position this month, needs no introduction to the arts in Lancaster nor to the city’s program.  She was there at its inception.

Beyl moved less than three blocks to the City Hall post from her former office at the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design.

It was there that Beyl was involved in establishing the college’s mural resource project a decade ago.  That initial effort was to provide resources to people in the community who wanted to create public art.  It later was expanded from murals to all public artworks.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/808316_New-Lancaster-city-arts-manager-hits-ground-running.html#ixzz2JHuJMPlN

Rain Falling Harder In Lancaster County; First Power Outage Reported

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lancaster County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Roads are empty.

Schools are dark.

The mall is closed.

Emergency workers are at their posts.

Skies darkened and rain began falling hard as the county hunkered down, waiting for Hurricane Sandy to howl through here with its full power later today.

“Get out now,” said Mayor Rick Gray,  urging residents to evacuate in flood-prone areas of the city.  “If it doesn’t flood, thank God.  If it does flood, you’re safe.  We don’t want to be in a position to put our police officers and our firefighters in harm’s way because you didn’t evacuate.”

The first significant power outage hit late this morning, when about 600 people lost their electricity in the Elizabeth Township area, after power lines were reported down along Route 322 there.

But for most of the county, the morning was the calm before the Frankenstorm as local residents, who had days to buy flashlight batteries, stock up on water and clean out their gutters, waited for the storm.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/766797_UPDATED–Rain-falling-harder-in-county–first-power-outage-reported–.html#ixzz2AhhYq6Ia

Officials Look To Shutter Lancaster City Hotel

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lancaster County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lancaster city officials are seeking to have the Hotel Brunswick shut down on the grounds that it is a nuisance.

The city filed a complaint in Lancaster County Court Monday laying out its case, citing numerous police calls, code violations and failure to pay taxes.

Also on Monday, a county judge granted a separate request by city and county officials to temporarily halt the sale of alcohol at the hotel.

“The premises as currently being operated and maintained has become a public nuisance,” Mayor Rick Gray said Monday. “We have an obligation to the residents of the City of Lancaster and visitors to the city.”

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/717718_Officials-look-to-shutter-Lancaster-city-hotel.html#ixzz24D9oYLMi

Hotel Brunswick Given Reprieve To Decide On Repairs

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lancaster County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  Congrats to the City of Lancaster for being proactive with problem properties!

Owners of the property housing the Hotel Brunswick and an unused annex that the city has condemned have four months to let Lancaster city officials know what they plan to do.

The owners are considering either demolishing the annex, making repairs or making repairs and gutting it for another use, the owners’ attorney, Paula Leicht, said Thursday.

The annex was last used about three years ago to house the Rumba Club. In condemning it July 16, the city said a leaking roof, toilets and other fixtures had led to mold growth and made it unfit for human occupancy.

Leicht told the Housing Code Board of Appeals the owners needed more time to get job bids and decide which option to pursue.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/715594_Hotel-Brunswick-given-reprieve-to-decide-on-repairs.html#ixzz23ome5XCQ

Streets Closing In Preparation For Celebrate Lancaster

The 14th annual Celebrate Lancaster kicks off this morning with the opening of about two dozen food stands and the closure of North Prince Street from Penn Square to Lancaster Square.

Thousands of people are expected to pack the streets throughout the day to sample the local fare and dance to the sounds of bluegrass, Latino music, R&B and rock ‘n’ roll.

The event will culminate with a large fireworks display that begins at 10 p.m.

Admission is free.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/674460_Streets-closing-in-preparation-for–Celebrate-Lancaster.html#ixzz1yXDvEhq3

“Chameleon Club” Is An Intimate Portrait Of Lancaster’s Flagship Venue

The life of most rock-‘n’-roll nightclubs is short. Few survive, even fewer thrive and become places of real import. In his new documentary “The Chameleon Club,” filmmaker Allen Clements, who first got to know the 27-year-old club as a performer on its stage just a few years ago, tries to find out why Lancaster’s famed concert venue has been among the lucky few.

 

Through interviews, newspaper clippings, fliers and well-sourced archival footage and animation, Clements covers the venue’s entire history in less than an hour, a length that undoubtedly leaves many favorite stories untold, but makes for a well-paced story that doesn’t get bogged down in minutia.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/580706_-Chameleon-Club–is-intimate-portrait-of-city-s-flagship-venue.html#ixzz1ljK4BB5L