Steven Rambler cannot serve as the mayor of Wrightsville, a York County judge ruled Wednesday.

Rambler’s guilty plea in 1996 to a federal felony charge of “mailing extortionate communications” was the basis for a petition District Attorney Stan Rebert filed in 2006. In that petition, Rebert argued the crime was “infamous” and, therefore, under Article II of the Pennsylvania constitution, Rambler was unqualified for public office.

“He’s a convicted felon, and that’s always been our position,” that he should not hold office, Rebert said Wednesday night. “He’s certainly not the first convicted felon to be elected to office in the United States, but he’ll be the last in York County.”  read more »

While that region is quite a dark shade of red, the area now has some great Democratic leadership that might be able to pick this seat up.

Sen. Terry Punt, R-Waynesboro, announced today that he is retiring at the end of this year.

“In every person’s life there comes a time to open a new chapter,” Punt said in a prepared statement. “I have given my district my very best over the years.”  read more »

I often wonder what cost estimates – especially when the cost finds itself in the millions – are exact.

The state Department of Transportation now estimates it will spend almost $79 million to clean up the acid rock drainage environmental hazard at the Interstate 99 construction site on Skytop Mountain.

PennDOT has hauled away about half of the 1 million cubic yards of acid rock on Skytop. When completed, the cleanup effort is expected to cost taxpayers almost $79 million.  read more »

A former Gettysburg police chief has been convicted of tipping off his son to a drug raid last year.

Rolf Garcia was convicted of obstruction of justice Wednesday.

Garcia was arrested by agents of the state Attorney General’s Office after a state grand jury investigation. He resigned from his position but denied wrongdoing.

This seems a bit short-sighted to me.

The commuter rail project known as Corridor One hasn’t been on the fast track, but now it faces a monumental hurdle.

State Transportation Secretary Allen Biehler said it is unlikely that the proposed Harrisburg-to-Lancaster rail line will get significant state money during Gov. Ed Rendell’s administration. Biehler wrote a searing critique of the project in a column for The Sunday Patriot-News.

Citing what he said were Capital Area Transit’s projections of 444 daily one-way passengers, Biehler said the line would run an annual operating deficit approaching $11.5 million.

Just another reason for a comprehensive development plan at the state level rather than our current patchwork of local ordinances and planning.

Rohrer demurs. It’s not that he’s against development of the 90-acre site, known as the Deisley farm, per se; it’s just the way current officials have gone about it that bugs him. “The commissioners have climbed on this bandwagon before they really know anything about it,” he said.  read more »

An interesting read on the pros and cons of road-building vs community.

Jacob Stoltzfus clutched his straw hat in his hand andsaid what he’d traveled some 85 miles to say.

“The idea of a new Route 23 is totally unacceptable.”

U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts thanked Stoltzfus for his input and noted that he had heard such sentiments before.

But Lancaster County Plain Sect farmers do not often journey to Capitol Hill to express them.

Three Old Order Amishmen did just that Thursday.

The Washington, D.C. excursion included meetings with Pitts and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr., who could vote on “goat path” corridor funding should the project be approved.  read more »

The Hershey Co., the nation’s leading candymaker, said Monday that it will shut down a plant in Reading and cut 260 jobs as part of a wider move to cut labor and materials costs.

The closing is the company’s second plant-closing announcement in a little over two months after Hershey said it would take dramatic steps to reduce its North American manufacturing and expand in faster-growing markets in the developing world.  read more »