INSULTING THE PUBLIC!

Posted on November 14, 2019 by Becky
Posted in Convention Center, Lancaster Newspapers, Police, Racism, Unsolved Murders | 3 Comments

WHAT IF THE CRIZ DRIES UP?

       

     Janet Diaz, the absurd headline in today’s LNP print edition, James Reichenbach.

     Kudos to Janet Diaz again for being the only one willing to deviate from the company line. Reichenbach [Council President James Reichenbach] voted no in what felt like an insult vote to all the well spoken residents, as he spent all night defending the art and then did not support Janet Diaz’s motion to delay approval to allow a more definitive concept to be presented for approval. He got very defensive while repeating a blatant lie that the City wouldn’t be on the hook for all this cash if the CRIZ dries up sometime over the next 20+ years. Good riddance, glad that his time on council is coming to an end.
Part of an excellent comment into this site under yesterday’s post.
     Exactly! Reichenbach’s behavior was bizarre and unacceptable. And Diaz is the only one on that council with a backbone. Good for her!
Please check back later today.

UPDATE – *** BREAKING NEWS *** WADE-EL MAKES RIDICULOUS MOTION

Posted on November 13, 2019 by Becky
Posted in Convention Center, Lancaster Newspapers | 18 Comments

 $1.5 MILLION IN
CRIZ MONEY FOR 20 YEARS!

     So just to clarify – you are giving me your word, Mayor Sorace, that we will stay within the $600,000 budget even though the conceptual proposal came in at $800,000?
Ms. Fitzgerald speaking at last night’s city council meeting.
     Please go to the 1:24:47 mark in last night’s video and listen to the full comment and answers given to Ms. Fitzgerald (click here for the video). This is absolutely shocking. I hope to have a complete transcript tomorrow.

*    R&R is already $200,000 over the budget they are allotted of $600,000! This is outrageous! Read the motion! Is R&R going to do all that?

     In the screenshot from last night’s meeting below, former Mayor Rick Gray returns to his seat after making a nonsensical comment and former Mayor Art Morris is at the podium commenting.

THE MOTION

     Wade-El continued:
     Phase 1, Part 1: R&R will visit Lancaster to meet with the 151 North Queen project team responsible for the engineering and construction of the development.
     Phase 1, Part 2: R&R will remain in close contact with the Hammel Architects to coordinate architectural requirements for the artwork.
     Phase 1, Part 3: R&R will receive and consider the findings and recommendations from the Historical Commission as documented in the Commission’s meeting minutes and reports and content to be collected and provided by the Department of Community Planning and Economic Development and respond to said feedback and engage with selected members of the Historical Commission regarding said feedback.
     Phase 2: R&R will make at least three additional visits to Lancaster between April 2020 and September 2020 tied with key opportunities for community participation. [That’s Phase 2, Section 4 – sorry.]
     Phase 2, Section 5: R&R, these are the artists, I apologize, will meet with key stakeholder groups to include members of the Ewell family, the Public Library Board and selected members of the Historical Commission to understand the scope and parameters of Lancaster’s Historic Architecture Ordinance.
     Phase 2, Section 6: R&R will have a presence and community festivals and events to gain insight and input towards the creative development of the artwork.
     Phase 2, Section 7: R&R will utilize a range of engagement techniques including those noted above to determine what language if any will go on the building façade.
     Phase 2, Section 8: As a culmination of the engagement process, R&R will hold design and ________ or other forums where community members can vote for their favorite artistic concept of two to three presented depicting relevant variables relating to the words, color, arrangement and composition of the material to be included in the final realized design.
*****

COUNCIL PASSES
ARTWORK WITH “CONDITIONS”

    

     City councilman Ismail Smith Wade-El at last night’s meeting:
     Council President Reichenbach and counselors:
      I move that council issue a certificate of appropriateness for the proposed 151 N. Queen development conditional on a community engagement plan which will be read into the record with all legal force and affect tonight, this evening as follows, and which the city administration will later and as we discuss this item, will elaborate on further. But it includes the following as indispensable components…
To be continued…

UPDATED – PUBLIC MONEY, PRIVATE PROFIT!

Posted on November 12, 2019 by Becky
Posted in Convention Center, Lancaster Courts, Lancaster Newspapers, Police, Racism, Unsolved Murders | 6 Comments

     Tonight is the night to see if any of these city council members have a backbone and care about what the citizens think and want. A portion of the agenda for tonight’s city council meeting is below (click here for the full agenda). The meeting, which begins at 7:30 pm, should be livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel (click here).

******

**   Please send a link to “Pressed” on Amazon.com to every city council member (click here for the link to Amazon and their email address are below):

jreichenbach@cityoflancasterpa.com
cballentine@cityoflancasterpa.com
fcraig@cityoflancasterpa.com
jdiaz@cityoflancasterpa.com
jgraupera@cityoflancasterpa.com
ismithwadeel@cityoflancasterpa.com
psoto@cityoflancasterpa.com

*     Yet with its two daily and Sunday newspapers, Lancaster Newspapers functioned as the print source of information for Lancaster County. The Steinmans had a complete monopoly over the print market (62). The newspaper still remained the primary means of getting local news. Lancaster Newspapers’ involvement in the project meant that its reporters and editors would cover a project in which the Steinmans held a major financial stake. That is not merely the appearance of a conflict of interest; that is a conflict of interest.
From page 68 and 69 of “Pressed.”
     And that is exactly why this site has stated for years that the Steinmans and LNP break every code of journalism ethics in this country every day.

LNP: YOUR COMMUNITY,
WATCHDOG NEWSPAPER?

     It took Lancaster Newspapers more than eight years to disclose its ownership in a project that involved more than $100 million of public money. This indicates how the company covered the project. The company used the newspapers to promote the project, rather than report on it – and, when necessary, to attack opponents of its downtown hotel project.
From page 265 of  the book “Pressed” by former Lancaster County Commissioner Molly Henderson.
Click here to buy “Pressed” and please check back later today.

UPDATED * MULTICOLORED ALUMINUM TUBING COVERING 6-1/2 FLOORS

Posted on November 11, 2019 by Becky
Posted in Convention Center, Lancaster Newspapers | 10 Comments

LISTEN UP!

     The audio portion of last Monday’s city council committee meeting is now on the city’s YouTube channel (click here). It is almost three hours long and I will try  to listen at least to the art proposal portion before tomorrow’s meeting. Apparently their camera broke down for the entire meeting. They need to get their act together!

*    There is an excellent Letter to the Editor in today’s LNP about the artwork and encouraging citizens to attend tomorrow’s city council meeting (click here to read the entire letter).

BUGGIES OR VEGAS?

 

The lead story on Lancaster Online this morning and the proposed artwork for Ewell Plaza that will be voted on at tomorrow’s city council meeting.

     The juxtaposition of these two items is amazing. The city still has not put up the video livestream of last Monday’s city council committee meeting where the proposed artwork for Ewell Plaza was discussed at length. Yes, their internet went down for 20 hours last week but they need to get the video up! The public has a right and need to hear the discussion and where various city council members stand on this issue.
     Again, the final vote on this artwork will be at tomorrow’s city council meeting which begins at 7:30 pm. And the city needs to get the prior video up today!
Please check back later today.

WARNING – EXPLICIT LANGUAGE – MY WALL, MY WALL!

Posted on November 10, 2019 by Becky
Posted in General News | 4 Comments

JOURNALISM SKILLS?

This comment in this morning under “WAS IT TO ‘PROTECT’ NICKEL?”

     Over 15 years ago, this was a respected and, yes, award winning radio journalist. I’ve had nasty emails and profanity laced comments from her before, but this tops the cake. I hope she gets the help she needs. Oh, and stay on the beach and off my site!
     And as for Harper, he just continually needs attention and praise and I’m not going to give him any more attention. He is just a nasty human being!
     I am going to take the afternoon to read the book “Pressed” by former Commissioner Molly Henderson about the con-center/hotel. At least Molly has class.

OMG – SHE’S READING MY WALL!

     Does it get any more pathetic than this?

JUST SAY NO!

Posted on November 9, 2019 by Becky
Posted in General News | 4 Comments

THIS MORNING!

UPDATE – WAS IT TO “PROTECT” NICKEL?

Posted on November 8, 2019 by Becky
Posted in Lancaster Courts, Police, Racism, Unsolved Murders | 9 Comments

FORTY-FIVE MINUTES?

     This year, police interviewed doctors who treated Montalvo-Rivera immediately after the fire and they said his story about being knocked unconscious from a blow to the head for at least 45 minutes before the fire started was “highly unlikely.” It would have been a serious traumatic brain injury, prosecutors said, yet he was walking around displaying no symptoms afterward.
From the same PennLive story linked to below.
     Where is this 45 minutes coming from? Did Montalvo-Rivera have a watch and look at it before he claims he was hit and then look at it again after coming to? Forty-five minutes is a very long time and it certainly would not take someone that long to pour gasoline and light it.
     And Stedman said science has improved in the almost ten years since her murder so what did the doctors tell him that was new that they didn’t tell him 10 years ago? Did they do an MRI ten years ago and re-read it gaining new insight?
     There will be more to come. Have a safe, warm and happy Friday.
    

PLAY THAT TRUMP CARD!

***  As soon as I saw this entry on the District Attorney’s Facebook page I wondered when this man was arrested. Sure enough – it is right in the CrimeWatch entry (click here):

     Yes, they keep these in their back pocket and when the DA’s office needs to look good they pull them out. The charges were filed on October 18th and he was incarcerated on October 21st according to his docket.

**  “I will kill you like a dog,” Montalvo-Rivera reportedly said to his wife during an argument, according to court records.
From the same PennLive article linked to immediately below.
     I don’t know why PennLive has “like a dirty dog” in their headline and I will listen to the video of the DA’s press conference again. But this comes from the victim’s sister who told this to the police six years after her horrific murder. Six years!
And Stedman loves this kind of inflammatory statement. Tell that to a jury and bang – you have an automatic conviction – or do you?

*

*    The third version emerged during grand jury testimony in February 2013 when Montalvo said he jumped from the window with his hands tied behind his back. He said this time that he believes his bindings had been loosened while inside the house. But the neighbor said Montalvo’s hands were tightly bound when he saw him emerge from an alley later.
From the PennLive story, “Man threatened to kill wife ‘like a dirty dog’ one year before she died in arson: police,” (click here).
     How do you tie your own hands behind your back? Did he practice? I’m told there are YouTube videos on how to do it. Did he watch them?

STEDMAN CERTAINLY DID NOT
“NEED” IT TO BE ELECTED JUDGE

     The October 17th press conference announcing the arrest of Carlos Montalvo-Rivera for the almost ten-year-old horrific murder of his wife, Olga Sanchez-Reyes. From left to right – Detective Nathan Nickel, District Attorney Craig Stedman, Lancaster Police Chief Jarrad Berkihiser and First Assistant District Attorney Travis Anderson.

     With no new evidence in the case, why did District Attorney Craig Stedman arrest and charge Carlos Montalvo-Rivera last month in the almost 10-year-old murder of his wife, Olga Sanchez-Reyes?
     And why isn’t the media demanding answers?
Please check back later today.

UPDATE – REWORKING AN UGLY, GARISH DESIGN!

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Becky
Posted in Convention Center, General News, Lancaster Newspapers | 15 Comments

  I’M SMARTER THEN?

     I’m beginning to like former LNP reporter Tom Knapp! Harper’s arrogance and ego are simply astonishing and he sadly has become little more than an internet troll. Harper actually wrote this the other day, “Fact – I’m smarter then [sic] the average person…”
     Knapp neatly put him in his place today on Harper’s Facebook page.     
*

         

*********

**   The city posted they are back on line as of 12:15 pm.

*   Their phones are also down.

SAY NO TO  R & R STUDIOS!

 

     Can you tell which is which? The picture on the left is the Rhode Island Intermodal Station; the picture on the right is the proposed art work for Ewell Plaza.
      Yes, R & R Studios has used this design before (click here for their website).
    There is an information session this coming Saturday, November 9th at the PA College of Art & Design, 204 N. Prince Street, from 10:30 am to 12:00 noon (see below). Tell the city how ugly this is! Tell them no!
Please check back later today.

** – * HERE COMES THE JUDGE?

Posted on November 6, 2019 by Becky
Posted in Lancaster Courts, Police, Racism, Unsolved Murders | 14 Comments

—  LIP News will be back tomorrow morning.  —

**   It is “official.” The below “Praecipe to Substitute Defendant” was filed in federal court yesterday.

****

*    This response in regarding Monday’s very important city council committee meeting. They have to do better than this!

********

EXPECTED BUT DISAPPOINTING

      

     Unfortunately, these were the expected results. Let’s see what happens in the two months until they take office.
Please check back later today.

A SCOWL AND A GRIMACE!

Posted on November 5, 2019 by Becky
Posted in Convention Center, General News, Lancaster Newspapers | 6 Comments

—  Taking a break this afternoon and waiting for election results (sigh).

SUBJECT TO PUBLIC REVIEW!

     Last night’s important city council committee meeting was not livestreamed and city hall is closed today for the election. I will call first thing tomorrow morning to find out what happened and when it will be available. This is a disgrace and the public has a right and a need to access this vital conversation and information.
     From a comment under the pictured LNP story on Lancaster Online there is this (click here):
     The “image and message” of a very large and visible public art project should be subject to public review and proactive approval, especially if the design comes from Miami or another distant locale. At the very least, it should avoid making the average Lancaster County resident scowl or grimace each time they see it.
     Well said!
Please vote and check back later today.

AFTERNOON UPDATE – A NICKEL FOR YOUR THOUGHTS?

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Becky
Posted in Convention Center, Lancaster Courts, Lancaster Newspapers, Police, Racism, Unsolved Murders | 16 Comments

JUST SAY NO!

      A quick change in topic this afternoon but there is an important city council committee meeting tonight where the below hideous artwork for Ewell Plaza will be discussed. The meeting begins at 6:00 pm and should be livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel (click here).

********

A GUILLOTINE WINDOW?

****   Beside the inconsistencies about his hands, police said there was another inconsistency: The window, through which Montalvo-Rivera said he exited, was closed when firefighters arrived.
          To “believe any of Montalvo’s versions that he had jumped from the second floor rear bathroom window, investigators would need to believe that Montalvo closed the bathroom window while he was jumping down to the ground while his hands were either tied in front of his body or behind his back,” the affidavit said.
From the LNP article, “Husband charged in 2010 arson that killed Olga Sanchez-Reyes, mother of three [update],” (click here).    
       Attorney McMahon is going to have a field day with these geniuses! Have they ever heard of a window that won’t stay up? Google it!  

HERE’S A TAKEAWAY!

(Click here)

***  Here’s a takeaway, LNP reporter Dan Nephin: DA Stedman knew about the federal lawsuit about to be filed against Detective Nathan Nickel. Since that lawsuit alleges sexual assault on top of excessive force, there is a good chance Nickel may not be a police officer much longer.
     That is why, with the exact same evidence they had within a month of her murder, DA Stedman decided to bring charges nearly a decade later.

**   Becoming frustrated, McMahon [Philadelphia Attorney Jack McMahon] at one point stood up and asked the judge, sarcastically, “Why don’t we just say he shot him and let’s go home?”
     After being denied of asking a separate question, McMahon said, “I know we’re in Lancaster, but this is not the law.”
From an LNP article in 2015 and written by then court reporter Brett Hambright (click here).

TROUBLE’S COMING!

*    Carlos Montalvo-Rivera, who was charged last month with the horrific arson murder of his wife nine years ago, has hired Jack McMahon as his defense attorney according to his docket (click here for McMahon’s website). His preliminary hearing was continued from October 29th and has not yet been rescheduled.
     The DA’s office is going to need more than Detective Nathan Nickel’s testimony (if he can testify) to win this one!

DEFLECTION ALL THE TIME!

  

  

     When I saw the first picture of Detective Nathan Nickel holding a little girl on the Lancaster Police’s Facebook page, I said hmmm… When the second picture went up a few days later of him holding a baby, I immediately went searching for lawsuits against Nickel. It was obvious there was trouble brewing for him on some front! 
      That is what the Lancaster City Police do to protect their troubled officers and after years of covering them the deflection is all so obvious.
      And DA Stedman did the exact same thing – protecting a bad officer. The corruption in Lancaster is simply astonishing!
Please see immediately below and check back later today.

UPDATED 11-3-19 – THE FULL LAWSUIT

Posted on November 2, 2019 by Becky
Posted in Convention Center, Lancaster Courts, Lancaster Newspapers, Police, Unsolved Murders | 26 Comments

UPDATED 11-3-19

DET. NICKEL, JULY 2018

EXCESSIVE FORCE
& SEXUAL ASSAULT 

         The full lawsuit against the City of Lancaster and Detective Nathan Nickel is below. It was confirmed to me late yesterday that the “Nichols” used in the lawsuit is incorrect and will be corrected to reflect Detective Nathan Nickel (also see yesterday’s post).

* – *** BREAKING NEWS *** THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS!

Posted on November 1, 2019 by Becky
Posted in Convention Center, Lancaster Courts, Lancaster Newspapers, Police, Racism, Unsolved Murders | 2 Comments

*    Below is a portion of the District Judge docket for Jessica Lopez as a result of this incident and the arresting officer is listed as Nathan S. Nickel.

*** BREAKING NEWS ***

CITY SUED AGAIN:
ALLEGES SEXUAL ASSAULT

     A federal lawsuit was filed yesterday by Jessica Lopez against the City of Lancaster and a Detective “Nichols” for excessive force and sexual assault and battery. I am checking with an attorney involved in the case to verify that this is a misspelling and it is actually Detective Nathan Nickel.
     Nickel was front and center in DA’s Stedman’s press conference when he announced the arrest of a suspect in the nine-year-old murder of Olga Sanchez last month (pictured above at that press conference). Did Stedman know this lawsuit was coming? 
     A brief excerpt from  the “Statement of Facts” in the lawsuit is below. There will be much, much more tomorrow including the full “Statement of Facts” and the lawyers involved.

********

DEMAND ANSWERS!

     One week ago, on Friday, October 25th, LNP ran the above story on page A-3 of their print edition. They have never put this story on their homepage online. That means the majority of people in Lancaster have not read it. You have to know it exists and search for it on Lancaster Online.
     Why does LNP continue to protect the Lancaster City Police? Why aren’t they demanding answers from the mayor, city council and the police chief? Why aren’t they demanding that the hiring and training process for these officers be examined to find out what is going wrong and changing it?
     This is the second excessive force lawsuit in two months and some of the same officers are named in both. This is outrageous, expensive and eliminates the trust the public should have in the police who are there to protect and serve.
Click here for the “Factual Allegations” portion of Kenneth Gross’ lawsuit on this site and here for LNP’s, “Lancaster city police face excessive force lawsuit, 2nd in 2 months” and please check back later today.        

UPDATE – HAVE YOU SEEN STEDMAN AT A MURDER SCENE?

Posted on October 31, 2019 by Becky
Posted in Lancaster Courts, Lancaster Newspapers, Police, Racism, Unsolved Murders | 11 Comments

    The latest F&M poll is below. The link to their full poll on the F&M website is here. 

 

*****

DOZENS OF UNSOLVED MURDERS!

From today’s LNP editorial, “District attorney’s demeanor at county budget meeting not exactly judicious,” (click here).       

     That is simply absurd, Stedman! The corruption in Lancaster County is astonishing!
Please check back later today.

UPDATE ** – * SPIN THE POLITICAL AGENDA OF A COMMUNITY

Posted on October 30, 2019 by Becky
Posted in Convention Center, Lancaster Courts, Lancaster Lynching, Lancaster Newspapers, Police, Racism, Unsolved Murders | 14 Comments

     I simply cannot wait to receive Molly Henderson’s book “Pressed.” Years and years of LNP spinning the truth and lying to the public to line their own pockets. Simply unbelievable. Click here to read the below.

*********

**   Troy L. Metzger was sentenced to four years of probation for two different charges under different dockets that were combined. She was also, as in all of these theft cases, ordered to pay “restitution.”
       I will take a very careful look at the charges in all of these cases – who was charged with what and the degree of the charge next week. That will include updates on these other two white women who stole a lot of money (the original is here). Will either of them do any jail time?

*    The below article was published on this site on April 13, 2019 under the headline “CAN WHITE WOMEN STEAL IN LANCASTER COUNTY?” (click here for the original).
     Troy L. Metzger pleaded guilty yesterday and was sentenced by Judge Howard Knisely. So, will she go to jail? What do you think she was sentenced to?

UNBRIDLED LOCAL MEDIA!

From a review of “Pressed” on Amazon.com (click here).

      “However, Pressed gives those future historians the documentation to debate the effect of the power of an unbridled local media to spin the political agenda of a community, as Lancaster Newspapers did for decades up to and culminating with the Penn Square debacle.“
     Exactly! That’s why the Lancaster Independent Press was founded years ago. The Steinman family, owners of LNP, did not care about journalistic principles, ethics or honesty. They cared about controlling Lancaster County and keeping it white and conservative and making a fortune for themselves off their readers who had no other source for news. And they are still doing it 225 years later.
Please check back later today.

AFTERNOON UPDATE – 10-29 UPDATE – *** BREAKING NEWS *** – * GOING TO THE BOTTOM?

Posted on October 28, 2019 by Becky
Posted in General News, Lancaster Newspapers | 23 Comments

STEDMAN HAS A TANTRUM!

     I will come back to Molly Henderson and her book  “Pressed” tomorrow. Today, there were explosive exchanges between DA Stedman and the County Commissioners over drug task force funding! Wow! You can watch it on LNP here.
     The first comment about Stedman below is from Lancaster Online under the article and the others are from their Facebook page.  On top of everything else, does Stedman have the demeanor to be a judge?  No!

*****

A DISGRACE TO JOURNALISM!

**  The Founding Fathers understood the important role newspapers and journalists served as a check on government then — a government, Jefferson wrote, that was to be founded in the “opinion of the people” who have access to “full information of their affairs thro’ the channel of the public papers.”
     It is in that vein that LNP journalists do their work today. The staff of reporters and correspondents investigate and report on all matters of relevance and concern to the citizens of Lancaster County, exploring the dark corners of government and serving as watchdogs on public affairs. 
Robert M. Krasne, the publisher of LNP and chairman of Steinman Communications, in a column on January 7, 2019, “Over 225 years, LNP has evolved to serve Lancaster County,” (click here). 
     You’re a liar, Krasne, and an absolute disgrace to journalism. You have evolved to serve yourself!

*   The description of “Pressed” on Amazon.com (click here).

 

—  10-29-19 UPDATE – Keeping this at the top this morning.

UNDER ASSAULT BY LNP!

Click here.

— 4:00 pm – please check back at 4:30 for Breaking News. —

*     I tried to deep dive into why two Lancaster Police Cruisers collided violently in the city on October 2nd and received this reply:

******

LNP: UNDER WATER?

     Mayor Sorace used it, Patrick Hopkins recently used it at a city council meeting and now LNP joins the “deep dive” movement (click here for the below LNP article)!

The definition of “deep dive” by Merriam-Webster.

And Merriam-Webster has some fun with “deep dive” (click here).

Please check back later today when LIP News will take a deep dive into something!

WHAT KIND OF CITY DO YOU WANT?

Posted on October 27, 2019 by Becky
Posted in Convention Center, Lancaster Newspapers | 2 Comments

MORPHING INTO WHAT?

       Two brief excerpts from LNP articles are below. The first is on the front page of the “Money” section of today’s print edition and is about the closing of the store Radel & Stauffer (the story is not currently online).
      The second is from the article, “CRIZ revenues rise again, to $7.15 million; Lancaster program gets OK for small-scale loans,” (click here).
      What kind of city do you want?

*****

** – * I HOPE FULTON ISN’T COUNTING ON IT!

Posted on October 26, 2019 by Becky
Posted in General News | 17 Comments
**   I hope every ex-employee of Worley & Obetz writes to Judge Schmehl about Lyons for his February 18th, 2020 sentencing and tells the Judge what Lyons has done to their lives:
*
                Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl
                U.S. District Court
                The Madison Building
                400 Washington Street
                Reading, PA  19601
*
*     I just checked Jeffrey Lyons criminal docket in Lancaster County and it states that on 10/11/19, “Sentenced/Penalty Imposed,” (click here).
       Is this because the Federal Court superseded the Lancaster County charges? His docket also states that the charges were “Nulle Prosequi” on October 11th and an order from Judge David Ashworth on the same date that states, “Order-Sentence/Penalty Imposed,” (see below).
       This is all prior to his plea in Federal Court yesterday. Can someone explain this?
***
***********

WHITTLING DOWN?

(Click here)

     From the article:
     As part of a plea agreement, Lyons agreed to pay restitution of $55.4 million to Fulton Bank, the victim of the fraud. After he completes his prison sentence, Lyons will be put on a payment schedule to begin whittling down that obligation. 
     How in the world is this man going to pay Fulton Bank $55.4 million after he gets out of jail? Whittling down? That is just ridiculous!
     And do you get the idea that his lawyer, Robert Beyer of Goldberg & Beyer, did not want to be photographed? Why would LNP run such a ridiculous photograph?

AFTERNOON UPDATE – I’M GOING TO WORRY ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE!

Posted on October 25, 2019 by Becky
Posted in General News | 3 Comments

TASED WHILE HANDCUFFED – 3

     Ashley Gaston kicking her dog in a locally viral video on June 7th, 2019 (left) and the Lancaster city police removing the dog from her home the same day.

       “Later, at the city police station, he was told he would be strip searched. When he objected, he was wrestled to the ground and shocked with a stun gun by two unidentified officers.”
From the LNP article linked to immediately below.
     What LNP reporter Tim Stuhldreher leaves out of this article is that the lawsuit alleges he was handcuffed and being held down while he was tasered in the police station.
     On June 7th of this year, a video of Ashley Gaston kicking her newly acquired dog on her porch went viral locally. She alleges the dog tried to bite her son. The Lancaster Police removed the dog from her home and with help from the District Attorney’s office arrested Gaston on the same day and charged her with a felony.
     Her bail was set at $50,000 cash and she spent three months in prison before Judge Reinaker reduced her bail to unsecured in early September.
     The reason I was checking the court calendar yesterday for this coming Monday (see yesterday’s post), is because she was originally scheduled to go on trial on Monday. According to court administration today, her trial is now scheduled to begin on December 6th.
     So what has happened to the two police officers who allegedly tasered a handcuffed man in the police station? Was it captured on video? It should have been. Is that as “bad” and criminal as a woman kicking a dog that tried to bite her son? Why haven’t they been charged? Are these officers still on the street?
     There will be much more to come. Click here to see the videos on this site and here to see the Lancaster Police Press release on her arrest and charges.

**   On to serious news. LNP, weeks later, has finally done a story on the new excessive force lawsuit against Lancaster City and several police officers but have not yet put in on their home page (click here to read). And there is something very important missing from their story.

******

*    I’m just trying the cheer up that letter writer (and myself) with this post seen on the internet…

I AM NOT READY!

      Imagine waking up, turning on your computer, going to LNP’s e-Newspaper, reading the Letters to the Editor page and finding this! Have mercy!
      How do you get ready for the end?
      Someone take this letter writer a nice cup of hot tea.
      Nothing I publish today will come close to this doom and gloom!
Please check back later today.

AFTERNOON UPDATE – YES, DA STEDMAN IS A LIAR!

Posted on October 24, 2019 by Becky
Posted in Lancaster Courts, Lancaster Newspapers, Police, Racism, Unsolved Murders | 18 Comments

JUDGES AT WORK?

     Some slightly offbeat news this afternoon: I was looking at the court calendar for this Monday for a different case but look what I found. County Treasurer Amber Martin’s ex-husband is suing Paul Davis Restoration. Someone asked weeks ago on this site why Green has mechanical liens on his house. I guess the explanation is here.
     Martin, of course, is married to State Senator Scott Martin and she and her ex, Gerald L. Green,  have been involved in a highly contested custody case for months.
     Why was I looking at Monday’s court calendar in the first place? That will come tomorrow.

*******

**   Craig Stedman gave Gregory Paulson some really nasty looks last night. The one below occurred after Stedman was questioned about Right to Know requests and his drug forfeiture records. Paulson was asked if he had anything to add and he said:
     “You’re the one challenging his integrity, not me.”

*    Last night’s debate started over 20 minutes late – and with 1:20 remaining in their video, LNP opinion editor Suzanne Cassidy states this:
     As we noted, the LNP editorial board noted in an editorial today, the one thing that sets newspapers apart is we correct the record from other news organizations or social media organizations and I have something to correct the record.
     Briefly at the beginning of the debate I said it was delayed by technical difficulties and our amazing LNP production staff – that was unfair to them and also incorrect.
     We had a disagreement over the terms of the forum with the Republican candidate [Stedman] which thankfully was resolved and we were able to have a good discussion I hope this evening.

SILENCING CRITICS
& BLAMING OTHERS

LNP editorial from March 31, 2019 (click here).

      Three tweets from LNP reporter Carter Walker during last night’s judicial debate are below (click here to view the video). Yes, District Attorney Craig Stedman lies!

Please check back later today.

UPDATE – & COUNCIL MEMBERS MISSING!

Posted on October 23, 2019 by Becky
Posted in Convention Center, Lancaster Courts, Lancaster Newspapers, Police, Racism, Unsolved Murders | 7 Comments

MAKE SURE TO WATCH!    

       Speaking of Lancaster County Judges, the two candidates for that position in November’s election will answer questions from the LNP editorial board tonight at 7:00 pm (see below and click here). This should be very interesting and it is very important!

JUDGES ARE ELECTED!

   

Judge David Ashworth (left), the LNP article on Jamon Wagner’s sentence (click here), Harrisburg defense attorney Casey Shore.

*    Judges in Lancaster County are elected and yet, LNP’s rewrite of the DA’s press release above doesn’t even name the Judge who accepted a plea deal and sentenced Jamon Wagner to 9 to 23 months in prison. It was Judge David L. Ashworth.
     This is terrible reporting. The DA’s press release contains that information but LNP does not include it (click here)! How is the public to know who to vote for if LNP does not include the name of the Judge? Do you agree with this sentence? Is child pornography and the dissemination of it a crucial societal issue?
     The DA’s press release does not name the defense attorney but according to his docket it was Harrisburg private attorney Casey Shore.
      This is basic information that the public needs to know. What is wrong with LNP?

******

TABLED!

     Council president James Reichenbach, pictured left, tabled the big item on last night’s city council agenda first thing with no explanation: The Heritage Conservation District shown below. He said it will be discussed further at their committee meeting on Monday, November 4th.     Council members Faith Craig and Pete Soto were absent from last night’s meeting. These absences by council members are concerning and happen often.
    Chris Ballentine, the Financial Chair and pictured left, in an item that was not on the agenda, suddenly announced that the city needs to move $34,000 to the Administrative Services Department from various departments to cover third quarter workers’ compensation claims. All the council members present voted “aye.”
     Neither the mayor nor the council president had anything to report to council. Imagine that!
You can watch last night’s meeting here and please check back later today. 

AFTERNOON UPDATE – STEDMAN DID NOT CARE!

Posted on October 22, 2019 by Becky
Posted in Convention Center, Lancaster Newspapers | 9 Comments

TASERED WHILE HANDCUFFED

        

      City council meets tonight at 7:30 pm. The meeting should be livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel (click here).
      Will they discuss the new federal lawsuit filed on October 11th against the city and members of the Lancaster Police Department (click here for the “Factual Allegations” of the lawsuit on this site)? Is the officer who allegedly tasered Kenneth Gross while he was in a holding cell and handcuffed still employed by the city?
      When will LNP inform the public about this shocking lawsuit? Is DA Stedman going to bring charges against the officer? What do the city council members think? What actions will they take?
There will be more tomorrow.

********

PARKING & LGBT RIGHTS

     There is a very important item on tonight’s city council meeting agenda (see above and click here for the full agenda).

Good for Paulson!
     LNP had initially planned to hold a public forum with the two candidates Wednesday evening at Lancaster Bible College, but Paulson withdrew from the event. The forum was later canceled.
     Paulson said in a letter to LNP that the college “has a reputation for not being friendly or accepting of the LGBT community.”
From the LNP article pictured at left (click here).
     Good for Paulson!
Please check back later today.

* WHERE IS THE PRESS?

Posted on October 21, 2019 by Becky
Posted in Lancaster Courts, Lancaster Newspapers, Police, Racism, Unsolved Murders | 16 Comments

—  Doing some research this afternoon. LIP News will return tomorrow. —

*   Former LNP reporter Tom Knapp’s comment below is on Lancaster Online under his story, “Unsolved: Police seek justice for 2 women slain in 1990s, hope new technology might generate leads,” (click here).

DOZENS OF UNSOLVED MURDERS 

     What happened to LNP’s series on the unsolved murders? How in the world can there be this many unsolved murders?
Please check back later today.

10-19 UPDATE – AFTERNOON UPDATE – DEMAND ANSWERS FROM STEDMAN

Posted on October 18, 2019 by Becky
Posted in Lancaster Courts, Lancaster Newspapers, Police, Racism, Unsolved Murders | 13 Comments

UPDATED 10-19-19

     I can only hope that when the new District Attorney takes office that they dig deep into all of the unsolved murder files in Lancaster County. Below is a portion of a piece that ran on this site on June 1, 2018 (the original is here).
     Why did Stedman pull this unsolved murder out of his back pocket at this time? Of course it is politically expedient as he is running to be a judge – but is there more to his timing on this? I will look at that next week.

STEDMAN LIES & EVADES

From the LNP article by Dan Nephin, “7 takeaways: What led investigators to charge Olga Sanchez-Reyes’ husband with her death nearly a decade later?” (click here).      

     That is a lie, DA Stedman! LNP reporter Dan Nephin, why don’t you ask defense attorneys if they think the evidence is stronger and more convincing? How do you explain a nine year delay in making an arrest and filing murder charges?
     All three of his children came out today in support of him. They were there. They were almost killed and several were injured. And they do not believe their father killed their mother and tried to kill them.
     And the first thing I will do when he gets an attorney is send them my conversation with a person who was there at the first arson. That was not even mentioned yesterday. What are the odds of two arsons?
     The police did not lift a finger to solve that first arson even though a mother and her baby were almost killed. If they had lifted a finger, there is the possibility that Olga Sanchez-Reyes would be alive today.
     There will be much more coming…    

THE FIRST ARSON – 2

Click here to read the above LNP article on the first arson which has never been solved.

 

THE FIRST ARSON

*    What was not mentioned at all yesterday was a first arson a year-and-a-half before at a property owned by Olga Sanchez-Reyes and her husband.     
     On December 19, 2010, I went on Facebook messenger and asked a person involved in the first arson fire what happened. I received the below astonishing response. I verified a great deal of the information in the response.
     Well, one of the tenants that lived in a room upstairs with her toddler had a completely psychotic ex-boyfriend who happened to her child’s father. Two nights before the fire the ex-boyfriend came over with his mom and they started bickering at the tenant about some nonsense in the living room. My mom went to go check what all the fuss what was about and apparently some threats were made by the ex-boyfriend directed to my mom and the tenant.
     My mom called Olga and/or Carlos and they came over, called the police and the altercation was under control. I believe they actually left before the police arrived after having argued with Olga, Carlos, my mom and the tenant. I got home just as the police was leaving. My mom vaguely told me about what had happened and I just blew it off. I had a bad habit of leaving the back door to the kitchen open because I would go out to smoke.
     My theory is and I’m not positive about this but I came home really late the night of the fire, around 3, I went to the backporch to smoke a joint to put me to bed and I may have left the back door open. Just as I was getting to bed I heard the floor cracking upstairs for about a minute figured it was the tenant getting a snack in the kitchen or something then suddenly I heard an explosion and the fire alarm go off. I got up my mom and ran out back to hear the tenant screaming at the top of her lungs from her bedroom window “my baby, my baby.” I grabbed a comforter took off around the block to see if I could be of assistance to the woman. Me and a neighbor held opposite sides of the blanket and she dropped the kid to safety.
     The speculation of Carlos as the culprit of the arsons in my mind are kind of fruitless. I mean, allegedly investigators found that there was a trail of gasoline leading directly up to the other tenant’s room. Whoever did this wasn’t in search of some insurance money but genuinely wanted to see this woman and her daughter dead. The woman was an illegal immigrant and has since moved back to Nicaragua with her daughter according to my mother.
     Now, my theory for the second arson don’t exactly put Carlos in the shoes of the man who light the match. Judging by brief conversations and overall body language he was a good family man, he really cared for his children and he seemed rather pacifistic. Albeit I didn’t know him that well on a personal level. Even though Olga was kind of unbearable at times, I don’t see the motive to kill her much less risk the lives of their children for attempting murder in such an elaborate fashion.
     I’ve recently spoken to my mom and she speculates that Olga knew about the tenant’s problems with her ex in detail and was bringing her suspicions of the initial fire to light. And that in an attempt to keep his name clean the tenant’s ex-boyfriend set up to have that house fried. Be sure to keep my name away from the article, I don’t want to be next, even though I’m in Brooklyn now and most certainly out of his reach. If you’re gonna write a new article about the information I gave you, please send me a link. I’d love to read it. Thank you very much for being one of the few real journalists around anymore and actually taking the time to dive deep and investigate.

NINE YEARS TO
ARREST & CHARGE

      According to everything District Attorney Craig Stedman said in yesterday’s press conference, within one month of her horrific murder, Olga Sanchez-Reyes’ husband, Carlos Montalvo-Rivera, should have been arrested and charged. With one exception, they had all the same information in that first month as they had yesterday.
      For nine years, Stedman kept her murder in his back pocket ready to pull out and announce an arrest on any given day. So why did he choose yesterday and what has he been doing for all these years?
Please check back later today.

*** BREAKING *** – LNP: KEEPING THE PUBLIC…

Posted on October 17, 2019 by Becky
Posted in Lancaster Courts, Lancaster Newspapers, Police, Racism, Unsolved Murders | 3 Comments

     What questions will be answered in this afternoon’s press conference? We will see. Please check back tomorrow.

Carlos Montalvo-Rivera

**   The Lancaster Police and the DA’s office are holding a joint press conference today on the nine-year-old murder at 4:30 pm. Click here for the below police press release.

*   The charges filed against Carlos Montalvo-Rivera for the murder of his wife and almost killing his three children are below.

HUSBAND CHARGED

(Click here)    

     They are charging her husband with her murder.

*******

IN THE DARK!

 

     LNP still has the above as a lead story on Lancaster Online (click here). Do they think this is great journalism? Also above is an excellent comment posted under the article.
     What a disgrace. This article is simply reporter Jeff Hawkes and LNP telling the public: “Here’s what we don’t know and the police won’t tell us and we never challenge the police or the DA or the mayor and so they get away with keeping the public in the dark time and time again.”
Please check back later today.