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THE LANCASTER NEWSPAPER CODE!
Posted on December 31st, 2012 11 commentsAGAINST ALL ODDS!
Everyday, seventy plus editors, reporters and photographers enter the massive building at 8 W. King Street. They walk into a building in the dead heart of Lancaster and everyone of those seventy plus people is white - in a city where the “minority” population exceeds the “majority.”
It’s intentional, purposeful, illegal and unsconscionable and it has been going on since the Steinman family founded the Lancaster Newspapers When print editor Marv Adams says that Lancaster is an “anomaly” and “special,” he means the Lancaster Newspapers have kept it “white.” Very white
As noted yesterday, Police Chief Keith Sadler said the diversity in Lancaster was what attracted him to the city. And again, as noted yesterday, when you walk the streets of Lancaster there is tremendous diversity. But it stops as soon as you step inside a building.
And that begins with the Lancaster Newspapers, which is a private business run by one family for years – the Steinmans – a through and through racist family.
And they have such power being the only source of local news in the county, they have made sure their bigotry, hate and discrimination are reflected everywhere in the community they “serve.” The diversity on the street ends when you walk into the police station, the courthouse, city hall, the county headquarters and most of the downtown businesses. Hispanics and Blacks are not to be found working there.And that’s the way the Lancaster Newspapers want it to be and they are the reason it remains true to this day.
In researching District Judge Kelly Ballentine – yes, the African-American District Judge who is currently charged with fixing three of her own tickets, I came across two very insightful Letters to the Editors when she lost a personal case in court prior to the charges being lodged against her. The first I will print in full today and the other will come in the New Year
This letter is by the Reverend Ed Bailey and was published in the Sunday News on May 15, 2011 (click here):
**********************************************************For 18 years I have enjoyed the privilege of being the pastor of the Bethel African Methodist Church in what was called “The Ward.”
Not only was the term demeaning, but the residents were reduced by inference and definition to persons of a lower status, not only economically but mentally and morally as well.
Subtly, it still exists. In spite of such biased thinking, I have taught, preached and cajoled others that “where you live is never as important as how you live.”
As an example, Kelly Ballentine, raised in this community, and who against all odds, is college-educated, a lawyer, and for the last six years a magisterial district judge.
Regardless, Judge Ballentine was a victim, robbed by a jury that totally misunderstood what it means for a woman who is a public figure to reveal her vulnerability and the details of an unwanted sexual encounter.
She was robbed by the newspaper article that made it newsworthy that the prosecutor shook hands with the defense attorney after the verdict, implying a professional agreement on the verdict. Robbed by the defense attorney … and … by the prosecutor.
Women ought to be safe and believed, no matter the community they live in, their status of being single, and even their not “knowing their place.” I will continue to teach, preach and cajole this community with the message of empowerment until a woman of respect can have her word believed above that of a criminal. Women in this community need to know they can find justice, and it not be “just us.”
You need look no further than the Lancaster Newspapers and the Steinman family, Reverend Bailey.Have a wonderful New Year! LIP News will resume daily publishing this Wednesday.11 responses to “THE LANCASTER NEWSPAPER CODE!”
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barryinwinnipeg December 31st, 2012 at 19:04
I agree that your portrait of Lancaster’s power structure is, God forgive us, way too accurate. dare we hope that things will change for the better in 2013? I hope so. Meanwhile, despite the fiscal cliff, the debt ceiling, the record of the Philadelphia Eagles, one highly dysfunctional Congress, way too many firearms, and all the rest, to my American friends, “Happy New Year!”
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Ballentine is a crook…. bottom line. There is no corporate guy’s creed, just plain ole fashioned theft…. she committed it, but apparently there is a lawyer’s/DJ’s creed because she is a free person. If you or I did that we would be in jail….. fair? Nope. Racially motivated? Nope. Just a thief, she is.
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I’m not discussing the tickets in the article. Yes, it appears she is guilty and it was an incredibly stupid, illegal thing to do. She will never be a DJ again and she is facing multiple felony charges. She is awaiting trial – it’s not unusual to be out on bail. And let me remind you of this somewhat similiar situation and it’s outcome – and no, she was not a DJ, but she stole repeatedly from a DJ’s office – http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/760444_Former-clerk-in-Lancaster-district-justice-s-office-jailed-for-stealing-money-from-fines.html
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Who should be held to the higher standard, the judge or the clerk? Regardless, she is scum.
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FWIW, I agree – the DJ has the much higher standard – but they have thrown the book at Ballentine. Yes, I think she deserves jail time but not for the rest of her life and that seems to be what they are going for!
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No worries, she won’t do a day in jail. Not one. But the crime is a misdemeanor (how many ever counts) which is punishable up to a year in jail. She’ll get probation. She won’t accept a plea agreement, therefore there is not other option than the max sentence. She is the one who is further wasting taxpayer dollars by fighting a crime that she knows damn well she committed. In the end it won’t matter. She’s not going to jail, the prison is overcrowded enough and a judge would be kill bait (higher social score for the inmate that kills her). It would be stupid to lock her up, even I think that is overkill. A hefty fine and a lengthy probation would be satisfactory to me. Hell, I’ll even throw in a “you can run for judge again when your sentence is over.” It will be Lancaster’s very own Marion Berry.
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I don’t know FWIW. There are three just “F” counts (one for each ticket) for Restricted Activities/Conflict of Interest; three F3 counts for Tamper with Public Record/Info and three M2 counts for Obstruct Admin. Law/Other Gov.
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They originally had an additional three F3 courts for what’s listed above (Tamper) but those were dismissed – they do seem to have been just a duplication.
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Happy New Year, Barry, FWIW and everyone!
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Taps foot waiting for the list of best and worst.
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Patience, donuts! Good things take time…
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