RACISM BEGINS AT LNP! – 3

 I HAVE A DREAM?

     On May 13th of last year, I printed the below story with the pictures in the morning and the obvious answer in the afternoon (click here).  For almost ten years I have talked about the racism in hiring at the Lancaster Newspapers.  On September 3 of 2008, a day before then Presidential candidate Barack Obama came to Lancaster, I ran a “Find a Minority at LNP” contest. I said as part of the contest:
     We will find out how well the Lancaster Newspapers have followed and obeyed the 1964 Federal Civil Rights Act.  We will find out, 44 years later, to what extent they have integrated their newsrooms, followed the law, followed human decency and the need for their employees to reflect the community they report on.
     Needless to say it was a trick – there were none and are none now.  
     Their racism is evident in the Lancaster Police Department, the Courts, the DA’s Office and even the juries in Lancaster County remaining lily white just like their staff.  
     Please see this morning’s post and their unbelievable editorial.  I’ll be in front of the Lancaster Newspaper office at 8 West King Street on May 18th.  Join me if you can!
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WHAT‘S GOING ON?

       I’ll keep this simple today and come back another day with far more detail.
    The below are Lancaster Newspaper “correspondents” for their 17 community sites based on School Districts. There are 28 total correspondents, not counting duplications from one site to another or any already on the LNP staff. They are all white.
     There are four different people named to call for advertising on the sites – they are the three at the far right of the second row – Carla Good, Aaron Sullivan and Sean O’Donnell, and the bottom row far left – Jeff Alboum. Needless to say, they are all white as well.
     Add these to the editorial staffs of the Intell/New Era (54) and the Sunday News (27), and you have a total of 113 on staff. One of these is a minority. After all, they need someone who speaks and writes Spanish to edit LaVoz, now don’t they?
    Have you seen the U.S. census figures for Lancaster County and the City of Lancaster? By golly, something just ain’t right here! What do you think is going on?

WHO ARE THEY?

     Do you know who they are? Have a great Mother’s Day and check back later.

RACISM BEGINS AT LNP! – 2

 A LONG WAY TO GO?

      Sad to say, such attempts are still necessary today — 150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation and 50 years after passage of the Civil Rights Act and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
    And did we say we have an African-American president?
     We’ve come a long way, but clearly incidents such as this suggest we have a long way to go.
The end of today’s New Era editorial not yet on line, “Racist, anti-gay acts on campus.”

IS IT FAIR, ERNIE?

 A BUSY MAY!

     My initial response to Lancaster Newspaper’s Executive Editor Ernie Schreiber (see below) is simply to tell you my plans for May: 

– On Thursday, May 16th – A protest in front of the Lancaster Police Station on the one year anniversary of the unsolved, brutal murder of 83-year-old Erma Kaylor in her West Vine Street home.  I will also have a petition you can sign requesting the State Attorney General Office’s assistance in solving the sixteen unsolved murders in the last six and one-half years. 

– On Friday, May 17th – A protest in front of City Hall for the sixteen unsolved murders and numerous unsolved major crimes under Mayor J. Richard Gray.  I will have the same petition as above at this event that you can sign. 

–  On Saturday, May 18th – A protest in front of the Lancaster Newspaper Office for their blatant discrimination in hiring and a petition you can sign requesting the State Human Relations Commission investigate them.  I will also be working on a petition regarding the convention center/hotel. 

     More details will follow.

LNP & SCHREIBER: DESTROYING JOURNALISM!

 SCHREIBER: FLAT-OUT LIAR!

     My conclusion: We have a way to go in convincing the community that we are striving to be fair.  
     That said, I am eager to hear your assessment of our efforts to improve local reporting and fairness.
Lancaster Newspaper’s Executive Editor Ernie Schreiber in yesterday’s Sunday News column, “The quest for balance,” (click here).

CAN THEY SUE?

 BRETT SAYS “NO!”

Carl Dixon, Jr.                         John Freeman

Marlon Lambert                          Jose Solis

      Since 2011, Dixon and at least three other defendants have been acquitted of charges after serving lengthy prison terms here, court records show.
     None have filed civil lawsuits or sought compensation because, according to veteran attorneys here, none have a case.

SWIFT APPREHENSION OF CRIMINALS?

WHERE’S THE IMAGE? 

* UPDATED – A MADE-UP STUDY! – 5

   *   I was so excited today – I heard an email come in – it was a comment to this site – I came here and approved it and it showed up right away!  Maybe there’s a website fairy out there or maybe my host is checking their error logs or maybe it was a fluke. 
     I haven’t mentioned the comments or this site for several days now because nobody wants to read that it’s not working.  I’ve been publishing with my fingers crossed for the last week and had given up on the comments. 
     All of that will hopefully be corrected shortly and then I have some major announcements to make.
     Now, I’m going to cross my fingers and hit publish and I will be back tomorrow.

   I am re-running the below story from March 28, 2012:

                                       LIAR, LIAR!
                           
                           Local judges found not
                              guilty of racial bias

     Contrary to conventional thinking, county court sentences follow state guidelines and don’t discriminate against minorities, a new study shows.

By Jack Brubaker
Originally Published Feb 14, 2005 13:42

    Many people think Pennsylvania judges, including those here, sock minority defendants with terms far longer than the ones whites receive.
    But contrary to those perceptions, Lancaster County judges sentence most criminals within state guidelines and show no bias against minorities.
    If anything, local judges may be slightly tougher on white defendants.
   These are some of the conclusions of a careful examination of criminal sentencing in Lancaster County conducted by the Lancaster New Era and Millersville University.

(Click here to read the entire article.)

    I was so astounded when I read this article in February of 2005 that I picked up the phone and called Jack Brubaker. And I found out the whole premise of this article is a lie – a huge lie told by Jack and the editors and owners of the Lancaster Newspapers.

MINORITIES NEED NOT APPLY! – 2

 THE NUMBERS
TELL THE STORY!

THE LANCASTER POLICE HONOR GUARD    

     Does discrimination remain in Lancaster County (please see this morning’s post immediately below)?  Almost a year ago today, sparked by a visit to the courthouse where no minorities were visible and several visits to the Police Station, I decided to find out:
THE POLICE DEPARTMENT
     In response to a Right-To-Know request to the City of Lancaster for the gender and racial breakdown of the Lancaster City Police Department, the following figures were received from Patrick Hopkins, the city Business Administrator:
(Click here for the results.)
THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE,
THE CLERK OF COURTS, PROTHONOTARY
& SHERIFF’S OFFICES
      In response to a Right-To-Request for the District Attorney’s Office regarding race and gender the following figures were received this past Friday:
     …Combine this with the other three offices already accounted for (click here), and there are a total of 242 Courthouse employees, of which there is not a single black male, there are two black females and 14 Hispanics. This is unconscionable. 
(Click here for the DA’s office and here for the other three.)
     A year ago, I also put in a Right-To-Know request for the breakdown for the Adult Probation and Parole and Children & Youth Offices.  I’ll publish those new figures tomorrow.

DISCRIMINATION BEGINS AT LNP!

 “Mildred Dixon said discrimination is inevitable when police officers don’t look like the community they serve.”

RACE AGAINST RACISM!

 REGISTER ONLINE!

       I would like to register me and my son for the Race Against Racism run this Sat, April 27th- can you direct me to the correct site? Thank you.
This email in today.
     Thank you!  I needed that!  Click here to register online on the YWCA site.
     “Martin Riggs,” the Klan member from this morning, is 69 posts short of 20,000 posts on one forum in less than three years and over 5,000 on a second forum in less than two years.  Every post is filled with hate. Virulent hate.
     He has one purpose and one purpose only – to spread his hate.  So when do you draw the line and say enough is enough?  When does a “legitimate” forum put a stop to the hate?
      I’ll have more tomorrow.

BAN HIM! WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?

 WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

       What are the odds the shooter/shooters are black?
     This question posted on a local forum by “Martin Riggs” under the article, “Gunfire erupts at Colo. pot event, 2 wounded.”
     This person has taken over the two remaining “local” forums posting non-stop hate all day long.  All day long.
     He claims to be Jewish and a former Law Enforcement Officer.  What are the odds he’s really Jewish and a former LEO?  Zero percent.  What are the odds he’s a Klan member?  One hundred percent.
Please check back later today.

LUCKY HE’S WHITE! – 2

 RACE FOR JUSTICE? – 2

      He was in jail almost two years prior to his trial?
     Meanwhile, IIRC, there was a guy in Manheim (or maybe Mt. Joy) a few years ago who was shooting downtown. I believe they gave him a ticket and sent him on his way. Wish I could remember more about that incident.
This comment came in yesterday under “HOW DID HE PLEAD?” below.
     Did you mean the one below from July of 2008?  Reading it all over again, I’m even more shocked!  One of his shots shattered a window and a five-month-old baby was cut by the glass!
     My coverage of this began with the below article and there is more on this unbelievable event in this archive.
     Who is James M. Swarr and who does he know?  He got another DUI in September of 2012 and it looks like it’s still in the court system!
     There will be more tomorrow and also a look at Tom Murse’s “Editorially Speaking” column in today’s Sunday News.  Tom tells us there’s a lot more online than in print these days!  Oh, really, Tom?  Some things are strangely missing…

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A WHOLE BUNCH OF FREELOADING GOING ON!

LNP LIKES MIKE!

     For more than a decade, Sturla [long-time House of Representatives Member Mike Sturla] has contended that municipalities that rely solely on state police coverage should pay their fair share.
     …Sturla’s bill is one of several in the Legislature aimed at equalizing police coverage costs. It does not shortchange municipalities; it merely says the money these freeloading municipalities pay into the liquid fuels tax should be used to cover the cost of state police protection.
From today’s LNP editorial, “End the freeloading,” (click here).

HOW DID HE PLEAD?

 *** BREAKING NEWS ***

     Carl M. Dixon, Jr., who was acquitted early this month by a jury of attempting to kill Lancaster Police Officer Michael Hagen, was arrested this morning on a warrant issued by District Judge Bruce Roth (click here for, “Jury acquits Dixon of firing gun at city police officer”).
     According to his mother, Mildred Dixon, this stemmed from a summary harassment charge prior to his almost two year incarceration for the attempted homicide charge.  Ms. Dixon states her son was never advised of the hearing, was in jail when the hearing occurred and never plead guilty.
     Ms. Doxon said that she got him released this morning by making a payment.  There will be much more on this story as the details develop.

* UPDATED – FOUR AND A HALF YEARS?

 *     This has been another frustrating day of trying to restore workability to this site for both my posting and receiving your comments.  The comments seem to be working and getting through although the sender is not receiving verification of that.  Publishing remains an issue for me and I continue to work on it
   Thank you for your patience! 

RACE FOR JUSTICE?

     It was last Friday that this story appeared in the Lancaster Newspapers, “Lancaster teen gets 4 1/2 to 9 years for killing his neighbor,” (click here).
     How does Stephen Bedford’s sentence compare to others who have been sentenced for murder in the last several years? 
     I’ll take a look later today.

A MARATHON OF VIOLENCE

 HOW DO WE STOP THIS?

     Another tragedy – at the Boston Marathon.  This is too awful for words.  I used to wait anxiously for the first picture of the perpetrator to hit the web in the recent mass killings – to see if the face offered any kind of clue.  There have now been far too many.  I dread seeing the first picture.    
Our thoughts are with those in Boston today.    

AND LNP EDITORS TALK & TALK & TALK!

* Click here for the video of Sturla carrying two logs in his socks! 

DEAD WOOD?

SECOND TEST!

BRUTE FORCE ATTACK?

     This is my second test to see if everything is “working” with this site - whatever that means!  As you can imagine, I have quite a list of things to say since I have been silenced for (gasp!) two-and-one-half days!  I believe I have ten new gray hairs!  It’s late in the day but hopefully, hopefully I will be back bright and early tomorrow morning and LNP’s Gil Smart and Barb Hough Roda, among many, better watch out! 

WEBHOST HAVING DIFFICULTIES!

     My webhost has the following message on their “Help Center:”

     We are currently experiencing technical difficulties with our network, causing sporadic access to all websites.  We have been in contact with our uplink provider, and we have been working since last night to resolve the issue. We will post more info once the issue has been corrected.  We apologize for any inconvenience caused.

RACISM BEGINS AT LNP!

 SATURDAY, APRIL 27TH!

     A reminder that the YWCA’s 15th Annual Race Against Racism is on April 27th this year and you can register online (click here).
     Please note the sponsors of this event.  Who’s missing?  The Lancaster Newspapers, of course!
Please check back later today.

LNP: INDEPENDENT MONITOR OF POWER OR THE POWER?

 WHO’S PULLING
THE STRINGS?

      The other factor is the plutocracy which actually runs Lancaster from behind the scenes. Does anyone really believe that an intelligent person like Rick Gray would really support a ridiculous project like the proposed streetcars without an incredible amount of pressure on him? Gray HAD to know that the hotel and convention center would be a losing proposition for taxpayers, yet he still publicly supported it.
     The single biggest obstacle to running for mayor (OR city council) is whether or not a person is approved by those who pull the strings in Lancaster City.
This is part of a comment from “concerned citizen” several months ago under the story, “A TRUE EDITARD” on this site (click here and there are other very interesting comments under this post).

16 UNSOLVED MURDERS UNDER MAYOR GRAY!

 SCHREIBER: EVIL!

NO JOURNALISM ETHICS WHATSOEVER!

 PURE EVIL!

* UPDATED – DO THESE THINGS WORK?

THROUGH THE LENS?

      Philly police post vids everyday to solve crimes.
     This message in from a friend with this link to “Phillypolice” on YouTube (thank you).  Look at the number of videos the police have put up and the number of views!  And i see surveillance videos on the local Philly news almost every night. 
     So where are the pictures and videos from the Lancaster cameras and why aren’t they being published to the public for help in solving crime after crime?  Do the cameras work?
     In the next few weeks and months there are several topics I plan to explore in great depth and the cameras and why the public is not seeing any photos is at the top of my list.
     And speaking of the cameras, “investigative” reporter Gil Smart in his big Sunday News feature on parking tickets, didn’t listen to what any of the people he interviewed were saying!  They do not feel safe in the city parking garages and I wouldn’t park there at night to save my soul! (Click here for Smart’s ridiculous sidebar article, “‘Residential district’ key to permit.”)
     From my article in January, “FOUR DAYS IN THE LOGS!” there is this from January 16, 2013 (click here):
LANCASTER: Clothing, cash and a GPS unit were among items taken overnight Saturday from four vehicles parked in the King Street Parking Garage, 20 E. King St. Some vehicles also were damaged. Total loss was about $950. 
     I see this type of thing in the police logs all the time!  Aren’t there cameras in those garages?  Why aren’t we seeing those pictures?  Has anyone been arrested?
     Have any of the crimes in my article from January been solved?  Has anyone been arrested?  What the hell is going on?
     How is that “improving quality of life” doing, Mayor Gray? 

WHERE IS THE
CAMERA FOOTAGE?

TROUBLE IN THE HOUSE! – 4

  A FAMILY AFFAIR?

     Peter Sturla was sitting in the waiting room of District Judge Mary Mongiovi Sponaugle when I entered at about 2:15 pm last Thursday afternoon. I was right behind his mother, Nicole O. Sturla, in the line to sign in/announce your presence.
     Peter Sturla was dressed in a T-shirt and jeans and had a copy of “Angels & Demons” by author Dan Brown. Nicole sat close to Peter and then I took a seat near them after announcing my name and the “title” reporter to the receptionist. Nicole shortly walked away and stood partially out of sight by the door.
     Peter’s attorney, Barry Gene Goldman, showed up and the two went outside to confer. There were several outside conferences between several sets of parties and then I entered the actual courtroom where both arresting police officers, Manheim Township’s Steven T. Newman and Lancaster’s Sgt. Ray M. Corll were seated. Following several minutes, the Assistant District Attorney told them they could leave.
     Peter then came in and sat with his attorney at the Defendant’s table and Nicole Sturla sat behind me. I heard someone come in from the back but did not immediately turn around: it was Mike Sturla who entered just as the preceding began.
     Peter Sturla signed two sets of documents to waive the preliminary hearing on both sets of charges. The Judge told him the charges will move forward to trial with his formal arraignment scheduled for May 29, 2013 at 9:00 pm. The Judge also told Peter that he need to provide a residence address shortly to remain out of jail on unsecured bail.
     Michael, Nicole and Peter walked to the parking lot together with Goldman shouting to ask Peter if he needed a ride and that he needed to have a permanent address as soon as possible.
     Nicole got into her car and drove away and Mike and Peter both got into Mike’s car. Goldman left his shiny, black new Mustang and ran over to Mike’s car and had a discussion with the two for several minutes through the driver‘s side window. Mike and Peter then pulled out of the parking lot.
     See below for the charges from both sets of Police Criminal Complaints and click here for the Affidavit of Probable Cause involving his mother’s property and here for the Affidavit involving his father’s property.
To be continued…

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February 19, 2013 – The two charges brought by Nicole O. Sturla regarding her property at 118 Race Avenue: 

1. Statute Description: Criminal Trespass – A person commits an offense if, knowing that he is not licensed or privileged to do so, breaks into any building or occupied structure or separately secured or occupied portion thereof. 

Act of the accused associated with this offense: To Wit: The defendant did kick in the back patio door of 118 Race Avenue in an attempt to gain access to the house. After being unable to gain entry into the house through the back door, the Defendant entered into the house through an unlocked window.　

2. Statute Description: Criminal Mischief – A person is guilty of criminal mischief if he intentionally damages real or personal property of another. 

Acts of the accused associated with this offense: To Wit: The Defendant did kick open the back patio door of 118 Race Avenue in an attempt to gain entry into the house. The Defendant caused apx $250.00 worth of damage to the door. 

February 16, 2013 – The charge brought by Michael P. Sturla regarding his property at 931 West Walnut Lane: 

1. Statute Description: Theft by Unlawful Taking or Disposition – (A) Movable Property – A person is guilty of theft if he unlawfully takes, or exercises unlawful control over, movable property of another with intent to deprive him thereof. 

Acts of the accused associated with this offense: To Wit: Said defendant did unlawfully take a lock set worth approximately $40. knowing he was not authorized to do so, and knowing his actions would deprive the rightful owner of the use of the property owned by the victim. The victim was in the process of installing the lock set so he could prevent the defendant from entering the residence.