Entries Tagged as 'State Senate'

EVENING COFFEE: Brubaker’s fine day

March 17th, 2009 · No Comments

If you can name your favorite William Butler Yeats poem, then share a mug of Irish coffee with me. Bonus shot of Bailey’s if it’s something other than the “Lake Isle of Innisfree.”
And lemme ask: a.) Jameson or Bushmills? b.) Stout or cider? c.) Galway or Cork or Dublin? d.) What’s your favorite spot in Ireland?
My […]

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Tags: Stimulus Package · Evening Coffee · Bill DeWeese · Tom Corbett · Mike Brubaker · Ed Rendell

Specter’s first challenger

March 10th, 2009 · No Comments

And speaking of Arlen Specter …
The senior Senator from Pennsylvania has his first primary challenger, and it isn’t Pat Toomey.
It’s Peg Luksik.
Who?
Peg Luksik, the Johnstown resident who failed thrice during the 1990s to win the governor’s seat, including as an independent or Constitution Party candidate.
Who?
Peg Lusik, the noted 53-year-old anti-abortion advocate who spoke in favor […]

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Tags: Pat Toomey · Peg Lusik · Pennsylvania Politics · Mike Brubaker · Gay Rights · Marriage · Arlen Specter

EVENING COFFEE: Last call for Willow Valley

March 10th, 2009 · No Comments

Hot cup of newsroom brew with a splash of hazelnut Splenda. Delish! What’s in your mug? 
 
The bartender’s signalling last call. Today is the deadline for Willow Valley Associates to gather 2,205 signatures and place on the primary ballot a referendum to overturn West Lampeter Township’s alcohol sales prohibition. Willow Valley needs this to establish a 184-room Doubletree […]

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Tags: Willow Valley · West Lampeter Township · Bonusgate · Cell Phone Ban · Jacy Good · Evening Coffee · Tom Corbett · Democrats · Government Reform · Alcohol · Mike Brubaker · State House

EVENING COFFEE: WAM!

March 4th, 2009 · No Comments

Stopped by Cross Keys in downtown Lancaster to say hello to the proprietor, Jerry. And let me alert you caffeine-heads to something here I like to call a little slice of heaven. A 16 oz. medium roast coffee made from Indonesian beans and a succulent cinnamon-apple muffin cost less than $3, and you’ll be hard […]

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Tags: Lloyd Smucker · Government Reform · Evening Coffee · Gerald Zahorchak · Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology · Joe Pitts · State Budget · Republicans · Economy · Arlen Specter · Education · Taxes · Ed Rendell

EVENING COFFEE: School of Not-Gonna-Do-It

March 3rd, 2009 · No Comments

Combatting this chill with a mug of newsroom brew. And if you want to know just how awful this economy is, a Chicago law firm has stopped giving away free coffee to their employees. I sense a mass exodus of lawyers into the Chicago job market is coming soon.

Some time ago, I wrote how Gov. Ed […]

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Tags: Sean Logan · Andrew Dinniman · Franklin & Marshall College Poll · Gerald Zahorchak · Evening Coffee · Ed Rendell · Education · Joe Pitts · Millersville University

EVENING COFFEE: Playing poker

February 25th, 2009 · No Comments

If I was going to make a difficult sacrifice for Lent, this would be it. I’ve sworn to forsake my beloved lattes for the next 40 days. But, you know, I see this as a good thing because now instead of syrupy goodness I can expand my horizons to the drip coffees.
Time to deal a […]

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Tags: Tom Corbett · Gambling · Stimulus Package · Evening Coffee · Bobby Jindal · State Budget · Education · State Senate · President Barack Obama · Ed Rendell · Arlen Specter · Baseball

“I ain’t for sale”

February 19th, 2009 · No Comments

The Year: 2005
The issue: Two attorneys want to plop a bizarre-looking casino into downtown Lancaster, what could have been former Mayor Charlie Smithgall’s final fingerprint on the city he loves so much.
Remember how this could have appeared along North Queen Street?

Ah, the good old days of 2005. A seminal year for your coffee-lovin’ journalist of […]

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Tags: Charlie Smithgall · West Lampeter Township · Willow Valley · Scott Boyd · Scott Martin · Lloyd Smucker · Joe Pitts · Alcohol · Gambling · Republicans

EVENING COFFEE: Instant political brew

February 18th, 2009 · No Comments

 
Newsroom brew by my side tonight, trying to wrap my mind around Starbucks offering instant coffee. Their brand will be called Via, and at first Colombia (medium) and Italian (dark) roasts will be made available. My take: If you like Maxwell House or Folgers, give Via a try and see what you think. Otherwise, I’ll take […]

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Tags: Craig Ebersole · Lancaster County Republican Committee · Jeff Piccola · Evening Coffee · Sarah Palin · Education · Gambling · Ed Rendell

EVENING COFFEE: City races shaping up

February 12th, 2009 · No Comments

Cup of newsroom brew at my side. Could use some Spenda Flavor packets. Ever had the cinnamon? Delish! 
Have the city elections on my mind.
 
We’re going to learn tonight of at least one Republican who’s taking a shot at Lancaster City Council, which if true at least makes for a race. Whether it’s a competitive race is […]

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Tags: Stimulus Package · Dominic Pileggi · Pennsylvania Politics · Evening Coffee · Charlie Smithgall · Louise Williams · Jose Urdaneta · Lancaster city · Government Reform · Republicans · Ed Rendell · Lancaster Politics · Rick Gray · State Budget · Mike Sturla · Democrats

Reforming the reform

February 5th, 2009 · No Comments

The Democratic House Majority proved successful last night in its attempts to role back some of the reforms took root during the previous legislative session. 
The most serious changes in how the House will operate during the next two years has to do with:

The ability of the all-powerful House Rules Committee to amend bills that come […]

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Tags: Government Reform · Gambling · Pennsylvania Politics · Taxes · Republicans · State House · Democrats · Ed Rendell · State Senate