COLUMBIA SPY

Brad Chambers billboard just outside Columbia on Route 462

Geraldo J. Maldonado Jr. [Photo: Lancaster County District Attorney's Office] Geraldo J. Maldonado Jr., 43, was found unresponsive in his cell at the State Correctional Institution at Huntingdon on Monday, Oct. 5, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. MORE: https://dailyvoice.com/article/geraldo-maldonado-jr-dies-in-sci-huntingdon-prison/  

Expect lane restrictions and travel delays on Route 30 during daylight work hours. Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced today that upcoming inspections will be conducted on the Third Street (Route 3441) bridge over Route 30 in Columbia Borough, Lancaster County. Expect lane restrictions and travel delays on Route 30 during daylight work hours. Weather permitting, work will be performed in the eastbound lanes of Route 30 under Third Street between mile markers 254.2 and 254.4 on Tuesday, October 13, from 9:00 AM until 2:00 PM. Work will be performed in the westbound lanes of Route 30 under Third Street between mile markers 254.4 and 254.2 on Wednesday, October 14, from 9:00 AM until 2:00 PM. https://www.pa.gov/agencies/penndot/news-and-media/newsroom/district-8/2026/third-st-bridge-inspection-over-rt-30-in-columbia-borough-lancas  

JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY  Columbia Borough will have no updated zoning protections regarding data centers until at least November, it was noted at the October 6, 2026 council workshop. Council originally believed it would need to wait until December, until Code Manager Paula Diffenderfer revealed at the meeting that the proposed change had gone through. Council previously believed the proposed zoning change was not submitted to the Lancaster County Planning Commission in time for review. The change, which the borough planning commission recommended for adoption on July 21, would alter the permitted uses for data centers. The proposal will now return to the borough to be advertised and adopted most likely in November. Harrisburg is considering legislation that would let municipalities declare a moratorium while ordinances are updated. "If that passes, then we'll be in a lot better shape," Mayor Leo Lutz said. Embleton: "I don't see any reason why we shouldn'...

Columbia Presbyterian Church  [Columbia Spy photo] JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY  Columbia Borough has no zoning that explicitly permits a homeless shelter, and with the pastor who runs the town's only one set to retire at year's end, council members warned Tuesday that the arrangement sheltering people at Columbia Presbyterian Church may not survive. The issue came up at the October 6 Borough Council workshop. The shelter operates at the church at 4th and Locust streets, and Councilwoman Jeanne Cooper said it can do so only because sheltering is treated as part of the church's use. Cooper added that the shelter currently has a waiting list of 14 people. "We need to find a place for homeless people to go and there's no zoning in town for homeless people," Cooper said. That could change if the building stops operating as a church. Pastor David Powers retires at the end of the year and does not expect the congregation to hire a replacement, according to Councilwoma...

JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY  A borough resident told council that the newly repaved 100 and 200 blocks of Walnut Street cannot legally be enforced as one-way without a formal ordinance. Mary Wickenheiser raised the issue during the October 6 Columbia Borough Workshop. (The two blocks were recently repaved and fitted with new sidewalks. The area is still technically a work zone, with crews finishing line painting and road markings.) Wickenheiser asked whether the borough had ever adopted an ordinance converting the blocks from two-way to one-way traffic. "That can't be enforced without an ordinance," Wickenheiser told council. She said she had checked the borough code earlier in the day. "It's Article Seven, Section 207-48, and I'm not seeing any kind of amendment there indicating that those two blocks are now one-way headed west." Mayor Leo Lutz said council should talk to the borough solicitor (who was not present) to have the ordinance done.