COLUMBIA SPY

Download the 63-page council packet  HERE .

Columbia Life Network is once again holding our annual School Supply Drive to support students of Columbia Borough School District and Our Lady of the Angels school. Collection boxes are located at Columbia Life Network, 18 South 4th Street and the Columbia Borough School District Administrative Center, 200 North 5th Street. If any local businesses or organizations would like a collection box please email jamie@columbilifenetwork.org to coordinate. Items needed are a bit different than usual so please see the list provided on the flyer below and financial donations are welcome either by mail or in person at Columbia Life Network. Please share this post and thank you for supporting our students!

Dr. Stephen Diamantoni identified the bodies as Jonathan Rivera, 29, of Lancaster, and Eugenio Morales-Torres, 33, of Columbia.  MORE: https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/coroner-confirms-identities-of-men-killed-found-in-burned-truck/article_f26504b8-d2b3-11ea-a1fd-fb9df72d5467.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share  

Carlos Jimenez, Jr. Carlos Jimenez, Jr. wants money to be taken from the Columbia Borough Police Department budget and used for other purposes in town. Jimenez, a Columbia resident and vice president of Green Dreamz, a Lancaster County-based civil rights organization, made the statement at Tuesday night's Columbia Borough Council meeting, where other members of the organization were present. Jimenez said the reallocated funds need to be directed towards affordable housing and public transportation. To justify his demands, Jimenez presented figures from two large nearby cities. According to Jimenez, Washington DC, with a population of 706,000, spends $145,709 per officer per year and experiences 37,720 crimes per year, 82% of which are non-violent. Philadelphia, with a population of over 5 million, spends $122,746 per officer per year, and has a crime rate of 63,597 per year, 77% of which are non-violent. Columbia Borough, however, with a population of only 10,500, spends $...

Police budget demands: Jimenez, who said he was an organizer of the Lancaster protests following the killing of George Floyd, demanded that the borough reallocate $1.5 million away from the police department and into affordable housing and public transport in the 2021 budget. He requested that the borough make a decision on those funds by Aug. 28. MORE: https://lancasteronline.com/news/regional/columbia-borough-mayor-defends-against-release-of-full-police-policy-citizens-have-mixed-stances/article_8c884f3e-d1ea-11ea-98e1-f3e3561785a6.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share  

About 15 protesters (plus half a dozen legal observers watching from the sidewalks) marched through Columbia streets to borough hall on Tuesday afternoon in support of social justice and racial equality. With the help of a bullhorn, protesters chanted "question-and-answer" slogans to bring attention to those issues. The group was part of Green Dreamz, a "BLM, Lancaster rooted organization. Founded off of love and fighting for injustice and Inequality for all POC," according to the group's Facebook page. Many from the group also attended Tuesday night's borough council meeting to voice concerns and make demands. Earlier in the day, about 30 participants gathered at Makle Park to hear speakers and engage in activities. Several officers on bike patrol kept an eye on the group from behind the former Shawnee Fire Company on Union Street, while two ever-present drones hovered overhead. The drones were apparently directed from a command center at Holy...

This week's photos of Columbia (Tap or click on each photo to see a larger, sharper view.) Flying high once again Little lost animals at 4th & Locust Sunflower in an unnamed public alley Workers installed a window grate at Stover's to help prevent further break-ins at the store.  The window shown above was broken out on June 21 during the second of two break-ins. The window next to the entrance door (far right, under the awning) was broken out on June 5, and a grate has been added there, also. Sign checker checking a sign A peek inside the market A stash of bricks further down the alley Dumpsters in the back yard Donation bin - Currently, there are four in town. Possible destinations Edible garden, pollinator friendly Corn in Avenue X Coming down at . . . 9th & Manor Fire truck ahead Reserved Troweling at 403 Locust They're back! Cleanin...