COLUMBIA SPY: August 2025

Friday, August 22, 2025

Restaurant Inspections - Columbia Borough - August 22, 2025

Coffee & Cream, 101 N. Front St., Columbia, Aug. 14. Pass. Observed an accumulation of grease on the fume hood.

Rising Sun Nutrition, 50 Lancaster Ave., Columbia, Aug. 14. Pass. Food facility does not have available sanitizer test strips or test kit to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration for quaternary ammonia.

Wednesday, August 20, 2025

Democrat Brad Chambers announces early second bid at state House | Politics | lancasteronline.com

Brad Chambers

JAXON WHITE | LNP State Capitol Reporter

Democrat Brad Chambers on Wednesday announced that he'll mount a second bid for the state House next year, likely setting up a rematch against GOP state Rep. Brett Miller for the 41st District.

Chambers, a 34-year-old Columbia resident, ran unsuccessfully against Miller last year in what was the most competitive state House campaign in Lancaster County.

"I want to show people that things are moving in a different direction in Lancaster County," Chambers said. "And if you want to be part of that, you should get involved with my campaign and support me for the 41st."

Chambers, a labor administrator, said if he wins the seat, he'd use the position to advocate for improved access to affordable housing, increasing education funding and implementing universal health care coverage.

Last year, Chambers leaned heavily into canvassing efforts to spread the word about his candidacy. According to Chambers, he knocked on more than 26,000 doors.

He also had the backing of the state's top Democrats, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, state House Speaker Joanna McClinton and House Majority Leader Matt Bradford.

But come November — in an election where Republicans down the ballot nationwide benefited from President Donald Trump's name at the top of the ticket — Miller won with 56% of the vote, while Chambers obtained 44%.

The 41st District covers East and West Hempfield townships, Columbia and Mountville boroughs and a portion of northeast Manor Township.

https://lancasteronline.com/news/politics/democrat-brad-chambers-announces-early-second-bid-at-state-house/article_3c131dbc-cca5-4fbf-b071-74d47cc87b08.html

Columbia Borough School District rolls out back-to-school headquarters online | Community News | lancasteronline.com

K. Scott Kreider / LNP Correspondent

When: Columbia Borough school board meeting, Aug. 14.

What happened: Superintendent Ashley Rizzo unveiled a back-to-school headquarters online, which has a wealth of information on registration, calendars, logistics, meals and much more for new and returning students.

Where to find it: The back-to-school headquarters can be found under the "About Us" tab on the district's landing page.

More: Rizzo encouraged families to use this centralized resource, as well as a new "Rooms" communications platform that has new features like multi-language automated translation.

https://lancasteronline.com/news/regional/columbia-borough-school-district-rolls-out-back-to-school-headquarters-online/article_d58c3b5a-83b1-4ce0-a059-edb42c582237.html

Tuesday, August 19, 2025

Columbia man convicted in Lancaster County carjacking shot man to death in Pittsburgh: police | Local News | lancasteronline.com

LANCASTERONLINE | Staff

A Columbia man who was convicted in June for his role in a 2023 armed carjacking in the borough is also charged with shooting a man to death during a drug robbery in Pittsburgh three years ago.

Sammie Edward Lane Jr. waived his preliminary hearing on homicide and related charges on Aug. 1 in Pittsburgh Municipal Court in the death of Tayrod Ford.

Lane had been scheduled for sentencing on Monday in Lancaster County Court, according to his docket here in the carjacking case. He was convicted June 13 of robbery, simple assault and related charges.

In that case, according to prosecutors, Lane, 37, Destiny Delgado-Diaz, and Alexander Ethan Delgado-Diaz, lured a man to Columbia on Dec. 31, 2023, began strangling him, threatened him with a handgun, and stole his Dodge Durango SUV and items he had in the vehicle.

Destiny Delgado-Diaz, 23, of Columbia, is serving a 27-month to 10-year state prison sentence after she pleaded guilty on May 1 to robbery and related charges.

Alexander Ethan Delgado-Diaz, 25, of Columbia, is awaiting resolution of his case. A status conference is scheduled for Oct. 2.

According to charging documents filed by Pittsburgh police, on Aug. 14, 2022, Lane and another man, Kevin Rivera, of Wilkinsburg, planned to rob Ford of drugs. During the robbery, Rivera shot Ford once in the shoulder and Ford told the men to take whatever they wanted and begged for his life.

Lane then shot Ford once in the head and the men fled, charging documents said.

The documents said Sadie Watson, of Pittsburgh, told police that Lane said he wanted to kill someone. She is charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and evidence tampering; police said she, Rivera and Lane discussed robbing Ford via text, then deleted the messages.

The day after Ford's death, Lane took a bus to Harrisburg, police said.

Pittsburgh detectives interviewed Lane at Lancaster County Prison, where he was being held in the carjacking case, on March 3 and filed charges on March 6. He is being held at Allegheny County Jail without bail.

https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/columbia-man-convicted-in-lancaster-county-carjacking-shot-man-to-death-in-pittsburgh-police/article_7da5bc01-8844-49c7-99ca-294e3d9d2a34.html