COLUMBIA SPY

Pa. State Police resume tracking racial data during traffic stops in response to Spotlight PA report

HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania State Police announced Tuesday that it had resumed collecting racial data during traffic stops, nine years after the department quietly ended the practice and in direct response to a previous investigative report by Spotlight PA.

Many police departments across the nation collect racial data from traffic stops in order to detect potential racial bias in policing. In 2019, Spotlight PA revealed the State Police had ended its collection program in 2012 with no official announcement and for reasons that remain unclear.

In response to the findings, the statewide law enforcement agency pledged to resume the practice.

https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2021/01/pa-state-police-traffic-stops-racial-profiling-data-collection/

Columbia earns key season-opening L-L League Section 5 boys basketball win in final seconds at Lancaster Mennonite

Down a bucket, Columbia junior guard Kerry Glover tied it with 1 minutes, 15 seconds remaining, and followed that with a game-winning and-1 layup and free-throw with three seconds left to lead the Tide to a 73-70 season-opening Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Five win at Lancaster Mennonite on Tuesday night.

"It was either me or Michael Poole to take the shot (in the final seconds)," Glover said. "I chose to be the one."

https://lancasteronline.com/sports/columbia-earns-key-season-opening-l-l-league-section-5-boys-basketball-win-in-final/article_78752a14-554b-11eb-a644-b3e819e8a64d.html

Corporations recoil from eight Pa. GOP vote ‘objectors,’ suspending their money

The paper sought comment from the GOP objectors in the House. Seven — Dan Meuser, Fred Keller, John Joyce, Mike Kelly, Guy Reschenthaler, Lloyd Smucker, and Glenn Thompson — did not return messages. A spokesperson for the eighth, U.S. Rep. Scott Perry referred questions to campaign staff, who did not respond.

https://www.pennlive.com/nation-world/2021/01/corporations-recoil-from-eight-pa-gop-vote-objectors-suspending-their-money.html

US Rep. Lloyd Smucker: You no longer can serve the 11th Congressional District effectively. You need to resign. [editorial]

THE ISSUE

Republican U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker of Lancaster County was reelected to his third term in November, in the same election in which President-elect Joe Biden defeated incumbent President Donald Trump by more than 80,000 votes in Pennsylvania. Smucker was one of eight Pennsylvania Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives who sought to block Congress from accepting the commonwealth's 20 electoral votes for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris early last Thursday morning. That was just hours after pro-Trump insurrectionists invaded the U.S. Capitol, seeking to stop the counting of the electoral votes and do bodily harm to Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

https://lancasteronline.com/opinion/editorials/us-rep-lloyd-smucker-you-no-longer-can-serve-the-11th-congressional-district-effectively-you/article_46a4ad54-553a-11eb-ba95-b3b9e4ba0a78.html

US Rep. Lloyd Smucker votes against impeaching Trump for a second time | PA Power and Policy: Pennsylvania State News

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker on Wednesday voted against impeaching President Donald Trump for the second time in 13 months, rejecting Democrats' argument that the president's role in inciting the angry mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol last week demanded his removal from office.

Smucker and Pennsylvania's eight other Republican House members voted against the single article of impeachment. Just 10 Republicans broke from their party and voted with Democrats for impeachment, making Trump the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice.

https://lancasteronline.com/news/politics/us-rep-lloyd-smucker-votes-against-impeaching-trump-for-a-second-time/article_e8fcda16-55f5-11eb-93d2-cfcd82652823.html

Columbia Borough man charged for harassment and making terroristic threats

LANCASTER, Pa. (WHTM) — A man from Columbia Borough was arrested Saturday evening when he threatened to kill victims in their sleep as he held up a knife.

47-year-old Paul Clark was taken into custody by the Columbia Borough Police Department after his victims told police that Clark had thrown one of them across the room.

Clark was arrested and charged with Harassment and making terroristic threats.

https://www.abc27.com/news/local/lancaster/columbia-borough-man-charged-for-harassment-and-making-terroristic-threats/

Dollar General will pay employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine

Dollar General employees are being offered an incentive to get the COVID-19 vaccination - the company will give them four hours pay.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the retailer is among the first large U.S. employers who have offered incentives to encourage their employees to take the COVID-19 vaccine - Dollar General employs 157,000 people. Its move to incentivize staff could be interpreted as a sign that companies with essential workers view "mass inoculation" as crucial in crushing the pandemic.

https://www.pennlive.com/nation-world/2021/01/dollar-general-will-pay-employees-to-get-the-covid-19-vaccine.html

Friday, January 15, 2021