DARCUS GETS NOD TO LEAD CENTER BOARD

LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - Lancaster County Convention Center Authority
reappointed Ted Darcus as chairman over the objections of one board
member Wednesday night.Darcus, who has headed the board since 2004,
was reappointed 3-1, with board members Willie Borden, Dave Schwanger
and Joe Morales approving the measure and Laura Douglas opposing it.

"Mr. Darcus has been a very strongly divisive force on this board,"
Douglas said after the vote.

"He is blinded to certain issues, and instead of considering them, he
goes ahead and moves forward."

One example she gave is the millions spent by the authority -
including $8 million to attorneys since 1999 - without detailed
reasons for the expenditures.

Darcus, after accepting the chairman post, pointed to the anticipated
start of construction this year.

"Hopefully, we'll see good things in 2007," Darcus said after his
reappointment.

Proponents and opponents of the proposed $170 million hotel/convention
center sparred Wednesday about several issues, ranging from the
project's viability to accusations the authority board is not
accountable to the public.

At one point, Rapho Township resident Bill Bonano, a project
supporter, accused prominent opponent Robert E. Field of involvement
in a group advocating the legalization of drugs.

Field - publisher of the Web site NewsLanc.com - confirmed his
participation with Common Sense for Drug Policy, which promotes, among
other things, the legalization of "hard drugs" such as marijuana. "I'm
very proud of it," Field said.

Field, a local developer, questioned the merits of center project
financing, specifically the repayment of $65 million worth of bonds
the authority intends to float to pay for construction.

He said the authority's financial plan is risky and likely to cost
county taxpayers money.

Tom Beckett, the authority's financial consultant, said while Field's
analysis was not without merit, projected revenue streams are more
than enough to cover bond debt.

A portion of a 3.9 percent tax levied on hotel room rentals in the
county will help pay the authority's debt, and Beckett has said
revenue from the tax is expected to grow by 3 percent a year during
the next 20 years.

The authority, private developer Penn Square Partners and
Redevelopment Authority of the City of Lancaster are building the
300-room hotel and 220,000-square-foot convention center at and around
the former Watt & Shand department store on Penn Square.

The construction budget includes $36 million private funds and the
rest from public sources.

The Watt & Shand facade is being preserved by a steel structure,
construction manager John Luzik said Wednesday, and demolition of the
remainder of the store and other buildings at the site is scheduled to
be completed in four weeks.

Penn Square Partners consists of general partner Penn Square General
Corp., a High Industries affiliate, and limited partners Fulton Bank
and Penn Square Ltd. LLC, an affiliate of Lancaster Newspapers Inc.,
publisher of the Intelligencer Journal, Lancaster New Era and Sunday
News.