PSoTD

Some summers you can look back and call it "the summer of this" or the "summer of that".

For our little family, I think 2005 will be the "Summer of the Hampden Pool".

Earlier this summer I posted about the Hampden Township Pool:

" I have to say the local Hampden Township pool which is reasonably priced for residents ($90 for a family season pass), has great facilities for all ages, a water slide, and the best benefit of all - relatively empty by dinner time, which is when we like to pack a picnic and head on over. "

This summer we've probably been to the pool 25 times. It's just that easy for us and we all like the water and to swim. So, I figure that for $90, we've had 100 individual entries into the pool, and probably spent at a minimum 50 hours per person there this summer. It's rare to see directly a government service - admittedly, an optional rather than required service - be so cost-effective for the user.

Dan Rubin, Blinq blogger for the Philadelphia Inquirer, asked last Friday:

Why are there so many bloggers in Philadelphia, particularly liberal bloggers?

I have a counter-question today: why are there so few political bloggers around Harrisburg?

There's Comment on Pennsylvania Legislation by Representative Mark Cohen and Keystone Politics and Grassroots PA and Terry in the Big City, and Ross Notes covers some politics.

I'm not talking about institutional blogs, such as the Pennsylvania Chamber's Current and Capitol Ideas (from the Morning Call)

Just the citizen blogs.

Is Harrisburg ahead, behind, or middling as far as political State Capitol Region blogs are concerned? Are there many more political blogs out there that are under my radar? If so, let me know. I think it's time for the Capital Region to live up to the blogging passions of the Philadelphia and also the Pittsburgh areas, and start to increase their visibility.

Just read "State Rep Encourages Residents to Visit State Capitol Building" at Mark Rauterkus' blog.

Harrisburg does have a mighty fine State Capitol building. I've been in several around the country during my travels - maybe a dozen or 15 - and Pennsylvania's Capitol is the classic dome with some little quirks added to it. By far my favorite at this point...

Of course, you can get the virtual tour from the General Assembly's site at but it really doesn't do the old place justice.

My kids like to find all the unique "tiles", such as the fly, that are embedded in the Main Rotunda. I haven't eaten at the Capitol cafeteria in a couple of years, and I've heard the food is good (it didn't used to be) but I can't say from experience. You can always walk out back, to where the big public fountain is, and count how many staffers are out there smoking. There's always somebody.

Some of the charm of the building has been leaked out with the visible security measures that went into place after 9/11. Still, well worth a day trip for the family.

Take a look at that lazy, half-assed blue sine wave on the map above. That's a small segment of a map of eastern Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and the blue line is the pretty but rather indecisive Conodoguinet Creek. As you can tell, there's plenty of development around the Creek - it's a beautiful ecosystem in itself, with birds, deer, fish, turtles, frogs, rabbits, foxes, owls, etc., etc., etc... Those of us that live in Cumberland County appreciate and even treasure it, and homes along its banks are in high demand. Once in a while a blogger will wax rhapsodic about the Creek's visible virtues, as The Cracked Window does here.

Unfortunately, with all this development, there's a need for bridges - and bridge repairs and enhancement - to cross the meandering Conodoguinet as well - and it isn't a need that Pennsylvania or Cumberland County has focused keenly upon in the recent past. That's why the actions of Silver Spring Township deserve some attention...

Bridge fee to increase new-house cost

Prospective homeowners can expect to pay more for homes along Sample Bridge Road in Silver Spring Twp.

Supervisors are requesting that builders pay the township $1,000 per home to help pay for construction of a bridge across Conodoguinet Creek.

The township would use the fee to amass a local matching fund, which is needed to get state aid for the $4.8 million project. The local match is typically 10 percent. That equates to $500,000 — or 500 new housing units.

I say bravo to Silver Spring Township. One bridge on the way to improvement. What bridge is next?