• Lancaster mayoral candidates participate in first debate: Saturday, Lancaster’s two Democratic mayoral candidates Jamie Arroyo and Janet Diaz met during the primary campaign debate at Thaddeus Stevens College. The City Council members focused on their plans for the city before a crowd of about 70 people. Diaz has faced calls to step down from the race and resign from her seat on city council due to a comment she made on social media which has been seen as racist. Diaz commented on the controversy in her opening statement, saying that she is being targeted for her political beliefs. Diaz has denied creating the post and claims she was hacked. The winner of the primary is likely to become Lancaster’s next mayor, as no Republican is currently running for the office. Tony Dastra announced his intent to tun as a Green Party Candidate. (Source: LNP)
• SDOL board members commit to reducing health insurance premiums on lowest paid employees: At the April 22 school board meeting the board unanimously approved newly released premiums for workers the board considers the most financially vulnerable. April 23, district spokesperson, Adam Auran explained administrators cut about $26,000 to lower the increase in insurance premiums for employees who cover their spouses in addition to a new rate for workers who cover their families. During multiple April meetings board members expressed their dismay with the increase for employees who cover their families. (Source: LNP)
• 8 candidates running for Lancaster city council: Eight candidates are running for Lancaster city council in the May 20 primary election. Many of them have common priorities, such as affordable housing. The slate has two incumbents, Ahmed Ahmed and Lochard Calixte. The other candidates are Marshall Miller, Vincent Derek Smith, Willie Shell Sr., Andre Gilbert, Nancy I. Millán and Amos Stoltzfus. No Republicans have entered the race, meaning the winners of the primary will likely win their seats.. (Source: LNP)
• Ephrata Borough seeks answers to problems with parking kiosks: Officials for Ephrata Borough will talk to the distributors of the town’s parking kiosks regarding issues residents have been having with them. The kiosks, which replaced aging parking meters, were said to have problems working with their app, Flowbird, and not accepting change when customers were told they would. The kiosks were distributed through Butts Ticket Systems. A common complaint is that the Flowbird app is not user-friendly, not just for seniors but also for those experienced with technology. Some customers received parking tickets due to issues with the kiosks, which the city is addressing on a case-by-case basis. (Source: LNP)
• Josh Parsons discusses another run at state Senate: County commissioner Josh Parsons, who lost the special election for state Senate in March, has said he may make another attempt at running for a seat. The GOP is expected to begin searching for a candidate by year’s end. James Malone, who won the special election against Parsons by 526 votes, will be serving in the Senate through 2026. Some county Republicans have expressed concerns about Parsons’ divisiveness leading to his loss in the election. Parsons partially blamed bad polling data for his loss. (Source: LNP)
• Nation/world: Suspect in deadly Vancouver car attack charged with second-degree murder (Source: NBC News) Spain and Portugal experience widespread blackout (Source: BBC News) Putin declares ceasefire in Ukraine war (Source: NBC News) Democrats discuss post-Trump plans (Source: NBC News) Papal conclave to start May 7, according to Vatican (Source: CBS News)
