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Pro-Life Protesters Greet Late-Term Abortionist at New Clinic

By Stephanie Samuel|Christian Post Reporter

Nearly 300 people gathered in prayer Monday to protest the first day of business of Leroy Carhart’s Germantown abortion clinic in Maryland.

The Nebraska abortionist debuted the Germantown Reproductive Health Services center, his first of three new clinics, on Monday. When he did, Carhart was met with by protesters and a prayer vigil.

“We in Germantown don’t have any intention of becoming the late-term abortion capital of Maryland,” protester Peter Sprigg told The Washington Post. Sprigg, who lives nearby, is a policy analyst for the Family Research Council.

The protest was planned by the Rev. Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition. In a weekend statement, Mahoney stated that the protest is a witness for the dignity of life and human rights.

"We also want to send a clear message to LeRoy Carhart that we will never be silent while women are being brutalized and innocent viable children are being killed. We will pray, march, rally and be a prophetic voice until the violence stops,” proclaimed Mahoney.

Formally named the "abortion evangelist" by Newsweek, Carhart has been operating in Nebraska since 1985. He began performing late-term abortions after his colleague, George Tiller, was shot and killed last year. Tiller was one of few late-term abortion practitioners.

Carhart is now one of the few abortion doctors to offer patients late-term abortions. This has drawn a lot attention to his operations. Pro-life advocates frequently protested his Bellevue clinic. They also pushed for fetal pain legislation that would jeopardize his practice.

Seven months after Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman signed legislation that bans abortions after 20 weeks, Carhart announced plans to expand his clinic to three new states.

“We need a place where we can help our patients, without the harassment of the courts,” Carhart told Omaha television station KETV. According to National Abortion Federation CEO Vickie Saporta, Carhart chose the largely Democratic state of Maryland because its abortion laws are more progressive than his home town.

“Maryland is a progressive state and a woman's access to contraceptives, emergency contraceptives and abortion is better than many other states in the Deep South or the Midwest," Saporta told the Business Gazette.

The state has received an “A” from NARAL Pro-Choice America for its abortion legislation.

Maryland's Freedom of Choice Act prohibits the state from interfering in a woman's decision to terminate her pregnancy at early stages or at any time if the termination procedure is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman or if the fetus is affected by genetic defect or serious deformity or abnormality.

Mahoney said he and other pro-lifers are not going to allow Maryland become an abortion capital. He says regular protests are planned for outside the clinic and the surrounding office park.

"To the other tenants in the business park we simply say we will be a constant public presence and witness for life as we embrace justice for all,” he said.

Operators of the office park told The Washington Post they have no way of evicting the clinic. “We have no jurisdiction over that business," said William Rinehart, one of the condominium association‘s board members.

Carhart, who plans to work part-time at the Germantown clinic, also plans to expand to Iowa and Indiana.

Related George Tiller's Family Permanently Closes Abortion Clinic Nebraska Gov. Signs Landmark Abortion Bills Neb. Abortionist to Open Clinics in Iowa, Md., Ind. Late-Term Abortionist Moves to Maryland Read more at www.christianpost.com

 

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Christians Must Not Forget Jailed Pakistani Woman, Says Ministry

By Ethan Cole|Christian Post Reporter

Christians should not forget about Asia Bibi – the first woman to be sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy in Pakistan – as the country’s high court decides on a date for her appeals hearing, said a ministry that advocates on behalf of persecuted Christians.

Bibi’s case should not be swept under the rug and forgotten but Christians “must pray and advocate” on behalf of the innocent woman, said Carl Moeller, president and CEO of Open Doors USA, in a statement Monday.

“We continue to stand with Christians in Pakistan. We continue to help them face the incredible pressure – the almost unimaginable pressure – they are under every day, by spiritual means, by encouragement and through advocacy, speaking out on their behalf,” said Moeller.

As of Tuesday, the Lahore High Court has still not set a date for her appeals case. There was hope that President Asif Ali Zadari could pardon her before the hearing, but last week the court barred him from doing so. It ruled that it is illegal for the government to pardon her while the case is pending.

Bibi, a mother of five, has been in prison for one-and-a-half years. Last month, she was sentenced to death by hanging for allegedly speaking ill of Muslim Prophet Muhammad. She was accused of blasphemy by fellow field workers but she denies it.

She said the false accusation stems from a petty argument she had with her Muslim co-workers after they refused to drink water that she fetched for them. They complained that the water container was touched by a Christian. Upset by their comments, Bibi argued with them but afterwards thought nothing of the incident. However, a few days later dozens of Muslims dragged her away. She was accused of blasphemy and has since been imprisoned and sentenced to death.

Bibi’s family was only one of two Christian families in the village. Now they are the only one in the village because the other family moved away after Bibi was arrested, her husband told reporters last month.

Moeller of Open Doors stresses that the Pakistani government must repeal the blasphemy law to prevent similar cases that oppress Christians and other religious minorities in the country.

“The larger problem is that the blasphemy law exists in the first place," he said. "That a person like Asia – and many others through the years – can be put in prison for a year and a half without even telling her side of the story is a travesty of justice and basic human rights.”

“Christians and the international community need to keep pressure on the Pakistani government to drop laws like this one and not cave in to the Muslim extremists."

Hardline Muslims have held protests in Pakistan warning the government against changing the blasphemy law or else face protests nationwide.

No one sentenced to death because of blasphemy has actually been executed in Pakistan. The cases have all been overturned upon appeal. But 46 people were killed extra-judicially in Pakistan between 1990 and 2010 following charges of blasphemy, according to AsiaNews. The 46 people, including 28 Christians, were killed extra judicially or found dead in prison under suspicious circumstances. As a result, there is growing concerns over the safety of Bibi as she awaits her trial.

Related Pakistani Christian Sentenced to Death Stunned, Shattered Official: Pakistani Christian Woman on Death Row Is Innocent Pakistan Gov't Barred from Pardoning Christian on Death Row Pakistan Minister Condemns Reward for Killing Christian Woman Read more at www.christianpost.com

 

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Solving Kyoto row said key to unlock Cancun deal

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Solving Kyoto row said key to unlock Cancun deal

Resolving a dispute between rich and poor nations over cuts in greenhouse gas emissions is key to unblocking progress on all issues at U.N.

Solving Kyoto row said key to unlock Cancun deal Environmental activists from different organizations demonstrate outside the Pitaya Cancun Messe, where climate talks are taking place in Cancun, December 7, 2010. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

By Gerard Wynn and Timothy Gardner CANCUN, Mexico (Reuters) - Resolving a dispute between rich and poor nations over cuts in greenhouse gas emissions is key to unblocking progress on all issues at U.N. climate talks in Mexico, a senior official said on Tuesday. New draft texts at the November 29 to December 10 talks gave widely varying ways out of the deadlock pitting Japan, Canada and Russia against developing nations who accuse them of breaking promises of future cuts under the U.N.'s Kyoto Protocol. The issue of reining in emissions is "the big question that has to be answered in some way, shape or form," John Ashe, chair of the section of the U.N. talks on the future of the Kyoto Protocol, told Reuters. The issues are "not independent of each other," he said, adding that a deal on curbs could unlock a wider modest package. The Cancun talks are also seeking a deal on a new fund to help poor nations, ways to protect tropical forests and share clean technologies. The effort comes amid predictions that global warming will bring devastating droughts, heatwaves, floods, more powerful storms and rising sea levels. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in the Caribbean beach resort to address an opening session for ministers from around the world on Tuesday. The talks are the first since the U.N. summit in Copenhagen fell short of a treaty last year. Japan, Russia and Canada have been adamant in Cancun that they will not approve an extension to Kyoto when a first period runs out in 2012 and want a new, broader treaty that will also bind emerging economies led by China and India to act. But developing states say rich nations have emitted most greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution and must extend Kyoto before poor countries can be expected to sign up. Kyoto binds almost 40 nations to cut emissions by an average of 5.2 percent below 1990 levels during the five-year period 2008-12. "We are putting great pressure on Japan to back down," said one developing country delegate. Ashe, who is from Antigua and Barbuda, said that one option, mentioned at previous talks, was simply to extend Kyoto beyond 2012 with the existing goals for cuts, rather than new ones. "The current commitment period could be extended while we sort out the question of the level of ambition," he said. The option had not been discussed yet in Cancun. One draft suggested ways to ensure that developing countries do more -- a key demand of rich nations. That might oblige emerging nations with more than 0.5 or 1 percent of world emissions, such as China and India, to report emissions levels every two years. Currently, only rich nations have to report emissions, annually. The talks are trying to restore confidence after Copenhagen soured relations between rich and poor in a world of shifting influences. Developed nations are suffering from anemic growth while growth in China and India is raising their power. The U.N. Environment Program reiterated on Tuesday that planned cuts in greenhouse gases were far too small to meet a non-binding goal set in Copenhagen of limiting a rise in world temperatures to below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6F) above pre-industrial times. Small island states said that such a rise would be devastating, urging a far lower ceiling of 1.5 Celsius (2.7F). "This is vital to our survival," said Dessima Williams of Grenada, head of the Alliance of Small Island States. (Writing by Alister Doyle, editing by Cynthia Osterman) Read more at www.scientificamerican.com

 

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Researchers question the science behind last week's revelation of arsenic-based life.

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Microbe gets toxic response

Researchers question the science behind last week's revelation of arsenic-based life.

By Alla Katsnelson Days after an announcement that a strain of bacteria can apparently use arsenic in place of phosphorous to build its DNA and other biomolecules--an ability unknown in any other organism--some scientists are questioning the finding and taking issue with how it was communicated to non-specialists. Many readily agree that the bacterium, described last week in Science and dubbed GFAJ-1 (F. Wolfe-Simon et al. Science doi:10.1126/science.1197258; 2010), performs a remarkable feat by surviving high concentrations of arsenic in California's Mono Lake and in the laboratory. But data in the paper, they argue, suggest that it is just as likely that the microbe isn't using the arsenic, but instead is scavenging every possible phosphate molecule while fighting off arsenic toxicity. The claim at a NASA press briefing that the bacterium represents a new chemistry of life is at best premature, they say. "It's a great story about adaptation, but it's not ET," says Gerald Joyce, a biochemist at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif. At the press briefing, Steven Benner, a chemist at the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in Gainesville, Fla., who was invited to the event to offer outside comment, used the analogy of a steel chain with a tinfoil link to illustrate that the arsenate ion said to replace phosphate in the bacterium's DNA forms bonds that are orders of magnitude less stable. Not only would the organism's DNA have to stay together in spite of the weaker bonds, says Benner, but so would all the molecules required to draw arsenate from the environment and build it into the genetic material. Co-authors of the paper, including Paul Davies, an astrobiologist at Arizona State University in Tempe, have countered that the arsenate bonds could be reinforced by specialized molecules, or that arsenic-based life simply has a higher turnover for molecular disintegration and assembly than does conventional life. The big problem, however, is that the authors have shown that the organism takes up arsenic, but they "haven't unambiguously identified any arsenic-containing organic compounds," says Roger Summons, a biogeochemist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. "And it's not difficult to do," he adds, noting that the team could have directly confirmed or disproved the presence of arsenic in the DNA or RNA using targeted mass spectrometry. Some researchers suggest that the authors' own data hint at an organism that is simply absorbing and isolating arsenate while making use of the trace phosphates in its environment. For one thing, says Joyce, the paper shows that the organisms appear bloated, and contain large, vacuole-like structures--often a sign of sequestered toxic material. The arsenate-grown cells were analyzed in their resting phase, which requires less phosphate for survival than does active growth, notes Joyce, and cells grown in high concentrations of arsenate did not seem to contain any RNA--possibly because RNA production had shut down to conserve phosphate. One calculation in the paper showed that the DNA in arsenate-grown cells actually contained 26 times more phosphorus than arsenic. "I fault the authors for not noticing these things and sorting them out," says Rosemary Redfield, a microbiologist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, whose summary of the paper's problems, posted on her blog on December 4, has already had more than 30,000 hits. "We shouldn't have to do the thinking for them." Felisa Wolfe-Simon, a NASA astrobiology research fellow at the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif., and the study's lead author, refused to address criticisms. "We are not going to engage in this sort of discussion," she wrote in an e-mail to Nature. "Any discourse will have to be peer-reviewed in the same manner as our paper was, and go through a vetting process so that all discussion is properly moderated." But Jonathan Eisen, a microbiologist at the University of California, Davis, calls this "ludicrous," after a NASA press release drew media attention with claims of an "astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life," a theme that Wolfe-Simon echoed at the briefing. "It is absurd for them to say that they are only going have the discussion in the scientific literature, when they started it," he says. Ginger Pinholster, a spokeswoman for Science's publisher, the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C., noted that the journal regards significant responses to high-visibility articles, as well as efforts to replicate the work, as a "key goal of publication." Pinholster also pointed out that the journal's own press summary of the paper made no mention of the search for extraterrestrial life, nor did Science "organize any additional promotional events." Read more at www.scientificamerican.com

 

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Two stars become one, and trigger a rare type of nova.

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Dancing stars turn on the red light

Two stars become one, and trigger a rare type of nova.

By Ken Croswell For the first time, astronomers have watched the spiraling dance performed by two stars merging into a single star. The observations, taken between 2001 and 2008, suggest a solution to the vexed problem of how rare "red novae" form. Most novae are blue and occur when material on a white dwarf star explodes. But what causes red novae has been a mystery. The best-known red nova was spotted in January 2002 toward the edge of our Galaxy's disk. Named V838 Monocerotis, it was more luminous than normal novae--at peak brightness, it briefly rivaled the most powerful stars in the Galaxy. In September 2008, the red nova V1309 Scorpii appeared in the Milky Way. Fortunately, it was positioned in a part of the sky being watched by the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE), a Polish-run program using data from a telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile to search for signs of dark matter and planets. As a result, the team had inadvertently captured the process that sparked the red nova. "The material is fantastic," says Romuald Tylenda, an astronomer at the Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center in ToruD, Poland. "I never expected to see so many observations before an eruption." From 2001 to 2008, the OGLE team had observed the pre-nova star a remarkable 1,340 times. In a paper submitted to Astronomy and Astrophysics, Tylenda and his colleagues say that the red nova was created by the merger of a double star system known as a contact binary. Glowing peanut A contact binary consists of two stars that circle each other so closely that they touch. If viewed from an orbiting planet, the stuck-together suns would resemble a glowing peanut-shaped object. Exotic though they seem, contact binaries are common: the nearest, named 44 Boötis B, is just 41 light years (13 parsecs) from Earth. Because they are so close together, the two stars continually eclipse each other, causing the brightness we see to vary. This allowed Tylenda and his team to deduce the nature of V1309 Scorpii, which is roughly 10,000 light years (3,000 parsecs) from Earth. Before the explosion, the two stars danced around each other every 1.4 days. As they spiraled together, this period shortened until the stars merged and exploded, upping their brightness by 10,000 times. Tylenda and his colleagues estimate that the larger star had about as much mass as the Sun. Current observations indicate that the system is now single. "It certainly is a very exciting discovery," says Howard Bond, an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., who was not part of the discovery team. "This is clearly something that we've never seen before." However, Bond cautions that the same process may not explain other red novae. Tylenda disagrees: "I think that almost all of the red novae are mergers." In particular, he argues that the best-known red nova, V838 Monocerotis, resulted from such a merger. That explosion was more powerful than V1309 Scorpii, indicating a greater mass. The first observational sign that contact binaries merge came in 1981, when American astronomers Bernard Bopp and Robert Stencel said a fast-spinning giant star named FK Comae Berenices was a former contact binary that had merged and become single. This star and two other fast-spinning giants stood out because most giant stars spin slowly. But when a contact binary merges, the angular momentum of the orbiting stars spins up the single merged star. Shrinivas Kulkarni, an astronomer at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, describes the findings of Tylenda and colleagues as "amazing." Kulkarni notes that theories to explain red novae outnumber all the red novae known. "They've been so mysterious for so long. This discovery is a huge, huge step forward." Read more at www.scientificamerican.com

 

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Wisconsin woman accused of biting off husband's tongue

(Reuters) - A Wisconsin woman bit off half her husband's tongue during a kiss and has been arrested, authorities said on Tuesday. The bitten piece of the husband's tongue was recovered, and he was taken to a hospital following the incident late on Monday, Sheboygan, Wisconsin police said in a statement. The woman, 57, told emergency workers she had "bit her husband's tongue off," police said in a statement. She had blood on her clothing, they said. The 79-year-old victim said his wife bit his tongue while he was kissing her, police said. The woman was singing Christmas carols and blowing a New Year's horn when police arrested her on charges of felony mayhem. She was being held pending formal charges by the District Attorney's Office. The victim was transported to an area hospital where doctors were trying to reattach his tongue, police said. About half his tongue was bit off, they said. The victim said his wife had been acting strangely in recent days, said the police in Sheboygan, roughly 50 miles north of Milwaukee. (Reporting by John Rondy; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Greg McCune) Read more at www.reuters.com

 

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Bible Prophecy and the Destruction of the Cities of the earth…This will blow your mind

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Bible Prophecy and the Destruction of the Cities of the earth…This will blow your mind

I was blown away by what you area about to read. God is revealing things at a pace I have never seen in my life. Please let me know your response to the statements below: MR No. 1518 – Locate Sanitariums Away From the Cities (Written May 10, 1906, from Sanitarium, California, to the Doctors Kress. Selections from this manuscript have appeared in Manuscript Releases 435, 714, and 787.) We have your recent letter. I need not wait for reflection before saying that I believe the best plan is that of first strengthening the work in Adelaide. The climate is more healthful, and the spiritual atmosphere much more favorable than that of Melbourne. This is the way that the matter has been presented to me, but I hoped you would decide the matter from your own judgment. I believe that after placing the whole matter before the Lord, the brethren will come to a harmonious decision. The Lord understands all our necessities. {21MR 90.1} The outlook for establishing a sanitarium at Adelaide is much more favorable than the outlook for establishing one at Melbourne. The city of Melbourne is not the place to establish a sanitarium. It has been plainly presented to me that the sanitarium which you are planning to establish should be located in the most healthful place you can secure. But my warning is that of the angel who, standing in Melbourne, said in a clear, distinct voice, Establish not schools or sanitariums in the cities. In the future, cities will certainly feel the terrible results of earthquakes and fires. Cities will be destroyed by flood and by lightnings. Out of the cities, is my message at this time. {21MR 90.2} Be assured that the call is for our people to locate miles away from the large cities. One look at San Francisco as it is today would speak to your intelligent minds, showing you the necessity of getting out of the cities. Do not establish institutions in the cities, but seek a rural location. The call is, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate.” The very atmosphere of the city is polluted. Let your schools be established away from the cities, where agricultural and other industries can be carried on. {21MR 90.3} The Lord calls for His people to locate away from the cities, for in such an hour as ye think not, fire and brimstone will be rained from heaven upon these cities. Proportionate to their sins will be their visitation. When one city is destroyed, let not our people regard this matter as a light affair, and think that they may, if favorable opportunity offers, build themselves homes in that same destroyed city. {21MR 90.4} Great precautions were taken to make everything in San Francisco secure against earthquakes, floods, and fires, yet today that great city is lying a mass of debris. Where is there one who, seeing this, can fail to reason from cause to effect? {21MR 90.5} A few days ago we passed by the great costly Stanford University. Many of its buildings now lie in ruins. {21MR 91.1} Yesterday, on our way home from Mountain View, we stopped to take a view of the destruction in San Francisco. Notwithstanding some of the buildings were of the most stable kind and were supposed to be proof against disaster, the city is a ruin. In some places the buildings are sunken into the ground. This city presents a most powerful picture of the inefficiency of human devising and human skill to withstand the carrying out of the Lord’s mandate. {21MR 91.2} For our people to begin commercial enterprises in such a place will be to soothe the fears of those to whom they will come with the Bible message of truth. {21MR 91.3} Let all who would understand the meaning of these things read the eleventh chapter of Revelation. Read every verse, and learn the things that are yet to take place in the cities. Read also the scenes portrayed in the eighteenth chapter of the same book. {21MR 91.4} “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” It will not be to the credit of any who believe the word of the prophecies of this book to ignore the special indications of God, and show indifference in regard to this wonderful display of the power of God because of the sins of this city recently destroyed. The Lord forbid that those who have witnessed this great destruction shall make light of the matter and flatter themselves that in the future they will have buildings far in advance of any buildings they have yet had. For if those who have felt the rebuke of God shall set themselves defiantly to invest their means as they have done, God will exercise His power to counteract their efforts. This calamity calls for men who have abused their privileges and taken advantage of their fellow men, to make amends for the wrong they have done. The Lord has spoken. Will men hear His voice? {21MR 91.5} Let not a mammoth sanitarium be built in any place. If there are large buildings miles away from the cities, that in the providence of God are offered at a price much below their value, and if you see the evidence of God’s hand in this, work judiciously to obtain possession of these buildings. {21MR 91.6} Let your sanitariums be conducted by physicians and ministers who are in harmony with the light God has been giving to His people for the last half century. Place not men in positions of holy office who will not listen to God’s counsel concerning His way and His will. There are influences working mightily against the very work God requires to be done. The time has come when the Lord’s name is to be magnified in all your camp meetings. Every soul must now draw in even cords. Unbelief has taken possession of men who have been warned in regard to the seducing influence of Satan’s working and the methods of his work, yet who have taken no heed. They are of the party that will give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. Where is this party that will depart from the faith? Consider this. Do not place in charge of your important work or even of the less important enterprises, those who will lead minds away from the truth which is to decide the destiny of souls. {21MR 91.7} Our Lord has the power that must be recognized by our people. God calls for unity in conformity to His expressed will. The flock of God should be watched that they shall not be led into false paths. Unite with no human influence that is not in agreement with the truth of God which has stood the test for half a century. {21MR 92.1} In conclusion I would say, Let not Brethren James and Semmens wait for new developments in Melbourne. Take hold at Adelaide, and lay your plans wisely.–Letter 158, 1906. Ellen G. White Estate Silver Spring, Maryland September 13, 1990. Entire Letter.{21MR 92.2} Read more at www.presentruth.com

 

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ICE considering York County for more immigration detainees

The county prison board responded to a federal inquiry about housing illegal immigrants.

By TOM JOYCE Daily Record/Sunday News

York, PA - York County is one of at least three locations that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is considering as a potential site for housing more illegal immigration detainees, according to an ICE spokeswoman. County Commissioner Doug Hoke, who is head of the York County prison board, said the concept at this point hasn't gone beyond a brief mail exchange between the county and the federal agency. He said the board members would want more information before considering the proposal. "It's very preliminary," Hoke said. The ICE spokeswoman said that in addition to York County, the agency is also taking a look at two other counties that are currently housing immigration detainees - Pike County in northeastern Pennsylvania and Essex County in New Jersey. According to Hoke, York County received a letter from ICE over the summer containing a "statement of objectives." Basically, it said ICE was interested in establishing additional housing for detainees that might accommodate anywhere from a few hundred to more than 2,000. Hoke said the county wrote back requesting more information. In October, he said, ICE officials visited the county to look at the facilities in York County Prison where immigration detainees are currently housed. Hoke said county officials had not heard back from ICE since then, and he was unaware that the county was on a list of finalists. He said the county might consider adding to existing facilities at York County Prison or creating a new one altogether. The concept isn't even close to any planning stages, Hoke said. "We would certainly be interested in having the discussion," Hoke said. "We said if you want to send us a request, we'll send you some information." York County Prison warden Mary Sabol also said the ICE communication didn't have much in the way of definite information. "It was a very limited proposal," she said. "There was nothing specific. As with any federal project, you have to find out what we're looking for and how we would respond." Pike County, teamed with Tennessee-based private prison management firm Corrections Corporation of America, has submitted plans for a 2,256-bed center, Pike County Commissioner Harry Forbes told the Pocono Record. But Forbes said in an interview with the York Daily Record that his county is still awaiting word from the federal agency as well. "I have no idea where we're at," Forbes said. "Nobody does. ICE is looking at all of them and trying to make a determination." Currently York County Prison houses nearly 700 detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The county charges $63.35 per day per detainee. Who are they? Here's a look at the two other counties in contention with York County (Pop. 424,583) for a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center. Both counties currently house ICE detainees in their county prisons, according to ICE. Pike County, Pennsylvania This northeastern Pennsylvania county is part of the greater New York metro area. With a population estimated at 59,664 by the U.S. Census Bureau, it is the smallest county under consideration. It is named for Zebulon Montgomery Pike, an explorer for whom Pike's Peak is named. It was also the home county of former Pennsylvania Gov. Gifford Pinchot. Essex County, New Jersey Essex County is in northeastern New Jersey and is also part of the New York metro area. Its county seat is Newark, known for an airport that serves the New York City region. The HBO organized crime drama "The Sopranos" was set in the Essex County town of North Caldwell. With a population of 793,637, according to the Census, it is the third-most populous county in New Jersey, behind Bergen and Middlesex counties, and is mostly urban or suburban in nature. Read more at www.ydr.com

 

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Hey, Yorkers, the IRS might have a refund for you

JOHN WALK The York Dispatch

The Internal Revenue Service is looking for dozens of York County residents, but not to collect on taxes. The IRS sent refund checks via standard mail to nearly 90 York County residents earlier this year, only to have the refunds returned as "undeliverable," said Mark Hanson, IRS media relations director of Pennsylvania. To solve the problem, the IRS is asking people to make sure their address is updated because they want to return the refunds. The occurrence happens every year with thousands of taxpayers across the country, Hanson said. "The post office returns them to the IRS because there's either an error with the address or because a taxpayer has moved or because the taxpayer has put the wrong address on their tax return," Hanson said. York County isn't alone, Hanson said. Of the 34.4 million refund checks sent out by the IRS this year, nearly 115,000 refunds were sent back, or about 0.03 percent. Of that number, about 3,500 were sent back from Pennsylvania residents; the average refund from those returned checks is about $1,800. The refund checks do not expire, Hanson said, meaning the IRS will hold onto the refund until the faulty address is eventually updated. "If a taxpayer has an undelivered refund this year, but files taxes next year with an updated address, we can then send the refund from the previous year. Until then, the IRS just holds onto the refund," Hanson said. How to get it: For the people who believe they have not yet received a refund check, the IRS is encouraging them to update their address through the following methods: ---Online: Visit www.irs.gov and click on the "Where's My Refund?" tab and follow directions or search "88-22" to print out a change-of-address form and mail it to the IRS. ---Phone: Order a change-of-address form by calling the IRS at 1-800-829-3676. -- Reach John Walk at 505-5439 or jwalk@yorkdispatch.com or follow on Twitter @ydcity. Read more at www.ydr.com

 

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York County a finalist for detention center for illegal immigrants

CHRISTINA KAUFFMAN The York Dispatch

A Pike County commissioner says York County, Pike County and a site in New Jersey are being considered for a new federal detention center for illegal immigrants, but officials in York say they haven't been notified. Harry Forbes said the two Pennsylvania counties, along with Essex County, N.J., are finalists to host the proposed 2,256-bed center, telling the Pocono Record that Immigration and Customs Enforcement might announce the winning location within the next few weeks. York County Prison Warden Mary Sabol said York "simply responded to a statement of objectives released by (Immigrations Customs Enforcement)," to show interest, but details are scant. She could not confirm the size of the proposed facility or any other details because she has not received any information from ICE. "We didn't discuss a lot of particulars," she said. County commissioner Doug Hoke, who is president of the prison board, said officials received a letter from ICE over the summer, saying the agency was considering building a new facility. The county responded to express interest, but never provided a business plan or "numbers," and officials haven't heard anything since, he said. "I never got anything, as the president of the prison board," he said. "Until I get something in writing from them, I don't even consider this on the radar. If they're saying I'm a finalist, I was never notified about that." Detainees: York County currently holds contracts to house state prisoners and immigration detainees at the county prison, on Concord Road in Springettsbury Township. The federal government pays the county a daily rate for each detainee held at the prison. In June, Sabol said the prison was holding record numbers of state inmates and federal immigration detainees, averaging more than 900 because of beds freed by a decline in local prisoners. In Pike County, officials have teamed with Corrections Corporation of America, a private prison provider. Forbes said CCA and Pike officials presented plans to federal authorities on Oct. 22. -The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach Christina Kauffman at 505-5436, ckauffman@yorkdispatch.com, or follow her on Twitter at @dispatchbizwiz. Read more at www.ydr.com

 

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