This post was updated Thursday, 6/26 ... … CD school board has followed through on its promise to adopt a no-tax-increase budget. The $148 million 2008-09 spending plan passed 8-1 Monday, with board member Christian Malesic casting the only "no" vote. Malesic said he was against the district taking $1.6 million from its contingency fund to avoid raising taxes. ... Lower Paxton Twp. resident Linda Dallago says in a letter-to-the-editor that actions by CD school board member Malesic and Justin McShane forced Superintendent John Scala to resign from the post. CD schools Comcast vs. Verizon … Comcast is running TV ads that make fun of Verizon’s FiOS fiber-optic Internet service and claim the cable TV company has a larger fiber-optic network. But there’s a problem with Comcast’s propaganda – it still uses coaxial cable to connect to homes, a situation often referred to as the "last mile." Grass mowing trends … Old-fashioned push mowers are coming back in vogue. … Mowing contest update – I’ve mowed my yard 15 times this season. The count probably will climb very slowly because my yard is starting to dry out.

Hey, park the dog … Lower Paxton officials recently got all warm and fuzzy over a proposed dog park, according to a piece by T.W. Burger in today’s Patriot-News. A commenter on PennLive’s LP forum is a bit dogged by the idea. (See thread #163.) It sounds like limited tax dollars would be needed to give our canine friends a place to hang out and compare notes on their masters. Dial up some TV … Gazette reader and contributor Jay Mumper, who is less than satisfied with the cost of Comcast cable TV, recently asked Lower Paxton Twp. manager George Wolfe about the status of Verizon getting a local franchise for its FiOS TV service. Here’s the response he received from Mr. Wolf:

Well over a year ago, the Township, through the Capital Region Council of Governments (COG), indicated to Verizon that it was willing to negotiate a franchise agreement for television services. However, franchise negotiations begin only when a provider is ready to provide service. Verizon began negotiations with COG municipalities in May of this year. I would expect that an agreement will be in place before the end of the year. After that, it will be up to Verizon when it actually rolls out service.

Tech talk … I’m digging the new Firefox browser that was released Tuesday. It seems to work significantly faster than Internet Explorer 7.