Casino money for the Woodlands

The good news in this TL story for the people in my little burgh of Plains Township is that our property taxes will not go up. The question is why aren't they being reduced as promised.
Being the host community of the Mohegan Sun Casino Plains get's a cut off the top for putting up with the place to cover extra police costs, etc. We have seen some benefits such as reduced garbage fees and more roads paved.

Rapid Edward (Gov Rendell) sold Casino gambling as a way of reducing school property taxes but only half the revenue goes to to that worthy goal. There is another pot of money for the health, safety and economic development projects in those counties where the casinos are located.

 In the past the Plains Twp Board of Commissioners have kicked backed a million dollars a year to the Casino to pave the parking lot that is located on top of the old East Side Landfill neglecting other needs such as purchasing a new ladder truck for the fire department. Kevin Blaum documented that a few years ago. Such nonsense, we are supposed to make money off the place not subsidize it.

Sure enough, there was an application on DCED’s list for $5 million, half the amount available, to remove garbage from Mohegan Sun land to enlarge its parking lot. Obviously Mohegan is capable of paying for its own paving and garbage removal. Yet this project survived DCED’s initial cut (an official act) while many projects in other communities did not.
It’s important to note that a casino may not apply for this money. If it did, it would be laughed out of town. ...To end-run this prohibition, the application was submitted by none other than Plains Township (an official act). This application, if approved, would return $5 million to Mohegan Sun at the expense of other municipalities that need these funds.
Why would anyone do such a thing? Follow the money.

Now they are at it again.

The township is serving as sponsor for expansion projects for the Woodlands Inn & Resort and Geisinger Wyoming Valley. Board President Ron Filippini described the government sponsorship of the grant applications for private entities as economic measures intended to spur job creation.


That's it, no details of what the projects are or how many jobs they are going to create. How do you measure this? It sounds like more corporate welfare.

Giving money to the Woodlands ???? Really?

The Woodlands is a kids bar that keeps our police very busy defeating the purpose of having this extra money. How many stabbings , shootings, acts of vandalism and other displays of beer muscles have there been over the years? The place is in the police blotter all the time. Similar incidents at other establishments in other parts of the Wyoming Valley have resulted in the places being shut down as nuisance bars.

1000 Words

Meet Rapid Edward

Former PA Governor Ed Rendell will be at the Barnes & Noble at the Arena Hub Plaza in Wilkes-Barre on Friday 7-9PM to sign his book. The name comes from his famous rant about the NFL postponing an Eagles game in 2010 because the weather forecast predicted a blizzard that didn't happen.

HP:  "I think it is a joke," Rendell said, explaining that there was only five inches of snow on the ground when the game would have started. "I was looking forward to this. It would have been a real experience. This is what football is all about. We're becoming a nation of wussies."

The game was supposed to be played on Sunday night, but it was moved to Tuesday for safety concerns.

I first met the Guv at a campaign event in 2002  at the Riverfront in Plains organized by then Luzerne County Controller Steve Flood. I told him to get past the election stuff and get back on  CSN for the Eagles pre and post-game shows like when he was Mayor of Philadelphia that may have helped him win the primary against Bob Casey. He won the general election defeating Atty. General Mike Fisher 53% to 44%. He won reelection in a blowout in 2006 over Steelers great Lynn Swann 60%-40%. 

Many people dubbed him Fast Eddie, especially his political opponents. I think that is disrespectful so I prefer Rapid Edward that a commenter on GrassrootsPA  that is now The Keystone Report (gotta fix that link) came up with. Thanks Conservative Goddess. 

PN: In 2004, Rendell’s car was clocked at traveling more than 100 mph several times in a four-month period.

Triple Crown

There only has been 11 horses that have won the Triple Crown and just 21 who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness but lost in the Belmont Stakes. There were 3 that took the prize in the 1970's, Secretariat 1973, Seattle Slew 1977 and Affirmed 1978 and before that the last triple crown winner was Citation in 1948. Many bar patrons in the country will be pulling for I'll Have Another to make history this Saturday. We like the name.

Speaking of bars.

The Saturday OT Committee and Operatic Society will gather to watch the Belmont Stakes at the usual place this  Saturday, 5PM at Marks Pub 1287 N Washington St, Wilkes-Barre.

This may be the first  true OT Committee meeting in a long time as it looks like all the original members will actually be working on Saturday.

Of course this is an inclusive event as we welcome all friends, readers,  commenters, bloggers, Facebook friends, politicians, clergymen, vegetarians, veterinarians,  pastafarians, welders, masons, mechanics and anybody else to join us.


 This pic of Rapid Edward and Barbaro (close but no cigar) is our unofficial image of horse racing :

Update: I'll Have Another has bee scratched because of a sore leg but we will still be gathering to infuse cash into the malt beverage industry.

Prediction in the 17th CD

In the PA-17th CD race I think Matt Cartwright will win. I think he has run a better campaign and campaigns do matter . The only call I got from the Holden camp were robo calls from the AFL-CIO that annoy us all. An actual person called me from the Cartwright camp and he is running a better ground game than Holden.  An empty W-B "HQ"  tells me all I need to know. The Cartwright camp has done a great job of reaching out to voters and bloggers while the Holden brain trust seems to be relying on endorsements from the Democratic establishment. Governor Rendell endorsed Holden which is good for a press release and not much else. The Cartwright camp is crowing about endorsements from the local papers which don't hurt but many other candidates went down in flames after being the pick of the editorial boards. The one endorsement that carries weight with me is Kevin Blaum's .

Our online poll of Gort 42 readers is predicting a 6 point Cartwright win. I agree. I think there is an anti-incumbent sentiment out there. The polls always show that Congress is unpopular but the local yokel is still popular. Tim Holden is not our local guy.

No tax on Drillers

Rendell calls gas severance tax dead this year

An effort to enact a state severance tax on natural gas production during the past 18 months ran into a dead end Thursday amid a round of political recriminations. Gov. Ed Rendell pronounced the push to enact a severance tax on natural gas production dead this year - a tacit recognition that the legislative session is effectively over until January and his term in office ends that month too. Rendell said the unwillingness of Senate and House Republican leaders to negotiate in good faith on a compromise tax is responsible for the breakdown.

The argument that a tax on gas extraction will chase away the drillers is laughable as just about every other state has one. The natural gas market is a world wide market just like oil. The gas extracted in PA doesn't stay in PA but is put onto the world market so consumers in the Commonwealth are already paying a severance tax to other states. The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center explains.

Across the country, 96% of natural gas is produced in states that have severance taxes. Pennsylvania, however, remains one of the only energy-producing states without one.

While some policymakers in Pennsylvania worry about the impact of a severance tax, studies in Wyoming, Utah and other states have shown that tax rates have little effect on natural gas production. Rather, drilling decisions are made based on the location of reserves and the expected price of natural gas.
...
This weekend, Pennsylvania will reach a new milestone - $100 million in revenue lost by the Legislature’s failure to approve a natural gas severance tax. The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center is tracking in real-time how much severance tax revenue has been lost since October 1, 2009 by not having a tax in place. View the Severance Tax Ticker here.

This is not surprising since we have the best legislature and candidates that money can buy.

The Money Game: Marcellus Shale Cash

It might seem odd that Kim Pegula, a self-described "homemaker" from Boca Raton, Florida, would donate $180,000 to help state Attorney General Tom Corbett become the next governor of Pennsylvania. ...To be sure, Ms. Pegula is no ordinary homemaker, but is responsible for an 8,000-square-foot, Tuscan-style estate in the exclusive St. Andrews Country Club that is currently on the market for $5.4 million... A study of reports filed with the Pennsylvania Department of State shows that in the 18-month period between January 1, 2009, and last June 30, drillers gave at least $751,762 to candidates-nearly triple their total of $276,802 for 2008.

One thing is very clear: the gas companies believe that their interests will best be served through the election of Republicans. Of the grand total of $1,028,564 contributed in 2008, 2009 and the first half of 2010, fully 82 per cent, or $843,884, went to Republican candidates.

Corbett accepted $311,803 in natural gas money while his Democratic opponent in the Nov. 2 gubernatorial election, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, took $94,000. State Auditor General Jack Wagner, who lost to Onorato in the Democratic primary, received $26,250.
For the record, Corbett opposes taxing natural gas, saying it would hurt a fledgling industry.

If this wasn't bad enough SRS points out that they not only don't want to tax this activity but want taxpayers to subsidize it.

Bill proposes State funding for marcellus infrastructure

Our environment is being raped in slow motion and the perps want us to pay for the pleasure. The water in Dimock has been poisoned by the gas drilling but Cabot Oil won't accept responsibility for its actions. Instead of making it right for the families affected Cabot pours money into the coffers of friendly politicians that will help them to avoid paying for the damage they have done and will do in the future. Yes, $12 million to build a water pipeline to service 16 families is madness. Expect more madness in the near future. The question is who will pay for the madness?

117th Democratic State Rep candidate Richard Shermanski sent this statement:


Shermanski Declares Death of Severance Tax Bill "Offensive"


The failure of the Pennsylvania legislature to enact a severance tax in the state was called "irresponsible" by Governor Rendell. Richard Shermanski, candidate for the 117th district, would also call it offensive. Given Pennsylvania's budget struggles, leaving a $70 million hole in the revenue plans is bad - but the issue of safety is another matter entirely.

"I'm committed to making sure that gas extraction is done safely. How can we make sure it's safe? We must have monetary reserves on hand to make sure that we can quickly respond to a disaster on the scale of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill we saw just months ago. A tax will put in a position to do just that," Richard said earlier today.

Richard said that House Republican leadership and their loyal foot soldier, Representative Karen Boback, had been more concerned about making sure the corporate interests were assured of higher profits
than safety of Northeastern Pennsylvanians.

"Pennsylvania will be the only mineral rich state in the country without a severance tax. The argument that a tax here would force companies elsewhere is absurd."

As we progress into the next legislative session, it's imperative that we tackle this issue. I want to pass this tax so that our commonwealth can improve financially - and, by extension, the lives of the citizens in Northeastern Pennsylvania will improve financially. Richard also said, "That House Republicans would look out for these out-of-district corporations over the potential safety of the families in the 117th and elsewhere is simply offensive."

It's a gas,tax

The PA House of Representatives finally got around to passing a Severance tax on the Marcellus Shale drillers that are in the process of creating a slow motion environmental disaster in Pennsylvania.


TL: The Pennsylvania House on Wednesday approved a bill that would impose the state’s first-ever tax on natural gas extraction, advancing a plan to split the proceeds among the state’s general fund, environmental programs and local governments....The 104-94 vote was a major step toward collecting revenue from the drilling boom in a wide swath of the state that overlays the Marcellus Shale gas formation.

What Does Severance Tax Mean?
A tax imposed on the removal of nonrenewable resources such as crude oil, condensate and natural gas, coalbed methane and carbon dioxide.

But they came up with a convoluted formula on how to use the proceeds as this chart from the Commonwealth Foundation documents. This should be a lot simpler with money going into the general fund and the remainder being dedicated to the DEP to deal with the inspection, regulation and inevitable clean up operations from this activity. But just like the slots money that was sold as a way to reduce property taxes our salons in Harrisburg look on this as another pot of gold to be spread around.

Predictably, Republicans are objecting as their world view seems to be there should not be any taxes on businesses of any kind. Nobody likes paying taxes but as a wise man once said "Taxes are the price we pay for civilization." I think the Yonk would agree with that.

The industry has no problem spreading around campaign cash instead of paying taxes. Since 2001 they have dropped $3 million into political campaigns and spent another $5 million for lobbying.

According to the website Marcellus Money, the top recipients of driller campaign cash during the past decade include: Attorney General and GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett ($372,000), Lt. Gov./Senate GOP leader Joseph Scarnati ($117,000), Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell ($84,000), Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Onorato ($74,000).

Local lawmakers receiving contributions include Senate Minority Leader Robert Mellow, D-Peckville ($7,000), Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township ($1,500), Sen. John Gordner, R-Berwick ($1,300), House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Butler Township ($1,250), Rep. Ed Staback, D-Archbald ($500), Rep. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke ($250) and Rep. Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake ($250)

Boback gave back the money. Good for her.

The production of gas from the Marcellus Shale has exceeded the expectations of the industry itself so these warnings that a tax on them will drive them out of the state is nonsense. The gas is under our feet and if they want it they will pay a fair premium to the people of Pennsylvania.

Free Micek

The last few years blog buddy John Micek who writes Capitol Ideas has been held hostage by the politicians in Harrisburg awaiting an agreement on the Pennsylvania state budget that is due by June 30th. It ruins his summer every year. It now looks like Rapid Edward and the Republicans just may have come to an agreement and I hope it is true so John can enjoy the nice weather with his family.

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Update:

Lawmakers Deliver First On-Time Budget In Eight Years.

Free at last

"You can't drink gas"

That's what Dr. Tom Junta told about 150 people who attended a meeting at Misericordia University about Marcellus Shale gas drilling on Saturday. I think that should be the rallying cry for the people opposed to the drilling. Moratorium Now! addresses the policy concerns but it just doesn't click. Dr. Junta is a member of the Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition.

Michelle Boice of Harveys Lake warned that "the war my grandchildren will be fighting will be over water."

Most of the people who attended the forum with Congressman and US Senate candidate Joe Sestak wanted to stop the drilling now until the safety concerns could be addressed. Some wanted to stop the drilling, period.

Sestak favors a moratorium on drilling and is a co-sponsor of the FRAC ACT to close the Halibrton Loophole which exempts hydraulic fracturing from to the Safe Drinking Water Act. That exemption was included as part of the 1995 Energy Bill. I know my Republican friends don't want to look to the recent past as a source of our troubles today but the deregulation and the ignoring the regulations already on the books has caused the mess on Wall Street, the Gulf oil spill and just may poison our drinking water in NEPA.

The government of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has the primary responsibility for really blowing this one. This is from the front page of the PA Dept of Environmental Protection website:

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is not involved in regulating lease agreements between mineral property owners and producers, except that minimum royalty payment is prescribed by law. Lease agreements are contractual matters between private parties. DEP does not audit payments, read or calibrate meters or tanks, or otherwise get involved in lease matters.


It's incredible that the first thing you read is a disclaimer.

The state is looking for more revenue but doesn't tax this activity but wants to raise taxes on just about everything else. The drillers came in with promises of riches without mentioning the downside and people signed up for a monthly check. Some are now suing for a bigger monthly check.

Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center has a ticker tracking the lost revenue by not enacting a severance tax, $58 million to date .

Rapid Edward has made sure that we can blow our money in a casino with a fraction of the taxes collected going to property tax relief, less than half and pretty soon a casino will be the only place that you can legally light up a cigarette. His Department of Enviormental Protection has just layed down and let the gas companies do whatever they want. How is DEP allowing drilling near water supplies? I know the EPA lacks authority in this area but the state should be able to to say no to drilling near water drinking water. Governor Edward Rendell needs to take charge of this situation.

In the CV yesterday Elizabeth Skrapits wrote a story about how the rich get richer off this drilling and their ancestors got rich off of coal mining.

Luzerne County Controller

The county Republicans are looking for a sweep of the 3 row offices up for election this year and many local political observers have told me if they don't win this time they never will. Next to the Commissioners the most important job under the dome is Controller. The candidates are Republican Walter Griffith , Democrat Bob Morgan and Independent Wil Toole.


Toole is a long time Democratic politico from Pittston who flirted with a run for the Democratic nomination in the spring and applied for the job in 2008 when Maryanne Petrilla became Commissioner. Rapid Edward never got around to filling the post. He is now running as an Independent.

Toole was the first Controller candidate interviewed by the Times Leader Editorial Board and sometimes sounds like Rodney King. “I don’t know why we have to be at war. I don’t know why we can’t say, ‘This is wrong. Let’s fix it,’ rather than, ‘Ha, ha, ha, I got you.’ I just don’t see that as being necessary.” He touts his achievements as Pittston's as city clerk/administrator "I ran the city of Pittston for 13 years,” Toole said the city had low tax rates, paved roads, pristine parks, adequate staff, an over-funded pension fund and manageable debt load when he left in 1997.

The article also notes that Toole made headlines in 1999 when he agreed to repay Pittston nearly $19,000 in overtime the city said he illegally obtained. Pittston officials said he obtained that money by inflating the hours of overtime he worked during his last year of employment as city clerk. Felony charges of theft and tampering with public records against Toole were dismissed by a county judge. Who was the Judge?

I find it amazing that the TL would include that information in the article but not ask him to comment about it. I have asked Toole for his side of the story and will publish his response if he answers.


The Blogfather has been researching the PNC Bank ethics policy because Democratic nominee Bob Morgan is employed by that bank. He points out many potential conflicts of interest because PNC has been involved financing Luzerne County bonds and some pension funds also wash through PNC. The company prohibits outside employment that interferes with the employee's job responsibilities or schedule. Morgan is on record as saying he will keep his job at the bank and will devote whatever time he feels is necessary to the Controller's position. I'm just guessing but I think he keeps banker's hours so how is he going to be available for all the meetings of the Salary Board, Retirement Board, Commissioner's meetings and just running the day to day operations of the office? Maybe he has a lot of vacation time saved up.


The Lu Lac Political Letter is hosting a debate between the candidates at Bentley’s, Route 309 in Ashley Tuesday October 27th from 7 to 9PM. All three candidates have accepted David's invitation.

This is neat. A venue that I can grab a drink then go to a political debate. I think that we can make this into a blogger/committee meetup.


Update: The date for the debate is MONDAY OCT. 26th. We changed the date because of WVIA TV's broadcast debate on the night of the 27th. We felt it wouldn't be fair to the candidates to compete with that. So the debate is Monday, Oct. 26th

Nipper is sueing Savo

TL: Former Luzerne County Sheriff candidate George "Nipper" Nowakowski Wednesday filed a lawsuit against recently resigned Sheriff Michael Savokinas and the county.

This gets to be more fun everyday. Nowakowski has run for Sheriff about 14 times and still can't get it through his head that the people don't want him in the job.

He has taken offence over this statement by Savo in the Times-Leader on July 15 regarding the accusation that his political enemies may have planted drugs in his car:

Though Savokinas did not implicate anyone, he said there were several confrontations with influential county figures who he said might want to see his reputation damaged.“It could be a multitude of a couple different things … to force me out of office, to ruin my name so I never win another office politically. I don’t know why.” he said. Specifically, he noted George “Nipper” Nowakowski, whom he defeated in what he termed a “bitter” 2007 Democratic primary race for his current office; former Republican Sheriff Barry Stankus, whom he beat in the general election; and Luzerne County Commissioner Chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla.

I'm not a lawyer so I don't if this statement is actionable or not but Nipper thinks it is. We will get the details tomorrow. Maybe Barry and Maryanne will want to piggy back on it since they were also named.

The Luzerne County Republican Party put out a press release earlier today calling for a special election to pick a new Sheriff and I think that would be a good idea. However state law specifies that the Governor must appoint the replacement of county row officers with the consent of the State Senate. Rapid Edward declined to nominate a new Controller when Petrilla got a promotion so I doubt he will take any action in this case. Right now Governor Rendell has a full plate trying to get a budget deal, talking to his dogs and dieting.

Another reason for Home Rule.

Wil Toole for Controller

CV: Wil Toole, a former Pittston City official, is planning to run as an independent candidate for county controller. Toole said he plans to file his nomination papers as an independent candidate by the end of July. If he gets enough signatures to appear on the ballot, he will join Republican nominee Walter L. Griffith Jr. and Democratic candidate Bob Morgan on the November ballot.

Toole flirted with a run for the Democratic nomination in the spring and applied for the job in 2008 when Maryanne Petrilla became Commissioner. Rapid Edward never got around to filling the post. He was spotted at a Pittston Area School Board meeting in April circulating petitions and has a LTE in the Voice offering suggestions to improve county government.

Put controller on several county boards


At the end of July, I plan to file my nomination papers as an independent candidate for the office of county controller and it is issues such as these that have promoted me to leave retirement and take an active role in county government. I have attended many meetings of the county commissioners as well at the retirement board and during these meetings, I have offered several suggestions to help resolve various fiscal and procedural problems and neither my appearance nor suggestions have ever been mentioned in reports of the meetings. Again, I find this lack of coverage very disheartening. How can I muster public support for these suggestions when no coverage is afforded my efforts?


PittstonPolitics.com has an archive of his recent activities. If he makes the ballot it is not good news for Bob Morgan having a longtime Democrat from Pittston in the race.


So far Walter Griffith is the only candidate with a website up.


Update: The Yonk informs us that Wil Toole also has a website.

Joe Sestak for Senate

Congressman Joe Sestak was in Luzerne County over the weekend. Bill O'Boyle and Mike Sisak had a chance to chat with him and he laid out his case for taking on Arlen Specter in the Democratic primary. He earlier described Specter as a "flight risk."
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Specter was a Democrat when it helped him win office in Philadelphia then switched to the GOP to win a Senate seat. Now he is a Democrat again because he knows he can't beat Pat Toomey in a Republican primary this time. I'm no fan of Toomey but at least he knows what he believes in and I can respect that.

Rapid Edward, Bob Casey and the President are in Specter' s corner but the idea of Arlen Specter as the Democratic nominee for US Senate makes me and many of my friends in the blogosphere and elsewhere in Pennsylvania want to throw up.

Some choice quotes:

“I’m getting in this because Pennsylvania voters need a choice, a choice of someone who will vote for them and their values.”


“I believe changing parties is not the change Pennsylvanians need for the future. We also need a senator who is in this for Pennsylvania and not for saving their legacy.”


"If you run on principle, politics will take care of itself.”

“But he actually voted with President George Bush four out of five times. This country has seen an economic collapse; good families have lost jobs and health care benefits. We need a senator that will fight for them and those key issues.”


"It's about Pennsylvanians, it's not about your job," Sestak said of Specter. "We Pennsylvanians have lost too many jobs in this recession to worry about his job security, particularly since he voted with President Bush on the economic tax policies that sent us over the precipice into this recession."

Ed Rendell knows cheesesteaks

Via GrassrootsPA

We all know that Rapid Edward knows how to eat well and he shares his recipe for a great cheesesteak.

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Cheesesteak technology from Gov. Rendell

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It doesn't matter what kind of bread it is on the secret is the grease, stringy meat and canned cheese.

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“Fatty, stringy meat,” is key

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“You have to use artificial Cheez Whiz”

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“Onions with the grease” are the third secret

Ride the Bus from Pittsburgh to Washington

Or the Immaculate Election

There has been rampant speculation that Steelers' great Franco Harris will run against Senator Arlen Specter in 2010. The last time a jock ran statewide he got clobbered. I think the difference is that Lynn Swann went from being a sideline reporter to candidate without paying his political dues. That and he had the the misfortune of running against a popular incumbent Governor. Harris appears on the football pregame shows but he has also been involved in Democratic party politics.

Harris was an Obama delegate at the Democratic National Convention and a campaign surrogate and I think that it would be a good bet that the President would campaign for him. He also helped raise money for Democratic candidates even attending a fundraiser in Williamsport for one of my favorite Congresscritters, Chris Carney, in his longshot campaign in 2006. BTW, Carney won with just a little help from Franco.

Luzerne County rumors

I take 2 days off from blogging and all hell brakes loose.


First off the rumor of Bill Sharkey was stealing the confiscated proceeds of video poker machines that are in just about every bar in the area turns out to be true. Sharkey is a long time employee of the courts who, until now, was most famous for engaging in that time honored local tradition of getting his relatives on the public payroll. His son works as juvenile probation officer as well as his daughter and his sister-in-law is in domestic relations. He's making $97,000 a year but still felt the need to embezzle $70,000 over the last 10 years. It's ironic that Governor Rendell announced today that he wants to legalize video poker machines to help pay for higher education.

I've heard it from enough reliable sources now to predict that Prothonotary Jill Moran will resign if she hasn't already. She is a business partner of the Juvie Brothers (Big Dan wins the contest) Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan and a law partner of Participant 1, Robert Powell. She even falsified a tax lien changing Powell's name to John Doe. At the time I wasn't sure if that was a crime but a few lawyer friends say it is and the Feds seem to agree.

This one caught me by surprise. Luzerne County Commissioner Greg Skrepenak said he did not try to commit suicide. He also denies that he took any payoffs when he and Todd Vonderheid approved a 20 year $58 million lease for PA Child Care. I hope that is true but Skrep and the other Bond Brother have some explaining to do.

The Pennsylvania Society meets in New York

"I don't know anyone who's been bought at Pennsylvania Society, Rented maybe -- but not bought." - Montgomery County Republican Ken Davis





Again I haven't been invited to any of the swanky parties this weekend. It must have been an oversight because I was ready to cash in my aluminum cans at Bilecki's Junk Yard to finance the trip.

The big news is that Tweety won't be attending according to Politico: Chris Matthews no longer plans to attend a ritzy Saturday night dinner hosted by the Pennsylvania Society, as Politico reported earlier. Matthews informed the event organizer that he and his wife could no longer attend, according to the organizer's assistant.

There will be plenty of other office seekers making the rounds. The list of potential Governor's includes Tom Corbett, Pat Meehan, Don Cunningham, Tom Wolf, Tom Knox, Dan Onorato, Jack Wagner and Jim Gerlach who will all be pressing the flesh at various soirees. And Senators Arlen Specter and Bob Casey plan to attend. I've asked some of our local office holders if they plan to take part and will update when they get back to me.


The last few years Gene Stilp has sponsored a pot luck dinner at the capitol in Harrisburg at the same time but I'm not sure if he is doing it this year. There has been grumbling about the fact that this event has been held out of state forever and many people think it should be held in the Commonwealth but as Governor Rendell said "People say if you had it in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh no one would come." That would break my heart.

Luzerne County Controller

Acting Controller A.J. Martinelli has put 21st Century Appraisals on notice that the reassessment gravy train has limits.

TL: “Therefore, I am placing you on notice that as a supervisor of the fiscal affairs of the county, I will not pay any bills for any unauthorized and unwanted services that you force upon the county, for the reasons stated in this letter.”

Commissioner Maryanne Petrilla was the the previous Controller replacing Steve Flood who asked a lot of of uncomfortable questions about the PA Child Care lease and other things. There is no way to tell but I think the debit card scandal and the no bid contracts at the prison would have come to light earlier if Flood had a 2nd term.


Governor Rendell was supposed to appoint a new Controller with the consent of the State Senate but he punted. A couple of people applied for the job but they were ignored. Former Wyoming Valley West School District superintendent Augie Piazza wanted the post but I haven't heard if he is running next year. PittstonPolitics reports that former Pittston Area School Director Tony Rostock has been shaking the bushes and a potential rival let everybody know that he got a $30,000 no bid contract at LCCC. That potential rival is Wil Toole.

Wil Toole wanting to be a fiscal watchdog has to one of the funniest things I've ever heard. He charged thousands of hours of overtime to Pittston City and is now suing because he contends that the city should pay for his wife's health insurance indefinitely. He is good at lawsuits.

Piazza, Rostock and Toole are all Democrats.

I think we need a Controller from the other party. The Dems have been in charge for too long and have become arrogant and reckless although Petrilla and her new BFF Steve Urban is trying to right the ship.

The only Republican name that I have heard that is willing to take a stab at running for Controller is Bob Sypniewski. We have a draft Bob movement going on in the comments but he is reluctant to make the run so let's encourage him.


Update from the inbox:

Dear Gort,

I am also contemplating a run for the Luzerne County Controller Position...I am a republican that really cares about the lack of accountability of our elected officials and will work hard for the Taxpayers of Luzerne County...

Walter L Griffith JR
Luzerne County Taxpayer and Activist

2009 elections

In Luzerne County we will be electing a Controller, Prothonotary, Register of Wills and Jury Commissioners. The Controller's spot has been vacant since Maryanne Petrilla was elected Commissioner and Rapid Edward has not nominated a replacement. Incumbent Prothontary Jill Moran has drawn some fire about her work habits and business dealings and the speculation is that she will not seek a third term. Democrat Dottie Stankovic was unopposed in the general election four years ago although the good old boys tried to knock her off in the primary. Jerry Bonner is the Democratic Jury Commissioner and I can't even remember who holds the Republican slot.

Jobs like Prothonotary and Register of Wills are clerical positions that should not even be elected offices. Same goes for Jury Commissioner who's only official duty is to once a year hit the print button on a computer to get a list of prospective jurors. But we will have elections for these jobs until we get Home Rule.

As usual the action will be in the Democratic primary that will probably make the November election a formality. I hope that I'm wrong about that prediction and new county GOP Chairman Terry Casey can recruit some quality candidates and the back mountain money guys raise some serious cash for them.

I will be posting some scuttlebutt about who may be running for these positions in the coming days. If you have heard any names being tossed around let me know in the comments or toss me an email.

We will also get to pick at least one new Judge plus various school board members and municipal offices.

Meet the surrogates

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell will hold a 10 a.m. get-out-the-vote event for Barack Obama at Wilkes University's student center this Friday.


Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will make a stop tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. at the Wilkes-Barre Township Fire Hall, 152 Watson St., Wilkes-Barre Township, to show support for McCain.


Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy, will stump for Obama on Sunday during a 3:30 p.m. event at Wilkes University's student center, 84 W. South St., Wilkes-Barre.