Whoever invented the pitch count should be shot

I'm watching the Braves and Red Sox and the rookie Kason Gabbard is throwing a shutout into the sixth inning then gives up 2 hits. Francona pulls him because he's up to 100 pitches. Of course the next guy comes in and the Braves score a run. Earlier today Adam Eaton threw 6+ innings of shutout ball and had a 5-0 lead but he had 109 pitches and was replaced by Geoff Geary who made a blowout into an interesting game by giving up 3 home runs.

I'm just old fashioned. I don't care what the pitch count is, if a guy is throwing a shutout let him out there until he gives up a run or his arm falls off.

$3 gas

Why I refuse to buy oil stocks, I'll never know. We can expect another record round of quarterly profits from Exxon and the rest to be announced in July. By industrial world standards it's still pretty cheap in the US. Most of Europe is paying $5 to $6 a gallon. The sudden rise in prices is sure to impact the rest of the economy as just about everything is impacted by the price of gasoline. The Bonddad Blog asks some good questions.

1.) We are at the beginning of the summer driving season. Will prices continue to increase throughout the summer?

2.) What will be the impact on consumer spending? We saw a terrible retail month in April. Wal-Mart posted their worst decline in 28 years. I have to think high gas prices were partially responsible. If prices continue to increase, will we continue to see a drop in consumer spending?

h/t to Crooks and Liars

Law and Order: Special Victims Unit

The victims in this particular case are the people of Luzerne County. A long time employee of the Recorder of Deeds office was sentenced to house arrest and restitution for stealing more than $51,000 from a cash register over a number of years. That was sentence for Robert Pritchard by Luzerne County President Judge Mark Ciavarella. The standard sentencing range on the charge called for a minimum sentence of six to 14 months of incarceration. Must be nice to have friends in high places. His attorney is Peter Moses, son the well connected John Moses. The Assistant District Attorney William Finnegan had no problem with Ciavarella’s sentence. Luzerne County detective Dan Beky said Pritchard’s cooperation and extreme remorse also made the house arrest acceptable.

Yeah, he's sorry he got caught.

In other news a Nanticoke man was sentenced to one to two years in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for stealing lobster tails. And three chumps were jailed because they fell behind on child support payments.

But the saga of the Recorder of Deeds embezzlement is not over. Carl Salitis has been charged with stealing almost $400,000 over seven years. Investigators say Salitis shortchanged Wilkes-Barre City and the Wilkes-Barre Area School District on transfer taxes and pocketed the money. Salitis is free on $50,000 bail while he awaits a court date. He'll probably get 40 lashes with a wet noodle.

Monty Python explains how the Luzerne County justice system works. Maybe we'll hear a speech like this from Hugo.

Write-in, right on-but can they spell?

Lou Barletta made an effort to have Democrats in Hazleton cast a write-in ballot for him and it paid off winning both nominations. Bob Cordaro got bounced from the Lakawanna County Commissioners race but won the nomination with a write-in campaign. And there are 1,403 write-in votes for county coroner and 1,261 votes for district attorney in Tuesday’s primary election on the Republican side according to the CV. So one of the losers of Tuesday's races may appear on the ballot in the fall. But the catch is that the candidate's name must be spelled right for the ballot to count and any variations may end up in court as pointed out in the TL.

Does this open up all sorts of possibilities. In future elections a candidate could skip the whole petition process and just urge his/her supporters to type their name in. A write-in campaign will still be a long shot but will be easier than it was in the past when you had to actually write the name on a little strip of paper on the mechanical machine or use a sticker. If some write-in candidates start winning elections I'm sure that you will hear an outcry from powers that be to either raise the threshold for nomination from the present 250 votes or get rid of the electronic machines altogether.

Lokuta out?

A Big Fat Slob has some speculation from the Luzerne County Ding Dome grapevine.

The judge's trial on the charges is said to be set for later this month (something I am trying to confirm). Through the gapacious Luzerne County Ding Dome grapevine, we hear that a deal is about to be cut which would permit the Judge to retain her pension interests and open up another space on the bench for yet another white male ass.

We hear that the Judge will be bidding the Courthouse a not so fond adieu sometime this summer, perhaps as early as June 1.

Some potentially competative races

In the Luzerne County Sheriffs race incumbent Republican Barry Stankus will face Michael Savokinas. Stankus was the surprise winner in 1999 after then Sheriff Carl Zawatski's car was wrecked because he said he was swerving to avoid hitting a dog a few blocks from a local watering hole that his daughter was seen that night having a grand ole time. The accusation was the she was actually driving the car and Carl took the wrap to cover up for her. Nothing was ever proved. Stankus has done a good job a should win reelection but the Dems are looking for a sweep of the row offices.

The Recorder of Deeds race will be interesting. Incumbent Republican Mary K. Dysleski has seen 2 long time employees confess to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the office. Dysleski is not being accused of anything but the thefts happened on her watch. Former Avoca Mayor and bar owner James Red O’Brien was unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Looking to the fall, the easy ones

Well we know that Dave Lupas will be the new Luzerne County Judge having won both nominations and Jackie-Mo will take his place as District Attorney since no Republican bothered to run. And John Corcoran will take over from Dr. Jack as Coroner. Skrep and Petrilla will be the next majority commissioners as Steve Urban and Bill Jones will spend their time bashing each other instead of the Democrats. Bob Reilly is looking good for a sixth term as Clerk of Courts facing surprise Republican winner Butler Township tax collector Sue Rossi. My favorite guy in the courthouse Treasurer Mike Morreale will face token opposition from Republican Gina Nevenglosky. Lou Barletta won both nominations for Mayor of Hazleton and will avoid any backlash when the federal court rules that the immigration ordinance is unconstitutional.

Local blogger reaction to the results is easy as only me, Mark and David are the only ones writing about it. In the past year I have seen about 20 blogs about local politics come and quickly go. The key seems to be as soon as list them on NEPA Blogs they stop posting. Just call me the kiss of death. Sorry DB.

Some results

Lupas won both nominations for Judge. Jackie-Mo will be the next DA. Skrep and Petrilla are the Democratic nominees for commissioner. Urban and Jones will be the Republican opponents. Savokinas beat Nipper in the Sheriffs race. The Coroners race is to close to call. The biggest surprise of the night is Sue Rossi beating Randy Tomasacci for the Republican nomination for Clerk of Courts.

WNEP has the totals.

Act 1 seems to have gone down all over the place. John Corcoran won the primary for coroner.

W-B council race totals are here :

CITY COUNCIL WILKES BARRE CITY COUNCIL DIST A
TIM GRIER . . . . . . . . . . 76
RICK CRONAUER . . . . . . . . .824
JOHN R. MADAY . . . . . . 60
SHIRLEY MORIO VITANOVEC. 521


DISTRICT B
RAY ARELLANO . . . . . . . . . 102 BRUCE J. REILLY . . . . . . . . 396 TONY THOMAS JR. . . . . . . . . 460


DISTRICT C
JUSTIN MCCARTHY . . . . . . . . 259
SAM TROY. . . . . . . . . . . 123
KATHY KANE . . . . . . . . . . 400


DISTRICT D
JOE DANIEL . . . . . . . . . . 323
TIMOTHY ANDERSON . . . . . . 98
BILL BARRETT . . . . . . . . . 439 SARAH MCCAFFREY . . . . . . . 60
MICHAEL J. MCGINLEY . . . . . 213
BRUCE SZCZECINSKI. . . . . . 175


DISTRICT E
VIRGIL ARGENTA. . . . . . . . . 104
FRANK MATELLO SR.. . . . . . . 92
MIKE MERRITT . . . . . . . . . 332
CHARLOTTE RAUP. . . . . . . . .166
RON SILKOSKY . . . . . . . . . 165

So many choices

There is a so called debate of the Republican Presidential candidates on the FOX Noise channel. The Phillies are playing the Brewers on Comcast and WILK's election coverage with Sue Henry and Steve Corbett starts at 8. And Jerry Falwell death will be all over the other cable news channels. WNEP's website will have the results all night.

Update: Ruiz hit a walk off Home Run in the bottom of the 9th. I called into WILK and Sue was familiar with the blog. As I'm listenening to WILK the Yonk is giving the results in the W-B council races. Kane and Thomas won. Rick Cronauer beat Shirley and Mike Merritt won the north end.

I voted

Like LVDem I love to vote. Twice a year we get a say on who is going to make decisions on our behalf. The scene at my polling place was something. Probably 50 yard signs and 20 poll workers, unlike the last election . Local elections in Luzerne County always have a committed following. Many peoples jobs depend on them.

One candidate for Plains Township Commissioner (Robert Sax) was at St. Joe's and I asked him what he wanted to do with the slots money from Mohegan Sun. He said he wanted to use it to reduce property taxes. I suggested to him if he was successful that the town fathers should squirrel some of it away to deal with future emergencies such as the November floods or the Valentines Day snowstorm. He agreed. The present board has already budgeted the $2 million windfall. So I voted for Mr. Sax. The 3 incumbents will probably win. In the School Board race I voted for Frank Sorick and only him. My reasoning was he wasn't an incumbent or endorsed by the local Democratic machine and he's not Frank Pizzella.

There are some other bloggers covering today's events real time. Those Happy Bearded Schmoes John Micek and John Morgan will be with us all night. Chris has an open thread at GrassrootsPA and the Yonk had a voting adventure. Early bird Jane and PSoTD are asking about turnout. Bernie is too.

Below is some of the paraphernalia that was handed to me as I entered my voting place today. Ron Filippini's chit looked like something I could cash in at the local Pub for a drink and Frank Pizzella gave us a nail file. I'm touched that Frank is concerned about my hygiene.

Election day in PA

I usually put up some predictions about the election in the weekend before along with my endorsements for what it's worth but this year I'm just not that excited. But why let that stop me. I'll start with contests I can vote in.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court and Superior Court

Flip a ten sided coin. I'm still not sure who I'm going to vote for when I wake up tomorrow although Tim McCormick's direct mail piece got my attention.

Act 1

It will probably pass in the Wilkes-Barre Area School District and many others. If your a senior home owner who lives on only Social Security it's a great deal. If your a working stiff that happens to own a home or rents you get screwed. And seniors who have pension, interest and investment income are in for a rude surprise. More than anything else I oppose this is because it will require filing yet another tax return.

Luzerne County Judge

Hold your nose and vote for Marsilio. The only reason he says he should be elected is that he is not Dave Lupas, good enough for me. I'm very surprised there aren't more candidates trying for this seat. The last time there was a judge seat open there was a slew of candidates including a guy named Nanda. I forgot his last name but I ended up voting for him after listening to him on the Sue Henry show. Judge's are supposed to be meticulous in their attention to detail and take responsibility for their decisions. Dave Lupas has had many cases dismissed because his office screwed up the paperwork then he blamed other people in his office for it. Sorry Dave, the fish stinks from the head down.


Luzerne County District Attorney

This one will be decided in the primary as no Republican is running. Jackie-Mo will romp to victory with the help of quasi-incumbency, lots of money from lots of lawyers and the Democratic Party endorsement. She's running on the same platform that Lupas did 8 years ago of locking up all the drug dealers and we all know that's turned out well. Since Dave Lupas was elected DA all the dealers have been locked up and there are no drugs in Luzerne County. Give me a fucking break. Vito DeLuca is easily the best choice for the job. He's been endorsed by the Times-Leader and State Rep John Yudichak is backing him.

Luzerne County Commissioner

Skrep and Petrilla will win the Democratic nominations. With Vondy riding off to head the Chamber of Commerce it leaves just one of the Bond Brothers to defend the record. 3 of the last 4 years the commissioners have had to float a bond just to meet payroll. They floated a bond to pay for a long overdue reassessment of property values and keep putting it off because it's an election year and they could pay for the extension because they had some left over bond money to pay for the delay. Then there is the "Life Transition Plan." They floated another bond to finance this plan that will cost $23 million over 15 years in the hope of saving $2+million if salaries are kept in check. I could go on all night but you get the idea. This is crazy. Now were looking at borrowing another $100 million to build a new prison. After the Pittston Juvenile Detention Center sweetheart deal do you want these people spending more of your money. Remember a bond is not free money but borrowing against future taxes.

I will vote for Steve Flood and Greg Gulick. I don't know much about Greg but his resume is sound. He's a long time local government official. I will vote for Steve Flood, even though he has been felled by a stroke, out of a sense of loyalty. He's a "bomb thrower and rabble rouser" that got results. Every employee of the county that is or will be eligible for a pension owes him a debt of gratitude.

Staeve Urban will win one of the Republican nominations and I predict Bill Jones will get the other.

Sheriff

Barry Stankus is the incumbent Republican officeholder. Isn't that a strange phrase. He'll win in the fall because he's done a good job. Mike Savokinas is the endorsed Democratic candidate running against George "Nipper" Nowakowski who has run for this office a few times before as a Republican. Nipper said he would appoint former Sheriff Carl " look out for that dog" Zawatski as his deputy. I vote for Savokinas.

Coroner

Another race that will be decided in the primary. Dr. Jack will win but I like both challengers. Plymouth funeral director Jim Desiderio has hit the party cicuit and I like his version of embalming fluid. But Mrs. G is leaning toward John Corcoran.

Other races I'm watching are the Philly Mayors race. Go Nutter. What a great name for a politician. But I met Dwight Evans many years ago and hope he wins. I'm pulling for Corey O'Brien in the Lackawanna County Commissioners race and hope Cordaro goes down. My old friend Errol Flynn is running for judge in Wayne County and Mario Fiorucci should be the next Mayor of Sugar Notch

Ah ahhe ahee

Baseball

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and sometimes it rains- Crash Davis

I haven't posted about baseball since the start of the season as was pointed out in a recent e-mail by a disgruntled Phiilies fan. The Phillies got off to the usual slow start in April and are now seven games out of 1st place. The bullpen stinks and they leave the bases loaded all the time. The most consitent pitchers have been Jamie Moyer and Cole Hamels but you need more than 2 guys. Pat the Bat had two HRs yesterday with 5 RBIs coming out of a slump. Ryan Howard hit a salami after sitting for a couple of days. Maybe they should use him as a DH but that rule is not allowed in the NL. Barajas can't hit and the best hitter on the team is Rowand .

All the attention is on Bary Bonds breaking the all time home record of Hank Aaron that no one seems to be thrilled about and the the Rocket is going back to New York.

What a bunch of shits

Bush Told War Is Harming The GOP

They finally say the war is a bad idea because they won't be reelected.

Not that the war was bad idea because of the 3000+ dead Americans or the tens of thousands maimed for life or the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi's that have been killed.

But it's bad politics.

Charlie Dent led the charge, er, retreat or whatever.

Luzerne County Clerk of Courts

Today the CV had short article on the 3 candidates running for the Clerk of Courts position. The Democratic incumbent seeking his sixth term is Bob Reilly. He was a Wilkes-Barre city councilman before his elevation to the court house and a past 6th District Democratic chairman. Last year he ran for the 120th District House seat of retiring Kevin Blaum. Many say he split the vote with Brian O'Donnell of the old guard Democratic machine enabling Eddy Day Pashinski to win the nomination. Bob has always had ambition, not a bad thing, even threatening to run against Paul Kanjorski for Congress when people were mad at him for something that I can't remember. He is unopposed in the primary and will face either Butler Township Tax Collector Sue Rossi or Northwest Area School Board Member Randy Tomasacci.

It's good to see 2 Republican candidates trying for county office. Rossi says she's very organized and good with paperwork. Tomasacci is another fellow with ambition who also ran for the state house in the last election in the 117th District but lost the nomination to Karen Boback in a crowded field. In that race he was endorsed by PACleanSweep even though there was no incumbent running. Although it has no bearing on his administrative abilities the thing that bugs me about Randy is that he was advocating teaching intelligent design even after the Dover decision. It was a reckless idea that could have ended up with the school district being sued over nonsense. As the Judge in the Dover case said: The students, parents, and teachers of the Dover Area School District deserved better than to be dragged into this legal maelstrom, with its resulting utter waste of monetary and personal resources.

Candidates for Pennsylvania Supreme Court and Superior Court

I know next to nothing about the people who are running for statewide judicial posts but I found a resource that might help, PAVoteSmart. The Pennsylvania Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Commission's ratings of appellate candidates are highlighted on PAVoteSmart as well as links to other critical information about the candidates and the important functions of Pennsylvania's courts.

In the Supreme Court race the only candidate that I've heard of is Seamus McCaffery and that's because he was in charge of the "Eagles Court" that was set up a few years ago at the Vet to deal with rowdy football fans. In the Superior Court contest I've received a few direct mail pieces but this one stood out.



Jane got the same thing in the mail.


I somewhat torn about electing statewide judges. On the one hand I think that the people should have a say in deciding who occupies positions in all branches of government. On the other if a political junkie like me can't get a handle on who to vote for maybe merit selection would be a better way to go. I think the biggest thing that turns me off to electing these offices is that the candidates can't tell you their positions on the issues. So we're subjected to bio adds that tell you how tough on crime and drugs they've been. All financed by the lawyers that will appear before them.

Act 1

There is only one question on the Pennsylvania primary ballot this year and it's asking people to agree to an increase of income taxes in return for a cut in property taxes to fund school districts. This is a bad idea on many levels. It would require filing yet another tax return because not only would your earned income be taxed but interest and investments. The law says that revenue generated by the new tax should be used to offset property taxes but there is no guarantee of that happening.

We were sold a bill of goods saying that the slots money would be used to reduce our property taxes but we haven't seen a dime of that money yet. So why this proposal?

In the Wilkes-Barre Area School District where I live that question is framed like this; Voters in the Wilkes-Barre Area School District will find a referendum on the ballot May 15 asking if they favor increasing the earned income tax by 0.4 percent in exchange for an estimated $244 reduction in property taxes. Those who own eligible homesteads and have applied for the exemption would be eligible for the property tax cut.

Jennifer has the trade offs involved:

For a certain group of people (i.e. seniors on a fixed income who own their own homes), voting for Act 1 makes sense. For another group of people (i.e. people who work but do not own a home), voting against Act 1 makes sense.
For people like me (i.e. people who work and own a home), it's a bit of a toss-up. What you might gain in property tax reductions, you'll probably lose to the increased income tax. I also suspect that the increased income tax may end up being the larger of the two numbers, so if I vote "yes" for Act 1, I'd actually be volunteering to increase my own tax burden.

PACleanSweep objects on constitutional grounds:

Article III, Section 14 of the Pennsylvania Constitution states: "The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth."

And also points out:

If the Act 1 referendum is approved, some taxpayers will win and some taxpayers will lose, but the majority of losers would be working families, renters and small businesses. Property taxes would not be reduced on rental or business properties and any tax rebates for other properties would not be keyed to property or assessment value. On average, a two-income home owning household in Pennsylvania would experience an overall tax increase.

The Yonk's council gaggle

I stopped by the Wilkes-Barre City Council forum at Gennetti's on Sunday organized by local blogger David Yonki of the LuLac Political Letter. I don't live in W-B and when I informed one of the candidates of that she just walked away from me. Oh well. From the press accounts I read I missed the highlights since I had to leave early and according to David, Tim Grier and Walter Griffith wowed the people in the audience.

My interest was District E since I grew up in the North End. The only Republican and long time neighbor, John Yencha, didn't show up. Nor did Frank Matello who I've known my whole life but haven't seen in years or Virgil Argenta, the leader in the sign wars. Charlotte Raup started off by saying W-B has to get rid of the drug dealers and crack down on the absentee slum lords. A sentiment repeated by almost every other candidate. Mike Merritt looked down at his speech and read it. And Ron Silkosky recited a long synopsis of the Robert Redford movie The Candidate but said something that caught my ear: "Hazleton's loss of illegal immigrants is Wilkes-Barre's gain." I'm not sure what he meant by that or even if he meant it to come out that way. I'm surprised nobody else picked up on it.

The one incumbent I heard defended the Mayor and council. Tony Thomas said the Governor has faith and gave an inventory of the streets that have paved. He then went on about the renovation of Coal Street Park and the widening of Coal St. We've been hearing about that for a long time.

My favorite of the event was District B candidate Ray Arellano. He told a love story. A long time resident of Arizona who married a local girl that brought him back to NEPA. He said he decided to retire here after numerous visits and fell in love with the place. He challenged people to get past nepotism, cronyism and do what's right.

The press write-ups were positive. I sat behind the CV reporter but didn't have a chance to chat and the TL guy was at the media table that David generously invited me to sit at but I digressed. I'm not a media guy, I'm a blogger.

COUNCIL FORUM SET TODAY

After months of planning, the LuLac Political Letter's Wilkes Barre City Council Forum takes place today at Genetti's Hotel in downtown. Sue Henry of WILK News Radio will moderate the debate. More than 20 candidates running for the 5 Council seats are expected to attend. Starting time is at 430PM.

More Cindy

After the last time I posted this video the big ugly Viacom company deleted it from YouTube. But it's out there again.

Let's party like it's 1992

I found the pic here.

Luzerne County Commissioners race

Are the Wilkes-Barre papers in sync? In the last two days the CV ran editorials endorsing Democratic incumbent Greg Skrepnak and county controller Marianne Petrilla for Luzerne County Commissioner and incumbent Republican Steve Urban and Bill Jones to get the GOP nod.

In the last two editions of the TL it has had profiles of Petrilla, Skrep and Jones. I guess Urban will be tomorrow.

Ron Paul for President

I have a weakness for underdogs and libertarians and this guy fits both bills. He was the only candidate in the so called Republican debate tonight that said Iraq was a mistake and America should have a humble foreign policy and stop trying to police the world. He also brought up a document that seems to be ignored by the present administration, the constitution. He called Libby a liar and defended habeas corpus. Some of his positions like abolishing the IRS are far out but he tells you what he thinks. Check him out at Ron Paul 2008. One conservative blogger covers him better than I could: A Clear Choice for America.

On the atmospherics Mrs. G thought they all had the wrong tie and we had drinking game of taking a slug every time Saint Ronny was mentioned. Needless to say I'm sloshed.

A deal for Hugo?

Hugo Selenski wrote a letter to the Citizens Voice that they decided not to publish but did a story on it. Kinda lame, they should publish it. The most newsworthy thing is the charge that Jackie-Mo offered a deal:

I’ll give you something to ponder by taking you back to early 2005,” Selenski wrote. “Jackie Musto Carroll walked up to attorney Demetrius Fannick in the courthouse and said, ‘Tim, is there any possibility of a plea agreement with Hugo? Dave (Lupas) knows his career is over if he loses this case.’ That sounds like a politically loaded question that only cares about furthering careers rather than being a protector of Luzerne County.”

And Lupas ' opponent, Tom Marsillio, for the Judge seat keeps hammering away at him. The Mary Leo ad is emotional and deceptive as a commentor on the TL website points out:

A Lupas ad claims he was responsible for the capture and conviction of the murderer of Mary Leo. I thought W-B PD caught him when he was linked to a stolen cell phone and then the guy confessed to the Leo murder. There was nothing to go to trial; he confessed. Just curious.

Lou Dobbs in Hazleton

Dobbs is hosting what he calls a town meeting about immigration with his favorite Mayor tonight at the Penn State Hazleton campus that will be broadcast live on CNN at 6PM tonight.

But the real must see TV is Mike Gravel on the Colbert Report on Comedy Central at 11:30PM.

Two years of blogging

In the chaos that has been my life for the last 2 months I just noticed that I've been blogging for 2 years now. My first post was about the Phillies losing again, not much has changed. At first I was going to stick to baseball but the political animal took over. There were plenty of people doing national issues so I decided to toss my two cents in about Luzerne County and Pennsylvania politics. I realized I wasn't going to be the next Atrios or Instapundent so as a teacher once advised me write about what you know. I'm not well connected or important but I want my government at all levels to work better.

The great thing about this adventure is the friends I've made. I visit everybody on my sidebar everyday and I think they reciprocate. Some I've met in person and most I never will. I've been remiss on commenting on my friends blogs but will make an effort to rectify that. I think we should all make an effort to comment on each others blogs or send an email to the blogs that don't allow comments.

To the people who don't have blogs and want to comment anonymously, keep it coming.

I want to live to be a hundred then be shot by a jealous husband

Or something like that.

Joe Hardy heading to Las Vegas to marry third wife

At 84 years old, Joe Hardy is heading to Las Vegas to marry his third wife, a 22-year-old employee at his family's Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa.
With hearsay about the pending nuptials swirling throughout Uniontown and the Fayette County courthouse in the past week, the spunky founder of 84 Lumber Company and first-term commissioner has been accepting congratulations from several county elected officers and employees.

And who said that Anna Nicole Smith wasn't a role model.

h/t to Chris at the new and-ahem-improved GrassrootsPA

Bye, bye Vondy

As expected Luzerne County Commissioner Todd Vonderheid has been named the new president of the Chamber of Commerce. He said he will resign as commissioner on May 31. This should be interesting since Judge Mark Ciavarella or the entire nine-judge panel must name a registered Democrat to replace Vonderheid. Somehow I don't think it will take them long to name a replacement.

Cordaro off the ballot

SCRANTON – Lackawanna County Republican Commissioner Robert C. Cordaro said he will run as a write-in candidate following a state Supreme Court decision Monday that knocked him off the May primary ballot.

He's off the ballot because he filed an incomplete financial disclosure report. I still think he will the nomination since there are only 2 Republicans in the race. I'm still pissed at him for chasing the Phillies out of town and then taking credit for landing the Yankee's AAA team. The ads he and Munchak are running featuring Brian Cashman make me sick.

Kudos to Joe Pilchesky of Doherty Deceit.

Luzerne County Coroners race

Dr. Jack Consalvo was appointed to the job after Dr. Huddock died in 2005 and is being challenged by Plymouth funeral director Jim Desiderio and W-B Area School Director and undertaker John Corcoran. Consalvo has all the endorsements and appears to be the favorite. There are no Republicans running for the office. Desiderio is running hard and has a website up with lots of pictures of him enjoying a cocktail or two at some of the local watering holes. Dr. Jack also has a website with a web-ad that he invites bloggers to embed. Happy to oblige.

Katsock has a secret

"I would rather not say because it is a religious organization,” -Luzerne County Commissioner candidate Christine Katsock

That was her answer when she was asked who her new employer is. What religious organization could it be, Scientology? The Council on American-Islamic Relations ? I'm not sure but I think candidates are required to disclose their sources of income. Even if their not it's a stupid answer to a legitimate question.

The rest of the CV article gives a rundown of all the Republican candidates for commissioner. All of them said they won't to stop or delay yet again the county’s first reassessment of property values since 1965. Incumbent Steve Urban has teamed up with Bill James but they disagree on the proposed inflatable dam. Katsock is still feuding with Urban and Urban is knocking David Shipula for contributing to Democratic Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton's reelection. He also questions Bill Jones independence because his brother and daughter got county jobs because of his alleged cozy relationship with Greg Skrepenak. Jones and Shipila want to build a new county prison while Urban and Jones want to renovate the old juvenile detention facility. They are all leery of the proposed cargo airport near Hazleton and want to take another look at the sweetheart deal for the juvenile detention facility in Pittston Township.

Republican family values, escorts and the need for them

Deputy Secretary of State Randall L. Tobias submitted his resignation Friday, one day after confirming to ABC News that he had been a customer of a Washington, D.C. escort service whose owner has been charged by federal prosecutors with running a prostitution operation. Tobias is 65 and married.

Along with his wife, Marianne, Tobias donated over $100,000 to Republican candidates and political committees, according to the campaign finance Web site OpenSecrets.org. Tobias is the second prominent man to be identified as a customer of the Palfrey's "sexual fantasy service." Two weeks ago, Palfrey alleged that military strategist Harlan K. Ullman, creator of the "shock and awe" combat theory and now a scholar with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, was also a customer.

In related news; Former U.S. Rep. Joseph McDade is scheduled to appear in a Florida courtroom Tuesday for arraignment on a charge of indecent exposure.

In addition to criminal charges McDade is also facing civil action from the ASPCA for choking his chicken and spanking the monkey.

Gravel Rocks

In the joint press conference that was billed as a debate the goal for the big 3 of Hillary, Obama and Edwards was to avoid saying anything stupid or anything at all that wasn't scripted. For the most part they met that goal. The rest of the field had to find a way to get noticed. Dodd and Richardson sounded smart and Biden had the best line of the night when asked if he had the discipline to keep his mouth shut simply said "Yes." But Mike Gravel wasn't timid. He called the Iraq war a crime and said the United States should not look at other countries as enemies. Things are not always black & white and the trick is to deal with the grey. At the end something came up about nuclear weapons and asked the question of "Who the hell are we going to nuke?"

This ad is running on the Citizens Voice website. If you click on it it takes you to the official Wilkes-Barre Area School District website.

Something is wrong here. Candidates for election shouldn't link back to an official government website.

The money primary: Carney and Kanjo edition

With all the attention on the gazillions of dollars that the Presidential candidates have raised the first quarter fundraising totals of our local Congressmen show they have also been raking in the bucks.

My favorite freshman Chris Carney pulled in almost a quarter of a million according to the FEC. At this pace he will have $2 million by the next election in 2008. He'll need it as the 10th disrtict of Pennsylvania is top target of the GOP. No Republican filed a finance report but there is plenty of speculation on who will challenge him. The latest name I hear is US Attorney Thomas A. Marino and the Joe Peters boomlet seems to be petering out. Retired Honesdale state rep Jerry Birmelin may take a shot at it and David Madeira spends a lot of energy writing to the local papers attacking Carney. I don't think former Lt Governor Bill Scranton lives in the district but you don't have to according to the Constitution. Anyway, the 2008 Republican primary should be fun.

And Luzerne County's own Paul Kanjorski added over $100,000 to his war chest and has a cool million in the bank. That might scare Hazleton's Mayor forever Lou Barletta into running for statewide office. But the GOP has another attractive candidate waiting in the wings.

Mirror, mirror, who's the scariest one......

During the Luzerne County Commissioners meeting Wednesday discussing the proposed Hazleton Cargo Airport Commissioner Stephen A. Urban asked "Is there a need? ... I don’t want to see a white elephant built.” A reasonable question since Skrep admitted they haven't even contacted any of the large cargo companies such as UPS or Fedex to ask if they would locate their operations at the new airport. But Skrepenak said he remains optimistic the proposal is feasible and said Urban was trying to scare people.“I’m not going to paint a picture of fear,” Skrepenak said.

No debate for Luzerne County DA or Judge

An old rule of politics says don't debate your opponent if you think you're way ahead. And Dave Lupas and Jackie Musto Carroll follow the rules. Both of them are ducking the League of Women Voters forum that has been traditionally held before each election. More candidates every year bail on this event and I think that has to stop. I don't care what office you're running for or what you think of your opponents chances you still have to explain yourself to the voters.

Virginia Tech

Image via Instapundit

Damn the Dam on Earth Day

Kayak Dude has a call for action:

If you've been following the inflatable dam project, you know that the PA DEP and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are now reviewing the "complete" application for permits to build the dam on the Susquehanna near Wilkes-Barre. I've been told by the DEP, as recently as yesterday, that it may be several months before a decision is made. And to date, no required public hearing has been scheduled to discuss the twice-revised plans for fish passage and "Operational Flexibility."

This Sunday - Earth Day - I will be making a very simple yet very visible statement opposing this project. Beginning at ~sunrise, I will be on the apex of the Market Street Bridge, downstream side, with high-quality signage big enough to be read from the Luzerne County Courthouse. I've notified all traditional media outlets, bloggers, and the hundreds of contacts I've made through the years we've been opposing this project. Over a month ago, I also notified the Wilkes-Barre Police Department of my plans.

At the 5/1/06 public hearing, someone sitting next to me - who also testified against the dam - said we needed to become more visible & organized against this project. What better day than Earth Day to do just that? If you'd like to help, here's my list:

I'll have my kayak. Drop off yours for the day so we have more than my red tandem lining the sidewalk. I plan on wrapping up at ~3 p.m.
Hang around for an hour or so, bring a chair. If you've purchased a "No Dam" T-shirt, please wear it.
Forward this e-mail to anyone that you know is opposed to this project. Feel free to post it on your blog.
The Susquehanna River in the Wyoming Valley needs to flow freely, now and in future generations. Regardless of the "powerful" people supporting this project, I believe it can be stopped.


Hope to see you - and many others - on Earth Day.



Don Williams
http://home3.netcarrier.com/~susquehanna/

Walter has a website

Thanks for saying hello!

I would like to take this time to introduce myself to you.

My name is Walter L. Griffith, Jr., and I have chosen to pursue the office of City Council Representative. I have chosen to serve the people of Wilkes-Barre, because I really believe the City of Wilkes-Barre can be a clean and wonderful place to live once again, as it was years ago. My goal as your City Council Representative is to always remember that the Taxpayers are the people that I represent, and not the Political Bosses in City Hall.

I am pleased to inform you that I intend to run this year for one of the five seats on the Wilkes-Barre City Council. Since my last campaign three years ago, I have attended City Council meetings on a regular basis to witness and to analyze Council proposals and actions and to present “another point of view” (on your behalf). Furthermore, I have tried to bring attention to ongoing city-wide needs and issues which seemingly have become much less important in the shadow of the “Downtown Revitalization”.

Sell the Barons/Yankees

What a start to the baseball season. The Phillies are winning one game a week and are on a pace to go 44-118 which would set a new major league record for losses. A-Rod is winning games with walk-off grand slams and Dice-K was outpitched by Seattle Mariner hurler Felix Hernandez.

Now Lackawanna County Commissioner Robert C. Cordaro’s claims that agreements with SWB Yankees LLC take politics out of the baseball operation. The clowns that run Lackawanna County lost the Phillies franchise and come out of it looking like heroes because they landed the Yankees AAA team. Even running ads that feature Brian Cashman singing Cordaro's praises. Now that there is possible windfall involved the Luzerne County Commissioners what a piece of the action and typically are throwing insults at each other. As ugly as this process has become I'm glad to see the team being sold to people who know what they are doing. The government shouldn't own a baseball team as I've said over and over.

My favorite local cartoonist John Cole had this to say about Cordaro:

Lackawanna County Commissioner Bob Cordaro has long struck me as one of the most impolitic politicians I've ever watched. Short of temper, publicly disdainful of anyone who questions his policies (to say nothing of his brilliance) and never one to shy away from pointing out his opponents' intellectual shortcomings, he is the consummate grump.

From the Inbox:

I was kinda shocked you didn't mention anything about the stadium fight between Skrep and Cordaro, knowing our shared passion for the game of baseball. I don't know what Skrep was talking about when he said Luzerne County should get a share because our fan's go there. Should we have them call up Mayor Bloomberg and demand that the big Yankees give us money because Luzerne County fans go there. They should just settle it and call it the Scranton Yankees and the Wilkes-Barre Penguins. Both stadiums were purchased by those two respective counties. If what Lackawanna County is saying is true then we shouldn't be entitled to more than what they say we are. I guess when you hope to add new programs, it benefits to try to snatch money from everyone else. I guess Skrep is just trying to be the Ed Rendell of NEPA. I'm still a little ticked they are called the Yanks because I won't buy a shirt that says Yankees due to my love for the Sox but in the end I am allowed something that a ticket price entitles me... Heckling the next generation of Yankees, if they aren't traded for over the hill power-hitters.

Mario Fiorucci in the news

SUGAR NOTCH MAYOR: Mario Fiorucci is seeking the Democratic nomination for mayor of Sugar Notch.

Fiorucci is employed as a medical records processor. A graduate of Hanover Area High School, he attended Luzerne County Community College; College Misericordia, class of 1980, where he received a bachelor of arts; and Georgetown University, class of 1982, where he received a master of arts in political science.

As mayor, he plans to begin a recycling program by piggybacking with either Ashley or Hanover Township; reduce council from seven to five members to save money; and merge the police department with Ashley or Hanover Township.

Fiorucci has worked on the regionalization issue since 1999 and is confident it will deliver better protection to the citizens of Sugar Notch. He does not believe the town can provide all municipal services necessary for a proposed 300 home development led by Earth Conservancy.

Mario realizes that a little town of less than 1000 people can't keep going it alone. It's a hard sell telling people that they can't afford their little fiefdom much longer and merge services and eventually their political identity with a larger neighbor. His annual State of the World Forum is coming up in May.

The chairman of PACleanSweep, Mr. Russ Diamond, will talk about his reform agenda and proposal for an unlimited constitutional convention for PA. A resident of Annville, Lebanon County, Mr. Diamond createdPACleanSweep.com after the midnight pay raise by the General Assembly.

The second speaker will be Mort Malkin. He is asocial-political activist and author of four books on health and fitness. He recently edited "The Lilac Book of Peace-Axioms & Quotes." He has a column of political satire called "Gadfly" in the Towne Crier and a health & fitness column called "The Body and Brain Trade" for the News Eagle.

Also speaking is Mr. Caleb Ginyard III. He will conduct a multi-media presentation about his famous father, Caleb Ginyard Jr., a renowned black doo-wopand spiritual singer. His book, "My Name is Caleb N.Ginyard: A Father and Son Autobiography of a Spiritual Musical Genius," is the basis of his presentation. Theelder died in 1978 after traveling the globe, creating a musical legacy as lead singer of several groups including the Du-Droppers, Jubalaires and Royal Harmony Singers, among others.

Annual Free Speech Awards at the State of the World. Special award to Kurt Shotko of Lackawanna County, for political protests at the Wilkes Barre, St. Patrick's Day Parade in 2005 and Tim Grier, presently a primary candidate for mayor and council in Wilkes-Barre. His most important protest was for third party ballot access. He stood in the voting booth for 30 minutes in 2005 without voting. His stance generated much needed media coverage of third party issues in NEPA.

The annual event takes place on the first Sunday in May. This years' date is 5/06/07. The event is held indoors and outdoors, rain or shine at 893 Main Street Sugar Notch, PA. From I-81 take the Nanticoke exit,then take Exit #1 into Sugar Notch. The building isthe last house on the right, exactly one mile from the first house in town. It will have several big State of the World sings on it. A parking lot is across the street in the Dr.'s Clinic. Phone Mario Fiorucci at 570-819-0721 or email him for more info. Food, music and refreshments are provided.

Happy Easter

THEY SHOULD HAVE HUNG THE EASTER BUNNY WITH SADAM
By Mean Old Man

I’m angrier than Donald Trump at a Hair Club for Men meeting over the way the Commies have infiltrated our glorious holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, by replacing him with the subversive Easter Bunny!!!

In my day Easter meant one thing; you got your butt out of bed, put on your Sunday best, and tagged along with Mom (and sometimes Pop, if it was a good year and he had a sober Saturday night) to celebrate mass. Don’t get me wrong, we got an Easter basket too (Mom and Dad weren’t stick in the muds, despite what you Commie heathens might think), but it just had colored eggs, and only two colors—and if you were "lucky", you got a piece of chocolate; that is if the rats didn't get to the basket first; and you loved it!!! I can remember one day when my old man came home from the bar, after a short 12 hour stint at the breaker, and I asked him about the Easter Bunny. I was about 5 or 6 and I had this silly notion that I would wake up on Easter morning and come downstairs to all of these chocolates and other treats in a huge basket, just like I saw in the Fred McMurray movie I snuck in to. I can still feel the shiner that good ol' Pop laid on me after I asked him that question and I remember his words even better. "Hope for the Bunny to come all you want dimwit; as far as this house goes, I'm the Bunny and you get what I give ya, if I give ya anything! And by the way--there ain't no Santa Claus either!!!" Good ol' Pops; when they made him they broke the mold!!! I tried to be as good a dad to my losers as Pops was to me, but it never rubbed off and they didn't appreciate it. Damn!!!!!!!!
It's so damned different these days at Eastertime; my stupid grandson Clay is expecting a cell phone and some sort of computer gizmo games. I told my dimwit son Harlan that he’d better not expect me to dig deep into my wallet for it—I’ll go so far as to spring for a couple of Hershey bars—but that’s as far as I go!!! Damn!!! Kids today have it too easy and they don’t even know what the holiday is about. The other day my wife Thelma Jean forced me to go into the living room where my pop tart granddaughter Molly was watching some degenerate cartoons. Thelma Jean always likes having the kitchen to herself when she's baking her champion biscuits. So I’m sitting there and the little runt is staring me down. Mind you, I don’t make it a habit talking to kids (especially Commie kids), but I thought I'd make the effort, being that it’s the Christian thing to do. So I ask the future Lolita what she thinks about Easter and she replies that it’s a nice holiday, "Because we all go to church to celebrate the Bunny’s birthday”. I swear it took all of the gumption that I had not to throw the little schmuck out of the window!!!! Thanks Commies!!!!!!

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, what with her being raised by two hippy freak parents. Hell, my prissy sons didn’t even have the guts to go fight for their country in Vietnam, like my friend Gummo’s son Chip did. While my creepy spawns were growing their hair long and listening to their perverted Beatle albums, Chip was wading through the rice paddies in ‘Nam, sporting a good ol' American crew cut. Sure, Chip got blown away by a land mine and isn’t here to celebrate Easter with Gummo—but that’s not the point!!! Gummo can look at Chip's picture on his living room wall and say “That’s my boy!!”, while I have to look at "my" sons and ask myself, “Where the Hell did I go wrong?". If they were any type of loving sons, would it have been too much for them to give me the opportunity that Gummo had?? Then I wouldn’t have to deal with ungrateful, goofy grandkids!!! Hell, even if one of them had gone over and come back minus an arm or a leg--then I could walk into the ol' VFW with him and be a proud father, like my pal Creep Davis and his son Birch--but I guess that was asking too much. It's for the best--my luck, if they had gone over, they'd probably be munching on rice with Ho Chi Minh. Damn!!!!

So, all you Joe Stalin, Chairman Mao, Ho Chi Minh worshiping subversives have a nice Easter and don’t forget to buy your spoiled brats a computer game and a cell phone (Peking is waiting on their call!)—Hell, why not throw in a car for good measure. As for me, I’m having a ham dinner with some of the best biscuits this side of the Mason Dixon, then heading over to my friend Gummo’s homestead with my pal Creep, where we’ll put on some real music (the contemporary sounds of the Andrews Sisters--the greatest American girl group of all time [take that you turncoat Dixie Chicks!!]), and raise a bottle of Steg to the photo of a fine young man--a “real” American hero (one hint--it ain't one of my sons!). To Hell with the Easter Bunny and to Hell with Liberals! Here's hoping you all choke on your chocolates and drown in your prissy Zima---I HATE YOU ALL!!!!!

Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated

So much to do, so little time. The blog had to take a back seat for a while and will again over the next few weeks. So what did I miss this week?

The Phillies got off to the usual fast start by getting swept by Atlanta.

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Yankees made their debut in the snow amid more arguments among the politicians about selling the team. And the grope, er Grump, got arrested for "entertaining" young boys.

In politics the candidates for Judge have dueling polls.

The Sixth Legislative District Democratic organization is in a quandary on who to endorse in some W-B council races. I thought the whole idea of a primary was to decide which candidates to back.

Lou Barletta says he wants to be Mayor of Hazleton forever.

Hillary and Obama raised $50 million between them. But the real surprise was the Democratic field as a whole out raised the Republican contenders.

Steve Flood has been released from the hospital after suffering a stroke but will remain on the ballot for Luzerne County commissioner. Get well Steve.

Back to my hiatus. In my absence the Mean Old Man will be filling in.

Klaatu barada nikto or So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish