The LuLac Edition #38, June 28th, 2006

PHOTO INDEX: WBRE TV'S AMY BRADLEY, WYOU TV'S DAVID DECOSMO, GOVERNOR ED RENDELL, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE AND ROBERT P. CASEY, JUNIOR.

RAINS FORCE PREVENTIVE FLOOD ACTION........The tropical downpours that have visited our area this week brought to mind among some folks the issue of global warming. Now the Greater Wilkes Barre Area has always had to contend with the river and its tendency to rise and fall but no one can dispute the fact that the weather patterns in the world have been changing. Former Vice President Al Gore touches on that subject in his movie, now in theatres, "An Inconvenient Truth". Here's the link to the website for this thought provoking movie. http://www.climatecrisis.net/.

MEDIA WATCH................When a flood emergency occurs in this area, the media has historically risen to the challenge. Back in 1972, reporter David DeCosmo, working at WILK Radio formed a Flood Recovery Broadcast network that kept all the local broadcast media in touch with all of the events surrounding the Agnes Flood. That network was revived again during the Eloise scare in 1975. Local radio news has become pretty much extinct but WILK Radio had a reporter (Rob Nyehard) on duty Tuesday night and on the Morning Kevin and Nancy Show, plus the Sue Henry Show, the station provided much needed updates with staffers Bud Brown, Rusty Fender and Joe Thomas. On local TV, reporters risked life and limb getting close to the story. WYOU's Eric Deabill, WNEP's Bianca Barr, Bob Reynolds, Jon Meyer and the weather team, as well as WBRE's Jill Konopka, Lorena Beniquez, Joe Holden and Amy Bradley. Bradley was sporting bright yellow boots that passed her knees as she inched closer to the water's edge. Dave Skutnick did a good job forecasting the weather. The Chief weather guy, Josh Hodell who seems to take great delight in all weather was not on camera Monday or Tuesday so I'm assuming he was on vacation. Kevin Lynn summed it up best on his show when he said it was times like this crisis, when broadcasting becomes what it intended to be, a public service.

RENDELL VISITS SENIORS...........The Governor was in town yesterday visiting a few homes of senior citizens championing his Property Tax Bill accomplishment which will benefit seniors. The Governor seemed very much at home in the setting.

CASEY TAKES IT TO THE ROAD....Senatorial candidate Bob Casey has released his scheduled summertime bus tour. The candidate will be in the following areas: Southwestern Pennsylvania, July 1-5; Southcentral Pennsylvania, July 20-21; Western Pennsylvania, July 26-29; Route 6 Corridor, Aug. 4-6; Northwestern Pennsylvania, Aug. 9-11; Central Pennsylvania, Aug. 11-13; Johnstown and Altoona area, Aug. 15-18; Central Pennsylvania, Aug. 18-20; Northeastern Pennsylvania, Aug. 21; and Lehigh Valley, Aug. 24-26.

IMMIGRATION NEWS........Hazleton again keeps on making news outside of the city with its Immigration stand proposed by Mayor Lou Barletta. Here's a pretty thought provoking article from the Philadelphia Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky.

Hazleton illegals part of new civil war
HAZLETON - The United States, to paraphrase Lincoln, is in the midst of a great civil war.
So far, no shooting, but you never can tell.
In Lincoln's time, a key issue was slavery. In our time, it's illegal immigration.
Cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago have declared themselves sanctuaries for illegals and refuse to enforce federal immigration laws. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson last week said his cash-strapped department doesn't have the resources to chase undocumented workers. Other cities have promised to crack down on undocumented workers and enforce immigration laws when the federal government won't.
Hazleton, snuggled in the Poconos two hours north of Philadelphia, is among the latter.
After King Coal died, factories opened in industrial parks here and attracted workers, many of them Hispanic, some of them undocumented. No one really knows how many. Some sponge up city services; a few commit crimes.
Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta and the five-member city council believe the illegals present a clear and present danger, and drafted legislation targeting their employers and their landlords.
Simultaneously, a bipartisan group of Pennsylvania state reps last week introduced a package of bills that would make it a felony to hire illegals and will cut off certain government services.
It looks like a civil war.
Under clouds hanging as low and dark as funeral bunting, I drove up to Hazleton on Saturday to get a feel for the center of controversy.
The first feeling was familiarity. The main street is Broad, and streets named Vine, Locust and Pine cross it. Unlike our Broad Street, Hazleton's had few pedestrians and was dotted with shuttered stores and others with "Going Out of Business" signs. Hispanic presence was symbolized by a hand-lettered sign, "Plaintains $2.35," in the window of the Golden City Chinese Restaurant on Broad.
Despite some signs of downtown decay, Barletta, a 50-year-old Republican, says the city budget has been in the black by about $200,000 for the past two years. The town's population was 23,000 in the 2000 Census and Barletta now estimates it as 31,000.
It's been a struggle to remain in the black because of the added cost of services siphoned by illegals, Barletta said, although he didn't have figures at hand to prove it. Crime's also mushrooming, but he couldn't quantify it.
How you feel can be more important than what's on a ledger sheet.
The "turning point," Barletta said, was May 10, when a man was shot between the eyes, killing him. Four illegal aliens have been charged with the crime.
"This is not a normal occurrence in a town of 31,000," he said. "We usually get one murder every seven years and talk about it for the next six years."
Later on the day of the homicide, a 14-year-old fired a gun in a playground. And that was followed by drug busts, gang activity and graffiti.
Before starting his political career 10 years ago, Barletta and his wife, Mary Grace, owned Interstate Road Marking, which paints lines on streets and highways, including Philadelphia's.
He's a man who knows where to draw the line. The shooting crossed it.
"People are terrorized. The quality of life we boast of is in jeopardy," he said.
Barletta's response was an ordinance to revoke the license of any business knowingly hiring illegal aliens and to fine landlords $1,000 for each illegal they rent to. That sent up a flare that attracted the national media moths - Barletta's been on CNN, Fox, NBC, ABC, MSNBC and more - and done interviews with radio talk shows and newspapers from coast to coast.
Someone joked last week there was more media than immigrants in Hazleton.
I tried to get the viewpoint of the immigrants (the majority of whom are from the Dominican Republic), but there weren't many on the streets. I found about a dozen men in the unadorned Melo Barber Shop on Church near Broad, but none wanted to talk, and a couple clearly were strangers to English.
In an Inquirer story, Anna Arias, president of the Hazleton Area Latino Association, said she felt betrayed by Barletta. But he makes a point in every interview of asserting he favors legal immigration.
He's received 5,000 calls, letters and e-mails supporting him, few condemning him, he said. No one has yet threatened to sue if the laws are passed, which could come as early as July 13.
I bet someone will sue.
I also bet more towns and cities will follow Hazleton's example in fighting illegal immigrants.
It's a civil war, and we're a long way from Appomattox.