The LuLac Edition #108, Dec. 12, 2006

PHOTO INDEX: THE NEW LOGO FOR THE TRIPLE A TEAM AT LACKAWANNA COUNTY STADIUM, THE INTERLOCKING CLASSIC YANKEE LOGO, TAXPAYER ADVOCATE AND COUNCIL CANDIDATE WALTER GRIFFITH AND GOVERNOR ED (AT A RALLY SINGLEHANDIDLY ORGANIZED BY STEVE FLOOD, OVER 1200 PEOPLE ATTENDED) AND THIS BLOGGER.



THE YANKEES IT IS

The Triple A baseball team name, the Scranton Wilkes Barre Yankees. The annoucement was made minutes ago with Yankee GM Brian Cashman and other Yankee officials unveiling the new logo. Merchandise with the new name and logo is now available. The new logo features the Uncle Sam top hat with the bat along with a scripted "y". While I would've preferred an interlocking SWB with the Y, I think the new logo and gear is pretty attractive. Baseball uniforms should be classics. The Yankees, Dodgers, Tigers and Red Sox uniforms have virtually stayed the same. The classic blue pinstripes for home and road gray will be a fine addition to baseball in this area.
By the way, anyone see a representative from Luzerne County there tonight?

Barack Obama

Man, this guy has been making all the rounds. I can’t even watch Monday Night Football without seeing him in the booth. Here’s my take on Mr. Obama.
1. Cool guy. Wears suits well.
2. Good speaker. Concise, passionate, on message.
3. Being wooed and embraced by the national media as well as the voting public, two groups not known for their ability to think deeply or profoundly. He’s like a new toy, once they get bored with him, they’ll go after him.
4. He’s be a great Vice Presidential candidate. President? I don’t know, what does it say about the Democratic party that they will put their faith in a guy who is in the Senate for 4 years. Yeah, yeah, I know, my hero Al Gore ran for President in 1988 when he was only in the Senate 4 years but Al was a Congressman for 8 years before that. Too green.
5. After this President leaves office, he will have left a mess that will take at least three generations to fix and clean up. I’ll be in my mausoleum on Middle Road so I won’t be giving a crap. But we can’t trust the rebuilding process to a guy with so little experience, especially in foreign affairs. We’re coming off a Presidency where the current occupant had 6 years experience as a Governor. For as telegnic and charismatic as Obama is, I can’t see the Dems or the country taking a chance like that.

SKREP AND MARY ANN

I voted for Mary Ann Petrilla in the 2003 primary race for County Commissioner. I did not vote for her when she ran for Controller because I heard her on a radio debate and was not impressed. Since she has taken the reigns of the Controller’s office, I have seen some progress in her public presentations. Word is that Commissioner Skrepenak is going to ask her to run with him in the spring primary. This will do one two things, clear the field as Skrepenak hopes or put another team united in running against Skrep and Petrilla. It should be interesting.
In the meantime, Governor Ed gets to appoint the new Controller. Tom Pisano who won a crowded primary to succeeed Joe Tirpak should not even be considered. The guy boogied out after two years and virtually said three words as a County Commissioner with Tom Makowski. Even his fellow Exeter residents were disappointed in his performance. But I digress.
When I was in the company of the Guv as they refer to him on Eagles PostGame Live on Comcast, I saw instantly that the guy had a great sense of humor. Wouldn’t it be funny if he appoined Steve Flood to the position? The local Dems might not find that funny but hear me out.
1. Flood has prior experience, if not many lawsuits littering his trail.
2. He is good with the media and knows where the Meeting Room is in the Courthouse.
3. Steve Flood was the only Democrat office holder in 2002 who stuck his neck out in the primary when Rendell was facing Bob Casey, Junior. As a Rendell supporter and contributor, I knew you had to go through Steve to gets signs, whatever you needed. Of course when Rendell won the primary, he had to have an operation to remove all the local Dems who were crawling up his butt. The naming of Flood by the Governor would be appropriate payback to Steve who risked much to fund and support the Rendell effort. Jimmy Connors (former Mayor of Scranton) stuck his neck out in 2002 and was rewarded with a job in the Guv’s Northeast office. I say it’s Steve Flood’s turn now!

GRIFFITH TO RUN
FOR CITY COUNCIL

Walter Griffith is the first announced candidate for Wilkes Barre City Council. Griffith is known as a Taxpayer’s Advocate and has been criticized by a few citizens and bloggers as being overly negative toward the current administration. While Mayor Tom Leighton’s offices has had more hits than misses, it is still a good thing that there is a minority voice appearing at Council meetings. The current group have been entenched in office for years and except for bobbing their heads like bobbleheads at Lackawanna County Stadium, either bobble yes or bobble no, they individually and collctively have nothing to show for their efforts. The city of Wilkes Barre needs a minority presence and Griffiths has shown the interest and the tenacity needed in a taxpayer watch dog. Here is a recent letter to the editor Griffith penned to give you an idea of his thought process:

Dear Editor,
I am writing this letter in response to the recent increase in crime in Wilkes Barre that is being swept under the rug by the Mayor of this City
I would like to respond to the Mayor’s constant picture painting of a City that “Believes” in his Administrations ability to get the City of Wilkes Barre back on the path to a bright future.
The editorial states that the Administration has experienced great milestones in 2005 and that the City is moving forward through cooperation from the City Council.
I would like to have the residents of the City of Wilkes Barre take a good look at this Administration and its “Whitewash” tactics for just a moment and make a determination as to what the City Administration has done for them and their tax dollars.
The City Administration is boasting about the theater and multi million-dollar complex that is currently under construction, that it will bring the City downtown back to an 18 hour downtown. The City fails to acknowledge to the City residents that pay taxes, that this project is not going to generate a single dime to the City Tax base because it is in a KOZ Zone and the taxpayers will be paying for all the services that this project will require in the future…I.E. Police and Fire Protection. I” Believe” that if you make the downtown safe from shootings and stabbings, the businesses will come to downtown Wilkes-Barre and not leave because of the crime that is so rampant on our downtown streets.
The City Administration has also informed the City Taxpayers that the Administration has miraculously solved the $14 million dollar debt obligation by selling the Call Center to a University that pays no taxes to the City.
The City Administration has also stated that the City has “restructured” the debt of the City, which will save the taxpayers money, when I “Believe” in fact all it does it put the City taxpayers deeper in debt for a longer period of time.
The City Administration has also stated that the City Administration has passed a “Rental Ordinance” which will make the City a safer and cleaner place to live and at the same time there are buildings that are collapsing and unsafe, while the taxpayers that keep their properties safe are penalized by a new “fee” that will give the Mayor the opportunity to hire more of his “friends” that support him.
The City Administration also has instituted a “ Beautify your Neighborhood” program so the taxpayers can work hard to make their properties look great while the City allows their property to be in a state of disrepair and our streets to be littered with trash.
I feel that this Administration has in fact not made progress in our neighborhood but has spent a great deal of time and taxpayers money to try to convince the taxpayers that the City is moving forward by concentrating on the downtown area of our city. I “Believe” the taxpayers should have streets that are able to be traveled on without fear of ruining our vehicles, I “Believe” our Streets should be cleaned by our Public Works employee’s so that the leaves and debris will not clog our sewers so we don’t get flooding during heavy rains, I “ Believe” the City Police department should not be so overworked, because of understaffing, that they can not patrol our neighborhoods, and I “Believe” that the Fire Department should have sufficient manpower and buildings to house the equipment, to protect the residents of this City.
I “Believe” the goals for the coming year for this Administration should be to have a Web Page Editor that will place important information on our City Web Page that will benefit the taxpayers and attract outside people to come to Wilkes Barre and not be a “Cheerleader page” for the Mayor.
I “Believe” the goals for 2006 should be for a City Council to address the City Health Care Plans and Pension Plans for City Employee’s and change the City Charter to stop the Mayor of this City from negotiating his own paycheck and pension. I “Believe” the City Council should pass the required legislation to force the City Administration to once again make our City a safe place to work and live by opening the closed firehouses and hiring more Police, Fire and City Public Works employee’s so that our streets will be maintained once again.
I would like to close by saying that as a Taxpayer of this City, I don’t “believe” that our tax dollars are being used efficiently on our behalf to make our City a better and safer place to live when crime is on the increase and the streets are dirty and pothole ridden and our residents are in fear of their lives in the Height’s because of closing of Firehouses that are very much needed in that section of the City.

Walter L. Griffith Jr.
Wilkes-Barre

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING
DIFFERENT

MANIFEST MAGAZINE ON LINE

For those of you out there who are fans of great literature, poetry and the creative process, Manifest Magazine was around in hard copy form for a while in northeastern Pennsylvania. Now its founder is going on line with it. Here’s the skinny on that:

Dear Writers & Poets,

This e-mail is to invite you all to visit manifest magazine on-line at http://manifestmag.tripod.com. Unfortunately, due to employment and personal commitments I have been unable to produce another printed magazine - but that's not to say that it won't happen again in the near future.

It's impossible for me to totally express my thanks for all of your submissions and support since this magazine's creation. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your works and was even happier to know that WE all would got some exposure for our talents. I just hope that you all have continued to write and have had success.

It's easier - and cheaper - to manage the website which is still visited by people who appreciate literature, so I encourage you to submit new pieces. Any new submissions will be posted on the website and also considered for publication when the next issue is printed.

Again, thank you and I hope hear from you all soon.

And since it's December now, I would like to wish you all a joyous holiday season and the best of luck in all that you do.

Sincerely,

Jim Byers
Executive Editor
manifest magazine

I don’t think Jim would be adverse to hearing from bloggers, what he would do with us is another matter.