The LuLac Edition #703, Jan. 23rd, 2009

PHOTO INDEX: OUR 1964 LOGO, A 1980 TONY ATTARDO BUTTON, THE WILK TALKERS AT WVIA TV, SUE HENRY, STEVE CORBETT, THIS BLOG EDITOR, NANCY KMAN AND KEVIN LYNN. (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

THE “JUDGE” WATCH

It has been months now since word has circulated that not one, but two county judges will be charged with crimes. My sources have told me in no uncertain terms that there will be arrests forthcoming. But they have been saying that since October. The word is that the Judges will go down because of an FBI investigation into not only ethics but financial dealings that are deemed inappropriate. No word on whether the Judicial Review Board which screwed Ann Lokuta out of her job and pension has had a look see at the charges against these Judges. In the meantime, we watch and wait. When and if these charges come down, it will be interesting to see how voters will react to the two incumbent Judges up for retention, Thomas Burke and Peter Paul Olshefski. The two won on both nominations the first time they ran. But one has to wonder if Luzerne County voters will vote “No” just to send a message. It happened on the state wide level in reaction to the 2005 pay raise. In the meantime, there is no lack of candidates standing in line to run for Judge in 2009. They are; Richard Hughes, 47, of Mountain Top; Thomas O’Connor, 57, of Kingston; Joseph Sklarosky Jr., 39, of Mountain Top and Eugene Sperazza, 54, of Mountain Top. Attorneys who said they are considering running are: William Amesbury, 61, of Wilkes-Barre; C.J. Bufalino III, 48, of Dallas; Mark Bufalino, 38, of Trucksville; Conrad Falvello, 59, of Sugarloaf Township; Lesa Gelb, of Laflin; Tom Marsilio, 60, of Mountain Top; Molly Hanlon-Mirabito, 46, of Forty Fort; Luzerne County Judge Joseph Musto, 64, of Duryea; Joseph J. Terrana, 46, of Yatesville; Joseph Saporito, 48, of Jenkins Township, and Ferris Webby, 54 of Slocum Township. Interesting sidelights of these names are the Bufalino brothers running against each other, Judge Musto who was bested by Michael Conahan in a very dirty campaign in the 90s, Tom O’Connor trying to continue the family political dynasty, William Amesbury trying to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor the late Mike Collins who won the Democratic nod but lost in the general, and Tom Marsillio taking another crack at the job. The three seats up are Conahan’s, Chester Muroski’s and Lokuta’s. Now a period piece from 1968:




NOW ANGRY

Barack Obama has been President for barely a week but the National Organization of Women are a little perturbed because they feel Obama is not giving them enough respect. A NOW member said today on CNN that they were dissatisfied with the 6 Cabinet appointments the new President made saying that since women represent 52% of the population, the appointment ratio of the new President should be that. You know, where was NOW when Hillary Clinton was getting “dissed?” Where is NOW in the fight against pornography? How about the demeaning of women in TV commercials? (Saw one on TV tonight where a bunch of well dressed, young, sexy supple women were chasing down something in the street and squealing like idiots. It was a commercial for Oreo cookies! ) Yeah NOW, complain about this President surrounded by strong women, raised by a single mother and mentored by a WWII era grandmother. Or would you rather go back to a President who had a choice to appoint another woman to the Supreme Court and did not. NOW………………shut up.

TONY ATTARDO

Pittston Twp. Supervisor Tony Attardo died this week. Attardo was a fixture in local politics. He was chairman of the board of supervisors for Pittston Township, treasurer of Pittston Township, Democratic chairman of the 114th District, chairman of the Pittston Township Sewer Authority and a former township auditor. Tony ran a great race for State Representative in 1980 to succeed Ray Musto who went to Congress replacing Dan Flood. He ran a spirited race and fought hard but lost to Tom Tigue who went on to serve many years in the State House. Many township and Luzerne County residents remember Attardo for his principled stances, friendly manner and dedication to public service.

TALKERS ON TV

WVIA TV’s State of Pennsylvania hosted the WILK lineup Thursday night. Sue Henry, Nancy Kman, Kevin Lynn and Steve Corbett graced the WVIA TV theatre with their wit and presence in a show that could’ve gone on for hours. Bill Kelly recruited me to ask a question and that was fun. The highlight of the evening though was when the TV audience met “Bosco”, the infamous call screener, now made famous. One point not made that evening was the growth of talk radio in the area. All on the panel attributed that to the hot issues of the day. And to a point that is true. But from a radio standpoint, WILK has grown because through the years, it grew incrementally. Since 1989, you knew WILK was all about talk. And during that time, there were ratings dips, lawsuits, controversies and most likely pressure from management to do something else. Both Kevin Lynn and I worked for WARM Radio. And WARM for all its good intentions, never made an inroad into Talk Radio because they never stuck with set programming. Kevin would be on in the morning, afternoon, Rob Nyehard would be on and off the air at various times. The sales people couldn’t sell a consistent product and the listeners could never find their favorite show because it moved around. WILK on the other hand stuck with a consistent format that was a mainstay year in and year out. Adding FM to its arsenal didn’t hurt and having local talent familiar with the area also grew the product. WILK is the dominant talk station in the market and that folks did not happen by accident. Remember the old saying, “build it and they will come”? In WILK’s case, “Stay the course and your listeners will remain with you”. Not to mention bringing their friends with them.

1964

Plans to build the New York World Trade Center are announced......on January 20th, Meet the Beatles! the first Beatles album in the United States, is released.....Kenneth Kaunda is inaugurated as the first President of Northern Rhodesia.....Thirteen years after its proposal and nearly 2 years after its passage by the United States Senate, the 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, is ratified……………..Statewide, Senator Hugh Scott indicates he will seek a new term in the U.S. Senate, Scott was elected in 1958 defeating sitting Governor George Leader……in Hazleton and Nanticoke, the big buzz is about the TV and movie careers of Jack Palance and Nick Adams…..and the number 1 song in LuLac land and America was Lesley Gore’s pre feminist anthem, “You Don’t Own Me”.