The LuLac Edition #873, July 10th, 2009

PHOTO INDEX: OUR 1964 LOGO, WILK'S SUE HENRY, THIS BLOG EDITOR WITH THE LATE GREAT PHILLIE JOHNNY CALLISON ON THE 25th ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1964 SEASON.

FOUL BALLS???

Two Pioneers football players were arrested by Wilkes-Barre Police early Thursday morning. The Times Leader reported that Jason Prince Acquaye, 23, of South Empire Street, Wilkes-Barre and Justin Denmar Parrish, 25, whose addressed is listed as the Ramada Inn on Public Square, Wilkes-Barre, were arrested in connection to a large disturbance at Luna Lounge, South Main Street, early Thursday. Police said they responded to the bar on the report that a man was waiving a gun. After officers arrived, police found 60 people running out of Luna. While police were talking to Parrish, he ran after a man and jumped on his back and began punching him. Police said Nicole Allen tried to break up the fight involving Parrish when Parrish punched her in the face. Allen fell back four to five feet, hit her head on the pavement and was knocked unconscious. She was taken to Geisinger Medical Center, Plains Township, for head injuries. When you have athletes in a town with testosterone running high you’ll have this. But these guys crossed a line. They essentially attacked police officers who were trying to keep the peace and protect people. This was not your typical fight that ended with combatants shaking hands when it was over. This put people at risk. It’s nice to have a big time Arena team in the area, it’s nice to have them go undefeated. It’s not so nice to have thugs on the team. Here is a comment from a reader to the Times Leader that typifies the reaction of the people here:
i can almost gurantee that they are no not wilkes barre residents... thanks pioneer football league for having all the thugs on the team ... the franchise makes us all really proud, and by the way what a great role model for our children... we will never come back to the games....THANK YOU
And people, remember this rule from an old fart like myself; nothing good comes out of being in a bar after midnight.

THE STADIUM

It appears there is trouble in River City regarding the Yankees and the Stadium. The Scranton Times did a story on the fiasco and interviewed former County Commissioner Bob Cordaro. Cordaro said the grass was only a temporary fix because there were plans to build a new stadium. Too bad he never told anyone about those plans. Cordaro brought in the Yanks, plain and simple as a pre election ploy. He thought he’d be able to fix any misconceptions and concerns in a second term. The voters saw to it that he did not have that opportunity. Cordaro said today that the Stadium was the oldest one in the International League. Yeah, about 2 decades old. When it opened in 1989, every other stadium in the league was a dump. They were falling apart. Scranton Wilkes Barre’s field was something they aspired to be. The stadium does need repairs but they don’t need a new ball field. Sue Henry made the point that Fenway Park was built in 1912. It went through changes but didn’t need a new park. Neither do we. The Yankees will be gone by 2011 or sooner, gone to Newark. What we need to do now is repair what we have and try to get another team to root for. When the Yankees came, we scoffed at the Lehigh Valley stadium delay and that name The Iron Pigs. Guess who’s having the last laugh! And one more thing, someone should investigate that contract Cordaro negotiated and see if there are any other surprises he might have not mentioned.

HEALTH CARE UPDATE

House Democrats at work on health legislation are narrowing in on an income tax surcharge on the highest-paid wage earners to help pay the cost of subsidizing insurance for the 50 million who lack it. Pushing to complete a comprehensive health care bill by Friday and bring it up for committee votes next week, House Democrats abandoned earlier money-raising proposals, including a payroll tax. They planned to meet behind closed doors Thursday to fine-tune the details. The action in the House stood in contrast to the Senate, where Democrats edged away from their goal of passing health care legislation by early August amid heightening partisan controversy over tax increases and a proposed new government role in providing insurance to consumers. As discussed in the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, the surtax would apply to individuals with adjusted gross income of more than $200,000 and couples over $250,000, according to officials involved in the discussion. Most spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were private. In addition, key lawmakers are expected to call for a tax or fee equal to a percentage of a worker's salary on employers who do not offer health benefits. The White House expressed its support Wednesday for the emerging House legislation, noting that the Congressional Budget Office had said planned changes to Medicare would save more than $500 billion over 10 years. A significant part of that money would come from the steep reduction in subsidies paid to insurance companies that offer private Medicare coverage.

HERE’S PAULIE!!!!!

Congressman Paul Kanjorski, chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises, will appear on CNBC’s Squawk Box for two hours on Monday to co-host the program. He will discuss a variety of issues including regulatory reform of the financial services industry. Kanjorski will co-host the show from 6 a.m. to 8 am. (He has to get up as early as Kristi Capel!!) The lawmaker will discuss a variety of issues including regulatory reform of the financial services industry.

PATIENCE PLEASE!!!

It's not just state workers who aren't getting paid until leaders pass a budget. The hard times are trickling down to the private sector, where businesses that depend on the state for contracted work are being told to wait patiently, and not to expect any checks anytime soon. Gov. Ed Rendell sent a letter to about 5,000 vendors, asking for understanding during the legislative squabble. Businesses with relationships to the state have much choice but to comply. Larger companies can swallow the pill by relying on other profits, while smaller businesses are digging into reserves.

1964

U.S. military personnel announce that U.S. casualties in Vietnam have risen to 1,387, including 399 dead and 17 MIA……..Big time lobbying is happening prior to the 1964 Republican convention in San Francisco. Challenger William Scranton of Pennsylvania and other GOP moderates work very hard to paint Senator Barry Goldwater as a candidate who cannot win in November. They point to his vote against the civil right act of 1964 as proof………………State Police Commissioner William Purdy urged more than 100 regional police officers to set aside their own personal prejudices when dealing with criminals. The meeting was held at Genetti’s in Wilkes Barre and focused in on social responsibility of racial matters in the Commonwealth…….Forty five years ago the All Star Game was played before a crowd of 50,000 people at Shea Stadium. Phillies outfielder Johnny Callison was the star. The 1964 All-Star Game has been described as one of the most exciting ever as the National League came from behind to win in a dramatic ninth-inning rally. Red Sox ace Dick Radatz was on the mound and had already thrown two hitless innings. Willie Mays, in a tough at-bat, got the walk and then stole second. Orlando Cepeda followed with a soft looper to right field scoring Mays due to a bad Joe Pepitone throw to the plate. Two quick outs and a walk later, Johnny Callison hammered a fast ball into the right field stands scoring three runs, giving the Nationals their sixth win in seven games and finally evening up the series……..Joseph McGowan, the secretary of the Scranton Chamber of Commerce hosted a tour of foreign businessmen to Scranton area industrial sites…….On local TV, on WDAU TV, every morning at 9:27AM you saw an advertisement for the U.S. Airforce. Here’s what it looked like:

and in LuLac Land and America the number 1 song was “Memphis” by Johnny Rivers.