The LuLac Edition #1399, Dec. 9th, 2010

PHOTO INDEX: WIL TOOLE, THE LATE WALT DISNEY, THE CAPITOL CHRISTMAS TREE IN HARRISBURG AND UR 1966 LOGO.

TOOLE WILL GO

About that County Council election in 2011? My reports tell me that Wil Toole is going to make a run at one of those 11 seats. Political operatives are saying Toole will be a formidable candidate. Here’s why:
1. Name Recognition. Toole ran a very credible campaign as an independent last time around. He got the necessary signatures and ran a very good grassroots campaign. He has done this before.
2. He knows County government inside and out. A regular attendee at the Commissioner’s meetings, Toole has been generous in his suggestions. However most of them seem to have fallen on deaf ears.
3. While many will brand Toole an old line Democratic crony, the fact of the matter is he’s torked off a lot of powerful people. Mary Anne Petrilla has no love for him because his entry as an Independent foiled Bob Morgan’s run at Controller. The Walter Griffith people will tell you otherwise but Toole’s presence in that race was not welcomed with open arms by Chairman Bufalino. Controller Steve Urban always has kept himself from Toole and his suggestions at arm’s length.
4. Toole got 8,000 votes. As Joe Valenti of Pittston Politics pointed out, if there are over 40 candidates for these 11 seats, 6,000 votes might be competitive. 8,000 might get you in the top 5.
5. Toole has nowhere to go politically. He’s an older guy and doesn’t seem to harbor any other ambitions. His input and experience will be interesting on the 11 member council.
6. Toole knows the ins and outs of county government. Serving in Pittston City in the 80s and 90s, Toole brings a lot of experience in how a government needs to coexist with others at various levels. He did prepare and was successful writing DER Recycling grants for the city. We received funding for two recycling trucks with one being the first recycling packer approved in the state of PA. We also received grants for recycling educational materials as well as several thousand recycling containers guaranteeing at lest 2 per household
7. Plus if Toole gets on the board, look for him to play nice and not be an obstructionist. Old line players will gravitate toward him because of his knowledge and the reformers will not be threatened by him because of his commitment to the concept of government.
A Coast Guard veteran, Toole has worked in private business and is currently retired. Except for attending Commissioner’s meetings and writing letters to the editor of the local paper offering suggestions. Maybe someone should take him up on them.

POINT BY POINT

The Liberals are disappointed, the Conservatives are complaining. The people are talking about the compromise put together by President Obama and the Congress. Here's a point by point explanation of what you'll see in the agreement. But before you see that, I have to say that it is an indictment of the leadership of the Democrats that they could not get this done before the Election. They played it safe and lost. Hope and change, how about guts and glory. The framework agreement announced by the President secures vital tax relief and investments in our workers that will create jobs and accelerate economic growth. The plan has three key accomplishments:
• Working families will not lose their tax cut. A typical working family faced a tax increase of over $3,000 on January 1st. That’s avoided under this framework agreement, and working families won’t see their tax cuts go away next year.
• Focused on high impact job creation measures. The framework agreement includes some of the best measures for jumpstarting growth and job creation, including a full year of emergency unemployment insurance benefits, an about $120 billion payroll tax cut for working families and a continuation of tax credits for working families. This is on top of growth generated by extension of the middle-class income tax rates.
• Does not worsen the medium- and long-term deficit. These are responsible, temporary measures to support our economy that will not add costs by the middle of the decade. The President does not believe it is affordable to make the high-income tax cuts permanent and will continue to have that debate in the years ahead.
Overview of the Framework Agreement:
• Extending the 2001/2003 Income-Tax Rates for Two Years. The framework agreement includes a mutually agreed upon solution to the impasse over taxes by extending the 2001/2003 income tax rates for two years and reforming the AMT to ensure that an additional 21 million households will not be hit with a tax increase. These measures will provide relief to more than 100 million middle-class families and prevent a tax increase of over $2,000 for the typical family.
• Additional Provisions Designed to Promote Vigorous Economic Growth. In addition to the 2001/2003 rates, the Administration secured several provisions that are vital for our economy’s growth, which would not have been possible without this framework agreement: $56 billion in unemployment insurance, an about $120 billion payroll tax cut for working families, about $40 billion in tax cuts for our hardest hit families and students; and 100% expensing for businesses next year.

TRANSITION TEAM MEETING

Thursday night's transition team meeting for the new county government had some interesting developments. There was some controversy with regard to Susan Shoval being eligible to hold a seat on the committee considering that se is a member of the Diversity Commission. The rules were clear that if a member of any county organization or any type of office holder, you cannot serve on the Transition committee. It will receive a legal research and a report will be given before next week's meeting. Shoval was not present but did have a telephone hook up. Petrilla and Urban argued that the $89,000 was not requested properly and it was agreed that proper procedure would be followed. All through the meeting, Haggerty made the point that the people voted for the Charter and therefore, the Charter is the law. County commissioners must follow what the Charter requests. A Solicitor was hired at $500 per month retainer and $125 per hour service fee. During public comment, Mary Anne Petrilla was asked if if any county solicitor was paid a retainer and an hourly rate and she said no. Petrilla had a problem that five Study Commission members who serve on the Transition Team agreed to advertise for legal services. There was also a problem with Haggerty saying he spoke with other members and they agreed to elect permanent officers. Commissioner Petrilla was upset because the 3 commissioners were not consulted. The meeting took place with no public input being allowed till all Transition business was completed. When Heffron called for public input, the aforementioned Wil Toole wasted no time getting the floor and taking him to task for violating state law for holding votes without allowing sufficient time for public comment. During the meeting discussion, Commissioner Petrilla offered secretarial help but then reneged when it was said the person would not be paid extra. Wil Toole pointed out that if the person works at night, OT would be required unless the person volunteered service to the effort . Toole opined that all evening the point was made that the Charter is the new county government therefore, if a secretary was required to type minutes, etc during the day, that should not be a problem. Every employee must deal with the Charter. If an employee does not want to do the work, simply send them home. During the meeting, the committee talked about advertising for a consultant. Oh if I could do it over again I’d be a consultant! Why should they hire an outside consultant when there are plenty of example of Home Rule throughout the state. There is plenty of help available and redoing regulation is not that complicated. As they say in horse racing, “Here we go!!!”

RENDELL LIGHTS IT UP

Governor Ed Rendell lit up the ceremonial state Christmas tree in Harrisburg yesterday. The outgoing Governor pulled the switch and lit up the Capitol area. ornate Capitol rotunda. For years, the lighting of the tree had been left to first lady Marjorie O. Rendell and the late Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll. But with Rendell set to leave office Jan. 18 after eight years at the helm, this year's flip of the switch was given to Gov.-elect Tom Corbett and his wife, Susan.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT


MEDIA MATTERS

SUNDAY MAGAZINE

This Week on Sunday Magazine Dec 12 on WARM Radio, the Mighty 590 True Oldies Station, Brian Hughes interviews anti drilling activist Sandra Serhan from Harveys Lake about the negative impact drilling will have on our area, and plans for an anti drilling rally in Harrisburg on Jan 18th, Governor Corbett’s Inauguration day. Brian interviews the Ramsey family about their son Pete’s need for blood transfusions after he was prematurely born, and the need to give blood “For Pete’s Sake”! Shannon Ludwig also has details on Red Cross blood drives during the month of January. And Frankie in the Morning on Magic 93 speaks with Vanessa Wright about Toy Safety during the Christmas shopping season. Sunday Magazine, Sunday mornings at 5:30am on JR 93.7, 6am . n 97BHT & 97.9FM , 6:30am on Magic 93, and 9:30am on WARM 590AM.

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

This Saturday from 7pm to 1PM, Shadoe Steele has as his guest Sammy Hagar. Shadoe Steele’s show last week on WILK was a huge success. The beat will go on. Sammy Hagar known as "The Red Rocker", is an American rock singer, guitarist, composer and solo artist. Hagar was the second of three singers for Van Halen, as well as the original singer of the early 1970s rock band Montrose. On March 12, 2007, Hagar was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Van Halen. He has had the opportunity to work with some of hard rock's most famous guitarists including Eddie Van Halen, Ronnie Montrose, Neal Schon of Journey, and more recently, Joe Satriani. Outside of music, he is also well-known as the founder of the Cabo Wabo Tequila brand and restaurant chain. He currently resides in Mill Valley, California and also has a residence in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. His present musical project is as lead singer of a hard rock band called Chickenfoot In 1985 as a prediction of things to come, Hagar and Eddie Van Halen performed at Farm Aid. During that time period, An 8.1 Richter scale earthquake strikes Mexico City. Around 10,000 people are killed, 30,000 injured, and 95,000 left homeless........ The Plaza Accord is signed by 5 nations.....Italian crime reporter Giancarlo Siani is killed by Camorra.....The 1985 Brixton race riots are sparked with the shooting of Dorothy 'Cherry' Groce by the Metropolitan Police in Brixton, an area of South London, England. ...And here was Sammy Hagar performing.


CASH ON HAND

Defeated Congressional candidates Chris Carney and Paul Kanjorski have some cash reserves left from their campaigns. Carney had over $286,122 while Kanjorski had about 141, 008 left over. Don’t expect these guys to be taking a cruise with the left over money. Federal Election laws mandate that only cash can be spent in various ways. The dough can be allocated to other candidates’ campaigns or to political action committees or political party committees. They can also be used to pay off outstanding bills or loans. But they cannot be used as a parting gift for the candidate.

1966

Walt Disney dies while producing The Jungle Book, the last animated feature under his personal supervision. .....State officials say that Pennsylvania railroads could save more than 200 million dollars by consolidating their operations, in Scranton Mayor James Walsh ends his first year in office with a working relationship with City Council. Councilman Neil Trama returns to serve out his term after running unsuccessfully against Congressman Joe McDade for the 10th Congressional District seat and the number 1 song in America and LuLac land was "Mellow Yellow" by Donovan.