The LuLac Edition #1758, September 15th, 2011

PHOTO INDEX: VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN, THE LATE CLIFF ROBERTSON AS JOHN F. KENNEDY IN PT109 AND OUR 1972 LOGO.

BIDEN TO VISIT

On Friday, September 16th, Vice President Biden will travel to Northeastern Pennsylvania to view damage and survey recovery efforts from the flooding resulting from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. Additional media details will be released in the coming days. Biden is set to visit the borough of West Pittston. Plans for the visit have been ongoing with West Pittston officials being contacted by the Secret Service. Our good friend, Scott Cannon from Video Innovations in Plymouth put together this video of the flood damage.



TRIALS & TRIBULATIONS

It appears that there will be a few delays in the on going corruption scandal court actions. Developer Michael Pasonick’s sentencing has been moved to March of 2012. Former Senator Ray Musto’s trial which was supposed to begin in November has also been pushed back until 2012. Health reasons were cited as a concern. Meanwhile the sentencing of former Judge Michael Conahan appears to be on track for late next week.

2011 BLOGFEST

We’re planning another blogfest and will keep on doing them until we get it right. This fall’s event will again be on Friday September 23rd at Rooney’s Pub 67 South Main Street in Pittston and will last from 6pm to 11:30PM. All of the candidates running for office this fall should attend this event. You can get an opportunity to check out the competition, canvas shamelessly for votes, clear up any misunderstanding you might have with another person, or better yet start another one that can galvanize your campaign, meet the handlers that are helping your political rivals, and meet the bloggers who come out from under the computer desk for one night in the fall. Three criteria:
1. No speeches.
2. Cash bar.
3. You must wear clothes.
Last spring we had all of the Judicial candidates stop by, most of the County Council aspirants as well as various people running for school director and council in the land of the Lu and the Lac.
It’s on, so plan to stop by and say hi.

MUNDY BREAKFAST

A Breakfast Fundraiser for State Representative Phyllis Mundy will be held on September 24, from 9am-11am at Genetti's Conference Center. This year's event will feature as guest speaker, former DEP Secretary John Hanger. The cost of the event is $20. For tickets email phyllis.mundy2012@gmail.com or call 570-407-0173.

MORELLI KICK OFF

The candidate everybody seems to like Rick Morelli is having a Campaign Kick Off Party on today, Thursday, September 15th at Cusat's Cafe in Hazleton. It is located on 12th and Alter St and it will be from 6:00 pm till 9:00 pm. There is a $15 donation and food and drinks will be served.

GELB GET TOGETHER

Lesa Gelb is not taking anything for granted in the General Election Race. She’ll be having an event September 24th from 6 to 8pm at the Hughestown Hose Company Hall on Center Street in Hughestown. Donation is $25 bucks. Gelb secured both the Democratic and Republican nominations in the primary but has been out and about this summer talking to the people of Luzerne County.

RICK WILLIAMS EVENT

Luzerne County Architect Rick Williams is going to have a campaign event at the River Street Jazz Café on September 26th from 5 to 7pm. This event is a meet and greet with some sweet jazz music and refreshments being offered. Williams is running as an Independent for Luzerne County Council. I had the opportunity to meet him one on one this week and we’ll tell you more about that in Sunday’s LuLac.


HOMEOWNERS ASSISTANCE

Senator John Blake sent an e mail this past week regarding flood related information. But he also send one concerning homeowners dealing with the economy and their housing needs. Emergency Homeowners Assistance Deadline Friday. TOMORROW!!!
If you are at least 3 months delinquent on your mortgage as a result of involuntary unemployment, under employment, or medical reasons, you could be eligible for the Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program (EHLP). HUDs Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program (EHLP) can help you save your home. You must be the owner and occupant of the property in foreclosure. EHLP applications must be delivered to the PHFA office no later than Friday, Sept. 16 at 5 pm.
This is a free service. There is no cost to apply for this help. For further details, call PHFA at 1.800.342.2397 or click http://www.phfa.org/consumers/homeowners/ehlp.aspx
The following is a list of some of the items you will need to bring with you to the counseling agency meeting:
Mortgage statement and or delinquency notice showing you are at least three payments delinquent;
Last three years federal tax returns;
Letter of circumstance explaining why your mortgage is delinquent and documentation to support the delinquency;
Verification of all current household income account balances and monthly payments on all credit cards, student loans, car loans, etc.;
Deed to the property;
Photo identification;
Proof of real estate taxes and homeowners insurance.

LOWER RATE HIKE

Recently my good friends at the PHAN was able to deliver over 2,700 petition signatures to Governor Corbett’s Insurance Commissioner urging him to hold a public hearing before approving Highmark’s request to raise rates by 9.9% on Special Care. Special Care is the plan “offered” to folks who lost adultBasic--a plan that already cost 400% what adultBasic did, while limiting people to just 4 doctors’ visits a year!
It’s always infuriating to see insurance companies--especially “non-profit” insurers with billions of dollars in surplus--raising their rates and forcing more working families to drop coverage because of the cost. But this increase is especially outrageous as it’s hitting folks who lost adultBasic with two rate increases in less than six months. Highmark is putting the screws to working Pennsylvanians who are barely making ends meet at a time when they’re doing better than ever--sitting on $3.4 billion in surplus, and having taken in $1 billion more in revenue last year than the one before.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported on Saturday that Highmark is planning to scale back its increase from 9.9% to 4.9%. Highmark spokesman Michael Weinstein said: “We had heard a lot of concerns in the community about that issue. We listened to the concerns of the community and asked the department for a lesser increase."
This is an important and positive development--but it’s not the end of this fight. PHAN remains opposed to any increase in Special Care rates. PHAN believes that Highmark is lowering their increase in an attempt to avoid a public hearing, where they’d have to answer tough questions on how they’re using their revenues and prove that this increase is actually needed. If Highmark didn’t really need a 9.9% increase, why did they request one? Why will 4.9% work, all of a sudden? If anything, this last-minute reduction of the planned increase shows how arbitrary these numbers are--and it shows why we need real hearings whenever an insurer wants to raise the rates.

HIS SIDE

Remember when we hardly knew the kids of Presidents let alone Vice Presidential nominees? The Sarah Palin Traveling Road Show and Circus continues with a book published by Mr. Levi Johnston. Levi Johnston writes in his upcoming book that his ex-girlfriend Bristol Palin was so angry about her mother's pregnancy with son Trig that she wanted to get pregnant, too.
Johnston says when Bristol found out her mother, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, was expecting a baby she responded she should be having a baby, not her mother. He says she told him in March 2008, "let's get pregnant."
His book, "Deer in the Headlights: My Life in Sarah Palin's Crosshairs," comes out Sept. 20. In Bristol Palin's own book, "Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far," released last June, she says she lost her virginity to Johnston on a camping trip when she got drunk on wine coolers.
Johnston, who has feuded often with the Palin family, says in his book if that's when Bristol first had sex, he "wasn't there." He says they did camp with friends but it was "well after" the two, who began dating in 2006, were sexually active. He says he remembers an instance in which Bristol wanted to get alcohol but he was against it because she would "lose her judgment" when drinking.
Johnston says he had "been too dumb" to use protection while dating Bristol but knew having a baby was "what she wanted." Okay, I just saved you the cost of buying this guy’s book. She was drunk, he was dumb, badabing, they had a kid who most likely will write her own book in 15 years. Take the money you might have spent on this book and donate it to flood victims. Take the time you might have spent even thinking about buying this book and donate some time for the flood victims.

PROTEST IN WILKES BARRE

There appears to be an event being set up for the Saturday in Wilkes Barre. It appears there will be a protest against the Mayor and city who allow monopoly pricing to exist. Apparently the group will be targeting the Mayor for his relationship with LAG towing. The group organizers are asking people who feel victimized by the Leighton administration to send an Email to the E mail address at the bottom of the web site GratefulHands.net. The protest takes place from 2 to 4pm at City Hall. According to the group’s website, it is an event that is “apolitical” even though they appear to go out of their way to label it Corruption in Leighton Land”. The event is free.

CLIFF ROBERTSON

Cliff Robertson died last Saturday. He was 88 and perhaps most famous for his role as John F. Kennedy in PT109. HE won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the movie Charly. Robertson played many political roles including a CIA Director in “The Company”, a former Cabinet member in ABC’s “Washington Behind Closed Doors” and an ambitious U.S. Senator in Gore Vidal’s “The Best Man”.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT


MEDIA MATTERS

STORM POLITICS

This week WYLN TV 35’s Tiffany Cloud hosts State Representative Tarah Toohil from the 116th legislative district. Storm Politics can be seen on WYLN TV 35 at
Storm Politics can be seen on WYLN TV 35 THURS @ 9:30 PM • SAT @ 5 PM SUN @ 11 AM, MON @ 9:00 PM • TUES @ 4:30 PM.

ECTV

To borrow from the Lu Lack Political Letter ECTV Live for the week of September
19th will be 'Something completely different.' Judge Tom Munley plans to use the program as a forum to interview his co-host and producer, David DeCosmo. Judge Munley tells us he'd like the viewers to know more about DeCosmo who has spent more than 50 years in the broadcasting industry. The program is broadcast on Comcast CH19 and airs each day at Noon and Midnight. On Wednesday the program is presented following the Scranton City Council meeting which begins during the Noon hour.

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

This week Shadoe Steele’s guest on Saturday Night Live At the Oldies will be Brian Hyland. No really, this time for sure. Hyland did not appear before Labor Day and then last week was prempted by the Penn State post gsame. But this week Shadoe Steele assures me his guest will be Brian Hyland. Saturday Night Live at the Oldies can be heard on WILK AM % FM Saturday night from 7pm to midnight with ABC News on the top of the hour..

SUNDAY MAGAZINE

This Week on Sunday Magazine, Brian Hughes speaks with Shannon Ludwig from the Wyoming Valley Red Cross about the Red Cross recovery efforts in aiding flood victims in the Wyoming Valley, and how you can help. An encore of Brian’s interview with Jeffrey Box and Michael Horvath from the Northeast Pa. alliance about the group’s annual dinner and their “Bringing The World To Ne. Pa. event coming up next week. And an encore of Brian’s interview with Paul Taylor, Vice President of met Life Group Disability on the need for single Americans to have disability insurance.
Sunday Magazine, Sunday morning at 5:30am on JR 93.7 & 97BHT, 6am on 97.9X, 6:30am on Magic 93 and 9:30am on WARM 590 AM.

1972

West Germany and Poland renew diplomatic relations…………………. A parcel bomb sent to the Israeli Embassy in London kills 1 diplomat...Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos issues Proclamation No. 1081[4] placing the entire country under martial law………in the Presidential race Democrat candidate George McGovern asks President Nixon to debate him in the general election campaign. McGovern implores Nixon to stand before the American people since this would be Nixon’s last election for national office. There is no word from the White House or the President’s re-election committee…………in Pennsylvania 1972 was the last year 1972, the Pennsylvania Game Commission awarded the "Triple Trophy" award. The designation was for hunters who killed a turkey, an antlered deer and a black bear in one hunting season. It began in 1966…………..and in Wilkes Barre the Redevelopment Authority begins the hard work of rebuilding the downtown after the Agnes Flood. Many in the city believe that an entire restructuring of the downtown landscape should be planned and in 1972 the number 1 song in the U.S. and LuLac land was “Back Stabbers” by the O’Jays.