The LuLac Edition #2488, August 6th, 2013

Walter Griffith in front of the Luzerne County Courthouse. (Photo: Walter Griffith.com)

GRIFFITH GONE 

And so it ends. 
The end of Walter Griffith term as County Controller has come to an end. It was revealed that Griffith will resign tomorrow effective at 11AM. Griffith who has had legal problems stemming from his indictment the weekend before the primary election (and you think old time power brokers are gone, they’ve just turned from politicians to business types) said he had no financial wherewithal to fight the charges against him. Make no mistake, Griffith made his own bed but this is typical Luzerne County politics at its best. When a guy is getting way too close or annoys the wrong people, he’s targeted. It makes iy easy though to self inflict the wounds on yourself, which he did.
Griffith was elected in 2009 as a reform watchdog. He defeated a field of candidates the GOP stalwarts in Luzerne County might have preferred. Griffith prevailed with a grass roots effort in both the primary and the General election. As Controller, there are those that said Griffith was a newshound. Others said his investigations should not have been so microscopic. Griffith was against the Home Rule Charter but worked with the new Charter once it passed. He was a lock for re-election until he, like another County Controller in the past overreached. Griffith leaves noting he was renominated by his party. In that regard, he was not repudiated by the voters but rather the Courts. 
If anything, Griffith was way too open. If he had given those tapes to someone instead of calling to attention to himself, he might have survived cleanly. And the FBI would be looking more closely at CityVest than Griffith’s clumsy attempts at heroism. He was dedicated and his heart was in the right place. Unlike some of the politicians who served multiple terms in Luzerne County and fed at the trough. 
Good luck Walter. 

The pride of caller driven Talk Radio, Frank Scavo. (Photo: Times Tribune)

SCAVO ON THE MOVE 

Life long Republican Frank Scavo has been appointed to Chairman of the Old Forge Republican Committee. By unanimous vote, at Fridays Lackawanna county Republican Executive committee meeting, Mr. Scavo stated: "I welcome the opportunity, and I believe there is a resurgence of Republican interest, and activity, for leaders that are willing to stand up and give the people voice. We will provide this opportunity for voters and candidates alike at all levels of government. We will compare and contrast the sound fiscal and social policies that will insure a more successful future for all voters." 

MEDIA MATTERS 

POST SOLD 

The venerable Washington Post was sold the other day and it will end the association of the Graham family. Jeffrey Bezos, will pay $250 million in cash for The Post and affiliated publications to The Washington Post Co., which owns the newspaper and other businesses.
250 million in cash. 
You might think that is a lot until you look at the price tags for online entities that went into the billions. The post was the seminal paper for every young political science and journalism major in the 60s, 70s and 80s. It’s peak readership was 1993 and then after that readership began to fall. But the fact that someone has paid that amount of money says the old paper has some juice left. 

THE SPORTS HUB 

The Sports Hub, NBC Sports Radio debuted on Monday on 102.3, the former frequency of The Mountain. What better way to debut with A Rod and his drama, the stupidity and insanity of Riley Cooper of the Eagles as well Tiger Woods’ win over the weekend. Joe Thomas hosts the noon to 3PM edition of a local sports show. Somewhere, the late Ron Allen, Frank Silva  and Jim McCarthy Senior are smiling.