The LuLac Edition #2884, April 23rd, 2015

WHAT SPELLS TROUBLE FOR BUSH AND WALKER 

Scott Walker and Jeb Bush. (Photo: Florida Politics.)

Right now there are a lot of people in the GOP saying that when all the dust dies down, their party will choose a person that will have a middle of the road belief system (as near as this current GOP can get) and pick either Jeb Bush or Scott Walker. It is possible but there might be one big detour.
The Republican party has a huge Evangelical base. That base will split among religious right candidates like Mike Huckabee, John Kasich, Rick Santorum (if he gets in) and others aligned with that segment of the party. But if one candidate can persuade that group to vote as a block, there is a possibility that the party can get a candidate with a substantial delegate count by a sweep. Some are calling it the Religious Right Super primaries. If one candidate or even two win the Iowa, South Carolina, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama primaries they will be a force to be reckoned with.
A smart strategy would be for an Evangelical to take Iowa, ignore New Hampshire and do a full assault on these early states. That will leave moderates like Walker and Bush in the dust. In Presidential politics that’s trouble.

THE TRAIN STATION IN WILKES BARRE

(Photo: Warren Ruda)

My dad was on the railroad. My uncles and grandfathers worked there too. My late uncle Andrew Dziak sat atop the watch house from 11 to 7am five days a week on Market Street in Wilkes Barre and regaled us with stories about what was happening in Wilkes Barre after dark in the 1960s from his perch.
Mrs. LuLac and I had dinner at the rebuilt station when Marvin Roth rebuilt it. I enjoyed night time meals at The Palooka Diner when the Kornfelds ran it. I have nothing but respect for the railroad as well as that historic building. Like many things in Wilkes Barre and this area it fell into disrepair. When it fell apart, a slick operator conned County Commissioners into giving him 5 million for it. County Manager Bob Lawton said it wouldn’t create jobs and the County needed to get out of debt. He stopped seed funding for the redevelopment of it.
The other day County Council members toured it and found homeless people living there , even crapping there.
County officials say they’d like to see what can be done and that it would be a shame to get rid of a building that was more than 140 years old and a historical landmark. I agree it would be a shame. But there is nothing worth there salvaging. We got rid of the Sterling and the Old Fell House. There are railroad buffs who might find this intriguing but with Steamtown to our north once more we are saturating a market. We attracted visitors to the Train station worked for a while once. Then we let it go to pot. Like we do with most everything.
Tear it down, tell the homeless to pack their bags and get a job, and put it up for sale with a private developer. Let them invest their money to make it go. Not one more cent should be used on this building with county or state money. If we can sell it, let’s put up a huge plaque. But let us not go down memory lane and try to save this again so some shyster can recoup the taxpayer money after it gets screwed up again.

CHIMPS AS HUMANS

I was very amused to hear the big debate about how an animal rights activist was trying to get a court decision to make chimps categorized as humans. I’m all for the fair treatment of animals. But c’mon. More people were making more of a fuss over this than the plight of refugees who may come over from Syria. Rule of thumb here, let’s take care of PEOPLE first. Sunday Facebook was filled with hate over the U.S. accepting refugees from Syria. But oh those chimps, let’s welcome them with open arms..until they rip your face off!

CARTWRIGHT HOSTING MAYORS’ CONFERENCE

Congressman Matt Cartwright. (Photo: LuLac archives).

U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright is hosting a Mayors’ Conference for mayors and municipal leaders from across northeastern Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley.
The purpose of the event is to provide an opportunity for mayors and municipal leaders to come together and discuss important issues and economic development.
Rep. Cartwright is committed to increasing municipal leaders’ awareness of funding opportunities for economic development and providing opportunities to learn more about best practices from their peers.

The event is Saturday, April 25, 2015, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at King’s College,  King’s on the Square, 20 Public Square in Wilkes Barre.

U.S. REP. CARTWRIGHT, SENATORS DURBIN AND MURPHY INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO MEET DEMAND FOR HIGH-QUALITY PROSTHETIC CARE FOR VETERANS

U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright will join U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) to introduce two bills to improve orthotics and prosthetics care for the nation’s service members and veterans. The legislation would enhance research in best practices and support colleges and universities seeking to establish degree programs to train specialists.
“Our nation’s brave warfighters have served and continue to serve in Afghanistan and Iraq with honor and distinction. Unfortunately, over 1,700 of these brave individuals have undergone amputations as a result of combat-related injuries over the past decade due to these wars,” said Cartwright. “The impending end to these conflicts simply indicates the start of a grueling recovery for far too many veterans, and we have a moral obligation to provide our heroes with the best health care available. The two bills I’ve introduced today will enhance orthotic and prosthetic research and expand training opportunities to ensure our amputee warfighters retain access to the appropriate clinicians provide more resources.”
Today’s legislative package is divided into two bills. The first, the Wounded Warrior Workforce Enhancement Act of 2015, authorizes a competitive grant program to help colleges and universities develop master’s degree programs focusing on orthotics and prosthetics. Each institution receiving one of these grants will require students to rotate through facilities run by the Departments of Veterans Affairs or Defense, or that hold VA contracts. The bill also requires the VA to establish a Center of Excellence in Prosthetic and Orthotic Education to provide evidence-based research on the knowledge, skills and training clinical professionals need to care for veterans.
The second bill, the Wounded Warrior Research Enhancement Act of 2015, establishes the first centralized collection of outcomes-based research on orthotics and prosthetics. Currently many practitioners rely on personal experience and trial-and-error methods, rather than empirical data, to determine which prosthetic device will work best for a given patient. This can result in a patient being fitted for several different devices before the ideal fit is found, a lengthy and potentially costly process. The research collection established by the bill will give caregivers the knowledge they need to better match prosthetic and orthotic devices with individual patients, saving time and money by improving the likelihood that a veteran’s first prosthetic will also be the best. In addition, the research collection will provide information on advanced materials, technologies and devices.
“Illinois is in the lead when it comes to prosthetic and orthotic training and research,” Durbin said. “The two bills we are introducing today will strengthen our nation’s scientific workforce, and also allow Illinois hospitals and universities an opportunity to compete for federal support to solidify their standing as a leader in this field. The men and women who suffer serious injuries in the line of duty have already sacrificed enough. They should expect nothing less than the highest standard of care throughout their lives.”
“In the last fifteen years, Congress has been too eager to go to war and too reticent to do what’s required for those who go fight those wars,” said Murphy. “The brave men and women who put their lives on the line for this country deserve the best care available when they get home. I’m proud to cosponsor these two bills because cutting-edge care starts with outfitting the VA with an expert workforce that’s equipped with all available data resources and research.”
In the past decade, the skill set to provide this state-of-the-art care has become increasingly complex. Unfortunately, there are only around 7,100 prosthetists and orthotists nationwide, with one in five either past retirement already or eligible to retire in the next five years. Current degree programs are not widespread enough to meet this demand for new practitioners and should these degree-granting programs continue at their current rate, they will only be able to replace around two-thirds of the clinicians who retire in the next 20 years.
The Department of Veterans Affairs serves approximately 40,000 individuals with limb loss each year. Advances in medical technology have greatly increased the survival rate for even the most grievously wounded service members, but many of those survivors still lose limbs due to their injuries. That increased survival rate, coupled with the greater use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Iraq and Afghanistan, have led to an amputation rate double that of previous conflicts. Though requiring lifelong care, those medical advances also mean amputations do not preclude a long and healthy life: U.S. News and World Report reported in 2013 that there are at least 167 soldiers who have had a complete loss of an arm, leg, hand or foot who have remained on active duty.

KANE ON THE JOB

State Attorney General Kathleen Kane. (Photo: Pa. Independent.com).

Despite the hue and cry that State Attorney General Kathleen Kane is not doing her job, there has been every day movement on work being done in the AG’s office. Just yesterday Kane alerted Commonwealth residents of a reoccurring telephone scam in which consumers have been told there is a "freeze" or "hold" on their credit cards.
The Office of Attorney Generals' Bureau of Consumer Protection has recently received reports from consumers indicating an uptick in these scam calls.
"You should never give out personal or financial information over the phone," Kane said. "It is imperative that consumers protect this information to avoid being victimized."
The scam starts with a call from someone claiming they are with your credit card company. The caller says a temporary hold or freeze has been placed on your account and you must call them back at the phone number they provide in order to reactivate your credit card. This call is usually in the form of a robocall.
In another similar scam, callers claim to be affiliated with software or technology companies and state the consumer's computer has been compromised. The caller attempts to remotely gain access to the consumer's computer to install spyware, which allows the caller to acquire control of the computer. Once that occurs, the consumer's computer is held hostage until a fee is paid to the caller.
Attorney General Kane offered the following tips to help prevent consumers from becoming victims of these scams:
• Never give out personal information over the telephone.
• Never give out billing information over the phone, especially if you receive an unsolicited telephone call from a stranger.
• Never wire money or purchase green dot-type prepaid cash cards in response to a telephone appeal, whether it is from a stranger or someone who claims to know you.
• Never let emotion or fear overcome your common sense. If you get a call for money from a friend or relative, slow down and verify everything. Don't let anyone rush you.
• Never give out sensitive information to anyone on the phone unless you initiated the call to a company you are certain is legitimate.
• Never forget that you are in control. You can always hang up, find a company's number and call it directly.
• Remember this rule of thumb: never give out sensitive information to anyone on the phone unless you initiated the call to a company you are certain is legitimate.
Consumers can file a complaint regarding these or other scams by calling the Bureau of Consumer Protection's toll-free helpline number at 1-800-441-2555 or online at www.attorneygeneral.gov.
Kane also named former Ed Rendell spokesman Chuck Ardo as her new press secretary.

MEDIA MATTERS

HAZLETON MAYOR DEBATES

This coming week WYLN TV 35 will present two debates concerning the Mayor’s race in that city.
The first face off is on Monday night April 27th starting at 7pm with Mayor Joe Yannuzzi and his opponent Jeff Cusat.
Then on Wednesday night the Democrats square off, Grace Cuozzo and Jack Mundie debate the issues.
Panelists will be WYLN TV’s Gary Perna, Tiffany Cloud and yours truly with post debate analysis after the debate at 8pm.

SUNDAY MAGAZINE

This Week on Sunday Magazine

Brian Hughes speaks with chiropractor and former congressional candidate Joe Leonardi about Hillary Clinton's White House prospects in 2016.
An encore of Brian's interview with Peg Ruddy from the Victims Resource Center about their Great Chefs 25 Fundraiser on May 5.
And Brian speaks with Monica Thomas about a fundraiser to help a Plymouth family who lost their home to a fire, and about her anti-bullying campaign.
Sunday Magazine, Sunday morning at 5am on NASH-FM, 93-7, 5:30am on 97BHT, 6am on 97.9X & Sports Radio 590, WARM & 6:25am on Magic 93.

ECTV

ECTV Live hosts David DeCosmo and Rusty Fender will welcome a representative on Scranton's Junior League to the program during the week of April 27th. The League is celebrating a milestone anniversary this year and you'll hear all about the history of the women's organization as well as plans for this year. ECTV Live is seen on Comcast Ch 19 (61 in some areas) three times each day throughout the week.

BOLD GOLD COMMUNITY FORUM

SUE HENRY’S SPECIAL EDITION

Tune in to Sue Henry's "Special Edition" this week as Sue recaps the week's news. Special Edition is heard Saturdays and Sunday on these Entercom stations, WILK FM Saturday at 2pm Sunday at 6 am on Froggy 101 Sunday at 7 am on The Sports Hub 102.3 Sunday at 7 am on K R Z 98.5 Sunday at noon on WILK FM 103.1.

BUDDY RUMCHEK

Want to hear some great parodies on the news? Tune in to WILK Radio at 6:40 and 8:40 AM on Mondays. As Ralph Cramden used to say, “It’s a laugh riot!”

KAREL ON THE STREET

Tune in Wednesdays on WILK Radio for Karel on the Street. Hear some of the funniest and heartwarming comments on the issues of the day on Webster and Nancy with Karel Zubris.

CORBETT’S SOMEBODY’S WATCHING ME

Every Wednesday at 5PM, Steve Corbett shines the light on a Public official with his “Somebody’s Watching Me” segment. Corbett picks an alleged public servant to eye ball and observe. Batten down the lawn furniture in the driveway and that e mail machine. There is nowhere to hide when “somebody’s Watching”. Wednesdays at 5 on WILK’s Corbett program.

1965

Our 1965 logo.

New York World's Fair reopens for 2nd & final season…Launch of 1st Soviet communications satellite..........A Military coup is undertaken by Donald Reid Cabral in Dominican Republic……NY Met Casey Stengel wins his 3,000 game as manager……19th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 1…………Charles Ives' 4th Symphony premieres…………

in Pennsylvania Mayor Joseph Barr says that Forbes Field may someday be replaced but the time is not yet feasible from a fiscal standpoint…..in Wilkes Barre Mayor Frank Slattery says that the city can apply for Community Grants from Harrisburg but needs the cooperation of the City Council in submitting a plan and 50 years ago this week the number one song in Lulac land and America was the very first hit record by the Moody Blues called “Go Now”.