The LuLac Edition #3204, May 5th, 2016

LAST MAN STANDING 

 Trump celebrating Cinco De Mayo and working on that "acting Presidential" thing. (Photo: CNN) 

It appears that with the departures of Ted Cruz and John Kasich, Donald Trump is the last man standing in this Topsy turvy GOP Presidential race. Trump won but now he has to get Republicans behind him. So far that’s not been successful. Both former Presidents Bush 41 and 43 have said they will not back Trump. Even Mitt Romney. Money men aren’t going to help him either.
Trump needs to build a fundraising coalition of small donors and loans. He will not get money from the GOP establishment. The GOP power brokers, love them or hate them, control the money. And General Election affairs have become billion dollar enterprises.
An example. As a kid when I was working for Hubert Humphrey in 1968, the campaign was thrilled when it hit the one million dollar mark in the last week of October. Richard Nixon had a few million more. We’re now talking about nearly a billion. Just to get started, Trump needs 235 million bucks and it should be noted he never raised money. That’s a big leap even for The Donald.

GEORGE W IN THE DUGOUT THIS ELECTION

(Photo: Getty Images)

HOW TRUMP HELPS MARSICANO

11th Congressional District candidate Mike Marsicano. (Photo: Marsicano campaign).

How can insurgent Donald Trump actually help a Democratic candidate for Congress in the Lu?? Especially after Trump packed The Arena and won the County by 77%? If Trump can’t get traction financially and if he keeps playing the fool voters may not take him seriously. A strong effort by Hillary Clinton as well as money raised can put Marsicano in a good position. Marsicano can attach the Trump negatives to his opponent Lou Barletta who has been steadfast in his support of Mr. Trump. With Hazleton City still paying the legal bill on Barletta’s Immigration excursion in 2006, the challenger can link Barletta to that issue. But you might think that Hillary Clinton might be a negative for Marsicano. She might. If the likeability doesn’t improve for Mrs. Clinton, Marsicano can target the Immigration issue and the unrealistic expectations it presents. He can have citizens bullet vote him on this issue. Marsicano doesn’t have to become the Statue of Liberty’s dance partner, all he needs to do is point out how much Barletta’s beliefs are still being paid by 11th District taxpayers.

GOOD LUCK TEDDY

New Wilkes Barre City Administrator Ted Wampole. (Photo: Liberty Mutual)

A great shout out to our friend Ted Wampole. Ted and I played (well he played, I attempted to play) for the Wilkes Barre City Hall Killer Bees in its halcyon days of the early 1980s. Guys like Mark Murphy, Bubba Fine, Billy Kunec, Rick Sorokas, the late Barry Deremer and even the late Mayor Tom McLaughin were part of the group. When Commissioner Bill Brace broke up the team to form an off shoot league, Teddy faced off against my team, The Lady Killers. (Again, his team played, we attempted).
Through the years I’d see him at political events. Most recently Ted helped run the campaign of former Mayoral aspirant Councilman George Brown. When Brown lost, Wampole joined the George campaign. I hope all the people who are Bernie Sanders supporters who say they’ll bolt and not vote for Clinton if they lose, look to Ted’s actions. He didn’t take his marbles and go home. He realized that the campaigns of Brown and George were not about him but about the future of the city of Wilkes Barre.
Yesterday Tony George named Wampole to succeed Greg Barrouk as City Administrator. Wampole will be an asset who can represent the city well and passionately defend it.
Years ago there was a man named Bob Wilkie who served a similar function to Mayor McLaughlin. Wilkie was irascible, sometimes combative but always had the interests of the city at heart. Wilkie passed away at a way too young age in 1988. But Ted Wampole with his education, love of the city and personality will remind many long time residents of the city of Mr. Wilkie.
We wish Ted luck in this new position. Like he did at Morgan B.Williams field in his ball playing days, he’ll knock it out of the park!

GEORGE FIRES POLICEMAN

Still staying on the city of Wilkes Barre this week Mayor Tony George fired a Policeman in the city. The Policeman allegedly waved his loaded gun at other officers at the station. From I what I understand this was pretty much open and shut. But there will be a union grievance and an appeal. I have nothing but the greatest respect for Police Officers. Especially the Wilkes Barre Police. But at what point does a union make the decision not to appeal? I bet even if an Officer was killed by this prank, the union would appeal.

ARE UNIONS A PAPER TIGER???

During the Pennsylvania primary this interesting statistic was presented. Here is the breakdown of union to non union households in the Commonwealth.
Pa Union households
Yes 26%
No 74%
With just 26% of households in Pennsylvania being union, why in the hell are politicians sooooooo afraid of them? I mean there are more non union workers than union workers. Someday a smart politician is going to figure out that if he or she gets enough non union voters to the polls, that power can be broken. The stats are there, now all we need is the will. Unions served their purpose, now sadly they are part of the political class mainly because the politician let them, by fear, become that way.

UNION OFFICIAL LOVES DONALD

So I was amused when I heard local union official Ed Harry embracing the candidacy of Donald Trump. Every person has the right to an opinion but Harry and his union have benefited from the good graces of the Democratic Party. It was never, ever the Republicans who helped the working man. Plus if Mr. Harry thinks that Trump will be a friend of Labor or the workingman, he is deluded. Trump who wants to bring jobs back has his suits and ties made overseas. How is he going to bring job s back? If Min Matheson were alive, she’d kick Harry’s ass. And remind him that another Republican, a guy named Reagan broke a union.
Trump keeps yammering about how he’s going to bring back coal mining! Dollars to donuts I’m sure he’s working on a plan to unionize the men. NOT.

MEDIA MATTERS

ECTV

Rusty Fender joins me, and our Director Mark Migliore in welcoming Bernie McGurl to ECTV.

Live during the week of May 9th. Bernie, from the Lackawanna River Corridor Association, will be outlining plans for this year's Riverfest activities! ECTV Live is seen on Comcast channel 19 (61 in some areas) and is aired at approximately Noon, 6pm, and Midnight every day throughout the week.

SUNDAY MAGAZINE

This Week on Sunday Magazine
Brian Hughes speaks with Nikki Stone about the "Vineyards by the Viaduct" event, coming up
next Saturday at the Nicholson Carnival Grounds.
Brian speaks with actor Greg Grunberg from "Star Wars, The Force Awakens" and TV's "Heroes" and Phil Gattone from the Epilepsy Foundation about their new website, talkaboutit.org regarding Epilepsy.
Brian speaks with Luciana Musto from the Nativity Miguel School in Scranton about their Food
Truck Fundraiser, coming up on Sat June 4th at PNC Field.
And an encore of Magic 93's Frankie in the Morning interview with Krista Somers from the Alzheimers Association about their "Ales for Alz" fundraiser coming up on Thursday at the Leonard Theatre in Scranton.
Sunday Magazine, Sunday morning at 5am on NASH-FM, 93.7, 5:30am on 97BHT, 6am on 97.9X and Sports Radio 590, WARM and 6:25am on Magic 93.

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.

BOBBY V’S DOO WOP SOCK HOP!!!!!

The Doo-Wop Sock Hop can be heard every Sunday night from 6P to 9P on “105 The River (104.9 FM) Host is the incomparable Bobby V. www.105theriver.net www.doowopsockhop.net

1971

Our 1971 logo.

Amtrak begins inter-city rail passenger service in the United States.....Arsenal F.C. wins the English Division 1 football league championship at the home of their bitter rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, with Ray Kennedy scoring the winner. (Arsenal FC will go on to win the league and cup 'double' 6 days later by defeating Liverpool in the FA Cup final)....The Harris Poll claims that 60% of Americans are against the Vietnam War. East German leader Walter Ulbricht resigns as Communist Party leader but retains the position of head of state. 1971 May Day Protests: Anti-war militants attempt to disrupt government business in Washington, D.C.; police and military units arrest as many as 12,000, most of whom are later released.....The US dollar floods the European currency markets and threatens especially the Deutsche Mark; the central banks of Austria, Belgium, Netherlands and Switzerland stop the currency trading.........In Pennsylvania a state constitutional amendment adopted 18 May 1971, acknowledging the people's "right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic, and esthetic values of the environment" and naming the state as trustee of these resources. Passage of the amendment came only two years after establishment of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources, which in the 1990s was reorganized into two separate entities. The amendment was ratified in 1972 ……..in Luzerne County Commissioner Ed Wideman says that even though he and his fellow Commissioner Frank Crossin might disagree, they make a good team. The two split shortly after the 1967 election and the death in late December of long time party leader Dr. John Dorris and 45 years ago this week the number one song in LuLac land and America was “Put Your Hand In the Hand” by Ocean. 

Plus 55 years ago today the first American in space made history. His name was Alan Shepard.