The LuLac Edition #3244, July 9th, 2016

FOX AND “FRIENDS”?

Gretchen Carlson and Roger Ailes. (Photo: Getty Images)

It came as no surprise to me that there is currently a controversy at Fox News regarding harassment of women. There is currently a lawsuit against Fox Chair Roger Ailes Fox News host Gretchen Carlson may be the most high profile accuser but I guarantee you she will not be the last.
The Carlson firing and its aftermath has now started a Bill Cosby like cascade of women who are accusing Ailes of sexual harassment in the work place. There are some who even back to his days working on The Mike Douglas Show.
Ailes has had a contentious relationship with the press and he’ll have no friends there. However you can bet Rush Limbaugh who helped launch the Talk Show host’s career will be leading the charge for him.
Just watching Fox News and the wardrobe choices for women had to give you a clue. I have nothing against great dresses and great looking women. But on every Fox Show I ever watched involving women, it was almost a pre requisite that extremely short skirts sans desk were the norm .
There is talk that this will be a blockbuster sensational case mirroring the Bill Cosby suits.
Wonder what a certain Presidential candidate will make or Tweet of this? Uh just a hint, he’s the one not wearing the pant suit.

COAL MINE IN THE CANARY AT PITTSTON

It was reported this week that Pittston City, my old hometown was short $230,000 short of its minimum police pension payment. Minimum. This was not the first time it happened either.
No less an authority that Pa. Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said so. Now to be clear Pittston paid its 2014 bill of $295,000 but there was also an interest payment of about $40.000.
But what should be troubling is that DePasquale characterized the city has having “struggles” in meeting the payments. That can’t bode well for the town that has done an outstanding job of reinventing itself.
Honestly when I was a kid the town was pretty much on the decline. But we were told we were always in the black. Well maybe the pendulum swung too far.
However the City Manager told the Times Leader that the city will give less to the downtown infrastructure as well as setting aside revenue to dedicate payment to the pension fund.
Pittston is emblematic of the state pension issue. The City is not alone. The Times Leader’s Steve Mocarsky reported that in the state half of the municipalities have 8 billion dollars in unfunded liability. And there is no collective bargaining because the state mandates binding arbitration. Still another thing on the “to do” list of the State Legislature.