The LuLac Edition #3393, December 28th, 2016

TOP 10 LOCAL STORIES
in the Lu

 and the Lac

10. LACKAWANNA COUNTY PRISON INVESTIGATION.... A federal lawsuit filed this year accused six current or former Lackawanna County Prison correctional officers of repeatedly sexually assaulting or harassing a female inmate from 2007 until this year — the latest in a string of allegations of inappropriate contact between guards and women prisoners.

Many of the assaults happened after the county had specific knowledge that guards were sexually abusing female prisoners, but county and prison officials did nothing to remedy the problem, the woman says in the suit. A special investigation is currently being conducted and as of yesterday there were no real answers. 

9. LACKAWANNA COUNTY COMMISSIONER CLOWN SHOW...When the three new Lackawanna County Commissioners took office earlier this year it was nothing short of a clown show. Former Republican Pat O’Malley team up with new GOP Commissioner Laureen Cummings to put the top vote getting in the 20125 election Jerry Noariani in the Minority. Notariani filed suit but to no avail. O’Malley then aced out Evie Refalko McNulty for the Chief of Staff Job even when her name was on the door. The new Commissioners picked a triple dipper Andy Wallace to collect a check and another pension.
8. THE BOB MELLOW REHAB TOUR... Former Senator and felon Bob Mellow started on a rehab tour this year doing radio, TV and newspaper interviews. He was even hawking a book entiled “Used, Abused and Forgotten”. One of the allegations against Mellow was that he was paying rent to himself when he was running a district office. Kind of like the same thing the President Elect is doing now.
7. LAUREEN CUMMINGS AND THE BATHROOMS....The Minority Commissioner has been quite the presence on Face book even saying that the Democratic nominee should be locked up. Even after said nominee lost te election! But she stepped in it when she weighed in on the Rest room law passed by the Neanderthals in North Carolina. Check this out:
She took heat especially from NEPA Scene. Here’s that link: http://nepascene.com/2016/04/living-your-truth-lackawanna-county-commissioner-laureen-a-cummings-needs-held-accountable-bigoted-comments/
Bottom line is Cummings is entitled to any opinion she might have BUT she has to know the consequences when she is called on it from people living in the County she represents.
6. PEDRI REPLACES LAWTON.....Dave Pedri the Luzerne County Solicitor replaced Robert Lawton in 2016 as Luzrrne County Manager. Pedri was voted in by a 6-5 margin and became the third Manager under the Charter firm of government.
5. THE TONY GEORGE ERA IN WILKES BARRE....Former Police Chief Tony George’s hand no sooner left that bible when he was involved in a lot of controversy from the start. The Mayor budget was derailed by three new comers on City Council, Beth Gilbert, Mike Balusko and Tony Brooks. Then there was a dispute about checking accounts and a bank that supported his candidacy being one of the city vendors. As the year ended George’s Chief of Police was put under scrutiny by an internal survey of police personal that said under her rein moral was at a low. The Mayor has forged ahead but has gotten the taste of leading the Diamond city in all of its beauty and complexity.
4. TRUMP STORMS THROUGH PENNSYLVANIA IN THE SPRING..... There might have been doubts before the Pennsylvania primary from GOP insiders and the national press, But Trump took 66 out of 67 counties and made Pennsylvania the Waterloo for other contenders in the GOP field. We were on the air the day Trump came to town.
3. ORDINANCE PASSES IN WILKES BARRE... Wilkes-Barre City Council gave final approval to the city's LGBT ordinance in September. When it became, the intent was to ban discrimination against people in Wilkes-Barre because of their sexual orientation.
It also prohibits firing people or denying them housing on the basis of their sexual orientation.
The council in Wilkes-Barre voted 5-to-zero to approve the LGBT ordinance.
2. CONGRESSMAN CARRY CONSIDERABLE WEIGHT.... Not since the era of Dan Flood and Joe McDade has this region exhibited such powerful entities in the U.S. Congress. Pkus the interesting thing is all three congressmen have less than 8 years under their respective belts. Congressmen Barletta and Marino (respectively of the 11th and 10th) were the first to come out for Donald Trump in Pennsylvania earning them a unique entre with the new administration. Plus Matt Cartwright has been named to the very important Appropriations Committee in Washington. The combined resources of all three hopefully will help our communities grow.
1. TRUMP CARRIES THE LU, FARES WELL IN THE LAC..... Donald Trump accomplished what no other Republican candidate for President could since 1988 when he carried Pennsylvania’s 20 Electoral votes. He polled up margins in the red areas of the state, and kept the Democrat vote down in key areas. But the big story was LuLac land, Trump lost the Lac by 3, 491 votes and won the Lu by 26, 211. Trump beat Clinton by 49,000. So Half of that margin came from Luzerne County.