The LuLac Edition #3456, March 28th, 2017

TRUMP APPROVAL AT 36%

President Donald Trump now has an approval rating of 36%. He has reached that level faster than any President in polling history. For the week of March 20-26, an average of 39% of all Americans approved of the job Trump was doing as president, the lowest weekly average approval rating of his term. The period included a personal low 36% three-day rolling average approval rating for Trump in March 24-26 interviewing, the first three days after Republicans were unable to pass legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Trump's job approval remains at 36% in the latest three-day rolling average. (CNN)
The big news in the poll is that Trump’s support among white men is waning.
Trump's support has now fallen below the majority level among men, those ages 50 and older, married Americans and all non-Hispanic whites.
But I’m sure we’ll hear all of this is fake news.

MEDIA MATTERS

PAB AWARDS

It’s that time of year again when the Statewide broadcast awards are announced. This market had some big winners. Here’s a list:

WNEP

Outstanding Feature Reporting Reporter Nikki Krize and Videographer Tom Durant for story on people in Central PA dealing with the death of Randy Budd, the husband of the woman who was badly injured when a group of teens tossed a rock on the family car as it was headed on I-80 to New York. 

This is not a new thing for Krize and Durant who have won the award three times in four years.

Dave Bohman once again has distinguished himself as a dogged reporter with his outstanding story about former State Representative Frank Farina.
Outstanding Investigative Reporting -- Investigative Reporter Dave Bohman and Videographer Lou Romeo on Free Penn State Tickets for Lawmakers, and how Representative Frank Farina took the free tickets AND submitted the trip with his family as a business expense to state taxpayers. For the intrepid Bohman, this is his fourth award in five years.

WBRE

Outstanding Documentary Program: “What Happened to the Girl Next Door?” 

Laurie Monteforte hosted this and it was a gut wrenching story of how drug addiction can affect even the people we least expect.

Outstanding Investigative Reporting, “Luzerne County Rental Scam” . This was a win for the famed WBRE Eyewitness I Team headed by Andy Mehalshick.

WOLF

Outstanding Coverage of a Local Sporting Event: Fox 56 Basketball.

WILK

Outstanding Local News coverage  For Broadcast on 5/26/16.


Congrats to all. These awards tell us all just how media rich we are here in NEPA and the quality of people working in this market.

HOUSE PASSES BARLETTA’S BILL TO HELP COMMUNITIES REBUILD AFTER DISASTERS

DISASTER SAVE ACT STREAMLINES DISASTER RECOVERY ASSISTANCE TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

Congressman Lou Barletta. (Photo: LuLac archives)

The House passed by voice vote legislation introduced by Congressman Lou Barletta (PA-11) directing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to expedite assistance to local communities recovering from disasters and provide them with greater flexibility to serve their residents. Barletta’s bill, the Disaster Simplified Assistance Value Enhancement Act (Disaster SAVE Act), H.R. 1214, temporarily increases FEMA’s simplified projects threshold for disaster assistance to $500,000 and removes red tape to allow local governments more autonomy in managing recovery efforts. The bill, which now goes to the Senate for consideration, will streamline the efficient and effective delivery of assistance for small disaster recovery projects without reducing oversight.
“In one of the townships in my congressional district, FEMA reversed its prior approval and has been fighting for years with a local government over whether or not they should have paved a temporary access road that was built after a major flood,” Barletta said. “The cost of the gravel road was $230,000. The extra cost to pave it, which the community covered with its own funds, was about $50,000. The amount of money FEMA has wasted in salaries, administration, and legal fees trying to take back the $230,000 likely exceeds the entire project cost. This is red tape out of control, and it does not serve the taxpayers well. My bill would prevent other local governments from facing this nightmare.”
“We need a federal government that is more efficient and works smarter,” Congressman Bill Shuster, Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said. “I support this bill and thank my colleague, Rep. Barletta, for introducing legislation that seeks to support good government and reduce needless red tape and bureaucracy from the disaster response process.”
Under current law, FEMA runs disaster assistance recovery projects under $130,100 similar to an insurance settlement. These projects include a review of the damage, a cost estimate, and issuance of a repair grant. The local government is then responsible for managing the grant on time and on budget. In exchange, local governments have greater flexibility in how they rebuild and can enhance a project with their own funds. This approach dramatically cuts administrative costs, rebuilds infrastructure faster, eliminates the risk of cost overruns for federal taxpayers, and gives local governments the flexibility to rebuild in a way that best meets their needs. Barletta’s bill would raise the project cap for this program from $130,100 to $500,000, because 98 percent of all public infrastructure repair and reconstruction projects following a disaster cost less than $500,000. This threshold increase would sunset on September 30, 2021.