The LuLac Edition #3752, April 6th, 2018

CIAVARELLA GET SOMEWHAT GOOD NEWS

Former Judge Ciavarella (Photo: LuLac archives)

A federal judge recently granted disgraced former Luzerne County Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. the chance to appeal a ruling denying him a new trial on some counts.
Ciavarella, as we all remember convicted of 12 of 39 charges for accepting kickbacks in exchange for funneling juvenile defendants to for-profit detention centers.
Earlier this year, Chief U.S. District Judge Christopher C. Conner threw out his convictions on the most serious charges — counts of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to commit money laundering. But the judge also rejected Ciavarella’s effort to overturn three counts of honest services mail fraud based on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.
TNo one was happy with the ruling. The U.S. Attorney’s Office appealed the reversal of Ciavarella’s convictions and Ciavarella made it known in a court filing that he intended to appeal Conner’s refusal to overturn the mail fraud convictions.
Conner granted Ciavarella’s motion allowing the appeal. It is in the hands of the The Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
Ciavarella is six years into his 28-year sentence, Many feel he should just shut up an go away.  But Ciavarella is tenacious and has time to make his case once more. (LuLac, Citizen's Voice) 

REACTION TO THE NEW DISTRICTS

While the State GOP whines about the fact that Supreme Court Justices need to be impeached, the real grown ups in the state are taking it in stride. Some are confused, dismayed and concerned but that happens when changes happen. I remember the outcry when Wilkes Barre went from 7 at large Council seats to 5 district ones. But now its as natural as franks and beans. Anyway, our friend Andy Mehalshick did a story about it recently. Here’s his report:

PROPERTY TAX REFORM STILL AN ONGOING FIGHT 

PROPERTY OWNERS : LUZERNE, LACKAWANNA , WYOMING, MONROE, DISTRICT 22

Here is the latest  missive from supporters of Property Tax Reform. 

We are members of the Pennsylvania Taxpayers Cyber Coalition 87 member groups. Luzerne ,Lackawanna Property Owners, Captaxes 4 , Wilkes Barre Area Taxpayers Association
Election is coming up shortly and you have Two Candidates that are running for office. in your district. . Senator John Blake and Frank Scavo
Did you receive Your school property tax bill for Abington Heights, Lackawanna Trail, Carbondale Area, North Pocono, Dunmore, Riverside, Forest City Regional, Valley View ?
Do you want to eliminate your school property taxes/,. Because No tax should have the power to leave you Homeless.! .
Lackawanna County had an 45% in crease in foreclosures since April 2013. 10,000 homes are sold at tax sales every year in Pa. Your local newspaper recently had 13 pages of homes up for sheriff sale.
We need to stop this with school property tax Independence Act 76!
John Blake's "NO" vote defeated School Property Tax Elimination in the Senate last November. Had he voted YES the bill would have passed 25-23. If he voted YES , as he did last session in Finance Committee, and promised constituents, Your school property taxes would have taken an historical step towards elimination. Think about it when you get your next school bill! Abington Heights, Lackawanna Trail ,Carbondale Area, North Pocono, Dunmore, Riverside, Forest City Regional, Valley View,
Pa Homeowners pay about $13 billion annually in school property taxes. Returning that money to homeowners to spend as they please would create an organic, massive stimulus for the Pennsylvania's economy.
Lackawanna County has one of the highest median property taxes in the United States, and is ranked in the top 13% of medium property taxes. Ref. Taxrates.org
The average yearly property tax paid by Lackawanna County residents amount to 3.4% of their yearly income! Ref Taxrate. org
State Senator John Blake has lied to the public. He lied to his constituents. he lied to legislators. But came through for the special "self" interests.
Tell him that 100's of sheriff sales in Scranton is too much! He does not support YOU taxpayers, only the special interest who gave him $ 100,000 to vote their way. ref. FOLLOWTHE MONEY.ORG.
VOTERS IT'S TIME FOR A CHANGE . DO YOU WANT ELIMINATION OF SCHOOL PROPERTY TAXES ? WE THE MEMBERS OF THE PTCC 87 PA GROUPS LUZERNE LACKAWANNA PROPERTY OWNERS, PRES,CHARLES URBAN, CAPTAXES 4 PRES. GRACE GRIFFITHS , WILKES BARRE AREA TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION PRES.AUDREY BISCONTINI ARE ASKING YOU TO VOTE FOR FRANK SCAVO FOR SENATOR DISTRICT 22 WHO SUPPORTS ELIMINATION OF SCHOOL PROPERTY TAXES AS SENATOR BLAKE IS NOT A SUPPORTER

TED NUGENT SAYS PARKLAND SURVIVORS ARE ‘MUSHY BRAINED CHILDREN

(Photo: assholes r us.....okay, okay, tmttacical.com)

NRA board member and conservative rocker Ted Nugent blasted the survivors of the Parkland school shooting, claiming there is “irrefutable” evidence that “they have no soul.”
During an appearance on some unknown talk show, The Joe Pags Show, the Republican guitarist and "shit the pants" coward described the student gun reform advocates “as mushy brained children who have been fed lies.”
“They’re actually committing spiritual suicide because everything they recommend will cause more death and mayhem,” Nugent continued. “Guaranteed.”
Let me tell about Ted Nugent. This is a guy who was the ultimate draft dodger. To get out of serving, (yeah he had to carry a gun!!!) Nugent after bowl movements never, ever cleaned himself. One month before his meet up with the draft board, Nugent gorged on junk food then a week later, after disavowing himself of all thing personal hygiene, he never used the toilet.
Pig, slob, hypocrite. This guy tell us how those students at Parkland are wrong! Take a look see at this. 

CARTWRIGHT ANNOUNCES $1.7 MILLION TO LUZERNE COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY

Congressman Matt Cartwright (Photo: LuLac archives)

U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright announced the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded a $1,700,000 grant to the Luzerne County Transportation Authority. The funds will be distributed via the U.S. Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
The Bus and Bus Facilities Infrastructure grant program makes federal resources available to replace, rehabilitate and purchase buses and related equipment. Luzerne County Transportation Authority will use the funding to purchase four new 35-foot Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) replacement buses. The purchase of new buses helps increase the availability of clean, efficient, and reliable public transportation options for transit-dependent and choice riders across Luzerne County.
“An investment in public transportation is an investment in employment,” said Rep. Cartwright, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “I will continue to support improving our transportation systems in the 17th Congressional District; funding of this kind keeps people working, supports small businesses, and helps the economy grow.”
“We are excited to be able to replace four buses in our aging fleet and are thankful to Congressman Cartwright and our federal officials for their help,” said Norm Gavlick, executive director, Luzerne County Transportation Authority. “We are extremely grateful for the funds needed to replace transit buses that are fifteen years old and are long past their useful life. We look forward to replacing even more of our fleet in the near future.”
Transit services supported by FTA span many groups and provide wide-ranging benefits. Since 1964, FTA has partnered with state and local governments to create and enhance public transportation systems, investing more than $12 billion annually to support and expand public rail, bus, trolley, ferry and other transit services. That investment has helped modernize public transportation and extended service into small cities and rural communities that previously lacked transit options.

WAGNER REPORTS OVER $6.2 MILLION CASH-ON-HAND; NEARLY DOUBLE MANGO FIGURE HAS OUT RAISED MANGO ALMOST 5:1 IN 2018

Republican candidate Scott Wagner (Photo: Wagner campaign)

2018 gubernatorial candidate Scott Wagner today reported over $6.2 million cash-on-hand, doubling reports by Paul Mango. Wagner raised nearly $2.8 million in the first three months of 2018, which is almost five times as much as Mango.
“As the race picks up pace, I am encouraged by the number of people who are supporting my agenda to bring change to Harrisburg and turn our government back over to the taxpayers,” said Scott Wagner. “You will continue to see me campaigning in every corner of the Commonwealth and the investments Pennsylvanians are making in my candidacy are going to continue to help me do that.”
“We are pleased with where we are financially with the primary election less than two months away,” said Campaign Manager Jason High. “The reports that were filed today demonstrate that there is only one Republican in the race that has the grassroots enthusiasm and campaign infrastructure necessary to defeat Tom Wolf in November, and that’s Scott Wagner.”

MEDIA MATTERS 

WALN TV

BOLD GOLD COMMUNITY FORUM

This week's guest is Bryan Glahn, author of Hurricane Agnes and the Wyoming Valley. Tune in Sunday morning at 6 on 94.3 The Talker; 6:30 on 1400-The Game, NEPA's Fox .Sports Radio and 106.7 fm; and at 7:30 on 105 The River.

ECTV LIVE

ECTV Live welcomes Owen Worozbyth from the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority to the program during the week of April 9th. Mr. Worozbyth will review a number of Earth Day related activities scheduled for the area during the coming weeks. 

 ECTV Live can be seen on Comcast channel 19 (61 in some areas) and is aired during the Noon, 6pm and Midnight hours each day of the week. Following Monday's Live program the show will become available on Electric City Television's YouTube channel which can be viewed on your computer.

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!”

1960

Our 1960 logo

The United States launched the first weather satellite, the 270 pound TIROS-1, from Cape Canaveral at 6:40 a.m. EST. The name was an acronym for Television Infra-Red Observation Satellite. The same evening, satellite weather photos were introduced to the world, on television, for the first time. Taken from an altitude of 450 miles, the pictures of cloud cover confirmed the spiral pattern of winds in a storm........The Charismatic Movement, also referred to as the "Charismatic Renewal", began when Episcopal Priest Dennis Bennett told his congregation at St. Mark's in Van Nuys, California, that he had experienced Spirit baptism accompanied by speaking in tongues. The media soon covered the event as the intrusion of Pentecostalism into a main line church… At the 32nd Academy Awards ceremony, Ben Hur won a record eleven Oscars, including Best Picture…. 

Choosing between two U.S. Senators, voters in Wisconsin overwhelmingly favored John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts over Hubert Humphrey from neighboring Minnesota, by a margin of 478,118 to 372,034 in the first major primary for the Democratic nomination. Vice-President Nixon was unopposed for the Republican nomination.

The name for Oakland, California's new pro football team was announced. The Oakland Señors were renamed the "Raiders" nine days later…….in Pennsylvania Senator Joe Clark says the Eisenhower administration has become inert…..in Pittston insurance executive Robert Loftus toys with the idea o running for Mayor in 1961…and fifty eight years ago the number one song in LuLac land and America was “Sink The Bismark” by Johnny Horton.

Then years later, here is another version we unearthed.