The LuLac Edition #3772, May 3rd, 2018

REPORT ON FACEBOOK, RUSSIAN CONNECTIONS ON WBRE/WYOU TV THE OTHER NIGHT

We were happy to be part of a report that our good friend, morning anchor Chris Langlois did on WBRE TV's 11pm News the other night. Here's how that went. 

BIG EVENTS FOR SATURDAY

WILKES COLLEGE YOUNG DEMOCRATS SET EVENT

Pizza, Pop, & Politics! will be held May 5th from 1 pm to 4 pm at Wilkes University in the Ballroom located in the Henry Student Center, 84 West South Street.

Here is the most up to date list of our Honored Guests:

Pa Democratic Party Chairman:

Jack Hanna

Lt. Governor's Race:

Lt. Gov. Stack

Mayor John Fetterman

Commissioner Kathi Cozzone

Ray Sosa

8th Congressional District Candidates:

Congressman Matt Cartwright

9th Congressional District Candidates:

Denny Wolff

Laura Quick

Gary Wegman

State Representatives:

Rep. Gerry Mullery

Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski

Rep. Mike Carroll

Democratic State Committee Candidates:

Wendy Cominsky

Tom Shubilla

Marilyn Calderon

Memo Lara

Nicarol Soto

Jenis R. Walsh

Paul Maher

Alisha Hoffman-Mirilovich

Ryan Zarkesh

CANDIDATE FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE, JUSTIN BEHRENS, TO HOLD

KICK-OFF RALLY, ANNOUNCE REFORM AGENDA

Justin Behrens, candidate for State Representative, will hold his General Election kick-off Rally where he will be introduced by a special guest, and outline his reform agenda to protect taxpayers and change Harrisburg. He is running in the 119th District State House seat.

The event will be held on Saturday May 5th, 2018 at the White Haven Veteran of Foreign Wars, located at 3 VFW Rd, White Haven, PA 18661. The event will begin at 5:00 pm.

THEN @ 5PM…..

The Saturday Overtime Committee and Operatic Society in conjunction with The Popular Front for the Liberation of Nescopeck Pass is planning a get together at BREWS BROTHERS on May 5th time TBD.
All are welcome.

COUNTY DEMS STILL HOLD LEAD BUT GOP GAINING 

Democrats may still outnumber Republicans in Luzerne County, but the GOP is gaining.
Luzerne County picked up 779 more registered voters since the 2017 General. Significantly, the number of Democrats still declined.
The Times Leader reported that the total voter count is 205,536, compared to 204,757 in November. The GOP total Republicans increased by 509 voters, with a total of 74,911. The Dems lost 228, bringing the party’s total to 106,328. That's still not too shabby but with a failing Democratic prty on the local basis, all you need do is look at how Republican County Council candidates have done in recent years.
Other third parties or those with no affiliation increased 498, to a new total 24,297.
Here's the big fat skinny on this. Republicans are up by 6,308 voters,  the Democrats attracted only 841.  Jennifer Learnes Andes reported that hose who unaffiliated/other affiliation category increased by 3,728.Bottom line, Republicans up in four digits, unaffiliated up by roughly half of the GOP total and Dems not even breaking a grand. If that isn't a canary in the Coal Mine for the Dems, then nothing is.  
Here's the thing though.  All parties, despite these numbers are flawed. Even with the Republican gains in the County, the only activity of note is coming from the 120th District. They railroad an active Chairman, and replace him with a guy who has been MIA. The party has done NOTHING to capitalize on the anger still present in this county about the way things stand. The Democrats win just because they have a majority in most cases. However, if a strong Republican candidate like Salavantis or Hughes goes one on one against a Democrat, the Dems can never cross the wire. And the unaffiliated Independents, they remain vanity voters who will pull a Third Party lever to feel good about themselves but rarely do ANYTHING to build a party that will sustain growth. 
Bottom line here, "Ob la Di, Ob La Da-Life Goes On" despite the numbers. 
 (LuLac, Times Leader)

CARTWRIGHT WARMING UP IN BULLPEN FOR FIGHT

Matt Cartwright warming up. (Photo: Cartwright campaign).

Congressman Matt Cartwright had the honor of throwing out the first pitch at the Moosic Little League recently. He was a little rusty but from all reports did pretty well. The baseball analogy is pretty interesting because with no primary opposition, Cartwright is sitting on the bench waiting for Joe Peters, John Chrin and Robert Kuniegal fighting it out for the GOP nod in the new 8th.
"It's been a while since my ball-playing days – I was little worried about throwing it in the dirt" said Cartwright. But as he waits, all the incumbent can do now is remind people what he has done in the last few terms and then figure out how to run against one of the GOP hopefuls.

WAGNER-BARTOS CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCES 73,500 DOORS KNOCKED; 431,000 CALLS MADE FOR TICKET

WITH TWO WEEKS TO GO, GRASSROOTS NETWORK FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS

Scott Wagner, Jeff Bartos (Photo: Wagner, Bartos campaign)

The Wagner-Bartos campaign today announced that paid staff and tireless volunteers, working in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Republican Party, have knocked on a total of over 73,500 doors for the Wagner-Bartos ticket since each candidate received the party’s endorsement on February 10. This same coalition has also made over 431,000 phone calls focused on getting out the vote on May 15.
Wagner-Bartos campaign manager Jason High said of the announcement, “These strong voter contact statistics show exactly why Scott and Jeff are well positioned to win on May 15. The grassroots network we have been building for months is gaining steam every day and will be essential in getting our campaign over the finish line. With a dedicated team like this one, we’re confident Scott’s message to change the status quo in Harrisburg will triumph over Governor Wolf’s ineffective leadership and failed liberal policies.”
“With two weeks to go before the primary our party, and the full power of the organizational structure that comes with it, is behind our endorsed ticket,” Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Val DiGiorgio added. “Leaders from every county and all of our extraordinary volunteers are looking forward to carrying this momentum past May 15 when we will turn our focus to defeating America’s most liberal Governor, Tom Wolf.”
Today’s release of doors knocked on and phone calls made is the latest example of progress the Wagner-Bartos campaign is making at the grassroots level.
• Sunday, Wagner received the endorsement of “Making America Great” PAC, a grassroots conservative organization of 4,000 members that is dedicated to electing candidates who champion small government policies.
• Last week Scott Wagner received a letter from 28 Republican county chairs reaffirming their support and their willingness to work for him in the closing stretch of the campaign.
• Wagner’s complete team of field staffers in every region of the Commonwealth was chronicled by WICU in Erie for their innovative efforts.

ELLSWORTH CONDEMNS GOVERNOR WOLF’S VETO ON SB 936

GOP candidate Laura Ellsworth (Photo: Philly.com)

Republican gubernatorial candidate Laura Ellsworth today condemned Governor Tom Wolf for vetoing a bill to reduce opioid addiction and was also opposed by donors of his.
Senate Bill 396, a workers compensation bill aimed at reducing opioid addiction among injured workers, directly addressed the prescribing of non-FDA approved “compound creams” which had been routinely prescribed to injured workers for exorbitant amounts of money by doctors in conjunction with a top workers compensation law firm - all of the above interests conveniently contributed over $1 million to Governor Wolf in 2017.
Wolf, instead, issued an executive order – something easily rescinded after the election – to give the appearance that he was cracking down on compound cream vendors, while still allowing them to bill taxpayers for the products.
“It is a disgrace and a shame that Governor Wolf, in his own self-interests and certainly not with Pennsylvania’s opioid crisis in mind, vetoed SB 936. This is another instance in which the Governor’s lack of leadership is on display - denying a bill that would curb opioid dependence and over-prescribing because it clashes with interest groups who have donated heavily to him.”
The compound creams had previously been the subject of Philadelphia Inquirer stories who had revealed the “unholy alliance” between the workers compensation law firm and the doctors who were overcharging and over-prescribing the non-FDA regulated creams.
A Pittsburgh attorney and civic leader, Ellsworth has spent the last several months traveling across the state, meeting with voters addressing the opioid crisis in Pennsylvania.

MEDIA MATTERS

WALN TV

BOLD GOLD COMMUNITY FORUM

This week's guest will be Mark Volk, President of Lackawanna College. 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 hosts Rusty Fender and David DeCosmo welcome Bernie McGurl, Executive Director of the Lackawanna River Conservation Association to the program during the week of May 7th. Mr. McGurl will unveil plans for this year's Riverfest in Scranton.
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!”

BOBBY V’S DOO WOP SOCK HOP 

SUNDAY NIGHTS!

1960 

Our 1960 logo.

The U-2 Incident began when an American U-2 spy plane, piloted by Francis Gary Powers, entered Soviet airspace ten minutes after takeoff from a U.S. base in Pakistan, at Peshawar. At 9:53 am (0653 GMT), his plane was struck by shrapnel from an exploding Soviet SA-2 missile while he was at 70,500 feet (21,488 m). Powers parachuted and chose not to commit suicide, and landed near Sverdlovsk, where he was captured alive.

Dr. Robert H. Goetz, a German-born surgeon, led a team at the Van Etten Hospital in the Bronx (now the Montefiore Medical Center) in performing the first coronary artery bypass surgery on a human patient….
WLS-AM of Chicago became the first large radio station in the Midwest to switch over to a rock 'n roll format..........

Outfielder Jim Lemon of the Washington Senators became the first Major League Baseball player to wear a batting helmet with earflaps. Helmets had been required in both leagues since 1958  but the helmet, required in Little League Baseball, was made available by Senators' owner Calvin Griffith, who ordered the headgear after Earl Battey was struck in the head by a pitch thrown by Earl Battey of the Boston Red Sox. Despite concerns that the flap obscured the batter's vision, Lemon got two hits in three at-bats in a 3-2 win over the Cleveland Indians…..
Caryl Chessman, 38, American criminal, was executed at 10:03 a.m. in the gas chamber at California's San Quentin Prison after ten years on Death Row. In San Francisco, defense attorneys had asked to present an argument, and U.S. Judge Louis E. Goodman had decided to issue a stay of execution as Chessman was being strapped into his chair, and instructed his secretary to call the prison, but the secretary had copied only four of the five digits of the telephone number, after which the call took a full minute to go through. Goodman blamed the defense attorneys for waiting until the last minute to seek a stay, commenting that "One of them, at least, should have been here earlier." Chessman, an accomplished author on death row for rape rather murder, had won eight prior stays of execution, and his death was protested worldwide.

At 2:00 pm EDT, all regular television and radio broadcasting in the United States halted for 30 minutes as the airwaves were taken over by CONELRAD (later the Emergency Broadcasting System), and sirens sounded across the nation, and all people outside were directed to go to the nearest fallout shelter. It was all part of "Operation Alert 1960" and regular programming was restored after 30 minute… The Fantasticks, the most popular musical of all time, was staged for the first time. The opening night, at the (off-Broadway) Sullivan Street Playhouse in New York City, was the first of a record 17,162 outings for the show, which would run until January 13, 2002...

.in Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Manager Danny Murtaugh says he will take the batting helmet is under advisement with GM Joe Brown…in Wilkes Barre, City Council directs police to set up roaming patrols in neighborhoods and 58 years ago the number one song in LuLac land and America was Jack Scott’s “What In the World’s Come Over You”.