The LuLac Edition #4,448, December 31st, 2020

 TOP TEN STORIES IN LULAC LAND 2020

1. COVID AFFECTS COUNTY HEALTH AND LIVES  he Pennsylvania Department of Health on Saturday reported 263 new cases of COVID-19 in Luzerne County and the death count is at 423. That brings the total number of confirmed cases in Luzerne County to 16,285. Neighboring Lackawanna County has 8,189 cases and 261 deaths; Monroe County has 5,687 cases and 190 deaths. The Department of Health confirmed that there were 7,581 additional positive cases of COVID-19 on Friday, and on Saturday, there were 7,174 additional positive cases bringing the statewide total to 605,141. There are 5,925 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19, nearly double the peak in the spring. Of that number, 1,196 patients are in the intensive care unit with COVID-19. Most of the patients hospitalized are ages 65 or older, and most of the deaths have occurred in patients 65 or older.he trend in the 14-day moving average of number of hospitalized patients per day has increased by nearly 5,600 since the end of September. Statewide percent positivity for the week of Dec. 11–Dec. 17, stood at 15.8%. As of 11:59 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 24, there were 139 new deaths reported and as of 11:59 p.m., Friday, Dec. 25, there were 26 new deaths reported for a total of 14,883 deaths attributed to COVID-19. (Times Leader, Bill O’Boyle 12/26/2020)

2. TRUMP CARRIES THE LU, LOSES THE LAC BUT PROTESTORS STORM THE LUZERNE COUNTY VOTING OFFICE Donald Trump once more carried Luzerne County but with about 6,000 votes less than he did in ‘6. In fact, the Biden strategy was to cut down the margin of victory in Trump strongholds because they just needed to make up 44,000 votes total statewide. Biden carried the state by much more than Trump did in ’16.

In neighboring Lackawanna County, hometown boy Joe Biden carried the Lac. But after the election when the counting was still going on, the people from the losing county decided to protest in front of the election building  of the county that Trump carried.

Inexplicable stupidity? Trumpanzees logic for sure.

 3. CARTWRIGHT WINS IN LUZERNE COUNTY….Congressman Matt Cartwright representing the 8^th, Dan Meuser representing the 9^th and Fred Keller of the 12 all win re-election. Cartwright actually passed 5 bills in his time in office and Meuser and Keller disgraced themselves by joining a bogus lawsuit that would have invalidated their own elections.   

4. MAYOR COGNETTI TAKES OFFICE: Scranton’s newly elected Chief Paige Cognetti took office this year. She won as an Independent and has been holding regional meetings with other city leaders in LuLac land.  

5. ROOF BLOWS OFF CITY HALL IN WILKES BARRE IN THE MIDST OF COVID  On Easter Monday, a horrific wind storm blew off the roof at Wilkes-Barre City Hall. It took 8 weeks to repair and get City Hall personnel back at 40 East Market.  

6. COLLEGES, SCHOOLS  ON LOCKDOWN DURE TO COVID Due to Covid 19, classes were altered in area schools, some educators were laid off and graduations of high school and college turned virtual.

7. SCRANTON DIOCESE CEASES IN PERSON MASSES On March 14^th the Scranton Diocese degreed that all Masses would stop at various churches in the Diocese. Many of the churches did You Tube Masses until  limited attendance was allowed in the summer.

 

8. COUNTY ELECTION BOARD VOTES NO TO CERTIFY ELECTION County officials in Pennsylvania on Monday voted 3-2 on party lines to certify the results of the 2020 election in Luzerne County—a county where President Donald Trump defeated President-elect Joe Biden by more than 20,000 votes. But in a partisan twist that may shed light on the Trump campaign’s larger legal strategy, the two members of the Luzerne County Board of Elections who voted against certification were Republicans, while the three who voted in favor were all Democrats, according to Politico’s Holly Otterbein. After remotely hearing comments from citizens about the county’s election procedures for more than an hour, Democratic board members Jeanette Tait, Peter Ouellette and Audrey Serniak voted to certify the election results while Republicans Keith Gould and Joyce Dombroski-Gebhardt voted against it. (Dan Abrams Law Blog)

9. COMING AND GOINGS FROM THE LULAC POLICE BLOTTER:  Bill Courtwright former Mayor of Scranton was sentenced to prison and former County Commissioner Robert Codero was release from  his time. In Luzerne County former Judge Mark Civarella is asking for release due to CoVid.

10. MINOR LEAGUE SPORTS FALL VICTIM TO COVID: The minor league seasons all were a victim of Ovid. There was no RailRiders or Hockey action this year. Fourth of July celebrations were cancelled but many residents used their stimulus money to buy fireworks in an attempt to replicate the big bangs in both the Lu And The Lac.