The LuLac Edition #4, 719, April 14th, 2022
EDITOR'S NOTE: The opinions posted in all LuLac editions are those of the LuLac editor and assigned partners associated only with The LuLac Political Letter and no other business, government or social entity.
THE LU GETS A NEW MANAGER
A few final thoughts on the final outcome of a new County Manager for Luzerne County. Randy Robertson was named the new manager by a vote of 9-to 1 with one abstention. Robertson got the usual 6 votes and then others followed to support the decision, if not necessarily him.
Both Chair Kendra Radle and Vice Chair John Lombardo said they still supported Romilda Crocomo but felt the County needed continuity. Radle even went so far as to question Crocomo’s treatment in the interview process by some members of Council. Here’s what I think is ironic, The Republicans who scream about tax payer waste and incompetence under both Pedri and Crocomo, thirsting for a change all of a sudden abandoned their taxing rhetoric.
They are hiring Robertson for $181.00 dollars. Pedri was making $138,00. I’m guessing Crocomo wasn’t asking for the max. So if she was hired she most likely would have been satisfied with what Pedri got. With her dedication to public service, who knows, she might not have asked for what even Pedri was getting. So the “tax payer advocates” led by the Lead dog Walter Griffith now think It’s okay to pay $44,000 more in salary and more in benefits.
The great Times Leader reporter Jennifer Learnes Andes writes that Robertson also will receive $4,000 toward health insurance because he won’t be participating in the county’s health insurance plan. His package also includes a $40-per-month cell phone allowance, $4,800 to cover temporary housing upon arrival and up to $15,000 in reimbursement to cover his relocation expenses, with the stipulation he must obtain three bids and accept the lowest of the three.. There is a potential that the change the “taxpayer advocates” want will cost an additional $71,800 dollars.
I guess holding the line on taxes is okay to spout when the Democrat run things but when the GOP 6 of Thornton, McDermott, Urban, Wolovich Carl Bienias III, and Kevin Lescavage cry and whine about change, the taxpayer pocketbook is pretty much put aside. Jeez, wonder what “Watchdog" Griffith thinks of all of this. I also wonder how the “cheering public” reacts once this guy is in and see if he’s worth the extra bucks and perks.
The nuns always taught me one thing. Numbers don’t lie and
this new guy better be worth the dough. Me? I’m not a “I hate taxes kind of guy. I gladly pay them
because of the consistent leadership I get for my dollar. I don’t whine and cry
that money is being wasted or people who have served the county are
incompetent. I don’t yearn for a “change
agent”. I just want my tax money spent on good, smooth running, non-dramatic
government. This fiasco was anything but. It happens when you have new officials who are weak and listen to a mob.
I don’t mean to be skeptical of Mr. Robertson and Council’s decision. But that comes from my real world work experience. When I was in the broadcast and corporate food industries as an employee I saw first hand the influx of “experts”, “out of the box thinkers” and those “fresh sets of eyes” people that were flown in, sanctified and made local managers look inadequate when they really weren't.
One of my former bosses from Rock 107, the venerable James Loftus referred to those people as “out of town jaspers”. Usually they came in, disrupted people’s lives and careers with their new ideas and then left after a short time. In their wake was needless chaos created of what was left to the hometown folk to fix at considerably less money.
Finally one more thought. This quote from Brian Thornton about Romilda’s Crocomo’s future. This is rich. He told the newspaper, ““I hope she sticks around” for many years to come.”
Really Brian?
She was ready to before you started getting “new information ” which according to you “was no big deal”. As a “taxpayer advocate” which you and your tag team buddy Kevin Lescavage touted in your radio ads before the election, it appears you abandoned that pledge as well as basic math in your “no big deal” stall. Your radio ads also talked about how Democrats with their big spending programs were stopping taxpayers of Luzerne County from getting a better economic deal and quality of life. Either you’re a liar or was carrying someone else’s water to hand pick Mr. Robertson,.
I wish Robertson luck. He’ll need it. I hope he remembers how he really got the job and will serve as an instructional manual in politics and Luzerne county. Looking ahead, I’m not quite sure Mr. Robertson. will be remembered once his tenure becomes one of another stop in his career. But local residents who know what good government is will certainly not forget Brian Thornton’s name and actions in all of this. He’ll be forever be known as the “water boy” who sided with the “out of town jaspers” selling out those sainted taxpayers who believed his and Lescavage’s radio ads about saving taxpayers money. .
One guy long ago took 30 pieces of silver. Thornton and your other 5 McDermott, Wolovich, Urban, Bienas and Lescavage cost their trusting and naïve taxpayers another 72,000 grand. Either amount in either era of history is just plain and simple a betrayal. .The original Robertson 6 should thank your lucky stars that the rest of the Council thought about the county FIRST and unlike them, POLITICS second.
I hope things go well but just in case it doesn’t,the orginial 6 should put their big boy and big girl pants on and OWN IT.
Rational citizens of Luzerne County will be watching. Closely.
Biden is on TV everyday explaining problems in the country and how he’s trying to address it. Unlike his predecessor, he is actually acting like a President. He can explain what he is doing without insults, bombast and lies. The man has a soul and bears it.t
He is like a foster parent trying to teach soiled kids The last guy might have made them feel good by bullying, acting out and telling them what they wanted to hear. But Biden is giving them the "real deal" and not hate filled pablum.
Biden is giving them what they need to be made whole but they resist.
Tearing down the soul of a nation is easy. Any moron can do it. Rebuilding the soul of America is hard work. Thankless at times. Filled with shark infested waters. But if anyone can do it, damn the polls and the naysayers who say Biden is ruining this country He’s not. Deal with it.
POLL: AMERICANS OVERWHELMINGLY SUPPORT 6 BIDEN PROPOSALS TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE
OR THIS PROGRAM BROUGHT TO YOU BY JOE BIDEN
When it comes to taking steps to fight climate change, Americans broadly support six key Biden administration proposals meant to transition the U.S. to renewable sources of energy, according to a Gallup poll released Monday.
Each of the six proposals was part of President Biden's Build Back Better bill, which received no support from Republican lawmakers and was effectively killed when Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., refused to back it.
Asked if they favored or opposed "providing tax credits to Americans who install clean energy systems, like solar power, in their homes," 89% said they favored that idea, while 11% said they opposed it.
On whether the U.S. should provide "tax incentives to businesses to promote their use of wind, solar and nuclear power," 75% of Americans said they favored that proposal, while 24% said they opposed it. Most experts say that a combination of wind, solar and nuclear power will be needed for the U.S. to reach the Biden administration's goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.
Earlier this month the Biden administration finalized tougher fuel economy standards for cars and trucks. In its poll, Gallup asked respondents their view on the idea of "setting higher fuel efficiency standards for cars, trucks and buses." Seventy-one percent said they favored that proposal, while 28% said they opposed it.
Sixty-two percent of Americans said they favored "establishing strict limits on the release of methane in the production of natural gas," while 35% opposed doing so. In November of last year, the Biden administration released a detailed plan for how to do just that.
The rise in gasoline prices, which stems in part from the war in Ukraine, has caused many Americans to consider purchasing an electric vehicle, or EV. One obstacle to making the switch from gas cars to EVs, however, has been cost.
The average price of a new electric vehicle is $56,437, roughly $10,000 higher than that of a new gasoline-powered car, according to Kelley Blue Book. To help close this gap, the Biden administration has proposed offering tax credits to those who opt for an EV, which does not emit greenhouse gases that cause climate change. Asked in the Gallup poll about the idea of "providing tax credits to individuals who purchase electric vehicles," 61% said they favored the proposal, while 38% said they opposed it.
Another plank of Build Back Better was for the federal government to subsidize the construction of electric vehicle charging stations across the country. Surveys have also shown that consumers are wary that they wouldn't be able to find enough charging stations if they were to buy an EV. On the idea of "spending federal money to increase the number of electric vehicle charging stations in the U.S.," the Gallup poll found that 59% of Americans favored doing so, while 40% opposed it.
At a time when climate scientists are warning that the window of opportunity to avert disaster from rising global temperatures is quickly closing, the passage of Build Back Better would have dramatically sped the pace of all six proposals. Still, the marketplace is showing signs of changing even without the passage of that legislation.
Last month power generated by wind turbines in the U.S. hit a milestone, becoming the second-highest source of electricity in the country for a 24-hour period, according to the Energy Information Administration. Sales of electric vehicles in the U.S., meanwhile, nearly doubled from 2020 to 2021 and are expected to continue to rise dramatically. The three biggest automakers in the U.S. have also pledged to stop selling gas-powered cars by 2035.
TROUBLE IN NEW YORK STATE
NY LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR RESIGNS AFTER ARREST IN FEDERAL PROBE
New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin resigned Tuesday in the wake of his arrest in a federal corruption investigation, Gov. Kathy Hochul said, creating a political crisis for her seven months after she selected Benjamin as a partner to make a fresh start in an office already rocked by scandal.
Benjamin, a Democrat, was accused in an indictment of participating in a scheme to obtain campaign contributions from a real estate developer in exchange for Benjamin’s agreement to use his influence as a state senator to get a $50,000 grant of state funds for a nonprofit organization the developer controlled.
Facing charges including bribery, fraud, conspiracy and falsification of records, Benjamin pleaded not guilty Tuesday at an initial appearance in Manhattan federal court. He was released and bail was set at $250,000. The terms of his release call for his travel to be restricted and bar him from returning to the state capitol in Albany.
He submitted his resignation to Hochul hours later.
“I have accepted Brian Benjamin’s resignation effective immediately. While the legal process plays out, it is clear to both of us that he cannot continue to serve as Lieutenant Governor. New Yorkers deserve absolute confidence in their government, and I will continue working every day to deliver for them," Hochul said in a statement.
This is a stutter step for Hochul who hand picked this guy as her number two. Expect blow back on her from ths. (aol news, LuLac)
STUDENT AMBASSADOR PROGRAM TAKES FIELD TRIP TO HARRISBURG
Senator Flynn with students. (Photo: Senator Flynn office)
It was an honor to introduce my Student Ambassadors on the Senate floor on Tuesday, April 5th, during their field trip to the Pennsylvania Capitol Building in Harrisburg! I've been very fortunate to have such an incredible group of high school seniors from the 22nd District, and it was great to be able to give them some much deserved recognition in front of my colleagues in the Senate.
LOCAL VETERAN APPLAUDS FEDERAL FUNDING FOR HEALTH SERVICES AT THE GREATER SCRANTON YMCA
Congressman Matt Cartwright (Photo: LuLac archives)
retired Lt. John Evans applauded the announcement of $1.85 million in federal funding to support primary care, mental health and substance use disorder treatment services at The Greater Scranton YMCA. This funding is part of a fiscal year 2022 appropriations package secured by U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright (PA-08).
The $1.85 million federal funding package will allow local YMCAs to contract with medical professionals in the community to offer wraparound health care services at their facilities, with a focus on much-needed behavioral and mental health programs. These programs, Evans stressed, are especially important when it comes to our veterans.
Retired Lt. John Evans
“A lot of veterans struggle with their mental health when they return home,” explained the Army National Guard veteran and Taylor resident who, at the age of 17, signed up to serve his country back in 1998 and was eventually deployed to Bosnia, Iraq and Kuwait. The victim of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack, Evans suffered shrapnel wounds to his face and leg and returned to the United States with a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Although he initially struggled to readjust to “normal life,” he is currently employed at SCI Waymart and credits much of his success to the mental health services he received through the Veterans’ Administration. Not all of his friends were afforded those resources, he said, explaining that several of his fellow veterans committed suicide or struggled with opioid addictions that lead to deadly overdoses once they came home.
“If this program had been available and accessible to the local community, perhaps some of my friends would still be here today,” he said. “This federal funding for the Greater Scranton YMCA is very exciting and will make a real difference right here at home. I’m glad this new program is being introduced, and I can’t wait to take advantage of it, myself.”
Access to mental health services and providers is a national challenge that especially rings true in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
“I was proud to advocate for these funds in Congress, and I look forward to working with the Greater Scranton YMCA to ensure the success of this new program,” said Rep. Matt Cartwright.
Trish Fisher, President and CEO of the Greater Scranton YMCA, says the funding will also help serve the underserved in our region who need it most.
“This vital funding will allow us to offer one-stop shopping for mental health and substance use services to those most in need,” she said. “It will also support the hiring of specialized staff and allow us to offer multiple proactive and preventive services, including programs aimed at the prevention of drug, tobacco and alcohol use among children. The YMCA is a charity, and we are proud to turn no one away for an inability to pay. These services will support members of our community who may otherwise not have access.”
CASEY, BROWN URGE FDA ACTION ON RECALLED BABY FORMULA
REPORTS OF ILLNESS RELATED TO INFANT FORMULA CAME FIVE MONTHS BEFORE ABBOTT DECIDED TO RECALL
Senator Bob Casey (Photo: LuLac archives)
Following multiple reports of illness and death linked to recalled infant formula manufactured by Abbott Nutrition, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) sent a letter to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf to request information on the FDA’s actions and plans to investigate these reports and to prevent other infants from falling ill. Because of this recall, parents are now facing shortages of baby formula. The Senators requested information on the current status of the FDA’s investigation into the contaminated infant formula, steps the agency is taking to make sure there is enough infant formula on the shelves despite the shortage and work the FDA is doing to provide information to families and caregivers affected by the recall and contaminated products. They are also seeking information about the FDA’s interactions with Abbott Nutrition prior to the recall and pressing the FDA to explain the apparent delay in their response following initial reports of infant illness.
“As you are aware, the FDA is responsible for overseeing manufacturers of infant formulas. Parents, caregivers, and the greater public rely upon the FDA to ensure infant formula on the shelves in our grocery stores and food pantries is safe to consume and supports healthy growth. It is unacceptable that FDA was made aware of complaints and positive cases related to the Abbott Nutrition facility months before Abbott finally issued its voluntary recall of potentially contaminated infant formula, yet failed to alert the public, immediately initiate an inspection, or demand Abbott issue an immediate recall of these infant formula products,” wrote the Senators.
They also wrote, “Although the FDA typically inspects infant formula manufacturing sites annually, we understand that no such inspection of Abbott Nutrition’s Sturgis facility was conducted in 2020. How has the COVID-19 pandemic and public health emergency impacted the FDA’s ability to oversee and ensure the safety of infant formula? Did you make a remote records request? Would any authorities have enabled more effective FDA oversight and facilitated the FDA’s ability to meet its obligations?”
Powdered infant formula manufactured at Abbott Nutrition’s facility in Sturgis, Michigan was recalled in February due to reports of possible bacterial contamination affecting Similac, Alimentum and EleCare powdered formulas. Parents and caregivers who want to check if their powdered formula is part of the recall can do so at the company’s website here, and can learn more about the recall at the FDA’s website here.
GOV. WOLF JOINS VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS, LABOR SECRETARY WALSH, LABOR LEADERS TO HIGHLIGHT WORKER PROTECTION EFFORTS
Governor Tom Wolf (Photo: LuLac archives)
Governor Tom Wolf today joined Vice President Kamala Harris, US Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, union leaders and elected officials to highlight efforts taking place at the federal level to provide workplace protections.
At the event, held at the Sheet Metal Workers Local 19 Training Center in Philadelphia, the governor thanked the Biden Administration for prioritizing protecting workers from heat-related injuries and illnesses. Today’s announcement unveiled a new National Emphasis Program through the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to protect millions of workers from heat illness and injuries. Through the program, OSHA will conduct heat-related workplace inspections before workers suffer completely preventable injuries, illnesses or, even worse, fatalities.
“Having a safe workplace that compensates you fairly for hard work should be the standard, but for a lot of workers, it isn’t the reality. It’s past time for us to bring worker protections into the 21st century, and I am proud to have Vice President Harris and Secretary Walsh here in Pennsylvania to talk about the path forward,” Gov. Wolf said. “I’m thankful to the Biden Administration for sharing this commitment to hard working Americans, and I look forward to continuing working with our federal partners and state and local labor leaders to build a better and safer future for workers in Pennsylvania.”
Governor Wolf believes that hardworking Pennsylvanians deserve fair wages, paid sick leave, safe workplaces and quality jobs. In October 2021, the governor issued a Worker Protection and Investment Executive Order directing the Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) and the Office of Administration to study the feasibility of implementing Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards On Monday, the Wolf Administration announced its partnership with Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) to conduct the study, which will also analyze the feasibility of extending OSHA protections to all public-sector workplaces throughout Pennsylvania.
“The safeguards of OSHA standards have protected private-sector workers in Pennsylvania for 50 years. This feasibility study will give us a roadmap to making these workplace protections universal to all Pennsylvania workers,” L&I Secretary Jennifer Berrier said.
Governor Wolf’s Executive Order also directs L&I to pursue regulatory changes so people are fairly paid for their work time spent on activities such as security screenings and putting on equipment required for their job.
The Order also directs L&I to make publicly available a list of bad actors that have violated labor laws, misclassified their workers, owe unemployment compensation back taxes, or fail to carry requisite workers’ compensation insurance. L&I first published the list in January and updates it weekly.
The Order also directs L&I to pursue regulatory changes so people are fairly paid for their work time spent on activities such as security screenings and putting on equipment required for their job; directs state agencies to ensure those receiving state grants and contracts follow labor laws and understand the consequences of not complying; and directs DCED to verify a business receiving an offer of assistance provides its workers paid sick leave and pays no less than the minimum wage for state employees before making a financial incentive offer.
In January, the governor fast-tracked his commitment to raise the minimum wage for commonwealth employees to $15 per hour, building on several steps taken over the course of his Administration to position the commonwealth as a model public sector employer. The Wolf Administration is also pursuing regulations, unanimously approved by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission last month, so workers whose wages depend on tips receive the full amount of their tips and that there is better clarity around tipping processes and definitions.
The governor has also called on the legislature to finally pass several bills that help working families.
MEDIA MATTERS
DATELINE NBC A MUST SEE FRIDAY NIGHT
There was mini series this week called "The Thing About Pam". It was based on a real life incident in Missouri starring Rene Zellweger. The show was done fiction wise but thia Friiday's Dateline at 9pm will introduce you to th real characters involved in this case.
BREAKING MY RECORD WITH WILK
This afternoon while trying to eat my lunch I tuned into the Mid Day Mussolini to hear the shit he was spewing, He didn't disappoint. After a nice tribute to the death of Abe Lincoln in 1865 and then transitioning that into a pop song from 1965, Cordaro read a text from a listener referring to a caste system in this country.
He then went off on how President Biden and the Liberals were going to turn this country into a caste system where they can control everyone's lives.
A caste system is a class structure that is determined by birth. Loosely, it means that in some societies, the opportunities you have access to depend on the family you happened to be born into.
How the hell President Biden and "left leaning liberals" are going to control that is anyone's guess. At 15 seconds, I turned the dumb ++ck off.
How he passed the bar, I'll never know. Why WILK corporate sticks with his venomous and irrational thought process is absurd too. Cordaro calls people who don't agree with him "fools" and "crazy".
ACCUSATION IS CONFESSION.
BOLD GOLD COMMUNITY FORUM
You'll hear the program Sunday at 6 on 94.3 The Talker, 6:30 on The Mothership 1400 am, and 7:30 on 105 The River
BOBBY V’S DOO WOP SUNDAY NIGHT
1975
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The Battle of Xuân Lộc, the last major battle of the Vietnam
War, began. South Vietnamese forces held out against superior North Vietnamese forces
before
finally withdrawing on April 19…..The legislature for the Kingdom of
Sikkim, located in the Himalayan Mountains, voted to abolish the monarchy and
to make the nation one of the states of India.
Lee Elder became the first African-American golfer to play in the Masters' Tournament…..Marjorie Main, 85, American actress best known as Phoebe "Ma" Kettle in ten "Ma and Pa Kettle" films between 1947 and 1957…….Operation Eagle Pull started as the United States closed its embassy in Cambodia, and began the evacuation of all American citizens. American military helicopters from the aircraft carrier USS Hancock, and 180 U.S. Marines from the amphibious assault ship USS Okinawa, arrived at Phnom Penh. There was no interference from the Khmer Rouge during the rescue…….ARVN General Staff sends numbers of South Vietnamese fighter-bombers to slow down or halt PAVN units to attempt major ambushes and attacks at the highway and at Xuan Loc. South Vietnamese fighter bombers uses 80-120 sorties per day to stiff strong resistance……"No-frills service" began for airline passengers in the United States, as National Airlines began offering a 35 percent discount off the air fare for passengers who were willing to give up airline food and drink service. Four other airlines-- American, Continental, Eastern and Delta began offering discount service the same day. All five had obtained permission from the Civil Aeronautics Board……..The Federal Election Commission, created on October 15, 1974, began operations with the swearing in of six commissioners by U.S. President Ford……Fredric March, 77, American film actor, Academy Award winner for Best Actor in 1932 and 1946 for one of my favorite movies “The Best Years Of Our Li ves”……..
Karen Ann Quinlan, 21, collapsed after drinking several gin and tonics in addition to having already taken the tranquilizers Valium and Darvon.She would become the subject of a landmark case in the "right to die" movement, In re Quinlan. After a Massachusetts court ruled that a person could be taken off life support in cases where there was no prospect of recovery, she would be removed from the respirator on May 22, 1976. To the surprise of most people, Quinlan was able to breathe on her own, and would live, comatose, for another nine years. She would die on June 11, 1985, at the age of 31…….Richard Conte, 65, American actor who co starred in “The Godfather” dies…..The Cambodian Civil War came to an end when Khmer Rouge guerrillas captured Phnom Penh.[42] That evening the Khmer Rouge directed the residents to leave the city for the countryside……. Former U.S. Treasury Secretary John B. Connally was acquitted of all charges by a federal jury in a bribery trial in Washington. Connally, who had been wounded during the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963, then later switched from the Democrats to the Republicans, had been under consideration by Richard M. Nixon as successor to Vice-President Agnew in 1973, but was bypassed in favor of Gerald Ford, who became president upon Nixon's resignation…..The 200th anniversary of the midnight ride of Paul Revere (celebrated in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1860 poem as having occurred "on the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five") was observed in Boston's North End neighborhood. U.S. President Ford visited the Old North Church, where two signal lanterns had been placed on April 18, 1775, and lit a third lamp to symbolize the start of "America's third century" and this week in 1975 the number one song in LuLac land ad America was “Lady Marmalade” by LaBelle.
posted by David Yonki @ 2:43 PM
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