The LuLac Edition #5, 732, August 5th, 2026

 

WRITE ON

WEDNESDAY

Our “Write on Wednesday” logo

I came across this story because it piqued my interest. When I was the Luzerne County Toiurism director the offices were at the Nathan Denison House  in Forty Fort. During that time we had battle reenactments as well as Christmas time candlelight tours. At that time the house was red and the Pennsylvania History and Museum commission advised us that the color was not the original one. We were informed  that it was white, the color you see here.

The House advocates didn’t have a lot of money so we applied for a grant to paint the house, add sidewalks off of Denison street and put slate walls up to add safety and protection from rain run off.

The grant of $850,000 was put to good use through the good offices of the late Charles Spitale Junior, the late Attorney Charles Bufalino and architect Carl Handman

In all of our research back in 1986-87 we were not aware of this contribution from a powerful determined woman.  Suffice to say we are glad that as Paul Harvey used to posit,  “Now you know the rest of the story”. 

 

IMMIGRANT BUSINESSWOMAN LED WAY IN HISTORIC PRESERVATION

 

In Monday’s Look Back feature, reporter Ed Lewis recounted the story of Marie Youssoupoff, and how she played a significant role in saving the historic Nathan Denison House from demolition nearly a century ago.

As Lewis reported based on archival newspaper stories, Youssoupoff, a Russian immigrant who arrived in the United States in 1919, was the oriental rug connoisseur at the Boston Store in downtown Wilkes-Barre in the 1920s, bringing quality carpets from Asia to Wyoming Valley consumers.

In January 1927, Youssoupoff purchased an old home that would become a new home for her rug business: The Denison House in Forty Fort.

Built in 1790, the house off Wyoming Avenue had been built by one of the valley’s pioneering settler families from Connecticut.

Col. Denison, who was among the first 40 settlers to plant roots here in 1769 (Forty Fort takes its name from them), was a militia commander who served at the Battle of Wyoming in 1778 and later became a county judge. The house which bears his name was built in a style common to his native Connecticut, with the rooms arranged around a large central chimney.

Denison lived there until his death in 1809 and it continued to be occupied by members of his family for over a century.

Richard Reilay, a direct descendant of Denison, lived in the home until the 1920s, and then it was vacant for about a year — but threatened with demolition for real estate development.

Friends interested in local history brought the home to Youssoupoff’s attention. She agreed it was worth saving.

Youssoupoff continued to sell oriental rugs from the Denison House and frequently took her business on the road speaking to many civic and women’s organizations across the Wyoming Valley, as Lewis reported.

She was reported to have restored the interior in “strict accord with early American standards,” he added.

The Denison House would remain under private ownership until efforts got underway in the late 1960s to preserve the historic property. In 1976 the Bureau of Historic Sites and Properties of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission completed restoration of the house to its 1790 appearance.

It has been owned by the Luzerne County Historical Society since 2010, and has become a beloved centerpiece of local history, visited by students and the general public during events at which interpreters in period garb often demonstrate cooking and crafts of the early 19th century.

While it took the work of many hands and significant funding to make the Denison House the treasured landmark it is today, none of that would have been possible if Youssoupoff, inspired by civic-minded friends, had not stepped in nearly 100 years ago to prevent what could have been an irreversible loss to the Wyoming Valley.

Her efforts echo the contributions of immigrants to American independence in Denison’s time, including figures such as the Marquis de La Fayette, Tadeusz Kościuszko — and, lest we forget, John Wilkes and Isaac Barré.

They also echo the more recent contributions of many people and organizations in our community who have fought to save other historic structures, such as the Wilkes-Barré Preservation Society, which in recent years purchased the Zebulon Butler house in Wilkes-Barre, built by a contemporary of Denison.

Then, too, there have been adaptive reuse projects such as re-development of numerous vintage homes and commercial structures by King’s College and Wilkes University, as well as private sector developments that have found new uses for downtown Wilkes-Barre’s towering old bank buildings.

Much has been lost over the years, and we know it’s not always feasible to save everything. Last year’s demolition of the former Frank Clark Jeweler building in Wilkes-Barre was a sad example of that. But with Wilkes-Barre’s move late last year to advance a historic preservation ordinance there emerged another tool for those looking to protect the fabric of our region’s past.

May the example of Marie Youssoupoff inspire us all.

— Times Leader  Ed Lewis 

The LuLaxc Edition #5, 731, August 4th, 2026

 

LUZERNE COUNTY REPUBLICANS CHARGE DEMOCRATS WITH COMMUNISM

 AND FASCISM

                    

This weekend the members of the Republican party told prospective voters and citizens that the opposing party was Communist and fascist. They were trying to get names on a petition to put the anti-discrimination ordinance passed by the duly elected Council overturned.

They are painting a ridiculous picture of themselves. Here’s the ideology on communism WHICH DEMOCRATS IN LUZERNE COUNTY ARE NOT.

Classless society: The ultimate goal is a society without social classes where there is no central form of order.

From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs: Production and distribution of goods are based on need, not market forces.

Collective ownership: All major industries and resources are owned collectively by the community or the working class.

Anti-capitalism: Rejects capitalism and wage labor as exploitative systems.

NONE of these things are being advocated by Democrats. These guys are UNREAL and are an embarrassment to normal thinking productive capitalists.

If there was communism here in Luzerne County, you’d have to present ID at every county line.

If there was communism in Luzerne County you couldn’t go to the church of your choice.

If there was communism in Luzerne County someone could just take your stuff away.

If there was communism in Luzerne County you wouldn’t be able to sign up people at will.

I have no issue with people asking for signatures on a petition, no matter how ridiculous and frivolous they might be. I just don’t want terms from uneducated and ignorant political people using it to dupe voters and engage in targeted hate of others who don’t fit the Republican party mold.

 

TRUMP CHANGES MEDICARE PART D

WILL AFFECT SENIORS

Trump swore up and down that he would NEVER touch Medicare. Many seniors who have Social Security and pensions conveniently forgot that it was the Democratic party that got them those programs. I am old enough to remember that before Medicare, elderly people were between a rock and a hard place. Being elderly and sick was a slow-moving death sentence. But with Medicare, independence and dignity were restored.

Major changes in programs aren’t made suddenly. They are done on a bite size basis so that only one factor of the destruction is noticed. And so it begins with Medicare.

The Trump administration will end a program that has helped limit premium increases for stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plans, potentially leaving some beneficiaries with higher monthly costs in 2027.

The Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration will expire after 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced. The temporary program provided additional federal support to insurers to reduce sudden increases and wide differences in premiums while companies adjusted to changes in the Medicare drug benefit.

For seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in stand-alone Part D plans, the change means insurers will set their 2027 premiums without that extra support. Some people could pay more, while others could see little change or even lower premiums, depending on their plan and location.

Well, this seems like a wash

Will premiums increase or decrease? 

CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said premiums would increase by less than $10 for most beneficiaries and would decline for some. However, CMS will not publish final 2027 premiums and individual plan details until September, meaning beneficiaries do not yet know precisely how much their own coverage will cost.

And advocacy group Protect Our Care said even small rises in premiums could be too much for some seniors.

Nearly 25 million people were enrolled in stand-alone Medicare Part D plans in 2026, according to KFF, a health policy research group.

The end of the demonstration does not eliminate Medicare prescription drug coverage or require beneficiaries to pay the full cost of their medicines. It changes the system used to help stabilize the monthly premiums charged by private insurers offering stand-alone Part D plans.

The most immediate potential effect is therefore on premiums, which are the monthly amount a beneficiary pays to maintain coverage.

"The part I'd watch is what happens at the edges or the exception, which is always the problem," Peter Abilla, a licensed Medicare agent at Resting Sycamore, told Newsweek. "The base premium for 2027 is set at $41.33, and the Inflation Reduction Act caps how fast that number can grow, no more than 6 percent a year through 2029. That cap protects people from a sudden jump.

"But plan-specific premiums can still vary, and some standalone plans could see bigger swings depending on how their own drug costs came in. We won't know the full picture until September, when CMS releases more information.

But the dent has begun.(AP, LuLac) 

 

THE POOL CONTROVERSY

TRUMP LASHES OUT AT PIRRO AFTER SHE MOVES TO DROP REFLECTING POOL VANDALISM CASE, SAYING 'FLAWED INSTALLATION' TO BLAME

President Donald Trump lashed out at U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, who blamed faulty installation, and not vandalism, for causing the lining to peel on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Pirro moved to dismiss an indictment charging U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn with vandalizing the pool.

Damage to the pool's sealant was the result of a "flawed installation," Pirro wrote in a court filing.

Hearn’s attorneys accused the Trump administration of making him a “scapegoat” for the troubled renovation, which Trump had frequently boasted about.

Paint peels away from the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, in Washington, DC, on June 23, 2026.

Paint peels away from the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, in Washington, DC, on June 23, 2026.

President Donald Trump on Saturday blasted his own Justice Department's decision to blame a poor contractor installation, and not vandalism, for causing the lining to peel on the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C.

Two things here. Trump voters said that “he was a successful businessman” therefore he had more common sense than anyone else. Plus when his sainted contractor screwed up the work at his impatient behest, he blamed vandals.

On Friday U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro on Friday moved to dismiss an indictment charging U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn with vandalizing the Reflecting Pool of the Lincoln Memorial, writing in a court filing that damage to the pool's sealant was the result of a "flawed installation."

But Trump still says the vandals were responsible for damage to the pool, slammed Pirro's explanation that the contractor handling the installation was at fault.

"I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. "I don't know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM."

In a subsequent post, Trump touted a previously released U.S. Park Police video as proof vandals were at the site: "Look for yourselves at the VANDALISM that took place at The Reflecting Pool. The material is being cut with a knife or a box cutter, for all to see!"

But Pirro, in a court filing in D.C. Superior Court, said her office received information and evidence after the charges were filed that "significantly undermine the evidentiary basis for the indictment."

Hearn had been charged with felony destruction of property in early July, with Pirro saying at a press conference that he "violently" ripped up part of the pool's liner with his bare hands.

Hearn's attorneys accused the Trump administration of making the 67-year-old ex-Olympian a "scapegoat" for the expensive and troubled renovation, which Trump had frequently boasted about.

After the pool appeared to continue leaking following its renovation, Trump repeatedly claimed, without providing evidence, that vandals had cut a gash hundreds of feet long along the bottom.

Pirro said in Friday's court filing that a "botched installation" was to blame.

Prosecutors had presented a grand jury in D.C. with "evidence that damage to the Reflecting Pool was caused by vandals" after receiving initial reports to that effect from the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Park Police, Pirro wrote.

Thousands are flocking to this 21-month balance transfer offer.

After that grand jury returned its indictment against Hearn, however, the Interior Department provided "additional documents" showing that the damage occurring in June was the "result of flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings," Pirro said.

She also blamed "the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026."

Hearn's attorneys said in a statement to CNBC, "The Trump administration's case against Davey Hearn should have never been brought."

"Its dismissal today does not erase the abuse of government power in arresting and charging a patriotic American who did nothing wrong," read the statement from lawyers Norm Eisen, Mary Dohrmann and Steve Levin.

"The government's approach was ready, fire, aim. The administration owes Mr. Hearn an apology," they said.

Four days earlier, Hearn's attorneys wrote in a court filing that the government's key grand-jury witness in the case "testified that the property was already damaged before Mr. Hearn allegedly touched it."

So the bottom line here is that the pool was a mess before  the guy touched it, Trump used a political operative turned U.S. attorney to stack the deck against an innocent man, the Interior Department Secretary Doug Bergman perjured himself on national TV while his own department provided evidence to the contrary with Pirro throwing him under the bus and Trump I going to go to his grave saying there was vandalism.

Another incident, another colossal waste of time from an immature pig president and his minions.  

In that same filing, the defense lawyers asked for disclosure of the information the government provided to the grand jury before it decided to charge Hearn.

Pirro's decision to pack up her case may foreclose the possibility of that information being revealed.

Her filing repeatedly and pointedly blames the Interior Department for providing her office with shoddy information.

"DOI provided less than fulsome information at the outset of this case," Pirro wrote at one point. "It was not until USAO-DC repeatedly reached out to DOI dozens and dozens of times that DOI slowly started trickling information to USAO-DC."

"Had DOI been forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment," she wrote. "DOI's failure to fully and accurately provide information to USAODC undermined the government's ability to abide by these responsibilities."

The Interior Department did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

Pirro's motion to dismiss also provides new detail about issues that plagued the Reflecting Pool renovation and caused delays "almost immediately."

She pointed to "a combination of very rainy and windy weather, repeated failures of testing on the sealing of the expansion joints, and delays in obtaining sealing product at the worksite."

"The rush to complete the project led to hasty and botched work that was not remediated before the project was finished and the fencing removed," Pirro wrote.

The Trump administration had awarded the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, a no-bid contract to work on the Reflecting Pool.

Trump, in one of numerous instances detailing the renovation project to the press, said in April that he chose a contractor that had worked on one of his swimming pools.

CNBC has requested comment from the contractor. A website associated with the company currently features a pop-up window with two Reflecting Pool-related updates, with the most recent one dated June 21.

"Atlantic Industrial Coatings in conjunction with the US Park Service has identified some areas in the Reflecting Pool that require repairs," the update reads. "These areas are a very small part of the massive 7 acre project, and do not indicate a failure of the liner."  (CNBC. LuLac)

The LuLac Edition #5, 730, August 3rd, 2026

 MONDAY MEMES 

The LuLac Edition #5, 729, August 2nd, 2026

 

 

SELL BY VS. USE BY

WHAT’S RIGHT…

WHAT’S WRONG

It’s the middle of the night, and you find yourself in front of the fridge. As you reach for the wedge of cheese or box of treats that lured you out of bed in the first place, you realize there’s a tiny date stamped on the label. It’s a “use-by” date. No, wait, it’s a “sell-by” date. Or is that a “best-by” date? To add to the confusion, the date may not really matter all that much.

How to Understand Food Expiration Dates

Although dating food items is not required by U.S. federal law (except for infant formula and baby food), most manufacturers do it voluntarily. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), “For meat, poultry, and egg products under the jurisdiction of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), dates may be voluntarily applied provided they are labeled in a manner that is truthful and not misleading and in compliance with FSIS regulations. To comply, a calendar date must express both the month and day of the month. For shelf-stable and frozen products, the year must also be displayed. Additionally, immediately adjacent to the date must be a phrase explaining the meaning of that date, such as ‘Best if Used By.’”

It’s up to the grocery stores and markets to stock their shelves with the freshest items displayed behind or under the oldest products. For example, items like eggs typically hit store shelves just a few days after being laid, and cartons with the USDA grade shield are required to include a “pack date,” which tells consumers when they were washed, graded, and packaged.

But that’s a lot of labels — and oftentimes, food is perfectly safe to eat past its expiration date. Here’s a guide to the most common expiration labels you’re likely to see at the grocery store.

Use-by date

Use-by dates suggest the peak quality of a product, and are not safety dates. According to the USDA, “With the exception of infant formula, if the date passes during home storage, a product should still be safe and wholesome if handled properly until spoilage is evident. Spoiled foods will develop an off-odor, flavor, or texture due to naturally occurring spoilage bacteria. If a food has developed such spoilage characteristics, it should not be eaten.”

Best if used by date

This label is strictly a quality date, suggesting when the product will have its best taste and texture.

Sell-by date

This label indicates to stores how long a product should remain on shelves, and products are often safe to consume well after their sell-by date passes. In fact, according to the Institute for Food Safety and Health at the Illinois Institute of Technology, “one-third of a product’s shelf-life remains after the sell-by date for the consumer to use at home.”

How to Store Dairy Products to Keep Them Good As Long As Possible

Freeze-by date

Think of this label as the “use-by” date but for freezing. Freezing most food products extends their life, and this date will tell you when to freeze an item at its highest quality.

Expires on/do-not use date

This label indicates that a product be ineffective after the date listed. Along with baby formula, baking ingredients like cake mixes, baking powder, and yeast may have this label.

When can you tell if food has gone bad?

If expiration dates don’t always matter, how do you know when to toss something? Rely on your senses — if the product has an unpleasant odor or feels slimy, it may be spoiled and unsafe to consume.

It’s also important to store and handle your food properly once you purchase it. For example, eggs should be refrigerated in their original carton and kept in the coldest part of the fridge (not the door). Once you open an item, its life gets a lot shorter. If you open a package of raw bacon, for instance, you have about a week to eat it before it could start spoiling, according to the FSIS.

Shelf-stable items that can be stored at room temperature, like canned goods (unless otherwise labeled), flour, and pasta, can be good for years, according to the FSIS. High-acid items like fruits and juices can be kept for 12-18 months, while low-acid items like canned vegetables or most soups are fine in your pantry for up to five years. (For a more complete list of shelf-stable items and their life span, visit the FSIS Food Safety page.) (Food & Wine)