May 18 2013

Report: NEPA Economy Is Turning Around

Locator map of the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Metropolitan Statistical Area in the northeastern part of the of . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The 2013 annual report by The Institute for Public Policy & Economic Development indicates Northeastern Pennsylvania is showing signs of an economic turnaround.

The eighth annual Indicators Report, to be released and discussed at a forum Thursday at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, tracks the region’s performance on an array of categories, including demographics, public safety, jobs and the economy.

“The annual Indicators Report serves as a yardstick for measuring growth and trends in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” said Patrick Leahy, Wilkes University president and chairman of the institute, which is a partnership among Keystone College, King’s College, Luzerne County Community College, Marywood University, Misericordia University, Penn State Wilkes-Barre, The University of Scranton, and is owned and managed by Wilkes.

Reports covering more than 120 indicators for Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, as well as statewide data, will be discussed next week. And reports from the institute’s five task forces also will be provided to show data on health and health care, jobs and the local economy, education, housing, transportation and land use.

May 14 2013

Wilkes-Barre Gets Final Funding Needed To Raze Dilapidated Hotel Sterling By Early Summer

English: Hotel Sterling, Wilkes-Barre (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WILKES-BARRE, PA — Demolition of the historic Hotel Sterling, once a grand city landmark that has fallen into disrepair and become a dangerous eyesore, should begin by late June to mid-July, the city has announced.

The city on Monday received an official release of about $400,000 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that is the final piece of funding needed to cover demolition. The city will advertise for demolition bids this week, city Municipal Affairs Manager Drew McLaughlin said.

The funding is a portion of the city’s annual Community Development Block Grant allocation from HUD for removal of blighted properties.

“We are nearing the final stages of this demolition,” Mayor Tom Leighton said in a prepared statement. “This has been a top priority since the flooding of 2011. We all look forward to the day when the public safety threat has been addressed and the detour in downtown Wilkes-Barre is lifted.”

May 13 2013

Swoyersville Borough Council Calls For Fire Department Summit

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Swoyersville Borough Council wants a summit meeting with the fire chiefs of the borough’s three volunteer companies in order to dampen a controversy and move toward a consolidated fire service.

A funds solicitation letter sent by Swoyersville Hose Company No. 1 has become the catalyst for council action on issues that need clarification, borough coordinator Gene Breznay said. Those issues include the operational status of Hose Company 1, its finances, membership and leadership, fire engine use and insurance coverage.

Breznay is working to set the meeting between borough officials and the fire chiefs of the three volunteer companies. No date has been set.

Swoyersville’s volunteer companies date back to the beginning of the 20th Century. Swoyersville Hose Company No. 2 started in 1912 as the Broderick’s Company named after the Broderick family. Maltby Fire Company, dating back to 1915, was named after the Maltby section of the borough and the Maltby Colliery. A recent fundraising letter sent out by Swoyersville Hose Company No. 1 boasts of 99 years of service, meaning a startup date in 1914.

May 13 2013

Customer Detains Robbery Suspect

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WILKES-BARRE, PA – A customer stopped a masked man from leaving a convenient store after a robbery at Quick Food Mart on North Main Street on Sunday, according to charges filed.

Christopher Thomas, 25, of West Maple Street, Wilkes-Barre, was arraigned Monday by District Judge Joseph Halesey in Hanover Township on two counts of robbery, and one count each of tampering with evidence, theft and criminal mischief. He was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $25,000 bail.

According to the criminal complaint:

Ghanshyam Majmundar called police just after 11 a.m. saying a robbery suspect is being detained by a customer inside the food mart.

May 12 2013

Fire Response Time Questioned In Wilkes-Barre

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WILKES-BARRE, PA — While children crawled through the city’s fire safety trailer at Kirby Park eight days ago, a homeowner on Almond Lane waiting for an engine to arrive from across town used a garden hose in an attempt to douse flames.

The fire, started by spontaneous combustion of grass clippings in a plastic recycling container climbed up to the second floor, causing damage inside and out before firefighters extinguished them.

“They got it,” said Greg Freitas, vice president of the city firefighters’ union.

But the damage could have been minimized with more firefighters and equipment available, a long-running sticking point with the International Association of Firefighters Local 104 which has seen the minimum staffing level reduced by more than one-third over a 10-year period.

May 10 2013

Mohegan Sun Pocono Downs Plans June 18 Job Fair – Needs To Fill 250 Positions

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PLAINS TOWNSHIP— With regional unemployment above 9 percent, a job fair in five weeks to fill 250 positions at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs’ soon-to-open hotel/convention center is likely to draw thousands.

Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Assistant General Manager Kara Fox-LaRose on Wednesday said rather than just inviting job seekers to send in resumes or applications, the venue will hold an on-site job fair 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. June 18. Interviews will take place in July and the staff will be hired throughout the summer to be trained, she said.

The $50 million hotel and convention center will have seven floors, 238 hotel rooms, a bistro, a 4,150-square-foot Spa Sapphire, an indoor pool and fitness center and the 20,000-square-foot convention center able to seat 850 people for dinners and other events. It also will be able to hold entertainment events for 1,500 people.

Its targeted opening date is Oct. 1. It will be the largest hotel in Luzerne County and will give the casino the ability to attract customers from farther distances.

May 8 2013

Children Found Unsupervised In Hazleton Home

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note: At least in some municipalities in Pennsylvania (unlike Pottstown) buildings are condemned for unsanitary living conditions. In Pottstown, they look the other way….716 Adams Street, for example. Maybe the Hazleton Codes Department does field trips???

Hazleton police checking on the welfare of children Tuesday afternoon found five unsupervised children living in an apartment with cockroaches and no smoke alarms, city and law enforcement officials said.

Police said they were dispatched to 197 S. Wyoming St. about 1:30 p.m. to assist Hazleton Area School District with the welfare check. Inside the apartment, police found five children younger than 10 alone. Police said Tuesday it was unclear why and how long the children were home alone. Those issues would be investigated by Luzerne County Children and Youth Services.

Their father, Freddy Colon, later arrived at the home, police wrote.

City code and health officials were called to investigate the conditions, ultimately condemning the apartment.

May 4 2013

Rep. Barletta Working To Beautify Blighted Hazleton Trestle

English: Official portrait of Congressman Lou Barletta. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Congressman Lou Barletta is all too familiar with efforts to spruce up a railroad trestle near the southern gateway to his hometown Hazleton.

Plans for beautifying the South Church Street bridge were developed by Greater Hazleton Civic Partnership during his tenure as Hazleton’s mayor.

Officials at the time believed they had the answer to addressing the graffiti-covered trestle by having Hazleton artist Dave Corrado paint a mural on wood, which would have been mounted to the bridge, Barletta recalled.

The idea fell by the wayside after local officials learned that the wooden mural would have interfered with bridge inspections.

Apr 28 2013

Downtown Wilkes-Barre Putting On A New Face

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The loud purple facade of the former Flaming Star Tattoos shop will soon be toned down to fit in with the downtown Wilkes-Barre neighborhood’s historical character — a subtle yet significant sign of once-shuttered storefronts being renovated or reopened around the theater complex.

It wasn’t just the color that unsettled city officials who saw the potential for the shop’s row of old architecture on South Main Street. It was the way the vibrant hue stopped midway up the building in an uneven line, accentuating the unfinished progress of the paint job and much of the neighborhood.

“One of the first things the new owners will do is repaint that facade,” said attorney William Vinsko, who bought the building at a Luzerne County back-tax auction for $33,000 last week on behalf of private clients who will be identified when the deed is recorded. The buyers plan to renovate the property at 86 S. Main St. to attract tenants, Vinsko said.

Next door, Joseph and Pamela Masi are redoing the facade and interior of their property, which previously housed Topper’s topless bar, Vinsko said. The Masis, who purchased the property for $85,000 in 2010, have added an ice cream shop at the rear of the property.

Apr 25 2013

Report: Air Gets Clearer In Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Metro Area

Locator map of the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Metropolitan Statistical Area in the northeastern part of the of . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Air quality in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre region has showed marked improvement — to the point that a report card to be issued today will reveal the region’s best grades in the 14-year history of the annual survey.

The American Lung Association’s “State of the Air 2013” report finds that the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area has cut year-round and daily particle (soot) pollution levels since the 2012 report, in keeping with a trend seen across the nation. Along with improvements in particle pollution, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre experienced fewer unhealthy days of high ozone or smog.

Overall, the report shows the air quality in the region, and nationwide, continues the long-term trend to improving.

“The air in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is certainly cleaner than when we started the ‘State of the Air’ report 14 years ago,” said Deb Brown, president and chief executive officer of the American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic. “Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has experienced a great year for air quality, all of the findings this year were in a positive direction. But the work is not done, and we must set stronger health standards for pollutants and clean up sources of pollution in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to protect the health of our citizens.”

Apr 25 2013

Four Luzerne County High Schools Make The Grade In National Magazine

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Four Luzerne County high schools received high rankings from the the latest U.S. News & Report.

The Wyoming Area Secondary Center earned a silver medal award in the magazine’s 2013 ranking of top performing schools released Tuesday.

Hanover Area Junior Senior High School, Pittston Area High School and Wyoming Valley West Senior High School earned bronze medals.

The magazine compiles its list after analyzing 21,035 public schools in 49 states and the District of Columbia based on state, federal and independent data.

Apr 24 2013

Wilkes-Barre Mayor Announces Changes In City Hall Aimed At Doing More With Less

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note: A foreign concept in Pottstown!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WILKES-BARRE — Mayor Tom Leighton unveiled Tuesday “several significant personnel and administrative changes” that he feels will improve government efficiency and service to city taxpayers.

Leighton said he and his administrative staff have been working on the plan since September and he mentioned the consolidation and restructuring in his budget address in October.

“Basically, we have less people and we are asking them to do more,” he said, noting there are a third fewer employees at City Hall than when he took office in 2004. Overall, then there were 300 employees in the city and now there are 265, he said.

“We’re assigning more responsibilities to less people,” he said.

Apr 22 2013

NEPA Lagging In Bicyclist-Friendly Roadways

WILKES-BARRE — The desire for more bicycle-friendly paths in Luzerne County — from lanes on roads to other areas designated specifically for cyclists — is strong, according to enthusiasts.

The ability to implement them, many advocates have found, is not as robust. Cycling enthusiasts say Northeastern Pennsylvania is behind the times in welcoming

Counties constituting Northeastern Pennsylvania (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

to share the road, even though they have a legal right in the commonwealth.

“We’re way behind the rest of the world as far as having the facilities to be able to ride, especially on the road,” said Louie Colarusso, a bike technician at Sickler’s Bike and Sport Shop in Exeter. “The majority of cities in America have bike lanes, and in Wilkes-Barre and Scranton you’re taking your life in your hands every time.”

Phil Cable, store manager of Sickler’s, said he lives in the borough and bikes to work when possible. Drivers are generally friendly, but sharing the road is a two-way street.

Apr 20 2013

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Intl. Airport Clears Way For $50M I-81 Project

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport board on Thursday cleared the way for development of a multimillion-dollar access road project.

The board, including the commissioners of Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, formally released 16.5 acres of land for the state Department of Transportation to build an access road that will extend from Interstate 81 through the airport property, overpass the Pennsylvania Turnpike and connect to the Grimes Industrial Park in Pittston Township.

“This is a big deal,” Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey O’Brien said. ”It opens up the west end of the airport for future economic development projects.

Thirteen acres of the land will be used for the access road and the remaining 3.5 acres will be used for reconstruction of the of the airport exit along Interstate 81 in Dupont. The project will combine the Avoca and airport exits into one and move traffic through a series of roundabouts.

Apr 15 2013

Luzerne County Officials Take Another Look At Gnat Problem

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Luzerne County administration is rethinking plans to cancel participation in a state bug spraying program, sources say.

County management eliminated $75,000 from the 2013 budget for blackfly spraying because the state did not supply documentation showing the program has proven results. The administration had planned to conduct spraying in-house if problems surfaced.

However, some County Council members and citizens expressed concern about pulling out of the program.

Prior commissioners considered a similar spraying cancellation on the advice of an outside financial recovery consultant in 2010, but they reversed their decision after the state warned the Susquehanna River generates “tremendous numbers of adult gnats that will adversely impact outdoor recreation activities throughout the county.”

Apr 8 2013

Hazleton General Ranks First In State For Health Care Value

Hazleton General Hospital ranks first in the state in a new measure that the federal government uses to assess value in health care.

Through the Affordable Health Care Act, the federal government will increase or decrease a small percentage of Medicare payments to hospitals based on the ratings.

For the past few years, the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania used federal data and formulas to let hospitals know how they compare under value-based purchasing.

“For Hazleton General Hospital, of 136 hospitals which we have data for, they ranked No. 1,” Martin Ciccocioppo, vice president of research for the hospital association, said. ”Out of the whole country … Hazleton General Hospital, in our analysis, is 23 of 2,843.”

Apr 7 2013

Hazleton Police Chief Warns Business Owners To Get Their Licenses

Downtown Hazleton, PA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note: Kickin’ ass and takin’ names in Hazleton! Booya!

Police Chief Frank DeAndrea is giving a warning out to businesses operating in Hazleton to have their licenses and make sure that they are in conformity to the city’s codes.

The Hazleton Police Department is going to work in unison with the city’s fire, health, code enforcement, and highway departments in a new city-wide initiative called “Operation Clean Street.”

Set to begin in a week or two, the initiative will pull all of the departments’ resources in an effort to beautify the city’s streets and crack down on delinquent businesses.

According to DeAndrea, the operation will begin at the intersection of Diamond Avenue and Wyoming Street in which the fire department will bring a truck in to hose down and wash all debris from the streets and sidewalks.

Apr 6 2013

Study: Poor Health Habits Prevalent In Northeast Pennsylvania

Counties constituting Northeastern Pennsylvania (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A project aimed at establishing a benchmark of regional residents’ health reinforced something already known — Northeastern Pennsylvania residents, generally speaking, are not very healthy.

The study, conducted by the Scranton-based Northeast Regional Cancer Institute, was done so the effects of the Marcellus Shale industry on the region’s health can be gauged in the future.

“We wanted to create a baseline on the health of the community to use as a benchmark against future studies to see what effects, if any, and to what extent the industry will have had on the region’s health,” said Bob Durkin, president of the Cancer Institute.

Dr. Samuel Lesko, principal investigator for the survey, said a variety of issues related to “fracking” and other processes used to produce natural gas have contributed to community concerns about potential adverse health outcomes.

Mar 30 2013

‘Drug Houses’ Seized Under Hazleton Plan

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note: Now that clearly sends a message that drug dealers aren’t welcome in Hazleton!

HAZLETON, PA — In addition to potentially losing her freedom, a woman arrested in a drug raid Friday also could lose her home under a new initiative of the Hazleton Police Department.

After police served a search warrant at 134 Pine Tree Road and arrested the three people inside, a city official posted a dark red sign in the front door window with the word “CONDEMNED.”

“The new idea actually has been on the books for quite some time — using the city’s nuisance property ordinance” to clean up neighborhoods, Police Chief Frank DeAndrea said at a press conference at City Hall Friday afternoon. “And since the mayor has put code enforcement and the health department under the supervision of the police department, I thought we would attempt to take a new approach.”

When advised Thursday of the operation planned for Friday by his narcotics unit lieutenant, DeAndrea called Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis and requested her view on the city condemning the Pine Tree Road house “because it’s unsafe for human cohabitation, it’s a danger to the community,” DeAndrea said.

Mar 26 2013

‘Guardian Angel’ Gives New Car, Vests To West Hazleton Police

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The West Hazleton Police Department is getting a new police cruiser and four bulletproof vests thanks to a $42,180 check from a “guardian angel.”

West Hazleton Mayor Frank Schmidt said the kind gesture came after a complaint Friday morning.

“The thing the person was complaining about, I told them, I couldn’t do anything about,” Schmidt said. “As we were talking, the subject of senior citizens came up, and how afraid some of them are to leave their homes.”

Then the topic of police was mentioned, and the donor asked how the department was getting along. Schmidt said council members will discuss during their next meeting whether to buy or lease a new cruiser, because the borough needs one.

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Tag Archives: Luzerne County

Report: NEPA Economy Is Turning Around

Wilkes-Barre Gets Final Funding Needed To Raze Dilapidated Hotel Sterling By Early Summer

Swoyersville Borough Council Calls For Fire Department Summit

Customer Detains Robbery Suspect

Fire Response Time Questioned In Wilkes-Barre

Mohegan Sun Pocono Downs Plans June 18 Job Fair – Needs To Fill 250 Positions

Children Found Unsupervised In Hazleton Home

Rep. Barletta Working To Beautify Blighted Hazleton Trestle

Downtown Wilkes-Barre Putting On A New Face

Report: Air Gets Clearer In Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Metro Area

Four Luzerne County High Schools Make The Grade In National Magazine

Wilkes-Barre Mayor Announces Changes In City Hall Aimed At Doing More With Less

NEPA Lagging In Bicyclist-Friendly Roadways

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Intl. Airport Clears Way For $50M I-81 Project

Luzerne County Officials Take Another Look At Gnat Problem

Hazleton General Ranks First In State For Health Care Value

Hazleton Police Chief Warns Business Owners To Get Their Licenses

‘Drug Houses’ Seized Under Hazleton Plan

‘Guardian Angel’ Gives New Car, Vests To West Hazleton Police