Attorney General Kathleen Kane, Hazleton Police Chief Hail Success

HAZLETON, PA — Attorney General Kathleen Kane and Police Chief Frank DeAndrea pointed to the successes of Kane’s Mobile Street Crime Unit on Wednesday and asked residents of Hazleton and across the commonwealth to help the success continue.

At the urging of state Sen. John Yudichak to address violent drug-related crime plaguing Northeastern Pennsylvania, Kane organized the Region X Intensive Mobile Proactive Anti-Crime Team — IMPACT — task force and deployed it to Hazleton in September to dismantle gang-run drug trafficking networks.

The approximately 20-member team, composed of federal, state, county and municipal law enforcement officers, racked up more than 120 arrests and seized about 35,000 packets of heroin, quantities of crack cocaine, numerous vehicles, handguns, rifles, an assault weapon and thousands of dollars in cash, with many of the items on display at a press conference at City Hall on Wednesday.

Yudichak, D-Plymouth Township, noted that a 2011 report by the U.S. Department of Justice detailed the foothold that drug-trafficking organizations had established in the Hazleton area and that branched off throughout Luzerne and surrounding counties.

Read more:  http://timesleader.com/news/local-news/1206626/Kane-Hazleton-chief-hail-success

Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Street Crimes Unit Nets Over 100 Arrests In Hazleton

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

HAZLETON, PA — The state’s top cop came to Hazleton on Wednesday to trumpet the success of her Mobile Street Crimes Unit, which has netted more than 100 arrests and seized more than 35,000 packets of heroin in southern Luzerne County over the past five months.

Just in the last three days, state Attorney General Kathleen Kane said, agents made more than 40 arrests and seized 9,060 packets of heroin as part of Operation Rising Star — a moniker chosen by Hazleton Police Chief Frank DeAndrea.

Kane said Hazleton has been “a breeding ground” for the distribution of heroin, with interstates 80 and 81 nearby as a convenient pipeline to New York City and northern New Jersey suppliers.

Read more: http://timesleader.com/news/local-news/1205689/Crimes-unit-nets-over-100-arrests-in-Hazleton-area

Wilkes-Barre Panel OKs Gates For Sherman Hills

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

WILKES-BARRE, PA — The city Planning Commission on Wednesday approved a plan to install gates, one of them staffed around the clock, as part of the overall security improvements at the low-income Sherman Hills apartment complex.

Sam Goldberg, regional manager of the apartment complex owned by Brooklyn-based Sherman Hills Realty, said the owners are eager to get started and have already set aside the money for the work.

“It’s all a matter of once we get the written approval. We do have contractors lined up,” Goldberg said. “We’ll work as fast as we can.”

The plans calls for the installation of a booth and gates for incoming and outgoing vehicles and pedestrians on Empire Court. The booth will be staffed 24 hours a day and control a second set of gates on Parkview Circle leading to the high-rise apartment building on the property. A third gate will be installed at the intersection of North Empire Court and Sherman Street, but emergency responders and police will have access to a key to gain entrance.

Read more: http://timesleader.com/news/local-news/1205576/City-panel-OKs-gates-for-Sherman-Hills

Wealth Gap Is Widest In Some Affluent US Cities

WASHINGTON (AP) – The gap between the wealthy and the poor is most extreme in several of the United States’ most prosperous and largest cities.

The economic divides in Atlanta, San Francisco, Washington, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles are significantly greater than the national average, according to a study released Thursday by the Brookings Institution, the Washington-based think tank. It suggests that many sources of both economic growth and income inequality have co-existed near each other for the past 35 years.

These cities may struggle in the future to provide adequate public schooling, basic municipal services because of a narrow tax base and “may fail to produce housing and neighborhoods accessible to middle-class workers and families,” the study said.

“There’s something of a relationship between economic success and inequality,” said Alan Berube, a senior fellow at Brookings. “These cities are home to some of the highest paying industries and jobs in the country.”

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/homepage/20140220_ap_9abeed9da7e24c51a0a078a9ca8c73b9.html#fRdwGmPM2m6ZEQji.99

Bolaris: Milder For Now But Polar Vortex To Return

Feb. 26 to March 3 should be the most volatile time frame, with the best chance of more snow and temperatures at least 15-20 degrees below normal. Daytime highs in the mid 20s and overnight lows in the coldest of locations near zero. This would be for a 2-3 day time period.

Exactly how cold it will get and whether we will see another major snow storm is still questionable, but bares some watching. You know I will keep you updated.

In the meantime, you have a GREAT WEEKEND to look forward to as Saturday should see temperatures in the low 50s with sunshine.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/Bolaris_Milder_for_now_but_polar_vortex.html#QfIkqGD0rqYmhgie.99