From Crystal Club Soda to Gertrude Hawk Chocolate

Traffic fines.. $400. Liquor.. $575. Pizza.. $587. Credit card late fees.. $3,500. Using taxpayer $ for a movie nobody will see.. PRICELESS! [Times-Tribune] Editor’s Note: At least he bought the pizza from Goodfellas.

Kudos to Cathy Gavin and the crew at Stirna’s restaurant on the amazing remodel. If you haven’t seen the new look yet, I highly recommend stopping in for a whiskey sour and some chicken strips. Oh, and don’t forget the rice pudding. Finally, the atmosphere matches the wonderful food.

Outgoing Lackawanna County Commissioner Robert C. Cordaro led the effort Friday to dismantle and de-fund the energy initiative that he proposed and would have headed. The Authority for Innovative and Renewable Energy was dissolved through a unanimous vote at the last commissioners’ meeting of the Munchak-Cordaro administration. The initiative would have used mine water as a source of geothermal energy for heating and cooling. Continue reading.  Editor’s Note: While I vehemently opposed the creation of the commission and thought Mr. Cordaro appointing himself chair was a blatant abuse of power, I have to applaud him for listening to public sentimate and doing the right thing by stepping down.  

In a recent story on Dawn Herb and her toilet tirade, a popular Washington DC blog referred to the Electric City as a “shithole”. As someone who spent years in the DC area, I can honestly say that I would take our “shithole” over their overpopulated, gridlocked, war zone of a city any day.

P.S.  I’d take the SWB Yankees straight up against the Washington Nationals.

As someone who was stuck on Interstate 81 during last Valentine’s Day snowstorm, my recent opinion of PennDot has been less than complimentary. I just made the trek home from Wilkes-Barre and I have to admit that 81 is in excellent condition, save for the idiot tractor trailer drivers who don’t realize that snow turns their 18 wheelers into 80,000 pound toboggan. Great recovery PennDot, keep up the good work.

I have always been of the opinion that what’s good for our local colleges and universities is good for the Electric City. I am happy to see that so many of our institutions of higher learning are experiencing a growth spurt.

I just got home from voting and I am not a fan of the paper ballots. Apparently, I’m not the only one. I had flashbacks of my high school SATs. I never thought I’d be pining for the old mechanical machines. It’s a sad commentary on our county government, when, in an age where electronic voting is all the rage, we are forced to use a method that hasn’t been used in 70 years. Way to go Lackawanna County. Guess who I voted for.