Local Commentary

Political parrying to blame for reapportionment mess COMMENTARY Aaron Kaufer - 02/07/2012
THE RECENT Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision should teach us one thing about the reapportionment process: There is too much party control.

Gallery of Sound provides lifetime of musical memories Commentary Alan K. Stout - 02/06/2012
WHEN THE Gallery of Sound recently announced that it would be closing its store at the Gateway Shopping Center in Edwardsville, I was both saddened and reflective.

Home rule brings accountability, more efficiency to Luzerne County Commentary Ken Mohr and Gerald Cross - 02/05/2012
REVELATIONS FROM the 2008-09 public corruption scandals prompted Luzerne County voters to reject the traditional three-commissioner form of government in favor of a new home rule charter that recently took effect, dramatically cha ...

Moving Election Day to weekend would hike turnout Commentary Kyle L. Kreider - 01/30/2012
IT’S ONLY January, yet it’s nearly impossible to avoid the media’s coverage of the Republican Party primaries and the upcoming presidential election. In the midst of this onslaught of information and endless punditry, one could ea ...

Comprehensive reform, resources needed to truly protect our children Commentary Dr. Pat Bruno and Mary Ann LaPorta - 01/29/2012
IN THE wake of the Penn State child sexual abuse scandal, there are many questions about how and why our institutional, state and national child protection policies have fallen short. Among the shortcomings:

Pipeline rejection a slap in the face for Americans COMMENTARY U.S. Rep. Tom Marino - 01/28/2012
CONSIDER THIS. You are presented with a $7 billion, shovel-ready project that would immediately create 20,000 good-paying, union-scale jobs with the promise of thousands more.

Great shame on us to have so swiftly passed judgment Mark Guydish Commentary - 01/25/2012
SUDDENLY THOSE people who called for Joe Paterno’s head had to reconcile that figurative demand with his literal demise.

A united effort will help strengthen our community COMMENTARY Bill Jones - 01/24/2012
I AM not sure if his or her name was Ms. Garmin, Mr. Tomtom or Sir Magellan, but I would like to shake the hand of the person who invented the GPS navigation system!

County council must ensure that court system is adequately funded Commentary Judge Thomas F. Burke Jr. - 01/22/2012
WHILE IT has been in existence for only about three weeks, due to the distressed state of county finances left behind by previous government, the newly formed Luzerne County Council now faces a most daunting task. The 11 members o ...

Voters will give final verdict on Obama’s mixed record COMMENTARY Carl P. Leubsdorf - 01/20/2012
WHEN THEY’RE not attacking one another, Republican presidential candidates are making what appears on the surface to be a strong case for denying President Barack Obama a second term.

Energy industry needs a major attitude adjustment COMMENTARY Lyle Hopkins - 01/19/2012
WALL STREET and CEO culture in America is out of touch, arrogant, condescending, and those are probably its good qualities. Recent examples run the gamut, from snooty finance employees sipping champagne while mocking Wall Street p ...

Avoid future back pain by taking precautions today COMMENTARY Dr. Joseph C. Koval - 01/18/2012
NEARLY 80 percent of adults experience back pain at least once in their lifetimes. With symptoms that range from dull discomfort to sharp pain or radiating numbness, back pain has many causes. And with the predictable rise of back ...

Lesson remains after 25 years: Humans are a part of the economy Commentary Timothy F. Kearney and Thomas Sweetz - 01/15/2012
THE UNITED States Conference of Catholic Bishops published in 1986 the pastoral letter “Economic Justice for All: Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy,” which synthesized the view of the national economy and its role in A ...

Uniform regulation would help shale industry grow COMMENTARY Gene Barr - 01/14/2012
REACHING AN agreement on a comprehensive Marcellus Shale oversight bill is essential to foster the industry’s growth, lower energy costs for consumers, provide appropriate environmental protections, generate adequate revenue to ad ...

Use economics as tool to holding drillers accountable COMMENTARY William C. Kashatus - 01/13/2012
THIS YEAR will be a crucial year for the natural gas drillers in the Marcellus Shale and their environmentalist opponents.

A confident beginning to the new year? No can-do. Mark Guydish Commentary - 01/09/2012
BARELY A WEEK old, 2012 already has a top contender for its slogan: “The year we can’t.”

One-size-fits-all evaluation systems disastrous for educational reform Commentary Joseph Rogan - 01/08/2012
PRESIDENT Barack Obama’s “Race to the Top” initiative motivated states to develop teacher evaluation systems based on how well students perform on standardized tests. One dozen states were funded in the first two rounds of the com ...

Forced abuse-reporting bill could overwhelm cops, CYS COMMENTARY Richard Wexler - 01/03/2012
SOME LOCAL police chiefs say they have no problem with legislation proposed by U.S. Sen. Robert Casey of Scranton that would force everyone to report any suspicion of child abuse to child protective services agencies or to police ...

Entrepreneurship, technology needed to grow the regional economy Commentary Michael A. MacDowell - 01/01/2012
IT’S NOT easy to reinvent or to grow a regional economy. The old proverb “It takes a whole village to raise a child” can be applied equally to building a sustainable and vibrant economy because it requires the whole community to b ...

A New Year’s wish for healthy, happy, responsible living COMMENTARY Doug Ayers - 12/30/2011
ON BEHALF of The Lands at Hillside Farms family of staff and volunteers, I wish you a happy and blessed new year.

New court a chance to move Luzerne County forward COMMENTARY Correale F. Stevens - 12/29/2011
LAST FEBRUARY in Philadelphia I was giving a seminar to more than 300 trial judges representing all counties in Pennsylvania when I noticed Luzerne County President Judge Tom Burke in the audience. I casually mentioned his presenc ...

Workplace wellness gets employees, companies healthier COMMENTARY Dr. Nina Taggart - 12/27/2011
THE FACTS are alarming. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 65 percent of adults do not exercise regularly, half of all adults have high cholesterol, one out of every four has high blood pressure an ...

Photo ID legislation will only disenfranchise voters Commentary State Sen. Daylin Leach - 12/26/2011
RECENTLY, GOV. Tom Corbett has endorsed legislation that would require every Pennsylvanian to present photo ID each time he or she voted, regardless of how long the person had been voting at that poll.

Jimmy Stewart showed us that ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ COMMENTARY William C. Kashatus - 12/24/2011
JIMMY STEWART, one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors, would be appalled by the popularity of today’s movies that glorify war and the platinum heroes who star in them.

Safety, jobs and regulation priorities of pipeline bill COMMENTARY U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster - 12/21/2011
SUPPORTING OUR nation’s infrastructure is critical to maintaining a strong economy, keeping the public safe, creating jobs and spurring economic development. As a senior member of the Transportation Committee and the chairman of t ...

Redistricting divides communities, hurts voter input Commentary State Sen. John Yudichak - 12/20/2011
AT THIS time of year, it is common to hear the words “wonder” and “awe” as people enjoy the holidays. With the recent congressional reapportionment gift presented to the national GOP by Republican majorities in Harrisburg, the wor ...

Ignorance and confusion falsely tie homosexuality and pedophilia Commentary Marie Gray - 12/18/2011
IN THE wake of the media exposure of the alleged occurrences of multiple sexual assaults on underage males by former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, gays and lesbians are again confronted with the fa ...

Election 2012: Making a case for facts over rhetoric COMMENTARY John Sumansky - 12/17/2011
IN CASE you haven’t noticed, there is a presidential election coming up in 2012. And with presidential aspirations and control of the White House at stake, there are plenty of, let’s say, less-than-truthful accounts of the Obama a ...

Rejiggered districts? We’ve got our own interpretation Mark Guydish COMMENTARY - 12/15/2011
AS THE bleary-eyed bloke who unwisely offered to work on the legislative redistricting maps that The Times Leader published this week, I confess that scrutinizing the new boundaries left me befuddled.

Surprising news doesn’t seem to shock some people Mark Guydish Commentary - 12/13/2011
COULD WE please stop the disingenuous reactions?

Lawmaker recounts experience on ‘super committee’ COMMENTARY U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey - 12/08/2011
BY NOW, most folks in Pennsylvania know that the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (commonly known as the super committee) did not meet its goal of finding $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction. To say that I am disappointe ...

The choice is clear for country’s future: It’s Obama COMMENTARY Corey D. O’Brien - 12/07/2011
THE CHAIRMAN of the Republican National Committee apparently suffers from amnesia, as he seemingly forgets in his recent commentary (“Obama’s Scranton visit reveals how far he’s fallen,” Dec. 3) how our country found itself in thi ...

Lawmaker stands behind Obama’s message during visit COMMENTARY State Sen. John Blake - 12/06/2011
ON WEDNESDAY I had the deep honor and pleasure of meeting President Obama during his visit to Scranton. Contrary to the representations made in the Dec. 3 commentary by Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee ...

FDR’s ‘Infamy Speech’ mobilized outraged public for war Commentary William C. Kashatus - 12/05/2011
SEVENTY YEARS ago this Wednesday, a wave of Japanese war planes swooped over America’s chief Pacific Naval base at Pearl Harbor and dropped their armor-piercing bombs on “Battleship Row.” The attack sank four U.S. battleships, des ...

For-profit colleges should not be allowed to prey on returning veterans Commentary Michael A. MacDowell - 12/04/2011
IN A few weeks, thousands of our brave men and women will return from Iraq after participating in one of the longest wars in American history. Many will enter the next phase of their lives and return to the private sector with an ...

Obama’s Scranton visit reveals how far he’s fallen COMMENTARY Reince Priebus - 12/03/2011
THE CROWD was thin on Wednesday in Scranton. President Obama just can’t attract the audiences he once did. Even Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, seemingly didn’t care to join him. It is an all-too-telling sign of Obama’s plummeting pop ...

Lawmakers should freeze salaries, share in sacrifice Mark Guydish Commentary - 11/30/2011
WITH ALL due respect to state Rep. Phyllis Mundy – and I’ve developed a lot of respect for her over the years – the answer is yes.

Prevention is the key to avoiding the flu this season Commentary Dr. Neil Lesitsky - 11/28/2011
WE’VE ALL had those days when we just don’t feel well – a cough, a runny nose, sneezing, body aches and maybe a fever. As the winter months approach, those symptoms could mean that you have the flu, or the influenza virus. But the ...

Penn State Board of Trustees flunked stewardship test COMMENTARY William A. Levinson - 11/26/2011
THE INDO-EUROPEAN root dher means “to hold,” in the sense of trust, stewardship and responsibility. Dharma (the “right way”) and jemadar (lieutenant, responsible for an army platoon) are examples. Penn State foo ...

Economy needs long-term growth, not short-term boost Commentary Timothy F. Kearney - 11/21/2011
IT’S BEEN more than two years since the recession officially ended – on paper – in June 2009, but a persistently stubborn high unemployment rate has been a drag on a slow-growing economy. It’s no surprise it has given rise to disg ...

Powell’s path to ‘success’ should stop at Plunder Dome Mark Guydish Commentary - 11/19/2011
SO ROBERT “Little Bobby” Powell gets off with 18 months in prison, and his attorney promises that the former uber lawyer will rebound just fine from his collision with ethics in our continuing saga of “Plunder D ...

Penn State scandal should focus attention on the effects of pedophilia on victims Commentary William C. Kashatus - 11/13/2011
WHEN JERRY Sandusky, former Penn State football defensive coordinator, was charged by the state attorney general with 40 counts of sexually assaulting eight boys from 1994 to 2009, the hallowed institution of Penn State Football c ...

Generic fix is one remedy to reducing health care costs COMMENTARY Kara Malitsky - 11/12/2011
AS HEALTH costs escalate nationwide, consumers, employers and insurers are looking for ways to reduce them while maintaining quality. Considering that prescription drugs costs are one of the fastest growing segments of the health ...

Adults have the duty to report and prevent child abuse COMMENTARY Jenna Mehnert - 11/10/2011
AS THE nation turns it eye to the commonwealth in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse allegations, this is a time to raise awareness about the potential of sexual abuse in our communities.

Honor state’s veterans by visiting museums, other sites COMMENTARY Susan Corbett - 11/09/2011
MORE THAN 1 million Pennsylvanians are military veterans, brave men and women who put their lives on the line to serve our state and country.

Sunday hunting restrictions should be kept in place Commentary Carl T. Shaffer - 11/08/2011
FARMERS ACROSS the commonwealth and other Pennsylvanians have been sending a clear message to members of the state General Assembly: “Don’t expand Sunday hunting.”

Foundation makes sure we remember our mining roots COMMENTARY Bill O’Boyle - 10/25/2011
MOST OF us have vivid memories of our childhoods. Many of them are happy, and we typically look forward to reunions with family and friends to recall those stories, laugh about them and find comfort in reliving them with the peopl ...

River must recede before bridge can proceed - 10/23/2011
The new Eighth Street Bridge is finished, but the east side entrance isn’t. Motorists traveling south in Jenkins Township have to negotiate a sharp turn around a construction barrier to get on the bridge.

There’s nothing workable about Obama’s Jobs Act COMMENTARY William A. Levinson - 10/21/2011
ALBERT EINSTEIN reputedly defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results.

Occupy Wall Street breeds new generation of activism COMMENTARY William C. Kashatus - 10/19/2011
OCCUPY WALL Street, the growing protest against corporate greed and the influence of corporate money and lobbyists on government, has restored my faith in the millennial generation.

Corbett should get his facts (and figures) straight Mark Guydish Commentary - 10/14/2011
IF GOV. Tom Corbett wants to push school choice – and proposals he announced Tuesday show he does – he needs to stop cherry-picking, contorting and outright ignoring hard data.

Subsidies to sugar farmers hurt community at large COMMENTARY David N. Taylor - 10/10/2011
AS THE U.S. economy seemingly lurches toward another recession, employers across the nation are imploring Washington to adopt pro-growth policies that will foster the private investment our communities need to put people back to w ...

DEP reorganization will aid oversight of gas industry COMMENTARY James M. Seif - 10/08/2011
UNTIL RECENTLY, most people thought Pennsylvania’s biggest economic story was our long sad, slide into the Rust Bowl. We were left to cope with old strip mines, orphaned oil and gas wells, thousands of old factory sites and jobles ...

Make informed choices about medical imaging testing Commentary Dr. Leo M. Hartz - 10/03/2011
A RECENT national news magazine article reported that some medical screenings and tests, including imaging studies, might not be necessary for low-risk patients.

Federal regulations putting stranglehold on businesses, economy Commentary Kevin Shivers - 10/02/2011
WITH HIS political party firmly in control of Congress, President Obama devoted his first two years in office to several massive regulatory schemes that would for the first time bring whole sectors of the economy under the control ...

Benefits of college education go beyond the degree COMMENTARY Kingsley Banya - 10/01/2011
WHY IS a college education important?

Post office should open the door for coal miner stamp Gerard Hetman Commentary - 09/30/2011
AS IT works to adjust to operations in the 21st century, the U.S. Postal Service has been seeking ways to re-connect with customers across America.

We must supply aid first, then renew discussion on cuts COMMENTARY U.S. REP. TOM MARINO - 09/29/2011
I HAVE spent the last few weeks observing the heartbreaking devastation that two violent storms have wrought on the 10th Congressional District, other areas of Pennsylvania and across the United States. People are hurting, and the ...

Investment in care, community paramount to Geisinger COMMENTARY Dr. Glenn Steele Jr. - 09/28/2011
WHEN OUR founder Abigail Geisinger first said, “Make my hospital right, make it the best,” she was focused on doing what was best for patients and the Danville community served by Geisinger Medical Center. Nearly a century later, ...

Conahan’s sentencing pulled back curtain on scheme Mark Guydish Commentary - 09/27/2011
IF THERE was any doubt that Mike “Cocky” Conahan was the brains behind Luzerne County’s juvenile court scandal, they dissolved faster than Alka-Seltzer at Conahan’s sentencing in federal court Friday.

Manipulation of state’s electoral votes a blatant ploy Commentary Daylin Leach - 09/26/2011
IN THE United States, we don’t elect presidents directly. Each state elects representatives to the Electoral College, which technically “elects” our president. For 224 years, Pennsylvania has joined virtually every other state in ...

In our community, worst of times can bring out the best in people Commentary Michael A. MacDowell - 09/25/2011
THROUGHOUT OUR rich history, Northeastern Pennsylvania residents have had more than their share of obstacles and tragedies to overcome. Whether it was the historic flood of 1936 or the abrupt end of the anthracite industry in 1959 ...

Need comes knocking at door of Volunteers of America COMMENTARY BILL JONES - 09/24/2011
OVER THE past few weeks, the communities of the Wyoming Valley have experienced an earthquake, a hurricane, a tropical storm and destructive flooding. The impact of these events has ranged from a rattling of our nerves to the floo ...

Talk to us, Tony, about the Trombetta we should know Mark Guydish Commentary - 09/23/2011
ANTHONY TROMBETTA remains the most invisible man mentioned in this Our Age of Endless Corruption. The saga makes a John le Carre novel sound simple.

Memories remain, but security was washed away Bill O’Boyle Commentary - 09/22/2011
LIVING THROUGH the Agnes Flood of 1972 was and still is, in a word, humbling.

A few free-flowing thoughts on the ‘Flood of 2011’ Mark Guydish Commentary - 09/19/2011
RANDOM THOUGHTS dislodged by the flood …

Constitution never intended ‘people’ to mean GE, or P&G COMMENTARY David I. Fallk - 09/17/2011
WHAT DO you call multibillion-dollar, multinational entities that abandon their primary residences in the United States to avoid paying taxes, yet still request government subsidies and demand the same rights as ordinary American ...

Response to 2011 flooding, like Agnes, a test of our mettle COMMENTARY Chris Ritchie - 09/16/2011
FOR GENERATIONS of Wyoming Valley residents, “Agnes” provided a lasting benchmark in our lives.

Federal agencies had key role in mitigating flood loss COMMENTARY Paul E. Kanjorski - 09/13/2011
FOR THOSE of us who lived through the Agnes flood of 1972, Thursday provided a sickening sense of d�j� vu. Days and days of rain saturated the ground in advance of a hurricane pulling moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, which dumped ...

If Buzz Lightyear gets a stamp, coal miners should, too Commentary State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski - 09/02/2011
AS WE celebrate the Labor Day weekend and its symbolic end to the summer, it’s important to reflect on the holiday’s true meaning. Labor Day is about the hardworking men and women who make our country great – past, present and fut ...

Let’s show our support for the hometown team Gerard Hetman Commentary - 09/01/2011
“THERE’S NOTHIN’ like the view from the cheap seats!”

Can we really afford to keep eating unhealthy foods? COMMENTARY Chet Mozloom - 08/31/2011
MY WIFE and I recently had a few friends over for pizza, and our usual debate on politics and classism broke out feverishly. We sat there eating pizza and drinking soda, pretending it was wild-caught salmon and Brace’s apple cider ...

Statistics aside, what are today’s students really getting out of college? Commentary Michael A. MacDowell - 08/28/2011

Barletta quick to take credit for Pittston project grant Mark Guydish Commentary - 08/25/2011
WAS I THE only one who thought it a little strange when Lou Barletta, a federal legislator, took credit for a state grant funding a Pittston project?

Market St. project: Let’s hope this train leaves the station MARK GUYDISH Commentary - 08/23/2011
WITH THE eyes of an outsider scrutinizing one of our region’s most imperiled treasures, Jon Haeber glommed onto two fundamental facts:

Plan to certify recycled products in Pa. gets green light Commentary Bob Bylone - 08/22/2011
“TRUST BUT verify.” Those were words President Ronald Reagan once used. Of course, he was talking about compliance with a weapons treaty. But the sentiment is just as valid with reference to vetting products in today’s marketplace ...

Science should be bedrock of Marcellus Shale debate Mark Guydish Commentary - 08/19/2011
FOR A fuel that burns clean enough to use in your kitchen, natural gas has produced smoke you can choke on in public debate.

EPA says it can protect residents and still grow economy COMMENTARY Shawn M. Garvin - 08/18/2011
WRITING IN this space on Aug. 3, U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey presented readers with a retread of the false choice between protecting our health and the environment and growing our economy.

With police under fire, we can learn to value their work Gerard Hetman Commentary - 08/16/2011
AS I was leaving my computer Thursday evening, an item in my Facebook news feed stopped me on a dime.

Endless denial sends judge to near eternity in prison Mark Guydish Commentary - 08/13/2011
IN THE end, Mark Ciavarella learned the exact cost of his convictions: 20 years, 9 months.