Mark Guydish

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Education Reporter

mguydish@timesleader.com

(570) 970-7161

A West Hazleton native, I worked as a service technician repairing electronic mailing and shipping systems, a bike shop owner and an Emergency Medical Technician (among other jobs) before landing a reporter job at the Times Leader Hazleton Bureau in 1995. I started by covering primarily politics in Hazleton City and outlying municipalities, eventually became "social issues" team leader in the Wilkes-Barre office with the accent on education, and headed the Hazleton Bureau for a spell before returning to full-time reporting, my preferred position. I'm an avid cyclist and rode across the country in 1990, a trip of more than 5,000 miles from New Jersey to Seattle and down the coast to San Francisco. Years in the Boy Scouts made me a life long backpacker and camper, and I've yet to find a better way to enjoy the quiet lure of winter snow than cross country skiing.

Mark also writes a regular blog for timesleader.com.

Latest Columns by Mark Guydish

November 18, 2009

Rendell reform push noble but likely doomed MARK GUYDISH OPINION

Gov. Cheesesteak came to town Tuesday on what I’ll call his “Legacy Tour,” pushing his last great agenda: Reform Harrisburg.

November 16, 2009

A church message with universal appeal MARK GUYDISH OPINION

Maybe it was the brick walls and modest marble columns, or the wood floor crafted from thousands of slats not much bigger than Popsicle sticks.

November 14, 2009

Sorry seems to be the hardest word to say MARK GUYDISH OPINION

For nearly seven hours Tuesday, the room at Best Western East Mountain Inn lacked an elusive ingredient. Something was missing as I sat through the second day of local hearings aimed at figuring out how our juvenile courts were hijacked by corrupt judges for years.

November 11, 2009

Every day is a good day to honor heroes MARK GUYDISH OPINION

Eighth-grader Susan Mendegro stood so petite that an older student had to slip a box behind the podium for her to reach the microphone as she addressed the crowd in the Northwest Area Junior/Senior High School auditorium.

November 9, 2009

We are often detached from our soldiers MARK GUYDISH OPINION

I know the big news is that the juvenile justice hearings are in town, and there’s a lot to write about regarding the questioning and testimony. But tomorrow is Veterans Day and, personally, I can think of little else that deserves more notice right now.

November 7, 2009

Inquisition on juvie justice is coming to town MARK GUYDISH OPINION

Tomorrow, the Inquisition comes to town.

November 4, 2009

In election ’09, write-ins telling a cryptic tale MARK GUYDISH OPINION

All is not write in the world.

November 2, 2009

WVW vote reveals big flaw in process MARK GUYDISH OPINION

Wyoming Valley West School District voters in region 6 (Kingston) face a conundrum today, the result of a state law that lets school board candidates run on both party tickets. It is an object lesson on how the election system can defeat itself with a little help from voter apathy and inertia.

October 31, 2009

Juvie ruling puts justice back on track MARK GUYDISH OPINION

On Wednesday, Plunder Dome seemed to go into reruns, as our two scariest characters of the Halloween season, disgraced judges Mark “Shameless” Ciavarella and Michael “Cocky” Conahan, again insisted that they are immune from civil lawsuits no matter how heinous their actions on the bench were.

October 28, 2009

District sites can be used to further trust MARK GUYDISH OPINION

Our Tuesday editorial suggested a string of moves local school boards could make to restore trust amid the expanding corruption probe, and to avoid problems in the future (even if your board is untouched by allegations). All the ideas involved greater public access to district dealings, with emphasis on the power of the Internet: Post information – lots of it – on the district Web site for public scrutiny.

Latest Articles by Mark Guydish

November 20, 2009

Decision based on state, county duties

In determining Luzerne County officials could not be added to lawsuits regarding the judicial corruption scandal, U.S. District Court judge Richard Caputo meticulously parsed the duties and authority for all the parties in question.

November 20, 2009

Case law cited in immunity ruling

How could two judges accused of accepting millions for actions that led to increased incarceration of juveniles be immune from a lawsuit?

November 20, 2009

Liability in non-official jurist actions

In two sweeping rulings encompassing multiple parties on both sides of the legal fence in four cases, a federal judge Friday dramatically reshaped the landscape of civil suits filed in the juvenile justice corruption scandal.

November 20, 2009

UPDATE:Attorney calls ruling rightly clears county

Attorney Jack Dean Calld Judge Richard Caputo's ruling in civil suits regarding the juvenile justice scandal a "well reasoned, detailed opinion on why (Luzerne) County is not liable" for actions of two disgraced county judges. "The judges are state actors," Dean said.

November 19, 2009

Area schools share in Keystone Awards for academic achievement

Touted by the state as “showing sustained academic achievement,” 35 local schools in 12 districts received Keystone Achievement Awards on Thursday.

November 19, 2009

Wilkes tops presidential pays

Wilkes University President Joseph “Tim” Gilmour’s compensation has risen faster and higher than any other local president of the area’s five private institutions, soaring by 78 percent since his first year in 2001-02.

November 18, 2009

W-B Area’s math error means return of $52,000

WILKES-BARRE – In a complicated bookkeeping error, the Wilkes-Barre Area School District miscounted “nonresident students,” which led to the district getting $51,933 more from the state than it should have, according to a state audit.

November 18, 2009

Ranks of poor kids grow in all area school districts

The percentage of school-age children living in poverty in Luzerne County has increased in every district since 1999, according to new U.S. Census estimates, with the biggest increase in Hanover Area, where it rose from 19.3 percent to 24.4 percent.

November 18, 2009

LIU seats new member

KINGSTON –The Luzerne Intermediate Unit welcomed Evelyn Evans as the new representative for Hanover Area School District, replacing longtime representative Pete Halesey, at Wednesday’s monthly meeting, and formally swore in Hal Bloss as executive director, replacing Michael Ostrowski, who retired after nine years.

November 15, 2009

Smaller Jewish community has consolidation ideas

Judaism faces a potentially sweeping transition as it shifts and shrinks in the Wyoming Valley. Congregations once too large for their synagogues are becoming too small to afford the daily upkeep of those same buildings. Talk of consolidation is taken seriously.