Breaking News on WILK: Boredom at Penn Place

So now we’ve got a temporary judge on loan from another county charged by the state police with assaulting his wife.

His name is not important to me. I had never heard of him before Luzerne County judges started lining up en masse for all-expense paid trips to federal prisons. And there’s a better than average chance I’ll never hear his name again after his case is adjudicated.

Well, that‘s assuming, of course, that this assault charge is not merely the beginning of a lengthy crime spree on his part. In this county, whereas the conduct of judges goes, all bets are off.

All of which makes me wonder what’s in the gin & tonic over at the courthouse. I’m sorry. A senior moment there.

I meant, I wonder what’s in the water over at the courthouse.

My bad.

Breaking news (5:52 PM): Boredom at Penn Place

According to WILK’s Steve Corbett (as of this very moment), our voter services director, Len Piazza, posted the following on his Facebook page earlier today:

(Paraphrasing): ‘I’m bored. Lots to do. But I’m procrastinating.’

Predictably, Corbett has gone all apoplectic on this one, and he is calling for an investigation of county policy whereas playing around on the internet on county time is concerned. Er, that is, playing around on taxpayer-funded time.

I’ll betcha a 40 ounce Utica Club that the county code (that expansive gray area bigger than the universe itself) does not speak directly to county department heads tossing off on county time.

Remember, department heads are not even required to work the ‘norm…a 40-hour week. So who’s to say they can’t dilly dally on the internet, enjoy a mid-morning dalliance with twin girls and then down a cocktail or three during their 2-hour lunch?

What say you, commissioners? Care to address that one via Twitter?

Um, ah, well, the county personnel policies don’t seem to cover any of that.

So, while we find that behavior wholly inappropriate, the taxpayers can go fu>k themselves with lubed spindles. Uh, again, that is.

Thank you for your interest in county government, and thank you for interrupting the boredom.

This one is, how do you say? Oh yeah, it’s complete bullspit!

From today's Times Leader:

W-B, code officer see suit over property

SCRANTON – The owner of a Wilkes-Barre rental property has filed a federal lawsuit against Wilkes-Barre and city Code Enforcement Officer Frank Kratz, alleging Kratz shut down the property based on his personal animosity and disdain for the owner.

The suit, filed by attorney William Abraham, claims Kratz improperly entered a four-unit rental building owned by Kiran Patel at 82-84 Laurel St. on Jan. 17, 2008, and condemned the structure, forcing the tenants to vacate the premises.

The suit, filed Friday in federal court, is the second lawsuit Patel has filed against the city in relation to actions it has taken against properties owned by Patel.

Patel currently has a suit pending in federal court that alleges Kratz failed to provide Patel proper notification before he shut down the former Red Carpet Inn in 2008. The city and Patel recently filed court documents asking a judge to rule in their favor regarding that lawsuit. No decision has yet been made.

I know absolutely nothing about this property on Laurel Street, nor do I want or need to. But the Red Carpet Inn is a whole other story. Because of confidentiality concerns, I cannot provide any insights at this time.

But know this. Not only was I inside the entirety of the Red Carpet Inn on official company business (guess why) only days before it was finally put out of it’s abject misery by the City of Wilkes-Barre, so was my trusty camera. And as we all know full well, pictures do not lie. Or in this particular case, 54 pictures do not lie.

This, the Red Carpet nonsense, is a frivolous lawsuit. And I have every possible confidence that the latest suit is nonsense as well.

And if you want some corroborating testimony on the conditions inside that shuttered dump, ask any Wilkes-Barre fireman or police officer.

The New York Football Giants have hired Buffalo’s recently fired interim coach as their new defensive coordinator.

Gee, I feel better already.

NOT!!!

Buh-bye