Luzerne County Government Study Commission reaches agreement on ethics recommendation 17 Apr 6:00 PM (6 hours ago)
After several past debates, Luzerne County’s Government Study Commission reached consensus Thursday on a recommendation that will require council to keep an ethics commission and code.
The seven-citizen study commission is drafting a revised county home rule charter for voters to consider in November.
It had been split on a prior suggestion allowing council to determine if a commission is needed and, if so, how it would be structured.
If the proposed charter is adopted by voters in November, the wording approved Thursday would require council to vote within nine months to ratify or amend the existing ethics code.
Council would also be required to maintain or establish an ethics commission to receive and investigate ethics complaints.
The existing commission structure would remain in effect if council does not approve a new composition. The commission is currently composed of the county district attorney, manager, controller and two council-appointed citizens (one Democrat and one Republican).
Council also would be required to revisit the ethics code and commission structure every two years.
Study Commission Chairman Ted Ritsick and Vice Chairman Vito Malacari said this option ensures an ethics code and commission are in place but gives council legislative authority to determine how they are structured.
While the recommendation was unanimously approved, Study Commission Treasurer Cindy Malkemes said she is concerned council will not act to make improvements.
Many have complained the code is problematic and ineffective, but council has not exercised its current authority to revamp it.
Malacari told Malkemes citizens are free to “put pressure” on council members to make the code workable.
Study Commission member Mark Shaffer said he believes the membership composition of the ethics commission should be spelled out in advance so it is kept “out of council’s hands,” but he supported the proposal in a spirit of compromise.
Shaffer had predicted voters would reject the proposed new charter if council had discretion to eliminate an ethics commission.
Boards
The study commission also approved recommendations Thursday related to several boards:
• Assessment Appeals Board
This three-citizen panel appointed by council rules on requests for real estate assessment reductions.
The commission is adding wording to ensure the members complete training that was mandated by state law enacted after the current charter took effect. It also is allowing council to appoint alternate members to fill in as needed if permanent members are absent or have a conflict hearing any appeals.
• Retirement Board
The five-member board oversees the employee pension fund and currently consists of the county manager, budget/finance division head, council chair, a council member and member of the retirement system.
The new recommendation would replace the budget/finance division head with an additional council member and allow the manager the option to select a designee to serve in his/her place.
• Joint Airport Board
The county has three members — the council chair, a council member and county manager or his/her designee — on the joint board with Lackawanna County that oversees the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.
Thursday’s recommendation replaced the county manager with a third council member based on the argument that this board serves more of a legislative purpose.
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Luzerne County 911 telecommunicator to receive proclamation for handling of childbirth call 17 Apr 5:09 PM (7 hours ago)
Luzerne County 911 telecommunicator Kaylary Santos is set to receive a proclamation during county council’s Tuesday meeting for assisting a caller in active labor on April 13.
The child was born before emergency responders arrived.
It was county 911’s first case of a telecommunicator providing emergency medical childbirth instructions in Spanish, officials said.
Santos, 26, of Wilkes-Barre, said the call came in from a Luzerne borough couple, and she immediately sensed the father was panicking, which was not surprising in the situation.
Growing up in a family in which English was not the first language, Santos also could tell he was struggling a bit to relay the details due to his language barrier. Santos, who is bilingual, asked if he wanted her to speak in Spanish and said he was grateful for that option.
Guided by medical prompts, Santos established that his wife’s water broke, the contractions were coming about a minute apart and the baby’s head had appeared.
When the baby was delivered, Santos braced herself because he said the baby was not breathing. As she readied the next series of instructions, the baby started crying.
Emergency responders arrived at that point, she said.
Santos, who started work as a county 911 telecommunicator in 2023, said a wave of relief overcame her when the baby started crying.
“It’s like a roller coaster of emotions,” Santos said.
The county was unable to identify the Luzerne couple due to confidentiality requirements.
Telecommunicators typically don’t have closure on what happens to callers they assist. Because this was her first childbirth assist and a special case, Santos said her supervisor allowed her to contact the responding ambulance to learn the outcome. She was informed the baby was a boy and that both the baby and mother were transported to a hospital and are doing well.
“I’m just happy they are OK,” Santos said.
Santos said she became a telecommunicator — a worker who both processes emergency calls and dispatches responders — because she wants to help people. The reality is nobody calls 911 because they are having good days, and calls often involve someone who died, she said.
Because she doesn’t expect gratitude for performing her job, Santos said the notification she will be receiving a proclamation is surreal.
“I’m very shocked and thankful,” she said.
County Manager Romilda Crocamo shared the announcement with council members by email.
“Congratulations Kaylary for remaining calm under pressure! We simply do have the very best!” Crocamo wrote.
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Shapiro recounts evacuating arson fire in pajamas at governor’s residence 17 Apr 4:49 PM (7 hours ago)
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Thursday provided new details about the arson fire early Sunday that prompted his family’s evacuation from the governor’s official residence in Harrisburg, recounting how wife and four kids and their two dogs — Bo and Bentley — were awakened by state police and guided to safety.
Shapiro spoke to reporters after his family served a catered lunch to Harrisburg firefighters in thanks for their role in responding to the blaze that is estimated to have caused millions in damage to the building and its contents. No one was hurt.
A suspect has been charged, and the motive is under investigation.
Shapiro is a first-term Democrat considered a potential candidate for president in 2028.
Here’s what Shapiro had to say about the attack, which burned the same room where his family and guests had a Passover Seder a few hours earlier.
A fire hours after holiday meal
“We concluded our Seder maybe around 10ish or so at night,” and guests, family and others were in private areas on the first floor, he said.
“Everybody was just enjoying one another and spending time celebrating not just the holiday but each other and enjoying each other’s company,” he said. Around midnight, they went upstairs and “spent an hour yelling at the kids to go to bed and they didn’t listen.”
“Said goodnight to the kids, got the dogs situated, and I’d say probably fell asleep around 1 o’clock in the morning,” Shapiro said.
Banging on the door
“Less than an hour later, I heard yelling in the hallway, which was not like our kids’ voices. It was one of the state troopers running down the hallway, and he banged on the door. I don’t know how he did it, but it wasn’t a knock. It was more of a bang,” he said.
Shapiro said he and his wife, Lori, were told there was a fire and they had to evacuate immediately.
“I would say within just a few seconds we ran to each of the doors in the hallway, to open them up and get the kids up, get the dogs up and usher everybody down a back stairwell,” he said. “And we followed the troopers out to the driveway area, and we were asked multiple times if everyone was present and accounted for. They were. Troopers and Capitol Police kept us safe.” Firefighters converged on the property.
Shapiro said first responders repeatedly made sure no one was missing.
Cold and misty, in pajamas
“I remember it being a cold and kind of misty night. We were all a little chilly. Everybody was in their pajamas. And we just kind of huddled up and just tried to keep the kids calm and keep everybody calm,” he said. They did not realize from where they were just how much damage had been done to the other side of the house.
Emergency responders kept arriving.
“We were able to gather a few items up from the house,” he said. “And then we were on our way to a safe location for all of us, and we got the kids to sleep. Got them settled.”
The next morning Shapiro returned to the fire scene.
Returning to see the damage
Shapiro and his wife were again at the residence on Thursday and examined the damage to the private areas where his family lives and the public spaces where they welcome guests.
“To see those spots that are charred and burned out and glass broken around the areas that before were happy, special places for us is tough,” he said.
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Intruder faced little resistance as Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family slept 17 Apr 4:41 PM (7 hours ago)
HARRISBURG — The arsonist who broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s residence while Gov. Josh Shapiro and his extended family slept upstairs on the first night of Passover encountered little resistance as he scaled a security fence, smashed windows with a hammer, ignited two Molotov cocktails and crawled inside before slipping off into the night minutes later.
That suggests multiple security failures, according to a former FBI agent who wondered why burglar alarms, motion detectors and other devices did not thwart the intruder sooner.
“He never should have gotten over the fence. He never should have gotten across the yard and to the house. He never should have broken the window. He never should have gotten inside,” said retired FBI Special Agent J.J. Klaver, now a security consultant.
The arson early Sunday occurred just hours after Shapiro hosted a Seder for his family and members of the Jewish community. No one was injured, but the fire caused, by one official’s estimate, millions of dollars in damage.
“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t jarring, scary to see that in the light of day, to see the areas where we’d either make memories privately up in the residence with our kids — hanging out, laughing, enjoying ourselves — or in the more public spaces where we’ve been able to welcome so many people to our home,” Shapiro said Thursday. “But we’re going to rebuild from that. We’re going to be stronger.”
White House, queen have faced intruders
Experts said it can be difficult to maintain security at official residences, like the one in Harrisburg, that also open their doors to the public for tours and events.
Intruders over the years have managed to breach both the White House and the queen’s bedroom at Buckingham Palace. Meanwhile, Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was violently attacked inside their private home in California in 2022.
The Pennsylvania suspect, an unemployed mechanic from Harrisburg, told police he felt hatred toward Shapiro, and referenced Palestinians in a 911 call that day, according to court documents.
Still, Cody Balmer’s specific motive remains unclear, and both his family and lawyers have said he has struggled with serious mental health issues. Balmer, 38, remains in custody without bail while his lawyers seek a competency evaluation.
Police say the attack took just minutes
State police, who provide the governor’s security detail, pledged to hire an outside expert to review the breach and to assess the need for added security. They said the intruder came and went in a matter of minutes early Sunday as troopers on duty spotted the threat on security cameras and searched the grounds while he was still there.
“It was a very quick event,” Lt. Col. George Bivens said.
Shapiro, a high-profile Democrat on the national stage who was awakened about 2 a.m. Sunday by his state police detail, has expressed confidence in the agency while confirming that security measures would be bolstered.
Klaver, who is based near Philadelphia, has planned site visits involving the governor and said Shapiro typically has several members of his security team in tow. In addition to staff, an array of high-tech systems can help police keep up with ever-evolving threats, another expert said.
“As people and groups get more creative, that’s obviously where you need to adjust and learn. You’re always looking to do things better,” said John Geffre, general manager of Unlimited Technology, an Exton, Pa.-based security systems integrator.
Yet Balmer told police he relied on a rudimentary method to make the explosives — gasoline from his lawn mower and a few beer bottles. And he said he planned to hit Shapiro with the small sledgehammer if he encountered him.
Expert: He shouldn’t have gotten that close
Mohsin Siddiqui, 40, who manages a Sunoco station across the street, said he doesn’t often notice security outside the residence, but he never thought they would need it. The events of last weekend took him by surprise. The residence is about a mile north of the Capitol complex, in a mixed-use neighborhood beside the Susquehanna River.
“It’s a peaceful area,” Siddiqui said Thursday. “We had no idea this could even happen.”
Shapiro splits his time between the mansion that has housed governors since it was built in the 1960s and a home in Abington, a Philadelphia suburb.
The security review, Klaver said, should focus on “potential threats or vulnerabilities for any given location, and protecting the people in that location.”
Every state has a centralized emergency office open round-the-clock that could monitor security system feeds, he said.
“There should have been electronic security that would have detected all of that before he got close enough,” he said of the attacker, “so that as soon as he broke the perimeter of the property, the state trooper there should have been alerted, should have been there, and should have taken him into custody.”
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UnitedHealthcare killing suspect Luigi Mangione indicted as prosecutors push for death penalty 17 Apr 4:16 PM (8 hours ago)
NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione was indicted Thursday on a federal murder charge in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a required step as prosecutors work to make good on the Trump administration’s order to seek the death penalty for what it called a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”
Mangione’s indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Manhattan, includes a charge of murder through use of a firearm, which carries the possibility of the death penalty. The indictment, which mirrors a criminal complaint brought after Mangione’s arrest last December, also charges him with stalking and a gun offense.
Mangione’s lawyers have argued that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s announcement this month ordering prosecutors to seek the death penalty was a “political stunt” that corrupted the grand jury process and deprived him of his constitutional right to due process.
Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, faces separate federal and state murder charges after authorities say he gunned down Thompson, 50, outside a Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4 as the executive arrived for UnitedHealthcare’s annual investor conference.
Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind. Police say the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were scrawled on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase commonly used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.
The killing and ensuing five-day search leading to Mangione’s arrest rattled the business community, with some health insurers deleting photos of executives from their websites and switching to online shareholder meetings. At the same time, some health insurance critics have rallied around Mangione as a stand-in for frustrations over coverage denials and hefty medical bills.
Mangione’s federal indictment came just before a deadline Friday for prosecutors to either file one or seek a delay. It was not immediately clear when he will be brought to federal court in Manhattan for an arraignment.
A message seeking comment was left for a spokesperson for Mangione’s defense team.
Bondi announced April 1 that she was directing federal prosecutors in Manhattan to seek the death penalty against Mangione. It was the first time the Justice Department said it was pursuing capital punishment since President Donald Trump returned to office Jan. 20 with a vow to resume federal executions after they were halted under the previous administration.
In her announcement, Bondi described Thompson’s killing as “an act of political violence.”
Mangione’s lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, countered in a subsequent court filing that “the United States government intends to kill Mr. Mangione as a political stunt.” She wants prosecutors blocked from seeking the death penalty.
Friedman Agnifilo and her co-counsel argued that Bondi’s announcement — which was followed by posts to her Instagram account and a television appearance — violated long-established Justice Department protocols and “indelibly prejudiced” the grand jury process that ultimately led to his indictment.
Mangione remains locked up at a federal jail in Brooklyn. His state charges carry a maximum punishment of life in prison.
Prosecutors have said the two cases will proceed on parallel tracks, with the state case expected to go to trial first. It wasn’t immediately clear if Mangione’s indictment Thursday will change the order.
Mangione was arrested Dec. 9 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles west of New York City and whisked to Manhattan by plane and helicopter.
Police said Mangione had a 9mm handgun that matched the one used in the shooting and other items including a notebook in which they say he expressed hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives.
Among the entries, prosecutors said, was one from August 2024 that said “the target is insurance” because “it checks every box” and one from October that describes an intent to “wack” an insurance company CEO. UnitedHealthcare, the largest U.S. health insurer, has said Mangione was never a client.
Friedman Agnifilo has said she would seek to suppress some of the evidence.
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Cruzin’ the Square Car Show will return to Wilkes-Barre April 25 17 Apr 4:06 PM (8 hours ago)
Cruzin’ the Square Car Show will return to Wilkes-Barre’s Public Square from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, April 25.
The car show will continue on the last Friday of each month through October on May 30, June 27, July 25, Aug. 29, Sept. 26 and Oct. 31.
Participating vehicles will park diagonally in the parking spots around Public Square and in between the concrete planters around the Square. There is absolutely no parking in the middle of Public Square or in the stage area.
For information, contact Mike Slusser, special events coordinator, at 570-208-4149 or mslusser@wilkes-barre.pa.us.
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WB announces road closure for milling and paving of Meade Street 17 Apr 4:01 PM (8 hours ago)
South and North Meade Street between East Northampton Street and Coal Street will be closed to traffic from 7 a.m to 5 p.m. on Friday and Monday for milling and paving.
Temporary “No Parking” signs have been posted. Vehicles parked in this area during the schedule above will be ticketed and towed.
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White House proposes eliminating Head Start funding as part of sweeping budget cuts 17 Apr 3:41 PM (8 hours ago)
The Trump administration is asking Congress to eliminate funding for Head Start, a move that would cut early education for more than half a million of the nation’s neediest children and child care for their families.
The proposal is tucked in a 64-page internal draft budget document obtained by The Associated Press that seeks deep cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees Head Start. It is still in a highly preliminary phase as the White House prepares to send Congress its budget request for the 2026 fiscal year.
It is not clear if the proposed cuts will be accepted by lawmakers. While Congress often ignores a president’s budget request, the proposed elimination of Head Start highlights the administration’s priorities as President Donald Trump seeks to overhaul education in the United States.
“The budget does not fund Head Start,” according to the draft. It says eliminating the program is consistent with the Trump administration’s “goals of returning control of education to the states and increasing parental control.”
“The federal government should not be in the business of mandating curriculum, locations, and performance standards for any form of education,” the document says.
Spokespeople for Health and Human Services did not respond to a request for comment.
Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has vowed to dismantle the Department of Education, has banned diversity initiatives at schools and has frozen funding at several elite universities in an attempt to force change at colleges that Republicans say have become hotbeds of liberalism and antisemitism.
The Head Start program had already been hit this year by layoffs and funding lags, along with a glitch this winter that briefly locked preschool providers out of their federal accounts. The private and public schools that run Head Start classrooms are deeply reliant on federal money, and this year’s funding problems have caused some preschools to close temporarily.
Those closures cut off child care for hundreds of thousands of low-income families, for whom a day without work is often a day without pay.
The National Head Start Association said it was “deeply alarmed” by the administration’s proposal to stop funding the six-decade-old program.
“It reflects a divestment in our future,” said Yasmina Vinci, executive director of the NHSA, in a statement Thursday. “Eliminating funding for Head Start would be catastrophic. It would be a direct attack on our nation’s most at-risk children, their well-being, and their families.”
Head Start is more than just a preschool program, Vinci said. It provides meals and health screenings and helps level the playing field for children who might otherwise fall behind before starting kindergarten. Many Head Start children are in foster care or are homeless.
A lag in funding to Head Start since January has caused some Head Start preschool classrooms to close. The federal government has distributed $1.6 billion for Head Start from Jan. 1 through Tuesday, compared with $2.55 billion issued during the same period last year, according to the office of Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., which has been analyzing a federal database. Murray said the Trump administration had “slow-walked” funding appropriated by Congress.
“This administration believes we cannot afford to help families get preschool or help kids get basic health services, but we can afford trillions of dollars more in tax breaks for billionaires,” Murray said earlier this week. “It’s offensive and just plain wrong, and let me be clear: Democrats won’t let a proposal like this go anywhere in Congress.”
“But that doesn’t mean Head Start and so many other programs aren’t under grave threat — because Trump has proven he’ll ignore our laws and do whatever he can to break these programs on his own,” Murray said.
Head Start operates in all 50 states. Parents who otherwise would not be able to afford child care rely on it when they work or go to school. Supporters say that underscores the importance of Head Start to the economy and at-risk children alike.
While Head Start has enjoyed bipartisan support since its creation under President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty, some Republicans have emphasized its shortcomings and criticized efforts to increase funding. And Project 2025, the policy blueprint created by the conservative Heritage Foundation, called for eliminating Head Start altogether.
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Penn State delays campus closure announcement to mid May 17 Apr 2:31 PM (10 hours ago)
Penn State University has delayed its announcement of possible campus closures until mid-May, President Neeli Bendapudi said Thursday.
“Final exams and commencement are rapidly approaching — activities of great significance for our entire community. My team has consulted with students, faculty and staff on the timing of any announcements, and I agree with their broad recommendation to hold until after these milestone events,” Bendapudi wrote in an online memo.
She continued, “Further, the Board of Trustees plans to convene in mid-May to consider my Commonwealth Campus recommendations. Until action is taken by the board, no decisions are final. We will share advance notice of the board’s public meeting date once scheduled, and how to observe the proceedings.”
The president said immediate communication from PSU officials will come following the meeting. For those away from campus, the school is preparing both in-person and virtual opportunities for students, faculty and staff ask questions regarding the decisions made.
Previously, Bendapudi had said she hoped to make a final decision on potential campus closures before graduation.
In was announced in February that Penn State was considering closing some of its branch campuses, including Penn State Wilkes-Barre located in Lehman, Penn State Hazleton and Penn State Scranton, following the 2026-2027 school year.
In that initial announcement, Bendapudi said that the university “cannot sustain a viable Commonwealth Campus ecosystem without closing some campuses,” sighting declining enrollment, demographic shifts and financial pressures as some of the reasons for the potential closures.
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First National Bank building sale finalized 17 Apr 2:29 PM (10 hours ago)
After years of failed attempts to sell the former First National Bank building on Public Square, Wilkes-Barre officially closed on a sales agreement with the Basalyga Group last week, paving the way for the revitalization and preservation of the historic structure.
“I’ve gone to council several times asking for their permission to sell it, and for one reason another [the sale] fell through,” said Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown in a recent interview. “But [John Basalyga] has a wonderful track record in the city of Scranton, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how he’s going to develop the First National Bank building.”
No plans are set in stone, but Basalyga envisions the space housing a hospitality business that doesn’t compromise the original architecture, like the vaulted ceilings, or the general layout of the interior of the building.
“It needs to be beautifully done and preserved and kept the way it was intended to be,” Basalyga told the Times Leader. “It needs to be a place where people can come and enjoy it and walk through the front door and look up and be just wowed and inspired.”
A liquor license transfer for the building is almost complete and Basalyga said the design process will begin after it’s officially approved.
Basalyga gave the city “a lot of credit” for maintaining the building all these years, including pouring more than 1.5 million in state gaming grants into stabilizing the roof, the skylights and the exterior.
“That kept the water out,” Basalyga said. “Water is an enemy of preservation.”
The developer, who owns at least two other buildings in Luzerne County, including Serenity Healthcare in Kingston, said his company owns, manages and operates over 2 million square feet of real estate throughout the region. That includes strip centers, corporate centers, commercial space, retail space, a movie theater, personal care facilities, restaurants and more.
Additionally, the Basalyga Group employs over 700 people.
Built in 1906, the bank stood vacant for many years before the city bought it for $225,000 at a Luzerne County delinquent-tax sale in 2004.
The sale of the bank building comes with a $250,000 grant the developer can use for renovations.
New Mary Stegmaier Mansion restaurant opening soon
In addition to the First National Bank Building, Basalyga, through his company Stegmaier Mansion Realty LLCC, purchased both the Fredrick and Mary Stegmaier Mansions last November, following the previous owner, Joe Mattoe’s, retirement.
Basalyga said work on a new restaurant at the Mary Stegmaier Mansion is nearing completion and will likely open within a month and a half.
Having a full-service restaurant open will give the public more opportunities to experience the mansion, Basalyga said.
“It will obviously bring in more revenue as well, keeping it a viable business that isn’t just dependant on events,” he added.
Some repairs to the building have been made, including new painting, restoration of all the floors, and the ordering of new furniture that Basalyga felt was appropriate for the building’s early 20th-century feel.
“You’re gonna walk in there and it’s like you’re going into a time capsule, and that’s exactly what I want.”
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