Demolition Time

I do not say this often, OK never before in the history of this blog have I uttered the words, and may never again so here goes.

Thank you City Hall!!!!

You may recall back in December, I published “Wrecking Ball on Sullivan Street?” well it took some doing but after much back and forth with all the folks involved, tomorrow at 7:30 AM Stell Enterprises with begin ripping down the burned out eyesore.

The owner of the burned out eyesore was a bit reluctant to say the least, when it came to fulfilling the responsibilities, that any responsible homeowner should be expected to do, when their property is struck by fire.

1. File an insurance claim
2. Deposit said insurance check
3. Hire a licensed contractor to repair or rip down the burned out structure.  

Now I agree the owner of the burned out eyesore did complete steps 1 and 2 but failed to even begin step 3 until the City applied months of pressure.

So with that I say Thank You

• Michael Simonson, Assistant Director of Operations: Who was instrumental in coordinating the overall project, from start to finish.
• Greg Barrouk - Director of Economic Development: Who quickly followed up on any, and all problems, questions, and concerns I had throughout the project. NOTE: Folks who know me, know I have tons of them, so this in itself was a rather large undertaking.
• Timothy J. Henry, City Attorney: Who quickly took care of the legal issues as they arose.

Like I said, I don’t get to say this often, but again thanks guys for your outstanding hard work. I truly wish every encounter with City Hall ended with results like these.

Wake Up Wilkes Barre

Truly Non-Stick

Once again folks we have the King of Non-Stick making the case that increased spending, and declining income is nothing to worry about. 

Now please forgive my ignorance folks. Remember I’m a simple hick from T-Town, but what I do remember from basic math is this: 

• 1 – 2 = Negative

But perhaps the reason King Tommy isn’t worried is he knows the foreclosure won’t happen under his watch. 

The next poor soul or “sap” who succeeds him will be the one to blame. The King has been blaming his predecessor for 8+ Years now. It would seem that strategy has worked well for him, and who could blame him?

FACT: We weren’t in this much debt when Old Tom was our mayor, So New Tom must be doing something right. After all even though we can’t afford to pay our bills we do have that Average (A) S&P Credit Rating to brag about.

Do we care about that analysts pointed to several areas of concern:

• A declining population, much of which is elderly.
• Unemployment higher than national averages.
• A declining tax base.
• A high poverty level.
• A limited local economy with low wealth and income indicators.
• Moderate-to-high overall debt levels.
• A low level of median household purchasing income.

If King Tommy is not concerned about these issues I guess we shouldn’t be either. I mean after reading his “What bank would lend you money if you couldn’t afford to pay it back?” statement in the Times Leader: "Debt City" , I know I can rest easy. 

• This is The WB nothing bad ever happens here!

I still wonder about all those folks who lost their homes when “some bank” lent them money they couldn’t afford to pay back, but that can’t happen to us Right? 

After all that was their problem, and likely caused by "Bad Management" Those fools did't have a plan to keep refinancing without ever having to pay back, like King Tommy's wonderful, creative financing package.  

So with that I say, come on folks stop whining already our King is doing his little part to singlehandedly bail out those poor disenfranchised, troubled banks, by increasing the cities debt by $74,750,344.00 during his administration, he is contributing to a greater good, RIGHT? 

• Like higher than average CEO bonuses? 

Wake Up Wilkes Barre

Thank you Times Leader

• DEBT CITY?
• Situation a concern, Hirko says