Lower Providence Supervisors won't be criminally charged

Montgomery County's district attorney will not charge Colleen Eckman and Don Thomas in connection with the campaign battle waged against former township supervisor Craig Dininny and his running mate, James Dougherty. That doesn't mean J.P. Mascaro and Son's will drop its civil suit against Eckman and Thomas, though. The pair accused employees of the company of funding their opponent's campaign. While that is perfectly legal, it is a no no under the Pennsylvania election code for companies to fund political campaigns. So, if defamation is not a criminal offense, will it hold up in a civil court?

Thomas Jefferson, the last true Republican

Since this column is getting so much reaction I thought I would post a link to it here and get some additional response. I know my readers always have an opinion or two, so chime in, please. 
http://bit.ly/aNzaC0

No need for Wikileaks in Norristown

I thought I would put this out for discussion this week. The press does their own digging on a routine basis, but without people willing to come forward some stories just wouldn't be told. Check out the link below and throw in your two cents.

http://bit.ly/b571Nq

Consulting for dollars

Montgomery County (PA) approves a new contract for a health care consulting firm, guaranteeing them somewhere around $365,000 to tell them what? That they should go with the health care firm they're already using? C'mon, this is getting more and more ridiculous by the day. The leadership in this county is failing us. There's a budget shortfall but we're paying a consultant to give us the lowdown on the health care company the county has been using for years.

I have half a mind to run for county commissioner myself. Will you back me? I mean seriously, half a mind is about all I'd need to do better than what we have now. I guarantee you this kind of stuff would come to a screeching halt.

Round up time

As we head into the weekend let's take a moment to catch up. When you get a minute leave a comment on one of the below questions.

Why is the Norristown Area School District taking 30 days to respond to a Right To Know request for the needed repairs for Roosevelt Field?

Why are we not hearing anything out of the county about the multiple accusations leveled at commissioner's Chairman Jim Matthews?

Why is Norristown taking forever to respond to the disaster that is 770 Sandy St.?

Why is West Norriton fighting putting a stadium in at the high school?

Take your pick, or ask your own question. I'm just trying to keep the conversation lively!

Today, we declare our independence

OK, that was a little dramatic, and a little early, but we are in a way declaring our independence at The Times Herald with the Ben Franklin Project. We're breaking the chains that bind us to the proprietary systems that have held newspapers back for the past decade and breaking out on our own to bring you your news your way. How about you telling us where you think the biggest traffic headaches are in your community? Send an e-mail to jdhuff@timesherald.com. Who has the best cheese steak in your community? Send an e-mail to gpuleo@timesherald.com. Who was the best athlete at your high school, and why? Send an e-mail to dkurtz@timesherald.com. What does Independence Day mean to you? Send an e-mail to gglantz@timesherald.com. We will be declaring our independence on Independence Day and we want you to be an integral part of the project. This is just the beginning, folks. It's time you started receiving Your News Your Way.

My own version of the Tea Party movement

Here it is, plain and simple.

Increase the sales tax to 8 percent and include clothing.

All of you ‘regressive tax’ naysayers need to keep reading before you start e-mailing me.

I can’t believe I walk into the King of Prussia Mall, that is after I walk past all the Mercedes Benz,’ Hummers and Porches, and watch what must be literally hundreds of thousands of dollars a year walk out the door without a single tax dollar being collected.

Are you kidding me?

Where is the common sense, here, folks? And yes I meant to drop the reference to Thomas Paine’s eloquently written masterpiece.

Look folks, adding two cents on the dollar is not going to keep even the poorest of people from eating, so you can drop the ‘regressive tax’ argument right into the harbor.

I ordered an external hard drive for one of my sons a couple of weeks ago from Best Buy. It cost $79.99. When the bill came it was $79.99. Really? An eight percent tax would have brought the total to $86.39. How many millions of dollars would the state collect each year based on an 8 percent tax on electronics alone?

We the people have been sitting around the harbor for far too long, taking what’s been dished out as if we didn’t have any other option.

We do.

This is still our country, and we need to act like it.

Call it a tea party, call it a property party, call it whatever you like, (That’s where I need the help I was asking for earlier, you have to have a catchy name for your movement.) but we need to get our collective acts together and throw all the taxing bodies into the local harbor and not let them back onto dry land until they figure out that we’re actually in charge.

Teaching lessons

Teachers play a significant role in the formation of our children. Their jobs are tough, I know, I was a substitute for a while when I was at the University of North Texas. They work long hours, but they get a lot of time off in the summer. Most teachers are dedicated professionals, and I say most only because in any profession there are people who simply don't belong. Teachers are taxpayers, too, so they feel it every time the school district raises property taxes.
I wanted to put all of that on the table so someone doesn't read into this post that I don't like teachers. This post is really for teachers. This is a brief explanation of why you're feeling unappreciated. Every time you go to the well for pay increases all of our property taxes go up, and yes, I know that includes yours as well. Here's the real reason you're not feeling the love right now; you're asking for too much. No one wants to hear that you want to pay less for your health care. No one wants to hear that you want 4, 5 and 6 percent raises. Just be reasonable. That's all.

PA getting out of the liquor business?

Direct from the state legislature, courtesy, Bob Godshall.

Rep. Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) unveiled legislation this week to privatize the wholesale and retail operations of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB). The bill would auction off 100 wholesale distribution licenses and 750 retail store licenses to the highest responsible bidders. The auction of the licenses is expected to bring in a minimum of $2 billion in revenue. Tax changes under the bill are predicted to generate $500 million annually; the current system brings in approximately $375 million in tax revenue. Presently, the PLCB owns and operates 621 state stores throughout the Commonwealth and is responsible for the purchase and distribution of all wine and spirits within the state. The sale and distribution of beer would not be affected by the legislation.

I'm all for this; the state shouldn't be in the liquor business anyway. Open it up to competition and we all win.



What's your take?

How about a spot of tea?

Tea Party members from all across the country demonstrated on April 15. While there have been alleged members of the group spouting hate at some of the rallies, for the most part they have been pulled off without a hitch. I write about the Tea Party movement in my April 19 column in The Times Herald. So, here's my question. As we argue about the fringe element of the group are we missing the message? Is that by design? I'm not happy with the direction this country is headed in, are you? OK, that was three questions; take your pick of which one you want to answer.

Sen. Specter's Visit

Sen. Arlen Specter will visit us today for an editorial board meeting. We want to open up a portion of the meeting to you, our readers. If you had the chance, what would you ask the Senator? Please post your question here and I'll try to fit it into the interview.

Fringe benefits?

The benefit of the doubt is getting harder to give, http://bit.ly/cdZiwM

Blurry Lines

So, where is the line, http://bit.ly/bpFEeb? The way I see it I could run for office, build up a nice campaign war chest and use it to pay off my house, my car, whatever. Why would anyone (and by that I mean individuals, not corporations) give to any campaign?

Trash Talk

Good morning Lower Providence. Good morning East Norriton and good morning Philadelphia.
How about some open debate for a change?
What are the merits of having one trash hauler as opposed to having your choice of several?
Here's what I'm thinking.
I live in West Norriton. We have our pick of about a half dozen trash haulers. For us, that means we can drop anyone we don't like at anytime in an effort to get better service and a better price. You know what else that means? I don't think there's a day that goes by without a trash truck rumbling down my street before the crack of dawn.
Now, Lower Providence just renewed its contract with one trash hauler. If the township supervisors were doing their due diligence, which I have no reason to believe they weren't, and a quick Right To Know request would clear it up in a minute, then residents of Lower Providence are getting the best price, and possibly the best service for their buck. And if they're not happy with either they can re-bid the contract.
East Norriton, you're debating whether to go with a single trash hauler. So for residents I guess the question is whether you trust your elected officials to make the right decision.
Philadelphia is struggling so the mayor wants to start charging $300 a year for trash collection. My only response is that I'm pretty sure they're already being taxed to pay for collection so why is the city trying to double dip into residents pockets?
The lines are now open. Where do you stand?

Angus found on Schuylkill Expressway

Check out the power of social networking, http://bit.ly/9YCLyW, and a heartwarming story.

Citizen Journalism Redux

Here's where journalism is headed in a hurry, http://bit.ly/9JS5TD. We, and by we I mean the newspaper industry, will not lose our core values as we catapult ourselves into the 21st Century.
Thomas Jefferson once said, "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without government, I should not for a moment hesitate to prefer the latter." We will keep fighting the good fight, no matter the platform.

Remembering a friend

My tribute to Montgomery County Sheriff John Durante, http://bit.ly/dx6yOf. Please feel free to share.

Snow job

So, how good of a job did your town do plowing your streets? I live in West Norriton and I'd have to give them at least a "B." I won't go to an "A" because, well, I hardly rank anything as the best, and we still have mountains of snow in our development. I thought they were sending in front-end loaders to haul some of it a way, but I guess not. Anyway, how about your town. I think a "B" is a pretty darn good grade, did your town do any better?

Citizen journalism

Have you ever thought you have what it takes to do what we do? Or maybe, you think you can do it better than we do it! We're kicking around the idea of bringing in a group of people to talk about citizen journalism, which basically is defined as journalism in the hands of every day citizens. While that is a scary concept for a hardcore journalist to accept, we're not talking about bringing in people to do investigative journalism, we're talking about having a troop of citizens looking out for news in their neighborhoods, kind of a rookie journalist who has more will power than training. I know there are at least a dozen or so residents in Lower Providence who fit the description. How about the rest of you? You don't seem to want to talk about Obama's state of the union address, so how about chiming in here?

Obama turning a corner?

I closed my eyes while listening to President Obama's speech and for a very short moment there I thought I was listening to a Republican. He was actually touting small business as the economic engine that will pull this country out of the recession. A capitalist if ever I heard one. Your thoughts on the speech?