http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/nepa/ en-us Wed, 14 May 2008 15:07:49 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2015809/posts DICKSON CITY — A Friday evening police incident spilled over into a Borough Council meeting Tuesday, with gun-rights advocates alleging harassment by two police officers. The regular monthly meeting erupted into a full-blown debate on the Second Amendment, with more than 20 Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association members — many of whom were openly armed — arguing their right to carry a weapon in public. Police have yet to release a report of the incident in which a group of customers at Old Country Buffet were questioned about openly carrying handguns in public. At least one of those customers, Rich Banks,... The Scranton Times-Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2015809/posts#comment Wed, 14 May 2008 15:07:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1995237/posts Lufkin Mayor Jack Gorden has been selected by the Texas Transportation Committee to serve on a citizens' advisory committee for putting together information regarding the proposed Interstate 69/Trans-Texas Corridor. According to Texas Department of Transportation officials, advisory committee members represent a cross-section of community and business leaders, landowners, local transportation experts and others. "Our goal is to enhance the public dialogue and meaningfully involve more Texans in transportation decisions," said Texas Transportation Commission Chair Hope Andrade. "These committees will have an important seat at the table as we work together to shape the future of transportation for our state." Gorden... The Lufkin Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1995237/posts#comment Wed, 2 Apr 2008 00:50:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1990719/posts Now that’s an expensive pie. When presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton had pizza at Revello’s Cafe in Old Forge on March 10, it cost borough taxpayers almost $400 a bite. Mrs. Clinton’s rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Barack Obama, spoke for less than 10 minutes during his appearance at the Society of Irish Women dinner on St. Patrick’s Day. The cost to Scranton taxpayers? About $90 for each minute he was on the dais. While the parade of presidential hopefuls through Northeastern Pennsylvania before the April 22 primary is expected to give the voting public an unprecedented firsthand look... The Scranton Times-Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1990719/posts#comment Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:14:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1988505/posts In comments filed with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Texas Farm Bureau said the Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS) for the proposed I-69 corridor “would not withstand judicial scrutiny.” Under the terms of the National Environmental Policy Act, these detailed environmental studies are conducted under rules developed by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). According to the farm organization’s comments, the failure of the DEIS to consider the environmental impact of using existing rights-of-way–rather than a single minded focus on building a completely new route–means the study could not hold up in... Southwest Farm Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1988505/posts#comment Thu, 20 Mar 2008 01:06:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1981527/posts Texas spirit was alive and well at the Navasota DEIS public hearing on Feb. 28. Opposition groups, such as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, came from as far as Washington, D.C. to give recorded testimony, and get a first hand look at TxDOT process procedures. Assistant Director of Communications, Leigh Strope, who attended the meeting on behalf of the 34,000 Texas Teamsters Union members, says, “Teamsters want to stop the dangerous trend of selling our roads and bridges to foreign investors so they can slap tolls on the driving public. We are also concerned because the Trans-Texas Corridor would form... The Navasota Examiner & Grimes County Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1981527/posts#comment Thu, 6 Mar 2008 21:18:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1844046/posts To Marian Mazurkiewicz, the life he had in central Missouri was “like heaven.” Three years from retirement as a researcher and professor at the University of Missouri-Rolla, Mazurkiewicz had a house on 30 acres, where he hunted turkey and deer. “I had the house I wanted to live in for the rest of my life. I didn’t want to leave.” But in the late 1990s, Mazurkiewicz was lured to Northeastern Pennsylvania by Cornerstone Technologies LLC, which wanted to develop his ideas for using water jets to reduce materials, including coal, into fine particles. Mazurkiewicz’s technology, combined with the region’s anthracite... The Citizens Voice http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1844046/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jun 2007 14:08:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1844043/posts U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski touted Cornerstone Technologies LLC as a way to spin anthracite into lightweight carbon fibers, building a high-tech future from Northeastern Pennsylvania’s coal-mining past. But eight years after it was launched by Kanjorski’s relatives, the firm has collapsed into bankruptcy, leaving behind bad debt, embittered former employees and lingering ethics questions about $10 million in federal contracts Kanjorski helped secure for Cornerstone. The company’s vision of producing advanced materials for the Navy never left the drawing board. University researchers and government officials who worked with Cornerstone say its core idea — using jets of high-pressure water... The Citizens Voice http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1844043/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jun 2007 14:04:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1840384/posts Those persuasion skills were key to Ms. Kolkhorst marshaling support for a partial two-year moratorium on private toll roads. The bill could get lawmakers' final blessing today. The Brenham Republican has emerged as a central figure in the Legislature's efforts to slow down the privatization of Texas roads. She has persuaded nearly all of her 149 House colleagues to back the moratorium, which excludes most North Texas toll projects. Ms. Kolkhorst, 42, has parlayed a blend of persistence, fearlessness, smarts and country charm into a more visible role in Austin. In addition to leading the toll road freeze, she has... Dallas Morning News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1840384/posts#comment Sun, 27 May 2007 01:07:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1765953/posts Smoking fine may jump to $1,000 BY STACY BROWN STAFF WRITER Fines for violating Scranton’s new smoking ban could rise to as much as $1,000 if Scranton Councilwoman Sherry Nealon Fanucci has her way. “It’s insulting when you read the newspaper and turn on the television and see some restaurant and bar owners openly saying that they are going to break the law,” Ms. Fanucci said Wednesday. “(Tonight), I will ask for the ordinance to be amended to include either a $500 fine or a $1,000 fine to be levied against establishment owners who allow smoking.” Last month, City Council... The Scranton Times-Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1765953/posts#comment Thu, 11 Jan 2007 16:54:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1757455/posts Scranton’s recent decision to ban smoking in almost all public places — coming on the heels of a similar bans in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh — represents one of the biggest culture changes of our times. Such a ban would have been unthinkable 50 years ago, when cigarette commercials dominated the airwaves and glamorous movie stars lit up regularly on the silver screen. In recent years, 17 states and more than 500 local municipalities have enacted smoking bans. Cigarette sales have dropped 20 percent since 1998, when tobacco companies agreed to pay $248 billion to the states to help cover the... The Scranton Times-Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1757455/posts#comment Fri, 22 Dec 2006 20:20:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1754055/posts Spc. Steve Griffiths scanned right and left of his Army humvee in Iraq on Thanksgiving, then looked again and saw only blackness. He turned his head as the improvised explosive device ripped through the thick window. “I heard the boom. It felt like it was happening in slow motion,” the 21-year-old soldier said. “It was ungodly hot.” The other two soldiers and an interpreter in the vehicle were unhurt, but Spc. Griffiths’ nose took the force of the blast. Unable to see from the smoke and blood, the Olyphant native felt for his arms and legs to make sure they... The Scranton Times-Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1754055/posts#comment Fri, 15 Dec 2006 18:18:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1750479/posts On the same day Allegheny County was sued over its new law and one week after Erie County was advised by its solicitor against such an ordinance, Scranton City Council “rolled the dice” and approved a smoking ban Thursday. “Our solicitor wants to roll the dice, but it behooves us to proceed with caution, because I think we can ill afford more litigation in Scranton,” said Councilwoman Janet Evans, whose motion to table the ordinance failed. Council passed the ordinance by a 4-to-1 vote. Solicitor Amil Minora reiterated his belief that the panel was on solid footing in going forth... The Scranton Times-Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1750479/posts#comment Fri, 8 Dec 2006 17:03:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1686122/posts 08.18.06 CorridorWatch.org MEMBER BULLETIN CINTRA'S INSIDE MAN - DAN SHELLEY Cintra consultant turned Governor Perry's legislative aide, turned Cintra lobbyist. It's hard to keep up with who is working for who. Or is it? Austin lobbyist Dan Shelley has been one of Governor Perry's aides and Cintra's inside men. Shelley worked for Cintra making introductions to TxDOT just in time to see them get a winning proposal submitted for the Trans Texas Corridor. Then he worked for Governor Perry just in time to lobby the Legislature to protect and strengthen laws benefiting Cintra. Now he's back working for Cintra again... Corridor Watch http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1686122/posts#comment Fri, 18 Aug 2006 21:28:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1675879/posts Led by a turnaround in manufacturing, the number of jobs in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre region hit its highest mark since the current method for counting jobs was created in 1990. Nonfarm jobs in the metropolitan statistical area hit 265,500, about 3,600 more than last year. As more Scranton/Wilkes-Barre residents found work, the region’s jobless rate fell four-tenths of a percentage point to a seasonally adjusted 5.1 percent in June, according to the state Department of Labor and Industry. Despite the decline in the area’s jobless rate, it remained greater than the state rate of 4.7 percent — also a 16-year record... The Scranton Times-Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1675879/posts#comment Tue, 1 Aug 2006 18:46:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1673288/posts CorridorWatch.org NEWSLETTER - 07.27.06 TTC-35 PUBLIC HEARINGS CONTINUE NEXT MONDAY - JULY 31ST Overflow crowds are attending TTC-35 hearings!!!! Overwhelming opposition is showing up and speaking. Last Monday in WACO 1,000 - - Wednesday in TEMPLE 1,500 CorridorWatch.org TO FILE FORMAL COMPLAINT AND COMMENTS TONIGHT David Stall will attend the public hearing tonight in Dallas where he will speak and file ten-pages of formal written Tier One TTC-35 DEIS comments on behalf of the more than 5,000 members of CorridorWatch.org. ATTEND A PUBLIC HEARING A public hearing guide is available on the homepage of CorridorWatch.org. Please take a few minutes... Corridor Watch http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1673288/posts#comment Thu, 27 Jul 2006 18:29:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1661939/posts TTC-35 PUBLIC HEARINGS BEGIN NEXT MONDAY - JULY 10TH IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE NEPA PUBLIC HEARING PROCESS. These hearings seek comment on TTC impact to: farmland; Ag conversion; community travel patterns; community social disruption; emergency services; local retail; regional economy; property & sales tax revenue; disadvantaged populations; air quality; noise; water quality; wildlife; floodplains; threatened & endangered species; historical sites; cemeteries; archaeological sites; hazardous waste sites; and, visual quality. Your opportunity has been created by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a federal law that requires TxDOT to follow a specific process in assessing the... Corridor Watch http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1661939/posts#comment Fri, 7 Jul 2006 18:42:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1511804/posts Dolores Seacrist and Tonia Donahue are accused of altering a husband’s documents. WILKES-BARRE – Two employees of the Luzerne County Clerk of Courts office were charged Friday with altering public records in an attempt to get one’s husband a job with a local school district, according to state investigators. Attorney General Tom Corbett announced that charges were filed against clerks Dolores Seacrist, 58, of Simpson Street in Wilkes-Barre, and Tonia K. Donahue, 31, of Spruce Street in Avoca. Both were suspended with pay nearly a year ago after their alleged attempt to remove items from Donahue’s husband’s criminal record. Both... Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre PA) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1511804/posts#comment Sun, 30 Oct 2005 00:19:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1485264/posts How the gods do play upon the poor soul who is known to us all as Al Gore. On the day Boy Clinton was impeached they sent him out on the White House lawn to laud The Groper as "one of our greatest presidents." In Campaign 2000, they cast him as the Poor Loser. Ever since he has been wandering the land looking for a friend and intoning preposterosities even more absurd than when he wrote his green classic, Earth in the Balance. There he predicted that all the automobiles in America would soon be parked curbside while Americans squeezed... American Spectator http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1485264/posts#comment Thu, 15 Sep 2005 20:16:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1464378/posts This is the last of a three-part series that examines the rapidly growing Hispanic population in Northeastern Pennsylvania. A 3-year-old girl with a small pink baseball hat reaches for a 7-month-old boy’s hand. She gives him a ring of toys, slowly so she doesn’t startle him. She smiles as his tiny hands fumble with the plastic toys. The girl is Mexican; the boy is white. She arrived from Yucatan, Mexico, just months ago and speaks only Spanish; he can’t yet speak. Their differences don’t matter. Kids will play. In the backyard of Grace Fellowship, a small evangelical church on Old... The Scranton Times-Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1464378/posts#comment Tue, 16 Aug 2005 15:39:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1463827/posts The Democrat's name appears in headlines on mock front pages of the Scranton Times-Tribune on buses and billboards. It might just have faded like any other promotional campaign. The newly merged Scranton Times-Tribune wanted to call attention to itself with advertisements that appear this summer on TV, billboards and buses. The ads featured a mock newspaper with a banner headline: "Casey to run for Senate." But at issue now - unfolding against the backdrop of a high-profile U.S. Senate race between Republican incumbent Rick Santorum and Democrat Bob Casey Jr. - is whether the ads are a harmless promotion for... The Philadelphia Inquirer http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1463827/posts#comment Mon, 15 Aug 2005 18:54:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1463817/posts This is the second in a three-part series that examines the rapidly growing Hispanic population in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Two teams race up and down the park’s outfield, wearing jerseys of different shades of blue. A group of young men stands along the fence, most clad in royal blue and white. They hold a flag with five blue stars. Their team, Honduras, plays against Uruguay. In Scranton. It’s just another Sunday of Scranton’s Hispanic International Soccer League, known to thousands of local Hispanics as el fútbol, the soccer game. Twelve teams, about 150 men, were in the league that ended July... The Scranton Times-Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1463817/posts#comment Mon, 15 Aug 2005 18:39:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1463215/posts You can see it in Hazleton. There are new grocery stores on Wyoming Street. On their doors, signs thank you, Gracias por su compra. Well into the summer, a faded banner wishes you Feliz Navidad, Merry Christmas. Below it, a U.S. flag declares with bold, blue English words: Proud to be an American. You can’t miss it in South Scranton, either. On Pittston Avenue, the sign outside a sky blue house announces Casa Latina, and offers a travel agency, money transfers, translations. The things one needs when living thousands of miles from home. “Styles by Connie” is painted in red... The Scranton Times-Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1463215/posts#comment Sun, 14 Aug 2005 18:31:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1457603/posts In the wilderness north of Fillmore, the California condor has fought its way back from the brink of extinction. As the federally endangered scavenger's population dwindled over the past century, the rugged mountains became the metaphorical and geographical heart of the movement to save it. But the area is not just good for condor habitat; it's rich in oil, too. The region has some of the oldest oil fields in the state. A recent decision to once again open Los Padres National Forest to gas and oil exploration could threaten efforts to replenish the condor population, some say. While the... Ventura Star http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1457603/posts#comment Fri, 5 Aug 2005 15:27:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1415385/posts SIERRA VISTA - The Center for Biological Diversity and Maricopa Audubon Society are seeking court orders to force several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense and Fort Huachuca's commanding general, into compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act or the federal Endangered Species Act. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal district court in Tucson, names as defendants the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Small Business Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Department of Defense and "Barbara Fast, in her official capacity as commanding general of Fort Huachuca."... Sierra Vista Herald, Sierra Vista Arizona http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1415385/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jun 2005 23:10:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1345556/posts WASHINGTON - Environmentalists sued the Bush administration on Thursday over new rules for managing the 192 million acres of national forests. The rules issued in December give managers of the 155 national forests more discretion to approve logging and other commercial projects without lengthy environmental reviews. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, claims the rules water down protection of wildlife and the environment "to the point where they are virtually meaningless." The suit filed by San Francisco-based Earthjustice on behalf of a coalition of conservation groups said the rules fail to include important environmental protection measures... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1345556/posts#comment Thu, 17 Feb 2005 23:41:27 GMT