Why can’t newspaper get joke?

Testimony heard on witness tampering in Selenski case

First Posted: 7/18/2014 Luzerne County Treasurer&#8217;s Office Deputy Dominick DePolo said he will retire Sept. 5 after 15 years of county employment.
DePolo was hired by the late county treasurer Mike Morreale and has been actively involved in several initiatives to save county funding and generate new revenue, including the in-house collection of county taxes in cities and home rule municipalities.
He also temporarily helped county Election Director Marisa Crispell prepare for the May 20 primary election this year amid concerns about staffing shortages.
Several veteran county managers have retired or left for other employment since the home rule government took effect in January 2012.
&#8226; Around 100 pages of new emails exchanged between county council members between May 2 and July 14 have been posted on the Right-to-Know page page of the county website, www.luzernecounty.org.
&#8226; In addition to Tuesday&#8217;s voting meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. in the council meeting room at the courthouse in Wilkes-Barre, council will hold a special work session at 5:30 p.m. on July 29.
The July 29 work session will focus solely on two topics, said county council Chairman Rick Morelli: capital projects that may be funded with the county&#8217;s remaining $18 million in borrowed funds and the Hazleton mayor&#8217;s request to acquire a former bank owned by the county in exchange for the city&#8217;s forgiveness of a lien on another county property.
&#8226; Council Vice Chairman Edward Brominski sent Morelli an email last week in response to Morelli&#8217;s recent emails criticizing Brominski and Councilwoman Kathy Dobash.
&#8220;You profess to be doing the people&#8217;s work, yet I have yet to hear from you a proposal to enhance the financial dilemma of the county. You sold me and those who selected you as chair, a bill of goods as to how you would begin to turn things around in the county,&#8221; Brominski wrote.
Brominski said Morelli&#8217;s &#8220;continued defense of the shortfalls of the manager instead of offering him corrective measures is disgusting.&#8221;
Brominski also denied he has &#8220;a handler or handlers&#8221; who control his agenda and comments.
&#8220;I speak for what I feel is correct and I am far beyond doing things for political purposes. Anytime you wish to discuss my intentions, bring the subject up in public, right after you come up with ONE motion or idea for advancing our financial woes. If not, make a motion to replace the chair and get out of the way,&#8221; he wrote.
He also wrote that he won&#8217;t be debating with Morelli through email again and called for a public debate.
&#8226; Leaders of the county&#8217;s residual union have been meeting with the administration to discuss options to avoid the first county strike in more than three decades.
The union, which has been without a contract since December, voted 65-34 against the county&#8217;s proposed contract last month. Union leaders had requested discussions on reasons why the proposal may have been rejected in case there is room for continued negotiation.
The union covers security guards, levee and road and bridge workers, maintenance employees, 911 dispatchers and clerks and other staff in multiple offices.
&#8226; The county&#8217;s Flood Protection Authority will meet at 11 a.m. Tuesday in the county&#8217;s Emergency Management Agency building on Water Street in Wilkes-Barre.

Another veteran Luzerne County manager leaving