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Holy Redeemer rallies past Marian Catholic after going scoreless in first quarter

Letter to the Editor: Republican Party in dire need of more like Donald Trump

<p>With <a href="https://www.paturnpike.com" target="_blank">Pennsylvania Turnpike</a> tolls rising this month &#8211; and slated to increase annually for the next 30 years &#8211; travelers understandably might get the feeling they&#8217;re being taken for a ride.</p><p>A 6 percent increase for E-ZPass and cash customers took effect at the start of this week. For people traveling from Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s turnpike entrance to the Lebanon-Lancaster area, that equates to $18.90 for cash-paying drivers and $13.44 for those with a prepaid <a href="https://www.ezpass.csc.paturnpike.com/PovEntryPages/Main.aspx" target="_blank">E-ZPass account</a>.</p><p>Turnpike officials say they have no choice but to collect more from motorists. In part, that&#8217;s because parts of the 550-mile system turned 75 years old last year and are in desperate need of replacement, while other high-traffic stretches should be expanded from four lanes to six, according to a <a href="https://www.paturnpike.com/press/2015/20151230085102.htm" target="_blank">Turnpike Commission news release</a>. Rebuilding a single mile of the roadway reportedly can cost $20 million or more.</p><p>Further, the commission is saddled with making enormous payments, of $450 million a year, to the state Department of Transportation for its mass-transit operations. The stipulation, made by lawmakers in 2007, lends more credence to the notion that maybe the Turnpike Commission and PennDOT should be folded into a single organization.</p><p>For payers of tolls, the price hikes expected through 2044 would be more palatable if drivers had confidence their money was used prudently. (Ditto for motorists paying Pennsylvania&#8217;s higher gas taxes, per a 2013 transportation bill, that are intended to help PennDOT cope with a backlog of bridge and highway maintenance.)</p><p>Instead, the commission gets little sympathy &#8212; and deservedly so.</p><p>&#8226; A Republican state lawmaker from Clarion, in comments nearly three years ago, called it an &#8220;outdated and well-documented corruption-infested&#8221; commission. Its former CEO, Joseph Brimmeier, pleaded guilty in late 2014 to conflict-of-interest charges related to an alleged pay-to-play scheme that resulted in probation sentences for he and another Turnpike top dog. Charges were dropped for others initially implicated, including former state Sen. Robert Mellow, of Lackawanna County.</p><p>&#8226; An executive for a Spanish firm vying in 2008 to enter a long-term lease agreement for the Pennsylvania Turnpike portrayed it as an antiquated system with &#8220;poor&#8221; service. He contended that the commission&#8217;s bidding practices were so flawed, they sometimes drove up construction costs by 50 percent.</p><p>&#8226; For cost-saving reasons, the Turnpike Commission increasingly might feel pressure this year to eliminate its emergency call boxes, which critics say are not necessary in the cellphone age. Yet new technologies that could make turnpike travel more convenient, such as a license plate tolling system, have yet to be unrolled statewide; so far, Pennsylvania&#8217;s <a href="https://www.paturnpike.com/toll/tollbyplate.aspx" target="_blank">&#8220;Toll by Plate&#8221;</a> program is available only at the Delaware River Bridge.</p><p>The state Auditor General&#8217;s Office announced in November it intends to delve into the Turnpike Commission&#8217;s operation. We applaud that decision and encourage the office to conduct a thorough but prompt review of the commission&#8217;s recent contracts and efficiency.</p><p>If the audit&#8217;s findings suggest that past problems with patronage and waste have not ended, expect Pennsylvania&#8217;s toll payers to revolt.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">For payers of Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls, the price hikes expected through 2044 would be more palatable if drivers had confidence their money was used prudently. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_turnpike01.jpg</photo0><caption0>For payers of Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls, the price hikes expected through 2044 would be more palatable if drivers had confidence their money was used prudently. </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader file photo | Pete G. Wilcox </photoCredit0></div></div>

Our Opinion: Take close look at Turnpike Commission’s operations and its toll on drivers