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Wilkes-Barre woman arrested for robbery in Plains Township

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Back Mountain Food Pantry recognizes St. Paul’s Lutheran Church

Would it be a good idea to &#8230;&#8230; adopt &#8220;quality-of-life ordinances&#8221; in Wyoming Valley communities similar to the laws already passed in Hazleton and Scranton to discourage filthy yards and unsightly front porches?Going beyond building codes, certain cities are drafting rules that target property owners for minor transgressions: improperly stored recyclables, abandoned vehicles, uncollected trash. Scranton police recently started passing out tickets, which, depending on the offense, carry fines of $50 to $1,000, according to news reports. Residents could be on the hook for any of nearly 30 violations.Hazleton Mayor Joe Yannuzzi and other advocates of that city&#8217;s 2012 ordinance say it&#8217;s a good tool in the fight on blight. One thorny area: determining in some cases whether the party at fault is the landlord or the tenant.Critics, including a recent letter writer to the Times Leader, see the ordinances as government overreach. &#8220;I would not be surprised if the revenue collected in fines is absorbed (by Scranton) to pay pensions that can&#8217;t be paid any other way, or to justify further sky-high salaries,&#8221; the Freeland man wrote.Luzerne County&#8217;s government last month approved a ban on &#8220;junk vehicles,&#8221; which applies to 23 of the county&#8217;s 76 municipalities that rely on it for zoning enforcement. Among them: Avoca, Dupont, Duryea, Larksville and Wyoming.The ordinance makes it a public nuisance for someone to keep a junk vehicle or automobile hulk out in the open if it is visible up to 500 feet away from public property or another person&#8217;s private property. Violators face a weekly $500 penalty if they don&#8217;t address nuisances within 60 days; the maximum penalty is capped at $2,500.Are further ordinances of this type needed to beautify the Greater Wyoming Valley? Or should governments clean up their own acts before declaring themselves the property maintenance police?Give us your feedback by sending a letter to the editor or by posting comments to this editorial at timesleader.com.Likewise, tell us your ideas for improving the community and making area residents&#8217; lives better. Maybe we&#8217;ll spotlight your suggestion in a future editorial and ask readers, &#8220;Would it be a good idea to &#8230;&#8221;

Our Opinion: Would fining people for sloppy properties help to beautify the Wyoming Valley?