Hurricane Snooki managed to knock both Lehigh and Northampton Counties off the power grid. Electricity was restored to Lehigh County late yesterday afternoon, and they'll be open for business today. Northampton County was energized early last night, but the courthouse will still be closed.
Executive John Stoffa told Express Times reporter Tom Shortell that he had to decide before power was restored. But how hard is it to change course based on new facts? If the concern is that employees will not know, no harm is done. The courthouse has worked with skeleton crews in the past.
Today's one-liner: "The shortest way to the distinguishing excellence of any writer is through his hostile critics." Richard LeGallienne
Local Government TV
▼
Friday, November 02, 2012
26 comments:
You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.
F taxpayers. We'll open when we feel like it. Opening on Friday kills the whole vacation theme going into the weekend. You assholes can wait until Monday. You selfish cheapskates.
ReplyDeleteDon't count on unions in an emergency ... they'd rather people freeze and starve ...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.waff.com/story/19981857/some-nonunion-ala-crews-turned-away-from-sandy-recovery
Awe, let him have another day off. They can gossip, snack and let your calls go to voicemail, just as effectively, at home.
ReplyDeleteThe hall walking thing might prove a bit of a challenge, though.
-Clem
The unions had nothing to do with Mr. Stoffa's decision. I'm a county employee and I can't wait to get back to work. This is no vacation! I know many of my co-workers feel the same way.
ReplyDeleteNorCo's Motto:
ReplyDelete"Work left undone today provides job security tomorrow. Take a number and shut up."
"The unions had nothing to do with Mr. Stoffa's decision."
ReplyDeleteI think this was his decision and his decision alone. Just as his Register of Ills appointment was a mistake, so is this. The courthouse exists to serve people. In fact, it should be open as a warming shelter during times like these when it has power and so much of the rest of the community does not.
There Comisshioners really appear to enjoy the displacement, even hardship some of this budget cutting by chainsaw will produce.
ReplyDeleteThat's what perplexes me about many of the Tea Party people( my elderly dad for one ) this sence of joy in dislocation. Beyound fiscal restraint.
Why the mean spiritedness? It strikes me as not being very Christ-like.
I'm intrigued by the anger, even hate directed at union people. It's a shame more people don't get to see how ugly and crude this sentiment is. It's important that working folks see what they face as they struggle to maintain a tenuous grip on their barely middle class lives.
ReplyDeleteThank you for that.
Main St., not Wall St.
As I have stated, this decision has noting to do with the unions.
ReplyDeleteMy elderly father (86) is a joyfully mean spirited tea party follower. He went to school on the GI BILL, bought a house with a gov backed mortgage,was a lifelong member of a union he claimed to hate ( Masters-Mates and Pilots) which has given him excellent health insurance and other benefits,gets suplamental Medicare etc. and rails on about the 47%.
ReplyDeleteHe firmly believes that he earned all these benefits( I would agree, he worked very hard at a lonely and dangerous profession for 49 years), but he is equally sure that anybody else with similar, even vastly redued benifits is a freeloader.
He too, is just gleeful that people's whose lives are already dificult will have to struggle even harder.
He's also a good Catholic who goes to Mass several times a week.
I don't get it. Help me out please. In this day age it would be very comforting to find more joy in the hardships I see so many Americans going thru.
Dude, this post is NOT about unions, but an Executive decision to keep the courthouse closed even though it has power.
ReplyDeleteCome on Bernie? Your loyal minions just hate unions.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you have missed this trend?
For the fourth time, this thread is not about unions. They had nothing to do with this decision.
ReplyDeleteThe County's decision probably has nothing to do about whether the power is on in Easton. It's probably irrelevant.
ReplyDeleteIt probably has more to do with whether county employees have power, telephone/cell coverage, have storm damage, schools are open, etc.
Hi Bernie,
ReplyDeleteWe still have sections of major roads closed in my end of Northampton County, like rte 248. I think non-essential staff should have been the call there. I'm not expecting power to met ed I'm lehigh township until at least Sunday. Lots of tree damage over here...
Hi Bernie,
ReplyDeleteWe still have sections of major roads closed in my end of Northampton County, like rte 248. I think non-essential staff should have been the call there. I'm not expecting power to met ed I'm lehigh township until at least Sunday. Lots of tree damage over here...
Lehigh County is run much better than Northampton County.
ReplyDeleteI would think that a person who has no power would be glad to go to a place that does. If people don't get the word and don't show, no problem. But it should have been opened today. This was a bad call.
ReplyDelete10:22 & 11:41 made it about unions.
ReplyDeleteNo?
True, but now I think the point has been made several times.
ReplyDeleteLehigh Co has been run better than North. Co.
ReplyDeleteI've lived in both.
But that may be about to change.
Quite honestly, I think it's fine the courthouse stayed closed on Friday. The announcement had already been made at the end of the business day on Thursday, and the roads in many areas are still a mess.
ReplyDeleteCourt of Common Pleas had also been cancelled for Friday, and trying to change that after the announcement had already been publicly been made would have been a huge mess, including likely a legal one.
With what's been going on out there, in terms of people not having power, in some cases water and heat too, roads still blocked with downed trees and wires, etc., how many members of the public were likely to be clamoring to do county business anyway?
Some of the employees (and possibly lawyers that would have been in court were it not cancelled) were likely to have trouble getting child care last minute too, since the kids had no school and many area child care resources were also closed on Friday.
This had nothing to do with unions, or some form of incompetence on the part of the
county executive.
It seems like a good decision overall, and trying to make an issue out of it is ridiculous under the circumstances.
And no, I don't work there, don't belong to a union or have anything to do with county gov't or work there. I'm just an Easton resident who can see what's actually going on here in the city.
It was a poor decision. The courts could remain closed, but the row offices and other government offices should have been open. There was power. Contrary to your assertion, the roads were not a mess on Friday. In fact, roads suffered little or no damage in this storm, and fallen trees and lines were removed from roadways by Wednesday. Once power was restored, the word should have gone out. If people were unable to make it in, they'd be unable to make it in. But the offices should have opened. That government exists to serve the public. If nothing else, it could have acted as a warming shelter for people without power.
ReplyDeleteThe roads were far from cleaned up by Wednesday. PennDOT still lists 30+ roads that are closed, and there are countless other township and borough roads that are also still closed.
ReplyDeleteIf you live in an area that wasn't hard hit (like Nazareth), sure, all looks well. If you live in an area, and there are a number, where that's not the case, then you know there is still a real problem.
In some places trees are still falling and taking wires with them, and there are a number of places where there are still wires on the ground. And a lot of places where traffic lights were still out on Thurs/Friday.
EMS officials said more than once late this week to avoid unnecessary travel. Even PennDOT offices in the area & AAA were closed.
So, what incredibly pressing biz do you really think needed to happen at the courthouse? Was anyone inconvenienced?
And, it seems like the county SAVED at buck--hourly workers that are not working aren't being paid with our (overburdened) tax $. Nor did they have to run heat (though no idea if they did or not).
Easton had four day shelters Friday, none at capacity. Why would we need the courthouse filled with people who aren't doing biz sitting there too?
It's not only a non-issue, it was a good decision.
Union union union union.
ReplyDeleteBernie, i don't get these people.
Agreed it should have been opened... even if as a warming shelter. Pen argyl gets a trophy for that... a comfort station they called it with warmth and warm beverages. I think it was open to everyone too, not just residents.
If people would have had trouble coming in, they could simply stay home. But since power was restored, the County should have opened its doors. First, it is a waste of tax dollars to pay people to stay at home. Second, it will be a bigger waste of tax dollars to pay OT to people to get caught up. Third, the roads were NOT an issue. That is baloney. Fourth, the courthouse is the people's building. As of Friday, Mayor Sal Panto was still looking for places to act as warming shelters for his City. If County officials could meet to talk and rail about Tuesday's election, they could also have done something to help the people who live in the County seat.
ReplyDelete