The medical care provider for Lackawanna County Prison has agreed to make detailed financial records available to the county under terms of a nondisclosure agreement - a deal that will deny public access to records the state has determined the county may not keep secret.
As a result of the "excellent development," as majority Commissioner Corey O'Brien termed it at a special meeting Friday, the Lackawanna County Prison Board voted unanimously to approve a new $6.7 million contract with Correctional Care Inc., the medical care provider.
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Claiming straight-party votes for him were not counted, backers of a Taylor councilman defeated in his bid for re-election filed Friday the first of what could become a wave of requests to recount votes cast in the election Tuesday.
The petition on Councilman George P. Aulisio's behalf by three borough voters came a day after Lackawanna County Director of Elections Maryann Spellman Young announced a glitch in computer coding resulted in a failure to count up to 2,452 straight-party votes for two city candidates, Councilwoman Janet Evans in the council race and Councilman Bill Courtright for tax collector. Both had Republican and Democratic nominations.
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Marilynn Shields has not worked in almost two years and admits her immediate job prospects are daunting.
"There's one opening in the field I'd like to be in," Ms. Shields, 63, of Clarks Summit, said Friday as she glanced at a computer at the state CareerLink office in Scranton. "It's terrible."
U.S. unemployment hit a 26-year high of 10.2 percent in October, the Labor Department reported Friday. The actual unemployment rate, which also includes people who have stopped seeking jobs or work part time because they can't find full-time employment, is 17.5 percent.
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Police: Man told wife he'd kill her
SCRANTON - A West Scranton man whose wife found him smoking crack in their bedroom was arrested Friday for threatening to kill her if she called 911, police said.
Andre Richardson, 48, of 116 N. Hyde Park Ave., was taken into custody minutes after the incident when officers spotted him walking near the home around 9 a.m., police said.
Mr. Richardson, who struggled with officers during his arrest, was found to have a crack pipe clenched in his fist, according to arrest papers. Officers also found crack inside a cigarette pack while searching his belongings.
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The state Public Utility Commission approved a settlement Friday granting a 6.6 percent rate increase to the region's largest water utility.
The action will provide $30.75 million more in annual revenue to Hershey-based Pennsylvania American Water Co. Average residential bills for customers using 4,200 gallons of water monthly will increase by $3.16 to $46.14, the PUC reported.
In April, Pennsylvania American filed a request for a 12.5 percent, $58 million increase. A company spokesman said the utility had spent $310 million on improvements since its last adjustment - a 9 percent increase in 2007.
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Woman facing charges for fight
SCRANTON - A North Scranton woman faces simple assault and harassment charges after an altercation with another woman in Green Ridge, police said.
Sharon Mulgrew, 42, of 1092 N. Main Ave., is accused of hitting Catherine Gouldsbury in the face during a fight that began inside a residence at 7 Plum Place and then continued outside Thursday around 4:15 p.m., police said.
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A Scranton woman was sentenced Friday to 45 months in federal prison for her role in a drug ring that sold large amounts of heroin.
U.S. District Judge Edwin Kosik imposed the sentence on Tesha Spindler, 30, of 1228 Penn Ave. She pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting a drug ring that bought heroin in New Jersey and sold it in Lackawanna County.
Ms. Spindler was one of 15 people charged by a federal grand jury with participating in the drug conspiracy, according to the U.S. attorney's office.
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Scranton City Council 11/3/2009
Janet Evans Victory Speech 11/3/2009
Margaret Bisignani Moyle Victory
Election Day 11/3/2009
Valley View SWAT practice
Video: Demolition of Quint's building
Video: Guinness World Record holder
Video: West Scranton Fire 9/14/2009
