The 35th annual La Festa Italiana opens Saturday at Lackawanna County Courthouse Square, and organizers anticipate as many as 50,000 people will visit each day through Monday to immerse themselves in Italian culture, enjoy the continuous live entertainment and sample the tasty offerings.

Although visitors will find a few new wrinkles - including a greater variety of food from the 70-plus vendors - the La Festa committee has not tinkered too much with a formula that has kept people thronging to the event year after year, board President Chris DiMattio said.

"Why mess with success?" he asked rhetorically.

The organization tries to make improvements every year, including making it easier for visitors to find parking and increasing the number of chairs and tables available, Mr. DiMattio said.

"But truly there is only so much you can do in preparation," he said.

La Festa will run from noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and from noon to 9 p.m. on Monday. Around Courthouse Square, Linden and Spruce streets and Adams and North Washington avenues will be closed to vehicular traffic during festival hours.

The Labor Day weekend weather is expected to be almost ideal, without even a hint of rain in the forecast.

Partly sunny skies Saturday will give way to mostly sunny skies Sunday, with a high each day in the high 60s, according to the National Weather Service. Monday will be sunny and warmer, with a high around 73. The evenings will be relatively cool, with lows in the upper 40s.

Mr. DiMattio said one new feature at this year's La Festa will be bocce instruction, with experts teaching the basics of the traditional Italian game on the courthouse lawn. Festivalgoers will also have a chance to learn "morra," a traditional finger game, he said.

La Festa is again partnering with Lackawanna Railfest, being held this weekend at Steamtown National Historic Site. Mr. DiMattio said there will be a shuttle to take visitors back and forth between the two events.

On Sunday, the annual Mass in Italian will be celebrated at 10 a.m. at St. Peter's Cathedral on Wyoming Avenue.

The Rev. David P. Cappelloni, pastor of SS. Anthony and Rocco Parish in Dunmore and La Festa chaplain, will be the principal celebrant. The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, bishop of Scranton, will deliver the homily.

The Mass will be broadcast live by CTV: Catholic Television, with rebroadcasts scheduled Tuesday at 8 p.m. and Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Fireworks will light up the sky over the square Sunday at 10 p.m.

City police have assigned a detail of officers to La Festa, although patrol Capt. Carl Graziano said the festival has been a "generally well-behaved event" over the years.

"For the amount of people we have there - knock on wood - it has been uneventful from a law enforcement perspective," Capt. Graziano said.

More information about La Festa Italiana, including the full entertainment schedule, is available at the festival website, www.lafestaitaliana.org.

Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com

"We'll try to reach as many people as we can," Mr. Doherty said. He said the organizations appear to understand the cost of city services they receive.

The long-standing issue of whether tax-exempt organizations should make payments in lieu of taxes to the city heated up in July after city council President Janet Evans unsuccessfully tried to link such a payment to an easement sought by the University of Scranton for a proposed residence hall in the 900 block of Mulberry Street.

The university changed its plans so the easement was no longer needed and increased its contribution to the city from $110,000 to $175,000. The university is the only major institution that makes such a payment.

Speaking at a city council meeting in July, Mrs. Evans and Councilman John Loscombe said they planned to ask all the nonprofits in the city for contributions.

"Members of Scranton City Council are in contact with local nonprofits regarding payments in lieu of taxes and in-kind contributions," wrote Mrs. Evans in an e-mail Tuesday. She said the council will provide a report on its effort Tuesday when the lawmakers return from summer recess.

Mrs. Evans declined to name the nonprofits council members have contacted.

Mayor's contacts

Mr. Doherty said he has met with the American Red Cross of Lackawanna County, Johnson College, Lackawanna College and Marywood University.

Mr. Doherty, whose administration is responsible for "aggressively" pursuing voluntary contributions or direct tax payments from tax- exempt organizations under the 2002 recovery plan, has also met with Community Medical Center, Mercy Hospital and Moses Taylor Hospital.

"I've met with the three hospitals, and they said they would talk with their three boards," Mr. Doherty said. His plea for contributions will also be brought before the American Red Cross board, said Bob Cherundolo, chief executive officer.

Moses Taylor Hospital spokeswoman Meaghan Comerford said the meeting with Mr. Doherty was constructive and positive.

"We're currently evaluating the situation," Ms. Comerford said. She said Moses Taylor pays about $287,966.21 in taxes on 18 properties, including a parking garage used by employees and visitors. Ms. Comerford said Mr. Doherty has been the only local government official to approach the hospital about contributions in the past few years.

In-kind services

Acknowledging Lackawanna College met with Mr. Doherty, spokesman Chris Kucharski said the college will "continue to contribute the way we have done in the past," by keeping tuition low, rehabilitating blighted properties and other economic investments.

Mr. Kucharski said no government representative other than Mr. Doherty has contacted the college.

Apart from the university, Covenant Presbyterian Church makes a $1,000 contribution; Lutherwood Apartments, $6,000; and Girl Scouts, $250.

"We just feel we need to contribute," said Norma Gabriel, Covenant Presbyterian Church parish administrator, adding the church understands services provided by the city cost money.

Bill Swanger, spokesman of Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries, said his organization - operator of Lutherwood Apartments - has continued to provide contributions to the city because it is important to honor long-standing agreements.

Attempts to get comments from Johnson College, Marywood University, Community Medical Center and Mercy Hospital were unsuccessful.

Contact the writer: jmrozinski@timesshamrock.com

Joblessness for the metro area has increased to a seasonally adjusted 10.4 percent - far higher than the seasonally adjusted 7.6 percent unemployment rate in Bradford County, a hotbed of Marcellus Shale drilling where unemployment dropped nearly 1 percentage point since last July.

Teri Ooms, executive director of the Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development, said the industry did not improve the region's unemployment numbers because much of the drilling activity is not happening in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties.

She expects that active drilling in Wyoming County - the third county in the metropolitan statistical area - will spur some improvement in future unemployment numbers.

"I consider Lackawanna to be adjacent to the core drilling counties at this point," she said. "There will be some residual employment improvement" because of that proximity, she said, but "we're not going to see an immediate impact."

She added that as the closest urban centers to drilling in more rural counties, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre will benefit from the influx of drilling nearby.

"People don't do all of their living and working and procuring of goods and services within a single jurisdiction," she said.

One factor that will improve the employment picture for local workers looking for jobs connected to the industry is the expansion of area training centers and programs for Marcellus Shale jobs.

Lackawanna, Johnson and Keystone colleges have all begun offering courses, programs and other training for industry-related jobs, while Pathstone, a human services agency, is coordinating training for more than 200 people in welding and diesel mechanics for jobs in the industry.

At Johnson College, which recently reopened its Welding Training Center after an eight-year hiatus, three students are currently in a four-month certificate program to learn the welding skills necessary for natural gas pipelines, Continuing Education Director Marie Allison said.

The college also is taking applications for its next session, which will begin in September.

But it takes time for welders to be trained in a new skill, and more time for them to master it, which means new gas industry welders will not be able to match the pay grade and ability of workers being brought in from other drilling states immediately, she said.

Once trained, local welders will be able to transfer their skills to other industries in the region even as drilling activity moves to other parts of the state or country.

"They won't have to take (those skills) to other states," she said. "They could stay local."

Contact the writer: llegere@timesshamrock.com

She was 87.

Twelve years ago, Mrs. Doherty woke up, tripped on a carpet, fell to her bedroom floor and found herself instantly quadriplegic because the fall seriously hurt her spine.

Three months later, Mrs. Doherty, with the help of a walker, managed to leave a West Orange, N.J., spinal hospital on her own strength, and resume her position as matriarch as one of Scranton's best-known political families.

Her son, Mayor Chris Doherty, remembered that inner determination after she died Thursday.

"She was always very supportive and told me when things are tough, you've got to keep going," Mr. Doherty said.

She was surrounded by all 11 of her children when she died, including her eldest daughter, Grace, who flew in from her home in Luxembourg to join the rest of her family, another daughter, Virginia McGregor, said.

"She never liked to be alone," Mrs. McGregor said.

She grew up on Grandview Street in Green Ridge, a daughter of Dr. Thomas P. McWilliams, a dentist, and his wife, the former Grace Jennings, a daughter of Hall-of-Fame shortstop and first baseman Hugh Jennings of Pittston.

Armed with a business degree from Marywood College, Mrs. Doherty found a job as a legal secretary for a Wall Street law firm in the 1940s. She met her husband, James A. Doherty Sr., who was stationed at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, on a train leaving Lackawanna Station on its way to New York City.

A few years later, after both were back in Scranton, they married in November 1946.

"And 17 years later, they had 11 kids," Mr. Doherty said.

"She told me I was only playing house," said Mrs. McGregor, who has six children.

While her husband worked, Mrs. Doherty tended to their growing family, was involved with the Mother's Club at Scranton Preparatory School and "worked the stand at the Little League."

"She was a stay-at-home mom, but she was well educated. Her mother went to Barnard (College in New York City)," Mr. Doherty said.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, who grew up in the same neighborhood with the Doherty children, recalled Mrs. Doherty as someone who led "a life of total dedication to her family."

Somehow, Mr. Doherty said, she found individual attention for all her children. Once, she surprised him and his brother, Tim, by taking them to lunch at the Castle Restaurant, a "Batman" movie at the Roosevelt Theater in Green Ridge and Nay Aug Park, the mayor said.

"And I thought, 'I have never been alone with my mother before.' It was just my brother and I. We couldn't believe it was just the two of us," Mr. Doherty said.

Mrs. Doherty preferred to stay in the background as first her husband, then her son seized the public spotlight, but her influence was felt. She insisted her children leave Scranton to go to college to learn independence and she encouraged their community involvement.

"If you're going to be part of a community, you have to be involved in the community," she said, according to her son.

She supported her husband's entry into politics and later her son's. James A. Doherty Sr. served from 1964 to 1980. Their son was elected a councilman in 1997, as mayor in 2001 and has been re-elected mayor twice.

"She always said that 'If you're going to be successful in anything you do, you have to make it happen yourself,' " Mr. Doherty said.

"And don't be afraid to fail, everybody fails," she told her son. "But the ones that are successful are the ones that are able to pick themselves up from failure and move on."

In his first re-election bid for mayor in 2005, Mr. Doherty narrowly won the Democratic nomination over city council President Gary DiBileo, who won the Republican nomination, setting up a general election rematch. Mr. Doherty said he was "feeling down" about the results.

"She goes, 'Hey, what are you going to do? Sit here? Get out there? You want to win? Go for it. Go to work. You're not going to win sitting here,'" he said.

Mr. Doherty campaigned hard that summer and easily won re-election.

"She taught us that (determination), you know, by overcoming her injury," the mayor said.

After she fell, family members did not find her lying in her bedroom until 12 hours later.

As they waited for the ambulance, Mr. Doherty and his mother chatted.

"I said, 'What did you do these 12 hours?' " Mr. Doherty recalled. "And she said, 'Well, I sat here and I couldn't move and I started to cry and I realized, well, what good is that going to do? Crying doesn't do anything. I've got to stay focused.'"

Mrs. Doherty's obituary is on Page B8.

Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk @timesshamrock.com

Mr. Jarbola said he expects to be dismissed from the suit, which was brought by the Community Justice Project, a nonprofit, public interest law firm whose mission is to protect the civil rights of poor families and low-wage workers. Mr. Jarbola said the collection agency approach to bad check writers is essentially a "diversionary program" that allows people to pay their debts without facing criminal prosecution.

The program also includes a session at Lackawanna College, where bad check writers are offered tips on how to manage their finances, advice that Mr. Jarbola said keeps the recidivism rate for check bouncers to about 2 percent.

Though Mr. Jarbola is named as a defendant in the suit, he is not the only district attorney who has the same collection program in place. The suit states there are about 20 district attorney's offices across the state that also use the company to go after people who bounce checks.

The suit seeks class-action certification, a decision that rests with U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo. Mr. Jarbola believes the suit should be bounced out of court.

James J. Scanlon, the Scranton attorney representing Mr. Jarbola, said he suspects the group is looking for a test case in Lackawanna County and expects the group will appeal to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals if the case against Mr. Jarbola is dismissed.

The suit, which includes Jennifer Shouse of Lackawanna County as a plaintiff, claims National Corrective Group of San Clemente, Calif., operates a "collection scheme" that involves district attorney offices like Mr. Jarbola's, who authorizes NCG to use the district attorney's name and letterhead, and represent itself as the district attorney's "bad check diversion program" when collecting money owed by people who have written bad checks.

Mr. Jarbola said he had been named in a similar suit and won.

"There have been lawsuits like this filed and all were dismissed," Mr. Jarbola said. He defended his use of the program, which he started about seven or eight years ago. Since its inception, he said, "we've gotten three-quarters of a million to $1 million back to businesses."

Ms. Shouse was one of the bad check writers the company went after. According to the suit, she wrote two checks, one for $23.31, the other for $36,00, and they bounced. There wasn't enough money in the account because her employer had mailed her paycheck, not put it in the bank through direct-deposit.

"After receiving a threatening notice from NCG, purporting to be the district attorney, Shouse contacted NCG and informed its representative of the mistake that had occurred and that she could not afford to pay the full amount demanded, $319.91, $260 of which consisted of fees," the suit states.

The NCG representative, whom she believed was someone from the district attorney's office, offered to allow her to make two installments, the suit states.

The suit claims NCG statements to people like Ms. Shouse are false and misleading and not in accordance with the law.

Contact the writer: jmcdonald@timesshamrock.com

"I thought it was beautiful," the Mountain View Care Center resident said of a picnic at McDade Park. "And to be out of the room, it was very good."

Ms. Mancia and 10 other Mountain View residents were treated to grilled fare, singing, dancing and music as part of the United Way of Lackawanna and Wayne Counties' Day of Caring.

Volunteers from almost 50 companies participated in the Day of Caring. The annual day concentrates volunteer efforts at agencies throughout Lackawanna and Wayne counties to accomplish much-needed maintenance, upkeep and other services.

At McDade Park, 16 volunteers from Tobyhanna Army Depot, the University of Scranton and Lackawanna County were on hand to ensure the residents made the most of their day out.

Across town at the Boys and Girls Club of Northeast Pennsylvania on Ash Street, Karl Kretsch, a locksmith for the University of Scranton, spent his Day of Caring painting exterior doors and door frames.

"It's important to do this stuff, and it doesn't have to be money," Mr. Kretsch said. "You can selfishly get a lot more out of it. You meet people, and it's interesting."

While making the club look nicer seemed important, Mr. Kretsch hoped more than wet paint would rub off on some of the club's young patrons.

"At some level you'd like to think we're showing them what they can do someday," Mr. Kretsch said.

While Mr. Kretsch painted outside, volunteers from First National Community Bank whitewashed the interior of St. Anthony's Haven Men's and Women's Homeless Shelter on Olive Street.

When they arrived, the men's bedroom bore a worn, yellow hue.

"It's clear that a lot of people go through here," Matt Tirella, an employee of First National, said.

But by day's end, it seemed to Joann Koslowski, community service representative for First National, that more than the color of the walls had changed.

"When you walk in there, it's bright now," Ms. Koslowski said.

Contact the writer: domalley@timesshamrock.com

Suit seeks cash from team sale

If Luzerne County wants half the profit from the sale of the Triple-A baseball franchise, it should fork over payment for half of the expenses over the last 21 years, Lackawanna County minority Commissioner A.J. Munchak said in response to a lawsuit filed Monday.

Luzerne County commissioners filed the suit in Lackawanna County Court, asking for a ruling on whether proceeds from a franchise sale must be paid to Luzerne County before Lackawanna County recoups its cost.

A second part of the lawsuit seeks profits generated by the Lackawanna County Multi-Purpose Stadium Authority to be shared equally with Luzerne County - money used to fund operations of the baseball team and PNC Field.

"We'll let that fly when they give $7 million to the taxpayers of Lackawanna County for expenses we've paid over the years," said Mr. Munchak, alluding to $13.9 million Lackawanna County has paid to keep the franchise in the region over the past seven years.

Majority Commissioners Mike Washo and Corey O'Brien declined to comment because the matter is in litigation. Luzerne County commissioners also declined comment, saying they want the lawsuit to speak for itself.

At issue is a paragraph in the September 1986 memorandum of agreement signed by the two counties, which says they "...have been assured by all interested parties that each shall share equitably to the extent possible in the economic benefits to be generated by the operation of such franchise."

Yet the actual agreement, signed a month after that memo and in which both counties put up $1 million each to purchase the franchise, makes no mention of that paragraph, nor does it say anywhere that Luzerne County will receive half the annual profit from the team.

Former stadium authority solicitor John McGee, who drafted the documents, said Luzerne County is correctly interpreting in its lawsuit how the proceeds from a potential franchise sale were expected to be divided. But he said he disagreed with Luzerne County's interpretation of the memorandum of agreement on sharing annual proceeds.

In a letter to the stadium authority earlier this month, Mr. McGee said "...that paragraph was merely intended as a general philosophical statement that had no legal significance."

The current stadium authority solicitor, Frank Tunis, said he doesn't think the memorandum of agreement, including the paragraph the Luzerne County lawsuit alludes to, has any effect.

"Our position is they aren't entitled to any of the annual revenue," Mr. Tunis said.

Lackawanna County officials said if the stadium authority had to split its profits, it would be detrimental to managing the franchise and stadium. In its 21-year history, there has never been been profit turned over to Lackawanna County from operation of the franchise, said county Chief Financial Officer Tom Durkin.

In just the past seven years, $13.9 million in expenses have been paid by Lackawanna County taxpayers to keep the franchise operational.

If the stadium authority was forced to split its revenue with Luzerne County it would impact maintenance of the facility, "no question about it," Mr. Durkin said.

Mr. Munchak said he believes Luzerne County will lose its lawsuit, adding "unfortunately, it is going to cost the taxpayers of our county money to defend it."

Contact the writer: cschillinger@timesshamrock.com

A Quincy Avenue property owner is attempting to overturn the Scranton Planning Commission's July approval of proposed University of Scranton student residence halls.

The property owner, 408 Quincy Inc., at 1328 N. Webster Ave., Dunmore, alleges in the lawsuit - filed in Lackawanna County Court on Wednesday - that the residence halls slated for the 900 block of Mulberry Street will increase congestion and pose a "significant public health and safety issue." It also alleges officials didn't investigate the impact of the residence halls and didn't provide adequate public notice of the planning commission's review of the project.

Attorney Joseph Ferdinand, who represents 408 Quincy Inc., declined to comment.

State records list Christian Nicolais as the sole officer for 408 Quincy Inc., a company that provides student housing at multiple properties in the Hill Section, including 408 and 414 Quincy Ave. and 1201 Mulberry St. The lawsuit states the university's proposed residence halls will be 30 feet from 408 Quincy Ave. and 80 feet from 414 Quincy Ave.

Plans for the residence halls call for a 19,000-square-foot building and a 15,000-square-foot building for 400 juniors and seniors.

University spokesman Stan Zygmunt said it is premature to comment because the university has not yet received information on the lawsuit. He said the university plans to continue with the project but said a start date for the work is not available.

Mr. Nicolais could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

City planner Don King said the university can proceed with the project until the court makes a ruling.

Contact the writer: jmrozinski@timesshamrock.com

The lawsuit was filed just days before Murray Insurance Agency and its owner, Brian Murray, claimed bankruptcy last year after Costanzo officials learned they were paying for insurance the firm never had, according to Costanzo's civil lawsuit and criminal complaints against agency owner Brian Murray. For four years, the company was building industrial, education and health care buildings with no coverage for excess liability.

Mr. Murray faces more than 20 criminal charges ranging from running a corrupt organization to theft and forgery. One aspect of his $10 million "pyramid scheme," as it was described by state Attorney General Tom Corbett, was his firm collecting money from clients and not buying the insurance. A grand jury presentment that accompanied criminal charges against Mr. Murray and other principals of the Murray Insurance Agency listed L.R. Costanzo among those clients. Mr. Murray's preliminary hearing was continued until Sept. 22.

Murray Insurance Agency's practice of pocketing premiums and issuing phony declaration sheets was first uncovered in 2009, according to state insurance investigators. They claim Mr. Murray admitted he was aware of the practice, but depicted the act as a victimless crime, noting that he was paying claims from his agency's general fund.

However, the Costanzo suit shows that some of Murray's clients will now have to buy real insurance for periods lacking coverage. Construction firms, in particular, face large liabilities.

In 2005, Costanzo was building Scranton Preparatory School's Arts & Science Center. One of many projects the firm completed during four years under Mr. Murray's insurance, the school building posed special challenges that increased liability.

The new three-story center tied into the existing historic school building. Construction took place during the school year, with students and staff in and out of the building. The tight lot on a busy street left little staging area for material and crews.

L.R. Costanzo thought it was fully insured, having purchased commercial umbrella insurance policy from Murray Insurance Agency designed to protect the company from large claims that exceeded coverage for primary liability coverage. According to the criminal and civil complaints, the insurance was never purchased.

L.R. Costanzo sued Murray for more than $200,000 - $100,638 for premiums the company alleges Mr. Murray pocketed and $100,000 for the actual insurance it purchased to cover 2002 to 2006, when the suit says the company had no excess liability insurance.

Company president Louis A. Costanzo nor company attorney A. James Hailstone declined to comment on the suit.

Michael Kennedy, chief counsel of Associated General Contractors of America, a national group representing 33,000 construction firms, said unlike most consumer insurance policies, liability insurance is occurrence-based, and claims may pop up years after the fact. Depending on state rules, someone could file a claim more than 10 years after the occurrence, so any gap in coverage for a contractor is unacceptable. The potential claims in commercial construction could be massive, Mr. Kennedy said, exceeding total project costs. Mr. Murray's willingness to cover claim out-of-pocket isn't worth much, considering the potential for a claim.

"An insurance broker who is not placing policies is not likely to have the assets to cover a major liability claim from this sort of construction," Mr. Kennedy said. "Imagine the potential exposure if a $100 million building has unintended defects and can't be occupied?"

So-called defect claims come an average of six or seven years after a project is completed, Mr. Kennedy said, illustrating the "tail liability" of construction.

Fortunately, the construction of the arts and science center went off without problems. The building has been in service since it opened and has been heralded in education trade magazines. The building earned a local building design award from the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce.

Contact the writer: dfalchek@timesshamrock.com

One was the Republican on the ballot, Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta. The other was President George W. Bush, who had turned as unpopular among voters as any president ever.

Many television commercials aired by the Nanticoke Democrat and a national Democratic committee strapped Mr. Barletta to Mr. Bush.

"They're like two peas in a pod, Lou Barletta and George Bush," speakers in a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee attack commercial said.

This year, the unpopular leader of the free world is President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and Mr. Kanjorski is trying a new tactic. Earlier and far more pointedly than in their 2002 and 2008 contests, Mr. Kanjorski is attacking Mr. Barletta's tenure as mayor.

The strategy parallels that of incumbent Republican congressmen in 2006 and 2008. They distanced themselves from Mr. Bush, touted their own performance and attacked their opponents' deficiencies.

"In 2006 and 2008, Democrats tried to nationalize the elections," said Stuart Rothenberg, editor and publisher of the Rothenberg Political Report, referring to the effort to make elections about Mr. Bush.

It worked as Democrats rode discontent with Mr. Bush to control of Congress in 2006 and strengthened their hand in 2008.

"This year, the teams just switched uniforms," Mr. Rothenberg said. "The national environment stinks for Democrats. ... This is a cycle when George Bush is increasingly irrelevant, Barack Obama is increasingly important. ... If you're Paul Kanjorski, you're going to want to make this about yourself and your Republican opponent, Lou Barletta, and you're going to try to rip him apart to show voters why he is an unacceptable alternative."

After taking shots from Mr. Barletta for more than a month after the May primary election, Mr. Kanjorski fired back on a July 1 WILK Radio program more sharply than his campaign had until then. He laid into Mr. Barletta's competence with more bite than he ever showed in their two previous campaigns.

In 2002, the mayor's management of Hazleton came up almost exclusively when Mr. Barletta boasted about it. In 2008, Mr. Kanjorski aired a television commercial criticizing Mr. Barletta for "pocketing campaign cash from developers dumping contaminated Philadelphia sludge" at the proposed site of an amphitheater the mayor has long touted. But that had little to do with the day-to-day running of the city.

With unemployment worse than during the pro-Democratic cycle of 2008, Mr. Kanjorski is trying to turn that against Mr. Barletta by focusing on Hazleton's troubles.

His first television commercial of the campaign, which began airing Friday, harps on Mr. Barletta's "10 long years of failure."

"Hiked Hazleton's property taxes 70 percent," the narrator says. "Income taxes went up 20 percent. Under Barletta, the city had the highest jobless rate in Pennsylvania. Times are tough for all, but the city is the worst run in the state."

Mr. Barletta raised property and income taxes by those amounts this year.

Shawn Kelly, Mr. Barletta's campaign spokesman, said the Kanjorski focus reflects Democrats' national strategy to deflect blame from a failed Democratic agenda.

"Democrats cannot run on their records, whether it's his votes for bailouts, health care, cap-and-trade energy legislation," Mr. Kelly said. "He doesn't want to shine any light on his record, especially the last two years. ... That shows you how desperate he is. Kanjorski has nothing to offer the voters of this district, no reason to re-elect him."

Mr. Kelly defended Mr. Barletta's management.

"Virtually, every municipality in Pennsylvania, particularly Northeastern Pennsylvania, every mayor, every city council, every borough council have had to make tough decisions," Mr. Kelly said, referring to the tax hikes. "They attack Mayor Barletta's management because of Kanjorski's support for the failed Democratic policies."

Ed Mitchell, Mr. Kanjorski's campaign spokesman, denied Mr. Kanjorski wants only to localize the election.

"We're going to talk about Social Security. We're going to talk about Bush and jobs and employment on the national level as well as the local scene," he said. "It's not going to be just a Barletta narrative."

He argued the campaign's focus is largely because Mr. Barletta's 10 years of mismanagement "came home to roost" since 2008.

"He shuffled things around for 10 years to not have to raise taxes and not to raise fees," Mr. Mitchell said. "If he had been more responsible and cut waste and cut costs, he wouldn't have had to do it. Now he had no alternative."

Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com

James Owens of East Main Street, Dalton, was apparently trying to scale a 40-foot-high cliff face near the Harrison Avenue bridge. His injuries, which included fractured ribs, were "severe" but not life-threatening, authorities said.

It is unknown exactly how far the man fell or why he was climbing the rocks, Assistant Fire Chief Jeff White said.

Another man who was reportedly walking along the tracks discovered him and called 911 from a cell phone when he either heard the victim hit the ground or heard his cries.

The call came at about 5:10 p.m. About 35 minutes later, a team of paramedics and firefighters was hoisting Mr. Owens on a gurney into a Lackawanna Ambulance. The victim was transported to Community Medical Center.

Mr. Owens told police he had climbed down an embankment and was trying to get back up, Lt. Marty Crofton said.

The place where he fell was a sheer rock face, the top of which led up to homes on Roselynn Street and Nay Aug Park, about a quarter-mile east of Harrison Avenue.

Contact the writer: jburton@timesshamrock.com