Times Change

WEJL is the radio station with the tower atop the Scranton Times building.  For much of its existence, it was a mere 500 watts, but with a monster signal, and it was a daytimer.  WEJL is now 2000 watts via day, but only 32 at night.

WEJL used to be a middle of the road radio station with a nice amount of local news and an ABC News Radio affiliation.  The station morphed into a "standards" format in the late 90's.  I believe the top rainbow sticker was from the very early 80's.  A friend told me it could have been from the "Sunshine 63" branding era.

I don't remember exactly when, but WEJL went all-sports several years ago.  The ratings dropped.  Management didn't appear to care because advertisers were apparently more willing to buy commercials on a sports station, rather than one that catered to an older demographic.

As for the newer sticker, WEJL has given up its identity to ESPN, but if you're going to be a sports affiliate, it's best to be aligned with the so-called "worldwide leader."  I say that, even though FOX Sports Radio offers better programs in the morning and at night.

Changing Square

I was going through more of the photos of a departed advertising agency executive the other day, when the above photo caught my eye-- a snowy day on Wilkes-Barre's Public Square.  I'm not sure of the date, but judging by the other photos in the packet, I have reason to believe it was sometime in 1986.

The photographer is looking east.  The Martz building is at the upper left.  What would become the Alltel building is under construction in the center.  A parking lot is to the immediate right.  There's a parking garage there now.  The building with the peaked roof is City Hall.  East Market Street is that broad avenue nearly in the center of the photo.

Below is a later photo, from the same collection.

The Martz building is the darker colored big box.  The Alltel building is finished here, and it's the lighter colored box in the center, and the parking lot in the first photo has been replaced by a parking garage in the second.  You can make out part of the long disassembled canopy on the sidewalk, in front of the Martz building.

I visit downtown Wilkes-Barre on a fairly regular basis, and it's interesting to see how it's changed over the years.

I can't say I'm a fan of the newer architecture here.  The hotel, Martz, Alltel, Wilkes-Barre Center and the Bicentennial Building are just a bunch of nondescript boxes.  Luckily, there are still some old gems in the neighborhood.

Flawed Reasoning

The city of Scranton wants to double what it costs to park at meters in the city.

There are few things that are more anti-shopper and anti-business.

Part of the "logic" for the move is Scranton, with the higher rates, will be in line with other cities in the state.  What difference does that make?  Shouldn't Scranton be a trend setter, making it cheap, easy, and dare I say, pleasant, for people to come downtown and conduct business?

I do recognize the need to hold down property and business taxes.  The money to run the city has to come from somewhere.

Here's an idea.  Why not install meters along South River Street, Mattes Avenue, and Hickory Street, just below the General Dynamics plant?  A lot of people park there, all day, for free.  If you have more meters, you can charge less at each one.

I like coming downtown, and a few more quarters won't bankrupt me.  However, those suburban shopping centers, with their acres of free parking, look better every day.

An official vote re-count took place yesterday in Lackawanna County.  It's more important to get the numbers right rather than get them fast.  It seems Lackawanna County can do neither.  It's 2009.  There's no reason for this.  There are flaws in the system that aren't caught before the election, and flaws that seem to multiply afterward.  It seems like there are different, and serious issues with each election.  This has to change.

The official vote count yesterday did show some different numbers, but the November 3 winners and losers remained the same.

A City on a Hill

Mohegan Sun went before the Plains Township zoning board Monday night for issues related to the construction of a nine story hotel and conference center.  The township has now removed most of the hurdles standing in the way of the new hotel.

The hotel will have 300 rooms, and will be the largest in Luzerne County.  The conference center will be 25,000 square feet.

I'm sure the project will provide jobs, and jobs are good.

On the other hand, Mohegan Sun has become a city unto itself.  You will be able to eat, sleep, gamble and shop without leaving the property.

Oh, you might want to go to Sheetz across the street for a cheap eggamuffin and a tank of gas.  You might have to go to Walmart down the road to replace the shirt you lost at the casino.

Mohegan Sun is forced to pay a lot in taxes, and I'm okay with that.

The thing I fear is a lack of a major positive impact on the area around the casino.  Why build in the neighborhood when Mohegan Sun has everything a vacationer needs?

Operation Touch of Home

It's the third straight year I've done the story, and in fact, I lobbied heavily for the assignment yesterday.

It's called Operation Touch of Home, and I took the above photo yesterday morning as a truck was being unloaded at the Brodheadsville Post Office.

Volunteers in Monroe County collect personal care items and other objects of comfort for U.S. soldiers and Marines serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.  They have to ship early to make sure the packages arrive by Christmas.  Much of the collection was done over the weekend, as we showed you on Newswatch 16.  The packing was done Sunday night and early Monday morning.

While the locals receive the packages, we hear they share the items with others in the units, so what happens here touches hundreds, maybe thousands.  There are the "thank you" letters from overseas to prove it.

I don't remember where I saw it, but someone recently said what we see as necessities here are viewed as a luxuries in Iraq and Afghanistan.  It's tough to be away from home during the holidays.  It's even tougher when you're fighting a war.  I spoke with people who were there.  They really appreciate the "touch of home."

Operation Touch of Home is more than toothpaste, lip balm, baby wipes and cookies.  It shows there are people, a lot of them, who care.  The items being sent out don't cost much, but the value is priceless.  Apologies for sounding like a credit card commercial.

I was happy I could bring you their story.

5

Another year has passed, and today is the 5th anniversary of the blog here at WNEP.com.

As is tradition, I'm going to torture you with the same story I drag out every year-- the genesis of the blog.  It's like Johnny Carson showing the Ed Ames tomahawk clip on every "Tonight" anniversary show, except this isn't as funny or interesting.

Our news director in 2004,  Dennis Fisher, was looking for ideas on adding more original content to the web site.  I saw some anchor written columns on tv station web sites in other cities, so I suggested a weekly column.  Dennis asked for a sample.  Before I had a chance to supply one, then-webmaster Mark Sowers noticed the blog thing taking off around the country.  One thing led to another, and here we are.

As I've said in the past, I think I get more out of this than you do.  It's a pleasant diversion-- an opportunity to do a little analysis, play with some bad photography and horrible graphics, and let you know what I'm all about (within reason).  I also have to get over my current fascination with the "anklepants" font.

Don't ask me why, but I've been thinking a lot about the craft of writing recently.  I can't believe my high school teachers and college professors would approve what they see here.  The sentences are choppy, short, and pedestrian.  Sentence fragments pop up on a regular basis, and I know that.  Too much first person.  Tenses switch.  I'm not stupid.  I should add that I was lucky to be taught by Stanley Evans at Mid Valley and Diane Lubniewski at Marywood.

The legendary David DeCosmo gave me some great advice a long, long time ago, when I was a young pup:  Keep it simple.  The best question is the direct one.  The best sentence is the shortest.  Make every word count.

The seeds were already there.  A high school history teacher once told me I was the only student who could express two thoughts in one short sentence.

The also legendary Kevin Jordan once told me he became a better reporter when he stopped trying to impress the other news directors and reporters in town.  The only ones who needed to be impressed were the viewers and listeners.

My blog is not a job audition.

Have I dropped enough names today?

I've been writing news, in one form or another, since my college days, in 1979.  This isn't Shakespeare.  I envy those who have a flowing and lyrical style, but that's not me.

I've seen college professors terrorize students into not making mistakes.  The kids were so afraid of errors in style and grammar that the writing was timid, bland, and boring.  Remember, this was in the typewriter days.  You'd do a couple drafts on your Smith Corona before handing in a project.  It's a lot easier now.  Computer word processing programs make revisions a snap.  I can accept something a little less than perfect as long as its entertaining.  Yes, there are some basics we all should follow, but let's not lose sight that we're here to inform and enlighten.  Write what you feel.  Then, go back and make sure all the rules are followed.

A lot of blogs have come and gone over the past five years.  Thanks for sticking with this one.

WSGD

This was one of my favorite radio stations, WSGD, Solid Gold 94.3.  The music was good.  The talent kept it moving along.  I even did a little fill in work on the news desk here in the early 90's.

94.3 is licensed to Carbondale, and the tower is on a mountain above that city.  It has a good signal in the valley.

The sticker shows something that's now rather common.  Hook up with an advertiser.  Get them to pay for part of the sticker cost.  On the back-- coupons and a contest entry blank.

I Googled "Mister Donut."  It's now an overseas operation.  There are no longer any stores here in the USA  The chain wasn't memorable.  Average donuts, at best.  There was a time when donut shops were changing names and brands left and right.  No one has been able to knock off Dunkin' Donuts as the king of the chains, although there are a few supermarkets and many "mom and pop" bakeries that produce a superior product.

WSGD, sadly, is no longer with us.  It was sold a few times.  It's now "Lite 94.3" and I don't know how long that will continue.  The station was recently sold-- again.  The new owner has yet to go public with a format.