WILKES-BARRE SCHOOLS: The school board voted to buy or lease the Times Leader building. It will house 11th and 12th graders from Coughlin while the old school is torn down and the new one is built. The Times Leader is currently moving all of its operations into what used to be the Sunday Independent building on East Market Street. The Times Leader option seems to be the most costly one, but at least it keeps kids off split schedules. The board actually listened to parents and students. I wonder what the reaction will be when the tax bills come. The thing that sticks out at me after covering this story, and it's not just a Wilkes-Barre thing, is how alarmingly uninformed students are about the world around them. They have access to more information than ever before, and use it less.
NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY: No surprises. Trump and Sanders win big. Hillary Clinton is regarded as the Democratic front runner. Yet, there are many days it appears she's down by a ton. Maybe that's the way to do it. Run hard. Try hard. Don't rest on what's perceived to be a lead. The odds were stacked against her in New Hampshire. Bernie Sanders is referred to as the state's third senator. The pundits believe Trump is more vulnerable as the field is whittled down, so now it's the race for second. It seemed people were settling on Cruz and Rubio, but Kasich's second place finish caused some to sit up and take notice.
COLD: It happens. It's only mid February. We've had some huge snow storms and cold snaps in February and March. Take a deep breath. It will be over soon.
CAM NEWTON: Big talent. Short on maturity. I'm willing to cut him some slack. He's just a kid. Read my pre Super Bowl blog entry. I saw his problems coming. Based on feedback, I was not alone. There's a champion in there, somewhere.
DRIVING AND TEXTING: A reader wonders if increasing fines is the answer. It wouldn't hurt. However, police are already stretched thinly. There is a lot on their plate, in addition to texting and driving. I'm constantly amazed at the lack of speed enforcement on Interstate 81 between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. Let's start there.
WRONG WAY DRIVERS: State and local police got together Friday morning to close Interstate 81 in Lackawanna County after a report of yet another wrong way driver. There has been a rash of wrong way crashes lately. You wonder how many lives could have been saved if the state and local cooperation existed earlier. As for those who favor treadles and/or spikes as a way to stop wrong way drivers, drop that idea now. Emergency vehicles often have to enter the interstates from the opposite direction to reach crash scenes faster. Bad idea.
