Freddie Stubbs
Freddie Stubbs's JournalNazareth mayor looking into allegations against police chief
Nazareth Mayor Carl R. Strye Jr. said he personally is looking into a resident's allegations of racism, bullying and other wrongdoing against police Chief Thomas Trachta, but added, "I'm convinced most of this is unfounded."
Strye's action comes a day after political blogger Bernie O'Hare urged Borough Council to fire the five-year police chief over several infractions alleged by O'Hare, including using code words such as UNB to refer to "unwanted N-word in Borough."
"If [police] were doing anything like that, I'd have heard about it and I've never, ever heard anyone say that was going on," Strye said Tuesday, referring to the code words. "There's no way it's true. I'm talking with the officers, and I'll take a look at some of these other things. If reprimands are warranted, we'll do that, but I'm convinced most of this is unfounded."
O'Hare, a Nazareth resident who says his campaign to get Trachta fired has led at least one officer to try to intimidate him, is less than confident Strye will conduct a valid investigation.
more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/nazareth/mc-nazareth-mayor-responds-20140708,0,3367724.story
American cuts Venezuela flights in trapped-cash dispute
Source: BLOOMBERG
American Airlines Group, the U.S. carrier with the most flights to Latin America, will reduce weekly trips to Venezuela to 10 from 48 because of an unresolved dispute over cash trapped there.
American will drop service between Caracas and New York’s John F. Kennedy International airport, Dallas-Fort Worth and San Juan, Puerto Rico, after July 1, Casey Norton, an airline spokesman, said in an e-mail Tuesday. American Airlines had $750 million trapped in Venezuela as of March 31.
At least 11 carriers have cut capacity, sales or routes to Venezuela and Air Canada discontinued service to the country in March. The airlines are hamstrung by Venezuela’s strict currency controls, which prevent them from repatriating earnings from tickets sold in the country without government authorization. As of April, they had the equivalent of $3.9 billion stuck in bolivars, according to the International Air Transport Association.
“We value our business and longstanding relationships with the government,” Norton said. “However, since we are owed a substantial amount and have been unable to reach resolution on the debt, we will significantly reduce our flights to the country.”
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/06/17/4183920/american-cuts-venezuela-flights.html
Johnson won't back nominee for ambassador to Norway
Source: Argus Leader
President Obama's nominee to be the next ambassador to Norway ran into more trouble Thursday when South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson announced that he will oppose the nomination.
Johnson's decision puts the nomination of George Tsunis in peril, as he joins fellow Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken from Minnesota in opposing Tsunis. Democrats enjoy a 53-45 majority with two independents who caucus with the majority party. With the three Upper Midwest Democrats opposing the nomination, Tsunis has, at most, 52 votes if Republicans vote as a bloc to oppose the nomination.
Tsunis, the CEO of Chartwell Hotels, was a wealthy donor to Obama's 2012 re-election campaign. But he gained infamy earlier this year when he flubbed his nomination hearing. Under questioning, he demonstrated little knowledge about Norway, its system of government or economy, and he outraged many Norwegians by referring to one of the country's ruling political parties as "fringe elements that have a microphone that spew their hatred."
Johnson said Tsunis is not the right person for the job.
Read more: http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/politics/2014/06/13/johnson-back-nominee-ambassador-norway/10409857/
Bergdahl Walked Away Before, Military Report Says
Source: New York Times
WASHINGTON — A classified military report detailing the Army’s investigation into the disappearance of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in June 2009 says that he had wandered away from assigned areas before — both at a training range in California and at his remote outpost in Afghanistan — and then returned, according to people briefed on it.
The roughly 35-page report, completed two months after Sergeant Bergdahl left his unit, concludes that he most likely walked away of his own free will from his outpost in the darkness of night, and it criticized lax security practices and poor discipline within his unit. But it stops short of concluding that there is solid evidence that Sergeant Bergdahl intended to permanently desert.
Whether Sergeant Bergdahl was a deserter who never intended to come back, or simply slipped away for a short adventure amid an environment of lax security and discipline and then was captured is one of many unanswered questions about his disappearance.
The issue is murky, the report said, in light of Sergeant Bergdahl’s previous episodes of walking off. The report cites accounts from his unit mates that in their predeployment exercise at the Army’s National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., he sneaked or crawled off a designated course or range either to see how far he could go or to see a sunrise or sunset.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/06/world/asia/bowe-bergdahl-walked-away-before-military-report-says.html
State Rep. Mike Fleck, Republican and first openly gay lawmaker in state could lose seat
Two years ago, Republican lawmaker Mike Fleck was elected to a fourth term without a hitch.
He ran unopposed for the 81st house district – based in Huntingdon – a seat he first won in a four-way primary in 2006.
This year, Fleck could be out of office. Based on early returns, the republican lawmaker could be ousted by a write-in challenger.
So what changed in the last two years? Fleck, who was born and raised in the district, became the first openly gay Pennsylvania lawmaker in 2012.
more: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/05/state_rep_mike_fleck_republica.html
Brendan Boyle defeats 3 rivals for Democratic nomination in Pa.'s 13th District
young state representative from Philadelphia has beaten three rivals, including a former congresswoman who is now Chelsea Clinton's mother-in-law, to win the Democratic nomination for an open seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Early returns showed Brendan Boyle winning Tuesday's Democratic primary in Pennsylvania's 13th District, virtually assuring him of becoming the successor to Allyson Schwartz.
The district straddling Philadelphia and Montgomery County is heavily tilted toward Democrats.
more: http://www.wfmz.com/news/news-regional-southeasternpa/brendan-boyle-defeats-3-rivals-for-democratic-nomination-in-pas-13th-district/26086690
Indicted PA state senator defeated
Democratic challenger Art Haywood beat indicted Senator Leanna Washington.
Haywood took 40% of the vote, followed by Washington at 34% and other Democratic challenger Brian Gralnick 27%. They took 15,874, 13,440 and 10,590 votes respectively.
Senator Leanna Washington was indicted on one count of theft of services and one count of violation of the conflict of interest statute. She allegedly bullied her state-paid staff into planning an annual birthday bash for the Senator that took up $30,000 – $100,000 worth of taxpayer time.
She maintains her innocence.
more: http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/morning_roundup/2014/05/indicted-pa-state-senator-defeated.html
Mark Aurand takes Democratic primary for Pennsylvania's 40th District Senate seat
Mark Aurand has taken the spot for the Democratic nomination for the 40th District Senate seat, unofficial results from today's primary election show.
The lawyer and Lower Nazareth Township resident faced off against Northampton County Councilman Scott Parsons and Bangor Mayor Joe Capozzolo. According to unofficial results from the state, Aurand grabbed more than 40 percent of the vote.
Aurand will go up against Republican Mario Scavello from Mount Pocono, Pa., in the Nov. 4 general election.
The 40th District is a newly created seat, based on U.S. Census data, and includes the northern tier of Northampton County and all of Monroe County, except Coolbaugh, Barrett and Price townships.
more: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/northampton-county/index.ssf/2014/05/mark_aurand_takes_democratic_n.html
Rep. Davidson wins in close 164th Legislative District race
State Rep. Margo Davidson will once again be representing Democrats in the General Assembly’s 164th district come November elections after unofficial numbers from the county election bureau show her winning the primary.
With the results of four machines in Upper Darby still pending as of 1 a.m., May 22, Davidson garnered 2,675 votes in a district that also covers East Lansdowne, Lansdowne, Millbourne and parts of Yeadon borough. Challenger Billy Smith, of Lansdowne, earned 2,143 votes.
In a distant third was East Lansdowne resident Dafan Zhang, who had a district-wide vote count of 241.
Davidson will go up against Upper Darby Republican Saud Siddiqui in November’s general election.
more: http://www.delconewsnetwork.com/articles/2014/05/21/news_of_delaware_county/news/doc537c316ac63b0375133540.txt
Voters to politicians: Pot, cheating OK, but not atheism
Americans would sooner support a presidential candidate who smoked pot or cheated on a spouse than elect an atheist, according to a Pew Research Center poll released Monday.
Sixty percent of those surveyed said it would not matter to them if a presidential candidate had an extramarital affair, with Democrats finding it less troubling than Republicans by an 18-point margin (70 percent to 52 percent).
Past marijuana use is considered a non-factor by 70 percent of Americans, with Democrats especially blase on the topic. Seventy-six percent of Democrats said past marijuana use didn’t matter, compared with 62 percent of Republicans.
But religion is another story. Fifty-three percent of respondents said they would be less likely to support a candidate who does not believe in God. Faith is especially important to Republicans, with 70 percent saying they would be less likely to support an atheist candidate, compared with 42 percent of Democrats.
more: http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2014/05/20/voters-to-politicians-pot-cheating-ok-not-atheism/
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