His hometown paper refutes previous claim of the PA GOP:

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta denied Wednesday that he is a candidate for Congress, hours after the state Republican Party chairman said in a published report that Barletta is certain to run.

“He is putting his team together,” Rob Gleason Jr. said, the Web site for The Morning Call newspaper reported early Wednesday afternoon. “I’m counting on him to win it.”  read more »

I often wonder what cost estimates – especially when the cost finds itself in the millions – are exact.

The state Department of Transportation now estimates it will spend almost $79 million to clean up the acid rock drainage environmental hazard at the Interstate 99 construction site on Skytop Mountain.

PennDOT has hauled away about half of the 1 million cubic yards of acid rock on Skytop. When completed, the cleanup effort is expected to cost taxpayers almost $79 million.  read more »

A Zogby International report issued Wednesday paints a harrowing picture of Hazleton as a city where racism is rampant and people live in constant fear of racial profiling and losing their homes and/or jobs if taken for being in the country illegally.

The Hazleton Area Community Assessment 114-page report is sharply critical of Mayor Lou Barletta, though it does not mention him or the Illegal Immigration Relief Act by name.

Despite the report’s findings, Hazleton, in fact, remains a “welcoming city,” Zogby International CEO and President John Zogby said during a news conference.  read more »

Another outstanding piece on the state’s transportation system by the P-G’s Joe Grata. It’s chocked full of great facts, including that I-80 uses 22% of the state’s federal highway maintenance funding.

The Turnpike Commission — in consortium with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation — is moving ahead to toll the 311-mile highway, raise rates on the existing turnpike in 2009, float bonds and turn over other new revenue to the state. ...  read more »

A federal judge has dealt what we can only hope is a decisive blow against a dangerous trend of freelance immigration policies by local governments. Judge James M. Munley of the central Pennsylvania district, struck down ordinances in the town of Hazleton that sought to harshly punish undocumented immigrants for trying to live and work there, and employers and landlords for providing them with homes and jobs.

The ruling was a well-earned embarrassment for Mayor Louis J. Barletta and his proclaimed goal of making Hazleton “one of the toughest places in the United States” for illegal immigrants. In doing so, Judge Munley laid down basic truths that every American should remember.

Liberal activists are up in arms over freshman Congressman Chris Carney’s recent vote against hate crimes legislation in the US House. Brett Lieberman at the Patriot-News has been on top of the story that has been spreading throughout the blogosphere.

Howie Klein at Firedoglake has this to say:  read more »

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta met with national Republican Party leaders in Washington last month about the prospect of running for Congress.

‘‘I am really not thinking of anything other than being mayor right now,’‘ says Barletta

Barletta, who is in the middle of a court battle over a law he proposed to crack down on illegal immigrants, said he had a ‘‘very informal’‘ discussion with members of the National Republican Congressional Committee during a trip to the capital at the end of February, but he has no plans to run for any office other than mayor of Hazleton.  read more »

In addition to blogging for the Tony Barr campaign, I'm also the precinct rep for the local county Democratic Committee. I have a small precinct. I just got finished calling all of my super-voters. Things look good in my small little fiefdom, we've done or are in the process of doing, everything we can to get Tony Barr elected.

There are no polls to tell us how we are doing, we haven't the money for polling and if the GOP is polling, they aren't sharing the data with anyone. To hear people talk, we're winning but the local GOP hacks can be awful smug.

Yes, I know, this district voted 67% for the shrub in 04, yes, I know that the last guy to represent this district in Congress, that wasn't a Republican, was a Whig. Yes, I know and more than a few of you remind me on occasion, that every professional predictor of elections in the county, including the DCCC, doesn't give us a chance in hell.

Despite all that, maybe even because of it, we're going all out, and leaving no stone unturned and fighting for every single vote. We are building momentum, picking up endorsements and last minute money. We are looking to come up with enough cash for a last minute stab at a flight of TV spots. The production values won't be anything special. We can't exactly afford "Lord of the Rings". I think that just appearing on TV will seal the deal with many voters.

For those of us hard core volunteers, now is the time to summon our courage. Now is when we need it the most. All that we have shed blood sweat and tears for is about to be decided and looking down the barrel of it can be intimidating, if you consider what we are up against.

A tip of the hat to DvilleDem, TiogaDem and all the other Pennsylvania Democrats who are working their tails off in the "non-competitive" districts to build the party
and it set on a good course for 2006 and beyond.  read more »