Latest news with #RomildaCrocamo
Yahoo
09-08-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Design sketches released for bridge linking Pittston, West Pittston
Aug. 8—Luzerne County has released drawings showing the proposed new design of the Water Street Bridge linking Pittston and West Pittston. The design is scheduled for discussion at Tuesday's council work session. County Manager Romilda Crocamo said the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation wants council to provide feedback and approval on the design because the county owns the crossing — officially named the Firefighters' Memorial Bridge — over the Susquehanna River. PennDOT had agreed to assume responsibility for replacing the closed Water Street Bridge because it is part of a bridge bundling that also will replace the nearby state-owned Spc. Dale J. Kridlo Bridge (Fort Jenkins) Bridge. County Council Chairman John Lombardo said Friday he was impressed with the proposed new look, which features striking lighting. "I think it is an amazing design and will be a fitting replacement for such an impactful structure in between the two towns. It will also be a perfect tribute to the first responders who are memorialized in its name," Lombardo said. Tom Reilly, president of Reilly Associates in Pittston — the county's outside engineer — told council earlier this year the Water Street project is expected to be bid out in late 2026, so work can commence at the end of that year. This is a hard deadline due to $18 million in federal grant funding earmarked for the project, he had said. The Water Street Bridge closed in August 2021 due to concerns over a bent eyebar, prompting a dramatic traffic increase on the Fort Jenkins span. Tuesday's council work session follows a 6 p.m. voting meeting at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. Instructions to attend remotely will be posted under council's online meetings section at Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Public demonstration of Luzerne County voting system options to be held July 9
Jun. 26—A public demonstration of Luzerne County voting system options will be held July 9 at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre, county Election Director Emily Cook said Thursday. The event is intended to gather public feedback as county officials consider a potential switch for 2026. Reconsideration of the voting system is appropriate at this time because the five-year maintenance and support contract with the current supplier, Dominion Voting System, expires at the end of this year, county Manager Romilda Crocamo has said. The administration will eventually present county council with options on systems and pricing in case it wants to change, Crocamo has said. Another option for council would be negotiating a new maintenance and support contract to continue using the Dominion system for a set number of years. Four vendors responded in February to the county's request for proposals to provide a new voting system, and all have been invited to participate in the public demonstration, Cook said: Dominion, Clear Ballot Group Inc., Election Systems and Software (ES&S) and Hart InterCivic. Cook said the evening demonstration will be set up similar to one held in August 2023 for prospective electronic poll books used for voter sign-in, which drew approximately 50 county residents, poll workers, officials and candidates. Times and other details about the July 9 demonstration will be publicly released next week and posted on the election page of the county website at Cook said. Cook said the administration has been analyzing the four vendor submissions to compare prices because the proposals differed in what equipment and support were included in purchase and lease options. Depending on prices, the leasing option is worth considering because the county won't be locked in if it decides to switch vendors, Cook has said. Generally speaking, the county would have to spend several million dollars to purchase a system and under a million dollars annually to lease one, the administration has said. Because there's no mandate to change systems at this time, there may be little or no state and federal funding to offset costs. The purchase of a voting system is not eligible for funding through the county's annual state election integrity grant, officials have said. The administration promised to work closely with the county's five-citizen election board on formulating a recommendation to council. Council had approved the purchase of Dominion's system for $3.6 million at the end of 2019 as part of a state mandate for all counties to implement systems with a paper record that can be verified by voters and kept in case tallies are questioned. There are two ways to meet the paper-trail requirement — filling in ovals on actual paper or making selections on a computerized touchscreen ballot marking device and then printing a copy for review before feeding it into a tabulator to be cast and saved. The current Dominion system uses ballot marking devices, but the county has used paper ballots at times that were then scanned into the Dominion tabulators to be counted. Cook has said there are many considerations in the debate over paper ballots versus marking devices. Some voters prefer to mark their selections on paper and scan that in, as opposed to a printout, she said. With paper ballots, the county would only need one ballot marking device at each of the 186 precincts for those with disabilities in addition to scanners to tabulate the ballots, she said. Advocates of ballot marking devices say the machines immediately alert voters when they attempt to pick too many candidates (overvoting) or when they have not selected all allowable choices (undervoting) in case they want to choose more. Ballot marking devices also require voters to type in write-in selections so handwriting does not have to be deciphered during post-election adjudication. However, Cook has noted the county already must deal with these issues for mail ballots. The county experimented with using paper ballots in the 2023 primary election, but the county election board unanimously voted in August 2023 in support of the bureau's plan to return to the ballot marking devices for that year's general election. Officials concluded that electronic devices were preferred. Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Yahoo
Broadway Street Bridge closed immediately
NANTICOKE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Effective immediately, the Broadway Street Bridge that connects Nanticoke to West Nanticoke is shut down. According to Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo, a recent inspection uncovered 'advanced deterioration of load-carrying members' on the bridge. U.S. Secret Service nabs SNAP benefits skimming suspect Crocamo states that the county is working with PennDOT to implement the closure, with more information to come at a later time. There has been no indication as to how long the bridge will remain closed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How federal agengies funding pause could impact local area
(WBRE/WYOU) — A court has postponed the pause on all federal agencies to temporarily pause funding to different programs by the White House. In the last hour, the court has pushed back the pause to Monday. The funding pause was scheduled to go into effect at 5:00 p.m., but late Tuesday afternoon a federal judge pushed back the pause until at least Monday. Separately, a group of nonprofit organizations filed a lawsuit in Washington saying that the funding pause is 'devoid of any legal basis or the barest rationale.' However, earlier Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a news conference the pause was temporary and that people who receive direct assistance like Medicare or Social Security would not be impacted. The memo on the pause was issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB.) It explains how federal agencies like the US Department of Agriculture or the US Department of Health and Human. Services must put a temporary pause on federal funding such to their respective programs across the country. Agencies must conduct detailed reviews on where their funding is going. Active weather pattern will bring wind, snow showers to NEPA The White House says this is being done to measure how tax dollars are being spent and to ensure spending does not conflict with Trump's executive orders or actions. The memo from the OMB states that federal agencies have until February 10 to submit detailed information on any programs, projects, or activities subject to the pause. Local leaders are concerned about how this could impact area agencies, for example, the area agency on aging. 'One example would be the Victims of Crimes Act Grant that they get from the federal government which essentially provides intervention for those over the age of 60 who are being exploited by people who have endured physical abuse or neglect,' said Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan. 'Individual assistance that includes, I'm not naming everything that's included, but just to give you a few examples, Social Security benefits, Medicare benefits, food stamps, welfare benefits, assistance that is going directly to individuals, will not be impacted,' Leavitt stated. 28/22 News also reached out to Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo who issued the following response: We are aware of the announcement concerning the pause in federal grant funding. We are actively working with our federal partners to assess the implications and next steps. Our team is committed to understanding how this pause will affect our services, funding streams, and overall operational planning. We recognize the potential concerns this may raise for our stakeholders, and we are carefully reviewing alternatives, if necessary. We will continue to provide updates as we receive more clarity and guidance from federal oversight authorities. Currently, services have not been impacted. Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
