News In brief
First Posted:
WILKES-BARRE
Housing group gets $20K
The Bank of America Charitable Foundation recently awarded the Housing Development Corporation of Northeastern Pennsylvania a $20,000 grant to support HDC’s work in Luzerne County.
HDC’s most recent venture is the new Courtright Neighborhood in the North End section of Wilkes-Barre that provides eligible residents an opportunity to buy newly constructed, energy-efficient homes at an affordable price.
Since its inception in 1984, HDC has helped Luzerne County residents acquire and/or maintain affordable housing.
WILKES-BARRE
NAACP to honor King
The Wilkes-Barre NAACP will hold a public ceremony observing the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday at 6 p.m. Thursday in the First Presbyterian Church, 97 S. Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre.
The event was held in the county courthouse rotunda for 14 years, but the organization cannot afford to pay a usage fee, said organization President Ronald Felton.
The county has a policy requiring non-government organizations to pay a fee for security coverage and utilities if they use the rotunda for evening events.
Felton said the event must be held at night for the convenience of people who work during the day.
WILKES-BARRE
Ruling for CV appealed
Attorneys for an area businessman who filed a lawsuit against The Citizens’ Voice newspaper in 2002 said in court papers Monday that a county judge erred when he ruled in favor of the newspaper last month, reversing a $3.5 million verdict.
Attorneys George Croner and Timothy Polishan, who represent Thomas Joseph Sr., his son and several of their businesses, said in court papers Monday the verdict should have been made in favor of their clients, because they proved during a non-jury trial in May that the paper damaged their reputations.
Croner and Polishan say special monetary damages should be made in favor of their clients, or that a new trial should be held to determine the amount of damages.
The ruling last month by Judge Joseph Van Jura negates a $3.5 million verdict that was originally entered in 2006 against the newspaper. The verdict was overturned in 2009 by the state Superior Court.
The Josephs claim their reputations were damaged by a series of articles published in 2001. The articles, the suit says, falsely alleged that Joseph Sr. was under investigation for utilizing two of his businesses to launder money for reputed mobster William “Billy” D’Elia and others.
WILKES-BARRE
Another big lottery win
There’s another lucky lottery winner from Luzerne County.
Donald Stewart, from Wilkes-Barre, won the lottery’s “Jolly Jackpot” $100,000 grand prize drawing.
The contest was open to all of those who played a holiday scratch-off ticket, lost and entered their ticket online for a second-chance drawing.
They’re the latest local lottery winners. Just last week, a Newport Township couple claimed one of four winning $1 million tickets from the Dec. 31 Millionaire Raffle drawing.
