REGIONAL BRIEFS
Toohil responds to Web smear
HAZLETON - An anonymous group has posted photographs in an attack on state Rep. Tarah Toohil, R-116, that even her opponents said "hit below the belt."
A photo montage posted on YouTube shows Ms. Toohil and another woman about to kiss. A water pipe used for smoking marijuana rests on the table in front of them. In another photo taken at the same table, someone holds a baggie filled with green leaves that could be marijuana.
Ms. Toohil, an attorney serving her first term, responded with a statement admitting she is "one of the young women in some of the photos."
"However, I am not that young woman today," Ms. Toohil said in the statement. "I am speaking out because I felt compelled to address the young people who may have seen the video. The decisions that you make in life - good or bad - have an impact. Just be careful with the choices that you make."
W-B pension fund subsidy delayed
WILKES-BARRE - Luzerne County will wait until next year to pay this year's pension-fund subsidy, which will cost about $8 million, officials said Wednesday.
Since 2008, budget and cash-flow problems have prevented the county from paying the annual subsidy in the year it was due. The pension fund's actuary is expected to soon determine the estimated cost of the 2013 pension subsidy, which will be paid in 2014, officials said at a meeting of the county retirement board.
Luzerne County Manager Robert Lawton is trying to trim costs to avoid a budget shortfall this year and eliminate a $7 million gap in a proposed budget for 2013, which he plans to propose Friday.