Pennsylvania Superior to hear cases in Scranton

From the Towanda Daily Review:

The broad range of the cases that come before the Pennsylvania Superior Court will do so at Lackawanna College's Mellow Theater Tuesday, starting at 9:30 a.m. and Wednesday, starting at 10 a.m. as a three-judge panel bring appellate action to Scranton. The Superior Court is an appellate court which hears all criminal and most civil case appeals from the trial courts in each of Pennsylvania's 67 counties. Elevating that court's profile has been a goal of President Judge Correale Stevens. 

Now in his second year as president judge, this is the second time the court is conducting business in Northeast Pennsylvania. Last year, the court heard arguments at MMI Preparatory School in Hazleton. The court has had other remote sessions around the state. 

"My goal is for people to understand the appellate court process," said Judge Stevens, who earlier in his career was a district attorney in Luzerne County and a state representative. "Most people understand trial courts but don't really grasp the importance or function of appellate courts." 

Perhaps the biggest difference is appellate courts do not hear evidence, or have juries or witnesses. Rather, they hear arguments over points of law - which doesn't make for as compelling television as a trial court. Nevertheless, the far-ranging case are certainly real-life.

Pennsylvania's Anti-Texting Law takes effect Thursday, March 8, 2012

Here are the particulars of the law including the fines, etc.

150 Layoffs in the GTP Towanda Plant

From the Towanda Daily Review:

TOWANDA - Global Tungsten & Powders Corp. announced Wednesday that it is eliminating 150 positions at its Towanda plant.  The reduction in employees is occurring because the plant has experienced a dropoff in sales in its wire and phosphor business, according to a press release from the company. 

"The phasing out of incandescent light bulbs and technology changes that require less phosphor in fluorescent lamp manufacturing" has a resulted in a decrease in sales in GTP's wire and phosphor business, GTP said in its press release. 

The positions being eliminated are all associated with the plant's production of wire products, which are used in a variety of industries, primarily lighting, said Craig Rieder, director of human resources at GTP.  The elimination of the positions is expected to begin in September 2012 and be completed by February 2013, the release said.

As I often tell clients who are laid off, if you are currently working but on light duty with restrictions due to a work injury, and then you're laid off, you need to contact a competent workers' compensation attorney immediately.  Your wage benefits should be immediately reinstated upon lay off....even if the work injury is an old one.  Call me if you have any questions.

Worker gets two years for injecting semen in lunches

From The Towanda Daily Review:

A former worker at the Procter & Gamble paper plant in Wyoming County who injected his semen in the lunches of co-workers was sentenced to two years in prison Tuesday by a federal judge in Scranton who called the man's actions despicable and disgusting. 

Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Conaboy also imposed a $1,000 fine and two years' supervised release on Joseph Bartorillo, a 60-year-old Larksville man who pleaded guilty to tampering with consumer products, a federal crime that carries up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. 

The two-year prison sentence was part of a plea agreement negotiated by defense attorney Demetrius Fannick and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Olshefski. 

Mr. Bartorillo, who lost his job at P&G after 20 years with the company, is expected to enter a guilty plea to pending state charges in Wyoming County, Mr. Fannick said. Judge Conaboy said victims in the case have indicated civil suits may be filed. 

Mr. Bartorillo was given until March 5 to report to federal prison. He told Judge Conaboy he was "deeply embarrassed and ashamed." 

The first hint of Mr. Bartorillo's perversion surfaced in the summer of 2010, when the first victim noticed pinholes in the foil covering yogurt containers. Months later, she overheard a coworker complaining her yogurt appeared tampered with and smelled foul. Police were called and a state police laboratory analysis revealed the yogurt had been contaminated with human semen, and DNA was extracted. 

Hidden cameras were later set up in the lunchroom by the FBI. On May 31, 2011, the victims spotted the pinholes again and a review of the tapes showed Mr. Bartorillo in the lunchroom injecting something into the yogurt. 

Mr. Bartorillo later told authorities he brought the semen from home and injected it into the yogurt.

Penn. Regulators Approve 5.7% Decrease in Workers’ Comp Costs

From The Insurance Journal:

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department has approved a 5.7 percent decrease in overall workers’ compensation costs that will result in $160 million in savings for Pennsylvania employers.
Regulators said employers can expect a 5.7 percent rate decrease, on average, in 2012. However, some will see rates go up, some will see no change, and others will see rates go down beyond the 5.7 percent. This will vary according to type of business, as well as the employer’s specific claims history.

SUPERTRUCK!!

I have a bad feeling about this one....

From CNN.com:

Could tractor-trailer rigs almost as long as Boeing 737s be driving on a highway near you? If a new transportation bill proposed by House Republicans passes, the answer is yes, and the safety ramifications would be astronomical, say congressional opponents of the bill and the AAA Auto Club. 

The American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act introduced Tuesday by Republicans would authorize about $260 billion over five years to fund federal highway programs.The legislation also contains a controversial provision allowing heavier tractor-trailer trucks on highways by increasing the federal weight limit from 80,000 pounds to 97,000 pounds. In some cases, it would allow 126,000-pound trucks onto highways. 

The legislation also allows the largest rigs, which comprise two and sometimes three trailers, to be as much as 10 feet longer -- a total length of more than 100 feet. 

While statistics from 2010 show overall traffic fatalities declining across the nation, truck crash fatalities actually increased 9%, to 3,675, according to statistics from the Truck Safety Coalition.

Women feel more pain than men

Because I represent injured people in workers' comp cases or auto accidents or other types of accidents like slip and falls, I deal with people in pain on a constant basis.  That's why this article from the NY Daily News jumped out at me.

Researchers at Stanford University examined medical records of more than 72,000 patients, and found that women reported feeling about 20 percent more pain than men. 

Patients were asked to rate their pain on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being no pain at all, and ten being the most extreme pain, and on average women reported one point higher than men. Their findings, which were published Monday in the Journal of Pain, held true for a wide variety of diagnoses. 

Scientists are studying whether the disparity proves that women actually feel more than men, or whether they're simply more willing to report feeling pain.

I'm not sure what I make of this.  Obviously, our culture stresses that boys and men, generally, should not complain of pain or be deemed "less manly."  I think that probably has a lot to do with it.  Anyway...fascinating stuff.  The entire article is a good read.