Latest news with #Bolus

Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Scranton council president apologizes for not stopping derogatory remarks
Scranton City Council President Gerald Smurl apologized Tuesday for not stopping derogatory remarks made during public comment at the June 3 weekly council meeting. Smurl's apology that opened council's meeting Tuesday came in response to comments the prior week by resident Bob Bolus opposing having the rainbow flag flying at City Hall for Pride Month, as well as other remarks Bolus directed at a pro-LGBTQ resident, Angela Ramone, who was in attendance at that meeting. The events also resulted in several other residents attending Tuesday's council meeting to express support for LGBTQ people and condemn hate speech, according to an Electric City Television simulcast and video of the weekly meeting posted online. According to ECTV videos and minutes of council meetings, preceding events at council meetings included: April 29: Ramone advocated for LGBTQ protections and challenged council members to voice support for them. May 13: Ramone expressed opposition to a bill in the state Legislature that would ban transgender athletes from competing in sports in the state and 'require genital inspections for any player that is accused of being transgender, specifically playing in women's sports. This bill is incredibly, incredibly invasive and disgusting and hurtful.' May 27: Bolus spoke about his efforts and intent to run for mayor of Scranton. Ramone noted a prior Bolus felony conviction makes him ineligible to serve as city mayor. June 3: Noting June is Pride Month, Councilwoman Jessica Rothchild said having a rainbow pride flag raised on June 1 on a City Hall flagpole was a great way to have the LGBTQ community feel welcome and a part of the city. Bolus spoke directly to Ramone, who was seated in the gallery, as having made false comments the prior week about Bolus that 'disparaged' his name. He warned Ramone against battling him and 'mouthing off about me.' Bolus then called the pride flag raised June 1 at City Hall a 'slap in the face' to veterans and likened it to an affront to the 'Rule of God,' among various other remarks. Ramone reminded council of its rules prohibiting anyone speaking during public comment from addressing any individual council or audience member, and asked that council enforce its rules. Resident Doris Koloski said she's glad the pride flag is being flown and it wouldn't be needed 'if people didn't act like Mr. Bolus.' Resident Norma Jeffries said no one has a right at council 'to degrade or bash' anyone because of who they are, and chastised Smurl for not gaveling down Bolus. Councilman Bill King agreed with Koloski and Jeffries and told Smurl he needs 'to start using that gavel because our rules were violated and it's not acceptable.' On June 6, Smurl submitted to council a letter of apology that he read aloud at Tuesday's meeting. 'I understand a lot of hateful statements were made and some were directed towards speakers and council members. It is my job as council president to not allow hateful and derogatory remarks to be directed at any one individual. As council president, I take full responsibility for not doing my job to maintain order at last week's meeting. I apologize for not performing my job properly,' Smurl's apology said in part. 'Going forward, I will fulfill my duties that I promised to uphold when I was sworn in as council president.' Scranton city councilman Gerald Smurl walks out of council chambers at Scranton City Hall before a council meeting in 2022. Also at Tuesday's meeting, Bolus said, 'I make no excuse for last week.' He read a lengthy statement that noted Rothchild on June 3 expressed opinions about Pride Month and the pride flag and he should be allowed to express his opinions. As his speaking time ran out, Bolus was saying he filed a lawsuit to have the pride flag removed from City Hall. Bolus filed that lawsuit Friday in Lackawanna County Court on a pro-se basis, meaning representing himself without an attorney. This lawsuit as a 'mandamus petition for extraordinary relief' sought to compel the removal of the pride flag from City Hall, as well as having it barred from display there and at all public buildings in the county. Also on Friday, Lackawanna County Judge Terrence Nealon dismissed Bolus' lawsuit on various procedural errors, including that he did not properly file or serve the action or name defendants. Nealon dismissed the case 'without prejudice,' meaning Bolus could try to do it again properly. Bob Bolus Sr. (COURTESY OF BOB BOLUS SR.) Some residents who spoke Tuesday in support of the LGBTQ community urged people to speak out against intolerance. 'When someone stands at this podium and spews dehumanizing rhetoric and it's met with a 'thank you' or no response at all it sends a message, a message that hate has a place here. Silence is not neutrality. It comes off as complicity,' resident Jessica McGuigan said. 'We are living in a moment where lines are being drawn across the country, in our own backyards, and the fear, the rhetoric of fear, division and dehumanization is not abstract. It's being written into laws, spoken from pulpits and shouted at school board meetings.'


The Hindu
29-05-2025
- The Hindu
Unlicensed veterinary drug manufacturing unit busted in Gajularamaram
Officials from the Telangana Drugs Control Administration (DCA) raided Siflon Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited in Gajularamaram of Medchal-Malkajgiri district, and unearthed the illegal manufacturing of veterinary medicines, on Wednesday. During the inspection, the DCA officers found that the company was producing veterinary drugs without the required manufacturing licence. The unlicenced products included Albendazole Tablets 250mg (Bolus) and Albendazole Granules, both meant for veterinary use. During the raid, 537 kilograms of Albendazole tablets and 986 kilograms of Albendazole Granules were seized. The estimated value of the confiscated stock is around ₹3 lakh, said a release. Further investigation will be conducted, and action will be taken in accordance with the law against all offenders, the release stated.

Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bolus sues over Lackawanna County commissioner vacancy
Scranton resident Bob Bolus entered the legal fray over the filling of a Lackawanna County commissioner vacancy. Bolus filed a lawsuit April 10 in Lackawanna County Court against Democratic Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan that seeks to bar him from having county-paid legal representation in pending litigation over the vacancy of former Commissioner Matt McGloin. Gaughan and the county initiated litigation last month seeking to remove the Lackawanna County Democratic Committee from the process of replacing McGloin, a Democrat who resigned in late February. The vacancy litigation pits Gaughan/the county against the Lackawanna County Democratic Committee over whether the vacancy should be filled pursuant to the county's Home Rule Charter or a state court rule. The charter process had the Democratic Committee picking three candidates to forward to county judges, who then would select one to fill the McGloin vacancy. The Gaughan/county challenge to the charter process claims it is trumped by Pennsylvania Rule of Judicial Administration 1908 of 2019, which says the county court — not a political party — shall receive applications from any interested candidates for the position. Lackawanna County Senior Judges Carmen Minora, Robert Mazzoni and Vito Geroulo sitting as a panel will hear oral arguments Tuesday in the vacancy litigation. The lawsuit by Bolus, a Republican, raises arguments similar to those of Republican Lackawanna County Commissioner Chris Chermak — mainly that Gaughan acted unilaterally and if he wants to pursue the litigation, he should do so individually, with his own personal attorney and pay for his own legal bills. County Comissioner Chris Chermak listens to commissioner Bill Gaughan's comments at the conclusion of the Lackawanna County commissioners meeting at the Lackawanna County Government Center in Scranton on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) Bolus has been a vocal critic of Gaughan for years and has portrayed him as a cartoon skunk on a tractor-trailer festooned with political messages. Bolus filed his lawsuit on a 'pro-se' basis, meaning without an attorney, and as a tort against Gaughan, and not as part of the vacancy litigation. Seeking a judgment in excess of $50,000, Bolus also filed on April 11 a companion petition for a preliminary injunction to stop Gaughan from using taxpayer funds to litigate the vacancy issue. 'By the time a civil case is litigated, the tax payer funds will have have been spent already,' Bolus' petition for an injunction says. As of Thursday afternoon, the court had not taken any action on Bolus' injunction petition. Whether he has legal standing to pursue such a lawsuit or whether it follows rules of civil procedure, or whether it might be rendered moot if the vacancy dispute is resolved first, all remain to be seen. Gaughan also had not yet formally responded in court to Bolus' lawsuit. In a phone interview Thursday, Gaughan said: 'I did receive it and I had a very, very good chuckle, a good laugh. I don't take Bob Bolus seriously at all. He's a fruit fly. He's a nuisance to society and this will most likely get dismissed, like almost every other lawsuit he's had.' Bolus argues he has legal standing to pursue the lawsuit as a property owner, resident and taxpayer in the county. Last week, the panel of judges did not allow the Democratic Committee's top candidate, former county economic development Director Brenda Sacco, to enter the vacancy litigation as an intervenor, ruling that she has no legal standing in the matter and her interests are adequately represented by the committee. The Democratic Committee also contends that Gaughan and the county lack legal standing to pursue the vacancy litigation. But Gaughan and the county reject that claim, citing law giving municipalities and their officials standing to challenge the constitutionality of actions affecting their government functions and interests.

Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bolus sues over Lackawanna County commissioner vacancy
Scranton resident Bob Bolus entered the legal fray over the filling of a Lackawanna County commissioner vacancy. Bolus filed a lawsuit April 10 in Lackawanna County Court against Democratic Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan that seeks to bar him from having county-paid legal representation in pending litigation over the vacancy of former Commissioner Matt McGloin. Gaughan and the county initiated litigation last month seeking to remove the Lackawanna County Democratic Committee from the process of replacing McGloin, a Democrat who resigned in late February. The vacancy litigation pits Gaughan/the county against the Lackawanna County Democratic Committee over whether the vacancy should be filled pursuant to the county's Home Rule Charter or a state court rule. The charter process had the Democratic Committee picking three candidates to forward to county judges, who then would select one to fill the McGloin vacancy. The Gaughan/county challenge to the charter process claims it is trumped by Pennsylvania Rule of Judicial Administration 1908 of 2019, which says the county court — not a political party — shall receive applications from any interested candidates for the position. Lackawanna County Senior Judges Carmen Minora, Robert Mazzoni and Vito Geroulo sitting as a panel will hear oral arguments Tuesday in the vacancy litigation. The lawsuit by Bolus, a Republican, raises arguments similar to those of Republican Lackawanna County Commissioner Chris Chermak — mainly that Gaughan acted unilaterally and if he wants to pursue the litigation, he should do so individually, with his own personal attorney and pay for his own legal bills. County Comissioner Chris Chermak listens to commissioner Bill Gaughan's comments at the conclusion of the Lackawanna County commissioners meeting at the Lackawanna County Government Center in Scranton on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) Bolus has been a vocal critic of Gaughan for years and has portrayed him as a cartoon skunk on a tractor-trailer festooned with political messages. Bolus filed his lawsuit on a 'pro-se' basis, meaning without an attorney, and as a tort against Gaughan, and not as part of the vacancy litigation. Seeking a judgment in excess of $50,000, Bolus also filed on April 11 a companion petition for a preliminary injunction to stop Gaughan from using taxpayer funds to litigate the vacancy issue. 'By the time a civil case is litigated, the tax payer funds will have have been spent already,' Bolus' petition for an injunction says. As of Thursday afternoon, the court had not taken any action on Bolus' injunction petition. Whether he has legal standing to pursue such a lawsuit or whether it follows rules of civil procedure, or whether it might be rendered moot if the vacancy dispute is resolved first, all remain to be seen. Gaughan also had not yet formally responded in court to Bolus' lawsuit. In a phone interview Thursday, Gaughan said: 'I did receive it and I had a very, very good chuckle, a good laugh. I don't take Bob Bolus seriously at all. He's a fruit fly. He's a nuisance to society and this will most likely get dismissed, like almost every other lawsuit he's had.' Bolus argues he has legal standing to pursue the lawsuit as a property owner, resident and taxpayer in the county. Last week, the panel of judges did not allow the Democratic Committee's top candidate, former county economic development Director Brenda Sacco, to enter the vacancy litigation as an intervenor, ruling that she has no legal standing in the matter and her interests are adequately represented by the committee. The Democratic Committee also contends that Gaughan and the county lack legal standing to pursue the vacancy litigation. But Gaughan and the county reject that claim, citing law giving municipalities and their officials standing to challenge the constitutionality of actions affecting their government functions and interests.

Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Court dismisses Bolus appeal of getting booted off Scranton mayoral ballot
The state Commonwealth Court on Friday dismissed Bob Bolus' appeal of being removed as a Republican candidate for mayor of Scranton in the May 20 primary election. The court dismissed the appeal because Bolus missed a deadline of Tuesday to file a required legal brief to pursue the appeal. The court previously issued orders March 26 and April 4 directing Bolus to file a brief in support of his appeal. The April 4 order cautioned Bolus to file his brief no later than April 8 or the appeal would be dismissed. Scranton Republican Charlie Spano challenged Bolus' run for Scranton mayor in the GOP primary, arguing Bolus falsely claimed in candidate affidavits he was eligible to hold the office, but he was not eligible because of his past felony convictions. Charlie Spano during a debate of candidates for Scranton mayor hosted by the League of Women Voters of Lackawanna County and the Political Science Department at The University of Scranton, at the university on Oct. 15, 2019. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO) Lackawanna County Judge Terrence Nealon booted Bolus off the ballot last month, ruling that the lack of a valid candidate affidavit in his nomination petition rendered it 'fatally defective.' For Scranton's four-year mayoral term, incumbent Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti and former Scranton School Board President Bob Sheridan will battle for the Democratic nomination, while on the Republican side newcomers Trish Beynon and Lynn Labrosky each seek the GOP nomination.