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Scranton, PA Real Estate News

By Bonnie Vaughan, CNE SFR - Buyers/Sellers - Lackawanna & Surroundin
  Our Founding Fathers not only dedicated themselves, their lives and their fortunes to forming this great Republic, they left us instructions. When you read some of their personal writings, it makes you wonder if they saw the possibility of the days we live in now. Thomas Jefferson said: "The way to have safe government is not to trust it all to the one, but to divide it among the many, distributing to everyone exactly the functions in which he is competent....To let the National Government be entrusted with the defense of the nation, and its foreign and federal relations.....  The State Governments with the Civil Rights, Laws, Police and administration of what concerns the State generally. The Counties with the local concerns, and each ward direct the interests within itself. It is by...
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By Bonnie Vaughan, CNE SFR - Buyers/Sellers - Lackawanna & Surroundin
    May 7, 1945 started early for General George S Patton with a 4am call from General Omar Bradley.  The Germans had just surrendered. Miles away Col. Alois Podhajsky an Austrian, was looking for a way to guarantee the safety of the riding school and the horses he supervised as the Third Reich collapsed around him. Several day earlier Lt. Gen. Walton H. Walker’s XX Corps had captured the renowned Spanish Riding School of Vienna.  It included hundreds of the finest horse bloodlines in all of Europe.  Among this herd were 250 of the prized War Horses, the famous white Lipizzaner's.  The only surviving stock left in Europe. George S. Patton spent a lifetime with horses. While stationed at Fort Myer, Virginia, after his graduation from West Point, he played polo, fox-hunted, and competed i...
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By Bonnie Vaughan, CNE SFR - Buyers/Sellers - Lackawanna & Surroundin
  Beginning February 1, 2011 you will be required not only show ID but provide a fingerprint to buy ammo for handguns in California.  Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 962 into law on October 11, 2009. AB 962 requires purchasers to show bonafied ID to ammunition vendors in order to purchase handgun ammunition. The bonafied is spelled out as a government issued ID with a photo. Acceptable forms include a driver’s license or military ID. In addition, the vendor is required to record the purchasers name, driver’s license number, state of issuance, signature, thumbprint, residential address, date of birth and phone number. In addition the name of the sales person, the date of sale, brand type and amount of ammunition sold must also be recorded. The records must be kept on the vendor’s premi...
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By Bonnie Vaughan, CNE SFR - Buyers/Sellers - Lackawanna & Surroundin
    The Lipizzan is the aristocrat, the royalty the light and the nimble dancer and the aerialist of the equestrian world.       His distant ancestors from the Orient bore Ghengis Khan out of the wastes of Asia to conquer much of the then-known world. The fleet Arabic strain in the Lipizzaners patrolled, guarded and raided treasure-laden caravans in the golden sands of the Sahara. Their masters were Bedouins, Tuaregs and riders from a dozen long-forgotten tribes. It is believed that the forerunner of the Lipizzan was bred in Carthage, more than 2,000 years ago. The Carthaginian stock was bred to the Vilano, a sturdy Pyrenees horse, and with Arab and Barbary strains. The result became the fabled Andalusian of ancient Spain. In 1945 General George S Patton rescued the the last 250 survivi...
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By The Jeff Rickert Team, Poconos - RSPS - The Jeff Rickert Team
(RE/MAX Property Specialists)
December 3 thru 31 the Electric City Trolley Station & Museum, 300 Cliff Street in nearby Scranton. There are over fifty Christmas trees decorated for the holidays by various local groups and organizations. This Benefiting Toys for Tots, the display will remain open through the holidays during museum hours, 9:00am to 5:00pm seven days a week. For directions and more information, call the Electric City Trolley Museum at (570) 963-6590.
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By Bonnie Vaughan, CNE SFR - Buyers/Sellers - Lackawanna & Surroundin
Newsweek has always competed with Time Magazine for market share.  Both magazines offer political articles as well as timely national and international issues.  Rag Mags and tabloids constantly battle for distribution and readership.  The concept is that sleaze sells.  The more outrageous the claim or inflammatory - the faster they fly off the shelf.  The trash magazines have used this technique to push sales since their inception.Newsweek published an edition that coincided with Sarah Palin's book tour using a sexist photo of her for the cover.  The cover story was "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Sarah - She's bad news for the GOP as well as everyone else, too."One might expect such a lead story would have a more neutral photo of Sarah at a rally or speech.  Instead Newsweek chose to ...
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By Bonnie Vaughan, CNE SFR - Buyers/Sellers - Lackawanna & Surroundin
The feud between Patrick Kennedy and the Catholic Church has escalated to the point that Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin has publicly notified Kennedy not to receive Communion because of his stand on abortion.Their dispute began in October when Kennedy criticized the nation's Catholic bishops for threatening to oppose an overhaul of the nation's health care system unless lawmakers included tighter restrictions on abortion, which have since been added to the House version of the bill. Tobin said he felt Kennedy made an unprovoked attack on the church and demanded an apology. Archbishop Joseph Naumann of the Diocese of Kansas City in Kansas had repeatedly said publicly that former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a Catholic Democrat who supports abortion rights, should stop taking Commu...
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By Bonnie Vaughan, CNE SFR - Buyers/Sellers - Lackawanna & Surroundin
  NOVEMBER 22, 2009  The 46th Anniversary Of The Death Of An American President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the youngest man elected to the office of President.  Much has been written both pro and con about him, his politics and his life.   John F Kennedy was one of the most galvanizing men to achieve the office of President.  He inspired Americans. He was young, handsome and charismatic. He loved his country.  He was a patriot and war hero.  He was concerned about social issues, economic issues and maintaining world peace. He was loved around the world and respected by International leaders.  The Kennedy White House was most often referred to as Camelot.  An almost magical and uplifting time in American history.   Struck down by multiple assassins in Dallas Texas 46 years ago today.  T...
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By Bonnie Vaughan, CNE SFR - Buyers/Sellers - Lackawanna & Surroundin
When Sarah Palin showed up for her book signing at Border's in Indiana over 2,000 people were in line.  Borders had given wrist bands to waiting fans anxious to meet the Governor and have her sign their book. At 9pm, at the end of the event about 400 people were left standing in line.  Borders had given out 1,000 wrist bands that admit 2 people and their children.  Usually book signings are limited to a couple of hours.  It's a herculean task for anyone to greet, converse and sign 2,000 books in a few hours. It's amazing that Sarah could have managed an estimated 1600 in a couple of hours. The rules also said that only two books could be signed per wristband and that a wristband would not guarantee an autograph if "unforeseen circumstances" arose. The Fort Wayne signing went smoothly, a...
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By Bonnie Vaughan, CNE SFR - Buyers/Sellers - Lackawanna & Surroundin
    In part one of this series a Secret Society operating covertly in our country was suggested.  The components of this society included Military, Industrial, Financial and Political interests.  Whether you refer to it as the Cartel, Secret Society, Secret Team, Secret Club or Shadow Government it amounts to the same thing. A group of wealthy, powerful and politically connected men joined in a common interest or goal for the direction they wished to take this government.  They plot and plan every move to benefit their collective interests. The Shadow government controls through the  Presidency the future of this country.     Dwight Eisenhower was the first U.S. President to publicly warn us.  He saw the Shadow Government forming or trying to exert control.  In his last address as Presi...
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By Bonnie Vaughan, CNE SFR - Buyers/Sellers - Lackawanna & Surroundin
    Many of us will never forget where we were 1pm November 22, 1963.  The President of the United States - John Fitzgerald Kennedy was brutally gunned down in broad daylight by assassin's bullets in Dallas, Texas.           This year marks the 46th anniversary of one of the darkest days in America's history.                                 46 years later we still have unanswered questions.    Many who view this time in history were not even born.  For them the questions should be answered.  History should tell the truth and not continue to cover up the facts.      We had a coup d'é·tat in our country and we have never recognize it.  What is a coup d'é·tat? The sudden overthrow of a government by a usually small group of persons in or previously in positions of authority.   It is my per...
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By Bonnie Vaughan, CNE SFR - Buyers/Sellers - Lackawanna & Surroundin
This article caught my attention today.  A seven point buck spies a rival in the yard of Mike and Carol Brye's home in Viroqua, Wis. During mating season bucks will defend their territory against rival bucks.  In the back yard the anxious buck spies a 640 lb concrete elk.  Off he goes to charge and butt it multiple times. Alas, the Elk won.  Not before the buck did some serious damage to the statue. In the picture you can see the buck laying in the yard and the destroyed statue in the foreground. (source)  
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By Bonnie Vaughan, CNE SFR - Buyers/Sellers - Lackawanna & Surroundin
    President Obama certainly has enough on his plate these days - no doubt.   He is busy saving the nation from itself and saving the world from us.  One would think he could find a micro minute between flights to sign a pardon. Late black heavyweight champion Jack Johnson was sent to prison nearly a century ago because of his romantic ties with a white woman. John McCain has been urging a presidential pardon for Johnson, who was convicted in 1913 of violating the Mann Act, which made it illegal to transport women across state lines for immoral purposes. The law has since been heavily amended, but has not been repealed. Since Johnson’s death, there have been a couple attempts to grant him a posthumous pardon, and Sen. John McCain is now asking President Obama for a second time to pardo...
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By Bonnie Vaughan, CNE SFR - Buyers/Sellers - Lackawanna & Surroundin
                         GET DEBT OFF YOUR BACK !                                  When It's Raining ~            The Ideas Are Pouring                 On Active Rain           Whether  you are a potential home buyer, a renter or you already own your home debt is a burden you can live without. Last year I started listening to Suzy Orman and Dave Ramsey tout the benefits of being debt free.  Like many Americans today I felt debt was a necessary evil.  I was making higher than minimum payments on credit cards.  My balances still did not go down significantly. Some of the advice from hard core "debt free" devotees is a little hard to follow, at least for my lifestyle.  You do not have to change ALL your habits to be successful at paying down debt. Debt translates directly to your FICO or c...
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By Bonnie Vaughan, CNE SFR - Buyers/Sellers - Lackawanna & Surroundin
MARKET UPDATE BY SCHOOL DISTRICT AUGUST 1, 2009 - AUGUST 31, 2009 SCRANTON CITY Units Sold              24 Aver Sales Price                    $93,783 Median Sales Price                    $91,005 Aver Days On Market                  85   Information provided by Scranton Board of Realtors and deemed to be correct.  Author is not responsible for any inaccuracies or typographical errors.  
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By Todd Jones
(Weichert Realtors - Hibble & Associates)
This blog should be read by all renters out there. What do you pay in rent per month? YOUR ANSWER HERE For that price there is a good chance you could be building equity instead of paying the mortgage of someone else. Sure there are responsibilities that come with home ownership. Also, I understand that home ownership is not for everyone. BUT...many of you out there are throwing money away every month instead of investing it into a home of your own. I just showed a client a home today. The home is updated and in good condition. After crunching some numbers, we determined he would pay around $450/mth to live there and OWN the home. This included his taxes and insurance. Now all circumstances are different, but I just wanted to make a point of how affordable home ownership can be. Have qu...
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By Kate Schwarz
(Hotjoy)
Beautiful 2 story home in nice neighborhood. Kitchen remodeled with oak cabinets, updated bathrooms, refurbished hardwood floors, new electric service, and a new roof in 2009. Master bedroom and bath on 1st floor, 2 large bedrooms on 2nd floor. Oversize full bath on 2nd floor with large linen closet. Custom wood blinds on all windows. One car detached garage with opener. To directly access this property, use this shortcut: http://www.fizber.com/pennsylvania-buy-single-family-home-11646194.html
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By Bonnie Vaughan, CNE SFR - Buyers/Sellers - Lackawanna & Surroundin
A MESSAGE FROM YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS! SIT DOWN !    SHUT UP !   AND HANG ON !   Last night I read a post authored by Tony Toto.  'General Welfare' and it's Meaning in The U.S. Constitution My mouth dropped when I read it. At first I did not grasp what he was saying and then it hit me.  I urge you to read it.  Tony breaks it down for us much better than I can. This is not about political affiliation.  This is about being an American.  Put aside your political beliefs and allow yourself to ponder this from neutral ground. "WE THE PEOPLE" have given our Constitutional rights away in dribs and drabs.  It did not start with the previous administration, nor did it begin with the current administration.  It began when we became apathetic.  The realization that something is wrong has only beg...
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By Bonnie Vaughan, CNE SFR - Buyers/Sellers - Lackawanna & Surroundin
FIDELITY DEPOSIT AND DISCOUNT BANK   Recently contributed $15,000.00 towards a new Autism Center in Scranton, Pa.   FIDELITY BANK donated the funds towards the building a state-of-the-art center. The center will be run by Friendship House.  Autism has been diagnosed more frequently in recent years.  It affects 1 in 150 children. Friendship House has been offering services to children and their families for a number of years in Scranton Pa.  Friendship House provides services for children who are experiencing emotional and behavioral issues.  The ages range from infant through teens. Services are available for those families living in Northeast and Southeast Pennsylvania. For more information please use the links supplied to contact the sources mentioned in this article. ________________...
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By Bonnie Vaughan, CNE SFR - Buyers/Sellers - Lackawanna & Surroundin
IT'S ABOUT TIME THE NEEDS OF OUR DISABLED CHILDREN GOT SOME ATTENTION.   This recent Scranton-Times article announces a long needed addition to one of the most popular public parks located in Lackawanna County Pa. Lackawanna County commissioners announced earlier this month a huge playground is under construction at McDade Park, designed for equal use by children with disabilities. This very popular public park will become a "go-to: place for children and parents. The new playground will allow inclusive access for disabled children. There are 50 activities in the playground, 40 of which will be accessible by wheelchair. This is a huge project that will be gratefully welcomed by families with physically disadvantaged children. The playground encompasses 140 feet in diameter. We all look ...
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