Today the eyes of the nation are riveted on New Hampshire, where the big question is whether Hillary Clinton did or did not shed a tear during a press conference, and more importantly, can she resurrect her presidential hopes from under the steamroller of Barack Obama. On the Republican side, John McCain seems poised to prove there is such a thing as a political Lazarus, bringing his campaign back from its death bed to what some are calling front-runner status. Important stuff.

Likewise, here in Delaware County, we have three new faces on the Delaware County Council. Andy Lewis, Tom McGarrigle and Christine Fizzano-Cannon were sworn in yesterday, ushering in a new era of county government. New era? Yes. But the same party. All are Republicans, as all Delco council members have been since the early ‘70s. Linda Cartisano succeeds Andy Reilly as council chairman.

The county also has a new president judge. Those who wear the black robes met yesterday and elected Joseph P. Cronin Jr. as their leader. Cronin succeeds Judge Edward J. Zetusky.

In Philadelphia, Mayor Michael Nutter took the oath of office and immediately declared the city in the grips of a crime emergency. He also reached out to us in the ’burbs, offering to work with suburban leaders.

All in all, a pretty heady day on the government/political dance card.

Oh, and one other thing happened yesterday. A Philadelphia TV station fired its top anchorwoman.

What do you think people are talking about at the water cooler today?
Welcome to my world.

Yes, if you look at the front page of the print edition of the Daily Times, you will see right up there in our lead “skybox” the story teasing the Alycia Lane story.

No, it is not our lead story. Nor do I think it should be. But there is no doubting it is the story people are talking about this morning.

For those unaware, Lane got involved in a dustup in New York City back on Dec. 16. At 2 a.m. on a Sunday morning.

She was arrested, charged with assaulting a plainclothes female Big Apple officer, as well as dropping some not-so-lovely sexual slurs on the officer in the process.
Lane has denied doing either.

Lane, who paired with Delco guy Larry Mendte breathed new life into the Channel 3 news, has not been on the air since. A previously scheduled vacation was extended. She was edited out of the station’s Christmas special.

She was due to return to her $700,000-a-year gig on the 6 and 11 p.m. news yesterday. Didn’t happen.

Instead, Channel 3 released a statement saying that “we have concluded that it would be impossible for Alycia to continue to report the news as she, herself, has become the focus of so many stories.”

That’s part of Lane’s problem. This is not her first trip down the “Fast Lane.” She’s been divorced twice, and went on the Dr. Phil show to talk about the break-up of her second nuptials.

Then came the embarrassing revelation that she had e-mailed pictures of herself on vacation – in a bikini – to a pal, NFL Network host and former ESPN personality Rich Eisen. His wife was not thrilled and made the e-mails public.

In his statement, CBS3 General Manager Michael Colleran made it clear the station was making no judgments as to Lane’s guilt or innocence. Only that they no longer want her reading the news on their dime.

Lane, who has not spoken publicly on the matter pending a court hearing April 3 in New York, has hired a lawyer. Paul Rosen has called the firing unfair and unwarranted. It’s expected that Lane will file a wrongful-dismissal suit against her former employer.

Do I envy Lane’s salary? Sure. Let’s just say that not many newspaper gigs pay that well.

Is there a part of me that feels bad for her? Yes.

Do I believe her firing was warranted? Does it really matter? The station made the decision that they could not credibly have her on the air. Not only was this the latest in a series of incidents, but it involved an alleged attack on a police officer as well as the use of slurs. Not good.

And there is one other thing as well. After she got out of the slammer, one of Lane’s first calls was to Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, purportedly just to tell her side of the story. Another mistake.

So Alycia’s latest trip in the “Fast Lane” will now fade into a trip down Memory Lane. But not before the lawyers have their say.

Which reminds me of something I think of almost every night as I collapse into my bed at what seems like an earlier hour each day: There is something to be said for a boring life.