|
|||
New and RecommendedRecommended reading about local, state and regional issuesIs DROP a Flop?
That's the finding of a Boston consultant hired by the city to examine the pros and cons of the early retirement program. Oddly, the report from the consultant isn't due until later this month, but The Inquirer got a tip...
(Comments)
That Sinking Feeling
When the legislature passed this year's state budget, they knew it had a huge hole. It depended on $850 million coming from the feds for Medicaid. At first, Gov. Rendell said he was optimistic Congress would pass the additional aid....
(Comments)
Worries Over Gas Drilling
The rapid expansion of gas exploration in Pennsylvania has triggered a demand for more federal oversight over drilling. The New York Times reported Sunday (July 25) that the EPA is considering looking into issues involving drilling, particularly the practice called...
(Comments)
253 Yellow Feathers
Gov. Rendell is trying to lure the legislature back to Harrisburg for a late August session to deal with the $400-million plus hole in the PennDOT budget due to the fed refusing to allow I80 to become a toll road....
(Comments)
Drill Our Way Out?
At last, some realistic talk about the state of state government. Democratic Rep. Todd Eachus, the House majority leader, went before the editorial board of his hometown paper and laid out the difficult shape the state is in. The deficit is...
(Comments)
Open Mouth, Insert Foot
Tom Corbett is lucky it is July and hardly anyone is paying attention to the race for governor. It gives him time to recover from kerfuffle over his remarks about the unemployed which implied -- stratch that -- said a lot of them won't...
(Comments)
More South Street Woes
South Street was back in the news over the weekend and not in a good way. Early Sunday (7-11), police had to close off the street after an estimate 20,000 youths congregated there. The draw? Word that there was another...
(Comments)
The Specter-Murtha Libraries?
Gov. Rendell signed the new state budget Tuesday (July 6), but most of the chatter was about two line items in the state's $600 million capital budget to build libraries for retiring Sen. Arlen Specter and the late Rep. John...
(Comments)
This Is Going to Hurt
The state budget deal announced Tuesday (June 29) calls for an overall increase in government spending of just one percent, but it is going to cause a lot of pain. The $28.05 billion package includes no new taxes. It does...
(Comments)
A Budget on Time?
It looks like Pennsylvania -- for once -- will pass a state budget by the June 30 deadline. The Inquirer reports that the various sides reached agreement on a new budget shortly after 2 a.m. today (June 29th). Basically, it...
(Comments)
A Hardy Perennial
Rumors of affairs involving Ed Rendell are hardy perennials. They seem to pop up with some regularity. The latest, whcih is about to be published by Philadelphia Magazine have him involved with a state employee, Kirsten Snow, who works as...
(Comments)
Fools & Their Money
It turns out there were at least three people in the Commonwealth who believed that state Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams had a chance to be governor. As the Inquirer reported today (June 23) three executive with a Bala Cynwyd financial firm...
(Comments)
Sinking Under Debt
The Washington Post offers up a profile of Harrisburg, Pa. a city with a debt that exceeds its annual budget. The city owes $68 million -- and soon -- to make payments on bonds floated to refurbish a trash-to-power incinerator, but...
(Comments)
Veon Sentence: 6 to 14
A Harrisburg judge sentenced former Democratic leader Mike Veon to 6 to 14 years in prison on Friday (June 18) for his role in the Bonusgate scandal. Veon, 53, the former House majority leader, was led away in handcuffs to...
(Comments)
Money Talks
And in this case, it is saying: "Tom Corbett." The Republican candidate for governor emerged from the primary election with $3.3 million in his campaign fund. That gives him a distinct edge over his Democratic rival, Dan Onorato, who had...
(Comments)
Older Entries
|
|||