PSoTD

Consolidation of local government services, and consolidation of local governments. Money is going to force this issue to explode all over the Commonwealth.

I wonder how much lawyer business has been created with local government concerning the new Pennsylvania Right-To-Know Law. Not that there's anything wrong with that, just curious as to the economic impact. Seems like something that should be measurable.

Chris Matthews' sense of entitlement IS truly stunning, and would be horribly worthless for Pennsylvania's citizenry.

I'm pretty sure I disagree with this move.

Gov. Ed Rendell announced today that the state will direct $35 million of federal Housing and Urban Development money to Al Boscov and his family to help them purchase the bankrupt department store chain.

Rendell said the money will help Boscov secure the funds to complete the purchase in bankruptcy court.

Without the money, the department store chain may not be able to survive, he said. It has 39 stores and 9,000 employees in the mid-Atlantic region. Rendell said there are 25 stores and 5,000 employees in the state. Boscov's is based in Reading.

"It would be devastating in the state of Pennsylvania to lose Boscov's," he said.

The family also is receiving $6 million in federal funding from the cities of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. Rendell said Boscov and other family members are putting in $53 million of their own equity.

Still, the family needs more funds to complete the deal. Rendell said the $35 million, in the form of a Section 108 HUD loan, is contingent on Boscov arranging the bridge financing to consummate the purchase.

I'm not trying to be heartless. Frankly, I think it would be wiser to provide $7000 in retraining loans or business start-up capital loans or additional unemployment assistance loans or some other targeted effort to help those 5000 employees of Boscov's, rather than to give loan the money to the Boscov family. I don't have anything against Boscov's, I just don't see why pouring government money into a retailer is good economic policy.

Just to repeat - they're a retailer. They don't make anything, they don't provide a unique and essential service that isn't replicated in the market. They really don't have a unique niche. Smaller and larger retailers have gone out of business, and will continue to go out of business. So why is Boscov's different for Pennsylvania's economy?

If we're going to spend $35 million, spend it on the employees, not the ownership.

I've saying this for years, he's going to run in the Democratic primary for the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate seat in 2010.

I think he's too much damaged goods, though. Even though Pennsylvania doesn't have a lot of names for a statewide race, I think a lot of people - a lot of Democrats - just don't think that Chris Matthews is of the quality to represent this state. Too shrill, too bombastic, doesn't listen to guests so why would he listen to voters?

From Upper Saucon Township, Pennsylvania:

NATURAL AREAS REFERENDUM QUESTION APPROVED BY VOTERS

Unofficial election results show that the Natural Areas Referendum was approved by a vote of 3,446 in favor and 3,440 against.

Note: These results are unofficial until certified by the Lehigh County Board of Electors.

Some reading on Election Day:

I have to admit, I'm somewhat surprised and definitely impressed with the amount of political jobs that Keystone Progress posts on their Jobs page.

I don't know, I think it's a lost cause for him here, but I don't have anyone paying for a $100K wardrobe, either.

McCain would have had a great shot at winning in Pennsylvania if he had selected Ridge as his running mate.

But McCain's campaign could easily fall for it.

Pennsylvania's web-based activists working their right-to-know probably should bookmark this site.

but these folks do...

Pa. said to be ill-equipped for gas-drilling rush

A top state environmental official says Pennsylvania is ill-equipped to handle the huge influx of interest in drilling for a potentially lucrative natural gas formation.

John Hanger, the acting secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection, made the comments during a hearing in Harrisburg before the state House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee.

Hanger told lawmakers that he needs dozens more employees to review drilling permit applications and inspect drilling sites over the Marcellus Shale gas formation.

He also said he is concerned the state will run out of capacity to treat the contaminated water left over from the drilling process, but that state laws are largely adequate for protecting the environment.

Pennsylvanians have to pay attention to all the costs related to drilling for natural gas in this state. Hanger's warning against the "get rich quick" mentality.

And proudly put it up in the yard. I tend to think that these things are not convincing of anything unless you see them in mass - now if a dozen of my immediate neighbors put up Obama yard signs as well, perhaps it would be more impressive upon the neighbors who are still undetermined in their voting preference. And it's not like people are going to drive by our house and say to themselves that "if THEY'RE voting for Obama, I have to also". But it's a signal of depth of support, I guess, and it ought to keep any McCain doorhanger people off my yard!

School's in again, and the Pennsylvania General Assembly is thinking about buses:

Legislation is being drawn up in the state House that would ensure Pennsylvania's school buses are in top running condition.

The proposed bill would require PennDOT to adopt a maximum 12-year lifetime service for school buses in the state.

The 12-year maximum lifetime service proposal is based on a pair of studies that found that after 12 years of use, the annual operating costs of school buses begins to increase significantly.

Not sure how the school districts are going to respond to this proposal, but as a parent, I see this as a positive, particularly towards getting some kind of safety restraints built into school buses.

I guess McCain is going to have to write off Pennsylvania. Ridge as VP was about the only positive thing McCain could do that could give him a strong chance here. Short of an Obama disaster, McCain's not taking PA.

What issues will the "Marcellus Shale reserves" create and exacerbate for Pennsylvania's local governments?

Dear State of Pennsylvania Technology Employees:

I'm just curious - what is the status of using DSF (Dynamic Site Framework) for Commonwealth web sites? Post anonymously, or email me - I would just like to know, it seems like it is disappearing from sites but that might be a mistaken impression on my part.

I really don't see any way how this state COULDN'T DO BETTER if Bill DeWeese was not House Majority Leader. C'mon, let somebody else do it, somebody who can impress with ideas and administration without relying on four dollar words and for-public-consumption gibberish.

It's actually... within a 4 hour drive!

Yeah, another year that I didn't make it. I do know a couple of people on the list - not well, but on a first name basis - but I have no clue how this list is constructed. What does it even mean?

For years, one of the big items of talk around the General Assembly in Harrisburg was Maglev. I hardly ever hear talk about it anymore, but it's still floating around...

Maglev Inc.'s proposed Pennsyl vania project has the very practical application of whisking folks from Pittsburgh International Airport to downtown Pittsburgh initially, to later run out to the suburbs of Monroeville and Greensburg.

The longer-term vision is to extend the regional maglev system east to State College, Harrisburg and Philadelphia; west to Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago; north to Erie and Buffalo; and south to Morgantown and Charleston, and beyond.

While maglev projects have been proposed to link Baltimore and Washington and Atlanta and Chattanooga, they're merely on paper. The Maryland Legislature passed a law specifically prohibiting the state from spending any money on the study, development or constructions of a maglev system. As for the Atlanta-Chattanooga project, a decision has yet to be made whether to go with a maglev system or traditional steel wheel.

Pittsburgh's Maglev Inc., on the other hand, has been quietly developing the fabrication capacity necessary to build a ground-transportation system for the 21st century. And unlike other states where maglev systems have been proposed, Pennsylvania -- to its considerable credit -- has been financially supportive of maglev, which has proven particularly crucial over the last two years when federal maglev funding was nonexistent.

Maglev Inc. has not limited the scope of the advanced technology required to fabricate thousands of "individual and geometrically unique guiderail sections" on which the trains would run. It also has demonstrated its value in the construction of steel-hulled ships and girders for bridges.

Contracts with the Office of Naval Research for its stealth ship program have kept Maglev Inc. and its critical technology afloat.

The huge economic and employment potential of maglev also is reflected in the fact that Maglev's McKeesport facility is rapidly becoming a cutting edge industrial learning center where students from a growing number of institutions of higher education are coming to earn degrees in precision fabrication.

Now you can buy one of their old domains.

I guess there's more than one way for somebody to "be packing" at Old Country Buffet...

No guns allowed.

The Police Department has been querying businesses to see where people are allowed to carry weapons, and where it is prohibited by company policy.

The query follows an incident in which a dozen customers at Old Country Buffet were questioned by police for openly carrying guns. One person was detained and his gun confiscated.

To Chief Stadnitski’s surprise, the response from business owners has been overwhelmingly against allowing gun-carrying patrons in their establishments.

“And many, they’re not just saying ‘no.’ They’re very vocal about this,” he said. “We expected more businesses to allow it.”

The only Dickson City business that has said it will allow customers to carry firearms to date is Cartridge World, said Chief Stadnitski.

Hey, I don't want any guns in my place of business. Nor do I want any guns where I go to dinner.

I guess Cartridge World must have some printer varmints, so you need some firepower to stop 'em before they destroy the stock.

Seriously, if I, for some reason, worked at Cartridge World and some dude came in carrying a gun, I'd be thinking WTF, I gotta get out of here, unless the guy is wearing a police uniform.

It doesn't appear that Orrs Bridge in Hampden Township "made" the Rebuild PA Accelerated Bridge Program.

When they can't even produce reasonable districts?

A relatively big lobbyist in Pennsylvania - and not a client - sent me an email inviting me to join him in a "professional" social networking group (not FaceBook, in case you were wondering). I have a theory that it's really an effort to try to build some internet buzz about the company providing the software/framework, because I don't do any work with this lobbyist but I suppose I'm known to the community for our web development.

So... I guess I'll refrain from joining.

Here's one possible solution to the lawn mowing problem!

HARRISBURG - State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo's remarks that the General Assembly would enact slavery if given a chance were met yesterday with anger and disbelief, even as the Philadelphia Democrat sought to distance himself from his own words.

Fumo made the slavery comments during an Appropriations Committee hearing Tuesday in Harrisburg on a bill that would define marriage as between a man and a woman - a measure Fumo opposes.

"What you are advocating here is that we take away the rights of a minority. And I don't think that's right," Fumo told Gilbert Coleman Jr., senior pastor of Freedom Christian Bible Fellowship in Philadelphia, during the hearing. ". . . If we introduced a bill on slavery, it might pass. That doesn't make it right."

"I doubt that, sir," responded Coleman, an African American who testified in support of the measure.

"Oh, don't bet on it in this General Assembly," shot back Fumo, who is preparing to leave the legislature after 30 years. "I know some people up here, especially on a secret ballot, it would be almost unanimous."

Jaw-droppingly over-the-top rhetoric aside, Vince has got the basics right. The government has no business legislating who can get married or discriminating based on sexual preference. Even in Pennsyltucky.

BTW, do you have any idea what Republican received the most votes yesterday in Pennsylvania?

It looks like it was Tom Corbett. Nearly 150K more than McCain.