Looking for a laugh? Check out Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky’s 21st annual Candidates Comedy Night, tonight at 8pm at Finnegan’s Wake. In case you can’t make it to Philly, PoliticsPA will be there to report every laugh and punchline. Proceeds benefits Variety, the Children’s Charity.

Senator Casey has a new challenger from the Tea Party. Indiana-Armstrong Patriots leader Tom Smith will throw his hat into the ring around Labor Day. A 40-year employee and business owner in the coal mining industry, Smith has said he will provide ample seed money for his campaign. And his record of political contributions matches the claim – he has donated over $185,000 to various GOP campaigns over the past decade.

It’s official: the clock has started on redistricting in PA. Yesterday the Reapportionment Panel officially accepted the Census figures. That data – essentially a measurement of which parts of the state gained and lost population since 2000 – pinned the ideal population of a state Senate district (254,048) and a state House district (62,573), reports Laura Olson of the Post-Gazette.

Republicans have jumped on comments made by Rep. Mike Sturla (D-Lancaster), who employed a questionable choice of words regarding the increase in STDs rates in the Marcellus shale region. He apologized for his choice in words – referring to PA’s ladies as “womenfolk,” but stuck hard to his underlying point.

Is a gas drilling ban coming to State College? Borough residents – and college students registered there – may soon have the chance to vote on a Marcellus moratorium.

Statewide
Commonwealth Confidential: Two Ex-Perzel Aides Plead Guilty In Bonusgate Probe
Commonwealth Confidential: Corbett Official In Parking Spat Reassigned
AP: Website To Track Shifting Pa. Legislative Maps
Commonwealth Confidential: State House Democrat Apologizes For ‘Womenfolk’ Remark, Sticks By STD Charge
Capitol Ideas: Lawmaker apologizes for “womanfolk” remark, sticks by criticisms of drillers
Capitol Ideas: Wednesday Morning Coffee: Perzel Aides Accept Pleas
State House Sound Bites: Legislative redistricting begins, website goes live Thursday
State House Sound Bites: Lawmaker defends comments pinning higher rates of STDs on gas drillers
State House Sound Bites: Former Perzel aides in plea deal, DPW official reassigned, right-to-work examined
StateImpactPA: New Study Claims Drilling Better Than Coal, When It Comes to Carbon Emissions
StateImpactPA: Does Drilling Really Spread STD’s?
StateImpactPA: Sturla Stands By STD Comment
StateImpactPA: PA Oil Well Celebrates 150th Birthday
StateImpactPA: Drill Bits: More Gas, More Waste; Tioga County’s Geo-Hazards, and Wind Rich Delaware

Philly
Philly Weekly: Councilman Bill Green: At-Large And In Charge
The Notebook: Legislators Vow Support For Superintendent Ackerman
Philly Weekly: Philly’s Community Court To Close
The Notebook: Ackerman Absent From Leadership Conference

Philly Suburbs
Courier Times: PA. Lawmaker Defends “Womenfolk” And Drilling Remark
Morning Call: PA Congress Town Halls: Voter Frustration Evident At Town Hall Meetings With Fitzpatrick

Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette: Spector Sees supercommittee stalemate
Post-Gazette: Top official advocates gas drilling in Pa. forests
Early Returns: Who wants to make a district?
Early Returns: High on fumes
Early Returns: Raping, pillaging continues
KDKA: Regional Economic Study Says Marcellus Shale Bigger Than Expected
KDKA: State Rep. Wants To Bring Red Light Cameras To Pittsburgh

South Central
Sun-Gazette: FEMA Funding Discussed By Commissioners
Lancaster New Era: Unemployed Must Prove They’re Looking For Work
Patriot-News: Pa. Lawmaker Suggests Spread Of STD’s Amongst Womenfolk A Side Effect Of Natural Gas Drilling
Patriot-News: To Face A Year-End $4.9 Million Budget Deficit
The Sentinel: Name added to fall ballot for county commissioner

NEPA
Politico: Barletta attends pay-per-plate event, but no public town halls this August
Citizens Voice: Discipline Panel Takes Formal Action Against Former Judge Toole
Citizens Voice: Luzerne County Commissioners To Review Over-Budget Payments
Standard Speaker: Feds: West Hazelton Water Line Has Protected Area

Opinions
Karen Heller, Inquirer: Less Clout, Not More, With Redistricting
Baer Growls: Save The ‘Womenfolk’
Philly Weekly: Mayor Nutter’s Tough Love Sure Comes At A Convenient Time
John Baer, Daily News: It’s Time State Righted Juvenile-Law Injustice
Marc Lamont Hill, Daily News: Note To City Of Philadelphia: This Youth Curfew Is A Violation
PhillyNow: Rep. Makes Hilarious Comment on Fracking, STDs