Taxpayer bill in Pa.'s Bonusgate grows  First, taxpayers footed large, secretive government bonuses to legislative staffers. Now, more than a year into a criminal probe known as Bonusgate, the General Assembly's cost to tighten ethical standards and cope with the scandal has topped the $1 million mark and is growing.House Democrats, who gave out the most in cash payments and who have been the main focus of a probe, have run up the largest public legal tab so far, records show. The bills include more than $710,000 in the last year to Washington consultant William Chadwick, who is billing $400 an hour.

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Governor says there's no need for a gas-tax holiday Pennsylvania's Gov. Ed Rendell doesn't support a gas-tax holiday. The same savings that would be achieved through a gas-tax holiday is available to drivers by doing a few simple things, Rendell said. Leaving the task of cutting fuel costs up to consumers, he suggested drivers check their vehicle's air filters and tire pressure — and stick to the speed limit. "There is ample opportunity to cut costs without a gas-tax holiday," he said. His reason for opposing the idea is that Pennsylvania needs every penny it can get for road maintenance and bridge repair.

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Veto threat scuttles smoking-ban effort, for now A veto threat, backed a number of Democratic senators, scuttled the latest attempt Monday to pass a compromise ban on smoking in public places. By Monday night, it appeared unlikely that any bill would be considered by the full House and Senate before June. What was expected to be a day of compromise started to unravel early, when Sen. Vincent Fumo, D-Philadelphia, called on lawmakers to reject any bill that would pre-empt Philadelphia's stronger, year-old smoking ordinance.

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Casey floated as possible VP choice; most doubt it In a recent column, published in the New York Post, among other newspapers, conservative columnist Robert D. Novak, without citing a source, wrote that Mr. Casey’s endorsement of Mr. Obama during the Pennsylvania primary campaign “has propelled him to Obama’s short list for vice president.” The chances of Mr. Casey actually becoming Mr. Obama’s choice are slim and none or not that bad, depending on which political analyst you ask.

 

 

Bidders for Turnpike lease get extra time to up the ante  The state will have final lease offers for the Pennsylvania Turnpike in hand by Friday and could announce a winning offer soon, Gov. Ed Rendell said Monday. Leasing the Turnpike for 75 years would render moot a multibillion-dollar plan to convert Interstate 80 into a toll road. The state's application to do that is pending before the Federal Highway Administration.

 

GOP convention chief quits over Myanmar work The man picked by the John McCain campaign to run the 2008 Republican National Convention resigned yesterday after a report that his lobbying firm once represented the military regime in Myanmar. Doug Goodyear resigned as coordinator of the St. Paul convention and issued this statement: "Today I offered the convention my resignation so as not to become a distraction in this campaign. I continue to strongly support John McCain for president, and wish him the best of luck in this campaign."

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State workers drive on your dime  In addition to providing vehicles for full-time use by Cabinet officers, deputy secretaries, chief counsels, bureau directors and state troopers, among others, taxpayers pick up the cost of maintaining, servicing, insuring and fueling those vehicles. The annual cost to taxpayers is about $15.6 million, according to an investigation by The Patriot-News as part of a look at how state tax dollars are spent. That figure is based on the state's $4,274 yearly cost-per-vehicle figure included in the governor's budget.

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Intern shredded papers sought in House inquiry A former intern for the House Democratic Caucus says he was instructed to shred boxes of personnel records later sought in a grand jury probe into whether state employees were given taxpayer-funded bonuses in return for political work. The shredding took place at the time a computer server was being relocated inside the Capitol building. Investigators now want to know if the move was used as cover to destroy hourly leave and compensatory time slips. Prosecutors are attempting to determine whether the destruction was part of a coverup.

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Die-hard donors fuel Clinton's campaign While many political observers write the Clinton candidacy's obituary, her regular contributors in the Lehigh Valley are reading from a different book, one that points to her never-give-up attitude as reason to believe she still has a shot. And they are continuing to reach into their bank accounts to try to prove she's right.

 

Turnpike lease bidding goes into overtime  Gov. Ed Rendell said today the battle to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike is going into overtime. Because at least one firm came within 10 percent of the high bid received Friday to manage the Pennsylvania Turnpike for 75 years, the remaining finalists will have this week to submit a revised best and final offer.

Carney announces support for Clinton “I have watched this primary process very closely, and as I said I would do, I have weighed the temperament and leadership displayed by Sens. Clinton and Obama during the course of this campaign,” Mr. Carney said in a statement. “We are extremely fortunate to have two very strong candidates vying to lead our nation. Pennsylvania’s 10th (Congressional) District (voters) overwhelmingly chose Sen. Clinton in the Pennsylvania primary and I will respect their decision.” Centre County superdelegate sticking by Clinton

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Nutter, Rendell want assault-weapons ban "The time has come for politicians to decide," said Rendell at the City Hall news conference attended by top police brass and state elected officials. "You have to decide whether you're on their side - the men and women who wear blue - or whether you're on the side of the gun lobby."

 

That’s professor Street to you Street's 3-credit undergraduate seminar, "Urban, State and Local Politics," taken by 60 students, will end Tuesday. Although Street and Nutter battled regularly when Street was mayor and Nutter was a city councilman, Nutter accepted an invitation to speak to Street's class.  In an exclusive interview with the Daily News on Wednesday, Street wanted to speak mostly about teaching.

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Clinton shows no sign of quitting "Now, there are some folks who have said, 'We need you to end this before you get to West Virginia.' But I think we want to keep this going so the people of West Virginia's voices are heard," she told a crowd of supporters gathered in the Capitol rotunda, her second West Virginia appearance in two days.

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Fred Barnes: Obama-Rendell?  What would Rendell, 64, bring to the ticket? As governor of a major state, he's automatically a national political figure. He's also a former general chairman of the Democratic national committee, which means he's a party man who gets al

Lieberman: Clinton ignores handwriting on the wall Her narrow win in Indiana and his double-digit win in North Carolina left Clinton even further behind in pledged delegates and the popular vote. It leaves zero possibility, her campaign acknowledged, that she can win enough delegates to secure the Democratic presidential nomination. And still she trucks on.  Party leaders turn up heat on superdelegates

 

Clinton vows to buck odds, stay in the race Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, $6.4 million poorer but still rich in tenacity, pledged yesterday to remain in the presidential race "until we have a nominee.  But for many other Democrats, the key question for the long Democratic battle had shifted from who to when, after an election night Tuesday that put Illinois Sen. Barack Obama still farther ahead of the New York senator, whose nomination had once seemed all but inevitable.

 

GOP lagging far behind, Delay says "The left has been able to build a very impressive coalition," said the former House majority leader and Republican from Texas in an interview at the Holiday Inn in Green Tree on Wednesday night. "It's much easier for Democrats to come together than for Republicans. Democrats are collectivists by nature."

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Feds ‘pursuing’ Dougherty Federal prosecutors said in a court filing yesterday that they are "pursuing an ongoing investigation" of electricians-union honcho John Dougherty, who they said is a "subject" of a criminal investigation.  As a result, they said, a federal judge should not grant him immunity to testify in the upcoming trial of electrical contractor Donald "Gus" Dougherty Jr.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Gray said yesterday that granting John Dougherty immunity to testify in the case could jeopardize any future investigation and prosecution of the union leader. Judge urged to reject Dougherty immunity

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Primaries fail to end unsettled campaign Mixed results from North Carolina and Indiana yesterday mean the Democratic presidential race will continue, but along a road that appears to offer diminishing traction for the tenacious but trailing campaign of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Sen. Barack Obama won a big victory in North Carolina, dashing Mrs. Clinton's hopes for what she called "a game-changer" in the protracted competition. Baer: A fair way to choose between them

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Gay marriage amendment likely dead for year An effort to add an amendment to Pennsylvania's Constitution banning gay marriage was dealt a major setback in the state Senate on Tuesday.  The Senate was expected to consider legislation to limit marriage to a union between one man and one woman, and not recognize any other "functional equivalent of marriage," such as civil unions.

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Fumo says he wants to ban most divorces Yesterday, the state senator from South Philadelphia, who is nearing retirement and faces trial on public-corruption charges, said he would propose legislation to "outlaw the dissolution of most marriages in Pennsylvania.”.  Last month, Fumo suggested that most Pennsylvania state legislators would vote to make slavery legal if they could cast their ballots anonymously.

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Oprah Winfrey will back revised dog law in Pennsylvania Winfrey is expected to read excerpts from a letter Gov. Rendell sent her last month seeking support for legislation to overhaul the state's dog law, according to individuals who participated in a Monday conference call with producers of The Oprah Winfrey Show.

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Rendell speech annoys legislators At a ceremony honoring Pennsylvania police officers slain in the line of duty last year, Gov. Ed Rendell seized the bully pulpit to make a renewed call for gun-control measures. With several gun-control opponents in the Legislature looking on, the governor declared it almost hypocritical for elected officials to attend the annual Law Enforcement Memorial Day service when they haven't, in his mind, done everything possible to protect police officers.  Officer’s death reignites fuse on gun-control debate

 

Nutter: NRA should apologize to slain cop’s family  "I think it's insane," Nutter said. "The fact that we put forward a piece of legislation to prevent the sale and use and transfer of assault weapons and have a Philadelphia police officer assaulted on the streets with one, I think makes it pretty clear to anyone who is confused about this issue that there's no reason for any citizen, any person other than in law enforcement or in the military to have such a weapon."

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Pa. Senate set to vote on gay-marriage ban The stage is set for the full Pennsylvania Senate to vote on a constitutional amendment that would outlaw same-sex marriage and civil unions in the state, although chances appear slim it will gain traction in the House. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the measure in an 18-8 vote yesterday after a 30-minute debate. Moments after it passed, more than 100 people rallied in the Capitol against the amendment.

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Bonanza from lease of turnpike not so big? Roy Kienitz, deputy chief of staff to Gov. Ed Rendell, said the administration expects forthcoming proposals to be "at the lower end" of estimates that have ranged from $12 billion to $18 billion in recent months. That's far less than the $30 billion figure bandied about by some Democratic and Republican leaders only a year or so ago.

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Democrats hunt for votes on airwaves on eve of vote Sen. Barack Obama spent the first 18 minutes on NBC's "Meet the Press" with Tim Russert defending the timing of his decision to break from his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah S. Wright, while on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton pushed back at criticisms of her proposal to suspend the federal gasoline tax for summertime drivers. Democrats at a crossroads again

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Bill seeks to restrict robo calls After the state's most-watched primary election in modern memory, the Senate has passed a bill that would curb the use of robo calls for political purposes. The bill, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R., Delaware), would create a do-not-call list - much like the one already in existence for telemarketers - for automated calls in political campaigns.

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What’s the state of Pa.’s image Nearly two decades later, the memorably wicked words of James Carville live on in the Pennsylvania psyche. You know, the Alabama thing. The scarlet A.  It's been at least 17 years since the acerbic political operative branded the state as two metropolitan areas - Pittsburgh and Philadelphia - with "Alabama" in between. Yet some pundits still dial up Carville's old chestnut whenever the political spotlight shines on Pennsylvania. Enough already, some say.

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Baer: Here’s a thought: Elected officials start paying for their own gas Unless or until elected officials take action to bring down obscene (compared to oil company profits) gas prices, let's stop allowing elected officials to charge their gas to us. Oh, you didn't know or maybe forgot that you pay your honorables' gas bills? You do.

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McCain steps on the gas in Pa. visit  Sen. John McCain ridiculed Sen. Barack Obama yesterday for failing to endorse proposals put forward by himself and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to suspend the federal gasoline tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day. "There are some experts who view it as the end of Western civilization as we know it," he said of the plan's critics, who include the Democratic candidate.

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State coffers got surplus boost from April tax collections April's revenue report brought good news for Gov. Ed Rendell and the state Legislature as budget talks approach, but a top state official cautioned that May collections may fall short as a result.Revenue Secretary Tom Wolf said April's tax collections were strong because, in part, his agency has improved its operations and processed annual income tax returns much more quickly than in past years.

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DNC chairman under Bill Clinton: Unite behind Obama   A leader of the Democratic Party under Bill Clinton has switched his allegiance to Barack Obama and is encouraging fellow Democrats to "heal the rift in our party" and unite behind the Illinois senator.Joe Andrew, who was Democratic National Committee chairman from 1999-2001, planned a news conference Thursday in his hometown of Indianapolis to urge other Hoosiers to support Obama in Tuesday's primary, perhaps the most important contest left in the White House race.

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Obama’s lead in North Carolina shrinking North Carolina’s Democratic presidential primary is tightening, with Sen. Barack Obama’s struggles in distancing himself from his controversial former pastor apparently eroding his once formidable lead here.

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Pa. Senate GOP caucus offers alternative health care plan  Democrats and Republicans both say they want more Pennsylvanians to have health insurance, but that's about the extent of their agreement on the issue.Lawmakers are at loggerheads over how to improve the cost, quality and availability of health care.The Senate Policy Committee's Republican caucus held a hearing today to vet alternatives to the one House Democrats passed last month.

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Rendell delays announcing private bids for Turnpike  Gov. Ed Rendell won't meet his deadline of today for making public up to 14 bids from private firms seeking to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Two weeks ago he said he planned to release the billion-dollar bids by the end of April, but that deadline has been "extended for a short period, a few days, maybe a week or two, but not a significant delay,'' his aide, Chuck Ardo, said today.

Fumo: Legislators would likely enact slavery In comments that stunned many who heard them, Sen. Vincent J. Fumo said yesterday that his colleagues in the General Assembly would support slavery if given the chance. "Oh, don't bet on it in this General Assembly," the Philadelphia Democrat shot back. "I know some people up here, especially on a secret ballot, it would be almost unanimous."

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Backers, foes of gay marriage collide at Capitol   Lawyers, religious leaders and advocates for gays and lesbians faced off yesterday in one of the most contentious and highly charged Senate Appropriations Committee hearings in recent history. At issue is a proposal to strengthen the state's ban on gay marriage with a constitutional amendment and a provision preventing other kinds of unions that are functionally equivalent to marriage.

Outbursts disrupt hearing

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Senators write USAirways; keep Pa in mind  U.S. Sens. Arlen Specter, R-Philadelphia, and Bob Casey Jr., D-Scranton, sent a joint letter to US Airways’ top executive Tuesday urging him to be mindful of Pennsylvania when brokering a potential merger with United Airlines. The Associated Press reported Monday that US Airways was within two weeks of announcing a merger agreement with United in a deal that could create the world’s largest airline.

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Judge won't dismiss Wecht's case on double-jeopardy claim Legal fur flew once again yesterday in the Dr. Cyril H. Wecht case, this time over a judge's refusal to bar a retrial of the former Allegheny County coroner on double-jeopardy grounds. Double jeopardy is the constitutional principle that a defendant cannot be tried twice on the same charges, but it generally applies to acquittals.

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 Murtha rival wins GOP nod as write-in  U.S. Rep. John Murtha will have a Republican challenger on the November ballot after all. William Russell of Johnstown received enough votes in Cambria County alone to win the GOP nomination for the 12th Congressional District, an official tally shows. There’s no indication that Murtha, a Johnstown Democrat, got enough GOP write-ins in the sprawling district to top what Russell received here.

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Carney won’t endorse just yet “Not yet,” said Rebecca Gale, Carney’s spokeswoman, when asked if her boss would endorse Clinton. “It’s April; it’s still early. The decision doesn’t have to be made until August.”

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Barletta: Kanjorski energy bill can’t work “On Monday, U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski touted a bill he readily admits will do nothing to reduce the price of gasoline for millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet,” Barletta said in a release issued Tuesday. “The 12-term incumbent acknowledged his proposal and four similar ones in the House of Representatives don’t have a chance of becoming law.”

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Primary Concerns Over Rendell's Hillary Boosting   "He became the chief fundraiser, the chief strategist, the chief scheduler, the chief political director, the chief surrogate," said Stephen Miskin, press secretary for House Minority Leader Sam Smith and a former staffer for GOP Gov. Tom Ridge. "It raises very strong ethical questions."

 

Pa. Senate holds highly charged hearing on gay marriage Lawyers, religious leaders and advocates for gays and lesbians are facing off this morning in one of the most highly charged Senate Appropriations Committee hearings in recent memory. At issue is a proposal to strengthen the state's ban on gay marriage by constitutionalizing it and adding a provision to prevent other kinds of same-sex unions that are functionally equivalent to marriage.

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Panel closer to voting on state smoking ban but not there yet  A House-Senate conference committee claims it's getting closer to adopting a bill that would ban smoking in most Pennsylvania workplaces, but it can't seem to close the deal. The deeply divided six-member committee had planned to meet today to vote on compromise legislation to prohibit people from lighting up in most workplaces and public places.

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In DC yesterday, Obama's "uncle" defends his inflammatory remarks on 9/11, AIDS and other topics

George F. Will: The Wright stuff

Wright's Voice Could Spell Doom for Obama

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Wecht jurors surprised prosecutors seek retrial With Dr. Cyril H. Wecht's lawyer looking on, five of the jurors in the famous pathologist's mistrial made a group media appearance yesterday and said they favored acquittal on most of the 41 counts brought by the government. On KDKA Radio and later at a meeting with other news organizations, the jurors said they were split 8-3 in favor of acquittal on 27 fraud counts.

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Congressman Tim Murphy helps Western Pennsylvania Veterans

Pentagon says yes to new commissary in Moon The Pentagon’s Commissary Operating Board voted Monday to support building a new commissary in Moon Township, said U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-18, Upper St. Clair Township. “It’s no longer an issue of if a new commissary will be built in the region. Now it’s a matter of when,” Murphy said in a phone interview.

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Kanjorski bill seeks to rein in big oil  Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, was in town Monday to announce his introduction of House Resolution 5800, the Consumer Reasonable Energy Price Protection Act of 2008. The bill, introduced on the House floor April 15, would allow the federal government to tax windfall oil and gas profits resulting from historically high oil and gas prices that average Americans struggle to afford, he said.

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Dean says either Clinton or Obama must drop out in June  Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said Monday that either Hillary Rodham Clinton or Barack Obama must drop out of the Democratic presidential race after the June primaries in order to unify the party by the convention and win the election in November. But Dean didn't say which candidate should drop out, only that it should happen after primary voters have been to the polls.

Early Superdelegate Decision Could Divide Party

 

How McCain lost in Pennsylvania Though ignored by every channel I surfed, there actually was a Republican Party primary on Tuesday, open only to registered Republicans. And while it was superfluous in determining that party's nominee, 220,000 Pennsylvania Republicans (out of their total turnout of 807,000) were moved to cast ballots for Mike Huckabee or, more numerously, Ron Paul. That's more voters than the margin (215,000) that separated Hillary Clinton and Obama.

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Custom shirts fit political brouhahas to a T Sen. Barack Obama's remarks to San Francisco fund-raisers about bitter, small-town Pennsylvanians -- who "cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations" -- have contributed to the exponentially expanding political merchandising realm.  In the past few weeks, two bitter-inspired Obama T-shirts -- one pro, one con -- have cropped up in the aftermath of the controversy. 

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Philadelphia Inquirer: Voting Patterns When one-fifth of Democratic primary voters admit taking race into account in the ballot booth, it shows the nation still has social hurdles to overcome. If a candidate's race is as important to some voters as his or her views on the economy, or the cost of health care, then something is being lost in the debate over how to move the country forward.

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Smoking ban for state heats up After a month hiatus, a House-Senate conference committee will try again to craft a compromise bill on limiting smoking indoors in Pennsylvania. If the six members, who include Sen. Robert Mellow, D-Peckville, and Rep. Robert Belfanti, D-Northumberland, succeed, they will present their compromise to both chambers for a yes/no vote.

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Democrats move on to electability argument Forget the debate over the war in Iraq, the economy, or health-care centers.  These days, the battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton is mostly about who has the better chance to win in the fall.  Polman: Hard to believe the Democrats could lose

 

Elmer Smith: Democrats must unite no matter who wins  By the end of this series of primaries, hundreds of thousands of people will have registered as Democrats for the first time.  I wonder if they have any idea what they've signed up for.

 

GOP faces uphill battle to reclaim defectors  State GOP Chairman Rob Gleason said the party aims to call every Republican who switched parties in the primary, as well as the nearly 950,000 registered voters who remain unaffiliated with either major party, and make the argument that Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican nominee, reflects Pennsylvania values more than either Democratic candidate.

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Hearing on Philadelphia gun control laws postponed  Common Pleas Court Judge Jane Cutler Greenspan rescheduled the hearing after a telephone conference this week with lawyers for the city and National Rifle Association, according to court records.

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Phyrillas: Perzel believes he'll return as Speaker next January  Knowing what you know now - the ouster of 55 incumbent lawmakers in 2006 and at least 28 incumbents in 2008, the loss of the Republican majority in the House and your demotion from Speaker in 2007 - would you still have pushed for the pay raise?  Unflinching, Perzel said, "Yes...Absolutely."

 

Morning Call: Obama’s vision is reason to nominate him Sen. Clinton has made much of her ''ability to lead'' on day one in the Oval Office. Past experience like hers is one thing, but leadership also depends on having a vision, plans to pursue that vision, and an ability to inspire others to follow. On those grounds, Sen. Barack Obama is well-suited to lead, and The Morning Call recommends his nomination in the Democratic primary.

 

Obama calls ‘bitter’ flap divisive Obama refused to back down Sunday night, defending the statements to the crowd of several hundred union members gathered at the I.W. Abel Hall. He admitted, though, that he might have chosen the words he spoke at a San Francisco fundraiser more carefully. Casey: 'Every campaign has ups and downs'

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Candidates omit issues, experts say With few easy solutions, none of the candidates is talking straight with the American public about many of the decisions that the next president will face, particularly when it comes to Iraq, national security experts said. Iraq will cast a shadow over American foreign policy for years, foreign policy analysts said.

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Clinton, Obama share views of faith at Messiah forum Although the two Democratic presidential candidates did not appear on stage at the same time, they faced questions posed by leaders from across the political and religious spectrum who said they hoped to have a discussion that goes beyond divisive issues such as abortion and gay marriage.

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Obama goes on offensive "I've got to say, I'm a little disappointed when I start hearing the exact same talking points out of my Democratic colleague, Hillary Clinton," he said. "She knows better. She knows better. Shame on her. Shame on her. She knows better." Obama camp makes case for no-shows in Philly’s black neighborhoods

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Update: Dicker says she’s ‘in it to win it’ Dicker said yesterday that she'd fired her campaign manager, Karim Olaechea, after a series of disagreements on the direction of her campaign - and a conversation with political consultant Larry Ceisler, an adviser to the third candidate in the Senate race, union leader John Dougherty.

 

Inquirer endorses Farnese in First District With the current state senator headed for trial, Philadelphia can't afford to send Dougherty to Harrisburg. And the candidate with the best chance of defeating the mercurial, influential labor leader in the Democratic primary is Larry Farnese.  Post-Gazette: Area Democratic senators taking sides in race for veteran Vince Fumo's seat.

 

Sources tell PoliticsPA that the Farnese campaign has reached out to The Campaign Group to handle commercials down the stretch.  The feeling, sources say, is that the Campaign Group makes the most out of endorsements. No word yet on whether they'll accept.  Update: The Campaign Group has denied that anyone from the Farnese campaign contacted them, and has said they have no plans to work on the campaign.

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