Liquor privatization. Efforts to sell off and privatize Pennsylvania’s wine & spirits industry hit a snag when Senate Pro Tem Joe Scarnati publicly questioned whether House Majority Leader Mike Turzai’s plan should be a high priority in the fall.  Turzai: “It’s time to end the statewide monopoly and give consumers better selection and more convenience.”  Scarnati: “I’m not so sure that we in Pennsylvania have yet got the best bottom line out of our liquor system that we can.”  Conflict resolution?  We’re thinking a beer summit is in order.

Patrick Meehan and Jim Gerlach. The two SEPA Congressmen both posted impressive fundraising hauls this week.  The former raised $431,000 in the second quarter, while the latter raised $426,000 over the same period.  Unfortunately, a few of their freshmen colleagues didn’t fare so well…

Tom Marino and Mike Kelly. The freshmen Republicans were named to the wrong side of Washington Post’s Campaign Fundraising Winners and Losers list.  Marino raised $112,000 during the second quarter, while Kelly pulled in $102,000.

Rick Santorum. Tough week for the former U.S. Senator-turned-presidential candidate.  He raised just $582,000 in support of his bid for the Republican nomination – less than several GOP members of Congress seeking reelection.  And a Public Policy Polling survey found him trailing Michele Bachman and Mitt Romney among Keystone State voters.  If there was a glimmer of good news for Santorum, it was this: the same PPP survey found that he “overwhelms” the GOP field considering a run against U.S. Senator Bob Casey.

Pennsylvania Shale Production. With onlookers anxiously awaiting the details of the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission’s final report, the shale industry announced good news this week.  A study commissioned by the MSC found that the Keystone State’s natural gas production is on track to lead the nation.  PoliticsPA is interested to see how MSC believes recommendations like pooling will affect that trajectory.