Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s got a very interesting series going on Pennsylvania’s liquor control system - its benefits and (mostly) drawbacks. Among other things, it examines the strange way in which the LCB can decide where to locate a state store - helps, apparently, to be in with Gov. Ed.

And then there’s this:

Also this month, the PLCB reached preliminary agreement with Landor Associates of San Francisco, which has done work for BP, H&R Block and Federal Express, to redo the agency’s image, create a new logo and eventually look at redesigning stores. The two-year contract is for $3.7 million.

“I’m not crazy about the price,” said Sen. John Rafferty, R-Montgomery, chair of the Law and Justice Committee. But he added that he does see the benefits of a redesign as part of a complete system upgrade to attract more customers.

A Senate colleague, however, questioned the move.

“Why a public organization is spending significant dollars to polish the image of a public monopoly is beyond me. I don’t think there’s any rational argument for that,” said Sen. Rob Wonderling, a fellow Republican from Montgomery County.

Wonderling, the story notes, has a better idea: he’s “crafting a bill to privatize retail liquor sales in Pennsylvania, which he intends to introduce early next month.”