The Altoona Mirror does a fantastic job of compiling and analyzing most superintendent contracts from across Pennsylvania. Bottom line? “Promises by Pennsylvania school boards will cost taxpayers millions of dollars when superintendents leave for other jobs, retire or even die,” the newspaper reports. “… Those promises rarely are in the form of the […]

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–> Sen. Arlen Specter blogs – yes, blogs – about his vote to hold Josh Bolton and Karl Rove in contempt,writing: “It was a vote that I made with reluctance, but I did so because I think it is necessary for the Congress to demonstrate our determination on congressional oversight that […]

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That gigantic thud you heard early Sunday morning was perhaps an aftershock of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s bombshell story on “bonusgate” rippling through the state political arena.
The newspaper got its hands on a bunch of e-mails between top aides in the Democratic caucus that “make clear that taxpayer-funded bonuses were given to legislative employees for their […]

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From a news release sent Sunday afternoon:
Former Congressman Pat Toomey today publicly announced his support for Lancaster County Recorder of Deeds and 13th District State Senate Candidate Steve McDonald. Toomey, one of Pennsylvania’s most prominent conservative leaders, cited McDonald’s record as the key to his endorsement.
“The kind of conservative leadership that Steve McDonald has shown […]

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Five Republicans, that is, expressing interest in running for retiring state Sen. Gibson E. Armstrong’s seat in 2008. Mitch Hanna (left), a Manheim Township resident and a top aide in Armstrong’s Harrisburg office, said today today his is considering a campaign because several people have persuaded him. “I had a […]

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It’s snowing/sleeting/raining outside, a perfect time to cozy up next to the fire with your favorite laptop and check out what’s doing. Here are some suggestions this morning:

PennPatriot interviews Ben Franklin about gun control
Above Average Jane provides us with a legislative update
Nate at The Commonwealth Foundation makes a good point: It’s much easier for […]

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News from City Hall: Lancaster City Council picked a state Revenue Department worker and longtime Democratic committeeman named E. William Andrews to fill the unexpired term of outgoing controller Craig Lehman, who was elected county commissioner last month. Andrews, of 645 Fourth St., who considered a run at city council in the early 1990s, will […]

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Planning your day: The county commissioners meet this morning to talk about next year’s budget, and the accompanying plan to raise property taxes by 7.3 percent. We get word, too, of a fresh round of those mysterious robocalls urging folks to attend the 9:15 a.m. meeting and rally against “another Thibault tax.” That, of course, […]

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This oughta be good.
From The New York Sun:
An appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday morning, which a month ago might have seemed routine, has taken on a new importance, coming at a time when confidence in Mr. Giuliani’s ability to win the Republican nomination appears to be melting away. The keynote […]

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Three words you don’t often hear in the same sentence, sure, but nonetheless, the ex-speaker of the state House has penned a short new booklet — let’s call it Perzel’s playbook — he’s passing around to Republican lawmakers. “It’s a series of issues that he wants to focus on and wants the Republican caucus to […]

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