Now this is the kind of stop that will win over voters. Picking up the tab for everyone at the ice cream stand won’t be forgotten when these people step into the voting booth. (They should have hit Hank’s in NB for the best custard ice cream, though.)

“There’s no pretense here. This really is just about getting some ice cream,” one Obama campaign staffer said.

Obama — ... — was a free spender at the ice cream shop.  read more »

An accurate depiction of the electorate here.

To roam the rural reaches of western Pennsylvania, through largely white working-class counties, is to understand the breadth of the challenge facing the two presidential candidates. But this economically ravaged region, once so solidly Democratic, poses a particular hurdle for Senator Obama.  read more »

Both sides in the fight over Allegheny County’s 10 percent drink tax submitted potential referendum questions to the county elections office last week, but whether both initiatives will make it onto the November ballot is not a certainty.

That is because the county’s administrative code gives both groups — restaurateurs and bar owners who want to reduce the drink tax and a group of attorneys and property owners who want to sustain it as is — equal chances to kill each other’s referendum proposal before it even gets to the ballot.

Grotevant is the best of candidates. He’s not well known but has the pedigree of having worked for both Bob Casey, Sr and Jr. The state Dems will have to spend for his campaign, but a few joint appearances with Sen Casey will go a long way toward helping Grotevant get elected. Regardless of whether the Dem parties in Beaver, Lawrence and Allegheny counties agree on a candidate, expect the state senate Dems to have the last word on approval.  read more »

Candidates will have 10 days after an election to remove campaign signs from street corners and other public property in Ross (Allegheny County).

If they fail to do so, they will lose the $100 they now are required to post under an ordinance approved earlier this month by township commissioners.

“Commissioners realized we had a problem,” zoning officer Dan Hankins said. “We get huge numbers of signs put up. Too many candidates who don’t win just leave their signs up.”

The new rules were passed at the commissioners’ July 14 meeting.

The new rules say candidates may not place more than two temporary signs at any location. Additional signs must be at least 600 feet away.  read more »

The city’s first casino would be delayed for years if state regulators were to revoke a license given to a Detroit businessman who has since run into financing troubles, city and county leaders said Tuesday.

The businessman, Don Barden, is seeking to transfer his slots license to a new group headed by Chicago billionaire Neil Bluhm. Barden would keep a minority stake in the project.

Some lawmakers last week asked the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to revoke Barden’s license rather than approve the ownership changes. The legislators also suggested the gaming board might rush its approval of the Bluhm-Barden deal to rescue the Pittsburgh casino project.

Seventeen Pittsburghers — including one city council member — have chosen to put the brakes on their personal car use for a month and rely on a car-sharing service, public transit or their own two legs to get around the city.

The group of men and women, most of whom looked to be in their 20s and 30s, relinquished their car keys yesterday as part of Zipcar’s 30-day Low-Car Diet challenge. They’ll get their keys back Aug. 15.

Among the participants is City Councilman Bill Peduto. About half of the 1,000 miles a month he puts on his MINI Cooper are work related, he said. He’s rearranged his work schedule and is coordinating personal trips with Zipcar availability, he said.  read more »

Labor talks between the Port Authority of Allegheny County and its 2,100-member drivers union came to a halt Monday.

Officials from both sides conceded they reached an impasse and are seeking help from the state Labor Relations Board, authority spokeswoman Judi McNeil said.

Buses and T cars will continue operating on normal schedules for now.

The contract for workers who belong to Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85, which also represents mechanics and some office staff, expired after 11:59 p.m. Monday. The employees will continue working under terms of the expired agreement.

As directed by the authority’s code, both sides sent letters to the state board, asking it to intervene.  read more »