When Bill DeWeese was House Democratic leader in 2002, he gave his Harrisburg aides $1,000 or $2,000 bonuses.

Six of the recipients contributed identical or nearly identical amounts to Mr. DeWeese's re-election and the House Democratic Campaign Committee that year or in 2003, records show.

Nine other recipients that year made lesser contributions to the two committees.

The bonuses and contributions came to light in the discovery phase of a criminal investigation into allegations that the House Democratic caucus used tax dollars to subsidize campaigns.

Two recipients of the 2002 bonuses told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that they did not recall being instructed or pressured to donate money to the campaign committees.

But the fact that 15 of the 16 bonus recipients also were contributors illustrates the close relationship between government service and political activity -- the sort of behavior that also figures in what is known as the Bonusgate investigation.

Pennsylvania's day of reckoning over its multibillion-dollar pension promises to government employees and teachers has been pushed back for the better part of the past decade.

But long-expected increases in costs are scheduled to kick in three years from now, and meeting those retirement obligations could cripple state government and school boards.

Depending on what happens in the stock market, taxpayers could soon find themselves stuck paying more than $5 billion in additional annual payments.

The figure is a moving target. But in a March presentation to a state House panel, the state's two large public-sector pension plans estimated that the $821 million a year they currently get in "employer contributions" - the vast majority of it from taxpayers - will need to grow to $5.7 billion a year by 2012.

Even more frightening is that those numbers involve assumptions that could be overly optimistic. For example, the state government pension system's numbers assume it will earn 8.5 percent this year, but its 2009 investments are currently about 6 percent in the red.

In Northampton County, all four judges elected in the past 10 years -- Beltrami, Edward Smith, Emil Giordano and Paula Roscioli -- have presided over at least one donor's case, court records and campaign reports show. In Lehigh County, Maria Dantos and J. Brian Johnson have as well.

The instances underscore how judicial rules basically leave it up judges to decide whether they should recuse themselves from a case. They also demonstrate how Pennsylvania's system of electing judges leaves the bench vulnerable to claims of one-sidedness or worse, even though the donations are legal.

A USA Today/Gallup poll found in February that nearly 90 percent of Americans believe the influence of campaign contributions on judges' rulings is a problem. Reform groups argue that the perception harms the court, an institution that is supposed to be an impartial arbiter.

''Think about yourself being in court and sitting and wondering whether your opponent or your opponent's attorney made a large contribution to a judge,'' said Lynn Marks, the executive director of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts.

In 2007, Dantos was a recently appointed Lehigh County judge and hoping to be elected to her own 10-year term on the bench. As a judge, she was presiding over a medical malpractice suit against Lehigh Valley Hospital. As a candidate, she was receiving $1,500 from the hospital's top official.

To some, it's apocalyptic.

It's Plan B - the backup, the safety net, the just-in-case proposal that Mayor Nutter is pushing in the likelihood that his Plan A for fixing Philadelphia's fiscal troubles gets shot down.

But Plan B calls for cuts so deep - 480 uniformed officer jobs would disappear - and a proposal so disdained - a permanent 6.1 percent hike in the city property tax atop larger temporary increases - that City Council so far hasn't even considered it.

Five weeks before Council's May 31 deadline for passing next year's budget, it is too difficult to forecast what tax increases and service cuts are in store for Philadelphians to close the five-year $1.4 billion gap.

Yet the worst-case scenario - $405 million worth of additional cuts in Plan B - cannot be dismissed entirely because of the considerable hurdles that Nutter faces in gaining support for his preferred strategy.

For one thing, there is deep Council resistance to Nutter's proposed temporary property-tax increase; the levy would rise 19 percent next year and 14.5 percent the year after.

Gov. Ed Rendell's administration received a cool reception from Republicans yesterday when he took the first step toward legalizing video poker in bars as a way to raise up to $550 million for college students in the state.

"We have an immediate need for tuition relief for college students," Kathleen Shaw, a deputy secretary of education, told a House panel during the initial public hearing on the legislation. "Incredible educational benefits would come to our state if the Tuition Relief Act is passed."

She said many families are racking up debt of $40,000 or more to meet the rising costs of college, and the state needs to help them.

But critics, such as Rep. Curt Schroder, R-Chester, attacked the proposal, which would put up to 70,000 video poker machines in 14,000 bars and clubs around the state that have state liquor licenses.

"Video poker is one of the most addictive forms of gambling," he said. "It will be destructive of our neighborhoods by turning thousands of bars and restaurants into mini-casinos."

Stephen Drachler, executive director of A United Methodist Witness, also was critical, saying video poker "is the crack cocaine of gambling. It is a bad bet for Pennsylvania."

With an already robust war chest at his disposal, U.S. Rep. Joseph Sestak, D-7, of Edgmont, brought in another $567,319 in the first quarter of 2009, putting his cash-on-hand by mid-April up to more than $3.3 million, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

The April 15 filing caused all manner of chatter on political blogs over the weekend that the former three-star vice admiral is gearing up for a U.S. Senate run in 2010.

If that's the case, Sestak isn't giving anything away.

"I am the 7th District representative, and that is the focus of my attention," he said in a statement Monday. "Beyond that, I have made no decision about my future."

That's a little less firm than previous statements outright denying any higher aspirations, but still not exactly an announcement of candidacy.

If he does run and successfully navigates the Democratic primary, Sestak would either be looking to take on five-term incumbent Arlen Specter, R-Pa., or whoever can knock Specter out in the Republican primary.

At this point, Specter's most serious challenger is conservative former congressman Pat Toomey, who gave Specter a run for his money in the 2004 primary -- and very nearly won.

The only Democrat to have formally announced a Senate candidacy is Joe Torsella, who also raised just about $600,000 in the first three months of the year. Democratic state Reps. Josh Shapiro, Allyson Schwartz and U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy are also reportedly considering a run, but haven't made any announcements.

Mary DiGiacomo Colins, the chairwoman of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board since 2007, is expected to step down from the agency within the next two months, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The governor is expected to replace Colins, 60, who is in line for an appointment as a senior judge within the Pennsylvania court system, with his chief of staff, Greg Fajt.

The move means the gaming board, which oversees the licensing and operation of slot machines in the state, would get its third leader since it was created 41/2 years ago, while also triggering changes at the top echelon of Gov. Rendell's senior staff.

Colins declined several requests for an interview. Through a gaming board spokesman, she released this comment yesterday: "There is still a significant amount of work to be done by this board and I continue to serve at the pleasure of the governor."

Pittsburgh officials begged the state yesterday for stricter gun rules, but instead they saw the political firepower of gun owners aimed at them.

In the wake of the April 4 killings of three police officers in Stanton Heights, City Council unanimously passed a resolution asking the General Assembly to allow municipalities to pass their own gun laws and to join the city in requiring that owners report loss or theft of guns.

Not so fast, said state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Cranberry, who offered a different idea: legislation to make municipalities pay groups that successfully challenge local gun ordinances in court.

He said his bill is meant to "financially deter and/or punish" municipalities that "blatantly violate" state law. The state code doesn't let localities "regulate the lawful ownership, possession, transfer or transportation of firearms."

"This is ludicrous," said city Councilman Bruce Kraus, when informed of Mr. Metcalfe's effort.

"This is just an attempt to bully municipalities into submission."

Last week, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl joined Gov. Ed Rendell in urging Congress to reinstate a lapsed ban on assault weapons and asked the General Assembly to pass a lost-and-stolen gun reporting law and allow local firearms regulation -- just what council sought yesterday.

Taking his campaign for stronger gun-control measures to the national stage, Gov. Rendell squared off with a top National Rifle Association official on national television yesterday over the federal ban on assault weapons.

On CBS's Face the Nation, Rendell said there was no "rational reason" to allow the sale of assault weapons. "They are used for only one reason . . . to kill and maim people," he said.

Rendell, who has fought for years in the state legislature for tougher gun control, revived his efforts after the slayings this month of three Pittsburgh police officers who were killed by a man using an AK-47 assault rifle.

At least one of the officers would still be alive, Rendell contended, if the shooter had not had a semiautomatic weapon.

Countering Rendell, Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the NRA, called the assault-weapons ban "a totally phony issue" and called for stronger enforcement of existing laws.

For two years, House Republicans, including Rep. Ron Marsico of Dauphin County, have been insisting on changes in the 2004 law that authorizes 14 slots casinos in Pennsylvania.

Now they're getting help from Mr. Marsico's cousin, Dauphin County District Attorney Edward Marsico, who wrote to Gov. Ed Rendell and legislative leaders last week urging them to correct what he sees as weaknesses in the law.

Both Marsicos want the Legislature to revise the way that the financial and criminal backgrounds of casino license applicants are investigated. Such investigatory power should be removed from the Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement, an arm of the state Gaming Control Board, they said, and given to "a real law enforcement agency," either the state police or the attorney general.

Doing so, they said, would allow state investigators to have full access to a casino applicant's criminal history, data that gaming board officials aren't allowed to see. This inability to see such data, said Ron Marsico, "has cast a cloud of Pennsylvania's fledgling gaming industry."

Last week, Edward Marsico dropped perjury charges that he'd filed against Poconos casino owner Louis DeNaples over a year ago. One reason, he said, was the "linguistically imprecise" way that state gaming officials asked Mr. DeNaples questions. The district attorney said that the poor questioning would have made it hard to secure a perjury conviction.

Last year, a Lehigh County constable turned in expense reports for 76,000 miles of travel in one year. The constable averaged, he claimed, 208 miles in his car every day.

In Northampton County, a constable billed for 1,800 travel miles in one day -- an average of 75 miles an hour for each of the day's 24 hours.

Constables' mileage -- billed at 48.5 cents a mile in both counties in 2007, when both bills were submitted -- are usually paid by defendants but often fall to county taxpayers when defendants can't cover them.

The alleged overbilling here and a number of other billing and conduct problems across Pennsylvania highlight what state and county officials say is an ongoing problem with the county constable system: lack of oversight.

Now State Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald Castille has teamed with a state legislator from Berks County and they are poised to introduce the first set of reforms to a system they have called outdated and unwieldy.

''We would like to bring some organizational structure and professional control over their activities to make them more efficient and less costly,'' said Castille, who is working to institute one set of standards for all constables statewide.

The reviled but rampant ritual of gabbing on handheld cell phones while driving, skating, or cycling is about to become illegal in Philadelphia, as Mayor Nutter is expected to sign a bill in the next few days that will make the city's ban perhaps the most far-reaching in any large urban area. But will it make life safer and saner for everyone on Philadelphia's streets?

"This is a realistic, enforceable bill that will save lives," City Councilman William K. Greenlee said before the 17-0 Council vote yesterday. Handheld use, including texting, is also outlawed for skateboarders, bicyclists, in-line skaters and scooter riders - making this likely the most inclusive law in the country. Greenlee and Councilmen Bill Green and Frank Rizzo were behind the measure. Enforcement would begin immediately.

The new ordinance fines first-time offenders $150; a second offense draws a $300 fine.

The Philadelphia law includes exceptions for calling 911 or reporting a traffic accident or an unsafe driver. Police and other workers can talk into a handheld device in connection with work, and anyone can use a handheld if parked off the street.

Critics say handheld cell phones are not the problem - it's drivers distracted by cell-phone conversations who cause many accidents.

Squash is Sen. Arlen Specter's usual game, but he demonstrated yesterday that he's intent on turning his re-election fight into a Texas cage match.

A day after Pat Toomey officially announced his second bid to capture the Republican nomination for Mr. Specter's seat, the incumbent sharply attacked his challenger, continuing the assault he began weeks before the former congressman entered the race.

During a meeting with Post-Gazette editors, the five-term veteran characterized his challenger as a guaranteed general election loser who was responsible for ills ranging from the loss of Republican control of the Senate to the current economic crisis.

"I've been listening to him for five years," Mr. Specter said of the candidate who fell just short of ousting him in the 2004 primary. "He's sore as hell. ... I'm firing back."

Mr. Specter acknowledged that his bid for a record sixth term would be a severe test, and he said his chief tactical priority would be to define Mr. Toomey to Pennsylvania's voters. To that end, he said that Mr. Toomey was virtually unelectable, noting that his voting record, according to the scorecard of the American Conservative Union, was to the right of former Sen. Rick Santorum, who lost in a landslide in 2006.

Even the governor's support might mean little in an effort to strengthen gun-control laws in Pennsylvania, legislators said Tuesday.

Gov. Ed Rendell plans to urge state and federal legislators today to take action on gun control in response to the fatal shootings earlier this month of three Pittsburgh police officers, he said during a visit Downtown. He declined to give specifics until today.

"Our police all over the state, not just in Philadelphia anymore, are simply outgunned," Rendell said while announcing state grants at the Allegheny County Courthouse. "The amount of firepower that the deranged person in Pittsburgh had was stunning. If the AK-47 hadn't jammed, we might have had a lot more dead than just the three officers."

However, even powerful Democratic supporters of gun control in Harrisburg said there likely aren't enough votes to pass any measures. The governor's specifics will be delivered just days after a leading national advocate, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, said she plans to wait before pushing federal legislation.

From our friend John Micek:

Rep. Daryl Metcalfe may have just cemented his rep as the Legislature's most conservative member.

Appearing in the pages of the Tribune-Review this morning, the Butler County Republican says he's no fan of legislation that would ban workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender orientation.

"I think it's a direct attack on family values by people who just want to force their sinful choices on the rest of us," Metcalfe told the newspaper.

More worryingly, Metcalfe appeared to suggest that a social group often picked out for discrimination, or, worse, violent attacks, wasn't entitled to any greater protection under the law than the rest of us.

"I think for somebody to choose the lifestyle of a homosexual, that's their choice," he said. "This shouldn't be considered a civil right. These individuals want special rights."

It now appears that Metcalfe and other conservatives are looking to weigh down the bill sponsored by Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, so that it collapses under its own weight, the Trib' reported.

We're not encouraging our readers to call Rep. Metcalfe to register their displeasure. But if they were to do something like that, they could most likely reach his district office on (724) 772-3110, or in Harrisburg at (717) 783-1707.

Dauphin County District Attorney Edward M. Marsico Jr. is expected to announce the withdrawal of charges today against millionaire casino owner Louis DeNaples and a priest, a source close to the investigation said Monday night.

The source said Marsico decided, after reviewing new information in the case, that withdrawal of perjury charges against DeNaples and the Rev. Joseph Sica was warranted

Marsico would not confirm the information Monday night. He did say he expected to announce an important development soon.

DeNaples was accused of lying to the state gaming board about ties to organized crime when he sought to get a $50 million slots gambling license for the Mount Airy Casino Resort in the Poconos.

Sica was charged with perjury in connection to his testimony before the Dauphin County grand jury investigating DeNaples.

The source said the new information provided to the prosecution "changed the complexion of the case, and it was determined that the interests of justice dictated the withdrawal of the pending charges against both of the accused."

In addition to politics and food, Gov. Ed Rendell has a third burning passion: Sports.

The Patriot News reports that Gov. Rendell is interested in becoming a sports commissioner.

Maybe you've heard Rendell breaking down the Philadelphia Eagles' offense or questioning coach Andy Reid's fourth-down decision-making as a regular on the "Eagles Post Game Live" show on Comcast.

Or maybe you saw Rendell at the Philadelphia Phillies' opening game Sunday. He likes to hang out at Citizens Bank Park with his friend and fellow Penn alum, Dave Montgomery, who happens to own the Phillies.

But when it comes to what the 45th governor of Pennsylvania wants to do after he's out of office in 2010, here's something maybe you haven't heard.

Rendell wants to be the next National Football League commissioner or commissioner of baseball.

So much for that wild rumor that Rendell might run for the U.S. Senate. And so much for the governor's proclamations about becoming a beach bum.

Pennsylvania has become "a supply state" to school districts across the nation in desperate need of teachers. Thousands of graduates from Pennsylvania's 95 teaching colleges and universities every year must leave the state to find their first job. In fact, fewer than half of the state's 15,000 new teachers will find in-state jobs.

"Kids who want to go teach in their home district aren't being realistic. You have to spread your wings a little bit," said Jay Hertzog, dean of the College of Education at Slippery Rock University.

Salary and benefits are a big attraction for Pennsylvania teachers. They are reasons teachers tend to stay here, often working for 30 years or more before retiring.

The average teacher salary in Pennsylvania is about $54,000; Virginia's average teacher salary, for instance, is about $43,000, according to teacherportal.com, a Web site that tracks teacher salaries.

"It is a tough market in Pennsylvania. The market is just saturated," said Donna Skundrich, human resources manager for the Shaler Area School District.

Almost 124,000 teachers were employed in the state's 3,287 schools in the 2006-2007 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, a division of the U.S. Department of Education.

Teaching positions in Pennsylvania are expected to open up as more baby boomers retire, but for now, "We're kind of full up," Hertzog said.

The future shape of gaming in Philadelphia will get a public review today as the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) hears status reports from the city's two casino license-holders.

Meeting this morning in Harrisburg, the seven-member board will ask the casinos how they plan to move forward. Both projects have missed deadlines to be operational by now.

A busload of anti-casino residents plans to attend the board meeting.

"This is a critical issue facing all Philadelphians," Ellen Somekawa, executive director of Asian Americans United, said in a statement. "We're going to Harrisburg to make sure the PGCB and casino operators know that they are not in charge of our city. We won't let this issue go."

At a City Hall press conference Monday, the developers of SugarHouse unveiled plans for a scaled-down project on a 22-acre site on the Delaware River between Fishtown and Northern Liberties.

After opposing casinos on the waterfront, Mayor Nutter now gives SugarHouse his full support, arguing the city needs the jobs and revenue from casinos.

The killing of three Pittsburgh police officers will renew gun control efforts in the Pennsylvania Legislature, but the outlook for enacting laws remains doubtful because the National Rifle Association has "a stranglehold" over lawmakers, a key House member said Tuesday.

"You know how this place is," said House Judiciary Chairman Thomas Caltagirone, D-Reading. "The Western Pennsylvania Democrats, let alone the Western Pennsylvania Republicans -- you can't budge them" on gun issues, he said.

Despite a Democratic-controlled Congress and an administration that favors reinstating an assault weapons ban, there is little movement to enact tougher gun laws in Washington, said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Helmke blamed the NRA for "fear mongering" that leads people to believe the government is coming for their guns, as friends said Richard Poplawski feared. Police said Poplawski killed two of the officers with a shotgun and used an AK-47 to exchange gunfire with SWAT team members and other officers.

A state lawsuit that former Senate powerbroker Vincent Fumo used for his personal benefit.

A federal jury last month convicted Fumo of 137 counts for defrauding the Citizens Alliance for Better Neighborhoods, the Senate and a seaport museum of $3.5 million.

Attorney General Tom Corbett filed documents Tuesday demanding the shutdown and a complete accounting of the nonprofit founded by Fumo and run by his former aide and co-defendant, Ruth Arnao. She was convicted of 45 counts.

Corbett said the lawsuit alleges that Fumo and Arnao diverted approximately $1.9 million of Citizens Alliance's money for personal use and political advantage. The nonprofit received state taxpayer-funded grants and private donations to fund its activities.

House Republicans on Monday proposed a package of ethical reforms for state government including limits on staff campaigning and use of nonprofit organizations by public officials -- activities that figured into high-profile criminal prosecutions of Democrats in the Legislature.

"The status-quo mindset, the corruption and the general lack of good judgment must end," said House Minority Leader Sam Smith of Punxsutawney. "Everything government does is suspect anymore, so cleaning up the mess must be our first step."

Some of the GOP proposals have merit but some are redundant, said Brett Marcy, a spokesman for House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Wilkes-Barre. He said the House adopted a rule in 2007 preventing lawmakers' involvement in nonprofits.

"We welcome Republicans to the fold of reform," Marcy said. "We've been a backer of reform efforts over the past two years. Certainly, accountability and transparency are something we should all strive for."

Since the Bonusgate corruption probe was launched two years ago, Rep. Bill DeWeese has adamantly and repeatedly denied knowing that taxpayer money secretly had been used to underwrite political campaigns.

But records turned over to defendants in the case by Attorney General Tom Corbett appear to paint a different picture of the onetime House Democratic leader, who has not been charged in the ongoing investigation.

Documents show that in 2006, facing a stiff challenge in an election that DeWeese nearly lost, his campaign tapped a state-paid computer consultant - a key figure in the Bonusgate probe - to perform a long list of political tasks.

Among other duties, that consultant crafted fund-raising invitations and sent out blast e-mails to constituents in DeWeese's district in the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania.

The documents, provided to The Inquirer by a defendant, also indicate that the Greene County Democrat exchanged campaign-related messages with his legislative staffers on state e-mail accounts.

"I love it," DeWeese responded in September 2006 to a legislative aide of his who had just drafted a letter for a constituent to send to the local newspaper supporting the representative's campaign.

"Great work," DeWeese wrote with 44 exclamation points when told by campaign operatives in April that party canvassers had knocked on nearly 600 doors.

After almost a generation of serial snorefests, this year's Bucks County judicial election

"A backroom deal cut by the party bosses," declared First Assistant District Attorney David Zellis, a snubbed Republican candidate.

Bipartisan endorsements, though informative, are not akin to merit selection, said Shira Goodman, associate director of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, which advocates an appointed judiciary. "It doesn't remove problems such as having to raise money from lawyers who come before the judges," she said.

The Green Party of Pennsylvania has called for the resignation of John Hanger, acting secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection, citing his statement that the value of the natural gas in the deep Marcellus shale formation outweighs the environmental damage the drilling may cause.

Mr. Hanger, in a story on the Reuters wire last week, said the drilling into the 5,000- to 8,000-foot-deep shale formation that underlies much of the state will "inevitably" result in environmental damage, including possible contamination of water supplies.

Tim Reim, Erie County Green Party chairman, said in a Thursday release that Mr. Hanger's "willingness to sacrifice the rights of some Pennsylvanians to clean water from their own wells ... so the natural gas industry can profit privately" contradicts the DEP's mission.

It was a rough week for Mr. Hanger, who was criticized by conservative Republican lawmakers at a Pennsylvania Senate confirmation hearing in Harrisburg Wednesday.

Mr. Hanger, a former executive director of Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future, a more mainstream statewide environmental group, said it was a "typical week." He said he has no plans to resign and rejected Mr. Reim's and the Green Party's positions as inaccurate and extreme.

Thousands of unionized state workers can breathe a little easier because Gov. Ed Rendell has decided not to use "rolling furloughs" as a way to ease the state's budget deficit.

At least not for the next 15 months.

For the last several weeks he has been negotiating with three state employee unions about whether to require their workers to take unpaid leaves or furloughs -- two days per month, up to a total of 29 days -- to help the state save $90 million on labor costs. It was part of his plan to deal with a projected $2.3 billion deficit by the end of June.

But Mr. Rendell yesterday unveiled a tentative agreement with union leaders on another option for saving more than twice as much money by temporarily reducing the state's contributions to an employee health benefit fund.

Mr. Rendell said the state would save $200 million over the next 15 months by reducing the contributions, which he said won't affect employees' health care benefits. He said the fund now has $248 million in reserves and will remain "fiscally sound" even with the proposed 20 percent reduction in state contributions.

More than a year before the first primary ballot will be cast, Sen. Arlen Specter is running television ads depicting a likely Republican opponent, Pat Toomey, as a Wall Street insider bent on consigning Social Security to the whims of the stock market.

Christopher Nicholas, Mr. Specter's campaign manager, said the sharply negative ad is airing on cable television across the state, with a total buy of roughly $100,000.

Mr. Toomey, a former congressman, protested that the ad is factually inaccurate, adding, "This is a desperate and silly attempt by Sen. Specter to change the subject away from his support for Wall Street bailouts and massive new spending and debt in Washington."

The early assault on Mr. Toomey comes after a tumultuous legislative span for the veteran Republican. Mr. Specter stirred long-festering conservative resentment when he was one of only three Republicans who voted for the Obama administration's stimulus package earlier this year. Then, in March, he announced his opposition to a high-profile proposal designed to make it easier for labor unions to organize new workplaces.

In the wake of a funding scandal centered on a Beaver County nonprofit group, state Sen. Jane Orie is demanding that a state economic development agency reform its procedures for monitoring the use of state funds.

And two other Republican senators, including freshman Elder Vogel of Beaver County, want to prevent any senators from creating, controlling or influencing nonprofit community groups that get state money.

In recent years, two Democratic senators, who have now left the Legislature, had roles with such nonprofit development groups -- Sen. Vincent Fumo with a South Philadelphia group and Sen. Gerald LaValle as co-chairman of the Beaver Initiative for Growth, the one Ms. Orie is targeting.

The McCandless Republican is highly critical of the Department of Community and Economic Development for not doing enough to ensure that the $10 million in state grants given to the Beaver Initiative were audited and spent properly.

Based on a grand jury's recommendation, Attorney General Tom Corbett last week filed 28 corruption charges against former House Democratic Whip Mike Veon of Beaver, the founder of the Beaver Initiative, who is accused of doling out the state money for his personal and political benefit.

Casino owners seeking to bolster their case that Pennsylvania should expand gambling are citing another poll that shows most people support legalizing table games.

The Susquehanna Polling & Research survey found 60 percent of people think table games should be legal, while 35 percent do not. This follows a Franklin & Marshall College survey last week showing similar levels of support. The Susquehanna poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

Armed with these numbers and the threat of Ohio legalizing slot machines, casino owners say they will press state leaders to OK games such as poker, blackjack and craps. Ohio voters could decide in November whether to legalize slots, although that state rejected similar ballot measures last year and in 2006.

"It's our intention to continually make the case that table games make sense for Pennsylvania on so many levels," said David La Torre, spokesman for The Meadows Racetrack & Casino in North Strabane. "Competition in Ohio and West Virginia play a very important part in our efforts to advocate for table games."

Gov. Ed Rendell on Tuesday chose a retired manufacturing executive who chaired the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia to oversee how Pennsylvania spends $10 billion in federal economic stimulus money.

Ronald Naples, 63, the retired CEO of Quaker Chemical Co. in Conshohocken, will be paid $120,000 as chief accountability officer to ensure the money is spent wisely and that people can see how it is spent. The money will be distributed among state and local agencies.

Naples will chair the Governor's Working Group for Stimulus Accountability and be a member of the Pennsylvania Stimulus Oversight Commission, composed of lawmakers, congressional appointees, businesspeople and labor representatives. State Rep. Brian Ellis, a Butler Republican, is among lawmakers on the commission.

Leaders of the Philadelphia Newspaper Guild say that they're outraged that top executives of the Inquirer and Daily News received significant year-end bonuses, three months after convincing hundreds of union members to give up a $25-a-week raise.

"At the time that we voted to postpone our raise, we thought it was the right thing to do," the Guild's administrative officer, Bill Ross, said yesterday. "Looking back, we have egg on our face."

Other union leaders said they had no problem with the bonuses.

Philadelphia magazine's Web site reported over the weekend that chief executive Brian P. Tierney received a $350,000 bonus, while Daily News publisher Mark Frisby and vice president of finance Richard Thayer received $150,000 each. Smaller amounts went to other managers.

Jay Devine, a spokesman for the newspaper company, declined yesterday to discuss compensation for any employees. But some details are likely to emerge next week, when the company is due to file a compensation report as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in federal court.