Gov. Ed Rendell called for an investigation of a Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board contract awarded to a top PLCB manager's husband, even as more details surfaced questioning the contract bidding process, including suspicions from competing firms that the award was "fishy" and seemed like an inside job.

The PLCB recently awarded a $173,000 contract to Solutions 21, a West End consulting firm whose president is married to a state store system regional manager. PLCB officials said the process was legitimate, but it led to calls from state legislators for an explanation, and Mr. Rendell yesterday agreed.

Arguing that Pennsylvania families "need help now" to weather the recession, Gov. Rendell yesterday said he would redirect millions of dollars for health insurance, mortgage assistance, home-heating assistance, and job-counseling programs.

Calling it "emergency economic relief," the governor said he would immediately offer coverage to an additional 16,000 people now on a waiting list for the state-subsidized health-insurance program for lower-income adults. More than 200,000 residents are on the adultBasic waiting list now - 25,000 of them added just last month.

Rendell said he also would move $5 million into an existing fund that helps recently unemployed residents pay their mortgage while looking for jobs. The money will help an additional 550 families, the governor said.

The governor said he was taking the actions by executive order after job losses continued to mount, adding that the rate in some counties had reached double digits. Pennsylvania's unemployment rate is 7 percent.

When it comes to teaching its employees good manners, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is keeping it all in the family.

The PLCB recently awarded a $173,000 contract to Solutions 21, a West End consulting firm whose president is married to the PLCB's Western Pennsylvania regional manager. The contract prompted demands for an explanation from two state senators despite assurances from an PLCB spokesman that the bidding process was entirely above board.

Buddy Hobart, president of Solutions 21, which is located at 152 Wabash Ave. in the city's West End neighborhood, is married to Susanne Hobart, the Western Pennsylvania regional manager for the state store system, the PLCB spokesman confirmed after the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette received an anonymous tip about the relationship.

Neither Mr. Hobart nor Mrs. Hobart returned calls for comment, but Mrs. Hobart "had no role in the procurement process," said Nick Hayes, a spokesman for the PLCB.