This is an interesting policy question for discussion. It pits law and order crowd against the no tax crowd, which is often one and the same.

Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering whether to impose a $100-per-resident tax on large municipalities that do not have their own police forces and instead rely entirely on state troopers.

A state House bill would impose the fee only on municipalities with at least 10,000 people. Under current census figures, it would produce more than $31 million annually from 21 townships in 12 counties.  read more »

Sens. Barack Obama and Joseph R. Biden Jr. drove headlong into a post-nomination bus tour yesterday, working to distract voters from John McCain’s headline-grabbing selection of running mate and that most formidable of public policy issues in Western Pennsylvania: Friday night high school football.  read more »

If Washington allows I-80 to be turned into a toll road, most short-distance drivers on the heavily traveled interstate wouldn’t pay any fees at all under a plan presented yesterday by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.

By stretching out collection stations and giving local drivers incentives to use E-ZPass, seven out of 10 cars, pickup trucks, SUVs and school buses would be spared tolls.  read more »

The chief justice of Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court is pouring cold water on the idea of a four-day week for the state’s courts.

In response to what he says was an informal request to allow one county’s courthouse to operate on a four-day week, Pennsylvania Supreme Court chief justice Ron Castille (in file photo above) has informed all county president judges that they are to maintain five day weeks with their regular hours.

Likewise, spokesman Chuck Ardo says Governor Rendell isn’t jumping on the four-day week bandwagon, either:  read more »

Months before the federal government could approve even a plan to make I-80 a toll road, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission says it knows how it would spend part of the money.

Within a decade, the commission says, it would resurface more than 200 miles of I-80 across northern Pennsylvania – most of which has not been fixed in 30 years.

Additionally, it would replace 62 bridges along I-80 that officials believe are in poor condition or are too low, according to a list of projects unveiled by the commission yesterday.

“We’re just getting started,” Barry J. Schoch, a commission consultant, said yesterday at a news conference.  read more »

Saying saving lives is more important than saving money, state Auditor General Jack Wagner on Wednesday urged the state to reverse its January decision to remove lifeguards from all but one of its 37 state parks with lake beaches.

The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which eliminated lifeguards in 22 state parks from 1999 to 2007, announced it would remove them at 15 more parks this summer, including Beltzville in Carbon County and Tuscarora in Schuylkill County.

The additional cuts would save $800,000, Conservation and Natural Resources said.

Presque Isle State Park on Lake Erie, which has strong currents, would be the only one to keep lifeguards.  read more »

From the DoS website, here are the winners in the contested races for US House and State Senate. The results for the State House are here, but of note is that Don Costa (D), D21, may or may not have won this seat. The vote looks too close to call and I expect a recount.

US Rep:

PA-03 – Kathy Dahlkemper (D)
PA-05 – Mark McCraken (D) – Glenn Thompson®
PA10 – Chris Hackett®
PA-18 – Steve O’Donnell (D)

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State Senate PA-1 Larry Farnese (D)
PA-13 Lloyd Smucker®
PA-15 Judy Hirsh (D)
PA-17 Lance Rogers®
PA-23 Gene Yaw®
PA-33 Richard Alloway II®
PA-39 Bompiani (D)  read more »

First, my own comments. Whatever one thinks of HRC, it’s to her credit that she, as her husband did last year, is able to walk into the lion’s den and begin to turn the opinion of a man who has done more to harrass the Clintons and all stripe of Democrat, liberal and progressive and who is the founder of rw think tanks and yappers which have blocked progressive policies for years.
Before bashing HRC, think about it. If we want more civility in politics, it’s imperative to co-opt people like Scaife. We will see if Barack Obama takes Scaife’s invitation to meet with the Trib editorial board and builds on what HRC started.  read more »