With President-elect Barack Obama mulling a proposed economic stimulus package in the hundreds of billions of dollars, the area’s representatives in Congress are weighing in with ideas of what the package should include.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski each wrote letters to the leaders of their houses outlining their ideas.

The new House and Senate convene Tuesday, and Mr. Obama is scheduled to take the oath of office Jan. 20.

“What I hope will happen is we’ll be able to reach some consensus and maybe have legislation ready for him when he gets there,” Mr. Casey said. “That’s probably ambitious, but we can certainly get a good bit of work done prior to his swearing in.”  read more »

Pennsylvania Chief Supreme Court Justice Ronald Castille said he wants to impose standards after a number of constables have been charged with crimes ranging from homicide to sexual assault to theft during the past decade.

Mamaux’s civil suit over his shooting is pending, and several constables in the region face lawsuits or criminal charges for incidents related to their duties:

• In November, Fayette County constable Albert Troyan was arrested by state police in Uniontown after he fired five shots at an occupied car while trying to serve warrants for unpaid traffic violations. He faces trial on charges of reckless endangerment and firing a weapon into a structure.  read more »

Starting Sunday, it costs more to drive on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

The 25 percent higher fares aren’t just being used to maintain the road. For the first time, they will support other state roads and mass transit systems.

The question Pennsylvania commuters and businesses are asking: Will I go along for the ride? Many people who use the turnpike are already doing the math, factoring in whether the convenience is worth the fare.

Turnpike officials do not expect any significant, prolonged drop-off in business. That’s in part based on their experience in 2004. While there was a short-lived downturn in passenger car volume after that 42 percent fare hike it was more than offset by continued increases in commercial vehicle traffic, said turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo.  read more »

Mayor Nutter stood at the center of a hot and cramped room at the Kingsessing Recreation Center three weeks ago, repeatedly interrupted by hissing, booing and foot-stomping as he pleaded his case.

“This is the last thing I want to be doing,” Nutter told the crowd of his decision to close 11 city libraries, seven fire companies, and 68 swimming pools.

Few seemed to hear him.

“Shame on you, Nutter!” one woman shouted. Another called out: “We voted you in – OK, we can vote you out!”

So much for the carefree, feel-good days of last January, when thousands of Philadelphians waited hours in a line that wrapped around City Hall to shake their new mayor’s hand.  read more »

Christopher B. Craig, one of former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo’s most loyal aides and widely considered among the best legal minds in the Capitol, has resigned from the Senate staff after 16 years.

Craig, who is credited with writing the landmark 2004 law that legalized slot machines in Pennsylvania, said yesterday that he resigned from his $158,300-a-year post as a top lawyer for Senate Democrats to explore other job opportunities.

But several sources familiar with the matter said Craig resigned after learning that he would not continue as chief counsel to Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee and would be reassigned to a lower legal post.  read more »

The Harrisburg area lost more jobs last month than any other in the past 18 years, dropping 1 percent from a year ago and outpacing the 0.7 percent decline in the state.

The region’s unemployment rate jumped from 5 percent in October to 5.3 percent in November. A year ago, the region’s unemployment rate stood at 3.6 percent.

The region’s jobs totaled 330,300 in November, down by 2,000 in the prior month and down by 3,300 from a year ago. The October-to-November decline was the largest on record, dating to 1990.  read more »

From City homicides down 15 percent in a challenging and sad year :: Philadelphia Daily News :: 12/31/2008:

SIXTY MORE people kept their lives in Philadelphia this year than last – 60 fewer families left grieving, 60 fewer bodies to be buried and 60 fewer homicides to solve.

But for Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, the 15 percent homicide reduction – the steepest decline in a decade – down from 392 in 2007 to 332 this year, isn’t enough.

“We’re not satisfied,” he said. “We’ll never be satisfied.”  read more »

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City of Death: Philadelphia Murder Rate Highest in Nearly 20 Years

It was a dubious distinction that may have done more than any other factor to produce a new Right-to-Know Law: Pennsylvania’s long-standing reputation as one of the worst states when it comes to letting people know what their government is doing.

The quality of public access does not lend itself to a comprehensive state-by-state analysis, but there is broad consensus that Pennsylvania’s new law, which takes effect next month, represents a major step forward.

Evaluating a state’s access can involve an array of factors, including a state’s laws, court rulings, government culture and real-life experiences.  read more »