Hard coal built this area of eastern Pennsylvania into an economic powerhouse in the 1800s and early 1900s, and helped fuel the nation’s industrial revolution. Even today, it’s hard to find a native who doesn’t have roots underground.

So it was with no small dose of irony that Schuylkill County leaders recently offered a proposal that would have seemed unthinkable when coal was still king: converting the county courthouse and prison from homegrown anthracite to — gasp — natural gas heat.

The county commissioners say they’re trying to save money, a familiar refrain of local governments looking to trim costs amid the nation’s economic downturn.  read more »

Here's your 50 State Blog Roundup for the week of December 21, 2007:  read more »

Philadelphia City Paper did a nice job covering PA’s shindig in NY last weekend:

It was the usual political overdose — from eating, drinking and running around to make all the parties — during last weekend’s 109th annual Pennsylvania Society confab, held at the Waldorf-Astoria in midtown Manhattan.

Despite the Pennsylvania moniker, the Society, which was founded by a consortium of journalists, politicians, businessmen and wealthy magnates, met in New York City because founding member Andrew Carnegie built the Waldorf. Back then, he convinced members to convene there, and the tradition has continued ever since.
Continue reading the highlights from Philadelphia City Paper’s report

It’s times like these that make me appreciative of sharing good news. Hopefully this can make a difference in our Commonwealth’s 4th largest city.

Mike Batchelor invited the heads of 46 charities into his downtown office for one-on-one meetings to personally deliver the news.

Nearby, on a small table, sat a box of tissues. And then he proceeded: A donor had given a staggering $100 million to the Erie Community Foundation, and the charities would get to share the windfall.

That’s when the tears came — and the mystery began — in this old industrial city of 102,000 on Lake Erie. The donor would be identified only as ‘‘Anonymous Friend.’‘  read more »

A county that is rarely in the news gets the star treatment from the Old Grey Lady. Kudos to Potter County.

GLIMMERING like a sequined showgirl and hovering in the Western sky near the setting sun, Venus appeared first, the warm-up act for what would become a cavalcade of, literally, thousands of real stars. Within an hour after sunset that June evening, Jupiter took a bow, then Saturn. Slowly, almost magically, constellations began to glint through the inky darkness.  read more »

whoops

Addison Township (Bedford County) supervisors were burning trash when they accidentally burned down the municipal building and destroyed a brand new truck.

The supervisors left the trash fire unattended and “it caught some material behind the building on fire,” said Bill Barlow, chief of the Addison Volunteer Fire Co.

No one was injured in Tuesday’s fire, about 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, not far from the Maryland border.

As part of a campaign, keep in mind that there are three resources in a political campaign: time, money, and people. In addition to the resources available to campaigns, there are stages of a campaign. Campaigns first identify voters, then persuade the undecided voters, and finally get supporters out to vote on Election Day. While executing the identification, persuasion, or get out the vote phases of a campaign always consider the three resources.