False Story — Rendell named vice-presidential nominee

I was tricked into writing this story by the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents’ Association in the Harrisburg, Pa. state capital newsroom on Aug. 15, 2008. This article is not true. All those interviewed were in on the joke.

Sen. Barack Obama embraces Philadelphia City Councilman Bob Brady and is applauded by Gov. Ed Rendell before speaking during a Democratic Unity Rally at Temple Universitys McGonigle Hall October 21, 2006 in Philadelphia. (Photo by William Thomas Cain/Getty Images)
Sen. Barack Obama embraces Philadelphia City Councilman Bob Brady and is applauded by Gov. Ed Rendell before speaking during a Democratic Unity Rally at Temple University's McGonigle Hall October 21, 2006 in Philadelphia. (Photo by William Thomas Cain/Getty Images)

By Christopher Wink | Harrisburg Patriot-News | Aug. 15, 2008

Gov. Ed Rendell will be named Sen. Barack Obama’s vice presidential running mate, a high-ranking source in the administration told the Patriot-News.

“Next Monday could be a very exciting day for Pennsylvania,” said Mary Isenhour, the commonwealth’s Democratic Party executive director. She wouldn’t corroborate the offer or Rendell’s acceptance of the position, but confirmed the governor was meeting with high-level Democrats in Washington D.C. Friday.

Continue reading False Story — Rendell named vice-presidential nominee

Patriot-News: Brief on Comcast and Big Ten Network partnership

Blurb for tomorrow’s Patriot-News:

JUST THE FACTS Penn State fans who happen to be Comcast subscribers are now able to view the Big Ten Network on basic cable, which means no additional charge on your cable bill. BTN will broadcast the first game of Penn State’s football season on Aug. 30, when the Nittany Lions host Coastal Carolina. BTN will also air the Sept. 20 matchup with Temple and a conference game yet to be determined. The network’s Big Ten Tonight show will air a Penn State football practice at 9 p.m. Thursday, and Big Ten Tonight will preview Penn State’s season at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 25… More.

Patriot News: Breaking news on Howard Dean Harrisburg appearance

Quick Web item for Patriot-News on an appearance in Harrisburg by Howard Dean:

Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said Pennsylvania is a “must win” today after a speech in Harrisburg.

The half-hour address to 200 people – most of whom were students at SciTech High where the speech was held – focused on the importance of voting. He also labeled Democratic nominee Barack Obama the “candidate of change” and called Republican candidate John McCain a “continuation of the George Bush presidency.”

“John McCain wants to be the president of the past,” Dean said. “Barack Obama wants to be the president of the future.” More…

Read the rest on Patriot-News. Full-length story tomorrow. Photo from Wikimedia.

Philadelphia Weekly: Electronic monitors for sex offenders

In yesterday’s Philadelphia Weekly:

illustration by alex lukas

Pennsylvania’s Jack Wagner wants registered sex offenders to wear GPS monitors. In recent weeks, a handful of lawmakers have announced plans to introduce legislation at Wagner’s behest.

“For all the right reasons, the Pennsylvania state government should be utilizing this technology to protect our most vulnerable citizens,” Wagner says.

His late July announcement came not long after his office reported that of the state’s 9,800 registered sex offenders, the Commonwealth had lost track of 923—nearly 10 percent. More than one-third of them had last-known addresses in southeastern Pennsylvania, including 261 in Philadelphia.

Calling those numbers “very disturbing” and “unacceptable,” Wagner, who’s seeking reelection in November, recommended the use of ankle-worn devices with a global positioning system—technology currently in use by 33 states… More.

In yesterday’s Philadelphia Weekly.

Patriot-News: Domestic violence programs seek funding

My byline in today’s Patriot-News:

Five years ago, Jeane Decker made a call that she says every woman in Pennsylvania should be able to make.

Unemployed and in danger of losing her home, the mother of two had recently left an abusive marriage. She called the Women’s Resource Center in Scranton for help. She received comfort, advice and transitional housing for her and her children.

“That is where life as I now know it began,” Decker said.

Such programs, though, are scrambling for money, Decker and advocates for domestic violence services told the House Judiciary Committee in the Capitol on Tuesday.

Group representatives extolled legislation that would increase their funding by raising the state’s marriage license fee and creating a similar charge for filing divorce or annulment paperwork.

The bill won’t pass this legislative session, which ends on Nov. 30, said committee Chairman Rep. Thomas Caltagirone, D-Berks, but he said he would reintroduce it next year… More.

Posted on B1 of the Patriot-News today.

Photo courtesy of the University of Westminster.

Patriot-News: Online brief on domestic violence group funding bill

Brief for the Patriot-News:

A bill that would increase marriage licensing and divorce filing fees to raise money to aid victims of domestic violence is drawing support from advocacy groups, but it’s unlikely to see passage this legislative session, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said today.

“But if we are still in power and I can shepherd this bill out (and voted on) in January, I will,” said state Rep. Thomas Caltagirone, D-Berks. There are only nine days remaining in this legislative session, he said, and more pressing legislation will get more attention. More.

Read the rest on PennLive.com. A full-length story tomorrow.

Patriot News: Mayor Stephen Reed and Obama brief

Republicans are criticizing Mayor Stephen Reed’s proclamation calling last Thursday “Campaign for Change Day,” in Harrisburg, a theme tied to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

“The people of Harrisburg who were counting on their elected officials to work on their behalf are unfortunately in for a rude awakening,” Blair Latoff, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said Monday.

Continue reading Patriot News: Mayor Stephen Reed and Obama brief

NYTM: Barack Obama makes racial politics go away

From left: Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia; Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina; Representative John Lewis of Georgia; and Representative Artur Davis of Alabama. (Nigel Parry for The New York Times)

Interesting, if already well-circled, story in the recent-most New York Times Magazine, entitled “Is Obama the End of Black Politics?”. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter got some face time in its main graphic, as seen above, and in a large portion of the story, briefly excerpted below. A beginning excerpt that stuck with me:

Obama was barely 2 years old when King gave his famous speech, 3 when Lewis was beaten about the head in Selma. He didn’t grow up in the segregated South as Bill Clinton had. Sharing those experiences wasn’t a prerequisite for gaining the acceptance of black leaders, necessarily, but that didn’t mean Obama, with his nice talk of transcending race and baby-boomer partisanship, could fully appreciate the sacrifices they made, either. “Every kid is always talking about what his parents have been through,” Rangel says, “and no kid has any clue what he’s talking about.”

Continue reading NYTM: Barack Obama makes racial politics go away

New blogging page on ChristopherWink.com

THOSE READING A FEED MAY NOT HAVE NOTICED I added a page on this site that features my blogging experience.

Like my journalism page, it lists some featured posts from the blogs for which I have worked, including posts on the popular state government blog Capitol Ideas, my work for Y-Decide, a blog by Philadelphia’s WHYY, and the blogging I did to cover my senior thesis, mentioned on my academic page.

In today’s age, my experience and interest in blogging may be one of my best assets.

You gotta flaunt whatcha got.

Any advice?

Cartoon courtesy of Gaping Void.

How the Harrisburg bureau of the Philadelphia Inquirer tricked me

I believe there is some line of thought that only those who like you enough will take the time to prank you. If this is true, it is entirely possible that the Harrisburg bureau of the Philadelphia Inquirer, one of the largest and oldest metro dailies in the country, loves me.

Late last month, I was working on a large story for the Inquirer when influential Harrisburg correspondent and noted… prankster (the kindest way to put this, I think) Mario Cattabiani told me to drop everything and get on an assignment. He and his fellow Inqy Harrisburg staffers were launching a state government blog at the behest of their editors – which I already knew – and it was going live that day – news to me.

The editors didn’t want to seem to be biting off on the series of already established Harrisburg government blogs so they wanted to profile one of the more respected bloggers and suggested John L. Micek of the Allentown Morning Call, who hosted the popular Capitol Ideas.

Continue reading How the Harrisburg bureau of the Philadelphia Inquirer tricked me