HARRISBURG — Rachel Manzo was released on her own recognizance yesterday, then returned an hour later to pay $10,000 — all in $20s — to bail her husband out of police custody.

They are among 12 current and former lawmakers and legislative aides charged in a scheme to use tax dollars to fund political campaigns.

The bail for Michael Manzo, who is thought to have orchestrated the plan, was the highest at $100,000 secured, which means he had to put up 10 percent of the money before he could be released.

“I’ve [represented] organized crime figures who didn’t have to pay this much bail,” his attorney, James J. Eisenhower, said while court personnel counted the bills, which Mrs. Manzo brought in 10 envelopes.

…

Read the rest on Post-Gazette.com.

Photo of former Democratic House Leader Mike Veon, courtesy of PennLive.

It what may be the most significant story of my young journalism career, here a double byline for a story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. This breaking story appeared on the Web and an extensive follow up will appear in tomorrow’s edition.

HARRISBURG – Preliminary arraignments were held today for 11 people charged in the state bonus scandal, in which state Rep. Michael Veon, current Rep. Sean Ramaley and 10 current and former Democratic staffers allegedly conspired to divert millions of dollars in state resources, including more than $1 million in illegal pay bonuses.

The charges stem from two grand jury presentments unveiled yesterday in which jurors said Mr. Veon and the staff members conspired to arrange hefty year-end bonuses to House employees who worked on political campaigns over a three-year period. Mr. Ramaley is accused of working full time on his 2004 House campaign in Beaver County while drawing a taxpayer salary as a member of Mr. Veon’s staff.

During the preliminary arraignments, the defendants hear, and are asked if they understand, the charges against them. They do not enter pleas.

The first preliminary arraignment took place yesterday for Jeff Foreman, an aide to House Majority Whip Keith McCall, D-Carbon. Mr. Foreman surrended to authorities even as Attorney General Tom Corbett held a press conference outlining the case. Mr. Foreman, who was charged with conspiracy, theft, and conflict of interest, was released on $50,000 unsecured bail.

…

Read the rest on Post-Gazette.com.

Image of former House Democratic Leader Mike Veon, D-Beaver Falls, by Bradley C. Bower via Post-Gazette.

Here’s a very interesting story by Tracie Mauriello of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, on which I contributed some reporting yesterday.

HARRISBURG — An anti-Muslim remark made on the House floor last month inspired some to call state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe a bigot and others to call him intolerant.

One group, though, says it wants to give him an award.

The White Christian Nation compares Mr. Metcalfe, R-Cranberry, to prominent white supremacist leader Thomas Robb and says it wants to give him a Christian National Soldier Award during a rally the group is sponsoring Aug. 10 at Adams Township Community Park.

Mr. Metcalfe denounced the group and said he had never heard of White Christian Nation until it notified him of the award two weeks ago in separate letters signed by John Nayst and Jerry Western.

“I categorically reject any association with you, your organization and Mr. Robb,” Mr. Metcalfe wrote back in a letter dated July 3. “As an Army veteran who had the privilege and honor of serving the United States alongside extremely dedicated men and women of all races, religions and national ancestries, I will not allow my office or my name to be compromised.”

…

Continue reading here…

Photo from Outraged Patriots.

This ran today for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The coverage is part of a post-graduate internship with the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents’ Association (PLCA).

HARRISBURG — Forty Pennsylvania firefighters ran into triple-digit temperatures yesterday as they began their first full day combating wildfires that are scorching northern California.

Two 20-person crews, including four firefighters from Western Pennsylvania, left Sunday from Harrisburg International Airport on a U.S. Forest Service-chartered jet. They arrived Monday and joined hundreds of other firefighters in trying to control the blaze that has burned since June 20, said John Miller, chief of Pennsylvania’s forest fire protection division.

“With the amount of fire activity in California right now, it’s very important” to get help from other states, said James Stone, a California Forest Service spokesman. “Those boys from Pennsylvania are a significant portion of that.”

…

Read the rest on Post-Gazette.com.

Photo courtesy of ABC Australia.

This ran today for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The coverage is part of a post-graduate internship with the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents’ Association (PLCA).

HARRISBURG — A slim slice of carrot cake sat on a podium in the state Capitol rotunda today, marking the third anniversary of the infamous legislative pay-raise vote of July 7, 2005.

A coalition of citizens’ groups said the small piece of cake represented the state’s new open records law — the one and only piece of reform legislation that the General Assembly has enacted in the wake of a huge public outcry over the 2 a.m. vote to increase legislative salaries by up to 34 percent, an increase that was later repealed.

“There is not very much cake for the people of Pennsylvania to eat,” said Gene Stilp of Taxpayers & Ratepayers United, who hauled an inflatable pink pig around the state in late 2005 and 2006 to protest the pay raise.

The Legislature did approve some changes to its operating procedures, such as adjourning most sessions by 11 p.m. and waiting between six and 24 hours before taking final votes on bills.

….

See the rest on Post-Gazette.com.

Photo courtesy of Three Sources.com.

HARRISBURG — A deal to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike “will not see the light of day,” vowed the chairman of the House Transportation Committee yesterday.

That would effectively kill Gov. Ed Rendell’s proposal to enter into a $12.8 billion, 75-year lease with a consortium comprising the Spanish multinational Abertis Infraestructuras SA and Citi Infrastructure Investors, a subsidiary of Citibank.

“There is no meaningful support among our committee members,” said committee Chairman Joseph F. Markosek, D-Monroeville. He said he has no intention of bringing it to a committee vote.

“I am putting a permanent hold on it. It will not see the light of day for as long as I am chairman.”

Hear some of Markosek’s comments above.

…

Read the rest on Post-Gazette.com.

Hear Rendell’s response of Markosek’s comments:

Image courtesy of Central Penn Business.

I contributed to today’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report that a state budget deal was reached and signed last night.

I also cut an audio clip of Gov. Ed Rendell speaking on the budget, which the Post-Gazette put on its Web site: hooray for New Media!

Alongside Rendell is House Appropriations Chairman Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, and House Majority Floor Leader Bill Deweese, D-Fayette. Behind him is outgoing Budget Secretary Michael Macsh, who came with Rendell from Philadelphia.

For all those Temple cats reading here, peep the former Philly cop Rep. Jewell Williams, D-Philadelphia, in the back row, second from left. His office is in the 2200-block of North Broad Street, above Susquehanna and he represents most of Main Campus.

You’ll notice that at the signing of a budget agreed upon by four caucuses, only House Democrats seemed to have showed up. Senate Republicans are powerful enough they have their own show; Senate Democrats are weak enough they have issues about not being able to have their own show, and House Republicans are ideological enough in hating Rendell that they don’t care they miss out on the attention.

Well, Rep. George Kenney, R-Philadelphia, did show up, but like Speaker of the House Denny O’Brien, R-Philadelphia and former Speaker Rep. John Perzel, R-Philadelphia – all three of whom are from Northeast Philly – Kenney is generally ragged on for acting like a Democrat. To be fair, that mostly means they vote with their southeastern Pennsylvania bloc which is largely blue.

Photo by Daniel Shanken of AP via Post Gazette.

Here working in the State Capitol on July Fourth…

HARRISBURG — Cigarettes in Pennsylvania are due to get safer, under legislation approved by the Legislature.

House Bill 1612, introduced by Rep. Timothy J. Solobay, D-Washington, would require all cigarettes sold in Pennsylvania to be “fire safe.”

Low-ignition strength cigarettes are less likely to cause a fire if they are left unattended by careless smokers, said state Fire Commissioner Edward A. Mann, who praised the legislation.

Mr. Mann said, “Fire-safe cigarettes are rolled with bands of less porous, slow-burning paper, so if the cigarette is left unattended, it will go out when it burns down to one of those bands. There have been too many tragedies caused by the careless use of cigarettes, and this standard is designed to reduce that risk.” The bill was passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate and will be signed into law by Gov. Ed Rendell, said spokesman Chuck Ardo.

…

Read the rest on Post-Gazette.com.

I also contributed to this report on a stalled commercial dog kennel bill.

Photo courtesy of Germany Joys.

HARRISBURG — Deregulation of electric rates in 2010 in many areas of the state could constitute “the biggest tax increase in Pennsylvania history,” state Senate Democrats said yesterday.

Since 1996, the rate at which many Pennsylvania energy companies have been able to recoup power plant construction costs from consumers has been capped.

But by 2010, the rate caps will expire for customers in parts of western Pennsylvania served by West Penn Power, plus many residential and business customers in northeast and central Pennsylvania, along with the Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia areas. Rate caps for Duquesne Light already have ended.

“Nobody is going out of business” in the state’s electricity industry, said Sen. Vincent Fumo, D-Philadelphia, noting high profit margins and well-salaried executive of electric utilities. “[Allowing these caps to expire] would be the biggest tax increase in the history of the Commonwealth since Ben Franklin.”

He was joined in his criticism by Democratic Sens. Jim Ferlo of Highland Park, Wayne Fontana of Brookline and Sean Logan of Monroeville.

“Utility shutoffs have already risen 37 percent compared to last year,” said Mr. Logan. “Unless we take decisive steps soon, I fear for how many people will be unable to pay and will have their electricity shut off when deregulation hits its statewide peak in 2010.”

…

Read the rest on Post-Gazette.com. Read some of the color interjected by Sen. Vince Fumo here. Image courtesy of The Cobb School.

This as appearing in the July 2, 2008 edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.This is part of a post-graduate internship with the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents’ Association (PLCA).

HARRISBURG — Tax rates would quadruple in Westmoreland County’s Unity under proposed legislation that would require some municipalities to pay for their state police protection, a township supervisor said.

House Bill 2563, introduced by Rep. John E. Pallone, D-New Kensington, would require all communities with more than 10,000 people that don’t have a municipal law enforcement agency to either establish a local police force or pay an annual fee of $100 per resident for state police protection. There are 21 such towns in the state.

The Pallone bill would be “an unfunded mandate,” objected Unity Supervisor Jacob M. Blank.

To pay for state police coverage under the plan, Unity’s 21,000 residents would watch their municipal tax rates balloon by perhaps more than four times, Mr. Blank said.

…

Read the rest on Post-Gazette.com.

Image of Westmoreland County, courtesy of Wikipedia. See the breaking news Web item I wrote on this story yesterday.