Post-Gazette: State passes budget [with my audio]

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.

One thought on “Post-Gazette: State passes budget [with my audio]”

Leave a Reply