Author
Backlash Over Pay Raise Claims First Victim
For years, Pennsylvania voters somnolently pulled the lever to award fresh terms to their appellate court judges, hardly caring to know anything about them, even their names. Judges up for a retention vote always won, and overwhelmingly – until this week’s election. Two state Supreme Court justices – the only names on Pennsylvania’s Nov. […]
State Websites Celebrate 10th Birthday
In the late 1990s, state government websites fell into one of three categories: very good, nonexistent and what researcher Paul Taylor of the Center for Digital Government calls the “mushy middle.” Today, all 50 states provide a growing array of services that taxpayers can access digitally from home or work, and the pacesetters in state […]
Pennyslvania Gaming Expansion Roils Historic Site
About four miles from one of America’s most sacred sites – the Civil War battlefield here – developers energized by a new Pennsylvania law that authorizes the largest expansion of gambling in state history want to build a slot machine casino. Uproar over locating a 3,000-machine casino down the road from the site of the […]
Schools Slow to Grab Pennsylvania’s Gambling Money
Ten months ago, Gov. Ed Rendell (D) signed into law an ambitious gambling expansion bill that he projects will reap billions of dollars for lowering property taxes by an average 20 percent. Legalizing slot machines was a critical achievement, capping a campaign promise he made in the 2002 election and succeeding where a previous governor, […]