Forget Republicans. Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato may face opposition from another influential bloc if he runs for governor in 2010: the Steeler Nation.

Mr. Onorato was present for the Terrible Towel farewell for famed Steelers broadcaster Myron Cope that drew about 350 people in front of the City-County Building on Friday afternoon. Dan DelBianco, the executive director of the Vintage Grand Prix auto race that Mr. Cope helped start for charity, introduced the county executive.

Steelers fans left no doubt as to how they felt about Mr. Onorato and the new 10 percent alcohol tax he helped put into effect last month. They booed him lustily before he even had a chance to speak, and Mr. Onorato quickly turned over the microphone to B94 radio disc jockey Bubba.

Mr. Onorato has ben taking it on the chin from bar owners and drinkers over the tax, which he implemented along with a $2-a-day car rental tax to generate the county's $30 million subsidy to the Port Authority for mass transit.

Not every politician in Harrisburg is willing to give public support to a colleague who's facing 139 counts of public corruption, but Gov. Ed Rendell is.

He told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he would endorse Sen. Vincent Fumo, D-Philadelphia, in his current four-way Democratic primary battle for another term, but the incumbent 30-year senator hasn't asked for it.

"We would be lost in Harrisburg without him because of his skill," the governor said. "He has done great things and we are lucky to have him."

Mr. Fumo was a major player in the push to legalize slot machines in 2004, an initiative that Mr. Rendell strongly sought as a way to lower property taxes.

Mr. Rendell is now trying to get the Legislature to approve some gun-control laws to reduce violence in Philadelphia and elsewhere, an effort Mr. Fumo supports. But gun control laws have been stalled because of strong opposition by legislators from central, northern and western Pennsylvania, where hunters and sportsmen oppose such laws.

Mr. Fumo has been charged by federal authorities with 139 counts of fraud, conspiracy and obstruction of justice and is set to go on trial in September. He is being opposed in the April 22 primary by a powerful Philadelphia union leader, an anti-casino activist and a lawyer.

In another, not-so-high-profile move, Gov. Ed Rendell has established a task force to look into "water and wastewater infrastructure" in the state.

The state's water and sewer pipes are aging, he said in a statement.

"Pennsylvania is facing nearly $20 billion in unmet water-related infrastructure needs, and that doesn't even take into account ongoing capital costs and expenses associated with operations and maintenance responsibilities," he said.

A federal study determined that Pennsylvania should spend nearly $11 billion to improve its drinking water systems and at least $7.2 billion to improve sewage systems.

The state's problems have been made worse by cuts in federal aid for water and sewer systems, he added.

The task force is to produce a report by Oct. 1 that includes funding options for physical upgrades and other methods of improving the system through conservation and reuse of water. The governor wants to attack the problem in his 2009-10 budget.

This year, the governor wants extra money in the budget to repair and replace hundreds of deficient bridges.

This blog was written by Staff Writers Tom Barnes and Moriah Balingat.