Gov. Ed Rendell is helping California Gov. Arnold Schwartzenegger take on the federal Environmental Protection Agency over air pollution rules.
In December 2005, California requested a waiver from EPA to implement its own greenhouse gas regulations, but EPA hasn't acted on the request. Pennsylvania and 13 other states can't adopt and enforce the California rules, which are tougher than federal rules, until the EPA gives California its waiver.
The ability of Pennsylvania and other states "to go above and beyond the EPA regulations should be encouraged, not delayed," said Mr. Rendell. "Waiting nearly two years for this waiver is too long."
Pennsylvania has adopted the stricter California emission rules but can't put them into practice until California is allowed to do so.
Millions for Defense
A conservative group from Alexandria, Va., caused a stir during the recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court race by sponsoring a week-long blitz of TV ads for Superior Court Judge Maureen Lally-Green, a Republican. She was one of four candidates for two seats on the high court, but she fell just short of being elected.
Without saying where it gets its money, the Center for Individual Freedom spent an amount that critics estimated to be about $1 million for the ads in the Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Harrisburg markets, the Associated Press reported.
And it's not the first controversy the group's been in. During the 2005 guberntorial race in Virginia, CFIF sponsored a TV and radio ad blitz criticizing the Democratic candidate, Tim Kaine, who is now Virginia governor, for his positions on gun control and the death penalty, the AP reported.
Founded in 1998, the CFIF had ties to the now-defunct National Smokers Alliance, which was funded by Philip Morris, the nation's top cigarette maker, and got $5 million from the alliance when it folded in 2001, according to the Virginian-Pilot newspaper.
All totaled, about $7 million was spent by the Supreme Court candidates, the AP reported. Some people, such as Philadelphia-based Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, said all the spending is a reason to replace direct elections of appellate-court judges with a merit selection system. The governor would name prospective jurists from a pre-approved list and the judges would have to be confirmed by the state Senate.
Beyond Murtha
Almost every year, Rep. John Murtha shields Johnstown's National Drug Intelligence Center from facing drastic cuts - and closure - at the hands of the Bush administration or its Republican allies in Congress.
Why wouldn't he do that? The powerful Democrat, after all, used his political might to bring the center to his hometown in 1993.
Now, however, the center is trying to defend itself, according to yesterday's Tribune-Democrat.
The NDIC has released a list of its accomplishments. Some excerpts:
"Examples include support for a Baltimore case that reportedly involved money laundering and the diversion of 8 million doses of the painkiller hydrocodone, officials said.
"Also, NDIC 'Doc Ex' personnel assisted the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in securing indictments against an alleged Columbian drug kingpin."
Still, Republicans are unlikely to end efforts to close the center. They see it as pure Murtha pork, citing complaints from some government officials about its usefulness - at a cost of about $30 million to $40 million annually.
Saving the Children
State Sen. Jane Orie, R-McCandless, wants Pennsylvania to be one of the first states in the nation to implement a new federal law, the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act.
Ms. Orie, a former assistant district attorney in Allegheny County, will hold a news conference on the subject tomorrow at the state Capitol.
The legislation establishes federally mandated national standards to strengthen requirements for convicted sex offenders to register and notify local authorities of their presence.
John Walsh, the host of America's Most Wanted and head of the Adam Walsh Foundation, will make a videotaped presentation at the news conference. Adam Walsh was John's young son, who was killed by a sexual predator 20 years ago.
Also at the press conference will be Mary Kozakiewicz, mother of Alicia Kozakiewicz, a Pittsburgh teen-ager who was abducted by a sexual offender using the Internet.
States have three years to implement the federal law, also known as the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. Bonus awards will be given to states that comply by July 27, 2008.
First Published: November 12, 2007, 8:30 p.m.
