Free Republic

Pennsylvania's AG Might Not Even Defend Their Gay Marriage Ban in Court Facing a lawsuit from the ACLU, it looks like Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane is going to refuse to defend the state government's ban on gay marriage. Pennsylvania, the only state in the northeast without provisions for same-sex civil unions or marriages, was one of the first states with gay marriage bans targeted by a suit in the wake of the Supreme Court's partial striking of the Defense of Marriage Act. If it's true, the news, reported by the Philadelphia Daily News, based on multiple anonymous sources, isn't...

Pennsylvania politicians seeking increased spending on roads and bridges point to a new report that outlines the unseen costs of the state’s crumbling infrastructure. (snip) The report states that the average driver in Harrisburg will incur $1,646 in annual expenses related to poor road conditions. (snip)Gov. Tom Corbett has proposed uncapping the gas tax as a way to eventually generate $1.8 billion dollars over five years for transportation funding. The proposal would affect the oil-franchise tax, a tariff applied to the wholesale price of gasoline. Currently, the tax only applies to the first $1.25 of the cost of a gallon,...

Shortly after Barack Obama won reelection in November, New Jersey governor Chris Christie pointed out that Republicans’ cloudy political prospects had a bright silver lining. “One of the reasons you have 30 Republican governors in America, and why we’re the only organization to add Republican strength,” Christie said, “is because people see us getting things done.” Christie’s stance countered most of the elite postelection commentary, which gleefully pronounced the Republican Party’s political irrelevance. But the governor was right. Since Obama first took office in 2008, Republicans have picked up a net nine governorships, bringing their total to 30 states,...

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said Congress will have to raise taxes to resolve its budget impasse, making him yet another top Republican to suggest that the no-higher-taxes pledge may be outdated. … If taxes aren’t raised, Corbett said, “every state is going to be affected” through cuts to military contracts and spending for senior citizens, special education and other programs relied on by millions. …

The poll shows Smith at 35 percent, leading former state Rep. Sam Rohrer, who registers 16 percent in the poll. Businessman Steve Welch, who was endorsed by Gov. Tom Corbett and the state Republican Party is at just ten percent in the survey. Thirty-one percent remain undecided and two minor candidates register single-digit percentage support. Smith -- who has infused his campaign with millions of dollars in personal money and is outspending the competition -- led Rohrer 29 percent to 14 percent in the previous internal poll his campaign released. That survey was conducted from April 9-11. The primary election...

Jerry Sandusky's book, 'Touched,' helped police investigation into alleged sex crimesBy SARA GANIM, The Patriot-News Published: Sunday, January 08, 2012, 12:01 AM The investigation of Jerry Sandusky took three years. And it took Sandusky himself — through the pages of his autobiography, “Touched” — to help police find Victims 3, 4, 5 and 7. At the end of 2009, police had spent almost a year trying to corroborate claims by a single boy — a 17-year-old Clinton County teen later known as Victim 1 — who had alleged years of sexual abuse by Penn State’s legendary defensive coach. Only one...

HARRISBURG - For eight years, Gov. Rendell has lobbied hard in the halls of the Capitol for what he calls "commonsense" handgun laws. He wanted to limit sales to individuals to one handgun a month. He wanted owners to report lost or stolen weapons. He wanted to close a loophole in state law that he believes lets criminals use gun permits obtained in other states. At each turn, the legislature - including some of his allies in the Democratic-controlled House - knocked down the proposals like so many slow-moving clay birds on a skeet-shooting range. On Monday, Rendell defended his...

HARRISBURG (AP) — An effort by Gov. Ed Rendell to jump-start negotiations on a tax on natural gas extraction from the Marcellus Shale formation produced no movement Wednesday after legislative leaders responded to his call for counterproposals. The Democratic governor reacted forcefully and blamed Republicans, suggesting the already remote prospects for a deal before he leaves office at the end of this year had become even less likely. “I am extremely disappointed in the Senate and House Republicans for failing to provide any reasonable compromise on a severance tax rate,” Rendell said in a statement. “Not only have they broken...

HARRISBURG - About 700,000 acres of state forest land in the Marcellus Shale region is being placed off-limits to any natural gas drilling under an executive order signed Tuesday by Gov. Ed Rendell. Rendell said a moratorium on new leasing of forest land to drillers is needed to protect Pennsylvania's ability to manage the forests in a sustainable manner and protect the state's forest products and tourism industries. He said an executive order is necessary because the Senate didn't act this session on a House-passed bill to place a three-year moratorium on additional leases while environmental impact issues are studied....

March 23, 2010, 12:01PM On the day that President Barack Obama signed health care reform legislation, Attorney General Tom Corbett, a Republican candidate for governor, was slammed by Democrats for his decision to join a lawsuit that calls the bill unconstitutional. Pennsylvania's top law enforcement officer, whose Bonusgate prosecution against state legislators and staffers resulted in mixed verdicts Monday night, said the suit "seeks to protect the citizens of Pennsylvania whose rights will be violated when the health care reform legislation ... is signed into law by President Obama.' "It is wrong for candidate Corbett to use the office of...

HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett said today that his office is conducting a legal analysis of the constitutionality of the provision granting Nebraska a permanent exemption from paying Medicaid expenses that all other states, including Pennsylvania, are required to pay. Corbett said that Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson secured this special provision for Nebraska in exchange for his support of the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act. Corbett said, "The result of the Nelson amendment, which the media has dubbed 'The Nebraska Compromise,' could have dire financial consequences for Pennsylvania taxpayers, forcing them to help offset the cost of Nebraska's...

HARRISBURG - Prosecutors have offered Rep. John M. Perzel of Philadelphia, the former speaker of the Pennsylvania House, a chance to testify before the so-called Bonusgate grand jury in what lawyers say is a sign that criminal charges may soon be filed against him. Perzel's former chief of staff, Brian Preski, and as many as 10 other current and former House Republican aides have received similar letters, according to lawyers with knowledge of the investigation.

Attorney General Tom Corbett (R) is the most well known of the candidates looking to replace the term-limited Gov. Ed Rendell (D), and therefore leads his potential opponents by wide margins, a new Quinnipiac survey finds (Sept. 21-28, 1100 RV, MoE +/- 3%).

Frankie Thomas, who became famous in the 1950s for his starring role in the TV children's show "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet," has died. He was 85. Thomas died Thursday of respiratory failure at Sherman Oaks Hospital, said his stepdaughter, Julie Alexander. Thomas began acting on Broadway in the early 1930s and soon ventured west to Hollywood, where he appeared in films including "A Dog of Flanders," "Boys Town" and "The Major and the Minor," as well as four Nancy Drew movies. In 1950, he beat out actors including Jack Lemmon to win the title role of Tom Corbett, a Space...