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Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle, a wealthy businessman, is stepping in to help a local Philadelphia ownership group retain control of that city's two major newspapers. Gov. Ed Rendell said today that he had asked Mr. Burkle to help the current owners {snip}

General Electric filed more than 7,000 income tax returns in hundreds of global jurisdictions last year, but when push came to shove, the company owed the U.S. government a whopping bill of $0. (snip)

Republican Tim Burns (PA-12) is once again going out of his way to prove that he is grossly out of touch with Western Pennsylvania. The latest example is particularly telling; despite the fact that middle class families are already struggling, Burns has endorsed a risky and radical plan deceivingly called the “Fair Tax” that would enact a 23 percent national sales tax on all goods and services including food and clothing. The plan would dramatically increase the tax burden for middle class families while only benefiting the wealthiest Americans like Tim Burns. In Pennsylvania, middle income Pennsylvanians would see their...

Video linked http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt1_lMswja0

A majority of Americans supports increased spending on public transit and a slim majority is willing to pay higher taxes for it, according to a poll released today. [snip] Some 51 percent expressed support for a "small" tax increase to pay for better public transit, while 46 percent were opposed.

MONROEVILLE, Pa. -- The death of a Gateway High School cheerleader fatally stabbed 16 times by her on-again, off-again boyfriend has inspired lawmakers to take action. Demi Brae Cuccia's hometown resolved to not to let domestic violence happen to another young girl. Council members in Monroeville unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday night in support of the Demi Brae Cuccia bill, named for the teen killed in October 2007. The bill would mandate teen dating violence education be taught in all Pennsylvania school districts. "I would think it's a no-brainer that this education needs to be taught," said Cuccia's father, Gary....

JOHNSTOWN — Sadly, for Johnstown Chiefs fans, it’s official. The Chiefs will play in Greenville next season after the ECHL Board of Governors voted unanimously on Wednesday to transfer the home territory of the Chiefs to the South Carolina city. [snip] The news has been heartbreaking to loyal Chiefs fans who have followed the team through 22 ECHL seasons. Johnstown was one of the league’s original five teams and is the only member of that group still playing in the same city. But economic hardships and the declining population in the region contributed to a drop-off in attendance

PRINCETON, NJ -- More than one-third of Americans (36%) have a positive image of "socialism," while 58% have a negative image. Views differ by party and ideology, with a majority of Democrats and liberals saying they have a positive view of socialism, compared to a minority of Republicans and conservatives.

An execution warrant for a former Mt. Lebanon attorney convicted of killing five people during a hate-fueled shooting spree through Allegheny and Beaver counties was signed Tuesday by Gov. Ed Rendell. Richard Scott Baumhammers, 44, was sent to death row after being convicted in 2001 of five counts of first-degree murder and one of attempted murder for the April 28, 2000, slayings. [snip] Baumhammers, who is incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution in Greene County, is scheduled to die by lethal injection on March 18.

A Pittsburgh ordinance designed to protect janitors from losing their jobs in Downtown office buildings violates Home Rule law. [snip] City Council enacted an ordinance in 2004 governing building complexes with more than 100,000 square feet of floor space. If the owner switches security, janitorial, maintenance, stationary engineering or window-washing contractors, the new firm has to hire the old firm's workers.

Federal legislation that could lead to a college football playoff tournament will move a step closer to reality on Wednesday in a hearing before a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will consider a bill that would allow the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prohibit any bowl game from calling itself a "national championship" unless the game is "the final game of a single elimination post-season playoff system." [snip] The bill would give the FTC the authority to regulate the college football postseason with the power to obtain injunctions and to...

LINK ONLY http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09338/1018440-100.stm

A majority of Pittsburgh City Council members said yesterday that they'll vote for a tuition tax, but that won't stop the universities -- and maybe the students -- from trying to derail the effort. [snip] Mayor Luke Ravenstahl gathered five council members in his conference room yesterday to deliver a message: We don't want to tax students, but unless the universities pay voluntarily, we have no choice. [snip] "If this tax is implemented, it will not be the fault of Mayor Ravenstahl," said Mr. Burgess. "It will not be the fault of council. It will solely be on backs of...

A farm in every Pittsburgh neighborhood would be one of the goals of a Franco Dok Harris administration, the independent mayoral candidate said today, as his campaign sounded its final notes before Tuesday's election. The novel proposal -- which would have the city assemble vacant lots and help gather the expertise needed to transform them into farms Read more: http://www.postgazette.com/pg/09303/1009555-100.stm#ixzz0VRy1TKRj

March 01, 2005 11:00 AM US Eastern Timezone West Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles Awards Contract to Viisage for A Leading Edge, Multi-Biometric Drivers' License BILLERICA, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 1, 2005--   West Virginia Setting New Standard for Internal Controls and Drivers' License Security Designed to Improve Homeland Security and Protect Citizen's Identity   Viisage (Nasdaq: VISG), a leading provider of advanced technology identity solutions, today announced that after a thorough evaluation of competitive offerings, the West Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles selected Viisage for the design and implementation of the State's new drivers' license. The new State license will include finger...

Pittsburgh was slammed hard yesterday by 6+ inches of rain from Hurricane Ivan. Massive flooding, towns under water, local state of emergency. Many people have lost homes and businesses, many people are hurting. KDKA Radio has live coverage in progress. Their new Liberal Program Director, Steve Hansen, is on the air right now. Heard him do this with my own ears about 30 min. ago. He took a call from a small business owner who was wiped out by the flood and had no flood insurance (did not think he needed it) Hansen went on to explain that a lot...

Thursday, Mar. 18, 1999 Jays fire Johnson for Vietnam lies By BEN WALKER Associated Press DUNEDIN, Fla. - The lies Tim Johnson told about his Marine service in Vietnam cost him the trust of his team. Now, it's cost him his job. Johnson was fired Wednesday as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays and replaced by Jim Fregosi in a rare spring training dismissal. "The unsettledness and the distractions had become the issue," general manager Gord Ash said. "It had become apparent it wasn't going to work." Johnson never saw combat, but supposedly made up stories - including one about...

1992 - CBS uses a highly-rated Super Bowl game carried on their network as a lead-in to the Bill and Hillary Clinton smiling-happy-couple interview, which allowed them to diffuse the Gennifer Flowers controversy. 2004 - CBS uses an exciting, competitive weekend of NCAA Championship Basketball to lead into the outrageous and defamatory charges of one Richard Clarke. It's time for all the Freepers out there to get wise to this. NFL, NCAA...time to insist that CBS stop using your highly-rated Championship games as a lead-in to distorted liberal Political Propaganda on 60 Minutes. Time to bombard the NFL and NCAA...

<p>Gov. Ed Rendell's appetite is legendary. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review learned why when it tallied food and catering bills from the Philadelphia Democrat's first 11 months in office.</p> <p>The total: $75,918.</p> <p>That's an average of almost $230 a day -- for a household of one when the governor's wife, Marjorie O. Rendell, is working in Philadelphia as a federal appeals judge.</p>