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Christine Bethea, owner of the art and antique store Artica in the Garfield-Friendship business district, said she pays her corporate taxes faithfully. She didn't realize until Thursday what a rarity that is. Bethea was among about 20 business owners gathered at a Shadyside Borders bookstore to hear Gov. Ed Rendell decry a business tax structure that lets 71 percent of companies in Pennsylvania skip out on the tax. The system needs to change, Rendell said, if the state is to avoid a budget crisis in the next two years. "When you hear how other people are slipping through the cracks,...

The state House voted 49-150 this afternoon to defeat the Senate's $27.1 billion budget proposal, which sends the budget discussions to a House-Senate conference committee. No plan was announced for the committee to start work. Its meetings must be held in public. Many expect closed-door negotiations between legislative leaders and Gov. Ed Rendell to continue while the committee does its work. The state has been without a budget since July 1.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is spending $60,000 of its stimulus money on $2,000 road signs to highlight projects funded by the massive economic recovery package. The large green signs mark about 30 of what PennDOT calls ''higher visibility projects'' statewide. Each denotes the project is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and features the act's logo. Nationwide, several million dollars are being spent producing the signs. PennDOT spokesman Steve Chizmar said Pennsylvania elected to take a ''middle-of-the-road'' approach to the federal government's strong encouragement that the signs be put at every project site around the state, choosing...

In Harrisburg tomorrow, Rendell is expected to call for the reinstatement of the federal ban on the sale of AK-47s and other automatic firearms. "Assault weapons were not made to hunt," Rendell added. "No one goes out and shoots a deer with an AK-47 or an M-16. No one does. No one."

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell -- the architect of the 2004 law that brought slots casinos to the state -- now wants to legalize the use of video poker machines in taverns and clubs in a move to generate $500 million in tax revenue for his state.

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Gov. Ed Rendell outlined a $29 billion budget Wednesday that would expand spending on education, prisons and health coverage while drawing from federal aid and state surpluses, increasing some taxes and cutting other programs. The plan, a 2.5 percent increase from what was originally approved for the 2008-09 budget, also would withdraw hundreds of millions of dollars from the state's "rainy day" contingency fund without draining it completely. It does not call for increasing any broad-based tax. "The budget I propose requires considerable sacrifice and pain, so that we can close the deficit and put our fiscal...

Five hundred one people have been added to the state payroll at a cost of $12.35 million since Gov. Ed Rendell imposed a hiring freeze, according to a report prepared for Republican lawmakers and obtained by The Morning Call. Asked about the report, the Democratic Rendell administration said four of every five of those employees hold public safety positions that were exempted from the statewide freeze. About 100 state workers outside of public safety positions have been hired since Rendell's Sept. 16 announcement, spokesman Chuck Ardo said Friday. There are 78,000 state employees. ''Remember that the public safety agencies were...

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The Rendell administration told employee unions that state workers could be furloughed in a month and demanded they relinquish pay raises as the government scrambles to close a multibillion-dollar gap in state finances. Negotiators for Gov. Ed Rendell also told representatives of the three major state workers' unions during a meeting Tuesday in Harrisburg that the administration wants to draw nearly $200 million from a reserve in their health insurance fund. The governor's office also said it may institute "rolling furloughs" in which large parts of state government would be shuttered on certain days, while the...

This coming Sunday, Gov. Edward G. Rendell will be all out for both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers in their NFL conference championship games. But if both teams happen to win, well, then it is all Eagles. Rendell told the New York Times that he has to be loyal. “If it costs me some political points, that’s life.” Rendell is a rabid Eagles fan, and is pretty sure that rabid Steelers fans would understand his Eagle loyalty. “The casual fans might be upset, but I don’t care,” he said. During World War II, the Steelers and the Eagles...

Ballard's $773,000 'No-Contract' Work Rendell’s Former Firm Went Beyond ‘No-Bid’ Contracts By Chris Freind, The Bulletin Published: Friday, January 09, 2009 Gov. Ed Rendell,D-Pa., has recently come under fire as more information emerges regarding the frequency and high-dollar amounts of no-bid state contracts that have been distributed to his political donors and friends. The details of such contracts have been previously revealed by The Bulletin. Many eyebrows have been raised on these lucrative no-bid contracts, especially since the records from past administrations were “lost” under Mr. Rendell’s tenure — ostensibly the only way to compare the frequency, amounts and recipients...

Was Fast Eddie Rendell involved? http://www.thebulletin.us/articles/2009/01/07/top_stories/doc49643cc4b4c99010131027.txt

Janet Napolitano wasn't the only female governor Ed Rendell was heard sizing up over an open mike at Tuesday's National Governors Conference. He also opined about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, praising her "very good political instincts" in a conversation picked up near the podium.

Ed Rendell was the MC for the governor's meeting in Philly yesterday, where there was much to be heard on the open mics. CNN zeroed-in its microphones on Pa's motor-mouthed governor and heard him saying this about Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, Obama's pick for Homeland Security chief: "Janet's perfect for that job. Because for that job, you have to have no life. Janet has no family. Perfect. She can devote, literally, 19-20 hours a day to it." CNN's Campbell Brown went off on the guv last night: Wow. Now, I'm sure Gov. Napolitano has many qualifications for the job beyond...

Rendell: Forget the polls, it's gonna be close in state Governor stops at ESU while on bus tour for Obama By Dan Berrett Pocono Record Writer November 01, 2008 6:00 AM EAST STROUDSBURG — Gov. Ed Rendell urged supporters of Sen. Barack Obama on Friday to get out the vote in the last 100 hours of the presidential campaign because the race for Pennsylvania is closer than polls suggest. "This is not a 10-, 12- or 14-point election for Barack Obama," the Democratic governor said Friday afternoon in the lobby of East Stroudsburg University's new Science and Technology Center. "A...

Rendell joins Chelsea Clinton for 'gay pub crawl' in Phillyby BRETT LIEBERMAN, Of The Patriot-News Saturday April 19, 2008, 4:22 PM Christopher Murray embraces Chelsea Clinton Friday night when the former first daughter campaigned with Gov. Ed Rendell and actor Rob Reiner during a pub crawl of gay bars in Philadelphia. They loved her hair; they smacked her butt; they hooted and hugged Friday night as Chelsea Clinton hit Philadelphia for what campaign aides called a "gay pub crawl." BRETT LIEBERMAN, The Patriot-News "Chelsea, the gays love you!" Jeff Guaracino, 35, shouted as the former first daughter took the stage...

Rendell can't spin away Hsu By Brad Bumsted STATE CAPITOL REPORTER Sunday, September 23, 2007 HARRISBURG Capitol observers were astounded when Gov. Ed Rendell called Democrat fundraiser Norman Hsu, a felon and then-fugitive, "one of the best 10 people I've met." They're likely more astounded now. Rendell made the comment to The Philadelphia Inquirer; it became instant fodder for Capitol insiders. If Mr. Hsu is on the governor's Top 10 list, who else is on the list? Incredibly, Rendell last week backed off the statement at his first Capitol news conference since the Hsu scandal surfaced. The governor threw in...

PA GOP: Fast Eddie Robs Peter Paul to Pay Hillary Friday, September 14, 2007 Contact: Michael Barley HARRISBURG —Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Robert A. Gleason, Jr. was not surprised to see that Gov. Ed Rendell and U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton are involved in more fundraising scandals with another convicted felon, named Peter Paul. Paul alleges that Ed Rendell, then Chairman of the Democrat National Committee, told him to lie about his involvement with a 2000 Clinton for Senate fundraiser. “Apparently, when Sen. Clinton and Gov. Rendell need campaign donations, they dial up the list of America’s most wanted as...

Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. --Gov. Ed Rendell, despite pressure from gun dealers, decided Tuesday not to delay a database upgrade that will halt Pennsylvania firearms sales for three days. The Democratic governor said the shutdown to allow work on the criminal history database would last one day less than previously announced. The Pennsylvania Instant Check System will be down from 6 p.m. Sunday and return to operation at 6 p.m. Sept. 5. "It is clear that there will never be an ideal time to temporarily shut down the system so we can make changes necessary to ensure the system continues...

Domestic Terrorists Anti-Government Groups Often associated with unorganized militias, the Anti-Government movement actually embraces a much larger variety of groups and causes. The extreme fringe believes that the U.S. government is either the enemy or has been subverted by the enemy and must be actively defended against. Anti-Government Issues and Beliefs Gun Control is a conspiracy to enslave us starting with the removal of our ability to either defend ourselves or forcefully change our government. The first ten amendments of The Constitution are God given and all others are temporary, invalid or outright fraudulent. All judicial authority resides with the...

Pennsylvania has a new blueprint for how death might become a less painful and uncomfortable experience for its residents. The Rendell administration today is expected to release a 40-page report called "Improving End-of-Life Experiences for Pennsylvanians," which has been two years in the making. A wide-ranging group of health professionals, social service leaders, consumer advocates and others produced 160 recommendations covering how to expand hospice and palliative care, advance directives, medical training and more aspects related to patients' late-life treatment. "The current health care system evolved to provide care for acute illnesses, but it is poorly prepared to provide comprehensive,...