Tuesday round-up

Always a short day for me, so pulling them all together:

• Politicians:
  
  
  
  1. Senate hopeful Casey attacks incumbent Santorum over links to lobbyists (and specifically pressuring lobbying firms and trade associations to hire more Republicans). He was in DC to announce proposed ethical reforms in disclosure of lobbying activity. Santorum staffers counter with a debate offer...
     
     
  2. First hints emerge of how union boss and mayoral hopeful John Dougherty is involved in the Mariano investigations: he loaned him some money to help with his debt (although it didn't end up used that way). Said he about news that Mariano had accepted help from somebody in his district,

     "I didn't think it was illegal; I just thought it was stupid," Dougherty said. "So I felt it would be easier to lend him the money personally to resolve this. I'd rather have him owe me than someone else."

     Draw your own conclusions about how few strings any Big Dog loan would carry...
  
  
• The rest of life:
  
  
  
  1. I've always taken the blockades around Independence Hall quite personally, so I welcome the news that the area may become more accessible in the near future, due largely to the Park Service's new willingness to set up two separate security screening areas.

     Once the dual screening facilities are up and running, visitors will be able to walk about the mall largely unimpeded by bicycle-rack security barriers. They will be screened to visit the bell center and also to visit Independence Hall.

     Money has also arrived to allow the landscaping of the whole Mall to be completed. Yay!
     
     
  2. A New Jersey study on smoking in restaurants and bars has concluded that indoor smoke poses a risk to workers, with smoke levels exceeding federal pollution safety limits.

     "The air in several of the places visited were what the EPA deems hazardous," he said. "This is their worst category of air pollution. This is seldom seen except for forest fires and volcanic eruptions. That's about the only time we ever see that in outdoor air."

     Scary! The findings are expected to energize anti-smoking efforts in NJ, and might influence the ongoing debate over a smoking ban in Philadelphia.
     
     
  3. Apparently the state Senate is looking at the mechanism for selecting Lieutenant Governors in PA.

     Senate Bill 170, carrying bipartisan sponsorship, allows gubernatorial nominees to name a running mate the same way presidential candidates do. At present, Pennsylvania voters pick running mates in primary elections. The governor and lieutenant governor run as a ticket in the fall.

     The move may be driven by a desire to embarrass the current LG, Catherine Baker Knoll, for some controversial remarks made earlier this year, but it also addresses a logistical oddity by which political opponents often end up as teammates in the executive branch. Rendell supports the concept, as does columnist Baer, and it makes great sense to me (as the current system doesn't really).