Other Tuesday miscellania

• I'm sure you'll all be relieved to hear that the Gaming Board has resolved problems over licenses for machine distributors, and things will proceed on schedule. whee? Attempts by anti-casino activists to testify before the Board (read: make them miss the deadline, if possible) failed.
  
  
• US Senate hopeful Bob Casey has put TV ads on the air in answer to Santorum's recent campaign, although he is starting with regionally focused ads (reflecting his smaller budget). The first ad questions priorities in Washington. [Apparently Casey was also in town recently for a fund-raiser. Who knew?]
  
  
• DN columnist Ronnie Polaneczky argues against the rule that requires city officials to quit one job in order to even run for another one. He makes the point that few candidates can afford to be unemployed in the interim, which may just mean that they end up taking private-sector jobs that attach new strings to their future agendas. [Committee of Seventy head Zach Stalberg is also quoted as feeling that good civil servants are unduly penalized, and the city loses on both ends.]
  
  
• Today's the day that the sale of Inquirer/Daily news becomes official. On to the new era!
  
  
• The state of New Jersey is in a budget standoff between its Democratic governor and its Democratic assembly, because each has a different idea of how to readjust tax rates to make up for a current deficit. An Inquirer editorial takes NJ's leaders to task for threatening a government shut-down over small numerical differences, and a poster at YPP opines that they're setting a negative example of how (NOT) to run a government when "your guys" have all the controls.
  
  
• Above Average Jane follows up on a previous story she uncovered from the PA 151st state house district (see here), and it appears that the incumbent is being made to sweat a bit over the appearance of impropriety that his cozy housing deal has created.
  
  
• Also via AAJ, this Online News Hour piece about the dynamics of the exciting Congressional races in the Philadelphia suburbs, including Lois Murphy-Jim Gerlach, Patrick Murphy-Mike Fitzpatrick, and Joe Sestak-Curt Weldon. Hard to parse the transcript sometimes, but it's clear that there are plenty of races worth watching, and plenty of places to jump in if you're looking for a place to put your energies.