Friday, November 7,
2008
Results of this Week's Ballot Box Voting are
on the Right
The Axe
Falls...Philadelphia Mayor Michael
Nutter yesterday prescribed strong medicine for a deficit
wracked City Budget...the Mayor said the City already faces "at least" a $108-million deficit
in the current Fiscal Year and the shortfall of more than $1-billion in the
five-year financial plan...Nutter proposed: cutting the salary
of the Mayor, his staff and Cabinet, deputy Mayors and the Managing
Director's office; delay any business or wage tax cuts until 2015;
eliminate 220 existing jobs, 600 unfilled jobs and 2,000 seasonal,
part-time and contract jobs; reduce all overtime including in the
Police Department; cut 200 unfilled police jobs; cut five Fire
Department engine companies and two ladder companies; close eleven
branches of the Free Library and end Sunday hours at three other
branches; cut by one-half the proposed increases this year for the
Housing Trust Fund, the Community College of Philadelphia and the
Cultural Fund; end the $355,000 support of the Mummers' Parade,
etc., etc...City
Council introduced seven bills yesterday that would allow the Mayor
to pursue these goals...they must be approved by Council by
December 11th...
State
Attorney General Tom Corbett yesterday told a post-re-election news conference that it is
likely there will be more persons charged as a result of the
ongoing investigation into legislative staff bonuses paid for
political campaign work...some of the initial 12 persons charged by
the Grand Jury are now cooperating with the prosecution... the
investigation expanded beyond the State House Democratic Caucus
before the summer...the Attorney General gave no timetable to
possible other arrests...
Craps??...the company that
holds the license for the slots casino under construction in south
Bethlehem in the Lehigh Valley made ominous bankruptcy-sounding
noises yesterday...Las Vegas Sands Corp. -
controlled by billionaire CEO Sheldon Adelson
with 64% of the company - announced that it was likely to suffer
defaults in the 4th Quarter causing the suspension of development
projects (Bethlehem Sands?) and "raise a substantial doubt about the
company's ability to continue as a going
concern."...meanwhile, the Borgata Hotel Casino in
Atlantic City says it has laid off about 400 employees this
week because of the weak economy...
Happy
Birthday today to State Senator Barry Stout, to
Judge Michael Fisher of
the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals and to Joe Miller
- Director of Research for the State House Republican Caucus...on
Saturday, we
celebrate with Jim Ginty of the
Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, State Representative Steve
Cappelli, Mike Crossey -
Vice President of PSEA and Pete Gleason -
former Ridgie now at Kirkpatrick & Lockhart law firm...on Sunday, we note the
natal day of State Representative Daryl
Metcalfe...
