David Spett

HARRISBURG — Attorney General Tom Corbett has been in the news a lot lately. That’s mostly because of charges he announced two weeks ago against a dozen current and former House Democratic lawmakers and staffers.

But the saga over alleged misuse of taxpayer money, often called “Bonusgate,” isn’t the only battle that Mr. Corbett, a Shaler resident, is waging: He also faces a tough re-election battle this November.

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HARRISBURG — It is “inconceivable” that House Majority Leader H. William DeWeese wasn’t aware of bonuses paid to state employees for work on Democratic campaigns, independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader said at a news conference yesterday.

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HARRISBURG — State Treasurer Robin L. Wiessmann yesterday showed off a new Web site that features a database of government contracts the public can access.

She said the state’s new right-to-know law required creation of the database, known as the Pennsylvania Contracts e-Library.

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HARRISBURG — WTF.

Three little letters. On a license plate. They didn’t mean anything to 60-year-old Mary Ann Hardee, a North Carolina resident.

But then her tech-savvy grandchildren, who were LOL (Laughing Out Loud), clued her in: These days, the WTF on her license plate means “What The (expletive)” in text messages and online lingo.

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HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania State Police have decided to sell five of their seven single-engine airplanes.

The public is eligible to purchase the Cessna 182 planes, which cost anywhere from $86,000 to $188,000, depending on their age. The planes have four seats, with an option for two child seats to be added in the baggage area.

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HARRISBURG — State Sen. Bob Regola, R-Hempfield, doesn’t think the state “should profit from someone’s death.”

So he’s introduced a bill to repeal the state’s estate tax — also known as the inheritance tax — and also known, by its critics, as the “death tax.”

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HARRISBURG — In the midst of the growing Bonusgate scandal, a state senator has announced a petition drive to force a special legislative session on ethics reform.

“Pennsylvania, we have a problem,” said Sen. Jeffrey Piccola, R-Dauphin. “It is a problem of arrogance, greed and corruption, and a system that encourages, protects and rewards all three.”

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HARRISBURG — At a meeting in Philadelphia today, Gov. Ed Rendell became the new chairman of the National Governors Association, an organization that lobbies the federal government on behalf of states.

Mr. Rendell, who takes the helm of the 100-year-old group from Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, said he’ll focus on getting more federal funding for road construction, bridge repair and sewer and water projects in states.

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