First, I did not like Ridge to much (more then Rendell and I don't pin the state money issues soley on him since the whole country economy was not doing good but he never ****ed me off has much has Rendell does and Rendell left Philly a big mess so I don't understand how he is going to help PA), I just used him has an example. Second, if you don't think being a democrate does not instantly win PA election, go back and look over past election results. More true with the past governer election.
Heres and update article, it appears Rendell and his henchmen can't come to the meetings. The article is from goerie.com under news.
No budget progress
BY JOHN GUERRIERO
john.guerriero@timesnews.com [more details]
Published: July 06. 2007 6:00AM
Erie native Belle Anderson likes what she sees when she returns to her hometown each summer -- new and proven attractions as the region recasts itself as a bigger tourism draw.
But a state budget stalemate could temporarily close some of those attractions, including Presque Isle State Park, Pymatuning State Park in Crawford County, the Erie Maritime Museum and the new Presque Isle Downs & Casino.
"I'd hate to see it all go away again," said Anderson, 64, who visited the year-old Tom Ridge Environmental Center for the first time with her husband, Fred Anderson, 70.
The exhibits at the Ridge Center, as part of the park, would be among the attractions that could close Monday if 26,000 so-called nonessential state employees are laid off in a budget battle in Harrisburg that would affect tourism and services in Erie, Crawford County and the rest of the state.
"I think that would be very, very bad," said Belle Anderson, who lives most of the year in Charleston, S.C. The Andersons live at a Harborcreek Township mobile-home park in the summer.
Extra content:
Chat about the State Budget:
http://forums.goerie.com/ -- Closing Threatened
Among the regional attractions and services that could close:
-- Parks
# Presque Isle State Park, including the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, and Erie Bluffs State Park in Erie County.
# Pymatuning State Park in Crawford County.
# Cook Forest State Park, Clarion, Jefferson and Forest counties.
-- Casino
# Presque Isle Downs & Casino, Summit Township.
-- Museums
# Erie Maritime Museum, home of the U.S. Brig Niagara, Erie.
# Drake Well Museum, Titusville, Venango County.
-- Driver services
# Driver's license centers in Erie and Crawford counties.
Pittsburgh resident Gail Duke, 50, visiting Erie this week with her husband, William Duke, said she would hate to see Presque Isle close to the public. The front gate would swing shut, and salaried park rangers -- who would keep working during the shutdown -- would ask people who entered the park to leave.
"It would turn a lot of people away from vacationing" in Erie, said Gail Duke, as she and her husband relaxed at Barracks Beach.
While Presque Isle visitors relaxed, the budget stalemate raised political tensions in the state capital as Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat, and Senate Republicans continued to blame each other for the impasse.
There was a positive note, however. House and Senate legislative leaders held budget talks Thursday, though neither Rendell nor members of his staff attended, said state Sen. Jane Earll of Fairview Township, R-49th Dist.
Legislative sessions are scheduled through Saturday to avert a possible partial shutdown of government operations.
Earll, the chairwoman of the Senate Community, Economic & Recreational Development Committee, grew frustrated with the administration after its officials declined an invitation to testify before her panel Thursday.
The panel reconvened later to issue subpoenas for Revenue Secretary Thomas Wolf and Secretary of Administration Joseph Martz to testify today.
"The administration is going to close down operations around the commonwealth, and they won't even come down to disclose their plan of action. It's pathetic," Earll said.
Earll wants to ask the officials why they are not working on a way to keep all government services running during continued budget talks. "It's our fundamental responsibility to keep government open and operating," she said.
Chuck Ardo, the governor's spokesman, said that state lawyers are reviewing the subpoenas and will prepare a response to them.
"From our point of view, the subpoenas are an example of politics as usual, at its worst. These secretaries have been and continue to work on budget-related issues and shouldn't have to be distracted from helping to find a solution to the budget crisis," Ardo said.
As for the governor and his staff being involved in talks, Ardo said that would happen when the Legislature develops a budget representing the interests of both the Democratic-controlled House and the Republican-controlled Senate.
The Senate approved a $27 billion spending plan by a 49-1 vote on June 20.
But Rendell and House Democrats support the governor's $27.3 billion budget.
The real stumbling block is that Senate Republicans and Rendell disagree over tying his second-term legislative priorities into the budget package.
One of the biggest unresolved issues is a proposed energy plan, which relies on an annual $5.40 surcharge on residential customers' electric bills. Earll said she fears the surcharge would be higher. The projected average annual costs for commercial customers would be $425 and about $10,000 for industrial customers.
The fees would be used to pay the annual debt on a proposed $850 million bond issue that Earll said would be used to invest in high-risk startup alternative energy companies. Earll said she's opposed to floating the bond issue without a better understanding of how the money would be used.
Earll said the budget should be adopted separately from Rendell's initiatives, but Ardo has said they are intertwined.
Even if the dispute isn't resolved by Monday, Earll said there's no reason for the state's five casinos, including Presque Isle Downs & Casino, to close.
Earll said the state should keep eight Revenue Department workers on the job during the budget talks. Those employees staff the Revenue Department's computer that monitors cash flow through each of the state's slot machines and makes sure the state gets its share.
The Rendell administration deems those workers as nonessential, though the casinos would have to close without them and they could take days, if not weeks, to reopen as each machine is reinspected.
Ardo said the solution to keeping the slots parlors open is not finding a way to keep a few Revenue Department employees working. He said it's in passing a responsible budget that keeps all employees threatened with layoffs on the job.
Earlier Thursday, state Rep. Flo Fabrizio, of Erie, D-2nd Dist., sounded a more optimistic tone that the budget could be resolved. He said an agreement to vote on the energy package at a specific later date -- apart from the budget vote -- could move the stalled talks.
"Overall, I'm still relatively optimistic that we'll have this thing resolved in the next couple of days," he said.
JOHN GUERRIERO can be reached at 870-1690 or by e-mail.
post edited by FishingMike - 2007/07/06 11:13:31