PA in the WSJ

I don't know if some weeks are just chock full of PA-related news and others lacking or if things just jump out at me more some weeks. Last week there was so little PA news in the Wall Street Journal that I didn't even write it up. This week there was a ton of materials. No guarantees that this is everything, but it is a lot.

PA Politicians

From “Opening Bid on Health Care,” by Sarah Lueck, 2/06

Patrick Toomey, president of the Republican antitax group Club for Growth, said Mr. Edwards’s plan wouldn’t sit well with most voters, who, he said “already think taxes are too high.” The idea is “very good news for the Republican candidate, whoever that may be.”

PA Businesses

Watch out Baby Einstein, West Chester, PA’s So Smart! Productions (sosmart.com) also produces “animated programs for babies, toddlers and preschool kids.” Started in 1997, by Scott and Alexandra Tornek, it is part of a group of small producers of children’s DVDs to work with one distributor and package their products together in a single product line. (“Small Makers of Children’s DVDs Unite to Take on Big Rival,” by Raymund Flandez, 2/06)

Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial Services Group is the focus of “Help Wanted: Bank Officials to Watch Cash,” by Clint Riley (2/06), or more specifically, one of their vice presidents, Jon Elvin, is.

This may be old news:

The case originated as Wal-Mart was gathering increased attention by unions and others for labor practices that critics said were unfair to workers. Since then, courts in Pennsylvania, California and Colorado have issues judgments of as much as $100 million in cases where store employees were made to work off the clock and through rest breaks. (Wal-Mart to Seek Further Hearing,” by Gary McWilliams and Ann Zimmerman 2/07)

A silver lining? “Toll CEO Sees Uptick Behind Grim Numbers,” by Janet Morrissey (2/09)

I wonder who is behind the Pennsylvania part of this. Anyone know? In “Senate Weighs Spending Bill,” by David Rogers (2/09), we find this:

But under the current bill, both the 2006 appropriations and the extra money authorized by the energy bill look available. Sen. Byrd isn’t alone among NETL’s [National Energy Technology Laboratory] champions. It also has a big campus in Pennsylvania and smaller offices in three other states.

Brief mentions:

Lincoln National Corp (Philadelphia, 2/06)

Penn Mutual Life Insurance (Horsham, 2/07)

Franklin Mint (2/05)

American Eagle Outfitters (Warrendale, 2/09)


Other PA

The book Monkey Girl, by Edward Humes, on the Dover intelligent design court case is reviewed by Pamela Winnick in “Dover Meets Darwin,” on 2/08.

On 2/08 Mark Yost reports from the Eastern sports and Outdoor Show, hosted by Harrisburg, in “Scoping Out the Hunting Gear.”

Rebecca Rimel, head of the Pew Charitable Trusts is profiled in “A Foundation Head Central to the Philadelphia Story,” by Judith Dobrzynski (2/08). For those who were curious, the article says Rimel is pronounced RHYME-el. I had no idea.

Only twice since 2001 have air marshals drawn their weapons. One of those times was ”in August 2002, an agent held the entire coach section of a Delta flight to Philadelphia at gunpoint while his partner restrained an unruly passenger.” (“U.S. Air Marshal Service Navigates Turbulent Times,” by Laura Meckler and Susan Carey, 2/09)

Other Interesting Things

There is a synopsis of the Atlantic article on the group of gay millionaires that banded together to support candidates at the state and local level who would be more receptive to social issues of their interest than the incumbents. (“Millionaires’ Electoral Campaign to Defeat Antigay Candidates Receives Little Notice,” 2/07)

One of the little known disasters that can befall a campaign is highlighted in “Political Hazard: Candidates Bilked by Their Treasurer,” by Jeanne Cummings (2/08)

The power of blogging – from “The Snake Eater,” by Daniel Henninger (2/08), “This is a story of can-do in a no-can-do world, a story of how a Marine officer in Iraq, a small network design company in California, a nonprofit troop-support group, a blogger and other undeterrable folk designed a hand-held insurgent-identification device, built it, shopped it and deployed it in Anbar province. They did this in 30 days, from Dec. 15 to Jan. 15. Compared to standard operating procedure for Iraq, this is a nanosecond.” The blogger is from New Jersey, otherwise there’s no local angle, but it’s a great story nonetheless.

In other blogging news, the 2/06 “paygrade” feature says “most self-employed bloggers take home between $2,000 and $10,000 a month in ad revenue…” It goes on to add “During election time, for example, a political blogger can bring in $20,000 to $30,000 a month,” says Ken Layne, West Coast bureau chief for Wonkette. According to the article, it takes at least 6 months to build a readership. Authors Sarah Needleman and Aja Carmichael are certainly presenting a very rosy picture. I think this is like discussing the acting profession but limiting your data to the salaries of box office stars.

Even more blogging news, especially for conspiracy theorists: “Senate Republicans Aim to split Democrats from liberal bloggers on Iraq,” part of the Washington Wire (2/09) by John Harwood says, in part,

McConnell’s insistence on Gregg’s war-funding resolution aims to divide antiwar blogosphere from Democrats wary of cutting money for troops. Though squeeze is toughest on 2008 contenders, other Democrats may be forced to wrestle with it for months in votes on war appropriations.