PA in the WSJ

This is a list of articles regarding Pennsylvania in this past week's Wall Street Journal. Chances are I missed something, but these are the articles that caught my eye.

It should be noted that I routinely do not read the editorials in the WSJ. So any discussions of the state, its elected officials, businesses, or citizens, in editorials will not be mentioned here.


PA Politicians

Laura Meckler’s “How Erisa may trip up bids to extend coverage,” (7/07) mentions Pennsylvania in several places, for example:

Big states including California, Pennsylvania and Illinois are debating proposals that give employers a choice between providing insurance or paying into a fund to subsidize coverage for those who can’t afford it. Several other states are considering the approach. But business opponents and others say the strategy, known as “pay or play,” might violate a 1974 law that bars states from regulating certain health plans.

Later

In Pennsylvania, Democratic Gov. Edward Rendell has proposed that all but the smallest employers spend at least 4% of their payroll on health coverage or contribute the difference between that and what they actually spend to a state fund. “This plan will mete out pain to everybody in the health-care delivery system – everyone,” he said as he outlined his proposal in December.

And later

States working to revamp their health-care systems are trying to avoid colliding with Erisa. Pennsylvania and Illinois are considering imposing broad-based taxes on employers while giving credits to ones that are already spend a certain amount on insurance. One problem: Under Erisa the state has no power to examine the quality of the insurance offered.

PA Businesses

Steven Singer Jewelers, of the “I Hate Steven Singer” billboards fame, is highlighted in “Jeweler cultivates fun image for the guys,” by Simona Covel (7/02)

“Japan retailer tops Barneys bid,” by Amy Chozick and Rachel Dodes (7/06) the bids to acquire Bristol’s Joes Apparel Group is discussed.

Other PA

A Monroeville resident is one of the examples given in “How depression weakens the brain,” By Shirley S. Wang (7/03). He was treated at the Late Life Depression clinic of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

In “Giving till it hurts,” by Sally Beatty (7/06) an article on people giving away most of their money, the American Baptist Foundation in Valley Forge is mentioned as a recipient of some gifts.

Philadelphia was one of six cities included in a research project to study what was normal brain activity for children in “Study of kids’ brains hopes to answer, what is normal?” by Robert Less Hotz (7/06) Some highlights:

It reveals that gender differences and income disparities matter less than previously believed and that health matters more, project researchers reported in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society.

Other tidbits: boys and girls have an equal aptitude for math. By age 12 many kids are as capable mentally as adults.

The Real American by Sally Jenkins is reviewed by David M. Shribman on 7/07. The book is a history of the Carlisle Indians football team.

Other Interesting Tidbits

“Conservatives find their voice on the web,” by June Kronholz and Amy Schatz (7/03) on the rise of conservative bloggers and their role in the defeat of the immigration bill.