Assorted News Items

A few news items:

Do we really need to hire someone to do this? Aren't there enough people on the state payroll? ("2 face investigation for Pa. film-lobbying role," by Mario Cattabiani Inquirer 9/25)

Good riddance to bad rubbish. The head of PHEAA is leaving. I've wanted to write about the waste and misbehavior there but every time I did my head would explode. As noted in today's Capitol Ideas blog:

Tragically named PHEAA boss Dick Willey will retire at the end of the year, the Associated Press reports this morning. He made his plans known in a letter to Rep. Bill Adolph, chairman of the gold-plated agency's governing board.
Willey, 61, said he'd planned to retire after serving for five years and completely wrecking PHEAA's reputation (kidding, we made that last part up. Turns out it was just an unexpected fringe benefit that went with the major medical care).
"Today, we have achieved extraordinary success by any measure, be it earnings growth, operational efficiency, or the $200 million annual public service gift we provide to Pennsylvania students and families each year," Willey said with what we presume to have been a straight face.
For those of you keeping score at home, Willey's base salary was $289,000, and he was paid a $181,000 bonus last month, the AP reported.

In lighter news, for those who will be in downtown Philly this Friday evening, Joshua Furst's fiance would like you to know that he will be reading from his first novel, The Sabotage Cafe at Robin's Bookstore at 6 p.m.