PA in the WSJ

This is a list of articles regarding Pennsylvania in this 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

Sen. Specter does this honors this week. In “FDA seeks extra $275 million to beef up overseas inspections,” by Jared A. Favole (5/1), correspondence between Specter and Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, FDA commissioner is detailed.

PA Businesses

W. Atlee Burpee & Co., of Warminster, the seed packet people, are metioned in “Pushing the envelope on vegetbles. (5/16)

Ariella Furman, a Temple senior, has a small business making virtual movies for Second Life (“My virtual summer job,” by Alexandra Alter (5/16)

“EarthLink to end Philadelphia municipal wireless service,” by Andrew LaVallee (5/14)

Other PA

A Pittsburgh condominium / town house within walking distance of a baseball park is highlighted in “Money’s worth” on (5/15)

From “Matchmakers: patients meet clinical trials,” by Laura Landro (5/14):

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is offering an unusual interactive Web site that lets patients click through video interviews with physicians and other patients who have participated in clinical trials. “Our goal is to provide information that helps patients reduce their fear of participating in clinical research so that they can make well-considered, informed decisions,” says Samuel Jacobs, associate director for clinical investigations at UPMC’s cancer institute.

The lawyer trying to find out the number of times HMOs “rejected pharmacy requests to fill Medicaid enrollee’s prescriptions,” Sheldon Toubman, is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s law school. From “Disclosure push roils state Medicaid program,” by Jane Zhang (5/13)

Other Interesting Tidbits

From, “Mesa sets major order from GE wind turbines,” (5/16):

Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens’s Mesa Power LLP placed the biggest-ever single-side order for wind turbines with General Electronic Co., the latest sign of growing momentum behind clean-energy initiatives despite lingering uncertainty over government support.

Mesa will purchase 667 GE 1.5 megawatt wind turbines, as part of the $2 billion first phase of the biggest wind farm in the U.S.

From the Washington section of “U.S. Watch” (5/13), a collaborative report between the Energy Department and industry says that by 2030 wind turbines can produce 20% of the national electricity needs.

“New sites make it easier to spy on your friends,” by Vauhini Vara (5/13), gives me new reasons to keep personal information off the Internet.