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

Our folks were quiet last week. There was just a short article on the Governor’s Conference (“Governors talk of moving past corn-based ethanol”) on 7/14)

PA Businesses

Lynn Laverty Elsenhans, formerly of Royal Dutch Shell PLC, has been named CEO of Sunoco, based in Philadelphia. See “Sunoco picks Shell veteran Elsenhans for CEO job,” by Jessica Resnick-Ault and Joann S. Lublin (7/17)

Culligan Properties of Canonsburg has delayed the opening of a shopping mall. See “Too many malls swamp developers,” by Kris Hudson (7/17)

Definitely something for us to worry about. “Deregulation jolts Texas electric bills,” by Rebecca Smith (7/17). We deregulate in 2010. It’s coming up quick. Kfein Lowery of Alcoa in Pittsburgh is quoted.

Mark Zandi alert! The Moodys.com economist is quoted in “Continuing vicious cycle of pain in housing and finance ensnares market,” by Michael Corker and James R. Hagerty (7/14)

Brief mentions: Erie Indemnity of Erie (7/18)
Pep Boys (7/17)
W. Atlee Burpee of Warminster (7/15)

Other PA

We learn that musical prodigy Lang Lang attended the Curtis Institute of Music, in “A prodigy’s progress,” by James Penrose (7/19)

An Athens, Pa resident is one of the examples given in “How changes in medicare affect patients,” by Anna Wilde Mathews and Jane Zhang (7/17)

Other Interesting Tidbits

In “In Afghanistan, getting to know the neighbors is half the battle,” by Michael M. Phillips (7/18) discusses the learning curve when one squadron leaves and another replaces it. Soldiers on the ground have learned the local social networks, whose family is feuding with whose, and so on, difficult information to pass on to replacements. The Army has a Wiki-Afghan (mostly classified) which is kept updated by anyone with an authorization to do so.

I don’t know what to make of this situation. “Congress relaxes new rules on lobbyist disclosure,” by Elizabeth Williamson (7/18).

This I found very alarming. “Iraq case sheds light on secret contractors,” by Siobhan Gorman and August Cole (7/17). It just doesn’t sound like a good idea to subcontract all this out to people we clearly aren’t vetting well.