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

Pennsylvania gets some mentions in “Labor woos whites for Obama,” by Brody Mullins and Kris Maher (10/07)

“McCain still targets Pennsylvania, Ohio,” by Elizabeth Holmes (10/08)

Articles on the presidential campaign that only mention Pennsylvania in passing are not listed.

PA Businesses
From “Home Depot learns to go local,” by Ann Zimmerman (10/07):

When Safeway Inc. in 2001 bought Genuardi’s, a small Philadelphia-area supermarket chain,” it dropped several local and regional products in favor of national brands. Customers revolted and sales dropped for three years before recovering, says Burt Flickinger, managing director of Strategic Marketing Group, a consulting company.

Wharton prof Stephen Hoch is quoted in the same article.

Pittsburgh International Airport has sealed off part of its terminal due to decreased usage, according to “Airports suffer terminal illness,” by Scott McCartney (10/07)

The Pittsburgh-based aluminum maker is the focus of “Alcoa digs in as soft demand sinks profits,” by Robert Guy Matthews (10/08)

U.S. Steel is among the companies discussed in “Steelmakers weigh cuts in production,” by Robert Guy Matthews (10/08)

This week’s requisite Mark Zandi (of West Chester-based Moody’s Economy.com) quote is in “Home loans ‘under water’ grow, pressure the economy,” by James R Hagerty and Ruth Simon (10/08). He is also quoted in “Slowing export machine is starting to sputter,” by Timothy Aeppel (10/08)

Just in case you ever need to know, Patrick Egan of Fox Rothschild LLP had defended Internet pharmacists. See “New bill targets rogue druggists on the Internet,” by Sarah Rubenstein (10/09)

Other PA

Two Pennsylvania families are mentioned / quoted in “The next bailout: your adult children?” by Sue Shellenberger (10/08)

William Kilpatrick, of Pennsylvania, is quoted in “A month away, some voters can’t decide,” by Easha Anand and Brad Haynes (10/06)

Neel T. Kashkari, interim assistant secretary for financial stability in the Treasury Dept. (who will handle the bailout), who bears a striking resemblance to the actor playing the mummy in “The Mummy,” is a Wharton grad. See “Regulators outline steps to quell crisis,” by Deborah Solomon (10/07)

Bethlehem Steel by Kenneth Warren is reviewed by Paul Ingrassia (10/08)

Wharton School postdoc student Scott Rick tells us the earthshattering news that if you had two thrifty parents, you are likely to be thrifty as well. See “Making of a miser: nature vs. nuture,” by Neal Templin (10/09)

The Phillies get a mention in “Out of left field: the errors in counting black ballplayers,” by Carl Bialik (10/10)

Other Interesting Tidbits

David Lodge, one of my favorite novelists, is interviewed in “His university career is over, but not his academic studies,” by Naomi Schaefer Riley (10/09). Academics might try “Small World;” normal people might start with “Paradise News.” I didn’t read his early Catholic novels but am told they are good. A British prof who specialized in Renaissance literature suggested I try Lodge when I was a grad student and I have eagerly awaited his new novels ever since.

In the “makes my head explode” and “delusional, criminal, or just plain nuts” departments, we find “Lawmakers lay into Lehman CEO,” by Susanne Craig (10/07). Just days before its collapse Lehman Brothers paid three executives a total of more than $23 million. CEO Richard Fuld, Jr., has, been paid $480 million since 2000. That’s an average of $60 a year. Nice work if you can get it, especially if the government will bail out when your high flier crashes and burns. In “Congress grills former AIG chiefs,” by Liam Pleven and Susanne Craig (10/08), we read that AIG, a firm that received $85 billion from the government to shore up its finances, was paying a former executive $1 A MONTH in consulting fees. Might be torch and pitchfork time.