Charlotte and I took off for Long Beach Island New Jersey this morning for the weekend. Charlotte went there every summer when she was a kid (not very long ago) and we have gone there a few times since. It is very pretty and we hope that the storms hold off just a little bit longer. I dealt with staff today and did a newspaper interview. Nothing really stops when you are away from the office thanks to today’s technology. I didn’t see much in the news today regarding state issues. Everyone in the media seems to be waiting for either more indictments from the Bonusgate investigation or the start of Senator Vince Fumo’s corruption trial. It is a sad state of affairs.

- John

I didn’t have anything scheduled today but was busy. There is always plenty to do in this job and I try to get everything done that I can each day. I am going out of town with Charlotte for the weekend so I’ve got to get caught up before I leave. I did a couple of interviews today, one concerned the news that the state’s revenues were coming in under projections. I didn’t see this report but it is consistent with where we were in early July and some of the statements that were made at that time about how far we could be in the red by the end of the fiscal year. With the shortfalls seen in various other states and the economy trending the way it has been, this was not the year to increase spending in Harrisburg. People are already talking about raising taxes next year. The stage will be set to take more from families and businesses in an economic downturn, just when they can afford it the least. Tightening our fiscal belt will be secondary and “investments” in new programs to help Pennsylvanians will proceed despite a lack of funds. I hope these phrases are not woven into news stories in July ‘09.

- John

I got to the Huntingdon Chamber of Commerce breakfast this morning to hear the County Commissioners speak about “the state of the county”. They talked about how tight the budget was and how much needed done with very little revenue. I know this message well having served as a commissioner for 11 years myself. The counties are the dumping ground for state and federal governments. They assign duties to the counties without fully funding the obligation. It’s tough to operate county government for a variety of reasons and not having the funding necessary makes things impossible sometimes. I spent some time in the office today, met with a constituent and went to a reception this evening. The new staff are working out well. I just wish that I had more time to spend with them but they’re catching on just fine anyway thanks to the experienced staff’s tutelage.

- John

I didn’t have any appointments scheduled today so I just worked on letters and with the new staff members on a number of office procedures and projects. The staff had pie and ice cream for me today for my birthday, thanks staff, it was good. There wasn’t much in the news today concerning state issues. I am surprised that no one is criticizing the Attorney General for not announcing any further indictments in the Bonusgate scandal. The closer it gets to election day, the more political the appearance of further indictments. It has been a while since we had an updated figure on legal expenses paid out by the caucuses. People are starting to ask about who the money has been spent on and that question could turn into a nasty legal battle of its’ own. The caucuses claim that they don’t have to disclose that info, the newspapers say that public money was used and therefore it is public information. We’ll see. I understand that we may hear some other interesting and long awaited news this week, stay tuned.

- John

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Happy Labor Day everybody! The weather was great today for ballgames and picnics and I did both. I ran 10 miles early this morning and then went to an Altoona Curve game where Johnny and I helped to sell raffle tickets that benefited Habitat For Humanity Blair County. We brought in over $200 today. I then went to a family picnic where I celebrated my 50th birthday. They had a cake for everyone but my mom made me a blueberry pie that I got to take home just for me. I like homemade pie a lot better than cake so my mother usually bakes me one for my birthday. I think that turning 50 was harder on my mother than me. She said today that she can hardly believe that she has a baby that is 50 years old. Johnny is headed back to his apartment in Alexandria, VA and I came to the office to put up some more file folder pockets. I can’t start to slack off just because I’m getting older.

- John