Wake-Up Call: Wednesday, August 27, 2008

With the PolitickerPA.com Wake-Up Call e-mailed to your inbox, phone, Blackberry or PDA first thing in the morning, you can get a rundown of Pennsylvania's top political headlines. Sign up to get the Wake-Up Call delivered every morning.

With the PolitickerPA.com Wake-Up Call e-mailed to your inbox, phone, Blackberry or PDA first thing in the morning, you can get a rundown of Pennslyvania's top political headlines. Sign up to get the Wake-Up Call delivered every morning.

Murtha says Biden would make Ridge pick a wash

DENVER – In selecting U.S. Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) as his running mate, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has undercut any gains Republican rival John McCain could make in Pennsylvania by picking former Keystone State governor Tom Ridge, U.S. Rep. John Murtha (D-Johnstown) suggested today. (PolitickerPA.com, Alex Isenstadt)

Link: http://www.politickerpa.com/alexisenstadt/1470/murtha-says-biden-would-m...

State plays lead convention role

DENVER -- The speakers' roster at the Democratic National Convention reads like a who's who of Pennsylvania politics, highlighting the Keystone State's potentially pivotal role in the presidential race. (Tribune Review, David Brown)

Link: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/state/s_585090.html

Challenger criticizes how attorney general has handled Bonusgate

HARRISBURG -- Attorney General Tom Corbett has "botched" the ongoing investigation into government corruption, his Democratic opponent in the November election said yesterday during a talk before the Pennsylvania Press Club. (Post Gazette, Tracie Mauriello)

Link:  http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08239/906973-178.stm

Proposed bill to limit gambling board's lawyers

HARRISBURG -- Lawyers for the state Gaming Control Board would be prohibited from working for casinos for one year after leaving the board under legislation proposed Monday. (Tribune Review, Brad Bumsted)

Link: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/state/s_584859.html

Council eyes countersuit against Roddey

Democrats on Allegheny County Council yesterday said they plan to countersue former county Chief Executive Jim Roddey, claiming he filed a frivolous lawsuit against them. (Post Gazette, Karamagi Rujumba)

Link:  http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08240/907172-85.stm

Giving no quarter in Pa. state race

HARRISBURG - In the race to determine who should be Pennsylvania's chief law enforcer for the next four years, the discussion yesterday swirled around an expired parking meter. (Inquirer, AP)

Link: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20080827_Giving_no_quarter_in_Pa__s...

Rendell warns Pa. delegates about party unity

DENVER--With literally thousands of reporters in town looking for any sign of lingering animosity from the contentious primary battle between U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Gov. Ed Rendell warned his delegates not to contribute to any disunity. (PolitickerPA.com, Dan Hirschorn)

Link: http://www.politickerpa.com/danh/1465/rendell-warns-pa-delegates-about-p...

Bill would make state pay child support fee

HARRISBURG -- To Susan Aughinbaugh of Cumberland County, $25 can be the difference between a holiday dinner and a can of Spam.

That's why state Rep. Kate Harper, R-Montgomery, is seeking to repeal a $25 annual fee charged to 157,000 Pennsylvanians who receive child support totaling more than $2,000 a year and who have never received Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. (Post Gazette, Tracie Mauriello)

Link: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08240/907171-454.stm

Ross's longtime manager fired

Longtime Ross Manager Tom Lavorini has been fired after a tumultuous year that nearly cost him his job twice before. (Tribune Review, Daveen Kurutz)

Link: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_585074....

GOP's Murphy gets Teamsters' backing

The Teamsters Joint Council 40 has endorsed a slate of Western Pennsylvania incumbents in the U.S. House of Representatives, including Republican Tim Murphy. (Tribune Review, Mike Wereschagin)

Link: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_585035....

Health Department seeks roughly $1.7 million in federal grants.

HARRISBURG - For the first time in years, the Rendell administration plans to disburse federal money to organizations and schools for abstinence-only sex education, despite complaints that such programs are discriminatory and ineffective. (Inquirer, Angela Coloumbis)

Link: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/20080827_Health_Department_seeks...

Rendell looks for Obama's ability to connect

If you're a politician from Illinois, you want to be compared to Abraham Lincoln. That's why Barack Obama announced his candidacy at the Old State House in Springfield, Ill. a site closely associated with the Lincoln legend. You don't want to be compared to Adlai Stevenson. But on Tuesday, Ed Rendell, in a conversation with The Washington Post, likened Obama to Stevenson. (Philly.com, Staff)

Link: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/politics/Rendell_looks_for_Obamas_abi...

With the PolitickerPA.com Wake-Up Call e-mailed to your inbox, phone, Blackberry or PDA first thing in the morning, you can get a rundown of Pennsylvania's top political headlines. Sign up to get the Wake-Up Call delivered every morning.