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Former state Representative Jeff Habay has been scheduled to serve the remainder of his sentence in a halfway house.  Habay was first convicted in a bizarre case when violated state laws by having his legislative staff campaign on state time.  Then Habay mailed himself a “suspicious” white powder and blamed it on a political foe.  Habay was once considered a rising star in GOP politics. 

The Centre County Board of Commissioners voted on Tuesday to do away with the electronic touch screen voting systems the county purchased just two years ago.  They will replace them with paper ballots.  The county will be purchasing more than $924K in new equipment that will read the paper ballots.

Margie Stuski: Campaign photoLEMOYNE -- Margie Stuski knows she still must overcome long-shot odds to become Cumberland County's only Democratic lawmaker.

But long odds are better than no odds. Two years ago, Stuski couldn't even schedule a debate when she ran against Jerry Nailor, longtime 88th Legislative District representative. The veteran of Philadelphia politics was little more than token opposition.

Nailor's retirement, however, and Pennsylvania's continued leftward swing, felt even in central Pennsylvania, has at least given Stuski a chance to fissure the GOP-dominated county when she runs against Republican Sheryl Delozier this fall.

U.S. Rep. Charles DentU.S. Rep. Charles Dent (R-Allentown) is drawing attention to his opponent's fundraising numbers, specifically her struggles in securing donations from within the 15th Congressional District.

Dent raised about $230,000 in the second fundraising quarter, barely more than the $226,000 raised by Democrat Sam Bennett. Dent did finish the reporting period with significantly more cash on hand, boasting about $686,000 compared with $353,000 for Bennett.

But in a statement last week, Dent's campaign said a closer look at Bennett's campaign finance reports revealed her lack of support within the district, which stretches across Lehigh, Northampton, Berks and Montgomery counties.

Saying Bennet was "miserably failing at raising financial support from people in our community," Dent's campaign said that 87 percent of Bennett's itemized, non-PAC donations came from outside the district. Of the $154,000 in itemized contributions above $200 Bennett collected, only $19,820 came from donors in the district, the campaign said.

"It's ridiculous," Dent Campaign Manager Shawn Millan said in the statement, which also said that Bennett had raised more money from out of state than from district residents. "You go through her reports and you see street addresses for California but nothing from Catasauqua."

The attacks by Dent's campaign came less than a week after Bennett called for a "clean campaign pledge" and said she would not engage in "negative personal attacks."

NORRISTOWN - While announcing a voter registration drive he hopes will bring recently departed Republicans back to the GOP, Montgomery County Republican Committee Chairman Robert Kerns took an opportunity to again invite back the party's most high-profile defector: County Commissioner Jim Matthews.

Ever since Matthews, a Republican, formed a power-sharing agreement with fellow commissioner Joe Hoeffel, a Democrat, Republican Commissioner Bruce Castor has been cut out of power, and the GOP has had trouble controlling the county agenda. The political battle has pained county Republicans.

Appearing at the county courthouse here Tuesday afternoon, Kerns said: "What Jim Matthews did is what he decided to do-we're working on bringing him back."

Asked to clarify following the brief news conference, Kerns did not point to specific efforts being made to court Matthews but said it was up to Matthews to "show that he wants to work with Bruce."

"What we're trying to show is the Republican Party is open," he said.

Montgomery County Republican Committee Chairman Robert Kerns invites recently-registered Democrats to come back to the GOP.NORRISTOWN - The Montgomery County Republican Committee on Tuesday announced a major voter registration drive, with party leaders saying they hoped longtime Republicans who had changed registration to participate in April's historic Democratic primary would return to the GOP.

Addressing reporters outside the county courthouse here, county GOP chairman Robert Kerns called on recently-registered Democrats to return to the party that, until April, had controlled the county for decades.

"We hope to bring the little elephants home," Kerns said. "It's time to come back to the Republican Party."

Adding to its growing operation in the crucial Philadelphia suburbs, the campaign of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) opened yet another office Tuesday, this one in Chester County.

The campaign placed its county headquarters in West Chester, with the grand opening Tuesday.

Democrats and Independents combined now outnumber Republicans in Chester County, making the area key to Obama's hopes for beating U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the state.

The opening in West Chester comes on the heels of multiple campaign offices opening in Montgomery and Delaware counties in recent days. 

Reform advocate Gene Stilp has sent out a comical press release calling for a “Miss Legislative Reform 2008” contest to be held in the capitol rotunda on Monday July 28th at 11 AM.

Of course the early favorite to win is former Miss Rain Day winner and Bonusgate star Angela Bertugli.

Attorney General Tom Corbett is fending off questions raised about his own campaign and criticisms from Democratic opponent John Morganelli in the wake of the "Bonusgate" bombshell he dropped two weeks ago.

The criticisms could potentially slow momentum for the rumored GOP gubernatorial candidate after he earned praise immediately following the charges.

A story from the Lebanon Daily News on Sunday detailed how employees of the attorney general's office have taken leaves of absence to work on Corbett's re-election campaign. Although this kind of campaign work is common and far from the accusations leveled Corbett level at the House Democratic Caucus, it did raise the specter of hypocrisy and whether the attorney general should hold himself to a higher standard.

Former Gov. Tom Ridge (R) is trying to stay above the scandal engulfing the state Capitol.

In an interview Monday with PolitickerPA.com, Ridge said only that he was "surprised and disappointed" by the charges but declined to comment further.

"I'll reserve comment and let the attorney general and legal system take its course," Ridge said.

Two weeks ago, Attorney General Tom Corbett charged 12 current and former members of the House Democratic Caucus with a litany of crimes connected with an alleged scheme to reward political work with taxpayer money.