On the day Michael Vick made his debut as a Philadelphia Eagle, Gov. Rendell signed an anti-animal-cruelty bill that, among other things, increases penalties for dog-fighting.

The new law - most elements of which take effect in 60 days - makes it illegal for anyone but a veterinarian to perform the following surgical procedures:

Cropping, trimming or cutting off an ear;
Debarking by cutting or injuring the vocal cords;
Docking or cutting off the tail of a dog over five days of age;
Surgically birthing a dog; and
Removing the dewclaws from a dog over five days of age.

“Until now, these cruel practices could be carried out by dog owners without proper training and without supervision by a licensed vet, which could lead to long-term injury, pain and, in some cases, death to these defenseless animals,” said Rendell, speaking at a bill signing ceremony outside the Capitol.

Animal lovers and their four-footed friends attended, including Pennsylvania's First Dog, Maggie - one of two rescue dogs owned by Rendell and his wife Midge - who was living in an oversized rabbit hutch at a kennel in Lancaster when a volunteer from Main Line Animal Rescue in Chester Springs found her in 2007.

"She was a breeder dog at an Amish farm and her third litter was stillborn," said Rendell, explaining why the breeder gave her up. "She never had a C-section but she could have as many of the breeder dogs on farms do."

"This is the culmination of years of hard work," said the bill's sponsor Rep. Thomas Caltagirone (D., Berks). "The sad truth is that many dogs in in Pennsylvania are subjected to terrible surgical procedures that border on torture."

The paw print of Rubin, a dog who belongs Caltagirone's chief counsel Bill Andring, adorned a ceremonial version of the bill.

Under the new law, kennel owners must keep a record of any of the listed surgeries, including the vet who performed it, as well as the location and date where the surgery was performed.

The Department of Agriculture spokesman Justin Fleming said if a dog warden sees an animal on which the procedures were performed without records they would refer the case as a crueltly complaint to a local humane officer or police department.

The law also makes it a third degree felony to steal an animal for the purpose of dog fighting.

Michael Vick, who spent 18 months in prison for his role in a brutal dog fighting ring, got a standing ovation from the crowd at the half full stadium when he took the field during tonight's Eagles game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Among the speakers at the bill signing today was Marsha Perelman, president of the board of the ASPCA, which issued a stinging rebuke of the Eagles decision to sign Vick.

Perelman, also a member of the Dog Law Advisory Board, praised a newly-fit Rendell for “carrying the ball” on the issue.

“Being in the shape he’s in today, I would rather he be running the ball on the field tonight at the Linc, rather than the person who is going to be doing so.”

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Montgomery County Commish Joe Hoeffel, in an email to supporters Monday declaring he was exploring a run for governor as a champion of progressive values, invoked God with a feminine pronoun. It was little noticed amid the news that he was polling and criticizing the other, more conservative on social issues, candidates.

 "We are all children of God, and we are all equal in Her eyes," Hoeffel wrote (emphasis mine). "Our job is to make sure that our laws reflect and protect that equality."

Gov. Rendell, following the lead of President Obama, asks that U.S. and Pennsylvania state flags be flown at half-mast until sunset on Aug. 30 to honor the memory of Sen. Ted Kennedy.

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A new internal state jobs report indicates that there were more jobs created than lost in Pennsylvania for the first time since the recession began last summer.

Gov. Rendell, speaking at a news conference in the Capitol, said that while the two-week report does not mean that the recession is over, it is "good news." 

"It's clear that Pennsylvania businesses are beginning to expand," he said.

The Department of Labor & Industry report - typically drafted internally for the governor - showed 13 companies expanding or opening with the combined potential creation of 1,892 jobs for the period July 25 to Aug. 7.

In the same period there were five plant closings or layoffs notices, totaling 529 jobs.

On the downside, he said, the state employment rate crept up to 8.5 percent, which Rendell pointed out is still less than the national average in July of 9.4 percent.

Rendell said the latest report is good reason why the legislature  - which continues its budget negotiations this week - should avoid "eviscerating" the economic development programs.
 

Gov. Rendell has signed a bill authorizing $31.6 million in funding for the state Gaming Control Board.

But he said he did so with reservations.

“The 5-percent cut to the Gaming Control Board’s appropriation concerns me," said Rendell in a statement. "This budget requires the board to regulate potentially four new casinos – Sands Bethworks, Rivers Casino, SugarHouse Casino, and Valley Forge Convention Center – with less money than last year. That means they will be regulating nearly 40 percent more slot machines and roughly 2,600 more casino employees with 5 percent less funding."

Rendell said such a "significant" budget cut will make it difficult to fill existing vacancies, make new hires and regulate new facilities effectively.

He added that if the legislature approves table games they should couple with the bill a supplemental appropriation for the Gaming Control Board to "insure the integrity of any expansion."

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While your Commonwealth Confidential reporters have been tracking the state budget debate, Gov. Rendell's battle of the bulge and the signing of Michael Vick, the political blogosphere has been buzzing with news bites on the Pennsylvania gubernatorial campaign trail.

First, the political news blog PA2010 reports today that perennial candidate Joe Hoeffel - now holding court in Norristown as a Montgomery County Commissioner - is commissioning a poll to see how he'd fair against other potential candidates in the gubernatorial race.

In an interview, Hoeffel told PA2010 he was in the process of raising money to pay for the poll, but declined to go into any specifics, such as whether the poll will match him up against just Democratic candidates or Republicans as well.

If he jumps in Hoeffel would join announced candidates, Auditor General Jack Wagner and Philadelphia businessman Tom Knox. Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty is rumored to be considering the race, PA2010 reports. 

Meanwhile over on the R side, Attorney General Tom Corbett’s exploratory campaign is bringing on board a familiar Pennsylvania political powerhouse: David Girard-diCarlo.

Girard-diCarlo - a leading fundraiser for John McCain and George W. Bush, and former U.S. ambassador to Austria - will be Corbett's national finance chairman.

“I am honored to receive the support of Ambassador David Girard-diCarlo,” Corbett said in a statement. “David has a great track record with numerous state and national Republican campaigns and is well respected in the legal and business communities, not only in Pennsylvania, but throughout the United States.”

Corbett takes on U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach in the GOP primary next year.
 

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Actor and education advocate Bill Cosby joined forces with Gov. Rendell at the Capitol today to lobby for increased school funding in the state budget.

"No more cuts," said Cosby, sporting the crimson and gold cap and T-shirt of his alma mater, Central High School in Philadelphia. "Why would you want to take money from a success story and pull back on it?"

Rendell also announced the results of a new national study which found that among the 50 states, only Pennsylvania showed test score improvements in reading and math at all levels from elementary to high school.

Jack Jennings, president of  Washington-based Center on Education Policy, said Pennsylvania, like all states, is not at the "stage it ought to be," but that it is "moving in the right direction."

Rendell and Cosby were surrounded by children and teachers from school districts around Pennsylvania at the news conference in the Rotunda. 

Rendell is currently locked in a budget battle with Senate Republicans that has dragged on for 50 days. Republican leaders contend they are fully funding basic education, but Rendell and other Democrats say the Republican plan uses federal stimulus funding which expires in two years.

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Actor and education advocate (and Philly native) Bill Cosby will join Gov. Rendell tomorrow to announce the results of a new national study showing Pennsylvania students are making progress. In what, we don't yet know.

Cosby and Rendell will tell us at a news conference at noon in the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg.

The latest announcement comes just two weeks after state education officials released what they called an "unprecedented" achievement for Pennsylvania students who registered improved math and reading scores for all seven grade levels that take the state's standardized tests.

All this good news about classroom achievement comes as Rendell continues to fight for additional funding for basic education in the state budget. Right now, however, with school openings nearly upon us, no school districts are getting any money because of the budget impasse.

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