http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/harrisburg_politics RSS Feed for Inq Harrisburg Politics en-us Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:53:26 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/harrisburg_politics/Online-calculator-tallies-up-school-funding-cuts.html Wonder how much your school district has lost since Gov. Corbett took office last year? http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/harrisburg_politics/Lid-comes-off-birth-and-death-records.html Until now, it was easier to get an FBI file than it was to get your grandmother's death certificate in Pennsylvania. But thanks to a new law, which took a quarter century to enact, Pennsylvania state agencies are offering access to birth and death records from the 20th century. http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/harrisburg_politics/How-much-does-an-egg-sandwich-cost-these-days.html ... If you are state Health Secretary Eli Avila, nothing, apparently. If you are citizen taxpayer - it could be well into the tens of thousands of dollars. http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/harrisburg_politics/Second-lawmaker-calls-on-DeWeese-to-step-down.html The chorus grows. A second Democratic legislator says a longtime colleague convicted of theft should exit the House where he once presided. State Rep. Babette Josephs (D., Phila.) issued a statement on Wednesday saying Bill DeWeese — the chamber’s former Democratic leader — has "no business on House floor." http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/harrisburg_politics/A-Marcellus-Shale-agreement-in-the-works.html After months of wrangling behind closed doors, Gov. Corbett and Republicans who hold the majority in both legislative chambers have a tentative agreement on a fee on the extraction of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale. http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/harrisburg_politics/PA-Supreme-Court-issues-opinion-on-legislative-maps-chides-LRC-for-delaying-process-.html The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has issued its full opinon explaining why it rejected the legislative district boundary maps approved by a commission in December. In the 87-page ruling, the court said the bipartisan commission violated the constitution by unnecessarily dividing too many municipalities. http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/harrisburg_politics/DeWeese-takes-stand-proclaims-innocence-in-corruption-case.html Former House Speaker Bill DeWeese took the stand in his own defense today in a courtroom just five blocks from the Capitol where he held forth, including stints House Speaker and top Democratic leader, for four decades. http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/harrisburg_politics/House-Speaker-sues-to-stop-use-of-2001-legislative-district-maps.html The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's stunning decision to toss the newly-drawn legislative district maps has prompted a law suit by a top GOP leader. http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/harrisburg_politics/Panel-recommends-statewide-ban-on-courthouse-Tweeting.html With laptops and IPhones at their fingertips, reporters in a Harrisburg courtroom awaited the start of opening arguments last week n in the much-anticipated trial of former House Speaker Bill DeWeese. Then Dauphin County President Judge Todd Hoover entered and tod them there would be no Tweeting in his courtroom. http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/harrisburg_politics/Rendell-compares-GOP-presidential-candidates-to-a-clown-car.html One day after causing a mini-dust up in the Pennsylvania state Capitol, former Gov. Ed Rendell took on the national GOP candidates likening them to clowns in a "clown car" at the circus.