... on Monday. We're taking the day to get caught up on stuff around Casa Capitol Ideas. Not to mention trying to find that perfect Mother's Day gift for Mrs. Capitol Ideas. But we don't want to leave you completely hanging. Here's a video that's been cracking us up lately. Have a great weekend, and we'll see you all back here on Monday.
In Case You Were Wondering ... ... dear readers, you still can't engage in sexual activity in a restaurant.
This Solomonic insight comes to us courtesy of the state Commonwealth
Court, which has ruled that an establishment called Club Kama Sutra in
Philadelphia violated its restaurant permit (and the bounds of
common sense) by providing an area on the premises where patrons "could
openly engage in sexual activity with one another."
No, seriously.
A seven-judge panel split, with Judge Rochelle S. Friedman dissenting, on a lower court's ruling that you can't do the bump-and-grind while waiting for your Buffalo Wings
Apparently, the club had "open cubicles with futon mattresses where patrons could
engage in sexual activity, as well as watch other patrons so engaged,
on the second floor," the decision reads.
The club's owners argued that they were in compliance with their permit
because ... umm ... it allowed "live entertainment." The club owners also
argued that Philadelphia zoning ordinances don't explicitly prohibit
people from making the beast with two backs in public.
With what we presume to be a straight-face, the majority cited a state
Supreme Court decision that mentioned a law allowing off-track betting
in facilities with high-end restaurants.
"Currently, we are aware of no such legislation associating semi-public sexual activity with haute cuisine," Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer wrote.
Stories like this so totally make our day.
The rest of today's news, which sorta pales in comparison, starts after the jump.
State Lawmakers ... ... could vote as soon as next week on a compromise
plan to ban smoking in most public
places, one of the bill’s chief negotiators
said today.
Sen. Stewart J. Greenleaf, R-Montgomery, the chairman
of the joint House and Senate committee that’s been struggling for a
compromise, says he’s “very confident” that the panel will be able to reach an
agreement when it meets on Monday.
“I believe this process, even though it’s been a longer one,
that there’s been a softening of positions,” Greenleaf said in a brief
interview today. “I think … everyone on the committee wants to resolve this.”
Lawmakers have been struggling for nearly a year to pass reach an indoor-smoking ban. The major bone of contention has been over which
establishments, such as small taverns and small clubs, should be exempted from
the ban.
Greenleaf said House and Senate conferees were drafting
amendments, but he declined to say what those
amendments were, or where lawmakers were reaching common ground. The suburban
Philadelphia Republican did say, however, that he favors a ban-bill without any
exemptions.
“From the discussions we’ve had at the committee, I think
we’ll be able to come up with a proposal acceptable to the Senate,” Greenleaf told us. “I think, once we start, it will be finalized in one meeting.”
Rep. Michael Gerber, R-Montgomery, who’s shepherding the
bill through the House, said he’s similarly optimistic. Like Greenleaf, Gerber
declined to discuss the areas where lawmakers might be reaching agreement.
Gerber, who sponsored the original House bill, included five
exemptions in initial his legislation: private clubs, 25 percent of hotel rooms,
tobacco manufacturers, cigar bars and tobacco shops.
The bill originally approved by the House was tougher than
one approved by the Senate, which included exemptions for some bars that sell
food, casinos, nursing homes and addiction treatment centers.
Gov. Ed, who reached out to committee members on
Tuesday, favors a broad ban.
“The governor hopes to end up with a comprehensive and
progressive bill that is enforceable,” administration spokesman Chuck Ardo
said. “He sees no merit in passing a smoking bill that only bans smoking in
name.”
Assuming everything goes according to plan (and that's a big "IF," given the way things have been gong with this bill), lawmakers could cast ballots on the conference report as soon as next Tuesday.
The State Senate Pulled The Plug ... ... on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex and civil unions in Pennsylvania yesterday after its
chief backer acknowledged it had little chance of being approved by the House.
Sen. Michael Brubaker, R- Lancaster,
asked the Republican-controlled chamber to table the measure after
learning it would go to the House State Government Committee, whose
chairwoman, Rep. Babette Josephs, D- Philadelphia, has denounced the proposal as ''lousy public policy.''
In a brief interview, Brubaker said he hasn't given up hope that the majority-Democrat House would change its mind.
''I don't see the issue as dead. It's on the table, and the Senate and
House need to make the decision that they think the bill deserves a
healthy and civil debate,'' Brubaker said. The abrupt shelving of the bill came after a boisterous rally Monday
calling for its rejection, and after a day of discussions between House
and Senate leaders about the proposal's fate in the House. Erik Arneson, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R- Delaware, said Senate leaders were told the bill might be referred to Josephs' committee or to the House Judiciary Committee.
Once they learned the bill was destined for Josephs' panel, the Senate GOP
decided to back off its planned vote because the ''knowledge that the
committee chairwoman is opposed and has no plans of moving the bill''
effectively killed it.
''Whether we can change some minds, I don't know,'' Arneson concluded. Sen. Vincent Fumo, D-Philadelphia, who led the Senate opposition to the
amendment, claimed backers retreated after they learned there were
enough votes to remove language barring ''the functional equivalent of
marriage'' from Brubaker's amendment. Fumo said the ''functional equivalent'' language was intended to
specifically ban civil unions of same-sex couples. And since a
12-year-old state law limits marriage to the union of a man and woman,
embedding the same restrictions in the Constitution without a ban on
civil unions was superfluous, he said.
''I'll take a win any way I can take it,'' said the twice-divorced
Fumo, who backed a sarcastic addendum to Brubaker's proposal that would
have banned divorce in the state. It was aimed at amendment proponents'
claims that same-sex marriages undermine traditional marriage. Brubaker rejected Fumo's claims, saying, ''All the speculation that people are offering is just that -- speculation."
Possibly ... but now it's on to the other stuff. Speaking of which, the rest of today's news starts after the jump.
This Is Why We So Totally Love This Place. Just when you think the General Assembly has run out of ways to surprise you, someone comes along and
introduces a measure so nuts that the affairs of state get turned on their head and the political process becomes a piece of performance art.
... ban most forms of divorce, because that's the best way to protect the institution of marriage.
"Listening to the supporters
and advocates for [the amendment], they tell me that their goal is not to hurt any group
of people, but to protect the valuable yet beleaguered institution of marriage," Fumo said in a statement so cravenly political that it's actually making our sides hurt with laughter.
"In my view, there is no greater threat to families and to marriage than the high divorce rate in our society," he continued. "So if we truly want our Constitution to guard the
institution of marriage, we should focus on keeping those marital unions
together,” said Fumo,.who's twice-divorced. Fumo's proposal would would prohibit divorce except in the case of "willful and malicious desertion, cruel and barbarous treatment of a spouse,
endangerment of the life or health of a spouse, a bigamous marriage or
imposition of such indignities as to render a spouse’s condition intolerable and
life burdensome.”
This afternoon's debate should be utterly surreal.
Reminding Us That Some People ... ... are still running for office, we arrived at Capitol Ideas World Headquarters this morning to
find dueling press releases from state Attorney General Tom Corbett and his Democratic challenger, John Morganelli, giving off a warm radioactive glow in our in-box. Maximizing the advantage of the incumbency, Corbett wrote to let us know that he was taking his law & order message to the kids this morning by kicking off something called "Operation Summer Surf," at Central Dauphin East Middle School in suburban Harrisburg. Closer inspection revealed that the 10 a.m. news conference was aimed at giving parents tips on how to monitor their kids' online activities during the long dog-days of summer that await them. We have one suggestion: it's called "Turning off the computer and making the moppets play outside." That way, they can replace the pale, greenish tint they get from staring at their computer monitors all day long, with a nice, melanoma-inducing sunburn.
Morganelli, meanwhile, decided to take the opportunity to call on Corbett to use his regulatory authority to impose a rule requiring gun owners to report lost or stolen weapons. More astute readers may recall that legislation imposing this requirement has been languishing in the House since shortly after the French and Indian War ended. "Today, I am here to tell you that we CAN take guns out of the hands of criminals, children and the mentally ill without disarming law-abiding citizens," Morganelli wrote in a statement that was both underlined and in bold type (all the better to convey his high seriousness in the matter). "To do so, we have to be both smart and tough."
Which reminds us, the rest of today's news, which is coincidentally both smart and tough, starts after the jump.
Though The Primary's Been Over ... ... for two weeks now, the state House has finally gotten around to wending its way back to
Harrisburg. Lower chamber lawmakers convene for their spring session at 1 p.m. this afternoon. The Senate, which started work last week, is also back. By our count, the two chambers and the Rendell administration now have roughly 60 days to pass and sign the 2008-2009 state budget. This oughta be plenty of time. Nonetheless, we're still getting ready to cancel our July 4 plans for the seventh year in a row. Not that we're putting any pressure on 'em. The rest of today's news starts, as always, after the jump.
It's That Time Of Year Again ... ... when state lawmakers file their annual Statements of Financial Interest with the state Ethics Commission, thus revealing their outside sources of income and any gifts or hospitality they may have accepted from outside interests in 2007. Updated: Sixteen of the nearly two-dozen legislators who represent the Greater Lehigh Valley reported receiving some kind of outside income last year. The sources ranged from Jersey Shore rental properties (Rep. Paul Clymer) to family-owned businesses (Rep. Craig Dally, R-Northampton, just to name one). In addition, six legislators reported receiving outside gifts or hospitality last year. They are:
Rep. Karen Beyer, R-Lehigh (Phila. Convention and Visitors Bureau, $905).
Rep. Joe Brennan, D-Northampton (PA Ski Association, $650 for lift tickets)
Rep. Jennifer Mann, D-Lehigh (Democratic Leadership Council, $2,281)
Rep. Keith McCall, D-Carbon (Monterey Peninsula Foundation, Golf Outing, $5,000)
Rep. Marguerite Quinn, R-Bucks (PA Convention and Visitors Bureau, $768)
Rep. Doug Reichley, R-Lehigh ($250 worth of donated bottled water for a kids expo he threw).
A joint Morning Call/Associated Press report on these and other expenditures will be running in tomorrow's Dead-Tree edition of your favorite hometown newspaper. Below, we've posted links to the filings for lawmakers representing the Greater Lehigh Valley and its environs.
We'll File This One Under ... ... "Being Careful What You Wish For." Every once in a while, we'll get an interoffice e-mail alerting us to the presence of food in the main Allentown newsroom. Such was the case last week, when someone sent out a note inviting our colleagues to partake of some cake. Feeling a touch on the left-out side, we zapped back a note asking them, if possible, to FedEx us a piece. Little did we know that someone would actually take us seriously. So, a tip of the hat to Morning Call Features Editor Mike Hirsch, who actually had the gumption to see, and then raise us, on our cheekiness. A package of seriously flattened pastry greeted us when we arrived at Capitol Ideas World Headquarters this morning. We haven't laughed that hard for a while. While you appreciate the sublime genius that is Mike Hirsch, we'll move on to the rest of today's news. It starts, as always, after the jump.
We're Going To Keep ... ... today's entry short and sweet.
And it's not because we have something else to do, or that something else, dear readers, comes before you in our affections. Mostly, it's because a technician from our Local Telecommunications Monopoly is scheduled to stop by Casa Capitol Ideas sometime this morning to make our connection to the Interwebs so fast that we'll be able to make like Matthew Broderick in "Wargames" and start a globally destabilizing conflict from the comfort of our own living room. Hmmm ... if that's the case, does that also mean that Ally Sheedy will be stopping by? This bears investigating. While we do that, why don't you check out the rest of today's news. It starts, as always, after the jump.
Inside Harrisburg - insight and perspective from The Morning Call's state house reporter John L. Micek.
