The smell of his cigarettes still lingers in my memory.He sat on a bench outside the newspaper building, his back against the old brick wall as a streetlight's orange illumination washed down on us. The police radio in his hand warbled about a three-car accident somewhere in the nights......

As Jimmy Buffett once wrote, "On the threshold of adventure, God, I do love this job so."I write this because not only will I be in attendance at the Buffett show Saturday in Camden, N.J., but because I find myself again on the threshold of adventure. This ship will be sailing on......

He glided with broad shoulders through downtown Lancaster during the Fall of 2008 as if he'd come back to the city block where he grew up. One of the most recognizable Republicans anywhere, he mingled with shop owners and competed in a good-spirited jabfest......

Last week, a group of House Republicans called for an end to so-called "pay-to-play" practices in state government.One of the more curious aspects of the proposal is how it would "prohibit state officials from awarding no-bid contracts to anyone who has made campaign contrib......

The skies aren't completely full of storm clouds for U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, the embattled Republican who faces turbulence in 2010 if he wants to be re-elected.Specter is likely to face old rival Pat Toomey, president of the conservative Club For Growth, in next year's Republican primary.......

Heidi Wheaton may be gone, but that doesn't mean it's forever.Wheaton told the Sunday News more than a week ago that she won't run for another six-year term as East Hempfield Township supervisor, closing one of the most colorful and compelling chapters in local political history — fo......

The ship has struck rocks and is taking on water before it even sails out of harbor.Gov. Ed Rendell's proposal to have a commission study the viability of merging the state's 501 school districts into 100 regional territories had all the makings of a long-term Democratic Party plat......

Nestled in one of last week's news articles about outraged Republican state lawmakers trying to prevent Bill Ayers from coming to Millersville University was this quote from state Rep. Bryan Cutler:"At the end of the day, the institution does utilize tax dollars," Cutler said......

Any organization with a $2.3 billion budget hole is going to desperately seek new revenue sources.And there's new interest in Harrisburg for charging municipalities that depend on state police coverage a fee.The state House Appropriations Committee held a hearing Thursday on the......

Members of the Lancaster County Republican Committee face a far-reaching decision when they gather Tuesday night for their annual convention.The party's leadership is at stake.Two men have stepped forward to ascend to the chairman post: Frank Fryburg, the 82-year-old former Manheim ......

When you're a politician in a high-profile seat like the governor's and you have a politically inconvenient proposal to make — one that's going to cause some outrage, but you know deep down it's the right thing to do — the easiest way to get the conversation started is......

Imagine this:You're watching evening television. It's September 2010. On your television screen, in high definition, comes a political advertisement.IMAGE: A husband and wife at a kitchen table. Their faces look concerned. They are perusing bills (could be mortgage, electric......

My heart sank Wednesday night when first I heard about The Great Mulligan."Guess you didn't witness history after all," a co-worker said to me in the newsroom. "Barack Obama took the oath of office again."Quickly I logged on to several news Web sites to spy t......

You're stressed. So am I. The road trip from Lancaster to Washington, D.C., for Barack Obama's momentous inauguration seems at the outset to be a daunting endeavor.If you're apprehensive about traffic, crowds and all the logistics, I share the sentiment. But with some preparation and patie......

She's the gregarious, boisterous lady in the candy-red hat seen at numerous Lancaster County Democratic functions.And she doesn't want to be known as the first female mayor elected in Mountville history who also failed to win re-election.She's Connie Guy."I&#......

During the winter months, I'm always envious of people who live in places like North Conway, N.H., Boulder, Colo., or Jackson Hole, Wyo. It just seems like their winters teem with more adventure than ours in mountain-challenged Lancaster. Our winters seem dull, gray and mostly snowless....

A Monday morning jolt of state government news:The smoke hasn't liftedIf you thought the last wisps from the battle state lawmakers wage for and against a public smoking ban had disappeared like butts in an ashtray, think again.The smoking ban's most ......

Heidi Wheaton in 2009 approaches one of the most pivotal moments of her political career, and the direction she chooses could greatly affect her future in Lancaster County politics.Wheaton's six-year term as an East Hempfield Township supervisor enters its last year in January. She'......

Mayor Rick Gray Gray's path to re-election appears clear of most — if any — obstacles, even though he's proposing his third property tax increase in four years.That is, if he wants the job.Gray still won't say, preferring to wait until after Dec. 16, when Cit......

Three questions will likely be answered this week when Lancaster city Mayor Rick Gray unveils his administration's proposed budget for 2009:• How much will it cost to operate the city?• Will taxes increase?• Is Gray going to run for a second term next year?......

Voices echoed along Penn Manor High School's hallways Friday. Students buzzed about the football team's upcoming playoff game or grumbled about weekend assignments.In my imagination, I heard a disciplinary voice among the noisy crowd, ordering students to cease loitering, to tie th......

Some lighthearted moments from Campaign 2008***The only sound inside President-elect Barack Obama's press bus was the hum of the motor as it turned into downtown Lancaster. This was the gray morning of March 30, and Obama and his press corps were making their wa......

America votes Tuesday, and locally polls open at 7 a.m. The only question left is whether Republican Sen. John McCain can pull off an epic upset and take Pennsylvania's 21 electoral votes from Democratic Sen. Barack Obama.McCain and surrogates say their internal numbers have the race f......

All right, Pennsylvania. Get ready for the political limelight.Whether or not it makes sense, Republican Sen. John McCain appears to be making a last stand in our state, essentially willing Pennsylvania into being his gateway to the White House.And Democratic Sen. Barack Obama has n......

The Phillies are finally in the World Series — 15 years since their last visit — but that wasn't the most important development in the Philadelphia sports world last week.No, after 30 years of baseball antics, the Phillie Phanatic appears to have endorsed a candidate for pr......

The loud thud you heard coming from Harrisburg last week was the sound of Gov. Ed Rendell's second-term agenda hitting the floor of the state Senate.Whether it can stagger back to its feet remains in serious question.Senate Republicans — arguably the most influential polit......

Welcome back to the Nest, where we're tempted to crack open a cold one to mark just one more month to the Nov. 4 election.Tempted, but part of my code for living is not to celebrate until the job's done. We'll call that the "Thomas E. Dewey Rule." So the special brew ......

A republic with democratic principles like the United States depends on public discussions — even if they grow heated — on consequential issues shaping our day and age.What then to make of U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts' absence during what was supposed to be a comprehensive debate on......

Shhhhhhhh. Aside from the presidential campaign, all's quiet in Lancaster County. At a time when a local reporter's e-mail box is usually jammed with messages from various campaigns, there's hardly been anything from the candidates running for state Senate and U.S. Congress.It&......

Pennsylvania's senior senator, Republican Arlen Specter, is in Lancaster this morning visiting Lancaster County Prison, and he plans to meet with not only prison officials and local law enforcement but prisoners as well.Why? Specter's leading the charge for a bill in the U.S. Senat......

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into Harrisburg's political waters, the Legislature is going back in session next week.For the House and Senate, Sept. 15 will mark the first time either chamber has convened since state Attorney General Tom Corbett charged an ex-lawmaker, a......

Keep the scrub pads and soap nearby. The race for president is about to get muddy, if it hasn't already.We're on the precipice now of the real dogfight between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama with Libertarian Bob Barr and independent Ralph Nader also scraping for v......

Hallam … Wrightsville … Mountville … Landisville.The towns slipped past the windows of John McCain's Straight Talk Express bus as the presumptive Republican nominee and his campaign rambled Tuesday from an energizing townhall meeting in York to a brief visit with t......

They are two fallacious arguments aimed at the same source.First is a John McCain television commercial about the high price of oil, and in it blame is squarely put on the shoulders of a single junior senator from Illinois who hasn't yet finished his first term and does not serve on th......

Take any given road in the United States and count the number of vehicles using gasoline versus those that don't.After tallying your numbers, ask: Is it any wonder why the American economy suffers and every American driver puts less money into savings and investments when the pri......

Patrick Meehan's time in the spotlight didn't last long. And that could be to his advantage.The U.S. attorney who oversees Pennsylvania's eastern district announced his resignation July 7, and immediately the political realm began chatting about the possibility of the Republica......

It could have been a lot uglier.The Legislature and Gov. Ed Rendell wrapped up budget negotiations last week and headed into their two-and-a-half-month summer break having put a $28.2 billion spending plan in place. By doing so, they avoided a royal political mess.Remember last mont......

Private insurance companies will continue denying coverage of autism treatments under a bill passed 49-1 by the state Senate on Sunday, opponents said prior to the vote.The opponents originally stood as proponents of a mandate forcing private coverage, but the final version of the bill was......

All those dire predictions a few weeks ago about a divided Democratic Party seem soooo outdated.This week, a Quinnipiac University poll of more than 1,500 likely Pennsylvania voters showed presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama not only has a 52 percent to 40 percent edge......

Through the sizzle of eggs and bacon on the griddle where Dad was cooking breakfast, the familiar urgent cadence of stringed instruments would flow from the television, along with a voice announcing: "From NBC News in Washington, This is 'Meet the Press' with Tim Russert."...

Ambivalence.That word best describes Titus Peachey's reaction to the international treaty signed by 111 countries at the end of May to boycott cluster bombs.Cluster bombs scatter smaller explosives across a battlefield. Most units explode, but sometimes a few duds are left behin......

Elections are the purest means of holding government officials accountable.And if you desire accountability, it's essential to have as many competitive races as possible each November.Sadly, Pennsylvania has about as many truly competitive contests this year as the Phillies have......

It was Sen. John McCain's turn on Saturday Night Live last weekend."What should we be looking for in our next president?" McCain asked during one segment. "Certainly, someone who is very, very, very old."McCain, a sprightly 71, told the audience he has the ne......

U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts, a Chester County Republican who represents Lancaster, has signed on as a co-sponsor for a new bill aimed at illegal immigration.House Bill 5761 would cut off aid to countries that refuse to repatriate their citizens who come to the United States, commit a crime and ser......

The week after state Sen. Mike Brubaker introduced legislation to limit marriage in Pennsylvania to unions of one man and one woman, he spoke to elementary school students about the importance of tolerance and acceptance of differences.Some might see irony there, but Brubaker doesn't....

One aspect of this primary's narrative is the disenchanted Republicans who have reconfigured the "R" on their voter registration cards into a "D."Such a decision comes with its pitfalls, as 33-year-old Nate Bomberger, who's volunteering full time for Sen. Barack......

Here's what to watch for in the last full week before Pennsylvania's presidential primary on April 22:• How much Barack Obama's remark that rural Pennsylvanians are "bitter" about job losses hurts him in voter polls.Hillary Clinton is lead......

Five years ago, about 22,000 people probably wouldn't have spent hours waiting in the cold to hear Barack Obama talk about health care, education and the economy.Whether or not the senator from Illinois becomes the Democratic nominee for president, he's become a prominent voice in ......

A story appeared last week on Politico.com about frustration among Pennsylvania Democrats over the relative lack of candidate appearances in the state, especially by Sen. Barack Obama.For months, we've watched Obama and Sen. Hillary Cli......

I've been asked by readers about my interview with Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton, who held a rally Tuesday at Millersville University.After the event, Clinton, along with her press team, met me in the Pucillo Gymnasium weight room, of all places. I jokingly asked......

Pennsylvania means more to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama than just the 157 delegates up for grabs.For Clinton, a victory in the Keystone State would continue to build her momentum after victories in Ohio and Texas and further strengthen her claim that Obama cannot win big states.......

While our weather here remains cold, the 13th state Senate District GOP primary is certainly heating up.Last week reminded me of an old Warren Zevon song: "Lawyers, Guns and Money."The "lawyer" comes to us in the form of local attorney Jim Clymer calling out cand......

Democrat Connie Guy announced Sunday she is withdrawing her name from the spring primary ballot, just three weeks after announcing her candidacy in the 41st state House District.Guy, the mayor of Mountville Borough, was pressured to withdraw by a local Republican, Immo Sulyok, who all......

The lull in the 13th state Senate District primary is ending as candidates are starting to tout campaign finance totals and roll out their platforms.It's hard to fathom that, come Friday, it's still two months before the April 22 primary.I'm starting to get a sense, thro......

How bizarre are things in Harrisburg? Quite.Last month, Republicans lined up in support of a plan would eliminate school property taxes for senior homeowners earning $40,000 or less, and Democrats cried "foul" because the plan left out every other homeowner.Then last week,......

On the morning of Feb. 5, Gov. Ed Rendell will stand in the state House of Representatives before a joint session of the Legislature to deliver his proposed budget.When you're talking about nearly $30 billion, a lot of sweat gets spent and a lot of pride's on the line. The gov......

The next consequential event in the local 2008 election cycle happens Tuesday when the Lancaster County Republican Committee convenes to dole out endorsements.All eyes will be watching to see if someone in the race to succeed Gibson E. Armstrong as state senator will garner an endorsement.......

If you wanted a clearer picture Saturday of who will emerge in the Republican primary to replace retiring state Sen. Gibson E. Armstrong, well, the only words I can offer are: "Not yet."Although local businessman Lloyd Smucker was the top votegetter in the straw poll taken by loc......

Adieu, 2007. Hola, 2008.There's an identifiable moment at the start of every road trip when all things are possible, when no matter how many guidebooks or magazine photos you've looked at, you really don't know what's down the road.Same goes for Jan. 1. Let's app......

It would be hard to decipher what's going on in Harrisburg these days without considering it in the context of the 2008 legislative elections.A great example is the current row between Republicans and Democrats (including Gov. Ed Rendell) over providing health insurance for the more th......

Politics can be a nasty affair, and I don't blame anyone who feels nauseated and turns away in disgust.Consider this statement:"If I'm going to get punched in the stomach, I'm going to take a knife out and get you right back ... I'm going to use every single wea......

With state lawmakers, the governor and judges receiving a pay boost based on the rate of inflation, base salaries according to the Patriot-News this week are as follows for 2008:Legislator: $76,183.

Speaker of the House and Senate President Pro Tempore: $118,896....

People are saying the momentum to reform state government has lost its steam.The reform movement, prompted by the controversial legislative pay raise in 2005, helped lead to more than a dozen incumbent lawmakers and a state Supreme Court justice losing their seats in 2006.This year,......

Two months remain before the sun comes up on 2008, but in politics, the calendar has already changed.There's no "Opening Day" like in baseball, where everybody starts playing on the same afternoon. But with the 2007 races decided, a slow parade of candidates will begin launch......

Questions to be answered after voters cast their ballots Tuesday:•Did Commissioner Molly Henderson do enough to gain votes in Lancaster city?Many insiders from the Democratic city committee have expressed their disappointment with Henderson's record during the last four yea......

Brace yourselves. I'm going to issue a challenge.Seven weeks have passed since Labor Day, the unofficial start of the fall campaign, and just two weeks remain before Election Day.And in those nine weeks, not one debate has been scheduled for the Democratic and Republican candida......

Dinner this fall will be served with a side order of political celebrity. In the midst of the fall campaigns, both Republican and Democratic parties of Lancaster County throw their annual autumn banquets, and this year they provide a little star power.For the GOP, former Pittsb......

Since taking office in 2001, President Bush has, shall I say, developed a language of his own, from his lexicon to his sentence structure.And the 43rd president of the United States put his "Bushisms" on display while visiting Lancaster County last week.To be fair, Bush te......

There's no denying the connection between election politics and money. Campaigning costs a lot of cash, from gas to advertising to covering the costs of hosting fundraisers (room rentals, food and so on).And one of the most compelling places to observe the flow of money is on campaign ......

In light of Dr. G. Gary Kirchner's write-in campaign for a second term as county coroner, I researched some of the more interesting names voters wrote on their ballots in the recent past.For example, in the 2004 U.S. Senate race won by Arlen Specter, Lancaster voters gave actor Bill Co......