Tuesday news roundup

Interesting stories are coming in batches, and I dispair of ever having sufficient time for them. Lest they get lost entirely, a brief look here:

• The Philadelphia smoking ban moves out of committee with unanimous approval. This means City Council should vote on it next week. Expect the tenor of opposition and support to ratchet more frantic in the next few days... Recent business endorsements of the measure are certain to provide some cover for the Council in supporting the measure.
  
  
• More fallout from the SEPTA financing game played by Governor Rendell and State Secretary of Transportation Allen Biehler. Republicans continue irate that they were left out of the loop on the federal windfall.
  
  
• SEPTA and its union have extended their contract by a month, to buy more time for negotiations. A brief respite for nervous commuters.
  
  
• The next round of local surveillence of citizens (see prior griping here) will apparently be in Fairmont Park, rationalized by the rapes that have occurred there.

  "One thing we want the cameras to do is to tell if it sees someone leave the path," Brennan said. But, he said, "We're not in any way covering the whole park here."

  Thank goodness someone is keeping us safe from picnickers!! whew!
  
  
• In the department of "The More Things Change..." we find out that a PA Senator and his son had a little conflict of interest due to their ownership stake in a site optioned by casinos for a future slots parlor. Oh, should I have mentioned this earlier? eesh.

That's it for today!