Around the politicians

• City: Mayor Street decides to wade into debate over fate of Dilworth house. There's no good answer; why would he want to get hit by the flying mud and blamed by the eventual sore loser?
  
  
• City: Several candidates for judge rated crappy by local bar; most of them are almost guaranteed to be elected anyway. The Daily News points out that one of them is a strip-club landlord. All gives you real confidence...
  
  
• City: Beleagured City Councilman Rick Mariano gets a new lawyer, just in time for his indictment expected today. First advice? Stop airing dirty laundry for the press.
  
  
• State: Learning nothing from this summer's outcry over dark-of-night legislating, state politicians apparently tried to slip a major bill under the public radar already this fall. The bill would cap state spending at current levels, with small annual adjustments to reflect growth in state population or revenue, with any extra put into a fund for discretionary spending by the legislators themselves (only for the public good, of course). The Daily News editorial linked here explains (with an example) why this idea doesn't work and should be nipped in the bud.
  
  
• Region: The Inquirer does a double-header on the environmental records of the two New Jersey gubernatorial candidates: Corzine (once heralded by green forces, then doubted, now proving himself to them again) and Forrester (unexpectedly liberal for a Republican, on the environment as on many other issues). The fate of Petty's Island is at the heart of much of the discussion, and of pay-to-play efforts and eminent domain questions past and ongoing.