Small developments on many fronts

1. The state officially approved PGW's requested rate-hike (see prev. here), so expect your next bill to look noticeably bigger than last fall.
   
   
2. The City Hall corruption case that consumed local interest for the last two of years came to a close yesterday with the sentencing of the convicted bankers. They appear not to have been expecting the jail time just awarded -- only time will tell whether it actually deters others.
   
   
3. On the pay-hike front, Common Cause has upped the ante by filing suit in federal court, claiming that the short time between printing and approval of the bill (in the deep of night, yadda yadda) violated the rights of state citizens under the US Constitution. They want a federal hearing to avoid local and state judges who benefitted from the raise.
   
   
4. The Gaming Control Board has responded to criticism of some of its back-room consultations (see prev. here) by proposing an ethics policy for its own operations. It's pretty minimal, but better than nothing.
   
   
5. Next up in the testimony on Intelligent Design in Dover is the local teachers, who apparently opposed the notion from the start. Instead, local adminstrators read the required disclaimers to their classes.
   
   
6. Meanwhile, the investigation of Philadelphia City Councilman Rick Mariano appears to still be spreading, as raids are made on some bars and clubs belonging to those already swept into the storm.