A word from our grousers

A round-up of complaints and suggestions, both editorial and otherwise:

1. An Inquirer editorial looks at the ethical rules constraining PA's Gaming Control Board and concludes that they're not yet ready for the arrival of casinos in the state and the shysters sure to follow.

   It's not just about intent; it's about perception. When it comes to regulating gambling, you don't want even the perception that the regulators can be bribed.
   
   The Pennsylvania board should know that. It should also know that an ethics code that has no clear ban on political activity by board members is inadequate. Its code doesn't even bar the immediate family of board members from working for casino companies.

   Look like there's still some work to do before anybody will be sleeping easy.
   
   
2. More battles over the registration sticker fines being handed out by the newly state-controlled Philadelphia Parking Authority. City Council says it never meant to authorize this little game when it passed a restriction on the parking of unregistered cars on the city streets (remember those abandoned wrecks of yore?).

   "The people whose stickers are stolen should be PAID for the hassle they go through since it's the state's idiotic system and the lack of police protection to prevent the thefts that are responsible," wrote one reader.

   heh. I'd love to see that, having once had three plates in a 14-month period myself, after my plates were "clipped" for the sticker. Now that the PPA is pointing a finger, they're likely to find a change in the legislation cutting off this particular source of feed.
   
   
3. At the Daily News, Stu Bykofsky challenges voters to put their ballots where their gripes are and vote out their state representatives as punishment for the pay-hike. He say that "but my Rep. is one of the good ones" doesn't work anymore. The CleanSweep folks agree, but I'm not sure I do (both because I like "my guy" and because I'd rather hold the legislators accountable in other ways, as by pressuring them to "share the wealth" with lower income Pennsylvanians).