Around the state

• State Senator Vice Fumo continues to rediscover his progressive side lately, most recently with the suggestion that if taxes must be raised, the wealthy should bear more of the burden.

  "Make no mistake - that's a tax shift," Fumo said yesterday of the plans advocating a sales tax increase, which he believes would disproportionately hurt senior citizens and the poor. "When we shift, we're going to raise someone's taxes.
  
  "So the minute we got into raising taxes, that's when I said, 'Well, if we are going to raise taxes - if it's a fait accompli - we should raise it on people who can really afford to pay it,' " he said.

  His plan would create three income-tax brackets and raise the percentage for the top two substantially. Should be a huge hit with the GOP leadership...
  
  
• While U.S. Senator Rick Santorum may be trying to make hay with charges of anti-Italian bias (see prev. here), he's finding no ally in fellow Republican and Italian Philadelphia Councilman Frank Rizzo, Jr., who passed up their prepared press releases. It's easy enough to avoid comparisons with the mob if you keep your nose clean.
  
  
• John Baer devotes today's column to data on the state of the state, finding good and bad signs for Pennsylvania's economic and personal health.
  
  
• Ray Murphy at YPP has a short piece on the party dynamics in the state House and on signs that the Philadelphia delgation might be striving for a more unified approach.
  
  
• Ben Waxman at YPP looks at how Casey could be "centrist" without selling out to the right, but instead by focusing on the real issues worrying average Pennsylvanians.
  
  
• Finally, America's Hometown notes several businesses and institutions that are leading the way in purchasing green energy (or even generating their own), many of which have a strong PA presence (and the Commonwealth makes the Top 25 nationally too!)...