Other end-of-week tidbits

• Companies looking to build Philadelphia casinos are offering neighborhood improvements as a sort of olive branch to nervous residents. They've been meeting with local political and civic leaders to see what top priorities might be.
  
  
• Meanwhile, another article notes that the casino licensing process remains behind closed doors, with token and restrictive opportunities for civic input.
  
  
• Local counties trying to install new voting machines are seemingly caught between a rock and a hard place, as feds threaten to bring suit if new systems aren't rolled out in May, while a court ruling requires voter approval before changes are made.
  
  
• An Inquirer editorial applauds the recent calls for better enforcement of Philadelphia campaign donation limits, and encourages citizens to keep up the volume.
  
  
• And finally, Marc Stier looks at the good news and bad news inherent in the recent defeat of the PA voter ID bill, and prospects for progressive reform in the face of an increasingly polarized political climate. He plans a series of posts on what needs to be done.