Quick bits

• Really leveraging his recent popularity around town (ahem), John Dougherty makes another delicate move by suing a local broadcast station for a report that included insinuations about possible legal probes. Way to work it, Doc. Dan at YPP takes this opportunity to look at the bases for Doughtery's power in the political realm and the way it is now crumbling around him.
  
  
• In contrast, Lynn Swann chooses to leverage an opponent's weak point, rather than his own, throwing his (essentially meaningless, at this point) support behind the possible hockey arena deal in Pittsburgh (for Rendell's awkward fix in this matter, see previous here).
  
  
• Rick Mariano's sentencing deadline has been moved up -- the story says that "the judge gave no reason," but perhaps he noticed citizen outrage at the prospect of having to pay Council salary to a convicted felon for the next four months.
  
  
• House candidate Lois Murphy was in the New York Times in the last week as part of a piece on female candidates in high-profile races around the country. (In fact, gender is probably a minor component of these races, where challenging the status quo is more likely to resonate with a frustrated populace.)
  (via Above Average Jane)