Thursday deluge

I have 19 tabs open and have to leave in under two hours, so just a quick round-up of what caught my eye earlier today:

• Above Average Jane notes that Mike Fitzpatrick wasted no time before laying into his now-official general election opponent, releasing a combined congratulations and smack-down. (Her response is quite amusing.)
  
  
• Rick Santorum was also quick to call out his opponent (although he did pause for breath). He'd like the race to be about Casey rather than about Bush and the Republican leadership.
  
  
• A Committee of 70 volunteer recounts some polling place drama from his stint on Tuesday. At my own polling place, a paranoid committee person wouldn't let the rovers even ask the judge of elections how things were going, although we had no technical problems and kept a close eye on "suggestions" to voters from helpful pollworkers.
  
  
• Another CityPaper story bemoans the low turnout and gives a few highlights from the election and various watering holes where the players gather.
  
  
• First round of speculation about what the dramatic upsets of Jubilerer and Brightbill mean for the fall elections and the cause of legislative reform. Some conservative reformers are taking a different angle, calling for renewal of the Republican party and its original goals. Not only the tall wood fell, but some local giants had surprises too, indicating that the activists created by Bush misbehavior are also starting to make their presence known, in Philadelphia at least.
  
  
• Speculation and dismay, as well, about what happened to the voting machines around town and whether things will run more smoothly in the hot November election. The City Commissioners promise a thorough investigation.
  
  
• Meanwhile, Tony Payton is shocked by the amazing success of the party-backed write-in campaign, but the margin is close enough that challenges and double-checks could leave the result in that race in doubt for a while yet.
  
  Update: Dan at UA thinks this was a poor showing for the party in many respects...
  
  
• Chester County's special election provided an upset of its own, electing a Democrat to the State Senate (by a wide margin) for the first time in a century. [Best part of the story is the name of the last Dem. State Senator: Septimus Niven.] Jim Gerlach unlikely to be happy with this news.
  
  
• Philly's City Council and Mayor may actually find a budget they can agree on, apparently after a bunch of back-room negotiations.
  
  
• The Daily News reports that Philadelphia tourism is booming, so I guess the 40,000 articles about our coolness mean that the secret is out.
  
  
• Finally, columnist Sandra Shea points out the holes in casino design restrictions and challenges readers to come to a public design forum at the Convention Center next week.