Wednesday deluge III -- Misc. bits of interest (if my backlogged posts get this far down the queue)

• More details on the federal investigation of State Sen. Vince Fumo, now accused of using his nonprofit charity to help pay for some renovations on his home (in a round-about way, with the charity buying a warehouse from the contractor at "fair market price").
  
  
• New Jersey's primaries yielded the expected top contenders for US Senate: current Sen. Robert Menendez (D) and state Sen. Tom Kean Jr. (R). Will be a feisty race for the next few months.
  
  
• Gov. Ed Rendell suggests letting wine shippers deliver to Pennsylvania from outside the state as well as from in-state wineries; the catch is that all shipped wine would then be subject to the stiff taxes charged at liquor stores. Unlikely that legislators will address the proposal before fall. Keep your fingers crossed.
  
  
• The Daily News provides another summary of the Ward Leader elections from Monday night, in which several new capos honchos took command, amid varying mixes of kerfluffle and calm...
  
  
• Joe Wilson, of Plame-gate fame, was in town this week to support Patrick Murphy in his effort to displace Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick. A guy who foresaw the mess in Iraq and a guy who had to carry his weight there.
  
  
• It looks like Michael Nutter is officially running... for something. At least, that's an official 2007 campaign website. You do the math.
  (via PoliticsPhilly)
  
  
• The Inquirer editorial page is peeved at Perzel for "handling" the public while charging us for the privilege.
  
  
• A second editorial follows up on yesterday's stories of Comcast's takeover by saying Philadelphia is long overdue for a public-access cable station. Perhaps the long vigil will come to an end...
  
  
• Meanwhile the Daily News opinion page has prepared an agenda for the next Mayor, with a list of executive orders focused on making top officials more responsive to levels of violence in the city.
  
  
• Finally, Marc Stier has a collection of reasons and ways for making voting easier. Some intriguing ideas there for making civic participation a more normal part of everyday life.