Tuesday deluge, semi-topical edition

• Today's Harrisburg rally
  
  
  
  • The Inquirer expects four of the mayoral hopefuls to be there.
    
    
  • The Daily News notes some other participants, including the mother of a recent shooting victim, Mayor Street, and Men United for a Better Philadelphia.
    
    
  • In a related story, yesterday Tom Knox delivered a heap of petitions to the governor, asking for Philadelphia to be allowed control over local gun regulations.
  
  
• Politicians
  
  
  
  • In the PA gubernatorial race, two stories: Rendell admits that he regrets signing the pay-raise (and the opportunity is taken to rehash the whole thing). John Baer, in his column, describes the meeting of Rendell and Swann before the state Chamber of Business as a strong performance by Swann (to a degree he might wish to have had happen when his candidacy was still considered viable).
    
    
  • In the US Senate race, a reiteration of yesterday's news that Romanelli is off the ballot for the time being, at least. Pennsyltucky Politics announces the results of a new Quinnipiac poll that shows Santorum's momentum ending, as judged by an increase in Casey's lead. (A handy break-down of the data is also provided at the latter link.)
    
    
  • Pennsyltucky Politics gives a report of an appearance by Senator Specter at the National Press Club. Some humor and some seriousness from our senior Senator.
    
    
  • The Philly.com Q&A today looks at the influence of the web in current elections, and/or why candidates place their ads as they do.
  
  
• Smoking ban
  
  
  
  • Apparently Mayor Street's implementation of the smoking ban caught local business off-guard, despite its having been debated for a year, waiting for a signature all summer, etc. I'll admit that finding out of new obligations through the newspaper leaves people unsure about specifics, including enforcement. However, the Health Department, too, was apparently surprised that this much-discussed measure went into effect, and they haven't yet put together the forms necessary for applying for an exemption. I think if they worked for a corporation, they'd be losing their jobs. But maybe that's just me.
    
    
  • Dan adds some snark, also quoting Nutter as among those surprised and amazed by the arrival of his own law.
  
  
• New Jersey news
  
  
  
  • NJ would like to be one of the states that carries big weight in the Presidential primaries, so they're discussing a bill to move their primary up into February (Presidential only). That would certainly diversify the voices having a say in the selection of the candidates!
    
    
  • Republican legislators are looking to revive interest in slumbering ethics reform bills, which may or may not be in shape to move forward.
  
  
• Other stories
  
  
  
  • A class-action suit against Wal-Mart will be argued in Philadelphia. The suit claims that the company denied employees breaks to rest or eat during their long workdays.
    
    
  • Chester County's overcrowded prison will get an expansion.
    
    
  • The Inquirer has a piece on the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority and on the aspirations of its head to having a greater say in how Philadelphia's budget is handled.
    
    
  • Pennsylvania's turnpike plazas will get a face-lift from a company that is getting a 30-year lease in exchange. (Lots of chat about better food chains, etc.)
    
    
  • Two plead guilty in airport pay-to-play blah blah.
    
    
  • An Inquirer editorial supports the call for more city input into casino developments.
    
    
  • America's Hometown notes the debut of some downloadable audio tours of Philadelphia.
    
    
  • There's a conversation over at YPP about Act 193, which deprived Philadelphian citizen groups of the right to speak up at zoning meetings in their own neighborhoods. Included are suggestions for how you can get involved in getting the act repealed.