Monday news bits

• Pennsylvania's roads need fixing, and that means decisions about how to raise more funds. (A number of options floated here.)
  
  
• Gaming Board swears clout won't factor into their licensing picks. Regional journalists think they must have misheard. Basically, we're just marking time until the decision on Wednesday.
  
  
• Apparently also disbelieving the above, Mayor Street endorses one of the casino proposals for Philadelphia. More details about how he (may have) made his choice, and what other notes and cautions he included with his recommendation (esp. with regard to transportation concerns).
  
  
• Mayoral candidate Michael Nutter will appeal the ruling that overthrew Philadelphia's right to limit campaign contributions in local races; more here. The conflicting ruling from this fall should provide plenty of grounds.
  
  
• Dem. Party Chair Bob Brady won't say whether he's in or out of the mayoral pack, but he's throwing a fundraiser this week to benefit his Friends of Brady fund.
  
  
• The Daily News has a piece on development plans along the Schuylkill River, especially in the area near University of Pennsylvania.
  
  
• An Inquirer editorial calls on Philadelphia residents to make their voices heard, to help guarantee that our new leaders are responsive on issues we care about and that the city evolves into a more open, functional place. Another reminder of the Great Expectations forums that will occur during January and February.
  
  
• A YPP poster exhorts progressives to support local progressive candidates with more than the ballot box.
  
  
• Two tales of stealth figures:
  
  
  
  1. AAJane has an interview with Sy Snyder, the pseudonymous owner of the influential PoliticsPA website.
     
     
  2. Blinq tells the tale of restaurant reviewer Craig Laban, who is so protective of his identity (so that being recognized doesn't bias his experiences eating out) that he appeared at a reading in elaborate disguise.