Wednesday roundup (late edition)

• The Speaker's Commission on Legislative Reform has started hearings, and apparently some of our state legislators have ideas about how Harrisburg functions could be made more reasonable and open. Notably, most of those testifying are freshmen and most of the leadership is nowhere to be seen.
  
  
• Philadelphia's City Council, meanwhile, heard testimony from former juvenile offenders about how to head off gun violence among the city's youths. More here.
  
  
• Mayoral race news
  
  
  
  • Bob Brady has brought a heavy hitter on-board for policy; a member of the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Agency, tasked with signing off on Philadelphia budgets and financial issues. She's served on that board for some ten years.
    
    
  • The Daily News offers a new poll of support for the five Democratic mayoral candidates, finding that Tom Knox's recent deluge of advertising has moved him way up in the horserace. Plenty of folks still have no clue, however.
    
    
  • John Baer makes the point that standings at this point don't mean that much, and that Knox's gains may not stand up to closer questioning on issues, etc. Dan at YPP is disturbed by the notion of obtaining the mayor's seat through outlays of personal wealth.
    
    
  • The Daily News poll also looked at top issues, finding crime, schools, and government corruption at the top of the list. (Some of the details might surprise you.)
    
    
  • The Philadelphia Weekly chips in its thoughts on the crime plans put forth by various candidates, partly serious but mostly tongue-in-cheek ("best plan name" and the like).
  
  
• Candidates for city office are supposed to be filing electronic versions of their finance reports under new Board of Ethics regulations, but technical glitches have pushed back the deadline by a few weeks. Question: are we setting our candidates up for identity theft by putting their filings online?
  
  
• Councilman Jim Kenney is getting behind environmental concerns for the city, and particularly the notion of promoting green roofs.
  
  
• PA's US Senator Arlen Specter finds himself in the news again, this time asserting the shocking notion that Congress has a role to play in decisions about national defense. Crazy talk!
  
  
• The DN opinion page is pretty pleased with Penn Praxis' approach to riverfront planning, especially the broad range of residents and experts being asked for their opinions.
  
  
• Another DN opinion piece looks at the problem that SEPTA cops and city police can't share radio communications, noting that at least a temporary solution has been found until more substantial funds come through for upgrading subway tunnel communications (which may be a challenge in their own right).