Politicians from Lancaster County remembered Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll on Wednesday night as a woman who smashed gender barriers yet treated even her toughest political opponents with respect.Knoll lost her four-month battle with cancer Wednesday at the age of 78, ending an accomplish......

The news from Harrisburg is grim. This morning, the 11 members of Lancaster County's state legislative delegation painted a bleak picture on a host of state issues. Speaking at a legislative issues breakfast sponsored by The Lancaster Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the lawmakers took tu......

People may not call them WAMs anymore, but the bottom line is that local legislators gave out more than $3 million in discretionary funds during the 2007-2008 fiscal year. Once referred to as walking around money, or WAMs, those funds now come under the purview of the state Department of Commun......

Red Rose Transit Authority's expansion plans for the Queen Street station could take a big step forward, thanks to preliminary approval of federal funding.Sens. Arlen Specter and Bob Casey announced Friday that 17 Pennsylvania transportation and housing projects were approved by the U.......

A son of state Sen. Gibson E. Armstrong pleaded guilty Tuesday to a series of charges stemming from an encounter he had with a deputy game warden in York County during last year's deer season.On Wednesday, Sen. Armstrong of Refton proposed a legislative amendment that would reduce the ......

Officials at Lancaster County school districts find themselves in a frustratingly familiar situation this year.They must adopt 2008-09 budgets and establish property tax rates for their residents without knowing how much money the state will give them to run their schools.In Februar......

The state Senate is poised to vote today on a proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would exclusively define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.The Senate Appropriations Committee, chaired by Republican state Sen. Gibson Armstrong of Refton, passed the proposed amend......

The state Senate Appropriations Committee hosted a contentious meeting Tuesday morning as advocates and opponents fought over a proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriages.The amendment, authored by Sen. Michael W. Brubaker, a Lititz-area Republican, recognizes only man-woman unions ......

The week after state Sen. Mike Brubaker introduced legislation to limit marriage in Pennsylvania to unions of one man and one woman, he spoke to elementary school students about the importance of tolerance and acceptance of differences.Some might see irony there, but Brubaker doesn't....

Those who oppose the "Marriage Protection Amendment" (Senate Bill 1250) will be given a chance to voice their concerns Sunday at a special rally.The main focus of the event is to urge elected officials to vote no on SB 1250.The rally will feature red postcards bearing the ......

They have known each other for nearly 25 years and have worked together on many legislative issues — and not always on the same side.But on Wednesday, state Sen. Gibson E. Armstrong said he will miss the spirit of state Sen. Vincent Fumo, a controversial lawmaker who announced his re......

Gov. Ed Rendell's plan to provide $400 tax rebates to Pennsylvania's working poor faces a high hurdle with Senate Republicans, whose leader says he favors tax relief for more than just low-income earners.Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, a Delaware County Republican, said he ......

WWGD? It's the question on the minds of Republicans in the 13th state Senate district. What will Gib do? Now that the GOP committee in Armstrong's 13th Senatorial District has deadlocked on the question of endorsing someone to succeed Armstrong, the backing of the powerful Sen......

You take 154 rank-and-file members of the county Republican committee, lock them in a school auditorium for two and a half hours, go through 12 rounds of voting well into the wee hours and what do you get? Not an endorsement. But an open primary. Republican committee people in the 13t......

In the race to replace retiring state Sen. Gibson Armstrong, West Lampeter Township Supervisor Lloyd Smucker announced his entrance Thursday into the April 22 Republican primary.Also Thursday, state Rep. John Bear of Lititz announced he would seek a second term."I really feel I'm un......

A supporter of Republican Steve McDonald has been sponsoring "robocalls" this month, trying to keep one of McDonald's rivals out of the race for state Senate. Bob Guzzardi, an attorney from Montgomery County, said Wednesday he's responsible for two rounds of phone calls made recently to Lancast......

Lancaster County Recorder of Deeds Steve McDonald wasted little time this week pointing out differences between himself and retiring state Sen. Gibson E. Armstrong, whose job McDonald wants. "People don't want tax money redistributed," McDonald said. "They want taxes reduced." Armstrong ha......

State Sen. Gib E. Armstrong, the most powerful politician in the county's legislative delegation, has rocked Republican politics by announcing that he will retire at the end of 2008 rather than seek a sixth term in the Senate. "It's just time," he said. Armstrong, whose 13th District inclu......

Leaders of an association of charities are wondering if state Sen. Gibson E. Armstrong is deliberately holding up a bill they believe would help nonprofits raise money, but the senator says that's not the case.The bill, House Bill 169, would boost by thousands of dollars the maximum pa......

Local fraternal groups and charities are rallying for legislation that could help them raise more funds through small games of chance.At a press conference scheduled for Tuesday, representatives of such organizations will ask the public and state Sen. Gibson E. Armstrong to support legisla......

Two months remain before the sun comes up on 2008, but in politics, the calendar has already changed.There's no "Opening Day" like in baseball, where everybody starts playing on the same afternoon. But with the 2007 races decided, a slow parade of candidates will begin launch......

Add one well-known Republican's name to the list of potential candidates in next year's 13th state Senate district primary. And subtract another one, maybe. Former Lancaster County commissioner Paul Thibault last week confirmed intraparty rumors that he is considering a bid for the......

For about the first 45 minutes of a breakfast forum today, members of Lancaster County's Republican legislative delegation discussed such perennial issues as tax and legislative reform, agriculture, health care and transportation. Taking five-minute turns at the podium, the Republican lawma......

Democrats in Harrisburg on Tuesday renewed their fight to provide all uninsured Pennsylvanians with health care, but Republicans once again drew a hard line against the proposals.State Rep. Mike Sturla, a Lancaster Democrat, introduced the Cover All Pennsylvanians bill, which would provide......

County Recorder of Deeds Steve McDonald, saying voters in the 13th Senatorial District are ready for change, announced Wednesday he'll run for long-time state Sen. Gibson E. Armstrong's seat in the 2008 Republican primary.•••Rep......

U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts said Tuesday he refused to support a local developer's request for a $2 million federal earmark for road improvements that would benefit a shopping center proposed in Manheim Township."We are way out of control (with congressional earmarks), and it is a corrupt......

State Sen. Gibson E. Armstrong said Tuesday a letter released weeks ago by someone looking to unseat him next year has prompted thousands of dollars in donations to his campaign."I hope he sends another letter out next week," Armstrong said regarding a letter Republican Steve McD......

Taking $4.2 million from the state Department of Agriculture prompted several county Republican lawmakers to vote against the state budget this week."A cut this size is going to be a wake-up call for the whole ag community," said state Rep. Gordon Denlinger of Narvon, a member of......

The state House and Senate Monday approved a $27.2 billion state budget, more than two weeks after a deadline imposed by the state constitution.The budget — which would run until June 30, 2008, and raise spending by about 3.2 percent over the 2006-07 spending plan — now goes to......

Two area transportation projects are listed for major funding, but a few more hurdles must be cleared before the money rolls in.On Friday, U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter announced $11.2 million has been earmarked for final design and construction of the Corridor One project, a proposed commuter r......

The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved three major projects for Lancaster County, including more than $11 million for a high-speed rail service between Lancaster and Harrisburg.U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, a member of the Appropriations Committee, and junior Sen. Bob Casey Jr. a......

Legislators and Gov. Ed Rendell brokered a deal to end the state budget impasse Monday night, allowing state workers to return to their jobs one day after nearly 24,000 people were sent home without pay.Scores of state parks, state-run museums and driver-license offices around the state th......

State budget negotiators returned to the Capitol this morning in hopes of hammering out an agreement on the ninth day of a stalemate that left nearly 25,000 workers temporarily out of work beginning today. But a deal between Gov. Ed Rendell and legislative leaders appeared to be no closer to......

More than 24,000 state government workers are staying home today,  casualties of a partial government shutdown.Following a full day of budget negotiations Sunday, Gov. Ed Rendell announced at 11:15 p.m. that talks with state Senate leaders failed to move far enough to avert the furlou......

With Gov. Ed Rendell threatening to shut down much of state government on Monday, negotiators were working Saturday to reach a deal on a budget that's already a week overdue. The governor, a Democrat, said Saturday that he was less hopeful than a day before that a solution is imminent....

Republicans and Democrats returned to Harrisburg Monday to renew negotiations after both sides failed to finalize the state budget by Saturday's deadline.And what did Monday produce?"A goose egg," said state Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Gibson Armstrong, a Refton Republi......

A divided Pennsylvania Legislature is feeling pressure not only to pass a budget before the June 30 deadline, but also to act on Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell's sweeping new reform proposals.The state Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a $27 billion state budget plan drastically di......

It's anyone's guess how a smoking ban might affect area bar business. But as of Monday, a bill that would ban smoking in public spaces had been endorsed by a state Senate committee even as lobbyists put on pressure to scale it back.The Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously voted to a......

Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania's senior U.S. senator, will visit Lancaster city Monday morning to talk about youth violence with local leaders, a spokeswoman in the Republican's Washington, D.C., office said Thursday."The senator is going to various communities throughout Pennsyl......