News for 11/15/12

Wagner……11 15 12

 Auditor General Jack Wagner released a 124 page report yesterday that outlines the problems with Penn State’s governance.

 In the report, Wagner calls for leadership which includes the General Assembly and Governor Corbett to take charge of reforming the university and fixing the issues that Wagner believes university leaders have not tried to fix. 

 Wagner cites that Corbett and university president Rodney Erickson have too much power as voting members of the board of trustees and need to be removed as such. He believes the removal of the university president from the board is the most important change needed.

 He also proposes cutting the size of the board from 32 to 21 members and changing bylaws at the university to require a simple majority of the board to be present at a meeting before official action can be taken.     

Corman

 Senate Republicans elected their leadership team for the 2013-14 legislative session yesterday.This included re-electing Senator Jake Corman as the Majority Appropriations Chairman.

 Each legislative session lasts two years, with all leadership members up for election at that time.  

Comcast/Verizon

 Though it’s not a merger, 2 of the biggest media giants are working together to serve their customers.

 Comcast and Verizon announced yesterday that they will sell each other’s services in State College and Johnstown.

 The move potentially allows qualified customers of both to be eligible for a variety of offers and incentives from each others’ products.

Prison Escapee

 An inmate who escaped from the Centre County Correctional Facility last month waived his preliminary hearing yesterday.

 Larry Allen Thomas faces separate charges after he escaped from jail and later stole a pickup truck from a diesel garage in Walker Township to use as his getaway vehicle.State police say Thomas, who was on work release, ditched his orange jumpsuit while trimming weeds at Center Peace on the Benner Pike on October 25.

He was found driving the stolen vehicle in Clearfield County the following day and was taken back into custody.  

Nicotine Therapy

 Starting today, Smokers who are looking to quit can receive Nicotine Replacement therapy from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.NRT is offered to Pennsylvanian’s each year in conjunction with the Great American Smokeout.

 The annual event, sponsored by the American Cancer Society, encourages Americans to stop smoking for 24 hours, hoping their decision not to smoke will last forever.  

Road Work

 Beginning today, roadwork will take place on Toftrees Avenue near “The Grove” construction site.The work is expected to last through Wednesday. Minor traffic delays are to be expected.  

Safe Landing

 No one was injured yesterday when a small commercial plane had to make an emergency landing at University Park Airport.

 According to the Centre Daily Times, airport officials said United Airways Express Flight 5017 had just taken off from the airport and was heading to Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., when it encountered a problem with its landing gear. 

Voter Investigation

 Some Pennsylvania House Democrats are calling for an investigation into Election Day issues faced by voters trying to cast their ballots.Representative Babette Josephs is one of several lawmakers dismayed by the reports that a large number of voters were forced to use provisional ballots because their names were not in the poll books.

 Despite a court ruling that overturned the requirement, the group also cited cases of people being told they must have photo ID to vote.