Sinn Fein
07-09-2007, 12:25 PM
Good job, fatass!
Governor orders partial government shutdown (http://www.myfoxphilly.com/myfox/pages/pollP44Question)
Last Edited: Monday, 09 Jul 2007, 11:50 AM EDT
Far fewer potholes will be filled. The bass in state park lakes can swim without fear of anglers. And thousands of families have no idea when their paychecks will resume.
More than 24,000 state employees were furloughed Monday because the Democratic governor and Republican-controlled Senate have yet to finalize a state budget nine days into the new fiscal year. Lacking a budget, the state has lost the authority to spend money on nonessential services and employees.
The temporary layoffs resulted in the closing of museums and parks at the height of the summer tourist season. At driver's license centers in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, signs warned patrons that the offices were "Temporarily Closed." Casinos, which had been threatened by the furloughs, were kept open by a court order Sunday.
Disgruntled campers were cleaning up their campsites and heading home Monday morning, their vacations cut short.
At Black Moshannon State Park near Phillipsburg, JoDee Dyerson and her family were told they had to be out of their cabin by 10 a.m. Monday. "They made it the worst summer ever," her 7-year-old son, McClane, said as the family gathered for breakfast at a picnic table in front of their cabin.
A sign posted at Codorus State Park, near Hanover, read: "Sorry for the inconvenience. State parks are closed until the state budget passes." Next to the notice, somebody posted their own, which said "WHEN DO WE GET OUR MONEY BACK!" and included a name and telephone number. Carl Striner Sr., 64, of Littlestown, had been camping in a trailer at the park since Thursday, but was told Monday morning that he had to leave. "I think it's wrong," Streiner said. "It should never be this way."
Gov. Ed Rendell, whose last-ditch negotiations with the Legislature fell short of a budget deal that could have averted the partial shutdown, said he hoped the impasse will be brief.
"I sincerely hope that this will be a one-day furlough and I have reason for optimism," he said, but declined to discuss remaining areas of disagreement.
Republicans said they doubted that the furloughs were a legal necessity and repeated complaints that Rendell has included other priorities in the budget talks. Key sticking points include raising the state's debt ceiling and an energy plan that Rendell has insisted the Legislature approve before he signs the budget, they said.
"We have a $650 million surplus in Pennsylvania," said Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware. "There's absolutely no reason why we can't have a budget agreement."
The centerpiece of Rendell's energy plan would place a surcharge on electricity use for a fund for alternative energy programs and electricity conservation. Republican legislators oppose the surcharge and accused the governor of holding state employees hostage to force them to approve it.
Under an order Rendell issued Sunday night, state workers whose jobs are not deemed to be essential to health and safety were furloughed without pay beginning Monday. Critical services, such as health care for the poor, state police patrols and prisons, are being maintained.
Lawyers for three state-employee unions and the Rendell administration appeared before a Commonwealth Court judge Monday morning for a hearing. Union lawyer Alaine Williams said the judge should halt the furloughs until the unions' constitutional and unfair labor practices claims are resolved. She argued that the administration had no rational basis for classifying employees as critical or noncritical.
"When (the furloughed employees) return to work they will never be compensated for the time they spent on the street," said Williams, an attorney for Council 13 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents more than 15,000 of the furloughed workers.
Administration lawyer Frank Fisher defended the classification process as rational and identical to that used in a similar budget standoff last year, although no furloughs resulted.
Gamblers and employees of the state's five slot-machine parlors got a reprieve when a judge late Sunday granted a request by the casino owners to remain open, at least until a Tuesday hearing.
Bobby Soper, chief executive of Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs near Wilkes-Barre, said on his way into work Monday that he was pleased that the Commonwealth Court issued the preliminary injunction. He said he was concerned that patrons, there are usually about 5,000 on a typical Monday, may not get the message and would stay away.
The furloughs closed driver's license centers across the state. Dandan Hong, 21, a student at the University of Pittsburgh, came to get her driver's license permit Monday morning but was told by security guards that the office was closed. Hong said she had been cramming for her driver's test and wanted to get it over with before she leaves for an overseas vacation in two days. "I didn't know about it until I got here," she said. "I don't know how I'm going to get my permit."
One Philadelphia woman said she had recently been released from prison and was trying to get her driver's license Monday morning. "So what am I supposed to do?" asked an angry LaTanya Anderson, who rode a bus for an hour and took time off work to go to the downtown license center. "I can't believe I came all the way down here. This don't make no sense."
Governor orders partial government shutdown (http://www.myfoxphilly.com/myfox/pages/pollP44Question)
Last Edited: Monday, 09 Jul 2007, 11:50 AM EDT
Far fewer potholes will be filled. The bass in state park lakes can swim without fear of anglers. And thousands of families have no idea when their paychecks will resume.
More than 24,000 state employees were furloughed Monday because the Democratic governor and Republican-controlled Senate have yet to finalize a state budget nine days into the new fiscal year. Lacking a budget, the state has lost the authority to spend money on nonessential services and employees.
The temporary layoffs resulted in the closing of museums and parks at the height of the summer tourist season. At driver's license centers in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, signs warned patrons that the offices were "Temporarily Closed." Casinos, which had been threatened by the furloughs, were kept open by a court order Sunday.
Disgruntled campers were cleaning up their campsites and heading home Monday morning, their vacations cut short.
At Black Moshannon State Park near Phillipsburg, JoDee Dyerson and her family were told they had to be out of their cabin by 10 a.m. Monday. "They made it the worst summer ever," her 7-year-old son, McClane, said as the family gathered for breakfast at a picnic table in front of their cabin.
A sign posted at Codorus State Park, near Hanover, read: "Sorry for the inconvenience. State parks are closed until the state budget passes." Next to the notice, somebody posted their own, which said "WHEN DO WE GET OUR MONEY BACK!" and included a name and telephone number. Carl Striner Sr., 64, of Littlestown, had been camping in a trailer at the park since Thursday, but was told Monday morning that he had to leave. "I think it's wrong," Streiner said. "It should never be this way."
Gov. Ed Rendell, whose last-ditch negotiations with the Legislature fell short of a budget deal that could have averted the partial shutdown, said he hoped the impasse will be brief.
"I sincerely hope that this will be a one-day furlough and I have reason for optimism," he said, but declined to discuss remaining areas of disagreement.
Republicans said they doubted that the furloughs were a legal necessity and repeated complaints that Rendell has included other priorities in the budget talks. Key sticking points include raising the state's debt ceiling and an energy plan that Rendell has insisted the Legislature approve before he signs the budget, they said.
"We have a $650 million surplus in Pennsylvania," said Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware. "There's absolutely no reason why we can't have a budget agreement."
The centerpiece of Rendell's energy plan would place a surcharge on electricity use for a fund for alternative energy programs and electricity conservation. Republican legislators oppose the surcharge and accused the governor of holding state employees hostage to force them to approve it.
Under an order Rendell issued Sunday night, state workers whose jobs are not deemed to be essential to health and safety were furloughed without pay beginning Monday. Critical services, such as health care for the poor, state police patrols and prisons, are being maintained.
Lawyers for three state-employee unions and the Rendell administration appeared before a Commonwealth Court judge Monday morning for a hearing. Union lawyer Alaine Williams said the judge should halt the furloughs until the unions' constitutional and unfair labor practices claims are resolved. She argued that the administration had no rational basis for classifying employees as critical or noncritical.
"When (the furloughed employees) return to work they will never be compensated for the time they spent on the street," said Williams, an attorney for Council 13 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents more than 15,000 of the furloughed workers.
Administration lawyer Frank Fisher defended the classification process as rational and identical to that used in a similar budget standoff last year, although no furloughs resulted.
Gamblers and employees of the state's five slot-machine parlors got a reprieve when a judge late Sunday granted a request by the casino owners to remain open, at least until a Tuesday hearing.
Bobby Soper, chief executive of Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs near Wilkes-Barre, said on his way into work Monday that he was pleased that the Commonwealth Court issued the preliminary injunction. He said he was concerned that patrons, there are usually about 5,000 on a typical Monday, may not get the message and would stay away.
The furloughs closed driver's license centers across the state. Dandan Hong, 21, a student at the University of Pittsburgh, came to get her driver's license permit Monday morning but was told by security guards that the office was closed. Hong said she had been cramming for her driver's test and wanted to get it over with before she leaves for an overseas vacation in two days. "I didn't know about it until I got here," she said. "I don't know how I'm going to get my permit."
One Philadelphia woman said she had recently been released from prison and was trying to get her driver's license Monday morning. "So what am I supposed to do?" asked an angry LaTanya Anderson, who rode a bus for an hour and took time off work to go to the downtown license center. "I can't believe I came all the way down here. This don't make no sense."