Breaking News

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WE HAVE A BUDGET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
STATE WORKERS ARE BACK AT WORK!!!!!!!!!!!
WONDERFUL NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!
DETAILS OF THE BUDGET AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS E-MAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I STAYED AWAKE TO MIDNIGHT LAST NIGHT TO WATCH THE GOVERNOR ED RENDALL SPEECH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOTS OF SMILES LAST NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!
NOW, YOU CAN TAKE A DRIVING TEST OR GO WALK THROUGH THE PARK.
NOMORE PA HOUSE.
UNTIL SEPTEMBER.
I WILL MISS THE PA HOUSE FOR 2 MONTHS.
IT A BUMMER IT WON'T BE ON FOR 2 MONTHS.
THEY ARE ALL GOING HOME THIS MORNING FOR THE SUMMER!
THEY DESERVE TIME OFF, AFTER ALL THEY WENT THROUGH THESE LAST 2 WEEKS!
NEXT YEAR, THEY SHOULD START DEBATING EARLY LIKE IN APRIL.
THEY SHOULD NOT WAIT TO THE LAST WEEK OF JUNE.
THIS HAS BEEN BREAKING NEWS.
NOW, YOU CAN GO ON YOUR VACATIONS OR WALKS THROUGH THE PARKS!!!!!!
HAVE A BALL EVERYONE!
ANOTHER E-MAIL TOMORROW ON WEDNESDAY!
STAY TUNED TOMORROW FOR MORE...........................
I HOPE I JUST MADE YOUR DAY WITH THIS WONDERFUL NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TAKE CARE!
PA HOUSE NUMBER 1 FAN WHO NEVER MISSED A MINUTE THESE PAST 2 WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!
ANDY THE ''BUDGET'' WEAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gov. Ed Rendell announced at a late-night news conference that a nearly $27.4 billion budget agreement was reached, bringing an end to the dispute that ran nine days into the new fiscal year and forced the unprecedented furlough of nearly 24,000 state employees.
"The last 10 days were rocky, but this was an agreement where all sides can say that they achieved some of their goals and that's probably a good budget agreement," Rendell said. "There has to be some give and take and there has to be some victories and there have to be some goals not achieved. That was the case in this budget process for all of us."
The compromise plan came together shortly after 9 p.m. last night at the end of the day where lawmakers felt volcanic heat over the impact of the furloughs and Rendell got another black eye on the national stage, this time for ordering a partial shutdown of state government.
The government shutdown made its way onto such media venues as CNN and NBC's Today Show, triggering unpleasant memories of the last time Pennsylvania state government made national headlines during the Feb. 14 winter storm that left portions of three interstates closed for days.
"I think we resolved this ... with minimal damage to both our work force and the citizenry," Rendell said last night. "I think that was a compelling incentive that motivated us to roll up our sleeves and ... start to get to work. So I think, on balance, when you think of what's in this budget, I think the citizens will be very, very pleased."
"We're proud to say we stuck to our core values," said Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, speaking at separate news conference. "The governor began this budget process with seven new taxes, taxes that take money out of the pockets of the working families of Pennsylvania and today there are no new taxes."
Despite public fireworks all over the state Capitol yesterday, negotiators insisted there were signs of progress on a state budget agreement that would not raise taxes. This time, they were right.
Lawmakers are expected to vote on the budget bills by Friday or Saturday.
The governor and lawmakers were fighting two fights over the last three weeks: reaching an agreement on a spending plan for the 2007-08 fiscal year, which began July 1, and coming to terms on Rendell's sprawling policy to-do list.
Rendell tied to the budget's approval an energy plan, an indoor smoking ban among other bills to cut health care costs, and a $946 million a year investment for roads, bridges and mass transit. Lawmakers all along said they supported some of those goals but felt it was politically heavy-handed to tie them all to the budget.
Republicans claimed victory on that front.
"We refused to be in a position where we would simply pass legislation unrelated to the budget based on the pressure of a budget deadline. But instead to give that legislation as important as it is, the careful consideration that it needed so it would be more effective," said Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware.
But the Republicans also achieved a victory in keeping the rate of spending growth at 3.5 percent, the lowest to date in the Rendell administration. They also killed Rendell's tax proposals and built in a $300 million surplus for the next fiscal year.
"They have constrained spending," said Sen. Vince Fumo, D-Philadelphia, tipping his hat to the Republican leaders. "I never did a budget where I left $300 million on the table."
Rendell and Democrats got a big transportation funding package and steered a portion of the slots proceeds to building a new stadium for the Pittsburgh Penguins and funding an expansion of Pennsylvania Convention Center. Rendell also succeeded in saving his call for $200 million of investment in preschool, full-day kindergarten, and laptops for high school classrooms.
But the best news for midstaters might be the recall of state workers.
"It's an unfortunate page in our history, but ultimately the fact that my folks are going back to work is the best thing," said David Fillman, executive director of Council 13 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Fillman said the next item on his agenda will be to try to win reimbursement of the lost day's wages for the furloughed employees.
Rendell opened the door to that possibility last night.
"We're checking the legality of what I can do," Rendell said. "If there's a way of making them whole, they will be made whole."
That notion won support last night from Rep. Ron Marsico, R-Lower Paxton Twp.
"I certainly agree with that," Marsico said. "They should not lose any pay over this very tough time."
Negotiators came close to a budget agreement Friday night, but Senate Republicans' reluctance on a few new Democratic priorities kept them apart. Pressure from the furloughs and an angry public and Rendell's surrender on some of his energy plan demands gave birth to the deal.
On the Senate floor, signs of that pressure popped.
One by one, senators stepped up to the microphone to deliver fiery speeches, describing the stalemate as "disgusting" and "stunning."
The closing of state parks hit home with Sen. Pat Vance, R-Cumberland County, who spoke of a state park ranger "beleaguered by angry people who are being turned out of the park." She spoke of Boy Scout camps that get their water and sewer service from state parks that are sending Scouts home.
Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre, spoke of his younger brother, Kevin, who was furloughed from his job at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
On the House floor, the Democrats, who control the chamber by a one-seat majority, were a no-show for the 1 p.m. scheduled start of the day's session. Republican members arrived and stayed throughout the afternoon in hope of having the chance to push for a suspension of House rules to position a stopgap funding plan for a vote today, just in a case a budget agreement wasn't reached.
House Democratic spokesman Tom Andrews defended the absense of Democratic members who were in a closed-door session reviewing the budget situation and didn't go to the House floor because they "didn't want ancillary floor grandstanding" by Republicans to take away from that.
The budget agreement likely makes moot the AFSCME's request for an injunction that would have suspended the furloughs. It also defuses a hearing scheduled for today that could have resulted in closure of the state's five casinos.
Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents Association intern Sarina Rosenberg contributed to this story.
MY RESOURCE OF THIS STORY CAME FROM THIS WEBSITE: http://blog.pennlive.com/patriotnews/2007/07/240824-the_impasse_on_a_200708.html
I AM SO HAPPY WE HAVE A BUDGET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SEE YOU TOMORROW EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!