PENNSYLVANIA Gov. Schweiker reports $130M in state subsidies
Philadelphia will get one-third of the subsidy money.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- Outgoing Gov. Mark S. Schweiker launched a statewide tour Tuesday to announce tens of millions of dollars in state subsidies for local construction projects, while Gov.-elect Edward G. Rendell sought to build political bridges at the Capitol in his first visit since the Nov. 5 election.
The Republican governor announced the first of nearly $130 million in subsidies in Philadelphia, which will get one-third of the total, as he kicked off a five-day "Celebration of the New Pennsylvania" tour exactly nine weeks before Democrat Rendell's inauguration.
Administration officials defended the capital-budget subsidies that Schweiker has approved this year -- around $170 million -- as in line with amounts approved by former Gov. Tom Ridge, whom Schweiker automatically succeeded last fall after President Bush named Ridge as his homeland security adviser.
"This is not unusual," said state Budget Secretary Robert A. Bittenbender.
Security
What was unusual was Rendell's red-white-and-blue-wrapped campaign bus parked outside the rear entrance to the Capitol. Parked just ahead of it was a shiny black sedan driven by a plainclothes state trooper providing the security the law requires for any governor-elect -- and, for this one, alternative transportation if he wants it.
As Rendell entered the building, throngs of adults and children reached out to shake the hand of the man who grinned at them from a billboard-sized photograph on the side of the bus.
While his transition team continued the laborious process of gearing up in its fourth-floor headquarters in a state building across the street, Rendell met separately with House and Senate Republican leaders.
Heading into the private meetings, Rendell told reporters he would discuss his agenda in "the broadest terms" and stress his desire to work together with the GOP majorities in both houses. He said he also planned to arrange longer, more substantive meetings in the weeks ahead.
Task force
On another subject, Rendell said he plans to announce the appointment of a task force today comprising representatives of doctors, hospitals, insurers and lawyers to tackle the stubborn problem of soaring medical malpractice insurance rates.
Earlier this year, the Philadelphia-based Pew Charitable Trusts pledged to spend $3.2 million studying the issue over two years, and Rendell said the task force would draw on that research. He said he wants a short-term remedy in 60 days and a long-term proposal in six months.
Rendell also met with nearly 100 proponents of the $4 billion Mon-Fayette Expressway, a partially completed highway that he said would spur badly needed economic development in western Pennsylvania.
Rendell said he plans to launch a series of regional economic-development summit meetings around the state, starting as early as next month -- before his Jan. 21 inauguration -- to encourage local business and political leaders to set their own agendas.
"I think we're going to do great things economically," he said.
Didn't run
Schweiker, who did not seek a full term as governor, sought to celebrate the accomplishments of his and Ridge's administration as he began unveiling the latest capital-budget redevelopment assistance grants, which are used to leverage even larger amounts of local matching funds to finance projects ranging from industrial parks to zoos.