Ed Rendell

Gov. Ed Rendell says a transit strike that shut down Philadelphia's buses, subways and trolleys for nearly a week is over. The governor announced early Monday that the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority had reached an agreement with its largest labor union on new contract provisions to end the strike. About 5,000 Transport Workers Local 234 workers walked off the job early last Tuesday. Rendell says the system will be back up and running in time for Monday morning's commute. During a brief press conference in downtown Philadelphia, the governor said SEPTA and the union had settled an earlier disagreement regarding a pension fund audit ... Read Full Story

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell is calling for the Legislature to immediately return to the Capitol to finalize a key piece of the state budget, the legalization of table games in casinos. Rendell made the request Friday, three weeks after he signed a major appropriations bill that ended the 101-day budget stalemate. He's calling the delay "inexcusable" and says it cannot continue. Rendell is still holding up $723 million in discretionary taxpayer dollars slated for Penn State and several other Pennsylvania universities until table games are approved. The Senate's Republican majority and the House's Democratic majority still disagree on key parts of the bill. Those ... Read Full Story

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell has signed the key pieces of legislation necessary to end a 101-day state budget stalemate, the longest in the nation this year. A spokeswoman for the governor says Rendell signed the bills Friday night after the state Legislature held a flurry of votes on the $27.8 billion budget's primary appropriations bill and a key companion bill. The budget agreement cuts spending by more than 1 percent to help resolve Pennsylvania's multibillion-dollar, recession-driven shortfall. The companion bill taps more than $1.5 billion from the state's reserves. However, approval of nearly $700 million in discretionary funding for universities and other institutions is ... Read Full Story

Gov. Ed Rendell and legislative leaders reached a budget deal Friday that would end Pennsylvania's distinction as the last state still fighting over its annual spending plan. Details about the agreement were not immediately available, but the Democratic governor and legislative leaders scheduled an 8 p.m. news conference to discuss the breakthrough. Erik Arneson, a spokesman for the Senate Republicans, confirmed the deal, as did a Rendell official speaking on condition of anonymity in advance of the formal announcement. Negotiators struggled all summer to resolve a partisan dispute over whether to fill the state's multibillion-dollar budget hole with new or higher taxes, cuts in ... Read Full Story

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- The six-day strike by Philadelphia-area transportation workers will likely continue after negotiations broke down during the weekend, observers say. Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell on Saturday blamed the leadership of Transport Workers Union Local 234 for the breakdown of talks to end the strike against the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, or SEPTA, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The newspaper said Rendell demanded a rank-and-file membership vote on a proposed contract settlement, which union leadership dismissed because its executive committee had rejected the offer. Local 234 president Willie Brown told the Inquirer. Smith reportedly said Rendell's demand was merely an effort to ... Read Full Story