Those and other warnings about domestic political groups - ranging from antinuclear protesters to tea-party activists - can be found all through 137 state-issued intelligence bulletins that Gov. Rendell's office released Friday amid continuing criticism of the program that produced the bulletins.
The bulletins, issued to police, public officials, and commercial interests three times a week since October, were prepared by a private contractor that the state Office of Homeland Security hired last year for $103,000 without competitive bidding. Much of their content - such as announcements of protest events - was readily available through Internet searches.
The contractor the state hired, the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response, lists offices in Philadelphia, Washington, and Jerusalem. The state Homeland Security Office in turn disseminated the information to a yet-undisclosed list of police, elected officials, and others in the private sector, Rendell spokesman Gary Tuma said.
Rendell said Tuesday that the contract would be terminated next month when it comes up for renewal. The state still receives alerts from the institute, but none has been disseminated since Monday, Tuma said.
At the center of the controversy is an e-mail written by the director of the state Homeland Security Office that seemed to take sides in the Marcellus Shale gas-drilling debate.
"We want to continue providing this support to the Marcellus Shale Formation natural gas stakeholders while not feeding those groups fomenting dissent against those same companies," James F. Powers Jr. wrote in a Sept. 5 e-mail to Virginia Cody, an antidrilling activist in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Cody said Friday she believed the e-mail had been sent to her unintentionally.
Powers declined Friday to respond to requests for an interview.
