Pennsylvania

Pam Chandler decided to accompany her husband, Bob, to the extraordinary auction of an Ocean City, N.J., mansion Saturday to keep him from "going overboard. " But an hour after she toured the 7,000-square-foot Victorian-style house on the Great Bay, she was the one prodding him to stay in the frenzied bidding on the breezy bayside veranda. The Chandlers, who live in Rumson, Monmouth County, with their three children, won the auction, ultimately paying $3.9 million for a property that was listed at about $6.5 million two years ago. It is assessed at $5 million.

A police officer was struck by a vehicle Friday night in Chester County, authorities said. The Tredyffrin Township officer was hit by the vehicle about 8:10 p.m. at 73 Old Eagle School Rd., authorities said. The vehicle did not leave the scene. The officer, whose condition was not immediately available, was to be transported to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The accident was under investigation. — Robert Moran

OCEAN CITY, N.J. - Luxury appointments abound in the 7,000-square-foot, 12-year-old Victorian-style mansion overlooking Great Bay, such as a marble fireplace that once graced a Biddle estate mansion, a crystal chandelier that at the touch of a button lowers from the 30-foot foyer ceiling for cleaning, and boat slips big enough to berth a pair of yachts. A "smart house" system controls window treatments, lighting, heating, air-conditioning, and music. Slate-covered turrets, little secret gardens, and gingerbread-laden porches make the exterior look more like Cape May than Ocean City.

Friends' Central standout Amile Jefferson is, finally, set to announce where he will play his college basketball. The 6-foot-8, 200-pound senior will make a commitment at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Wynnewood school. Wednesday marks the end of the spring signing period. "The process has been long and tough, for sure," Jefferson said. "But it's time for me to make a decision. I have to do it. " While North Carolina State and Duke are believed to be the finalists for his services, the two-time Inquirer Southeastern Pennsylvania player of the year said Kentucky, Ohio State, and Villanova were still in the mix. "I'm still looking at all the schools on my list," he said.

Today's quiz salutes Arlen Specter, the state's longest-serving U.S. senator. 1. Arlen Specter is the son of immigrants. From what country did his father emigrate? a. Poland.       b. Romania.       c. Russia.       d. Lithuania. 2. In what state did Specter grow up? a. Pennsylvania.       b. New Jersey.       c. Iowa.       d. Kansas. 3. Specter shared a hometown with this onetime Republican senator and presidential candidate.

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Supreme Court (Vote "yes" to retain for a 10-year term) Sandra Schultz Newman YES Russell M. Nigro YES Philadelphia Ballot Question Ethics in government City Charter change YES District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham (D.) Common Pleas Court For open seats Leon W. Tucker Charles J. Cunningham Susan I. Schulman Glenn B. Bronson Ann M. Butchart Marilyn Heffley Joyce W. Eubanks For retention Willis W. Berry Jr. YES Gwendolyn N. Bright YES Matthew D. Carrafiello YES Amanda Cooperman YES Idee C. Fox YES Renee Cardwell Hughes YES Marlene F. Lachman YES Patricia A. McInerney YES Lillian Harris Ransom YES Esther R. Sylvester YES John Milton Younge YES Municipal Court Bradley K. Moss Nazario Jimenez Jr. Karen Y. Simmons David C. Shuter (Vote "yes" to retain for a 6-year term)

As a former deputy secretary of PennDot under Gov. Tom Ridge, I have had the opportunity to see most of Pennsylvania from my car. From Venango County to Pike County to every county in between, I have traversed almost every highway and byway in this great state and have enjoyed every minute of it. While the landscape of Pennsylvania is beautiful, many of its roads, bridges and transit systems are in need of serious repair. Pennsylvania's infrastructure is aging significantly due to decades of underinvestment.

(Contested races only.) U.S. Senate Arlen Specter (R.) Congress 13th District Joseph Torsella (D.) Ellen Bard (R.) Eighth District Jim Greenwood (R.) Ginny Schrader (D.) Attorney General David Barasch (D.) Bruce Castor (R.) State Senate First District Vincent J. Fumo (D.) Third District Shirley Kitchen (D.) State House 179th district Rafael P. Collazo (D.) Referendum Authorize borrowing $250 million for water and sewer projects - YES

UNITED STATES SENATE Bob Edgar (D.) Arlen Specter (R.) GOVERNOR Bob Casey (D.) LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR Mark Singel (D.) U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FIRST DISTRICT Thomas M. Foglietta (D.) SECOND DISTRICT William H. Gray 3d (D.) THIRD DISTRICT Robert A. Borski (D.) Charles F. Dougherty (R.) FIFTH DISTRICT Tim Ringgold (D.) SEVENTH DISTRICT David Landau (D.) EIGHTH DISTRICT Peter H. Kostmayer (D.)

TWICE A YEAR, Stanley Patz sends an envelope to Inmate No. AJ0496 at a state prison in Luzerne County. Inside is a missing-child poster of Patz's son, Etan, who vanished from the SoHo section of New York City 33 years ago Friday.   There's a small message scrawled on the poster for the prisoner, Jose Antonio Ramos, asking Ramos what he did to little Etan all those years ago. Police officials in New York announced Thursday that a Maple Shade, N.J., man, Pedro Hernandez, had been charged with Etan's murder after tearfully confessing to the heinous crime this week.

Highlights of Thursday's contests can be found at: www.philly.com/rally Baseball DISTRICT 1 CLASS AAAA TOURNAMENT Second-Round Playoffs Upper Dublin 4, Wissahickon 3 DISTRICT 1 CLASS AAA TOURNAMENT Playoff Semifinals Upper Moreland 2, Pope John Paul II 1 Phoenixville 8, Chichester 4 DISTRICT 1 CLASS A TOURNAMENT Playoff Semifinals Bristol 17,...

The fund that pays Pennsylvania's unemployment benefits is running in the red, and lawmakers are grappling with how to remedy that. Compounding matters is that the state owes the federal government $3.87 billion it has borrowed to pay jobless claims because of the recession. There seems to be little disagreement about how to pay back the money: Legislators are likely to pass a bill that will allow the state to float a bond. "This is akin to refinancing your house," said Pennsylvania Secretary of Labor Julia Hearthway.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has quietly hired a private investigator from Western Pennsylvania to examine the turnpike's purchasing and contract-compliance practices. The turnpike authority hired Corporate Security and Investigations of Monaca, Pa., for $75,000 a year to provide "confidential investigative and audit services related to procurement, contract compliance and invoicing policies and practices as they apply to vendors providing supplies, services or construction.

Not content to leave Pennsylvania communities with any control over gas drilling within their borders, state legislators have stripped municipalities of their zoning authority under Act 13, choosing energy corporations over the people who elected them. This isn't exactly new ground for the legislature; indeed, taking away communities' authority to govern themselves is a decades-old pastime in Harrisburg, one that has shifted into high gear over the past 20 years. The legislature made logging a guaranteed right in all zoning districts back in 1992, giving in to timber interests and eliminating municipalities' authority to provide for conservation zones.

The Women's Law Project just released a massive, two-year study, "Through the Lens of Equality," examining the role gender bias plays in the physical, emotional, and financial health of Pennsylvania women. The diagnosis? Not so good. Actually, the report states, "the health consequences of inequality truly shocked us. " Really, can we be shocked about gender inequality in a commonwealth whose governor, in defending a bill requiring an ultrasound prior to an abortion (plus two souvenir photos)

Joe Paterno, who coached football for 61 years at Penn State and died less than three months after his firing in November, left $13.4 million in state pension benefits to his widow, according to a statement Tuesday by the Paterno family. Sue Paterno will receive $10.1 million by the end of the month and will get the rest over the next two years, family spokesman Dan McGinn said. "Mrs. Paterno wanted to make sure all this information was out - to make it transparent," McGinn said.