Pennsylvania

(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

Attorney General (97% of vote) Kathleen Kane (D) . . . 2,914,431 David Freed (R) . . . 2,137,603 Marakay Rogers (L) . . . 119,852 Auditor General (97% of vote) Eugene DePasquale (D) . . . 2,544,353 John Maher (R) . . . 2,356,151 Betsy Summers (L) . . . 195,373 Treasurer (97% of vote) *Robert McCord (D) . . . 2,674,609 Diana Vaughan (R) . . . 2,218,910 Patricia Fryman (L) . . . 175,552 *Incumbent D-Democratic; L-Libertarian; R-Republican

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.)

D-Democrat; I-Independent; R-Republican District 1 (97% of the vote) *Robert Brady (D) . . . 222,408 John Featherman (R). . . 39,128 District 2 (97% of the vote) *Chaka Fattah (D) . . . 299,567 Robert Mansfield (R). . . 31,466 James Foster (I). . . 4,209 District 6 (70% of the vote) *Jim Gerlach (R) . . . 136,457 Manan Trivedi (D). . . 102,189 District 7 (90% of the vote) *Patrick Meehan (R) . . . 177,881 George Badey (D)

Awhile back, I saw a video telling young people to come back to Pennsylvania. It featured Tom Ridge, Mister Rogers and Joe Paterno. I laughed so hard my stomach began to hurt. Nothing personal against these men, but I don't think that's going to help us young folks stay here in Pennsylvania, let alone Philly. Here's why I as a young man am leaving: low-paying jobs with no room to move up, racist whites who give good whites a bad name, corrupt judicial system (Free Mumia), unreliable SEPTA, horrid school system, crime, dirty streets, stuck-up women, high taxes and bad customer service from some of the immigrants toward black men (especially in Upper Darby)

Happy Bird Day to you! Yes, today is officially Bird Day in Pennsylvania, though few people are aware of the momentous occasion. According to a news release issued by Sen. Edward W. Helfrick (R., Northumberland), Bird Day was proclaimed in 1968 as "an annual celebration of the return of spring and migratory birds to Pennsylvania. " He noted there are 300 species in the state, including the official state bird, the ruffed grouse. But few know about the special day, even birds.

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.