Pols

HARRISBURG - With the Penn State sex scandal drawing global attention in a courtroom in Centre County Tuesday, the university's soft-spoken, newly-appointed president was making the rounds in the state Capitol meeting with government leaders. Rodney Erickson, the university's longtime chief academic officer, named to replace ousted president Graham Spanier in the wake of the allegations against former football coach Jerry Sandusky, held low-key "meet and greets" with Gov. Corbett and legislative leaders in the House and Senate.

Let's stop pretending this isn't a problem. Elderly drivers. Sure, most are safe behind the wheel. But many are terrifying - worse than a 16-year-old chugging Four Loko and texting his girlfriend while merging onto the Schuylkill Expressway with a car full of rowdy teenagers. Ask Ruth Humphrey, who was eating lunch at the Burger King at 8th and Market streets in July when an 85-year-old man in a Grand Marquis made his own drive-through lane in the side of the restaurant. He crashed through the glass and bricks, and pulled up to Humphrey's table.

THOUGH a Montgomery County grand jury found nothing illegal about a series of closed meetings between county commissioners James Matthews and Joe Hoeffel dubbed "breakfastgate," Matthews was arrested and charged with perjury and false swearing yesterday for allegedly lying to the jury. Matthews, the commission chairman, repeatedly lied under oath about his business relationship with Certified Abstract, a title company awarded county contracts, according to the grand-jury report.

IF YOU'RE FED UP with the filth in Philly, email the Marquis at Trash@Phillynews . com. South Philadelphia neighbors say a project to improve rainwater drainage from I-95 is creating a messy situation in Pennsport. The area beneath the freeway overpass includes a parking lot and space for neighbors to skateboard, ride bikes or rollerblade. Jim Moylan, president of the Pennsport Civic Association, said PennDot crews last month began replacing drainage pipes that siphon water from the freeway.

HAMILTON, N.J. - A married father of two who stalked a single township councilwoman has been placed in a pretrial intervention program that requires him to do 40 hours of community service. A judge on Wednesday allowed Jeff Federico, 45, into the program because he's a first-time offender. The Times of Trenton reported that Federico's lawyer told Hamilton Township Councilwoman Kelly Yaede at Wednesday's court hearing that his client saw her as the "perfect woman. " Federico often sent Yaede flowers and e-mails, went to the homes of her parents and sisters, and joined the local Republican club to be closer to her. Federico was charged with stalking in September after Yaede saw him driving in her neighborhood and pursued him in a chase where speeds reached 80 mph. - Associated Press

TRENTON - Ready. Set. Go get married! A couple of New Jersey lawmakers are proposing a bill to eliminate the state's 72-hour waiting period for couples seeking a license to wed. Assemblyman Louis Greenwald, D-Voorhees, and state Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Linden, argue that the law is antiquated - it dates back to 1934 - and getting rid of it would give New Jersey a competitive edge in the wedding-tourism market. Other nearby states, like New York and Delaware, have only 24-hour waiting periods.

NEWARK, N.J. - Officials in Newark said that it's important the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey remain a major presence in the city if the school is merged into Rutgers University. Mayor Cory Booker, State Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, and other local officials held a news conference Friday to express their concerns over the consequences of a merger. "Any plans for reorganizing UMDNJ and its assets must contribute to the continued vibrancy, strength, and growth of higher education in the greater Newark region," Booker said.

EVERY SO OFTEN - not necessarily on Election Day - Pennsylvanians get it right. A new Daily News /Franklin & Marshall College Poll offers an example. Pollsters listed state issues and, rotating their order, asked which is "most important" or "one of the most important. " The issues were school vouchers, State Stores, a fee/tax on shale drilling, changing the electoral-vote distribution, and fixing roads and bridges. Only one got majority support: roads and bridges drew 55 percent, shale 43 percent, vouchers 39 percent, electoral-vote change 29 percent and State Stores 17 percent.

It's tragic, really. Just four years ago, when the toxic assets of the world's financial sorcerers were still hidden from public view and the economy seemed blissfully immune to its own impending demise, ex-Goldman Sachs golden boy Jon Corzine was Big Man at the New Jersey Statehouse. I had just finished covering his administration briefly, before being dispatched to cover business news and the unexpected unraveling of the global economy that ensued. When Corzine's investment firm went belly-up Monday, it was hard to look back and not be amazed at how far we have fallen - all of us - and continue to fall.

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Lawyers for John Edwards worked yesterday to undercut the federal government's criminal case against the former presidential candidate before it ever gets to a jury. Edwards is scheduled to be tried in January on charges that he asked two wealthy campaign donors to provide nearly $1 million in secret payments used to hide his pregnant mistress as he sought the Democratic Party's nomination for the White House in 2007 and early 2008. In a hearing to consider five motions seeking the dismissal of the case, lawyer Abbe Lowell said that his client knew nothing of the checks, cash and private jets used to fly the woman, Rielle Hunter, across the country and put her up in luxury homes and hotels.