Tom Corbett

GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett acknowledged today he goofed in saying jobless people do not want to return to work while they are still able to collect unemployment. In an interview on CBS3, Corbett said, "I regret that in that one statement, I may not have been clear or complete as I possibly could. " He said he was repeating a story he heard from "five, six, seven different people across the state of Pennsylvania that they weren't able to get workers. " "So there are some jobs out there," Corbett said.

TODAY, Pennsylvania enters the Tom Corbett era. The former state attorney general and Pittsburgh city councilman takes office during turbulent times, with a $4 billion hole in the state budget looming. Dealing with Pennsylvania's lingering fiscal problems is priority No. 1, but we're hopeful that Corbett can also make progress in an important area that has long stalled in Harrisburg: political reform. He made the most convincing argument for reform in decades . . . before even taking one action as governor.

MONTGOMERY County Commissioner Bruce Castor is mulling a challenge to Gov. Corbett in the 2014 Republican primary. Castor cites three reasons for thinking Corbett is vulnerable. * Corbett's role as state attorney general in the Penn State child- abuse scandal that sent former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky to prison is about to get a close review by a Democrat, Attorney General-elect Kathleen Kane. "It could get very uncomfortable for the governor in very short order," Castor said.

Legislation to toughen Pennsylvania's sex offender laws will be signed by Gov. Tom Corbett in Harrisburg this morning. By expanding reporting requirements for convicted sex offenders, Pennsylvania will become the 15th state in compliance with the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. That federal law was named for the boy whose aduction and murder in 1981 led his father, John, to become the longtime host of the Fox TV show America's Most Wanted . The connection is why the legislation, which toughens the state's "Megan's Law," has been called "the Adam Walsh Bill.

LAST WEEK, Gov. Rendell sent Gov.-elect Tom Corbett a transition handbook, which included thousands of pages about each agency under control of the governor. We're glad Rendell left Corbett a map to help navigate the tricky road ahead, since it's projected that Pennsylvania will have a $4 billion deficit next year. Pennsylvania's budget problems present a special challenge for Corbett, who campaigned on a pledge that he would not raise taxes. Below are some choices - each tough for Corbett in different ways - that could be made to help solve the state's budget problems after he is inaugurated Jan. 17. Squeeze money out of Marcellus Shale.

Tom Corbett should see all the jobless people not sitting at home. In April, the SugarHouse Casino held an informational job fair. At least 8,000 people showed up for 800 jobs. They began arriving at 6 a.m. By noon, the line stretched two blocks. It's not just casinos attracting 10 times as many job applicants as positions available. When Wegmans opened a new grocery near Collegeville last October, about 6,000 people applied for 550 jobs. The Philadelphia Unemployment Project (PUP)

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Onorato renewed his attacks on Republican rival Tom Corbett on Wednesday, contending Corbett had first impugned the motives of some jobless Pennsylvanians more than three months ago. "Tom Corbett has said since March that he thinks Pennsylvanians would rather be unemployed than earning money for their families," Onorato said at a rally in Philadelphia that featured labor leaders and job-seekers. The City Hall event was part of a campaign swing as Onorato, trailing in a recent poll, tried to capitalize on Corbett's comments last week.

A political campaign broke out at a statewide meeting of district attorneys in Philadelphia yesterday, as Republican attorney general candidate Tom Corbett took the primary fight to his opponent, Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. Corbett invaded Castor's home turf to present his support from Republican prosecutors at the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, at the Park Hyatt Philadelphia at...

The state Attorney General candidates faced each other for the first and only time of the campaign season yesterday, drawing clear distinctions about their vision for the office. Democrat Jim Eisenhower painted Republican rival Tom Corbett as a captive of corporate interests, while Corbett called himself the most experienced candidate for the job. Green Party candidate Marakay Rogers said the state needs more than just a prosecutor. Taped at WPVI-TV, Channel 6, studios in Philadelphia, the debate will be broadcast Sunday at 10 a.m. Corbett reminded voters that he has held the office before - he filled out the 15 months of Ernie Preate's unexpired term between 1995 and 1996.

Gov. Ridge said yesterday that after meeting with Democratic senators over the summer he now believes that their resolve to reject his nominee for state attorney general is softening - an impression that one key Democrat said is accurate. Ridge said he would like the Senate to vote on the confirmation of Thomas W. Corbett Jr. when it returns from summer recess next week. "The atmosphere is different than it was at the end of June," the governor said. "Members of the Senate have had three months to look at Tom Corbett's credentials and competency.