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Corbett wants Feathers to fly the e-porn coop

Gov. Tom Corbett has called on one of his appointees to the state Board of Probation and Parole to resign, the latest official in his administration to be impacted by a widening pornographic email scandal.
Randy P. Feathers
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports:
"Mr. Corbett, through a spokesman Friday, called on board member Randy Feathers to resign. Mr. Feathers has served on the board since 2012; the position pays $115,932 annually.
"In a letter to the governor, Mr. Feathers requested the opportunity to have an independent forensics expert review the information released by the state Office of Attorney General Kathleen Kane.
"Mr. Feathers said he will consider resigning at the conclusion of the review if it is determined that he did not “uphold my professional responsibilities.”
"A board member can be removed “for cause” by the governor and with a two-thirds majority vote of the state Senate. A spokeswoman for the Board of Probation and Parole had no comment on the matter Friday evening. Senators return to Harrisburg on Monday. A spokesman for the Republican majority caucus said he “would anticipate strong bipartisan support if a vote is needed” on the matter."
On Thursday, the governor’s office announced the resignation of Christopher Abruzzo, Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection and Glenn Parno, DEP deputy chief counsel.

In an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Feathers said that Attorney General Kane "doesn’t have he best credibility with me." He asserted that he initiated none of the emails Kane has released, adding: I’m not gong to resign from a position because she says I did something. This is politics and I’m caught in the middle of it."

Feathers noted Kane’s past inquiry and criticism of how he and others handled the Sandusky case, a review he said was also politically motivated. "If this is the cost of putting Jerry Sandusky away for life, I’m willing to go through this," he said. "I’m a cop. That’s what I do. I’m not a p;politician."

Related news stories: 

Pennsylvania Capitol’s Porn Email Scandal: Appointee Won’t Quit 
Documents show sexual emails seemed funny to Attorney General’s staff 
Pa Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCaffery sent explicit emails

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NJ clears utility sale of environmentally sensitive tract

Pine Barrens Tree Frog
The state of New Jersey has once again approved the sale of environmentally sensitive property in an area described by conservationists as a haven for endangered species, such as the Pine Barrens tree frog, bald eagles, and redheaded woodpeckers, NJ Spotlight reports.
"The sale of 1,550 acres to Millville 1350 LLC for $4 million was affirmed by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities this week — four years after the agency originally approved the deal. The developer plans to build an 18-hole golf course and 950 senior-housing units on the parcel, which was owned by Atlantic City Electric.
"The original deal fell through when the state Division of Rate Counsel and conservation groups challenged the BPU’s decision in the appellate court, which remanded the matter back to the agency.

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Attorney at the PADEP follows his boss out the door

             Another top Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) official is out of work 
in the wake of an email scandal that has rocked Pennsylvania state government.

Deputy Chief Counsel Glenn Parno’s resignation has been accepted by Gov. Tom Corbett, the governor’s office said in a statement Thursday night.

The resignation of Parno’s boss, DEP Secretary Chris Abruzzo, was announced in a news release from the Governor’s Office hours earlier.

Abruzzo and Parno were named by Attorney General Kathleen Kane in an investigation of sexually explicit emails that had been sent or received by state government email addresses.
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Corbett said that his administration had asked for emails in and out of the Attorney General’s office between 2008 and 2012 when Abruzzo, Parno and others worked there. Corbett said he received information Thursday about Abruzzo, Parno and State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan.

The Governor exonerates Noonan
“Information received regarding State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan’s account indicates that he did not participate in opening, originating, forwarding or replying to any message," Corbett said in the statement. "It is important that Commissioner Noonan remain focused on the critical public safety mission he is leading in the manhunt for Eric Frein and that there is no disruption in the work underway in this case.
 
The three members of Mr. Corbett’s administration were among eight men whom aides to Ms. Kane identified last week. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the aides invited reporters to the attorney general’s Harrisburg offices Sept. 25 to view what they described as a sample of the photographs of naked women and videos of sex acts allegedly found in the old email accounts,

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice also identified
The circle of alleged participants broadened Thursday when the Morning Call of Allentown reported that Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCaffery had forwarded at least eight sexually explicit emails to an employee of the attorney general’s office. The newspaper reviewed emails sent from Justice McCaffery’s personal email account.
The Post-Gazette says that Chief Justice Ronald Castille has asked the attorney general’s office to identify any judicial official who participated in the alleged exchange. Such behavior could violate the judicial code of conduct, he said earlier this week.
Ms. Kane, a Democrat, uncovered the emails as she fulfilled her campaign pledge to review how the attorney general’s office handled the investigation of child sexual abuse by former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. The case arrived at the office during the tenure of Mr. Corbett, a Republican, as attorney general.

Related news stories:
Pennsylvania DEP secretary, lawyer resign amid email scandal
Pennsylvania State Police commissioner cleared in controversy over pornographic emails
Two top DEP officials resign over porn e-mails

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Pennsylvania DEP Secretary Abruzzo resigns abruptly

E. Christopher Abruzzo  who resigned today- Paul J. Gough photo

Pennsylvania DEP Secretary E. Christopher Abruzzo today announced his resignation, effective immediately.


In a news release, Abruzzo said his decision was "based on the best interest of the important mission of the Department of Environmental Protection."
“I thank Chris for his dedicated service to the people of Pennsylvania,” Gov. Tom Corbett said in the press release. “Our environment and natural resources are better protected today due to his leadership, as well as the hard work of the men and women of DEP.”
In his place Corbett appointed Dana Aunkst, Executive Deputy Secretary for Programs, as acting secretary.

Abruzzo was one of at eight prominent state officials, including the head of the state police and a former spokesman for Gov. Corbett, who sent or received hundreds of sexually explicit photos, videos, and messages from state e-mail accounts between 2008 and 2012, according to documents made available last week by the state Attorney General’s Office.

The scandal was a political embarrassment for Republican Tom Corbett who, in his re-election campaign for governor, significantly trails Democrat Tom Wolf, the former Pennsylvania Secretary of Revenue,
Abruzzo is the only one of the eight caught up in the email scandal to resign to date.

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A flock of environmental bills lands in New Jersey’s lame duck session

After a summer slumber that lingered into fall–and all the way through Election Day on Nov. 6–New Jersey lawmakers are back in action and introducing scores of new bills. Almost 50 of the news measures introduced on Nov 8 involve environmental and energy issues.

Here are a just a few of the fledgling fliers making their debut in the lame duck session:

A-4440 Dancer, R.S. (R-30)Provides for the licensure of tree experts and tree care operators, and the registration of their employers.

A-4469 Manzo, L. (D-31); McKeon, J.F. (D-27)
Authorizes DEP to remove or order abatement of environmental nuisance.

A-4477 Watson Coleman, B. (D-15); Scalera, F. (D-36)
Establishes school chemical management program; appropriates $90,000.

A-4483 Vainieri Huttle, V. (D-37)
The “Smart Container Act.”

A-4513 Rooney, J.E. (R-39)
Provides that a solid waste collector will not collect the contents of a solid waste container containing designated recyclable materials until the resident removes the recyclable material.

A-4552 McKeon, J.F. (D-27)
Provides for decreases and eventual ban on use of non-compostable plastic grocery bags.

A-4555 Conaway, H. (D-7); Conners, J. (D-7)
“Plastic Bag Recycling Act.”

A-4556 McKeon, J.F. (D-27)
Authorizes DEP to sell, by auction or otherwise, allowances from greenhouse gas emissions trading programs, and establishes “Global Warming Consumer Benefit Fund.”

A-4559 Chivukula, U.J. (D-17)
The “New Jersey Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Act.”

S-2856 Littell, R.E. (R-24)Prohibits State departments and agencies from considering or requiring compliance by Highlands planning area municipalities with Highlands regional master plan in certain circumstance.

S-2885 (A-4297) Adler, J.H. (D-6)Provides for civil and criminal penalties for giving false information pertaining to violations of environmental laws

S-2893 Sweeney, R.J. (D-3)Revises statutory law concerning shellfisheries

S-2936 Smith, B. (D-17); Buono, B. (D-18)Revises law concerning net metering for electricity and renewable energy portfolio standards.

SCR-148 Singer, R.W. (R-30)Proposes constitutional amendment to preserve right of people to hunt, fish and harvest game subject to certain restrictions as may be prescribed by the Legislature.

These new bills are in addition to more than 7,000 already introduced in the current, two-year session that ends at the start of the new year.
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