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Sounds like a really, really, really bad college band, doesn’t it?
Anyway, I don’t want to brag, but I told you so.  According to a story on WHTM:
The state Supreme Court said Monday it agreed with state workers’ unions and ruled against the position that Gov. Ed Rendell had taken leading up to the July 2008 [...]

Yes.  You read that correctly.  Long-time readers know what I’m about to say.  Everyone else gets an explanation after the break.

As you’ve probably already heard by now, those of us on the 8/7 pay cycle received our full pay (along with back pay) this past Friday.  With a few exceptions, everybody on the alternate cycle will be paid this coming Friday.  This is a bittersweet victory for us state employees who were asking for nothing [...]

Senate Bill 850, “An Act to provide from the General Fund for the expenses of (the state)”, is on its way to the governor.  Three legislators voted against the bill — Representatives Steve Santarsiero, Dennis O’Brien, and Paul Drucker.  Rumors of a fourth are rumbling, but the bill passed by an overwhelming margin.  The threat [...]

Words can not describe my disappointment at today’s events.
First, let me say that a stopgap budget, or any measure passed to resume our pay, is bittersweet.  True, we’ll technically be getting paychecks again.  And for a lot of state employees, that’s the difference between dinner and nothing.  So I won’t complain if our paychecks resume [...]

Approximately 3,000 people (guess) turned out to protest the budget impasse — and specifically, how it has effectively cut 100% of funding to 100% of state agencies and programs — yesterday afternoon on the steps of the Capitol building in Harrisburg.  Supporters overruled the oppressive, muggy heat to make sure our message was heard.  We [...]

Any state employee who is affected by the impasse (which, basically, means all of us) should consider reaching out to his or her creditors to let them know what’s going on.  Even with 10 weeks’ worth of spending money in savings, I’ve contacted all of mine to inquire about deferment and emergency arrangements.  Creditors are [...]