Tax collections rose by $220 billion — or 16% — between the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1 through April 30. Individual and payroll taxes accounted for $184 billion of that increase…

The base salary for trustees will be reduced to $30,000 annually, down from $95,000 in 2010. In the past, compensation for board members was set following an tri-annual review by an outside consultant. Under the new agreement, the reviews will be conducted bi-annually. However, the attorney general’s office will be involved in selecting the consultant…

… in most American neighborhoods, consumers are stuck with a broadband monopoly. And monopolies don’t strive to offer the best, cheapest service. Rather, they use speed as a tool to discriminate by price — coaxing consumers who are willing to pay for high-speed broadband into more costly and profitable tiers…

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday morning issued a 6-0 ruling upholding the Legislative Reapportionment Commission’s second attempt at producing new state legislative districts.

NEW YORK TIMES: …Data being released for the first time by the government on Wednesday shows that hospitals charge Medicare wildly differing amounts — sometimes 10 to 20 times what Medicare typically reimburses — for the same procedure, raising questions about how hospitals determine prices and why they differ so widely.

The poll by Franklin & Marshall College released Wednesday found support for privatizing state liquor stores declined over the past few months as opponents — including the union representing state store employees — campaigned against it, poll director G. Terry Madonna said.

Former state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin was sentenced to 3 years of house arrest on Tuesday. She must also write a letter of apology that will be sent to every judge in Pennsylvania, KDKA reports.

In Pennsylvania, gambling proponents originally contended that their intention was simply to keep Pennsylvania money in Pennsylvania, to capture potential state revenue that was being spent in Atlantic City.

“In an information vacuum caused by Harrisburg’s failure to provide accurate information about its deteriorating financial condition, municipal investors had to rely on other public statements misrepresenting city finances,” George S. Canellos, Co-Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, said in the statement. “Statements that are reasonably expected to reach the securities markets, even if not prepared for that purpose, cannot be materially misleading.”…

HUFFINGTON POST: …In 2000, the United States had the lowest unemployment rate for 25- to 34-year-olds among countries with large, wealthy economies. By 2011, America had one of the highest youth unemployment rates compared to its peers, according to a New York Times op-ed by David Leonhardt, the paper’s Washington bureau chief.

WE.CONNECT.DOTS: Lowman Henry isn’t a household name, even to active Pennsylvania Republicans. For the last two decades, however, Henry has been an important reason why his GOP hasn’t strayed to the extremes of their counterparts in Florida, Texas, Arizona and the like.

Gray is quoted by the May 4 Intelligencer Journal / New Era (“Judge: Brunswick must make changes”) as saying “It’s for sale, but there’s no agreement.” Who in their right mind would buy it to operate as a hotel? And will a subsequent owners be able to do any better given the market circumstances?