Judge John Cleland today issued a 27-page order that said Sandusky’s lawyers conceded their post-trial review turned up no material that would have changed their trial strategy. He also has rejected post-sentencing motions regarding jury instructions, hearsay testimony and other matters…

According to state safety codes here, clubs should have one fire extinguisher every 1,500 square feet as well as multiple emergency exits. Limits on the number of people admitted are to be strictly respected. None of that appears to have happened at the Santa Maria nightclub…

Adding to the sense of inevitability is the belief that the cuts, known as the sequester, would improve the government’s bottom line without devastating the broader economy. Though the cuts would hamper economic growth, especially in the Washington region, the forecast is far less dire than with other recent fiscal deadlines, and financial markets are not pressing Washington to act…

NEWSMAX: Outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday cast doubt on speculation she might run for the White House in 2016. In an interview taped for National Public Radio, Clinton was asked what questions she needs to answer for herself as she decides whether to run for president.

PITTSBURG POST-TRIBUNE: Gov. Tom Corbett on Wednesday will announce a “full privatization” plan to sell the state liquor stores, but fellow Republican leaders already are raising concerns with his plan to raise $1 billion for transportation, education or reducing state pension liabilities…

Why privatize a program long heralded as well-run, with the second lowest administrative overhead (3.5 percent) among the 10 largest state-run programs in the country, yielding record returns for older Pennsylvanians the last two years? Why no open discussion, vetting of projections or cost-benefit analysis?

The poll, a snapshot of voter attitude toward Corbett at the middle of his first term, also finds Corbett receiving unenthusiastic support among Pennsylvania Republicans, with only 49 percent saying he deserves to be re-elected. Pennsylvania voters also gave Corbett a poor job approval rating, as 42 percent disapprove of his handling of the job, while 36 percent approve – a slide from November when the Quinnipiac Poll showed 38 percent disapproved and 40 percent approved.

Curl’s area of expertise is very important for those of us seeking transformational change to a new, more equitable economy and participatory democracy. His book methodically and authoritatively traces the hidden history of cooperatives, cooperation and communalism in US history. He shows how these models of economic democracy were intertwined with many of the transformational changes the country has made…

It isn’t so much who normally writes the editorials as who may do so on that person’s day off.

Rather than simply examining the structure of the county government, voters should move to examine the scope of all local government, stop wasting money and consolidate government operations. With between 200,000 and 210,000 people, Lackawanna County would be a midsize city. It needs one local government rather than more than 40. For true reform, it would make far more sense to build a new house than to rearrange the existing furniture…

CONNECT THE DOTS: Historians may decide the real beginning of the nation’s political war against civility occurred in 2004. (Henceforth, that’s “Pee-WAC” for short.) Some would argue this assault against civility in our Democracy began in 2000 when George W. Bush got fewer votes nationally than Al Gore.