This is a tough post to write. Almost five years ago, I was frustrated with the scope and quality of political news in Pennsylvania. I had just graduated college and was temping while I waited to start graduate school.

I decided to dust off my rusty HTML skills and start a new website. After brainstorming with some friends, we decided it would be called Keystone Politics - designed to directly compete with PoliticsPA (as if that's a surprise). This was during Howard Dean's heyday, when we were just beginning to see the potential of the internet as a tool to facilitate political discussion. Every day for five years, we've done our best to bring a unique perspective to Pennsylvania politics.

So it's with a heavy heart that I have to inform you that Friday was Keystone Politics' final day of publication.

My first post, which I'll never forget, was about former state Senator Vince Fumo vacationing for years on a yacht owned by the Independence Seaport Museum. When their yacht (and really, what museum has a yacht?) was in drydock for repairs, Fumo demanded they lease him another one. It's tough to vacation in Martha's Vineyard without a yacht. It was clear then that Fumo was a corrupt bastard, but little did I know that five years later, the story would still be going strong.

Though I've spent most of those years in Washington and New York, I still think Pennsylvania has one of the most corrupt governments I've ever seen, with rampant, barely-concealed cronyism and graft from the smallest local borough right up through the capitol in Harrisburg. Very little that happens in your government is what it seems, and very little of it is honest. Sometimes that ends up benefiting you as citizens, but if so, it's pure happenstance.

As for us, it's time to move on to other projects. Rob will, as always, continue to be a player in PA politics. I'll undoubtedly still be present in the online publishing world, but it's time for me to leave Pennsylvania politics behind. We'll be leaving the site online indefinitely, along with the archives, as a historical record of the past five years of PA politics.

Most importantly I need to send out a big thank you - to Rob, to all of our contributors over the years, and to our readers. You've all made this a great place to develop political discussions online and I've appreciated your guidance and opinions over the years.

Best wishes,
Greg

Keystone Politics was started by Greg Palmer nearly five years ago to better inform Pennsylvania voters about the political issues and campaigns. At the time, there were only a handful of political websites reaching out reaching this audience. Although the internet was growing, most political observers were still getting their news from their local newspapers. Keystone Politics stepped into a void of news coverage with a mix of original content and aggregated news from across the state.

In the more recent past we have a seen a drastic switch in that dynamic. Increasingly, political news and views are emanating from original content on blogs around the state. We have seen sites and bloggers come and go; watched newspapers decrease staff, lose circulation and decrease impact. Meanwhile, a vibrant community of bloggers continues to break down the barriers of our society to better inform readers.

Since joining Greg a few years ago as a contributing writer and later as Executive Editor, I have observed the shape of Pennsylvania change drastically. We now see many candidates and government agencies reaching out online in way that was unthinkable five years ago. While we cannot take credit for that in any way, I only hope that we played some small part in opening the world of politics to Pennsylvanians.

Greg and I sat down over the weekend to discuss the future of Keystone Politics. Both of our lives have moved forward in different directions and neither one of us can dedicate the amount of time to KP as we used to. We discussed the changes in how the web reaches Pennsylvania's political observers and what role KP could play in the future.

Ultimately, we decided to discontinue active posting to Keystone Politics entirely. This was not easy for either of us, but I feel that some of the newer voices on the web can fill any void we leave behind. Moreover, I am enthusiastic about some recent changes in the political and internet landscape that I feel will continue to provide effective coverage on the Pennsylvania political world.

I want to personally thank every reader, contributor, all of the great bloggers around the state, and the collection of reporters who allowed us to spread your work to a larger audience. Without this unique dynamic of players we could not have done this for so long. Most of all, I want thank Greg for creating this site and allowing me to be a part of it.

As for me, I will continue my political activities and I suspect you will see me resurface to inflict some harsh commentary upon Pennsylvanians.

Take Care,
Rob

The state's precarious fiscal situation is getting worse -- much worse, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee said yesterday.

Rep. Dwight Evans D-Philadelphia, said the revenue shortfall for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, is now projected to be "at least $3 billion."

That's $700 million more than the $2.3 billion that Gov. Ed Rendell forecast three months ago, and $400 million higher than some legislators forecast just a month ago.

"The numbers are staggering," Mr. Evans said. "We have a lot of work to do. Do we need to make decisions that are painful? Absolutely."

The state's original spending plan for fiscal 2008-09 was $28.26 billion, but that is being trimmed by more than half a billion dollars. The state Revenue Department is due to release the state's April revenue collections today.

"Given the national economic indicators, the [Pennsylvania revenue] numbers could be grim," said Rendell aide Chuck Ardo.

A state representative from Philadelphia is introducing a bill to permit the use of medical marijuana in Pennsylvania under certain restrictions.

Democratic Rep. Mark Cohen said people in pain should not be forced to choose between moving out of state for treatment or buying drugs from criminals.

The bill has only six co-sponsors, but Cohen said he's optimistic about its prospects because polls show high levels of public support and lawmakers have to respond to their constituents.

The state Liquor Control Board didn't break the law but showed impaired judgment and ignored red flags when it awarded a $173,820 contract to a regional director's spouse, Auditor General Jack Wagner said Wednesday.

The liquor board last month referred the matter to Wagner after newspapers revealed it awarded a contract to Solutions 21, a Pittsburgh firm whose president, John "Buddy" Hobart, is married to the board's western regional director, Susanne Hobart.

Liquor board Chairman P.J. Stapleton III said he is pleased Wagner's review concluded no laws were broken. The board said Solutions 21 submitted the lowest proposal to provide courtesy training to state store clerks.

Wagner said he found no evidence Susanne Hobart funneled confidential information to Solutions 21 or influenced the process. But he said the liquor board ignored red flags and exercised poor judgment.

The Legislature went too far in barring casino owners and executives from making any political campaign contributions, Pennsylvania's highest court ruled Thursday in wiping out what had been touted as a major bulwark against the gambling industry's influence.

The Supreme Court said the law's approach to banning all contributions was an overly broad and harmful attempt to combat corruption -- or even just the appearance of corruption -- that violated the state constitution's guarantee of free speech.

Writing for the 5-1 majority, Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille also said the blanket ban was out of step with the law's intent. In the law, lawmakers wrote it was necessary to prevent corruption that may result from ''large campaign contributions,'' but went on to prohibit all such contributions.

Castille did not rule out the constitutionality of a limited ban that capped political campaign contributions from the gambling industry at a certain amount.

''A statute that limited the size of contributions, rather than absolutely prohibiting any contributions, would be more narrowly drawn to accomplish the stated goal,'' he wrote.