US Sen. Pat Toomey gets his highest approval ratings ever in the latest Quinnipiac poll of Pennsylvania voters, in part because of his (failed) push for bipartisan gun-buyer background checks. From their release this morning:

Pennsylvania voters approve 34 – 29 percent of the way U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey is handling gun control and give Sen. Toomey an overall 48 – 30 percent approval rating, his highest ever. By a 54 – 12 percent margin, voters think more favorably of Toomey because of his co-sponsorship of legislation to require expanded background checks.

Looking at support for background checks:

69 percent of voters "strongly support" the measure;
16 percent support it "somewhat;"
5 percent are "somewhat opposed;"
7 percent are "strongly opposed."

The pollsters also asked voters if they would attend the Pittsburgh Marathon after the bombing in Boston: 88% said they would, to 11% saying they would not, though 36% said generally they were very or somewhat worried they or a family member would become victim to a terrorist attack. Almost two-thirds said that did not worry them.

Full results here.

Amid speculation about his possible ambitions to run for the Democratic nomination for governor next year, former U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak is making the rounds of county Democratic dinners.

The retired admiral, who lost to  Sen. Pat Toomey in 2010, was scheduled to speak at the Somerset County Democratic dinner Thursday night, and planned to stop by a Butler County event Saturday.  A spokesman for Mr. Sestak confirmed his schedule  while noting his cultivation of the party's grass roots is not new.  He pointed out that Mr. Sestak, who has been reticent about his 2014 plans, had appeared at the Somerset dinners in each of the previous two years, and was at the Butler Democratic event in 2011. 

So maybe he's running; or maybe he just likes chicken.

Despite concerns that the administration would send hologram Luke a la Tupac at Coachella last year, the real flesh-and-blood mayor showed up at a news conference this morning with public safety personnel and Pittsburgh Marathon director Patrice Matamoros to highlight security measures for the May 5 race. 

He also answered a few questions about where he's been since his last press event 35 days ago and how he plans to spend the remainder of his term. Here's a snippet:

I asked him if he was running the race and which one:

Ravenstahl: The relay, the last leg. That's the plan anyway.

Me: How fast do you plan to run?

Ravenstahl: I just hope to finish.

...

WPXI's Rick Earle: Do you plan to release [your public schedule]?

Ravenstahl: I do not.

Earle: What are your goals and agenda for the next seven months?

Ravenstahl: I’m not going to talk about those today.

...

Reporters continued to hammer him with tough questions like "Where have you been for the last 35 days?" and "What have you been up to?" Some of his answers:

"Working. I’ve been in town the entire time. I’ve continued to work on economic development projects and some of the things I hope to accomplish before the end of my term ... My advice to you would be to go talk to the guys that are runnin .. they're probably more relevant now than I am."

And finally, my favorite:

Asked @mayorluke who he's been meeting with while he's been MIA from the media. "Um, NOT YOU ... despite your repeated attempts." #burn!

— Moriah Balingit (@MoriahBee) April 25, 2013

Happy "Take Your Daughters and Sons To Work Day," folks.

1. Now that the sequester has hit people where it really hurts — their little airplanes are late — President Obama may consider sparing the Federal Aviation Administration from budget cuts, at least temporarily. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-PA, has been pushing to give the president full flexibility in choosing cuts for some time.

2. Meanwhile, everyone outside the Delta Sky Club® can see how the sequester will affect their lives with this great WaPo chart.

3. Pittsburgh mayoral candidates talk about the environment at the latest forum. A.J. Richardson, a well-known proponent of driving less, did not attend.

4. City Paper breaks down the mayoral candidate's positions on various social issues — employee benefits, LGBT rights and so on.

5. So the Pirates beat the Phillies last night? Whatever, this Philadelphian says. Click this important link to find out why.