An Early Returns representative stopped by the North Side Elks Club's "Banjo Night" last night — and he can report that City Controller Michael Lamb did not go onstage to sing. This time.

Your morning links:

1. Where in the world is Mayor Luke? A close friend says the missing mayor will hold a press conference in the next few days to explain his absence from recent city and campaign events. Some have said his mother is sick. Even @LouKravenstahl is tweeting less.

2. About 200 local kids could get kicked out of Head Start programs if the federal government fails to reach a budget compromise, our Mary Niederberger reports. And guess what: Republicans and Democrats can't agree.

More after the jump.

Gov. Tom Corbett and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius didn't get to discuss his concerns about expanding Medicaid during his trip to Washington this past weekend.

It wasn't because the Obama administration didn't ask.

"While we were down there, her office was reaching out, trying to set up an appointment for me while I was down there," Corbett told reporters this afternoon.

But, the governor said, his schedule didn't allow it.

"When I go down there, my schedule is scheduled," he said. "It's full. I started days at 7:30 in the morning and they last until 10 o'clock at night, with very little gaps in between. In fact one day I didn't have breakfast until 3 in the afternoon, to give you an idea. That's a full schedule. I can't adjust that quickly."

In addition to the meeting of the National Governors Association, Corbett met with members of the state's congressional delegation, his office said.

Corbett and Sebelius did agree to try and find a time when they can talk Medicaid expansion. The governor has declined to endorse loosening income restrictions for the state-run health care program for the poor, as allowed under the federal health care law, saying the expansion would be too costly.

But his remarks today left room for that position to evolve.

"Remember, I said I can't recommend it at this time because I don't have the information, and we have to look at everything," he said. "When I get the information we can make a better-informed decision."

From James O'Toole and Moriah Balingit:

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has raised questions in missing several public and political events in recent days.

Wednesday night he was again a no-show at a candidates' night at Perry High School in his North Side political base and a public explanation from his close friend, Kevin Quigley, only added to the uncertainty sparked by his absences.

Just after city Controller Michael Lamb, one of Mr. Ravenstahl's rivals for the Democratic nomination for mayor, spoke to the Democratic committee members, Mr. Quigley, a city Public Works Department official who is also a ward leader, rose to speak in Mr. Ravenstahl's place. He offered an intriguing but finally opaque apology and explanation for the candidate's absence.

"It is with a heavy heart that I tell you here tonight that the mayor couldn't make it. Within the next couple of days he'll be having a press conference to discuss some issues,'' Mr. Quigley said adding that "... there's some personal things going on right now that I'm not at liberty to discuss.''

"Everyone in this room supported the mayor at one time or another,'' he continued. "Us as Northsiders it's always been an old adage that we stick together. I'm asking everyone on this room to send their prayers out to the Ravenstahl family and to stick together as Northsiders.''

Later, Mr. Quigley alluded to the federal investigations swirling around the city Police Bureau as he said, "I'm going to tell you that the mayor is implicated in nothing that's going on with the city. He's having some personal issues. And I am here to tell you that in the next couple of days there's going to be some kind of press conference. I would just ask everyone in this room, reserve your thoughts and say a prayer for the mayor and his family.''

In a brief interview after the meeting broke up, Mr. Quigley declined to offer any elaboration on the mayor's situation or of the public statement that he told the crowd to anticipate.

"What the press conference is going to disclose I just don't know; I can't tell you,'' said Mr. Quigley, who was Mr. Ravenstahl's chief of staff during his time on council.

Mr. Ravenstahl's chief of staff Yarone Zober could not be reached for further explanation.

The previous evening, the mayor had also been conspicuous in his absence from another candidates' night just weeks before the Democratic rank-and-file will take their closely watched endorsement vote on March 10. After Mr. Ravenstahl failed to appear at the event in the 19th Ward, one of the city's largest, his campaign spokesman, Matt Harringer at first said he had a scheduling conflict.

Aletheia Henry, the mayor's campaign manager, said later that he was forced to skip the South Hills party event because his mother was ill. The nature of Mrs. Ravenstahl's illness hasn't been disclosed.

Earlier Wednesday, the radio station WESA had expected the mayor for its one-year anniversary show but, the station reported shortly after noon that "We had planned to bring you an interview with the mayor, however he was called away for an emergency.''

Over the weekend, the mayor missed two events with Steel City Codefest, a gathering of programmers who were challenged to create an app using civic data. He missed a Friday evening gathering billed as a "Mayor's Mixer" and the awards ceremony on Sunday morning, despite the fact the event had been hyped by the mayor's office. A press release Friday said the mayor would presenting the awards himself on Sunday, but he did not.

"The mayor was attending to other essential city business, and regrettably could not attend," the mayor's spokeswoman, Joanna Doven, said in an email.

Common Pleas Court Judge John T. McVay has launched a campaign for the Democratic nomination for state Superior Court.  Mr. McVay said he likes his chances against Joe Waters, a judge on  Philadelphia's Municipal Court, who captured the Democratic Party's state committee endorsement for the nomination earlier this month, as he is likely to be the only candidate form the western part of the state on the primary ballot.    Mr. Waters won the party backing over Michael Wojcik, a former Allegheny County solicitor, who, according to  Nancy Mills, the Allegheny County Democratic chair, dropped from the race after the state committee vote.

The winner of the Democratic nomination is likely to face Republican Vic Stabile, of Cumberland County, who was endorsed by the state GOP for their nomination.  Mr. Stabile ran for the same court in 2011 and was defeated by Judge David Wecht.