Mitt Romney wasn't at his Boston campaign headquarters mid-morning Friday, but members of his expanding staff were there making calls, holding meetings and preparing responses. Like in 2008, the operation runs out of a North End building across the river from Bunker Hill and about a mile from the statehouse where Romney served as governor.

A few images of the scene:

The headquarters, at 585 Commercial St., from across the street.

Monitoring the action in the Romney war room.

Mitt Romney's (very tidy) desk.

The view from the candidate's office.

From our breaking news page:

Republican Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley has scheduled a special election for Aug. 7 to replace former Republican state Sen. Jane Orie.

Ms. Orie, 50, of McCandless, resigned from her legislative seat on Monday. She awaits sentencing, after an Allegheny County jury found her guilty of 14 criminal counts for misusing her legislative staff to do campaign work.

As the presiding officer in the Senate, the lieutenant governor is authorized to decide when special elections take place. The main requirement is that it must be more than 60 days after the vacancy occurs.

"After consultations with the governor and Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, I decided to set an early date so that the citizens of that Senate district could have representation as soon as possible," Mr. Cawley said in a statement. "They are entitled to their voice in the Senate."

Ms. Orie's North Hills seat stretches from the northern Pittsburgh suburbs into Butler County. Local officials from both parties will pick their nominees for the special election.

About 10 Republicans are interested in the seat, including former U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart of Bradford Woods, who previously represented the 40th District. Dan DeMarco of Ross, who lost to Ms. Orie in 2010, is thought to be the main candidate on the Democratic side.

Who else is among the 10 Republicans said to be interested in the seat? Check out the list compiled by Tim McNulty earlier this week.

UPDATE: Hart has confirmed she is seeking the GOP nod. In special elections Democratic and Republican party officials from the legislative district choose the candidates for the ballot, and Republicans from Allegheny and Butler counties are expected to choose theirs sometime in the middle of June.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has long argued against Pittsburgh's ban on Marcellus Shale drilling -- approved 9-0 by city council in 2010, and made law without his signature -- mostly because of the negative vibes it sends to the growing natural gas industry.

The ban sends "the message . . . we are essentially blocking an industry from investing in our City," he wrote last year, in opposition to an effort to write the ban into the city's charter.

There is evidence he was right.

It seemed odd that Oxford Development would call a major news conference yesterday to herald an "iconic" $238 million, 33-story skyscraper on Smithfield Street. . . or, you know, maybe just renovate the old building for office space.

The reason the developers have to have a backup plan is they haven't yet scored an anchor tenant. A big company new to the city that needs a home for its rapidly growing pool of employees. Like, say, a natural gas company.

They've talked to several such firms but the city's ban has been "an issue" in landing them, and comes up at the outset of every pitch to the giant energy firms, Oxford's CEO Steve Guy told the P-G's Mark Belko:

Mr. Guy said Oxford also has spoken to "numerous" energy companies about potentially locating in the tower, although he would not name which ones. Both Chevron and Shell Oil Co. are looking for more space in the region and are said to be considering Downtown among their options.

However, Mr. Guy said the city's ban on natural gas drilling, enacted by city council in 2010, has become an "issue" in those talks.

"It comes up at the commencement of every discussion with energy companies," Mr. Guy said. "The energy companies have just simply said we're not doing business in the city.

"We have to work through it, actually, because there's nothing we can do about it."

Lots more on Chevron, the ban and the irony of the former Gulf Oil moving back to Downtown Pittsburgh here and here from Chris Briem at Null Space.

We told you earlier about former state Rep. Bill DeWeese's weekend furlough, after a judge released him over a technicality last Friday evening.

He was back at the state prison in Camp Hill by Tuesday afternoon, but we apparently missed the scoop on what he did during his three days back as a regular citizen. (This reporter did call and text him on Saturday, but his only reply was a text that said to call him attorney.)

The Tribune-Review says DeWeese told the Inquirer (can't find their piece online) that his weekend included "riding his bike, seeing his girlfriend and eating Chinese food." He also was reportedly spotted Saturday night at a Harrisburg Senators baseball game.