Via PoliticsPA, Pa Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald Castille will run for retention this year, which is significant because he will turn 70 next year and be forced to step down. Should fellow Justice Joan Orie Melvin be convicted on corruption charges that could give Gov. Tom Corbett the chance to appoint two justices to the high court (pending a 2/3 Senate confirmation). Both Castille and Melvin are Republicans.

One day before he gets sworn-in as Auditor General, Eugene Depasquale is squashing any talk he could run for the Democratic nod for governor in 2014. From his office:

Harrisburg – During my campaign for auditor general, I pledged to be an independent fiscal watch-dog who wouldn't allow politics to overshadow or compromise the integrity of the important work that will be required of my office over the next few years.

That is why prior to taking the oath of office tomorrow I am declaring that I will not be a candidate for governor in 2014.

The people of Pennsylvania elected me to be a tough, fair and independent watchdog. That's what I intend to do from day one.

The House is due to take another vote on Hurricane Sandy relief tomorrow, this time on a two-part package totalling $50 billion.

All eyes around Pittsburgh will be on new congressman Keith Rothfus, who voted against the last $9.7 billion package due to complaints about its impact on the national debt and the structure of nation's flood insurance program.

Rothfus, a Sewickley attorney, took a beating for the vote in the Letters to the Editor of the P-G. Jake Sternberger at the liberal site Keystone Politics wraps up some of the letters and adds:

. . . The truth is that we really can't be mad at Congressman Rothfus for voting exactly how he promised to vote during the campaign.

Rothfus was completely honest with voters about his Tea Party positions, and the voters were enthusiastic about severe spending cuts and limiting the role of government. This is precisely what the voters elected Rothfus to do, and precisely what Rothfus promised to deliver.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is set to have an 11 a.m. press conference this morning regarding this year's property reassessments and "measures the Mayor will take to ensure property owners are not taxed out of their homes." This could include setting the city's property tax rate (which by law will have to be cut in something like half to comply with anti-windfall law) or perhaps a new homestead exemption tax break.

The mayor will also likely face questions on the latest Pittsburgh police news: early Sunday morning five off-duty officers working bar details in the South Side shot at a car in a police chase on crowded Carson Street. No bystanders were injured, but the driver and a passenger were in serious condition.

Here's my story on the other big police in the news. It looks like domestic violence was at the heart of a murder-suicide over New Years when a woman called 911 but police left her Larimer home before talking to her. But the public cannot check the call to judge police response to the domestic matter: ironically 911 calls are not public record due to confidentiality rules that Pennsylvania victim advocates lobbied for.

The Corbett administration welcomes the state legislature back to work today by surprisingly awarding a 20-year lottery privatization contract to a British firm. The announcement came late Friday, and the Senate has a hearing today. Corbett staffers are due to meet with reporters this afternoon. From Laura Olson:

In an end-of-the-workday email to lottery workers, Revenue Secretary Dan Meuser said the contract with Camelot Global Services PA LLC is expected to be given final reviews and signed next week.

"We're confident that by combining one of the nation's best lotteries with one of the best private-sector lottery industry experts in the world, we'll end up with a win-win proposition to grow and protect Lottery profits for decades to come," Mr. Meuser wrote.

In a brief statement Friday evening, the Corbett administration said issuing the award notice allows state officials "to disclose contractual and procurement details" about the management contract during a Senate hearing scheduled for Monday morning.

If you haven't read it yet, check out Pittsburgh City Paper's study of just how much keno games (which are part of the privatization plan) would expand gambling in the state.

Gov. Corbett has some of the worst midterm poll numbers in the country, but he could turn things around by 2014 writes Jim O'Toole:

While it's impossible to know for sure -- the current recovery could be derailed by Washington budget brinkmanship or other outside factors -- it seems more possible that by 2014, Mr. Corbett will join the string of Pennsylvania incumbents boosted by an economic tailwind.

If so, that would be the second election in a row in which the economy, in contrasting ways, boosted Mr. Corbett's political fortunes. In 2010, it was a bad economy that aided his candidacy, as he rode the wave of discontent that boosted GOP candidates all over the country.