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If Tom Corbett is wondering whether a low-key, mild-mannered governor can keep a no-new-taxes pledge in turbulent economic times, he might want to pick up a copy of Courage to Stand.

The new book is former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's way of introducing himself to a national audience before the anticipated announcement that he'll seek the presidency in 2012. The memoir traces Pawlenty's life from his blue-collar roots in the meatpacking town of South St. Paul through his recently ended eight years as governor.

Berks County Republicans nominated Register of Wills Larry Medaglia as their candidate for the March 15th special election to replace State Senator Mike O’Pake.

In a closed-door session of the Berks County GOP Executive Committee on Saturday evening, committee members debated the pros and cons of each of the six prospective candidates.

Ultimately, they chose Medaglia.

The six men vying for the Republican nomination to fill the 11th Senatorial District seat promised Wednesday night to return fiscal discipline to Harrisburg.

But one of them, Michael Rivera, acknowledged the Republicans will have a tough battle to win the seat long held by state Sen. Michael A. O'Pake, a Reading Democrat. O'Pake, who died Dec. 27 of complications from heart surgery, had held the seat for 38 years.

Democrats have a nearly 34,000-voter registration margin in the district.

The following is the text of Gov. Corbett's inaugural address as provided by his office:

Chief Justice Castille; Governor Rendell, Judge Rendell; members of the judiciary; leaders and members of the General Assembly; members of Congress; my fellow Pennsylvanians: today we celebrate a long, proud, and sustaining tradition of democracy.

Pennsylvania Gov.-elect Tom Corbett made a number of pledges during the campaign.

After he is sworn in Tuesday, he’ll have the chance to prove they weren’t empty.

The Patriot-News looks at 10 campaign promises Corbett made as a candidate and the challenges in fulfilling them as governor.

The promise: Balance the state budget without adding or increasing taxes or fees, and by making deep cuts.

Montgomery County's 2011 GOP primary was supposed to be a sleeper.

But with seven candidates vying for the two nominations for the Board of Commissioners, signs of old schisms reemerging, and a debate over the party's finances, it's shaping up to be a raucous one.

State Rep. Kate Harper this week became the latest candidate in the race, touting her record of consensus-building as an antidote to three tension-plagued years under the board's current members.

HARRISBURG - For the first time in eight years, Pennsylvania Republicans have the wind at their backs.

They have a lock on the state Capitol and full control of the policy agenda. They vow to raise no taxes, and there is a push to sell off the state liquor stores. But as Pennsylvania struggles to rise from the recession, lawmakers also have their work cut out for them.

As lawmakers reconvene for their new session this week, no issue looms as large for the General Assembly and the new governor as the gaping budget deficit.

Women account for more than half of the U.S. population and more than half of the applicants to medical schools and enrollees in American colleges.

Yet women account for about 17 percent of Pennsylvania’s state lawmakers. When the General Assembly is sworn in Tuesday, 42 of the 253 members will be women.

That number will mark a record for women in the Legislature, and a slight increase from the 2009-10 session, when there were 37 women.

But Pennsylvania consistently ranks in the bottom 10 states for the number of female state lawmakers.

Pennsylvania will lose a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to figures released this morning by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The release of the national and state population figures and the congressional seat allotments was the first set of data announced by the Census Bureau from the 2010 Census count.

Pennsylvania will have 18 seats in the House, instead of 19, beginning in 2013.

The U.S. population as of April 1, 2010, was 308,745,538, representing a 9.7 percent growth from 2000.