Good morning from the WITF Newsroom...

We're awaiting word about welcome-home ceremonies that are expected to start happening across the commonwealth this week for soldiers from the National Guard's 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

Good morning from the WITF Newsroom!

With a state budget nearly two months late, billions of dollars in funding that would normally be distributed to a range of agencies hangs in the balance. WITF News is starting off the week with a three-part series of reports on Morning Edition examining the impact on counties. Today's installment from Melanie Herschorn examines contingency plans that Adams County may implement within days if it's forced to continue without money from the commonwealth. Tomorrow, we'll head to Northumberland County, which was already facing massive financial problems before the budget impasse choked off state funding. The series concludes on Wednesday in Lebanon County, where general fund money is being reallocated to keep some human services afloat.

Greetings from the WITF Newsroom...

Another week without a state budget gets under way, though the six-member legislative conference committee is expected to meet this week. Meantime, Governor Rendell continues his campaign-style tour in support of his spending plan, with a stop planned for this afternoon at Penn State Hershey Medical Center.

I spent five hours driving up and down Taji's main routes with four soldiers today, and a considerable amount of discussion centered around what they'll all do when they return to the U.S. Sergeant Robert Paterson of Philadelphia is hoping for a weekend in Atlantic City. Specialist Matthew Compton, an Idaho native who attached to the Pennsylvania National Guard's 56th Stryker Brigade for this deployment, plans on driving down the Pacific coast with his wife, and Specialist Matt Hershberger of Cambria County  is camping out in Western Pennsylvania.

Good morning from the WITF Newsroom...

I hope you've had a chance to hear some of the incredible material that WITF's Scott Detrow has been filing from Iraq as part of our Impact of War project. For his latest piece, Scott headed out to one of the joint service stations -- also referred to as outposts -- maintained jointly by the U.S. Military and the Iraqi Army.