Dan Surra Has a New Job

Former state representative Dan Surra didn't go very long without a job.

Governor Ed Rendell has made an exception to the hiring freeze he imposed to create a new job for Surra , who started work Monday as a senior adviser for the "Pennsylvania Wilds."

Surra will be paid $95,000 a year — a bump up from the approximately $89,000 Surra would have made had he won a 10th term in the House and kept his leadership position.

Rendell's press secretary says the new position is a wise investment, and Surra's primary responsibility will be to balance the region's tourism with the surging interest in drilling for natural gas.