It's a double-header day.
We're going to learn about both the state of Pennsylvania - or at least the state's finances - as well as the State of the Union.
This morning Gov. Tom Wolf will deliver the first budget of his second term. The key words there being "second term." Also known as final. Wolf cannot run again. Which means he no doubt will be making another call for new taxes and more spending.
You might remember Wolf rode to the governor's mansion in Harrisburg by pledging to restore education cuts that took place on the watch of his predecessor, Republican Gov. Tom Corbett.
Wolf had visions of not only a new severance tax on the state's natural gas business, he event proposed hikes in both the state personal income and sales taxes. Republicans who control both chambers in the Legislature - and who made it a point that they had no intention of raising taxes, almost laughed themselves silly.
This went on for three years. Then, with a re-election campaign looming, there was little talk of tax hikes in Wolf's last budget, which uncharacteristically sailed through Harrisburg with little of the rancor of the three years that preceded it.
No longer shackled by the thought of having to run for office again, look for Wolf again call to increase taxes, including his favorite, slapping new fees on our friends in the Marcellus Shale region.
Of course, something else has not changed in Harrisburg. While Wolf remains governor, Republicans still control both the House and Senate. Yes, their margins are less after the stinging rebuke of President Trump and the GOP at the polls in November. But they still hold sway.
Here's an early prediction: Don't look for a budget to be in place before that July 1 deadline.
Speaking of the president, he'll finally get to deliver his State of the Union tonight.
The original date got deep-sixed during the federal government shutdown. Then he got "dis-invited" by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi when he indicated he still wanted to deliver his remarks in the House chamber. Accent there on the "diss."
Trump tonight is expected to focus on the theme of "unity" and also make another push for his pet project and campaign pledge, a wall on the southern border.
We might hear about whether he plans to declare a national emergency in order to get the funding for the wall. Which could set off a new series of legal challenges.
All of which no doubt might cut into his now famous "executive time" that seems to dominate his daily schedule.
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