HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania voters are more likely to blame the Legislature than Gov. Ed Rendell for partisan fighting that left some major issues unresolved and a budget stalemate that prompted the furlough of 24,000 state employees. But the Legislature gets more credit for keeping new taxes out of the budget, according to a poll released today.

Also, while 53 percent of the state's voters approve of Rendell's overall performance, a larger majority says the state's tax situation has remained the same or worsened since the Democrat took office in 2003, the poll by Connecticut-based Quinnipiac University shows.

State taxes were cited most frequently as Pennsylvania's most important problem, followed by the economy, crime, education, health care and mass transportation, according to the telephone survey of 1,160 voters, which was conducted from Aug. 14 through Monday.

PITTSBURGH — Wal-Mart's plan to stabilize a hilltop construction site that caused a major landslide last year is incomplete, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said.Wal-Mart Stores has not given the agency enough information or detail to enable it to assess the plan, the DEP said Tuesday. The DEP gave Wal-Mart until Sept. 4 to provide the additional information.The DEP also issued Wal-Mart a permit to allow it to dispose of landslide material at an adjacent area. The permit will allow Wal-Mart to continue stabilization work while it revises its plan, the DEP said.Part of the Kilbuck Township site gave way Sept. 19, sending some 500,000 cubic yards of dirt and debris onto the highway below. The highway is a major artery to Pittsburgh's western suburbs and was closed for two weeks.

LOWER BURRELL — The death of a 27-year-old woman whose body was found in the Allegheny River in June has been ruled a homicide.Westmoreland County Coroner Kenneth Bacha would not say how Kelly Nicole Smith of Brackenridge was killed.Bacha had previously called the woman's death suspicious, but it became a homicide after his office ruled out suicide or natural causes. Evidence that someone else was present where her body was found also contributed to the homicide ruling, Bacha said. Authorities have not said where the woman died.Police have interviewed the woman's husband, another man she was staying with in her hometown and a third man with whom she was known to frequent bars. But police have stopped short of calling any of those men suspects and no charges have been filed in the case.

PITTSBURGH — The city's ethics panel questioned Mayor Luke Ravenstahl on Tuesday about his appearance in a charity golf tournament, and the board said it planned to recommend limiting elected officials' participation in such events.It was the first time the Ethics Hearing Board questioned an elected official. The panel asked Ravenstahl about the June golf outing and about his $9,000 entrance fee, which was paid by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.The board said the arrangement could give the public the perception the mayor won't be impartial when doing business with the hospital network, the city's biggest employer.The members agreed the mayor didn't violate any rules because elected officials are not currently limited in the type of charitable events they can participate in, who pays for them to be there or how much.Members said they were uncomfortable with Ravenstahl's attendance being paid for by UPMC when the event benefited the Mario Lemieux Foundation, a cancer charity started by the hockey star.