In a practice known as “triple dipping,” some retired state employees go back to work on temporary assignments, receiving pay in addition to their pension benefits; and, when the temp job is over, they apply for and receive unemployment benefits as well.

Some 459 state retirees raked in more than $2 million in jobless benefits in 2010 and 2011, according to the Harrisburg-based PennLive news website.

But triple dipping will be ending, thanks to a new state law. The state House voted 202-0 Tuesday to make state retirees ineligible for the jobless benefits if they return to the state payroll. The state Senate also voted unanimously, 50-0, and sent the bill to Gov. Tom Corbett for his signature.

At last: legislation on which everyone agrees.

The only genuine disappointment, to be conceded with a note of cynicism, is that Pennsylvania actually needs a law to stop this blatant, fraudulent act of greed. Taxpayers are sick and tired of people, wheter public employees or others, gaming the system.

Another disappointment is why, when this practice has been going on for years, did it take lawmakers so long to move to stop it?

Cheers to David J. Spigelmyer, of Cranberry Township, who this week becomes the president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition. The 300-member coalition, headquartered in Pittsburgh, is the region's largest shale gas development trade association.Spigelmyer was instrumental in the coalition's 2008 founding. He has been its chairman, vice chairman and legislative committee chair.Most recently, Spigelmyer was vice president of Chesapeake Energy Corp.'s Appalachia division, where he was responsible for government relations, regulatory policy, stakeholder engagement and communications efforts. Before Chesapeake, he served in similar roles at EQT Corp. and Dominion Resources. He has held other energy industry-related positions in New York state and Washington, D.C.In his new role, he will work closely with elected leaders, regulators and the civic community to advance responsible shale development and the overall enhancement of the region's economy and environment.A Penn State University graduate and an avid outdoorsman, Spigelmyer has a ready response for critics who target hydraulic fracturing, or fracking — the technique used to harvest gas from shale deposits underground — as a potential environmental hazard. He says the coalition will continue to spread it message that Marcellus gas can provides economic good without compromising environmental protection.

Cheers to Wayne Conley, Nicolette Tolomeo-Germain and Larry Berg, outgoing members of the Butler County Tourism Bureau’s board of directors, for a job well done.Conley, owner of Conley Resort, represented the tourism bureau-member golf courses. Tolomeo-Germain, owner of Nicolette’s Tailor Shop in Portersville, represented the bureau’s shopping committee. Berg, a longtime radio personality and radio executive, represented the history and heritage committee.All three, along with the board’s other nine members, strive to advance and promote the good events that attract and retain commerce here. All contribute to a vibrant, active tourism bureau that strives to cultivate and market the county’s best assets.Most recently, the bureau sponsored the “BOOM & a Blast” fireworks show in August at Cooper’s Lake Campground. The bureau estimates the annual traveling event injected more than $4 million into the county’s economy, attracted more than 55,000 spectators and booked thousands of hotel rooms.The outstanding event, which is just one of several annual and seasonal events promoted by the tourism bureau, gives solid measure to its value to the county. Its level of achievement is not an overnight development: the bureau has been building its brand — and its reach — over a period of many years.Its achievements are in no small part due to the work of dedicated board members like Berg, Tolomeo-Gemain and Conley. Best wishes to all three, and to their successors on the board: Scott Choura, general manager and director of Lake Arthur Golf Club; M.J. McCurdy, owner and manager of Bottlebrush Gallery in Harmony; and Elizabeth Jacobs, of the Zelienople Historical Society.