Featuring a blend of policy, politics and privacy, the 92nd National Governors' Association annual meeting runs through tomorrow at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel.
In the tightly guarded hotel, governors heard from retired Gen. Colin Powell yesterday. President Clinton plans to visit today, and Federal Reserve Board Chair Alan Greenspan is scheduled to speak tomorrow.
Some of the most famous governors are no-shows. Presidential candidate and Texas Gov. George W. Bush won't attend the meeting and neither will ex-wrestler Gov. Jesse Ventura of Minnesota. Vice President Al Gore is not planning to visit either.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, as the convention's host governor, spoke just as proudly of University Creamery ice cream as he did of Pennsylvania's high-tech industries.
"In this part of the country the sky is — by law, by natural inclination, perhaps divine intervention — blue and white," Ridge said at an opening press conference Saturday.
Penn State President Graham Spanier, visible at events throughout the conference, has taken the opportunity to show off the Penn State community to governors, business leaders and everyone watching live coverage on C-SPAN.
Spanier welcomed the governors at his residence Saturday night and social events took place all weekend in downtown State College.
Sunday's NGA executive committee meeting featured a speech from Powell about his support of youth programs.
Governors also heard from Ivan Seidenberg, chairman and chief executive officer of Verizon Communications. Verizon, a new company formed by the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE, is now the nation's eighth largest employer.
Officially, governors have planned sessions through the week to discuss national issues such as technology development, online privacy and farm conservation.
Unofficially, governors will chat about whatever they want to — including hot-button issues such as capital punishment and abortion — in a series of private meetings and luncheons.
Security has been tight. Dark-suited men wearing ear pieces stood around the entrances to the conference center all weekend and followed governors wherever they went. Beige, silver and black sedans cruised the surrounding streets continuously.
The stepped-up security got on some people's nerves.
Abraham Bonowitz, an anti-death penalty activist from Florida, said he was followed around town by a green van while he was driving to a demonstration Saturday. It spooked him enough to dial 911 on his cell phone.
Almost immediately, Bonowitz said, a fleet of police cars surrounded him, and an officer wrote him a $93 ticket for turning left without signaling.
