I'm really tempted to write about Randy Moss today. After all, that's what everyone's talking about, and it's always easiest to write about what people are talking about. But this is the Capitol Letter so I'll try to confine my remarks to what's going on at the Capitol. Of course, that could be my cue to write about the impact of Moss's antics on the chances for a stadium bill...but the Vikings were unlikely to get any public funding for a stadium this year anyway, so I can't even fall back on that crutch.

So what is happening at the Capitol? More budget news, both good and bad. First the positive note. Tax collections are up MPR's Laura McCallum had this item:

State finance officials say Minnesota collected $66 million more than forecast in the last two months of 2004.

State officials say corporate income tax collections accounted for more than two-thirds of the gain. Income and sales taxes - which comprise the bulk of state revenues - were up only slightly more than projected in November and December.

At the same time, motor vehicle taxes and mortgage tax receipts were less than projected. State officials caution that fourth quarter revenues don't always reflect changes in the underlying economy.

Gov. Pawlenty said in a statement that the news doesn't diminish the fact that state officials will have to make tough budget decisions in the coming months.

In the Star Tribune, Patricia Lopez puts in this note off Gov. Pawlenty's press release:

Pawlenty said he continues to be concerned about the "explosive growth of welfare health programs," which he puts at 27 percent in the coming two-year budget period.

Has anyone else noted that the governor has stared calling state health care programs "welfare?" Does anyone have an idea why he's doing it? It couldn't be because it's easier to propose cutting "welfare" (which nobody likes) than "health care" (which everybody likes), could it?

Now the budget bad news. Rachel E. Stassen-Berger had this story in the Pioneer Press:

State agencies ranging from the Board of Judicial Standards to the Department of Human Services need money — and they need it quickly so they can get through the next few months.

The budget sprang about $25 million worth of holes, most of them after the Legislature failed to act on requests last year. Lawmakers plan to fill those holes with a speedy "deficiency bill."

"In some instances, agencies will face serious problems without quick action on this bill," Finance Commissioner Peggy Ingison wrote to lawmakers last week.

House and Senate leaders are already beginning to act.

A Senate panel Monday heard some of the major pieces of the bill, and the full bill will probably be before the Senate within a few weeks, said Sen. Dick Cohen, the Senate finance panel chairman.

The House Ways and Means Committee is to hear the bill today, and House Speaker Steve Sviggum, R-Kenyon, said he expects the House to pass the entire bill Thursday.

The most urgent request is $7.7 million for the state's public defenders, who need the money to continue operations. Without the money, the state would be unable to defend those who cannot afford representation.

Rachel's story goes on to say that money for the public defenders and a number of other areas will come at the expense of schools, thanks to an accounting shift lawmakers and the governor used to balance the budget two years ago.

Finally, given the aftermath of the tsunami, the war and upcoming election in Iraq and the weather disasters in California it's only natural that NBC would bring its nightly news program to...St. Paul? That's right, St. Paul. At least that's what Deborah Caulfield Rybak writes in the Star Tribune. And who will NBC's new anchorman Brian Williams profile while he's here? Well, read the story:

During his stop here, Williams will interview Garrison Keillor as part of a larger story on "A Prairie Home Companion."

Keillor is one of the people who put Minnesota "on the map," ["NBC Nightly News" Executive Director Steve] Capus said. "He is incredibly articulate and smart, and he mixes politics with a healthy sense of humor."

NBC. Always ready to go out on the edge. Sometime I'll tell you about the time I met John Chancellor in the MPR elevator. He was always my favorite newscaster. And that's the news from MY hometown.