AHH, JUNE IN HARRISBURG. The rotunda is full of bright-eyed newcomers there to bend ears for dozens of causes, of which only a handful will emerge satisfied. The legislative calendar swells with a mix of procedural paper shuffling plus some busy work to keep the rank-and-file from getting too antsy. 

But look closer in between all of that, and you may be lucky enough to catch the real action — top policymakers and their staff slinking their way to the closed-door meetings where the negotiating takes place to seal a budget deal before the June 30 statutory deadline.