'Appalled' Rendell Shuts Down Reports on Protests

An embarrassed Pennsylvania governor is apologizing for a contract his administration has with a group that monitors activist organizations as part of anti-terrorism efforts.

KYW Harrisburg Bureau Chief Tony Romeo reports Governor Ed Rendell says his administration will not renew a $125,000 dollar contract with the Philadelphia-based Institute of Terrorism Research and Response.

Rendell says the group was monitoring the activities of those concerned about natural gas drilling, gay rights, and taxes, among others.

He says the state officials passed the information on to law enforcement and private companies:

"I am appalled by the fact that this contract was entered into and this information was disseminated without my knowledge.  And that's an internal staff problem that I have to deal with."

The governor says the information about the groups had nothing to do with threats to infrastructure.

But for all his indignation, Rendell says for now, at least, no one will be disciplined. He says "it's easy to kick one person" but he believes that there's shared responsibility -- particularly as to why he was not informed of the contract.