No pardon for Sala: The state Board of Pardons next month (Sept. 2006) will hear Sala Udin's request to have his long-past criminal record wiped clean. If the board agrees, and Gov. Ed Rendell issues the pardon, the former Pittsburgh councilman can be included in a group that wants to become a slot machine distributor. But given that Mr. Udin has a long history of thumbing his nose at the public, why should the public's representatives grant him any special dispensation?