[naviga:h3]Cheer [/naviga:h3]

There’s nothing wrong with setting big goals, which is exactly what Cranberry Township Community Chest did on Monday when it broke ground at its seventh project of the year: the CTCC SportCourts at Graham Park.

The new recreational area, which the group wants to raise $750,000 to build will include pickleball, tennis, basketball, bocce, shuffleboard, horseshoe and cornhole courts. Initial plans would make it one of the largest collections of regulation courts in the state, according to township Supervisor Dick Hadley.

The township, which is expected to contribute about $2.4 million to the project, is showing its commitment to and understanding of the importance of recreation infrastructure by getting involved. There’s a reason Cranberry continues to be one of the major drivers of growth in Butler County, and part of it is the municipality’s commitment to creating diverse amenities for residents.

[naviga:h3]Jeer [/naviga:h3]

The Pennsylvania Senate on Wednesday passed a controversial amendment to the state’s Wiretap Act that represents the most damaging repudiation of public access to government records in recent memory.

This legislation — which would require anyone seeking access to body camera videos to identify every person captured on camera before the video can be viewed — is the furthest thing from “common sense” and has nothing to do with protecting or promoting the public good. It imposes burdensome filing fees on people seeking to obtain public records, and gives law enforcement agencies unilateral authority to deny the requests under the guise of protecting evidence in “active investigations.”

As we’ve said before, police videos created by dashboard and body cameras should be subject to the same process as any other government records. That means the state’s Office of Open Records should have the final say on what does and does not get released. Not agencies that have both a vested interest in keeping records from the public and a history of blanket denials.

The House should let this amendment expire with the current legislative session on Nov. 30.

[naviga:h3]Cheer [/naviga:h3]

Seneca Valley School Board members fulfilled their duties this week in approving the creation of a new club — the Gender and Sexuality Advocacy Club — at the district’s high school. It proved to be a contentious decision for some in the district, but board members nonetheless approved the move by a 6-2 vote.

That’s undoubtedly the right move. If there’s demand among students in the district for a group to offer support to teenagers struggling with issues of gender and sexuality, it behooves the district to respond to that need. Teenagers struggle with issues of identity every day. Each and every one of them deserve a supportive and open environment in which they can learn and grow.

Love, understanding and acceptance is not a zero-sum equation. School board members showed this week that they understand that concept.