It's ironic that Cranberry Township, having lost $20 million that had been targeted for Route 228 improvements, because of Gov. Ed Rendell's desire to shore up the finances of Allegheny County's public transit agency, now is losing two bus routes to Pittsburgh that had served Cranberry residents.

Some people of Cranberry might have thought that their community, having now given up $20 million to help the Port Authority of Allegheny County deal with its budget morass, might have reaped some benefit from that money — like continuation of their bus routes. Instead, the 13K Marshall Express route from the Bladerunners park-n-ride, which is used by most Cranberry riders, and the 13J Franklin Park Express route are being shut down as part of the Port Authority cuts aimed at trimming operating costs.

In all, PAT has approved a 15 percent overall reduction that eliminates 180 jobs and 29 routes. The only bus route that will continue to serve Cranberry is the one beginning at the Route 528 park-n-ride lot — a bus stop operated by the New Castle Area Transit Authority.

Although a Cranberry Township study of PAT's 13K route showed that the run did lose money, which many bus routes do, a township study re-confirmed the public's desire for public transit options.

Township and county officials had been aware that the $20 million in question was in jeopardy as far as Route 228 was concerned, thanks to a mall project having fallen through. It was that proposed mall that had brought renewed attention to Route 228 improvements.

However, it was rightly felt that the money, if it would not be used for Route 228, should be used elsewhere in Butler County, but that was not to be.

Thus, Cranberry has lost twice. Not only did it lose the targeted road money; it is losing bus routes to Pittsburgh upon which people depended.

Something isn't right with that picture.

Even though they were assisted in their investigation by a surveillance camera mounted on a nearby McDonald's restaurant, Butler Township police deserve a cheer for making a speedy arrest in Tuesday's robbery at the Country Town store at Route 8 and Litman Road.It took only about two hours for the police to locate a car that matched the description of the getaway vehicle. Shortly thereafter, they were talking to the suspect, who denied having robbed the store.Although the suspect wasn't arrested at that time, police sought the help of McDonald's personnel, who provided access to the surveillance camera's video recording. That video showed the getaway car, providing more evidence with which to work.On Wednesday, police conducted a second interview with the suspect, Mark A. Edwards of Butler Township, who police said eventually confessed.Judging from the circumstances surrounding the crime, the robbery was carried out in an amateurish way, even if only from the standpoint of the location of the getaway car during the crime.But sometimes even amateurish crimes are not solved. Therefore, in this case, Butler Township police deserve positive notice for how they were able to quickly piece together all of the parts of this crime puzzle and complete the investigation.

Officials of Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center aren’t anticipating a cakewalk as far as ongoing profitability, having recorded a profit from January through November of 2010.Indeed, they’re not even guaranteeing that the home will record a profit this year, although Bill Kepple, Sunnyview fiscal director, said “we’re probably going to show a profit.” The situation boils down to wait-and-see.Nonetheless, it’s significant that instead of the $234,599 deficit budgeted for 2010 — the net loss for 2009 was $536,341 — the January-through-November profit amounted to $76,296.From January through November of last year, Sunnyview actually showed an operational profit of $637,240, but reducing that figure to the $76,296 amount was the $560,944 in costs that the county assessed to Sunnyview — for such things as building depreciation and portions of government center employees’ salaries related to work on behalf of Sunnyview.The employees in question include the county solicitor and members of the personnel department.Amid all the uncertainties about the future, it is appropriate to acknowledge the efforts of Sunnyview officials and workers who helped make 2010 a profitable year.It is all the more notable considering that in the years leading up to 2010, it was routine for the home to have year-end deficits of $500,000 to more than $1 million.The ongoing deficits had caused the county commissioners to consider selling the home or bringing in an outside operator for the facility.Last year showed that with a determined effort and implementation of cost-cutting measures such as outsourcing of the laundry department, the red-ink situation could be turned around.Those financial-control efforts must continue this year and beyond.