Cranberry commuters will have an alternative to driving into Pittsburgh and paying for parking if a plan by Lenzner Coach Lines of Sewickley goes forward. The plan would provide bus service to replace the Port Authority of Allegheny County (PAT) service scheduled to end March 27.

PAT had announced plans to cut 29 routes and eliminate 180 jobs to trim its operating budget and address its $47 million operating deficit.

For many commuters in the Cranberry Township area, the PAT cuts would mean a return to driving their cars to the city in addition to the hassle and cost of parking.

Lenzner is proposing two trips per day from the park-and- ride lot in Warrendale. The company also plans a service from Franklin Park.

Riders will be expected to prepay a $200 monthly, 20-day pass for round-trip service.

While more expensive than the PAT service that it would replace, the Lenzner service, at a cost of $10 per day, is still a bargain, considering gas and parking expenses.

Lenzner company officials believe there is a demand for the service, and Cranberry Township manager Jerry Andree agrees.

The New Castle Area Transit Authority runs a bus service between the Route 528 park-and-ride lot and Pittsburgh. That bus is generally full, so the Lenzner bus service will be a welcome addition for Cranberry area commuters.

Gov. Tom Corbett, facing a $4 billion state budget deficit, is proposing significant cuts in nearly all areas of state spending. His proposals for reduced education funding have, so far, attracted most of the attention — and criticism.Corbett's budget plan, which will be negotiated in the General Assembly before final passage, proposes reducing state funding to Penn State, the University of Pittsburgh and other universities by 50 percent.At first, that sounds like a shockingly large figure. But once it's explained that state funding at Penn State, for instance, amounts to just 8 percent of the university's budget, the cut does not seem so severe. Corbett's plan would reduce income to Penn State by about 4 percent, which represents a drop in revenue that no doubt has been faced by more than a few businesses or other organizations in the state.The first reaction from university officials was to say that Corbett's plan would force tuition increases or even the closure of some campuses. Is there no other solution? Can't the university find programs to scale back and staff reductions to adjust to a 4 percent drop in revenue?In a Friday morning interview with KDKA Radio, Corbett noted that during the previous 10-year-period, Penn State had received more than $2 billion in state support, but still pushed up tuition by more than 100 percent over that same period. Corbett's point was that Penn State raised tuition even when receiving higher levels of state support, so the university cannot blame Corbett's proposed drop in state support for additional tuition hikes. The governor makes a good point.The public should pay close attention and learn the facts when Penn State and other universities react to Corbett's proposed spending cuts by saying the sky is falling and threatening drastic measures that will harm students and the parents who help pay for tuition.

With most states facing severe budget shortfalls, it’s time to look at cutting expenses and also at uncollected revenue. One perennial issue, at least in the past decade, that has hurt cash-strapped states and municipalities is the sales tax loophole enjoyed by online retailers like Amazon.com.As the law is now, if someone buys a CD, DVD or book at a local retailer on Main Street or at a mall, sales tax is charged. If the same person buys the same product from Amazon, no sales tax is charged. It’s an artificial, unfair advantage that online retailers have over so-called brick-and-mortar competitors.This situation has existed since 1992 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that retailers, meaning catalog companies or online stores, do not have to charge sales tax if they do not have a physical presence in the state. This has allowed Amazon, Overstock and other online-only operations to maintain a price advantage over conventional stores. It also has denied states and municipalities billions of dollars of sales tax nationally.For 2010, the National Conference of State Legislatures estimated online sales resulted in uncollected sales taxes of $8.6 billion. That is a lot of money that states could, and should, be receiving to help them deal with huge budget deficits.Since it’s a national issue, the online sales tax loophole should be addressed by Congress. In the meantime, some states have begun to take action. Last week, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation requiring online merchants who work with Amazon and have a presence in the state to pay sales taxes. This law will not impact Amazon directly, but will hit the many affiliated companies that Amazon works with — such as independent merchants linked to the online giant’s website.Amazon, for its part, is taking a hard line, saying it will sever ties with any Illinois-based companies tied to its site, so it does not have to charge and collect sales tax for the state.Legislation similar to that enacted in Illinois is being advanced in California, Vermont and other states. Pennsylvania should join those efforts to recapture lost sales tax revenue, thereby helping the state budget and leveling the playing field between online retailers and Main Street or mall merchants.