A big cheer goes out for the effort spearheaded by the Glade Run Lake Conservancy and its founder and president, Siggy Pehel, for successfully meeting its objective of restoring the lake in southcentral Butler County.

The deal is done — and the lake will return. Gov. Tom Corbett stood Wednesday at the dry lake bed and announced the lake would be rebuilt in 2016 and ready for boating and fishing in 2017. The state and its boat commission will provide a combined $4 million to rebuild the faulty dam and refill the 52-acre lake.

The remaining funds will be provided by Butler County, Middlesex Township and the conservancy, which has raised $300,000 toward the lake's restoration.

Corbett praised the 2,000-member conservancy for generating enthusiasm for the lake's restoration. Such enthusiasm denotes a pride of ownership in the property.

Sustaining that pride of ownership will be crucial from this point forward. As the governor said, every park in the state is able to survive and thrive because of volunteers.

Pehel assured the governor that the conservancy won't rest on its laurels. It has a long-term development plan for walking trails, upgrades for a handicapped fishing jetty, and a pavilion for picnics.

More importantly, Pehel and the conservancy have a vision of the property as an asset. Their vision has caught on in Harrisburg as well as at home.

It's not so much that Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane has painted herself into a corner over the sting operation she refuses to prosecute. It's that she can't put down the paintbrush.After the Philadelphia Inquirer exposed the case against four state legislators and a judge — all Philadelphia Democrats who were recorded by a confidential informant accepting cash and other gifts — Kane said she couldn't prosecute because of potential racial bias and the unreliability of the informant.After weeks of mounting criticism, most notably from Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams, Kane informed Williams that if he wanted to the case, he could have it. Williams accepted Kane's challenge that same day, April 9.Now, more than two weeks later, Kane says Williams can't have the case. Not yet, anyway. In a letter to Williams, Kane cited a potential conflict of interest: at least two of the five politicians caught in the sting had endorsed Williams for prosecutor.That's a ludicrous suggestion, and Kane knows it. All five of the sting's targets are black Democrats. Williams also is a black Democrat. And in Philadelphia, black Democrats endorse each other.Regardless of that, Williams responded, endorsements don't grant anyone immunity from prosecution. “These same representatives endorsed Ms. Kane for office,” Williams said, “but that did not excuse her from her duty to investigate and prosecute them under the law.”If the case is “unprosecutable,” as Kane has called it, then why won't she just hand it over to Williams, and let him prove it?

Cheers to Roman Catholics worldwide as they celebrate the canonization of John Paul II. The ceremony that officially sanctifies the former pontiff as a saint will take place Sunday at the Vatican.Karol Józef Wojtyla was the second-longest reigning pope, serving from Oct. 16, 1978, until his death 9 years ago on April 2, 2005. A native of Poland, he was the first non-Italian pope in 450 years.John Paul II will be remembered for playing an influential role in the collapse of communism in Poland and ultimately the rest of Europe. He will be revered as a force of reform and unity, who vastly improved Catholic relations with Jews, Muslims, Eastern Orthodox sects and the Anglican Communion. He upheld the Vatican II reforms of his predecessors John XXIII and Paul VI.Many of his faithful already regard the spiritual leader as a saint and an exemplary servant of God. This weekend's ceremony makes the designation official.