The Butler Transit Authority has exercised good judgment in its decision to expand service along its Boyers route. When the authority identifies a genuine need, it should always try to meet that need, so long as the cost of providing the service is within the authority's financial and equipment means.

Starting March 31, the authority will add stops in Eau Claire, Chicora and Bruin as part of the expanded route. The one-way fare will remain $3, and multi-trip booklets will be available to riders at reduced prices.

Of course, the authority should continue monitoring the level of use of the expanded route, but at least for now the decision should be viewed as a step in the right direction.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly again has demonstrated its penchant for procrastination regarding an obvious decision.Rather than having taken quick action to allow 17-year-olds who will be 18 by the Nov. 4 general election to vote in the upcoming primary, lawmakers still are holding hearings on the proposal, with at least two more hearings planned, one in the Easton area and one in the Pittsburgh area.A hearing held in Philadelphia last week garnered broad support for the proposed rule, which already is in effect in 11 other states and is being considered in four others.The last day to register before Pennsylvania's April 22 primaries is Monday, meaning that many thousands of 17-year-olds, although interested in what happens in this year's primaries, won't be able to have an impact on the results.Students who testified at the Philadelphia session held by the House State Government Committee said the pending bill to extend the vote would create more lifelong voters and allow teens to participate in the entire electoral process, not just the final decision.This year's presidential contest has created intense interest by many young people nearing voting age, and state Rep. Richard Grucela, D-Northampton, who attended the hearing, said it is important to politically energize sudents in their senior year of high school.Grucela, a former 12th-grade civics teacher, said, "They could become part of what you are actually trying to teach them."That opinion is hard to dispute.If lawmakers had acted more quickly and passed the pending measure, perhaps 100,000 young people could have cast ballots on April 22 who now will have to wait until the general election.There were about 184,000 17-year-olds in the state in 2006, most of whom could have been enfranchised.But procrastination is nothing new for the General Assembly, just as excessive partisanship too often bogs down the legislative process in the state capital.Hopefully, lawmakers won't still be talking about the proposed voting provision — and doing nothing about it — months from now.Approval of the voting provision could have occurred without hearings.

Zelienople police deserve praise for the investigatory work that allowed them to identify suspects who vandalized more than 50 vehicles in the Zelienople and Harmony areas since Jan. 1, even though the police hoped they could have cracked the case sooner.But having identified the suspects — and if those individuals are found to be guilty — residents in those areas hopefully will be able to feel more comfortable about leaving their vehicles outside.Emblems and wheel covers were removed from some of the vehicles, while others were burglarized.The police have asked that anyone whose vehicle was damaged or broken into between Jan. 1 and last Sunday in the two communities should call the police at 724-452-3003.According to Zelienople Police Chief Jim Miller, persistent police work enabled officers to identify the individuals believed responsible for the crimes, most of them juveniles."The guys used their contacts on the street and started using that information, and bingo . . . ," Miller said.For those allegedly involved, the coming weeks portend a stern lesson — and an expensive lesson — in the workings of the juvenile and criminal justice systems. It is to be hoped that the punishments eventually meted out will fit the crimes — the severity of them and their number.Those who were victimized by the troubling spree deserve that consideration by the courts.