There's nothing wrong with the state Fish and Boat Commission's decision to start trout season about two weeks earlier in the southeastern and southcentral parts of the commonwealth, beginning next year.

But the same can't be said about the commission's plans to stock about 20 percent fewer fish.

If the commission is truly interested in building interest in the sport, especially among children and other young people, it shouldn't be making it harder for anglers to experience success.

A policy that breeds frustration isn't going to boost the sport's popularity.

The commission's reasoning regarding the earlier trout season start in 18 of the commonwealth's 67 counties is sound. The commission noted that warmer weather comes earlier to the areas affected by the change; that means ideal fishing conditions start and end earlier.

However, the commission's companion announcement that fish to be stocked next year will be 30 percent larger on average — 11 inches and weighing about 10 ounces, up from about 10 inches and seven ounces — won't mean much to those who walk away from waterways frustrated because of their lack of success due to fewer fish.

That is especially true regarding people just learning the sport.

It won't take long after next year's trout season opening days — March 31 in the 18 "warmer" counties and April 14 elsewhere — to gauge anglers' opinion on whether this new direction by the commission is correct. Odds are that the bigger-but-less-plentiful policy will be criticized much more than praised.

A new report by the Institute of Medicine makes a recommendation that merits everyone's support — that all prescriptions be written electronically by 2010.Actually, it would be better if that time frame were compressed.However, in Pennsylvania, a stepped-up timetable might be impossible since fewer than 10 percent of the state's doctors currently use electronic prescribing, according to the Pennsylvania Medical Society.Nevertheless, meeting or bettering the proposed timetable should be a goal of the commonwealth's medical community.The Pennsylvania Medical Society supports electronic prescribing linking the prescriber to the patient's electronic medical record. That could be a basis for doctors receiving automatic alerts if a medicine they were prescribing was inappropriate for whatever reason.In addition to the legibility issue — doctors are associated with notoriously bad handwriting — electronic prescriptions could avoid other opportunities for error.A front-page story in Thursday's Butler Eagle reporting on the Institute of Medicine report made the troubling disclosure that 1.5 million Americans are injured every year by drug errors in hospitals, nursing homes and doctors' offices.An even more shocking finding disclosed in the report is that, on average, a hospitalized patient is subject to at least one medication error per day — despite efforts to improve hospital care in the six years since the institute began focusing attention on medical mistakes.The institute estimates that at least 25 percent of all medication-related injuries are preventable, and electronic prescribing would be a major vehicle toward meeting or bettering that statistic.

Middlesex Township Supervisor Mark Vincent's efforts on behalf of public water service should be appreciated by township residents.Vincent, since taking office in January, has, along with an ad hoc committee of residents, been talking with four water authorities from surrounding areas about expanding their services to Middlesex. Prior to Vincent assuming office, the township had decided to obtain water from the Saxonburg Area Authority.But the cost to Middlesex residents to obtain water through the Saxonburg system was determined by Vincent and the committee to be significantly higher than the costs that would be involved with the other three authorities.As part of Vincent's effort to bring about the best deal for township residents, Vincent wants to let developers, the township and neighboring authorities work together to get the best deal for residents.While that might not be looked upon favorably by some planners who advocate municipal government having full say, and based on water service by one provider, Middlesex' development patterns make Vincent's ideas of benefiting from the close proximity of several neighboring water authorities workable.The direction Middlesex ultimately will take remains to be decided and will be a topic at upcoming meetings. However, residents should be happy that someone with authority in the township is making a special effort to seriously consider costs as well as the primary issue of getting water service to the people.At stake are thousands of dollars for each family able to receive public water service.