Michael Shick of Sarver deserves a thumbs-up for creation of the new logo for Butler Downtown, the revitalization program designed to bring vitality to the city's central business district.

The logo depicts the front of the Butler County Courthouse with the bright rays of the rising sun in the background — testimony to the city's efforts at improvement and progress.

Shick's design was one of 70 submitted by 45 amateur, student and professional designers. The logo will be used in Butler Downtown advertising and promotional materials, and eventually on signs in the city.

The logo will be a positive symbol of the big downtown planning efforts already under way and those yet to come — followed by turning the planning into reality.

Monday will mark four weeks since the Butler County commissioners received proposals for the sale or outside management of Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. However, other than the names of the companies that submitted proposals, the commissioners have not released details, such as the price the companies are willing to pay.Commissioner Dale Pinkerton told the Butler Eagle during the past week the proposals are under initial review and hadn't yet reached the commissioners.Since Sunnyview's fate remains such a matter of concern to not only employees, but also many county taxpayers, including people with relatives and friends living there, the commissioners should try to expedite the release of information regarding the proposals. Even if there was not such intense public interest regarding Sunnyview's fate, the commissioners have an obligation to promote open government and transparency and make information available within a reasonable amount of time.The passage of a month is beyond reasonable.The Rendell administration in Harrisburg merited strong criticism for not releasing information about all of the proposals received regarding the proposed leasing of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The county commissioners should try to avoid similar criticism by any unwillingness to make details of the Sunnyview proposals known to the people of the county, many of whom have a deep interest in what county leaders eventually might decide.The long delay in releasing information about the submitted proposals is unacceptable. Main details of the proposals should be released.There is no public good being served by the continuing lack of information to the public.

The decision by the White House Military Office to fly a Boeing 747, which functions as Air Force One when the president is on board, across the Manhattan skyline was stupid. The low-flying jumbo jet, on assignment for a photo shoot, caused panic among thousands of New Yorkers, who feared they were facing a repeat of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.Federal authorities failed to notify New York officials, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the action "defies the imagination."Fran Townsend, a former adviser to President George W. Bush, described the stunt as "felony stupidity."There is little doubt that the move was stupid — on several levels.The obvious problem is that New Yorkers were not warned and the giant plane, accompanied by two fighter jets, flying at low altitude and close to skyscrapers, was bound to remind people of the horrors of 9/11.Another problem with the flight centers on the motivation — to update file photos of Air Force One.Did anyone at the White House Military Office consider the expense of updating the file photos?The idea was to have a picture of Air Force One flying by the Statue of Liberty. But that short flight cost taxpayers $325,000.Anyone with basic understanding of computer graphics has to wonder if people in the White House don't know about the capabilities of computer programs such as Photoshop, which can be used to blend a picture of the plane with a picture of the Statue of Liberty to create the desired image.Creating such a "Photoshopped" image would cost next to nothing.Yet the White House approach cost $325,000.This stunt just looks like another example of what happens when government employees are spending "other people's money."