Amid all of the negative economic news coming out of Washington,D.C., and Harrisburg, there was a bit of good news last month. The proposed merger of health insurance giants Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Pittsburgh and Independence Blue Cross (IBC) will not happen.

The two insurance giants announced plans in late January to drop their proposed merger plan when it became clear that Joel Ario, the state insurance commissioner, was prepared to recommend against the merger.

Ario said he planned to reject the merger because "it would have lessened competition and disadvantaged providers to the detriment of the insurance buying public."

Ario also noted correctly that Pennsylvania already is one of the least-competitive markets for health insurance, and a Highmark-IBC merger would have made it worse.

If the two giants would have been allowed to merge, the combined company would have had $17 billion in annual premium revenue and would have controlled about 50 percent of the health insurance market in the state. It was, from every angle except that of the bottom line of Highmark and IBC, an unhealthy proposition.

So, cheers to the state Insurance Department for hearing the overwhelming amount of evidence opposing the merger presented in 10 public hearings. It is refreshing to see the public's interest overcome the obvious political and financial clout of Highmark and IBC.

Like all other school systems, the Butler School District should be looking for ways to save money. It's commendable that the district is examining whether participation in a state-sponsored buying program would be in the district's best interests.It has been estimated that the district could save up to $836,000 by participation in the program, although some board members indicated they weren't convinced that amount of savings would be realized.If significant savings are possible, the board should OK participation.That said, comments by board member Helene Abramowitz during Monday's discussion of the buying program merit scrutiny from a not-so-taxpayer-friendly perspective.Abramowitz, noting two pages of the buying-program presentation dealing with the many ways the district already works to save money, said:"The most important pages are what we already do. On our own we save a tremendous amount of money."But what she failed to say was that she was one of the eight board members who undermined those savings efforts — and maybe even negated them — by voting for the new sweetheart early bird contract that gave teachers three more years of excessive raises in a seriously troubled economic climate that could take most of the next decade to resolve.In her future board service, Abramowitz should look at the total scope of her good-money-management responsibility, not just that part that might involve an easy decision.

An article in last Sunday's Butler Eagle reported on the increase in the number of people who have been visiting area libraries since the onset of the economic crisis.Those people merit positive notice for recognizing libraries' value not only in terms of low-cost entertainment but also as a resource that can help in job research.Libraries also are a place where people can make productive use of free time, replacing boredom with myriad opportunities for learning.Occasionally, the Butler Public Library has trial periods of investment and financial portfolio software available for use.Meanwhile, Lori Campbell, library director, said, "We have seen a significant increase in computer usage for job searching and resume writing."She said DVD and CD checkouts have increased as people seek cheap entertainment alternatives.At the Cranberry Public Library, a similar scenario prevails."I know some people are using them (library computers) for job searches," said Pat DiFiore, the library's adult services librarian.Meanwhile, at the Evans City Public Library, Judith Pfeifer confirmed that the increase in library usage isn't just confined to larger-size municipalities. Pfeifer, the library director, said overall attendance at her library has increased since the economy worsened.Some people or entities benefit, good times or bad. As the recession continues to affect many area families, libraries are again proving their value.But it is to be hoped that when the economy takes a turn for the better, people will continue to make regular use of libraries' resources, having become reacquainted with all that libraries have to offer.