NEXT TIME you are stuck in traffic at one of Pittsburgh's tunnels, you can console yourself that it could be worse. This reassurance comes from Forbes.com, which has a list of the 10 best metro areas for commuters after evaluating data on 75 of the largest. The Pittsburgh metro ranked an impressive No. 5, behind first-place Buffalo, Salt Lake City, Milwaukee and Oklahoma City. Forbes.com said drivers in Pittsburgh face annual delays of only 16 hours, "the lowest delay per traveler of any city with over a million commuters." The reason for this rebuts those who think the Port Authority of Allegheny County does nothing for them and shouldn't be supported with tax dollars. "Ten percent of commuters get to work by some method other than driving, which helps keep congestion to one of the lowest levels in the country," the report said. That's something to ponder while sitting in our comparatively mild traffic.

WITH THE POWERS invested in us by literary license, we do hereby declare Rowan Short, 11, of Wilmington, Del., and her mother, Kristin, honorary Pittsburghers for showing the kindness, courtesy and honesty characteristic of Pittsburghers. On Aug. 15 while swimming at a beach in Ocean City, Md., the sixth-grader found a double Ziploc bag stuffed with $1,000 and personal ID. It had been lost in the surf by Michael Chosky of Swisshelm Park. Using the address on Mr. Chosky's driving license, Rowan's mother called information, got the number and reported the find to the joyful Chosky family. The road of life is full of surprises and some of them help to restore our faith in humanity.

IT WAS the end of the road for Pat Ford's public sector career in Pittsburgh last week. He gave notice of retiring as head of the Urban Redevelopment Authority in the wake of a controversy over gifts he received from a company dealing with the city. Mr. Ford of Lincoln Place has been on paid leave since April pending a State Ethics Commission review. He did not go quietly. In his resignation letter, he called Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's "a failed administration" that forced him "to serve as a scapegoat for the inappropriate affairs and activities of others." The mayor said Mr. Ford's remarks were "outrageous and very malicious." Mr. Ford is hardly a scapegoat. As we said in an editorial last week, he did not belong at the helm of an important public agency.