WHAT IS the difference between Harrisburg and Paris, other than one being the capital of Pennsylvania and the other being the capital of France? Answer: You will soon be able to reach Paris by plane from Pittsburgh but you still won't be able to fly from here to Harrisburg. It's an embarrassing irony, but into the void comes the Steel City Flyer, which will be doing its flying on the highways. The Flyer is an upscale Pittsburgh-to-Harrisburg bus, which will run twice daily, starting Nov. 24 at a cost of $69 one way and providing a link to Amtrak service. It is the brainchild of Henry Posner III, chairman of Railroad Development Corp. in Green Tree; Robert Pietrandrea, RDC's president; and George DeBolt of DeBolt Unlimited Travel. Good luck to these enterprising businessmen. Too often in America, the lament is "The bus doesn't stop here anymore." But Pittsburgh has given it a new twist: The bus will stop here because the plane for Harrisburg doesn't.

CONGRATULATIONS to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and his wife, Erin, who gave birth to a boy, Cooper Luke Ravenstahl, at 9:24 a.m. on Oct. 31. The city press release announcing the happy news was charmingly headlined: "Population of Pittsburgh Increases by One." The baby, the couple's first, weighed in at 7 pounds 14 ounces and measured 21 inches. Mayor Ravenstahl said of the blessed event, "This is the happiest day of our lives." The 28-year-old mayor, whom a certain irreverent cartoonist has often pictured with a juice box because of his youth, will soon have a real reason to keep juice boxes handy.