The winners and the losers

Loser: Photo illustrations are commonplace in magazines, but when they come too close to being reasonably mistaken for the real thing, magazines ought to go out of their way to make things clear. That didn't happen this week when Newsweek stuck Martha Stewart's head on someone else's body and put the finished product on the cover. A note inside the magazine identified it as an illustration. Just the same, there have been enough allegations of journalistic malpractice nationwide in recent months to warrant either a more prominent disclaimer, or a different illustration all together.

Winner: It's hard to find an issue that raises the blood pressure of a Utah County college student more than to have his or her car booted. Apartment landlords often hire towing companies to put the devices on vehicles parked illegally. That's not only a frustration, it's a constitutional violation, some students claim. A boot confiscates property without due process.

The Provo City Council showed some sympathy this week, passing an ordinance that allows drivers to seek $500 in damages if the booter doesn't follow the rules. It seems like a reasonable solution to a problem that, in some cases apparently, had gotten out of hand. Of course, the ultimate solution for all drivers is to park legally at all times.

Loser: As of press time, it wasn't clear whether the Provo Library would reconsider its decision to keep Salt Lake City Weekly off its shelves. But what is clear is that library officials appeared to be adrift when it came to handling the issue in the first place. The free weekly wasn't a problem until some patrons complained about its content, then it was pulled from the library — until someone complained about that.

If the library is going to be so easily yanked around by the protests of a vocal few, we have a feeling a lot of the books and movies it keeps in circulation could be in jeopardy.