The winners and the losers

• Winner: Bill Levitt fell in love with Alta during a ski vacation in the 1950s. Little did he know then that a goodly portion of his life thereafter would be devoted to leading the mountain hamlet. After 34 years as Alta mayor, 88-year-old Levitt has announced he will not seek re-election. He plans to ski more and spend time with his great-granddaughter — time well deserved. Congratulations, Mayor Levitt.

• Winner: Harvard University scientists have discovered a way to fuse adult skin cells with embryonic stem cells, which raises the possibility that all-purpose stem cells could be created without harming human embryos. Harvard scientists say the development is very promising but work with embryonic stem cells needs to continue. Scientists believe stem cells may hold cures to Parkinson's disease and juvenile diabetes, among others.

• Loser: Those high prices at the gas pump aren't just pinching your wallet. State and local governments are bracing for substantially higher motor-fuel bills, too. State officials may need to raise the state budget by nearly $685,000 next year to make up for increased fuel costs. Meanwhile, some school districts are trimming bus routes, hiking activity trip fees and even eliminating field trips. At some point, state and local governments will be passing on their increased fuel costs to taxpayers, who will already be burdened with higher cost of filling their own tanks and higher-priced consumer goods. Where will it all end?

• Winner: The faculties and staffs of Churchill and Wasatch junior highs are to be commended for their extra efforts to organize and operate both schools on a single campus. When fire gutted Wasatch Junior High in July, the Granite Board of Education decided to establish a school-within-a-school on the Churchill campus. Since then, 10 portable classrooms have been placed at the school, which necessitated a new power line and transformer. Secretaries gave up their summer vacations to prepare. Wasatch teachers who lost years of lesson plans have spent the summer literally starting over. Classrooms have been shuffled and one Wasatch teacher even volunteered to rotate classrooms throughout the school day because there weren't enough classrooms for all. It is hoped their collective efforts will be exceeded by the community support that will be needed to make this a successful school year for all students.