The winners and the losers

• Winner: A study by the Milken Institute in California once again has ranked Utah among the top-10 states for science and technology. The state moved up a notch from the last study, which looks at 77 indicators. The ranking gives hope that, while the economy may be slowing, Utah is in a good position to weather the storm and emerge with an economy geared for the future.

• Loser: Falsely reporting a crime is, itself, a crime. It's also an incredibly inconsiderate and costly thing to do. A teenage girl in Clearfield recently said she was raped in her car while at a church parking lot. Police drew a sketch of the alleged assailant and spent a lot of time looking for him. Now she admits to having made the whole thing up, and police are charging her.

On a positive note, researchers say the poor judgment skills of teenagers tend to improve once they become adults.