The winners and the losers

Winner: A state Senate committee has approved a measure that would require insurance companies to pay for an intense, early behavior modification treatment for autistic children, which is a good move. "Clay's Law" is named for a young man who was diagnosed with autism at age 2 but who appears to have made a full recovery by age 8 using the therapy. Utah, for some reason, has one of the highest autism rates in the country — 1 of every 133 children is afflicted. It makes sense to help parents pay for an effective treatment that can cost many thousands of dollars.

Winner: We have nothing but sympathy to the many parents of autistic children who watched that condition come suddenly. But a special federal court this week ruled that there is no connection between that condition and vaccines. That is good news. The court's meticulous study of claims and counter-claims should put to rest this theory, which ought to channel energies into finding other causes. It also should give parents a greater sense of confidence in making sure their children are immunized against several serious diseases that could cause actual harm.

Loser: Many frequent Internet users are savvy enough to avoid e-mail scams from Nigeria, offering riches in exchange for some cash now. So it's more than outrageous to learn that the state of Utah apparently fell victim last year and lost $2.5 million of taxpayer funds. Sure, the scheme was more sophisticated than the one preying on an e-mailer's sympathy. Someone faked a signature and got the University of Utah Campus Design and Construction Office to authorize a direct deposit into the thieves' account. But that is hardly an excuse. The Utah Attorney General's office needs to find out exactly how the state could be so vulnerable. As is the case in all such frauds, the perpetrators have dissolved quietly into the darkness of cyberspace.