What a difference a month makes

• Elizabeth Smart. The most shocking and wonderful e-mail of my life awaited in India on the Imperial Hotel computer as I viewed a message from my daughter Melissa. It said, "Elizabeth is Alive!!" After working much of last summer on the search and discovering she was being kept in a hole in Dry Canyon during the summer months, I could not believe it. You see, I ran the trail in that canyon several times and hiked into the upper reaches looking for something. How I missed seeing some clue, some giveaway, I will never know. But I thank God for her return and the wonderment the Smarts must feel. They never gave up their faith she was alive.

• My friend and former city colleague David Spatafore stepped out of the mayor's race due to personal family concerns. I admire David and that the desire to be mayor was overcome by dedication to his brood. That's the kind of guy he is. I think now Rocky Anderson will have a much tougher race because Spatafore will not be there to split votes with other challenges in the primary. I support Rocky, that's no secret, but losing a quality candidate like Spatafore is potentially the city's loss. Frank Pignanelli is top-quality, too. And his task will now be easier, though Rocky seems to plugging a leaky boat.

• I've been saying all along, for well over a year, and even bet lunch with LaVarr, that Gov. Mike Leavitt will have a go at a fourth term. Why? The reason is simple: Where else does a young and bright political star go? Certainly not back to the insurance business. And after talking to his good friends currently serving on Bush's Cabinet, I bet he is not too anxious to go that route. Bet on Leavitt giving it another shot.

• Another star, Jon Huntsman Jr., is back in town looking at the governor's race. My bias is obvious, but I think he would have the best shot running as a Democrat. It is an opportunity to restore Utah's political balance and to usher Democrats back to the land of the living. He would not have to face the intimidating right of the Republican Party, a wing with unusual power in Republican nominating conventions and who are likely to see Huntsman as too much the centrist. Hey, a man of his charisma and funds could also take on Leavitt. It would be a battle royale!