Winner: Chalk up another "first" for Salt Lake City. Earlier this week, the media and invited guests got a sneak peek at the new all-digital show at Salt Lake's planetarium, which opens at The Gateway in November. The George T. Hansen Theater at the Sheila M. Clark Planetarium is the first anywhere to install the DigiStar 3, an all-digital system created by Salt Lake's Evans & Sutherland. The system combines star projection, full-motion color video and audience interaction. Some of the shows created using computer technology include tours of the human body, searching for extraterrestrial life, discovering the secrets of terrible storms, planet exploration and the sinking of the Titanic.
Loser: Confessed spy Robert Hanssen told a Justice Department panel that security at the Federal Bureau of Investigation was so lax that it amounted to "criminal negligence. " Even file clerks had easy access to classified national-security information stored on the bureau's computers, he told investigators. Hanssen, a veteran FBI agent who spied for Russia for 22 years, collected an estimated $600,000 in cash and gems from the Russians in exchange for American secrets. While many changes have been implemented since Hanssen's arrest, the panel, in a report this week, remained critical of the FBI's decision after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to loosen restrictions on the sharing of some classified information on bureau computers.
Winner: Once again, the annual Sterling Scholar competition, sponsored by the Deseret News and KSL-TV, gave Utahns plenty of reasons to feel great optimism for the future. The winners, area high school seniors who received their awards this week, displayed outstanding scholarship, leadership and character. This year's 13 oustanding winners and 26 finalists advanced from a pool of 676 nominees representing 52 Wasatch Front high schools. Congratulations to all.
Winner: While this page has long advocated the fluoridation of public water supplies, it is keenly aware of the controversy surrounding the issue. With that in mind, we applaud the city of Centerville for providing non-fluoridated water at one of its wells for residents who want to fill up jugs with drinking water. This seems an appropriate accommodation for people who, for whatever reason, do not want fluoridated drinking water.