Loser: Travel and Leisure Magazine conducted an online poll asking, among other things, which of 35 American cities had the worst-dressed residents. Salt Lake City finished three-tenths of a point behind Anchorage for that honor. On Friday, the media seemed to be focusing on that aspect of the poll (which was completely unscientific, by the way). That kept them from focusing on Salt Lake's dead-last finish in the "wild weekend," "cocktail hour" and "street food" categories. It also kept them from reporting on the city's second-place finishes in both "wireless coverage" and "affordability." Add all of this together and you get the equivalent of a giant shrug.
Winner: Tech Sgt. Les Davenport III has been station in Korea, far from his wife and two children in Utah. So it was especially touching to watch this week as he made a surprise visit home on leave and showed up at Vae View Elementary school unannounced. The excited and emotional reaction he received is a strong reminder of the sacrifices many families make these days to protect freedoms the rest of us take for granted.
Loser: The unemployment rate rose slightly in May, to 8.2 percent, and only 69,000 jobs were added. To add to the misery, the Labor Department also revised its figures downward from the previous two months, saying the economy added 49,000 fewer jobs than originally calculated. The report says 12.7 million Americans are unemployed, and the average work week of those who have jobs fell to 34.4 hours. With the election five months away, guess which issue is shaping up to be a big one on voters' minds?
Winner: We understand the emotions attached to the name "World Trade Center" after 9/11, but to keep any building from adopting that name would be to hand terrorists a victory they don't deserve. Many cities have a world trade center, and now Salt Lake City does, as well. The Eagle Gate Tower acquired that name this week. We consider that a winner. Unfortunately, it prompted criticism from some in the state. But with 331 centers worldwide with the same name, the concern is misguided. No one will forget the tragedy or the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001 just because Salt Lake City has place to conduct world trade.
Winner: What do you call a modern city with no people, other than a relaxing getaway? You call it a key to the future, apparently. According to a report this week, Pegasus Global Holdings created a city it calls the "Center of Innovation, Testing and Evaluation" in New Mexico for the purpose of testing ways to solve the problems real cities have. The 15-square-mile city will have a downtown and residential areas. It may soon also have autonomous cars and new kinds of wireless networks. We hope it does more than just present a unique set of challenges for archeologists 1,000 years from now.