Are there intelligent beings on other planets? And will we ever have an encounter, close or otherwise, with them?

It's finally dawning on everyone -- even Congress -- that the ethanol boondoggle is wreaking havoc worldwide. It's boosting food prices, destabilizing poor nations and, ironically, harming the environment.

'Not in my backyard" attitudes have plagued cities across the nation for years, and they're beginning to wreak havoc in Utah Valley, especially when it comes to building needed east-west roads.

Local residents ought to buckle their seat belts. The destiny of Utah Lake and development on the west side is being mapped out now, and it's going to be quite a ride over the next couple of decades.

By the time Hillary Clinton figured out how to beat Barack Obama, it was too late. When she began the race in 2007 thinking she was in for a coronation, she claimed the center in order to position herself for the real fight, the general election. She simply assumed the party activists and loony left would fall in behind her.

UTOPIA got the money it was looking for, and now several valuable developments add to hopes for the broadband system: a more realistic view of the future; a clearer vision of what the municipally owned network aims to do; a more specific idea of how long it will take; and some hope that a reasonable buyer might be available somewhere down the road.

Beehive to Springville for a plan to construct its new city office, court and police department building for nearly $14 million less than originally estimated. City administrator Troy Fitzgerald said that he and his staff want to closely watch the change orders on the project to keep expenses in line. As other officials might ruefully admit, that's where the money can really leak away. But for now, kudos to all involved for that rarest of possibilities, a government project that looks like it will cost less than expected.

Many Americans say politics today are too divisive. But presidential hopefuls John McCain and Hillary Clinton have accomplished the amazing feat of getting virtually all the nation's economists and political experts to agree on something.