Beehives to those who have made Utah Valley a hive of innovation. A new program, the Utah Genius Awards, honored Utahns who obtained the most patents or trademarks in 2008. The top nine patent-filers live or work in Utah Valley, with Provo resident David R. Hall topping the list with an astounding 52. Our hat is off to these bright, bold thinkers. Rounding out the top five are Utah Valley residents Ronald Crockett, Jeff Jepson, Scott Dahlgren and Brent Kidman. Their contributions to our region's "creative economy" are stellar.

Buffalo Chip to the state Legislature for requiring city councils to issue pointless preliminary budgets. As Cedar Hills City Councilman Eric Richardson and colleagues recently lamented, these draft spending plans are nonbinding and must be issued before municipalities get realistic figures from the county assessor. That makes them more or less works of fiction. This is just busy work and ought to be eliminated.

Beehives to the 8,000 children, countless teachers and parents, producer Kathy Macdonald, and everyone at America's Freedom Festival who made the Hope of America Student Showcase such a stirring event. The ever-growing tribute is a splendid reminder of everything that good Americans love about our nation.

Beehive to Brenda Peterson, a Lehi High School teacher who was named 2009 English Teacher of the Year by the Utah Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts. Peterson has taught nearly 4,500 students, and many stay in touch, demonstrating the bond she's forged with them. It's people like this who give us hope for the education system.