Winners

Central Iowa taxpayers got a stay of execution last week when the chamber types decided to postpone the ballot vote on Project Destiny until next summer. The Project Destiny proponents realized that voters are sufficiently cranky right now to vote down any tax this November, so they're planning for a special election during the summer of 2007, knowing that special elections are a tried-and-true way to minimize voter participation. In case you haven't heard, Project Destiny advocates an additional 1 percent sales tax in Polk, Dallas and Warren counties. The sales tax would be used partially to pay for public amenities, helping corporations attract workers to the metro, while also shifting the tax burden away from those long-suffering rich people. The tax proponents blame what they perceive as an anti-tax climate on the scandal surrounding CIETC, which scientists have also linked to global warning and pesky cellulite.

Tom Harkin gave it his all. As an outspoken champion of stem-cell research, the Iowa Democrat helped convince 62 of his fellow U.S. Senators to back a bill that would remove President Bush's religiously motivated curbs on embryonic stem-cell research. Unfortunately, Dubya - ever mindful of the sanctity of life (that is, until those 'lil cell clusters are old enough to be recruited and shipped to Iraq) - vetoed the bill. Meanwhile, Iowans who suffer with Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other debilitating diseases are left to languish in the knowledge that a potential cure is being blocked by political bravado.

Losers

Children in the Des Moines School District suffered a blow last week when Iowa District Court Judge Robert Hanson ruled that the Des Moines School Board was within its legal right to close neighborhood schools for "lack of funding," despite the fact that voters had approved a 1 percent sales tax specifically so those schools would be repaired, and despite the fact that the board has been spending money on other buildings instead. Turns out that judges have to decide what's technically legal, not what's ethical and fair. School Board President Phil Roeder issued a statement saying, "This is a very significant ruling, in that requests for summary judgment are held to a very high standard, and is one more confirmation that the Des Moines School Board acted legally and properly in making changes to the Schools First plan last year." Or, roughly translated: Nanny-nanny boo-boo.

We'd like to know who at the Iowa DOT is behind the planning of this summer's construction on I-235. Because we know of a perfect punishment: An hour or two sitting in a sticky car at a standstill on westbound I-235, with three whiny, hungry kids and the jerk in the next lane blaring Ja Rule. This is Iowa, not L.A.: Did the DOT really need to close down four westbound ramps at the same time? Trying to get onto I-235 from MLK Jr. Parkway at 5:30 p.m. on a Thursday is about as easy as squishing Arnold Schwarzenegger into a Ford Fiesta. We advise against it.

With its glowing report on the opening of a new Wal-Mart Supercenter at Jordan Creek, The Register may as well have spit on its hand and reached down Wal-Mart's pants. The daily gushed about the store's grand opening last week, glossing over neighbor's concerns that the big box would be a logistical, traffic and aesthetic nightmare. Instead, The Register published a sidebar listing all the charities to which Wal-Mart has donated, but neglected to mention the megachain's numerous legal battles, union-busting activities, class-action sexual discrimination lawsuit, numerous Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act violations, constant undercutting and outsourcing, and notoriously poor track record on healthcare and benefits (for example, Wal-Mart workers occupy the most spots on Medicaid rosters in more than 15 states). CV

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