thumb down Krylon criminals: A can of spray paint is not a dangerous weapon. And expressing yourself on the side of a building is not a violent or irreversible crime. So it follows that graffiti artists and taggers, while destructive and annoying, are not felons. Salt Lake City police need to rethink their policy of charging spray-paint vandals who cause damage in excess of $1,000 with a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, especially when more serious offenses are misdemeanors. Charge them with a misdemeanor. And give them a paint scraper, or a scrub brush, or whatever it takes to clean up the messes they make. But don't give them a felony criminal record that haunts them the rest of their lives.

thumb up Victory, maybe: Sevier County residents will get a chance to vote on whether a coal-fired power plant between Richfield and Salina should be built after a long battle over the project. The County Commission took no action on a citizen referendum, which moved it along without commission support. That seems a vindication of the constitutional right of citizens to vote down a government decision. But there could be a hitch. If the county underhandedly classifies the power plant as a planned-unit development, a designation usually reserved for residential subdivisions, it could undercut a vote against the project and put the whole dispute into the courts. We hope the commission isn't that devious.

thumb down Withering wit: Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch considers himself a wordsmith, and who can doubt it? Remember his coining of the word "nutcake" referring to Utahns who protested President Bush's handling of the Iraq war? Now we have more evidence: He said his colleagues in the Senate who opposed a surveillance bill that gives immunity to phone companies who helped the government spy on U.S. citizens "should join the black helicopter crowd and wear tinfoil hats." You definitely have a way with words, Senator. Too bad you aren't as eloquent at protecting Americans from the intrusive eyes of government.