The 'First Net' award

A rose to First Night Escondido for

href="http://nctimes.com/articles/2008/01/13/news/inland/18_19_401_12_08.txt"> turning a $7,000 profit .

The annual event allows people, usually families, to ring in the new year in an alcohol-free venue.

Escondido's is the only First Night left in the county and one of only five in the state. The extra money will

be placed in a reserve account to provide a cushion for future years.

First Night Escondido almost folded two years ago because of funding and logistics problems. Instead of

canceling the event, organizers reduced its scale and cut expenses. Now it's turning a profit. Maybe the state

of California could learn a few things from them.

The 'Hitting the Jackpot' award

A raspberry to the California Lottery for giving out

tens of thousands of dollars in prizes to employees, paid for with state money, of course. In November

state officials used lottery administration funds to host a $32-per-plate prime rib dinner for more than 300

employees and their guests. In addition to the free food, some of those in attendance won Nintendo Wii, iPods,

digital cameras and other prizes totaling $43,629.

But this story may have a happy ending. The state controller says the expenditures were probably illegal. If

so, the director of the state lottery could be held

liable for "unallowable costs."

The lotto's slogan used to be "If you don't play, you can't win." Looks like the people who run the lottery

have taken it to heart: They're playing with our money and winning big.

The 'Tuned In, Turned Off' award

A raspberry to the San Marcos Unified School District for

href="http://nctimes.com/articles/2008/01/20/news/inland/19_34_241_19_08.txt"> using a satellite radio service

meant to keep kids docile and fill their heads with pop music and advertising jingles. The district is

the first in San Diego County to use BusRadio, a company that provides music and public-service announcements

to 10,000 school buses nationwide. Since last summer the district has installed the BusRadio systems on all 36

of its standard home-to-school buses. The district eventually plans to install the radios in buses for

students with special needs.

District officials justify the service by arguing that the programming on BusRadio offers a better alternative

to what's played on local AM/FM radio stations. Of course, that's a false choice. Why do the kids have to

listen to anything at all?

One of the great scourges of the modern age is this overwhelming urge people feel to be "plugged in" and

electronically stimulated every waking minute. Kids will have a lifetime to be connected to a computer, a cell

phone, a Blackberry, an iPod, the Internet, TV or the radio. Why not use the half-hour ride to and from school

to read a book, talk to a friend, or just daydream?

Perhaps this isn't about the kids at all but the people in charge of monitoring them. The district makes plain

that BusRadio has the added advantage of helping drivers keep kids -- in the words of one driver --

"subdued."

The 'It Might As Well Be Spring' award

A raspberry to the North County Transit District for its inability to get the Sprinter up and running. To be

honest, we had decided against a raspberry reminding readers that the Sprinter had missed a Jan. 27 deadline

to start service. We've taken NCTD and other Sprinter proponents to task numerous times over the past several

months; we thought we'd give it a rest.

Then, late Friday afternoon, we received a press release

announcing that the new start date for the commuter rail line is March 9.

Last year the public was repeatedly told the Sprinter would be operating by the end of 2007. Then it was early

January. Now the crocuses will be in bloom before a single commuter steps foot on this wonder of modern

transportation.

Maybe it doesn't really matter. The local bigwigs got to take an inaugural ride on Dec. 28. The Sprinter was

always more about their needs than it was about the real people who actually use public transportation.