The "Great Idea, Lousy Timing" award A raspberry to the Encinitas City Council and whoever on the city staff decided that midsummer —— the height of the tourist season —— would be an excellent time to tear up Highway 101 for some overdue road repairs. Crowds of out-of-towners and sun-baked inlanders make traffic a challenge even in a normal year. Now this.

To be sure, winter rains left the road in terrible shape. Gridlocked drivers just wish that crews could have whipped it into shape beginning in, say, September.

The "Apply Generous Portion of Common Sense" award A rose to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who promised to step up enforcement of workplace rules after four farmworkers and two construction workers died from heat stroke last month. On the downside, he also slapped new regulations on employers: Businesses that operate outdoors must help workers and bosses recognize symptoms of heat stress and provide shaded areas for anyone showing signs of stress. Great ideas, but yet another layer is added to the thicket of business regulations in California.

Setting government policy aside, hot weather is a serious issue. A recent study by the National Weather Service found that heat kills more people than floods, blizzards or any other weather-related event. In response, the agency has revised its system for warning folks about the "heat index." For those who make their living in the sun, get plenty of water, take frequent breaks, wear hats and find shade. Your life may depend upon it.

The "Too Hot to Handle" award A raspberry to John Roach, the superintendent of Carlsbad Unified School District, who canceled a community forum hosted by Sen. Bill Morrow, R-Oceanside, to discuss immigration and its effects on North County. Roach worried that demonstrators might raise a ruckus and damage school property. They were legitimate concerns; that's why Morrow and the Carlsbad police made provisions for security.

Schools are also community centers; they are the proper venue for elected leaders to hold public discussions on the important issues of our time. Roach has a responsibility to keep his campuses safe, but this move smacks of a more mundane effort to avoid controversy.

A special raspberry goes to the activist groups who are waging a successful campaign of intimidation. In June,

Encinitas and sheriff's officials effectively killed an event to discuss immigration hosted by the North Coast Republican Club when the officials required the club to cough up $15,000 in overtime pay for deputies to provide security.