The 'Respect Your Elders' award - A raspberry -- with the offer of a rose -- to the person who took out 10 videos from the Fallbrook library using a found library card. The card belongs to an 81-year-old grandmother on a fixed income, who is now on the hook for more than $300. Return the videos and earn a rose, or at least wipe away some of the raspberry smeared across your conscience.

The 'Course Correction' award - A rose to the San Marcos Planning Commission for granting a five-year permit to Fraternity House, an AIDS hospice off Elfin Forest Road. The commission's staff earned last week's biggest raspberry for drafting an egregious list of proposed permit conditions. But the commissioners thankfully saw the light -- perhaps the light of 200 or so candles hoisted by the hospice's supporters in a vigil before the hearing. The commissioners recognized some legitimate concerns of neighbors and dismissed the discriminatory complaints, approving a compromise permit that found justice down the middle. Well done, and we're glad Fraternity House will continue to be welcome in North County.

The 'Freedom Writers' award - A rose to the journalists defending the public's right to know here and abroad. Many North County residents braved the cold, wind and rain to honor journalists braving far more in this country, in Mexico and in Zimbabwe. Amnesty International's Candlelight Walk for Human Rights in Oceanside on Dec. 5 honored Judith Miller, a New York Times reporter facing possible jail time for refusing to divulge sources for a story that was never published -- the outing of CIA officer Valerie Plame by an administration official; Francisco Javier Ortiz Franco, who was murdered for telling the truth in his Tijuana-based newspaper, Zeta; and Geoffrey Nyarota, founder of Zimbabwe's first independent newspaper, The Daily News, whose office was bombed after he exposed government corruption.

To those risking health, happiness and your lives, we salute you.

The 'One for the Books' award - A rose to Marilyn Crouch, who retired Wednesday as San Diego County's library director. In her nine years of leading the county's 32-branch library system, Crouch oversaw the construction of 12 new libraries, eight renovations and five more in the works. Crouch's tenure included both boom and lean times, but the system she has helped build enables many North County residents to gain access to the world of knowledge. Thanks for your service to the world of literacy.

The 'Unclear on the Concept' award - A raspberry to the California Farm Bureau for holding its annual meeting last week in Sparks, Nev. For an agency so heavily invested in the Buy California marketing effort, it is hypocritical to hold a convention in another state.