Tuesday Morning News Roundup

Proposed election law reform; and a new owner for a classic downtown hotel

By Curmudgeon

Two interesting front page stories this morning in the Standard-Examiner. First, this:

SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Neil Hansen hopes to pass legislation that would allow Utah voters to register on Election Day, limit the power of poll challengers and increase transparency in the election auditing process. Hansen, D-Ogden, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah organized a meeting last week with county clerks, state election officials and outside experts to discuss the election reform measures.
The Election Day registration bill would allow unregistered voters to show up at the polls, provide identification and proof of residency, and then cast a regular ballot that can’t be thrown out later, Hansen said.... Weber County officials threw out more than 500 provisional ballots in November, some because poll workers filled out the forms incorrectly.
Marina Lowe, a staff attorney for the ACLU, said its investigation into voter complaints about the Weber elections was part of the impetus for the meeting Thursday. Weber County Clerk/Auditor Alan McEwan, who attended the meeting, said Election Day registration could help alleviate provisional ballot complications, which other counties in the state also experienced. “It could help, but it’s not problem-free either,” he said.
One of the concerns with same-day registration is the possibility of people using fake identification to commit voter fraud, Lowe said. However, she added, the states that use Election Day registration have not reported any fraud....
Hansen has another bill that would require poll checkers to register in advance and wear some identification so that voters don’t mistake them for election officials. He is also putting forward a bill to allow independent audits of election results.... McEwan said allowing for independent audits instead of state-run audits makes a lot of sense — if done correctly.

Several things worth noting. First, that the Weber County Clerk/Auditor, whose first response to the complaints about the polling place problems in the last election was to stonewall the press and public and ACLU and to deny, deny, deny, has now apparently awakened, smelled the coffee and is attending meetings with Hansen and the ACLU to look for ways to improve things. My my my. Imagine that.

Second, worth noting that the ACLU and Hansen have done their homework, apparently, and done what simple common sense would suggest: ask states that have done the reforms Hansen is proposing how they've worked out, whether the predictions of massive vote fraud [the Republican's favorite tactic for stopping election reform] have in fact developed from the reforms. Turns out, they haven't. Imagine that.

Kudos to Rep. Hansen and the ACLU [full disclosure: I am a proud card-carrying ACLU member] for their looking into the Weber mess in the last election and for working to propose reforms to make sure things are handled better in the future. And belated kudoes to Clerk/Auditor McEwan for, finally, emerging into the light of public scrutiny and dropping the stonewalling. Took a while, but nice that it finally happened.

Second item is this:

OGDEN — The Ben Lomond Hotel has been sold to a Nevada company, paving the way for a long-anticipated $50 million renovation project, according to the new owner.
UIG Resorts, based in Las Vegas, has purchased the 81-year-old hotel from Dan Tabish and his partner, Jeff Van Dyke. Tabish declined to disclose the sale price of the hotel, 2510 Washington Blvd. He said he and Van Dyke sold the Ben Lomond because they are unable to undertake renovations to restore the hotel to its original grandeur. “We ran out of capital to bring the project to fruition.
Work to renovate the Ben Lomond’s lobby will begin next month, and an upscale restaurant named Capone’s is expected to open in about three months in the hotel’s Oak Room, Dixon said. Plans also call for the conversion of some commercial space at the hotel into 147 condominiums, Dixon said, adding that UIG also plans to eventually seek approval from the city to build a 200-room tower near the hotel’s parking garage.
Once renovations are complete, the Ben Lomond would operate under the flag of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, he said.

Again, a couple of points worth mentioning. First, the Std-Ex ran a long and enthusiastic piece about the renovations to the Ben Lomond sometime last year. Much enthusiasm about the return of the grand hotel. But the owners ran out of money to finish the project. Just a cautionary tale regarding grand plans and projects: many a slip twixt cup and lip. Wishin' an' hopin' an' dreamin' do not necessarily mean they'll all come true.

Glad new owners with [it is to be hoped] sufficient capital to see the project through have been found. But again, it would be wise, while wishing them all the best, to restrain the jubilation and celebration until the newly restored Wyndam Grand Ben Lomand actually opens its doors. Ditto for the planned new tower block of 200 rooms.

The mix seems to be the same as is planned for the mega-hotel at the mall redevelopment site. Condos plus hotel rooms plus "upscale" eatery. That's an awful lot of capacity coming on line in Ogden more of less simultaneously. Hope they've done their homework regarding the potential market. Be wonderful if it all succeeds as planned. But again, we'll have to wait an see. And hope the developers don't want public money to do what they plan.

Finally, let me encourage the new owners to look into refurbishing and reopening the old roof top restaurant/bar at the Ben Lomond. One of Ogden's great assets is its magnificent view of the mountains, and very nearly none of the city's eateries or drinkeries take advantage of it. Hard to see how a "Top of the Ben" wouldn't have a lot going for it as a place to meet friends, and business associates for a dram or two. [Mrs. Curmudgeon and I would be happy to provide a review of a rooftop lounge at the Ben Lomand as part of our continuing research on "Rooftop Bars of the Mountain West." It's a book, we think, crying to be written. We plan the definitive work, though much research remains. We know, we know, it's a grueling job, but somebody has to do it.]