Due the the ongoing dearth of news over the Pioneer Day weekend, we've decided to do something we haven't done in quite a long while... set up an open topic thread. Before we turn the Weber County Forum floor over to our readers, however, we'll present some brief holiday-relevant advice, gleaned from that fountainhead of prudence and bastion of good sense, the Deseret News:
SALT LAKE CITY — Folks celebrating a long holiday weekend probably have plans to avoid food poisoning and firework-related burns. But while you're looking at summer safety, tell the kids and pets not to lick the sparklers, pyrotechnics or glow sticks. Put on your mosquito repellent. Pack an extra bottle of water to avoid dehydration. And warn your couch potato friends that while it's good to get back into the game, don't do it too fast.That's right, people. And once again... above all else, remember: "Don't ingest the fireworks." Toxic exposure to fireworks and glow products are more common than people might think, according to Barbara Insley Crouch, executive director of the Utah Poison Control Center.
Here's the full lowdown, folks:
That's it for now, O Gentle Ones.
Talk about whatever floats your boat.
16 comments:
Not being a native I don't really understand what this holiday is all about. Are we celebrating the Mormons getting kicked out of every other US state / territory? What a great bit of spin by the LDS church!
Before you complain too much about the dearth of news, Rudi, you oughta go back and catch up on some of the items you missed during the last couple of weeks.
First, our mayor has hired Royal Eccles to be the new manager of the Ogden-Hinckley airport, at a salary of $80,000. The S-E site isn't currently letting me load the article, but here's the link that should have worked:
http://www.standard.net/topics/city-council/2011/07/11/ogden-hinckley-airport-manager-named-some-unhappy-pick
Second, the Tribune recently reported that the mayor has "selected somebody" to replace John Patterson as chief administrative officer, and is asking the city council to approve the selection:
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/52182913-78/patterson-ogden-casper-mayor.html.csp
The article doesn't name the new appointee, but the obvious guess would be Management Services Director Mark Johnson.
These two items make you wonder what other personnel changes our mayor will be making before he leaves office--and whether he's trying to establish as many of "his people" as possible in city staff positions before the new mayor takes office in January.
Cronyism at it's finest!
Then there was this choice tidbit from our mayor, in the context of a national report on "green jobs":
"The green-job funding was fueled largely by the stimulus funding which did not go to 'red' states (that are largely Republican like Utah)," he said in an email. "There are many reports that show that this funding was concentrated in places like Illinois, New York and California for some reason."
Link: http://www.standard.net/topics/economy/2011/07/13/ogden-metro-area-ranks-95th-green-clean-jobs
There are so many things wrong with the mayor's statement that I hardly know where to begin.
Our own Napoleon-in-Chief showed up at the rodeo last night. He was received by the crowed with resounding silence!
If you read the actual report (http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/Programs/Metro/clean_economy/0713_clean_economy.pdf), you'll see that "green jobs" nationwide did get a boost from the stimulus, but it was less than 10%. Also, it so happens that green jobs in the Ogden-Clearfield area grew at an 8.6% average annual rate from 2003 to 2010, considerably faster than the national average. The reason we ranked so low is because we had so few "green jobs" to begin with.
As for the alleged bias in the stimulus package, that was actually on the level of congressional districts--not states--and it was mostly debunked by Nate Silver (http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2010/04/study-claiming-link-between-stimulus.html). The remaining "bias" was small (29%) and was simply due to the fact that the stimulus targeted sectors of the economy--like green jobs--that were already more prevalent in urban districts that happen to be more Democratic. Politifact did a good summary: http://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2010/dec/21/kay-bailey-hutchison/sen-kay-bailey-hutchison-says-democratic-districts/
The most ironic part of the mayor's comment, though, is that he has depended so heavily on federal dollars, including stimulus dollars, to promote his agenda over the last 12 years. He should be thanking the federal government for all that money, not whining that he should have gotten more.
Much like the current US House freshmen, the mayor puts politics before sound economic thinking. No wonder the downtown area has become a patchwork of vacant lots and unaesthetic architecture.
Sorry--the link to Silver's article got corrupted. Here it is again:
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2010/04/study-claiming-link-between-stimulus.html
Wasn't some of that stimulus money used to revamp/upgrade building on the east side of Washington Boulevard? I also noticed that one of the building that rented/leased the building seem to have gone out of business. ROX at 2314 Washinton has been closed for a few weeks now and no one answers the phone. It seems that it now stores only some furniture.
Ha ha, thanking the federal government?! You know that's against the Republican code of ethics. What really gets me is that the people that shout the loudest about the feds are often the biggest 'welfare queens' of all!
Dan, Dont forget that the Mayor has relied heavily on federal grants to upgrade the Fire Departments' aging apparatus as well as grants to the Police Department for their new toys.
Great job, people, in response to our somewhat vague holiday enticement: "Talk about whatever floats your boat.
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Thanks for the Most-excellent Posts!
O, and I was driving by just the other day thinking I need to stop in there just to see what great outdoor gear has brought more business to Ogden .....
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I read with much trepidation that North Ogden, in their absolute foresight in knowing this economy will turn around, are willing to saddle the residents with a $10 million albatross of a city building. Why not make a call to the "experts" at Syracuse City who committed the same sin just a few years ago and are now leasing out some of their space just to come close to covering the ridiculous overhead and fixed costs this white elephant has become.
Unemployment, higher taxes, gas prices and food costs are all soaring to record highs, which obviously make it a PERFECT time to spend $10 million that does not exist!
It will be a lot like Obama's "shovel ready" stimulus packages, spend billions, take care of campaign contributors, "create imaginary jobs" and basically bury the country in a never ending debt that will force us all to bow to the beholding entity, the government.
BTW, was that Mark Johnson or a typo that should have read Blain Johnson? haha (You know, the FNURE and Envision Ogden guru) Happy Holidays!
So, Hizzonah was whining that the Big Evil FedGov didn't send enough money to Ogden, Utah? That we should have gotten more?
Seems so.
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