Thursday Morning Weber County Forum News Roundup

Once again, the Beehive State finds itself in the national spotlight, for all the wrong reasons

After extensive morning Googling, we've come up with a few interesting local news tidbits, just to whet our readers' ever insatiable red meat news appetites.  Feast your eyes on this morning's News Roundup, folks!

1) "After the review of more than 80 applications and in-depth interviews of a national base of candidates," Ogden City announces the new full-time manager of the Ogden-Hinckley Airport. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss:

• Ex-Police Chief Greiner named Ogden airport manager

Suffice it to say that nationally famous "double-dipper" Greiner remains "on an impressive roll," as he begins logging public service hours toward his fourth public service retirement plan.

2) As the 2014 Utah legislature kicks fully into gear,  the Provo Herald caries a morning story, highlighting the messed up priorities of of some of the "critters" within our Utah legislature:

• Utah bill defines gender for school bathrooms

C'mon, folks.  Do they really believe we're so confused that we don't know which bathrooms to use?

3) And here's a local story which is bound to put you off your feed, O Gentle Readers, as a  multiplicity of news sources, running from our humble home town newspaper to the mighty NBC News, "virally" report one of the most bone-headed public school system screw-ups we've witnessed in years. Seems "dozens of children at a Salt Lake City elementary school had their lunches seized" and tossed in the garbage by certain "financially tight-fisted" cafeteria "lunch ladies," earlier this week, "because they did not have enough money in their accounts."  In a heart-warming display of bureacratic generosity, however, these tender-aged "freeloaders" were mercifully provided "free" milk and fruit as a booby consolation prize, so they didn't have to go completely hungry.  Here's the Salt Lake Tribune's version of this mind-boggling story:

• Lunches seized from kids in debt at Salt Lake City elementary

Once again, the Beehive State finds itself in the national spotlight, for all the wrong reasons.

We'll be following thiss story closely, folks, to find out whether any administrative heads will ultimately roll.

So who'll be the first to throw in their own 2¢?

Standard-Examiner: Ogden Airport Manager Fired, Replaced by Former Police Chief Jon Greiner

Submit your job apps without delay, folks, so former top-cop Greiner can get back to what he does best, i.e., playing golf. 

Thanks to a flurry of tips from a flurry of sharp-eyed and alert Weber County Forum readers, we'd like to direct your attention to this blockbuster news from the Standard-Examiner:

OGDEN — Ogden-Hinckley Airport manager Royal Eccles has been dismissed by the city and will be replaced by former Ogden Police Chief Jon Greiner.
On Tuesday, Ogden City Chief Administrative Officer Mark Johnson confirmed that Eccles had been let go, but said the city couldn’t comment further on the matter.
“We have decided to move in another direction and there is a change at the airport,” Johnson said.
Johnson said Greiner would take over the airport manager position on an interim basis, but was not sure how long the temporary period would last. [Links added].

You can zoom in to the full story here:

• Ogden airport manager fired, replaced by former police chief Jon Greiner

With a full 7.114 billion folks residing on this planet, it seems odd that the Caldwell would replace one featherbedded Boss Godfrey crony with yet another, dunnit?  Then again, taking into account our acute awareness of how things "work" in Ogden, maybe not.

Jon Greiner

For any folks who'd like to submit their application for permanent appointment to Eccles's former job, we link below the newly-opened Ogden City job listing, which lists, along with certain other airport-related technical prerequisites for new hiring (and we are not making this up), that "[w]hile performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit, walk and talk or hear":

• Job Opening - Airport Manager

Submit your job apps without delay, folks, so that former top-cop Greiner can get back to what he does best, i.e., playing golf.

Officials: Threatened FAA Towers to Remain Open

It’s great news if it happens, but we’re still waiting to get official word from the FAA,” sez Ogden Airport Manager Royal Eccles

Great news this morning for nervous Ogden-Hinkley Airport boosters, as both the Deseret News and the Standard-Examiner report that "Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has assured lawmakers the Obama administration will prevent the closure of 149 small airport towers — including Ogden and Provo towers — as well as end furloughs of air traffic controllers nationwide as a result of legislation passed by Congress, according to officials involved in negotiations on the bill":

• Officials: Threatened FAA towers to remain open
• Hope for Ogden Airport Tower

In a posture quite uncharacteristic of Boss Godfrey-legacy featherbed appointees however, the Standard reports that Ogden-Hinkley Airport Manager Royal Eccles isn't counting his chickens before they're hatched, and is exercising extreme caution instead:

As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, Ogden-Hinckley Airport Manager Royal Eccles said he hadn’t received official confirmation from the FAA that the tower would be saved.
“It’s great news if it happens, but we’re still waiting to get official word from the FAA,” he said.

Whew!

C'mon folks. Who does Mr. Eccles think he's kidding? When Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood  assured lawmakers "the Obama administration will prevent the closure of 149 small airport towers as well as end furloughs of air traffic controllers nationwide," what does Mr. Eccles think he meant? Despite his cautionary language, you can bet your bottom dollar that Airport Manager Eccles is wearing a mile-wide skeet grin on his grill this morning. As a matter of fact, now might be just the right time to wander down to the Airport Terminal office and give Mr. Eccles a pat on the back, wethinks.

Unsure about Eccles's precise office location?  Listen for the sound of popping Champagne corks.

Okay... maybe popping Ginger Ale corks....

Standard-Examiner: Ogden Airport Tower Closure Delayed

Airport Manager Royal Eccles: "Believe me, we’re doing everything we can to keep it open"

Worry much?

The tension builds among Ogden-Hinkley Airport boosters in re the simmering airport tower closure cliff-hanger, as the Standard-Examiner reports this morning that "Officials at the Ogden-Hinckley Airport now have a little more time to plead their case for keeping their air traffic control tower open."

Looks like the fates, along with a a flurry of old fashioned federal lawsuits,  have delivered our harried O-H Airport officials a little much-needed breathing room, according to this morning's Mitch Shaw story:

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday that it will delay the closure of 149 federal contract air traffic control towers until June 15. The Ogden-Hinckley tower was set to close on May 5.

“This just gives us more time,” said Airport Manager Royal Eccles said. “Our senators and congressman now have some additional time to interface with the FAA to try and keep our tower open. Believe me, we’re doing everything we can to keep it open.” 

For our readers' edification, here's the full S-E story:

• Ogden airport tower closure delayed

Meanwhile back in Washington, "members of Congress are preparing to push legislation that could overtake the lawsuits. Sens. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., are expected next week to file a bill that prohibits closing or slashing funding to any of the towers on the closure list," according to this morning's S-E story.

For some added background, here's an informative press release from the good Kansas Senator Moran's website, explaining in greater detail the tactics behind these eleventh hour federal legislative maneuverings:

• Sen. Moran Statement on Delay of FAA Control Tower Closures

Call your Congresscritters

O-H Airport Manager Royal Eccles "said area citizens who are concerned about Ogden’s tower [not to mention Eccles's cushy six-figure featherbed job] should contact their legislators," of course.

Here's a handy "Congresscritter contact link," for Utah residents who'd like to "obey" Airport Manager Eccles and do just that:

• Federal Legislative Contact Links - Utah

And here's a useful congressional contact online utility, for WCF readers residing outside of the Beehive State:

• Online Congressional Directory - U.S.

The scuttlebutt among the macho A-H Airport civil aviation crowd, by the way?  The Ogden City Council is standing by to toss out a $260k/year life raft... if all else fails, which is all the more reason for Ogden City residents to contact your Senators and House Representatives immediately, no?

Thursday Morning Northern Utah News Roundup

There's so much happening on our local "red meat" political news front, we hardly know where to start

As luck has it, our "usual" Northern Utah news sources are over-brimming with red meat political news this morning.  There's so much happening on our local news front, we hardly know where to start.  Here's our short list however, which we'll throw out in no particular logical order:

1) Matthew Stewart Pretrial Motions. There's more news this morning concerning the Matthew Stewart death penalty case, as the Salt Lake Tribune reports that "2nd District Judge Noel Hyde on Tuesday denied a previous motion from defense attorney Randy Richards declaring the death penalty was  unconstitutional," additionally holding that "the Utah Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the death penalty was constitutional."  This ruling does not however dispose of a second pending defense team motion in which, according to the SL-Trib, counsel assert that the Court should "toss evidence related to marijuana cultivation" because Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force agent Vanderwarf allegedly 1) asked for the search warrant based on "stale information," and that this officer 2) "lied" in his foundational search warrant affidavit, under circumstances which Richards characterizes as a "blatant fabrication":

• Matthew David Stewart says police lied on search warrant

Oh my! Is it concivable that an Ogden City police officer might actually lie in a search warrant affidavit? "Say it ain't so, Joe!"

2) Governor Herbert - Snake Valley Pipeline Agreement. Both the Standard and the Tribune gleefully report that "Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has rejected an agreement with Nevada that would allow Las Vegas to pump massive amounts of groundwater from the states' shared border," in an apparent effort to spare Utah's Snake Valley residents, (and "downwind" Wasatch Front residents ) from the potentially devastating effects of a Nevada water-grab which might mimic the disastrous environmental results which happened decades ago in California's once agriculturally-productive Owens Valley following a similar Los Angeles, CA water grab:

• Herbert won't sign water deal for Vegas
• Herbert rejects Snake Valley water pact with Nevada

We're scratching our heads wondering what's happened to Governor Herbert lately. With last week's veto of HB76, and Wednesday's rejection of the proposed Snake Valley intra-state groundwater pact, Herbert's suddenly become a "Man of the People," one of those rare birds in Utah politics who don't necessarily serve as obediant lapdogs to economic development interests, but actually listen to to their lumpen constituents. Seems that "Governor Gary" is transforming himself from a political zero to a gubernatorial hero, right before our very eyes.

3)  FBI investigates West Valley City Police. "The FBI has agreed to investigate allegations of  corruption within the West Valley City police department's disbanded  drug unit amid reports of a cover-up involving the officer-involved  shooting death of an unarmed woman," the Standard reports this morning:

• FBI to investigate West Valley police allegations

Sodden question: Now that the FBI is poking around in WVPD's affairs, would it be good idea  for these federal law enforcement authorities to take the short drive  north to Ogden City, to take a quick peek under the Ogden Police Department "hood"? We know that there are at least a few folks round town who might think so; but even more importantly, howbout you?

4) Ogden Hinkley Tower Closure Lawsuit. Looks like it'll be a full employment economy for Northern Utah lawyers, as the Standard-Examiner breathlessly reports that "The Ogden-Hinckley Airport is joining a lawsuit to try to stop the federal government from shutting down 149 air traffic control towers across the nation in an effort to cut spending":

• Ogden-Hinckley Airport joins lawsuit against FAA to keep towers open

Will Ogden-Hinkley airport officials, along with a whole potload of other hopeful plaintiffs succeed in compelling the Federal Aviation Administration to spend monies that have been denied by the U.S Congress? Will a  U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. have the audacity to rule that "public safety" trumps the our federal Congresscritters' tightfisted, and ideologically-driven "push toward U.S. fiscal austerity"? Will Congressman Rob Bishop, and the rest of the Utah federal legislative delegation continue to embrace massive across-the-board, meat cleaver-style spending cuts, except of course when negative consequences are felt in their own backyard?

5) Women's Legislative Council Event.  In connection with the above story, we'll also take the opportunity to alert you all of a Weber County Women's Legislative Council (WCWLC) special event, which is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 9.  The featured speaker will be Utah Speaker of the House Brad Dee.  This might be a grand time to ask Rep. Dee what (if anything) the State Legislature has in mind concerning possible assistance which the legislature might have planned for the Ogden Hinkley sequestration problem, wethinks, in the event that the FAA lawsuit plaintiffs fail to succeed with their lawsuit, inasmuch as the meeting agenda calls for "discussion of sequestration is affecting Utah," and further provides for "questions from the audience." Check out our link below for the full "skinny," including time, date and location coordinates:

• Women's Legislative Council - April 9, 2013 Event

We've eagerly followed on WCF similar WCWLC events in the past, which graciously hosted events are always open to the general public.  So we encourage all Ogden-Hinkley Airport boosters to put this event on their calenders and plan to be in attendance.

That's it for now folks.  So who wants to throw in their own 2¢?

Breaking: FAA: Ogden-Hinckley Airport Tower Will Close

Distraught Ogden-Hinkley Airport manager:  “We have no clue what’s going to happen next”

In a still-developing story, The Standard-Examiner breaks the worst possible news for Ogden-Hinkley Airport boosters, as it announces the highly-disappointing information that despite the desperate efforts of Ogden Airport officials and GOP Congressman-for-Life Rob Bishop to gain a reprieve, federal funding for the airport's main control tower is about to get the budget sequestration ax.

Ogden-Hinkley Control Tower

According to this afternoon's Mitch Shaw story, "[t]he FAA notified Airport Manager Royal Eccles through an email that the Ogden-Hinckley tower is one of 173 across the country that will close as part of an FAA effort to reduce expenditures by more than $600 million for the remainder of the 2013 fiscal year":

• FAA: Ogden-Hinckley Airport tower will close

“I assumed they would just close all of them. So I was prepared for the worst, but it’s still tough to take. We don’t really know what’s going to happen now,” said the thoroughly distraught Airport Manager Royal Eccles.

"The airport will remain open, but pilots will be responsible for their own safety by talking to each other, instead of the tower. The federal funding paid for contracted air traffic controllers," according to this morning's S-E story.

This of course appears "on its face" to be a severe blow to Ogden-Hinkley commercial operations, insmuch as "[a]irlines (like Allegiant Air) have yet to say whether they will continue offering service to airports that lose tower staff."

So, will commercial carriers like Allegiant continue operations at Ogden-Hinkley in the absence of a functioning air traffic control operation, we ask? Weirdly enough, some regional carriers don't seem to have necessarily ruled out that contingency at all, if we're to believe at least one Oregon-based news source, speaking of similar control tower closures in the Pacific Northwest:

According to an airport industry association, control towers at 14 small to medium sized airports around the Northwest will close on April 1 in response to automatic federal budget cuts: Four in Idaho and five each in Oregon and Washington. But regional airlines intend to keep flying to those cities they now serve.

Read that astonishing full story below.  Seeing is believing, right?

• Regional Airlines Intend To Keep Flying If Control Towers Close

Wing and a Prayer Arrival

So what about it, O Gentle Ones?  Will our newly-arrived Alliant Air pilots be henceforth flying in and out of Ogden "by the seat of their pants," under the trusty protection of an old-style "wing and a prayer?" Or do Ogden City Lumpencitizens need to brace themselves, and hold tightly onto their wallets, for what may well turn out to be a quite hefty Ogden City Council emergency air traffic control funding request coming up VERY soon?  Would it be hopelessly tacky inelegant sophomoric to summarize by saying that despite disappointing recent developments, the future of Ogden-Hinkley Airport is still "up in the air"? Would it be overkill to predict that Ogden-Hinkley's insurance costs may very well "soar sky high" in the event that Alliance does elect to continue commercial operations under these risk-heightened circumstances?

Needless to say, we'll remain poised at the keyboard awaiting any further news on this story which might meander our way.

Take it away for now however, O Gentle Ones.

Standard-Examiner: Ogden Control Tower’s Future in Limbo After FAA Postpones Decision

Standing by awaiting the next installment in this gripping Ogden City airport economic development disaster drama; but first, a few pertinent and probing questions

For those Weber County Forum readers sitting on the edges of their seats, breathlessly awaiting news about whether the Federal Aviation Administration will follow through with its federal budget sequester-propelled decision to shut down airport towers at 189 U.S. airports, including Ogden's own recently bustling "Ogden-Hinkley Field", the Standard-Examiner informs us that due to the frantic efforts of Ogden City airport officials (and at least one federal legislator), Ogden-Hinkley's projected tower closure has been postponed, at least for another couple of days:

• Ogden control tower’s future in limbo after FAA postpones decision

Mitch Shaw's March 21 story reports that Ogden-Hinkley Airport Manager Royal Eccles has been feverishly burning the midnight oil and has prepared and submitted a "detailed, nearly 2,000-word response to the FAA, answering the question of why an Ogden tower closure would adversely affect the national interest."

Rep. Bishop "weighs in"

Not to be outdone by the "local yokels," Congressional District 1 Dynamo Rob Bishop also took a little time off from his normal and pressing congressional duties (hammering President Obama), and encouragingly added his considerable political weight to to Eccles's "national security" argument, by firing off a stern letter to the FAA, adopting, cut-and-paste-style we presume,  most of Eccles' desperate and frenzied talking points, Mr. Shaw further reports.

We'll be be standing by awaiting the next installment in this gripping Ogden City airport economic development disaster drama of course; but in the meantime we'll open the WCF floor for discussion with a few pertinent and probing questions:

So what say our Gentle WCF Readers about all this?  Will Mr. Eccles' "personal job security interests" be ultimately protected right along with our America's "national security interests," with a last-minute reversal of the FAA's Ogden-Hinkley airport control tower closure plan? Will the FAA back down now that Congressman Bishop's taken to throwing his whopping political weight around? Will Ogden-Hinkley Airport survive long enough to ignore the airport tower closure kerfuffle, follow the Provo Airport's lead, adopt Provo's "full speed ahead approach" and commence commercial air service to more exotic travel destinations (such as Oakland, California) some time soon?

So many questions... so few answers... right?

Standard-Examiner: Feds Want to Shut Down Ogden Airport Control Tower

“It’s not good news. It’s not good news at all,” sez Ogden-Hinkley Airport Manager Royal Eccles

The sky is the limit. There are options to grow. The ability to bring people in and move people out at a (reasonable) cost is just great.

Royal Eccles, Manager, Ogden-Hinckley Airport
Ogden airport going commercial
Sept. 17 2012

The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

Robert Burns, Scots Poet
To a Mouse
1785

Airport Bosters in HappierTimes

Amidst all the hoopla concerning Ogden-Hinkley Airport's recent expansion , and particularly with regard to the even more recent arrival of much-ballhooed commercial service by Allegiant Air, this morning's more than slightly unsettling Standard-Examiner story casts some troubling doubt on the commercial future of Ogden-Hinkley Airport, as upcoming and clownishly random federal budget sequestration spending cuts throw a monkey wrench into the grand plans and schemes of some rabid Ogden boosters.  Here's this morning's bad news, Ogden City lumpencitizens, straight from the pages of our home-town newspaper:

•  Feds want to shut down Ogden airport control tower

"The federal government wants to shut down Ogden-Hinckley Airport’s one and only control tower, a move that officials say would be devastating to the airport’s future, particularly its commercial jet service," this morning's Standard-Examiner grimly reports.

“It’s not good news. It’s not good news at all,” sez Airport Manager Royal Eccles, in a truly masterful display of understatement.

If Ogden's tower closes, "Ogden-Hinckley faces the prospect of laying off all five of its air traffic controllers," according to yesterday's Salt Lake Tribune story:

• Spending cuts may force control towers at 2 Utah airports to close

Needless to say, this alarming news has set Ogden-Hinkley's airport officials scrambling:

"Eccles said he and other city officials are working feverishly to compile [information about how the closure of a particular tower will adversely affect the national interest”] and plead the airport’s case. Eccles said work is also underway to recruit the help of Utah’s Congressional Delegation," this morning's S-E story reassures its readers (as if Utah's congressional delegation actually has any real "political juice" whatsoever, regarding this political hot potato).

Ogden-Hinkley's Future?

Something tells us that Mr. Eccles and his fellow airport cronies have an uphill fight in pleading that an Ogden-Hinkley tower closure would "adversely affect the national interest ,” inasmuch as both Hill Air Force Base and Salt Lake International Airport are conveniently situated a virtual stone's throw down the road. So perhaps it's time to pose the sodden (and pregnant) question:

Would it be prudent for Weber County Forum's old pal Royal Eccles to get to work compiling his own job resume, right along with his "national interest argument," just in case "circumstances" suddenly transform Hinkley Field from a booming intrastate commercial air traffic up-and-comer to a sleepy general aviation airport with neither a need a fancy control tower, NOR for a grossly overpaid Airport Manager?

Just a thought...

Standard-Examiner Editorial: Our View: Airport’s Growth a Positive

General aviation community griping: frivolous or legit? 

Chirpy editorial in this morning's Standard-Examiner, playing down the grousing of some of the "good old boys" (long-time pilots) headquartered at Ogden-Hinckley Airport over "new fees, parking changes and security regulations" recently enacted  by the Ogden City Council and the federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in the wake of the arrival of Allegiant Air as an Ogden-Hinckley-based commercial carrier:

• Our View: Airport’s growth a positive

"[T]he new fees are especially hard to swallow, considering the city waived certain fees to bring Allegiant in. With all of the new fees we’re charged, I feel like I’m supporting them (Allegiant); and I don’t like it,” sez general aviation guy Gary Kopecky.

The Standard argues that we should consider these new burdens upon the general aviation faction to be "an investment in Ogden’s airport that helps it grow."  "Such growth will always be a positive," the S-E editorial board intones.

So what about it folks?  Shall we accept the Standard's blanket judgement that Ogden-Hinckley Airport growth will be a hands-down positive?  Or do the long-time long-time general aviation community who've kept Ogden-Hinckley afloat for almost seventy years have something legitimate to gripe about?

Standard-Examiner: Ogden Approves $108,000 to Promote Airport, Allegiant Travel Company

City council votes to "push" another wad of taxpayer dough to Allegiant Travel Company

In the aftermath of all the feverish fanfare surrounding the announcement that commercial air service will begin at Ogden-Hinckley Airport on Sept. 20, we finally get the "rest of the story" from the Standard-Examiner, which informs us this morning that "earlier this week the city council voted to amend the city’s Outdoor Recreation Company Assistance Program to allow money from the program to be pushed to the airport and the Allegiant Travel Company, who on Sept. 20 will begin commercial jet service between Ogden and Phoenix, twice a week":

• Ogden approves $108,000 to promote airport, Allegiant Travel Company

Sodden questions:

1. When, if ever, will Mayor's crack team of Ogden economic development geniuses manage to lure a business to Ogden, supposedly one of the top U.S. economic "hotspots," without compelling the beleaguered Ogden taxpayers to "push money" and "sweeten the pot"?
2. If the Ogden-Phoenix air commute route is so danged promising, why does it require a taxpayer subsidy at all?

Just axin', folks...

Some Things Change in Ogden While Others Stay the Same

Mayor’s office touts prescription drug drop-box, Forbes ranking

By Dan Schroeder

It’s the last Thursday of the month, and Ogden newspaper subscribers know what that means: time for the monthly “Ogden Update” nearly-full-page advertisement from the mayor’s office!

In this month’s installment you can read about upcoming events like the Tour of Utah bike race and Night Out Against Crime. You can also read about the recently opened Hilton Garden Inn and about the new plans for twice-weekly commercial air service between Ogden and Mesa, AZ.

There are two more items, though, which I think are especially noteworthy.

First, at long last, the city has announced that a year-round prescription drug disposal bin has been installed in the lobby of the downtown Public Safety Building at 2186 Lincoln. The bin is available to residents from 8 am until 10 pm daily.

Regular Weber County Forum readers will remember how more than a year ago the city council proposed an ordinance requiring the installation of such a drop box. Police Chief Greiner objected loudly, for reasons that never made any sense. To all appearances, the Godfrey-Greiner administration was against the idea merely because the council was for it. Needless to say, the controversy-averse council backed down.

Although there’s no sign that the city council is any less timid than last year, we now have a new mayor and a new police chief. It would appear that the new administration is less petty, and the drop box has been installed with a minimum of fuss.

A second noteworthy item appears under the headline, “Forbes ranks Ogden, Utah, #6 Best City in US for Business and Careers.” Here’s a scan of this short blurb (click to enlarge):

What you would never know from reading this is that the Forbes ranking doesn’t look at individual cities; it looks at metropolitan statistical areas, for which the government publishes the most up-to-date economic data. The distinction is critical in our case because the Ogden-Clearfield MSA includes all of Weber, Davis, and Morgan counties. Ogden City accounts for only 15% of the MSA’s population and only 25% of its jobs. So the chances are that a high (or low) ranking for the Ogden-Clearfield MSA says more about Davis County and the Weber County suburbs than it does about Ogden City. Without further information, there’s no basis for the mayor of Ogden to take credit.

Of course, the distinction between Ogden City and the Ogden-Clearfield MSA never stopped Mayor Godfrey from taking credit whenever the MSA did well in one of these rankings. When it comes to puffy political rhetoric, Mayor Caldwell is proving to be no different.

Sunday Morning Emerald City News Roundup

Plenty of interesting tidbits in today's Standard-Examiner

For our readers' eager consumption, we'll reel off these morning items one-by-one:

Undeterred by the closing of his flagship restaurant and the imminent departure of his political benefactor from the Ogden political scene, Friend of Matt (FOM) Mel Kemp still sees a bright future for the Ogden-Hinckley Airport, with multimillion dollars in private aviation development purportedly looming on the horizon:

• Clearance for development upgrade at Ogden airport

Big changes coming up at the Dinosaur Park, as multi-gazillionaire park founder Bob Marquardt resumes management:

• Ogden cedes dinosaur park's reins

Spot-on SE editorial this morning, on the topic of OPD double dipping, wherein the SE editorial board focuses in on the key operative principle, in a manner most laser-like. Quadruple-dipping Chief Greiner should write down this paragraph (so he doesn't forget it):

If a police officer is not serious about retirement, then their benefits should be delayed until he or she retires. In short, if a lieutenant retires, there should be no double-dipping; a qualified sergeant -- and Ogden has many -- should be promoted.

Read the full editorial here:

• OUR VIEW: The OPD's 'ceiling'

Seems everyone in Emerald City recognizes the problem with this double-dipping scam... except our morally and ethically challenged OPD top brass. The question we guess is whether someone in authority, (the City Council for instance,) will ever get around to doing something about it.

The floor's open for your comments, O Gentle Ones. Time to let 'er rip.

Breaking: General Dynamics Acquires Jet Aviation

Pretty big stuff for Ogden's Hinkley Field

By Danny

Big news for Ogden this morning:

General Dynamics to buy Switzerland's Jet Aviation:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense contractor General Dynamics said Tuesday it will buy Jet Aviation for about $2.25 billion in cash, seeking to expand its Gulfstream jet business and tap into fast-growing overseas demand for luxury private planes.
With the purchase of Zurich-based Jet Aviation, General Dynamics adds a worldwide network of aircraft maintenance centers and service centers where wealthy individuals and cash-rich governments can outfit private jets with plush interiors and custom features.
Falls Church, Va.-based General Dynamics will acquire all of Jet Aviation's shares from current owner Dreamliner Lux S.a.r.l, a company controlled by the British investment fund Permira Funds. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year if it clears regulatory scrutiny.

(Jet Av recently announced they were going to the Ogden Airport in place of the defunct Adam Air.)

So that means General Di will be at the Ogden Airport. Pretty big stuff.

Governor's Office Approves $8.3 Million Tax Incentive Package

GOED puts bags of taxpayer cash on the table, to lure an international airplane maintenance and repair heavyweight to Ogden

Great economic news for Ogden City this morning, with this front page Standard-Examiner article, reporting that the Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) has followed through on the story reported last May, and approved a multi-million dollar incentive package to lure an international airplane maintenance and repair heavyweight to Ogden's Hinkley Airport. We incorporate Jeff Demoss's lead paragraphs below:

OGDEN — The state has approved a package of incentives totaling more than $8.3 million to secure Ogden-Hinckley Airport as the expansion site for an international airplane maintenance and repair company.
The Business Development Board in the Governor’s Office of Economic Development approved the incentives for the Swiss company Jet Aviation at a Friday meeting.
The incentives would be awarded on a post-performance basis, meaning the company would have to meet specific benchmarks in terms of jobs and other economic contributions to get the money.

According to this morning's story, Jet Aviation will occupy the 91,000-square-foot facility at the Gateway Center, which was vacated by Adam Aircraft last winter, when that fly by night company went unceremoniously belly-up. Unlike the now defunct Adam Aircraft however, Jet Aviation appears to be robust and viable; and can be reasonably expected, we think, to deliver these significant benefits to our local economy, as projected by the gnomes at the GOED:

• 650 new locally-recruited jobs;
• Wage scale 50 percent above the Weber County average;
• $6.9 million of its own investment in the expansion of business operations;
• $420 million in new state wages;
• $28 million in new state tax revenue.

As our gentle readers have to be painfully aware, Weber County Forum isn't overly fond of of the whole concept of awarding taxpayer handouts to private entities. Unfortunately, corporate welfare is integral to the the economic development game as it's currently played in America; so we'll just bite our tongues, reluctantly go with the flow, and close with this observation:

If the taxpayers of Utah are hell-bent to court businesses with bags full of taxpayer cash, it's industry powerhouses like Jet Aviation that we should be courting.

All-in-all, Jet Aviation will be great for the local economy, we believe.

And what say our gentle readers about all this?

Ogden "Lands" Swiss Aircraft Company

Contrary to the headline, Jet Aviation hasn't actually "landed" yet, but does seem to be "circling the airport"

Just as was revealed by Curmudgeon in one of last night's Weber County Forum comments sections, this morning's Standard Examiner's hard-copy edition has the full story (under the clever front-page banner headline, "Ogden lands Swiss Company") on the prospective arrival of Jet Aviation, the Swiss aircraft company which is currently negotiating to lease 70,000 square feet of space in Mel Kemp's Ogden-Hinkley Airport facility. We incorporate Ace Reporter Schwebke's lead paragraphs below:

OGDEN — An international aviation company has signed a letter of intent with Kemp Development Inc. to establish a maintenance and repair facility and a fixed based operation at Ogden-Hinckley Airport.
Jet Aviation, based in Zurich, Switzerland, expects to begin operations at the airport in the fall, said Bryce Gibby, business development director for Kemp.
“They are the premier corporate jet provider in the world,” Gibby said Wednesday. “They are global and none is better.”
Dave Harmer, Ogden’s community and economic development director, said Jet Aviation would help Ogden toward its goal of becoming a hub for the aircraft industry.
“This is fantastic,” he said. “Jet Aviation is a major player.”
The company plans to employ up to 200 workers at its Ogden facility in the next two years.
Negotiations are ongoing to finalize a contract between Kemp and Jet Aviation, Gibby said.

We'll chalk this up as great news for Ogden City, and especially for Mel Kemp, who's been stuck with vacant rental space since mid-winter, when Adam Aircraft, Kemp's predecessor aircraft manufacturer tenant, executed a fatal financial "nose dive."

Contract details are still reportedly "up in the air," including the inevitable taxpayer subsidies, which will apparently be necessary to lure this big player to "drop its landing gear," begin its "final approach," "touch down" on the Hinkley Field runway and "taxi" into Kemp's empty hangar:

The city is in discussions with Jet Aviation to provide possible tax increment financing, said [Ogden Community and Economic Development Director Dave] Harmer. Jet Aviation also plans to apply for undisclosed financial incentives from the state, he said.

We're pressed for time this morning; so we'll skip our usual microanalysis. Suffice it to say however, we don't think Jet Aviation is a "fly by night."
Perhaps a few of our gentle readers would care to "fill in the blanks" with their own clever comments.

Adam Aircraft Throws in the Towel

Emerald City aircraft manufacturer files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection

“They’re going through another round of financing, and credit markets are very tight right now. I really expect this will be a short-term negative impact, and then they’ll back and everything will go forward as planned.”

Dave Harmer - Director
Ogden City Economic Development Department
Standard-Examiner
January 18, 2008

OPTIMISM, n. The doctrine, or belief, that everything is beautiful, including what is ugly, everything good, especially the bad, and everything right that is wrong. It is held with greatest tenacity by those most accustomed to the mischance of falling into adversity, and is most acceptably expounded with the grin that apes a smile. Being a blind faith, it is inaccessible to the light of disproof — an intellectual disorder, yielding to no treatment but death. It is hereditary, but fortunately not contagious.

Ambrose Bierce
The Devil's Dictionary
1911

Stick a fork in Adam Aircraft, gentle readers; they're done. Despite the rosy optimism expressed in our home town newspaper as recently as two days ago, we now have a report that the financially-troubled Ogden Airport airplane manufacturer has filed a bankruptcy petition, seeking liquidation under the provisions of Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
The Denver Business Journal broke the story yesterday in its online edition.
Suggested moral of the story: When it comes time for Dave Harmer (or any of Boss Godfrey's cronies) to resort to expressing irrational optimism, it's also time for the lumpencitizens to become extra nervous.
Write it down so you don't forget it, gentle readers. This is a lesson we'll no doubt need for the future, as the Godfrey administration's grand plots and schemes continue unravelling one by one.
Update 2/20/07 9:11 a.m. MT: The Standard-Examiner also provides a good writeup this morning, in which Scott Schwebke reports that Dave Harmer's mood has been downgraded from "optimistic" to "hopeful."

Adam Aircraft Closes its Doors

Airplane manufacturer appears one announcement short of calling it quits

It looks like it's curtains for Ogden Airport aircraft manufacturing tenant Adam Aircraft, according to this morning's Standard-Examiner story. Adam Aircraft, which has been under severe financial pressure for the past several months, now announces it has shut its doors, Business Page Ace Reporter Scott Schwebke reports:

OGDEN — Adam Aircraft Industries suspended operations Monday at its headquarters in Colorado, putting about 500 remaining employees out of work indefinitely.

The measure stemmed from Adam’s inability to come to terms with a lender for funding to maintain business operations, the company said in a prepared statement.Although the most recent company press statement falls short of announcing the full liquidation threatened earlier in the month, press spokeswoman Shelly Simi also hints at followup announcements later in the week. The company is still evidently holding off the inevitable, hoping and praying for the appearance of an investor "white knight."

Upon hearing the latest news on Adam's plight, Ace Reporter Schwebke apparently speed-dialed his buddy Dave Harmer, for the latest visionary wisdom on Adam Aircraft's apparent demise:

Dave Harmer, the city’s community and economic development director, said he remains hopeful that Adam will find new funding partners to allow production of the A500 and A700 to resume.

“I’m still hopeful they will continue and that the aircraft plan is a good plan and will survive,” he said.

Hope springs eternal in Emerald City, aka Prozac City.

We're going to go out on a limb however, and predict that its "all over but the shouting" for erstwhile Ogden airport tenant Adam Aircraft.

What a shame. That model A500 in the photo at the header of today's Std-Ex story appears to be one sweet bird*.
Comments, anyone?

*airplane jargon

Ouch! Another Ogden Airport Operator Bites the Dust

Silver State Helicopters closes its doors and files for bankruptcy

It's definitely been a bad month at the Ogden Airport for businesses involved in the civil aviation industry. First, Adam Aircraft fell into financial freefall in January. Now we learn that Ogden-Hinkley Airport's resident helicopter school is calling it quits for good. We include below the pertinent paragraphs from this morning's Standard-Examiner story:

OGDEN — A national helicopter pilot school with a campus at Ogden-Hinckley Airport fired all of its employees and closed its doors Sunday night, leaving students stranded with thousands of dollars in loans.

After watching the Super Bowl, Garett Oberg, an Ogden resident and student at Silver State Helicopters, said he found the school’s secretary had left him a voice mail.

“They said there’s no school for a week because Silver State was having a problem with a financial backer,” he said.

On Monday, the school was locked up, the Web site had a news release declaring bankruptcy, and the answering machine had a message for the aspiring pilots: “If you’re a student at Silver State, we recommend you contact a lawyer immediately.”

What a difference a couple of months make. As recently as 11/26/07, Silver State Helicopter press releases were touting the company as one of the high fliers in the U.S. economy:

Silver State Helicopters has been named as one of the fastest-growing companies in the country by Inc. magazine's 2007 Inc. 500 list. Silver State Helicopters ranked number 243 among the Inc 500 as well as ranked fourth in the Inc 500's Top Companies in Transportation.

Silver State Helicopters achieved a six-year sales growth from 2001 to 2007 of 963.4 percent with revenues growing to $78.1 million in 2006. As the fastest-growing rotorcraft company in the world, Silver State Helicopters has a business model that is unequaled by any other in the industry. The company has the largest flight training institution in the country with the additional commercial operations that include search and rescue, air ambulance, cargo transportation, seismic exploration, law enforcement air support, agriculture, fire fighting and many other services.

"It is an honor to be ranked again among some of the most dynamic businesses in the country," said Jerry Airola, president of Silver State Helicopters. "The growth and the strength of the company is a testament to the incredible team we have here at Silver State Helicopters."

The Inc. 500 ranks U.S.-based privately-held companies according to revenue growth from 2003 through 2006. To qualify, companies must have had at least $200,000 in revenue in 2003 and at least, $2 million in 2006. The Inc. 500 is a prescient indicator of the companies and industries that are driving the economy forward.

Now this erstwhile "up and coming" company will apparently be doing all its high flying in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

We'll offer a helpful tip for those youngsters among our readership who've never experienced an economic recession: this is what recessions look like at the outset. Expect more stories like these in the coming months. Just a helpful hit from yer old pal Rudi.

That advice goes double for our Emerald City Council/RDA Board, as they blithely continue to commit millions of public dollars to numbskull public projects and schemes, without so much as running a credit check on project promoters and/or schemers.

Reader comments are invited, as always. We know you're out there; we can hear you breathing.

Adam Aircraft Ain't Sayin 'Nuttin" About Rescue Refinancing

One of the key tenants at the Ogden Airport still won't disclose whether they're broke or not

Adam Aircraft is once again front page news in the Standard-Examiner business section this afternoon,(strangely enough) with a fine Scott Schwebke story, neatly summarizing the current situation with the financially-plagued Ogden Airport airplane manufacturer. Even more strangely however, the major news of the day is that there is no news on the results of Adam's eleventh hour efforts to obtain $30.5 milllion in new operating capital by the end of January. The Std-Ex headline says all: "Adam Aircraft mum on quest for cash." Here's today's story lead:

OGDEN — Adam Aircraft Industries plans to disclose later this week its progress in raising $30.5 million to keep the company operational.

Shelly Simi, a spokeswoman for Adam, declined Monday to say whether the company had met its self-imposed deadline for obtaining the funding by the end of January.

Our take on this? Adam officials would be crowing now, if they'd successfully obtained the new financing. The plain fact that they're NOT doing that doesn't bode well [sigh].

We'll also remind our readers that Ace Reporter Schwebke doesn't tell us whether he obtained this information by actually interviewing Ms. Simi, or whether he googled (at long last) and got his info from one of the several articles on the net like this. Gawd knows the Std-Ex is loathe to admit that it ever lifted an element of story from lowly WCF.

Interestingly, our favorite Std-Ex Ace Reporter finally tangentially mentions that the founder and heretofore CEO of Adam Aircraft mysteriously left Adam in August, just as we reported earlier here.

As an added bonus for today we link this article from USA Today, published a little less than a year ago, touting the founder an then CEO Rick Adam. Here is that article's information on the company founder (article loads slowly). Hard to believe a smart guy with such a track record of building succesful companies might have been forced out by the Adam Board of Directors for a lack of business acumen, as some on WCF have suggested.

We're still wondering how it could be that the company founder, who led the company from its founding in 1998, could have fled his company in August 2007.

As to Ace Reporter Schwebke's latest article we'll also say this: Last week, gentle reader Curmudgeon suggested thusly (paraphrasing): "The Adam Aircraft story belongs on the "business page."

And lo and behold; there it is today! Kudos the the Std-Ex for finally taking WCF advice; and congratulations to Ace Reporter Schwebke for morphing into a Std-Ex business page contributor.

We're always here to help.

More Strange Tales Re Floundering Aircraft Manufacturer Adam Aircraft

The company's founder and CEO jumped ship in August

Over the past two weeks, Weber County Forum has devoted a fair amount of electronic ink to the travails of Adam Aircraft, the Ogden Airport's key manufacturing tenant, from the company's announced layoffs on January 17, to Wednesday's revelation that the company had warned stockholders that the company might be two short days from possible liquidation.

We now learn this morning from the Denver Post that Rick Adam, the company's founder and CEO, left the company in August, to to pursue "his next entrepreneurial venture." The article does not tell us whether Mr. Adam retains any financial interest in Adam Aircraft, or whether he instead disposed of such interests (sold his stock) prior to his departure, and before it had become publicly apparent that his company was in deep financial doo-doo.

Hmmmm....

It never ceases to amaze us what we stumble upon whilst googling.

Comments, anyone?