Tuesday Morning Northern Utah News Roundup

Hopefully scofflaw Neal Humphrey's bold taunt won't land him in the slam

Nutritious Emerald City red meat news has been in exceedingly short supply over the past few days, so we'll offer our readers this Northern Utah News Roundup, just so's our readers will at least have something to chat about on WCF this morning:

1) There's good news on the Emerald City jobs front this morning, as The Standard-Examiner reports that Ogden entrepreneur and all-around good guy Alan Hall's "MarketStar Corp. will add 250 Internet advertising sales jobs in Ogden over the next few months to serve a major search engine client":

• 250 jobs coming to Ogden; fair this week for Internet advertising sales employees

And in a shocking "man-bites-dog" twist to this Ogden jobs story, hold onto your hats for this:

"The city did not offer MarketStar any incentives for the hiring initiatives."

Hard to imagine, no?

2) Amidst the scores of HB 477 stories which have appeared on northern Utah print media pages over the past few months, here's a SLTrib story which particularly caught our eye this morning, wherein Trib reporter Brooke Adams cites "[t]he case of Kevin Tolton versus the Town of Alta" [as a case which] "is widely known as the mother of all records requests — the incident that access advocates, government officials and lawmakers alike hold out as the example of why Utah’s open records law needs revision":

• Battle over Alta records ignited HB477  war

We'll go along with this savvy reader comment, which appears beneath the story:

Just as the Westboro Baptists test our commitment to free speech, Mr. Tolton tests our commitment to open government. Yes, the Town of Alta needs to do a better job managing its records to reduce the cost of complying with requests. At the same time, it's perfectly fair to charge requesters a reasonable fee for locating and retrieving large numbers of records. And GRAMA currently allows such charges, especially when the request benefits a person rather than the public.

3) And last but not least, we'll shine the spotlight on this sardonic Neil Humphrey SE guest commentary piece, which illustrates the sheer idiocy of the socialist liquor marketing monopoly, here in The People's Republic of Utah:

• A bootlegger's plea

In closing, scofflaw Rev. Humphrey offers this bold taunt:

"You can catch me at it every Sunday morning, so come and get me. Just be ready to repent."

Hopefully this won't land him in the slam.

That's it for now, O Gentle Ones.

Who will be the first to chime in with your own 2¢?

Standard-Examiner: Issue of Repeated Double-dipping at Ogden Police Department Leads to Grievance

Isn't the current system of "recycling" "retiring" OPD top brass just plain wrong?

The Standard-Examiner follows up on its March 27, 2011 story this morning, and reports that aggrieved OPD Sgt. Blaine Clifford, "[a]n Ogden police sergeant who contends he was unfairly passed over for promotion in 2007 because of a double-dipping system is again taking his grievance to the city's Civil Service Commission":

• Issue of repeated of double-dipping at Ogden Police Department leads to grievance

The commission is scheduled to hear Sgt. Clifford's complaint on May 11.

So what about it gentle readers? Isn't this system of "recycling" "retiring" OPD top brass, at the expense of up-and-coming rank-and-file police officers just plain wrong? And shouldn't this issue be resolved once and for all by our Ogden City Council?

Have at it, O Gentle Ones.

Who'll be the first to throw in their own 2¢ concerning this issue?

Standard-Examiner: And The Hunt Is On For Ogden Landmarks

Check out the Ogden City website, where you'll find more information, along with a downloadable contest entry form

Attention Emerald City architecture buffs! The Standard-Examiner provides a heads up this morning regarding a very unique competition, sponsored by a couple of highly-respected home town historic preservation entities.

Here's the lede:

OGDEN -- City officials are encouraging area residents to keep their eyes on local architecture during the municipality's annual historic scavenger hunt that runs through May 17.
The ninth annual hunt is being sponsored by the Ogden Landmarks Commission and Weber County Heritage Foundation and as part of National Historic Preservation Month.
The hunt is meant to get people out on the streets of Ogden to look at the city's unique historic buildings, said Sharon Smith, a city planning technician.

Read the full SE story here:

• And the hunt is on for Ogden landmarks

WCF regular contributor Dan S. participated in this competition last year; and his shared experience yielded us some very interesting results.

For those of you who'd like to follow Dan's example and participate of your own accord this year, check out this page from the Ogden City website, where you'll find more information, along with a downloadable contest entry form:

• Historic Preservation Scavenger Hunt

Happy hunting, O Gentle Ones...

Breaking: River Project Land Sale Under Negotiation

69 townhomes and commercial spaces as part of the long-awaited Ogden River Project

By: Curmudgeon

Breaking... The Standard-Examiner just put up a story detailing the latest River Project development proposal, which begins with a plan by the Ogden RDA to sell about 6 acres in the Project area to a SLC developer (SouthRiver LLC) to build town homes. Part of the purchase price will be in cash, part will rely on tax increment funding.

Full story here:

• Land sale under negotiation

Comments anyone?

Ogden Standard-Examiner Fails to Win Pulitzer Prize Again

This in spite of the extraordinary efforts on the part of Mayor Godfrey to hand it to them on a silver platter

By: Ozboy

Well it seems that for the tenth year in a row the Ogden Standard Examiner has failed to win a Pulitzer Prize for political investigative reporting. Here's the most recent news on this topic, a Salt Lake Tribune story, reporting on how the LA Times just won a Pulitzer for exposing political corruption in a small California town:

• L.A. Times wins Pulitzer for exposing big salaries

This in spite of the extraordinary efforts on the part of Mayor Godfrey to hand it to them on a silver platter.

The Mayor was overheard complaining to his sycophant in chief, John "Pure Heart" Patterson:

Jeeze Pure Heart, can't these losers ever get anything right? I give them endless lies, I give them FANURE, I give them practically every other sleazy political trick in the books and they still can't string together an article or two that connects the dots! I don't know what else I could do for them other than write the damn stories myself, but that wouldn't work because the Pulitzer selection committee has a rule against crooked politicians being awarded the prize for self reporting.

On a brighter note, The Standard's local political reporter, Incurious Scott Schwebke, (aka ISS) was awarded the Putzliker Prize for the reporter with his head the furthest up a sleazy politicians kiester. This award was for his body of non-work over an extended period of time in spite of being exposed to a daily diet of scamming, lying and blatant cronyism on the part of the corrupt political machine known as the Godfreyites.

Although the Standard missed out on the Big Pulitzer, they did share the Putzliker award with the aforementioned ISS, along with the lesser known "Asleep at the Press" award. This last award was given by the Putzliker Committee under the theory that no single reporter could be so utterly lame and incompetent without full support and encouragement from top management.

So congratulations to all you folks over at the Standard; you might not have been in the hunt for the Pulitzer, but ya did us all proud with your outstanding achievements with the Putzliker.

An Emerald City Tuesday Evening Council Meeting Heads-up

Godfrey is desperate to say he got something done on the river, but this latest development proposal is a poor last ditch effort and not in the best interests of the city

Editor's Introductory preface: In anticipation of tomorrow night's Emerald City Council work meeting, we're pleased to promote to the front page gentle reader Looks like we’ve been sold down the river again's Thursday comment, which alerts us to some serious and troubling Ogden River Project mission creep, which will be discussed at Tuesday's meeting:

By: Looks like we’ve been sold down the river again

The latest proposal being presented to the city council in the upcoming work session for the river development appears to no longer be a mixed use project with nicely laid out garden lined paths with small parks along the way that follow the meander of the river on one side and small boutique shops and restaurants lining the other side of the path... a show place in the city that would draw locals and non-locals alike to the downtown area and as an excursion for those people that come to Ogden for conventions. This concept has given way to a housing project disguised as a mixed use project.

Here's a link to tomorrow night's council packet, for those WCF readers who'd like to examine the original source documents:

• 04/19 City Council Work Session

The city council is first being asked to redefine the current language as to what is a mixed use area in the city ordinances. Specifically the current wording for mixed use states that no more than 60% of the area will be allowed to be used in any one specific type of use, such as residential, commercial, office building or retail. This is to ensure the area actually functions as a true mixed use area.

What is being proposed to the city council to change is the language that would define a mixed use area as an area where no more that 60% of any one HOUSING TYPE is used. With this change the river project can be 90+% housing. Defined in the latest river project development proposal as 28 carriage houses, 24cottage houses, 383 townhouses, 283 apartments, 23 (in 9 buildings) live/work residents and 9 mixed use (commercial with residential) buildings. Once the language is changed then the whole area becomes a housing project. Then the council will be asked to approve the river project development agreement and if they do, the whole concept of a true mixed use area within the city that would attract people from all over to enjoy its beauty will have been lost.

Some of the concept drawings show large park areas along the river (being totally surrounded by residential complexes) rather than what most people envision as true mixed use and later in the presentation they show build outs of these same park areas into residential projects as the whole area gets completed.

One has to wonder to with all the effort put into restoring the river back to a natural state in anticipation of a true mixed use setting how the river will fare with the new pressures of some additional 1500 plus people living in close proximity to the river. Council should seriously review the changes being proposed to the mixed use ordinance and council should seriously review the current development proposal to see if a housing project is really what they envisioned for the river project.

In MHO, Godfrey is desperate to say he got something done on the river, but this latest development proposal is a poor last ditch effort and not in the best interests of the city. This is just too valuable an asset to the city to simply turn this area into a housing project.

Editor's Addendum: For those readers who'd like to voice their objections to the administration's desperate proposal to abandon Ogden City's carefully crafted, original mixed use development intent, and to swap it (bait and switch-style) for high density housing project parameters, which will inevitably lead to the "instant ghettoising" of Ogden's River Project Area...

Imagine something like this along the Ogden River. This is what cheap, high density residential rental property looks like:

Here's what cheap and developer-profitable
high density residential housing looks like, People!

Here's your Ogden City Council contact information. Need we say more? AHEM!:

• Contact Local Officials - Ogden City

Remember, your Ogden City Council representatives love to hear from you, their constituents, even when you're only writing to gripe.

Standard-Examiner: OPD Awaits New Crime-fighting Tools

A crime fighting, aerial surveilance blimp for Ogden? Oh the Huge Manatee!

Despite the fact that Boss Godfrey's aerial survellance blimp has become a side-splitting punchline on both the local and national levels, The Standard-Examiner still continues this morning, (with an apparent completely straight face), to assist the administration in flogging this idea as a legitimate crime-fighting tool:

• OPD awaits new crime-fighting tools

Interesting crime statistics side-story emerges from this morning's Scott Schwebke writeup, too:

In 2010, violent crime incidents, including homicide, rape, robbery and assault, in east-central Ogden decreased 24 percent. Property crimes, such as burglary and auto theft rose by 20 percent over those recorded in 2009, according to a newly issued CRU report.

A crime fighting, aerial surveilance blimp for Ogden, to respond to the disturbing 2010 uptick in property crimes?

The "Ogdenburg"

Please feel free to continue to discuss this topic, or alternatively to consider this an open-topic thread.

Salt Lake Tribune: VesCor Investment Scam Associate Gets Year in Jail

Still surprised that Hammons has people telling the judge what an honorable man he is

By: What will it cost us

William J. Hammons, 67, was sentenced on Friday after being convicted in February of seven counts of felony fraud. Hammons worked with Boss Godfrey crony Val E. Southwick, an Ogden businessman now in prison for a real estate investment scheme that bilked hundreds of investors out of more than $180 million. He received a year in jail and was ordered to pay restitution.

• VesCor investment scam associate gets year in jail

Still surprised that he has people telling the judge what an honorable man he is; but his victims wanted more jail time.

Salt Lake Tribune: Fire Waddoups

Members of the Senate majority might be well-advised to put out a help wanted sign for a new president

Hmmm... It's not just the Standard-Examiner who believes state senator Mike Waddoups is clueless. The Salt Lake Tribune also lays into "the incredibly callous" Utah Senate President this morning:

• Fire Waddoups

The Trib editors sum it all up thusly:

It is that cluelessness about those in circumstances less favorable than his own that should clue other members of the Senate majority that they might be well-advised to put out a help wanted sign for a new president.

Are you listening, Weber County Senators Christensen, Jenkins and Reid?

Breaking News: Godfrey Releases List of Potential Fieldhouse Donors - UPDATED

Now we know why Godfrey worked so hard to keep the list of potential donors secret

By Curmudgeon

Hizzonah, Mayor Matthew Godfrey has turned over the list of donors the city's GRAMA review committee told him was a public record to the Standard Examiner, which just put the story up on its website:

• Godfrey releases list of potential donors

The story's most telling sentence: "None of the donors the newspaper talked with agreed to provide money for the field house."

Now we know why he worked so hard to keep the list of potential donors secret. It seems most of them had not committed a dime.

Update 4/14/11 9:58 p.m.: The SL Trib has the story too:

• Ogden mayor’s hoped-for Field House donors lukewarm.

Update 4/14/11 11:44 p.m.: Dan Schroeder has just transmitted to us a scan of the original Boss Godfrey patsy donor list received from Ogden City in the mail on Monday:

Salt Lake Tribune: Waddoups Backtracks on Jobless Remark

How dumb is Mike Waddoups? VERY DUMB??? Or Worse???

Here's the latest from the Tribune's Robert Gehrke, regarding one of the Utah Senate's most powerful Single Digit IQ corporatist legislative overlords, regarding another idiotic statement issued during his hopelessly botched Senate Presidency tenure:

• Waddoups backtracks on jobless remark

We swear... NOBODY could make this shite up!

How dumb is Mike Waddoups? VERY DUMB?... Or worse?

Standard-Examiner: Ogden Council Rejects River Project Agreement

Anyone want to lay odds on whether a groundbreaking will occur for this project prior to Godfrey's departure from the mayoral office in January 2012?

Whoa, people! Seems like only yesterday that the Godfrey administration was crowing about the selection of Marina del Rey-based Lee Homes as developer for the moribund Ogden River project; and now we learn from the Standard-Examiner this morning that this once highly-touted California company is out on its ear:

• Ogden council rejects River Project agreement

Anyone want to lay odds on whether a groundbreaking will occur for this project prior to Godfrey's departure from the mayor's office in January 2012?

Get the Real Poop!

I am changing my list of required financial publications so I will get the real poop!

By: Dorothy Littrell

No more Wall Street Journals for me!

Read this, from the Rolling Stone e-magazine, no less!

• Why Isn't Wall Street in Jail?

Read up!

Dorothy

Liberal vs. Conservative: Does the Difference Lie in the Brain?

Larger than normal brain parts (anterior cingulate cortices and/or amygdalae)... neuroscientific reasons you may or may or may not be a political "fraidy cat"

By Ozboy

I just read an article on the Time magazine site about a study that identified some differences in the brain structure between liberals and conservatives.

One interesting paragraph reads:

In the study, led by Ryota Kanai of the University College London, people who identified themselves as liberals generally had a larger anterior cingulate cortex — a comma-shaped region near the front of the brain that is involved in decision-making. By contrast, those who identified as conservatives had larger amygdalas — almond-shaped structures that are linked with emotional learning and the processing of fear.

This seems to explain why "liberals" when confronted with a situation will think it through and come to an intelligent understanding of it, while "conservatives" usually just react in fear and circle the wagons - ala the current Tea Party Tin Hat crowd.

Read more:

• Liberal vs. Conservative: Does the Difference Lie in the Brain?

Liberal or conservative... "size" may actually mean something.

Don't let the cat get your tongues!

Standard-Examiner Guest Commentary: GRAMA Request Reveals Details of "Sweetheart" 21st Street Pond Deal

Ogden City activist David Smith nabs the mayor

By: TLJ

Ogden City activist David Smith nabs the mayor:

21st Street Pond is deeded to the city of Ogden, but we the citizens can't use it until 2058! Two someones named Matthew Godfrey and David Goode signed a memorandum of general intent, stating that Goode's company would have exclusive use of the pond for its watercraft until 2058. All in exchange for a $5,000 campaign contribution to the mayor.

Do the math? That works out to about $92.50 per year to keep the good citizens of Ogden out of Goode Ski Lake. Yes, David Goode even got naming rights in the memo.

Read all about it in this morning's SE guest commentary, (which also has more details and information of where the GRAMA'd documents can be found):

• GRAMA request reveals details of 21st Street Pond deal

No new news on Goode's website for 7 months ... the last one being about some water ski event in Florida.

One wonders if they are even using the 21st street pond.

TLJ

Standard-Examiner: Ogden Lawmaker to Introduce Bill, Saying State-run Liquor Stores 'Anti-capitalist and Anti-free Market'

Reader query: Is it reasonable to expect that the Utah liquor market could achieve free market efficiency, while a state monopoly is preserved at the supply chain apex?

Tantalizing front page story (for civil libertarians at least) in this morning's Standard-Examiner, announcing that one Mormon Weber County legislator, House District 7 Representative Ryan Wilcox, is proposing... get this... the privatization of "the retail sale of liquor in Utah":

• Ogden lawmaker to introduce bill, saying state-run liquor stores 'anti-capitalist and anti-free market'

Gotta say we were gobsmacked by the headline, wondering how this relatively inexperienced "Mo-Mo" Wilcox kid would have summoned up the audacity to present a bill like this before a decidedly "Mormon" Legislature"... until we got down to the "fine print" contained in the last paragraph of today's Loretta Park story:

Wilcox said his proposal would include maintaining the same standards and control the state currently has over the sale of liquor, but with private businesses operating the liquor stores.

It thus becomes even more explicit when you read this language from today's SLTrib story on this topic, which basically, although more thoroughly than the Standard-Examiner, covers the same ground:

Wilcox said Utah’s model for privately run stores could come from so-called package agencies, run by private individuals. The agencies, which date back to the 1930s, are in small towns and rural areas where it’s not economically feasible to open a large, state-controlled store. [Emphasis added.]

Too funny people. Looks to us like this Wilcox kid is playing fast and loose with the facts, when he characterizes his new bill as a move toward "free market capitalism." It looks more like Soviet-style communism to us, with his bill preserving the state liquor monopoly right down through wholesaling/buying/warehousing/ distributing... to the "state package store" level, where private contractors would handle the retail marketing. Here's what this Wilcox fella is proposing people... The way it is set up by Wilcox, private business will pay all the retail costs and overhead and the state will still have all the control and reap all the spoils.

A "move toward free market capitalism?" That's so funny that your blogmeister forgot to laugh.

Seems to us that if representatives Wilcox and Richardson were really serious about adhering to the principles of free market economics (rather than engaging in mere sloganeering), they'd be sponsoring a bill to get the state government out of the liquor business altogether.

So what about it O Gentle Ones? Is it reasonable to expect that the Utah liquor market could achieve free market efficiency, while a state monopoly is preserved at the supply chain apex?

RIP Bill Critchlow! Sad to SeeYou Go

Dang! Bill C... he had a stroke and passed within the last couple of hours

Got this missive from one of WCF juggernaut Bill Critchlow's pals earlier today, which has even put your hard core jaded blogmeister into the deep emotional dumps:

Rudi:

Though you may have heard, just thought your forum would like to know our beloved Bill C. passed away this morning. Been battling cancer. Heard he had a stroke and passed within the last couple of hours. Details on arrangements to follow.

He was family to me, and a friend to countless.

Thanks,

Beaver

Rest In Peace, Bill Critchlow, my dear friend.

Needless to say, words are hopelessly insufficient.

[Sniffle]

Bill Critchlow (1955-2011)

Update 4/10/11 9:02 a.m.: Bill's obit is in today's Standard-Examiner:

• Bill Critchlow Obituary

Funeral will be Tuesday at 1 pm at Myers Mortuary, 845 Washington. Viewing Monday night 6 to 8 and Tuesday 11:40 to 12:40.

Standard-Examiner Editorial: OUR VIEW: Fix Liquor Stores Fiasco

Daily Utah Chronicle: Voting on autopilot hurt citizens’ rights

We have no doubt that it gives the overwhelmingly Republican Legislature a lot of satisfaction to include the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control in its budget-trimming. But even the most "moral" budget cut needs to make sense. No matter how many times you figure it out, it is not thrifty to save $2 million and lose potentially $18 million.

Standard-Examiner Editorial
OUR VIEW: Fix liquor stores fiasco
April 8, 2011

I've referred to the political principles of the Utah Republican Party before as "Big Brother Republicanism." In light of this session, a better term fits—feudalistic Republicanism. The term captures the Utah Republican Party's disdain for public oversight, input, checks and balances of and to its government. It captures the spirit of expanding the power of the government and rich lobbyists (the noble families) and shrinks the power of the public (the serfs). It also captures the feudalistic spirit of contempt and condescension that the Utah Republican Party has for the voting public.

Stewart Thorpe, The Daily Utah Chronicle
Voting on autopilot hurt citizens’ rights
April 5, 2011

Top notch Standard-Examiner editorial this morning, exposing yet another legislative blunder which needs to be fixed, flowing from this year's wacked-out 2011 legislative session:

• OUR VIEW: Fix liquor stores fiasco

And over at the Utah Daily Chronicle, columnist Stewart Thorpe has another great idea. After the legislature gets done fixing this year's bad legislation, maybe it's time for knee-jerk GOP voters to help fix up the Utah legislature itself:

• Voting on autopilot hurt citizens’ rights

Seems our Utah legislature gets loonier with each passing year. Perhaps the time has come, even for GOP loyalists, to turn off the autopilot and "cull the herd."

Just a thought.

Standard-Examiner: Hansen Announces Run for Mayor of Ogden

One of the very few honest and sincere politicians in the whole damn state

By Ozboy

I see on the Standard site that Neil Hansen has thrown his hat in the mayoral ring today:

• Hansen announces run for mayor of Ogden

I wish him well, he is one of the very few honest and sincere politicians in the whole damn state. Hopefully he will find the keys to the east side this time around.

Standard-Examiner Editorial: OUR VIEW: Waddoups is Clueless

Kudos to the Standard for tellin' it like it is

Spot-on editorial in this morning's Standard-Examiner, dealing with the state legislature's misguided failure and refusal "to accept almost $100 million from the federal government to extend unemployment benefits to 23,432 Utahns for 13 more weeks." This morning's editorial bears this concise and accurate headline, which, (now that we think about it,) pretty much summarizes the whole story of the Utah legislature this year:

• OUR VIEW: Waddoups is clueless

Loved the scatological reference, a drastic departure from the SE Editorial Board's usual staid and Sunday school-style delivery:

We've had to deal with a lot of horse manure coming from the Utah Legislature this year and unfortunately the piles continue to emanate from its leadership.

And speaking of reeking barnyard "cluelessness" "emanating in piles from legislative leadership," check out this morning's ABC4 story, which deals with yet another legislative "false economy," i.e., the legislature's genius attempt (another Waddoups brain-child) to "save just about $2 million" by closing down "nearly a dozen" state liquor outlets this summer:

• Closing Utah liquor stores will cost millions

Thanks to folks like Mike Waddoups, cluelessness abounds in the Utah legislature, no?

Kudos to the Standard for tellin' it like it is. And watch your step... so's you don't trip over Sen. Waddoups' "road apples," which are scattered everywhere from Logan to St. George.

Update4/6/11 12:00 p.m.: Per the Ever-Gentle Curmudgeon:

The SL Trib this morning has a story up about "Last Minute Lockhart," who conceded that "the audit" the legislature did on the state liquor store monopoly's budget "may not have been" quite as thorough as it should have been:

• Liquor store outcry: Utah lawmakers having second thoughts

And another story on a bill to allow health insurance companies to raise premiums for old folk and large families which Speaker of the House "Last Minute Lockhart" got introduced in the closing moments of the session and rushed to adoption without debate [sound familiar] which the Guv vetoed. Last Minute Lockhart and the boys are of course planning a veto-override session:

• Lawmakers may be in mood to reverse governor

Clueless Waddoups, Last Minute Lockhart and Free Lunch for Me Dee are beginning to look like they're trying out for the part of Steve Urqel by repeating the line: " Did I do that?"

Tuesday Morning Emerald City News Roundup

Plenty of Ogden-centric news in the Standard-Examiner and Tribune this morning

Quipping that "[m]y transmission doesn't have a neutral," Boss Godfrey announces his ambitious plan for the final nine months in office, adding that he will step up his workload over the next nine months, leaving us all to wonder if you're going in the wrong direction and you step up your workload, where, exactly, do you wind up?

• Ogden mayor sets goals before leaving office

Eight long years since the commencement of the Ogden River Project, the Ogden Planning Commission will finally get around to considering on Wednesday whether to recommend that the city's Redevelopment Agency Board adopt a proposed project master plan:

• Commission to consider $50,000 proposal for Ogden River Project

Odd editorial in this morning's Standard, heralding the beginning of the 2011 Ogden Mayoral race, and touting outgoing mayor Godfrey's chief weakness, self-centered hubris, as if it were a positive trait:

• OUR VIEW: The race for mayor begins

And speaking of the mayoral race, we learn from the Standard this morning that former Weber County Commissioner Ken Bischoff has thrown his hat into the ring:

• Bischoff ready to run for mayor of Ogden

And last but not least, Ogden based Senator Stuart Reid tells the Salt Lake Tribune "he voted against repealing a controversial open records law for one reason: To protect private communication that staff attorneys warned was subject to public disclosure," leaving us to wonder whether he missed Paul Rolly's Saturday column:

• Lawmaker says privacy rights ‘core issue’ in HB477

That's it for now, O Gentle Ones...

Time to throw in your own 2¢.

Charlie Trentelman: Custom Ordered For a Slow News Day

How evil is Boss Godfrey, actually?

By: Curmudgeon

Charlie Trentelman has a blog column up over at the Standard-Examiner website entitled:

• Is Mayor Godfrey Really That Evil?

And he's drawn some replies. Some of them interesting.

Just FYI, hehehh.

Big Emerald City Council Meeting Tomorrow Night

Proposed CIP ordinance amendments would reduce Emerald City government transparency, hand Boss Godfrey even more discretionary power and much more...

On the heels of the 2/15/11 Ogden City Council meeting, we'll provide an additional heads-up concerning tomorrow night's Regular Council Session, wherein the Council will give further consideration to pending proposals to substantially (and detrimentally) amend Ogden City's Capital Improvement Project rules.

As we noted in our 2/14/11 article on this topic, these proposed amendments for the most part fall into two chief general classes:

1) Raising of Capital Improvement Project Limits. The Administration proposes to raise the threshold for discretionary Administration capital expenditures "from the current $10,000 to $30,000 before the administration is required to go to the City Council for permission to spend additional taxpayer dough." Raising this threshold would have the obvious effect of allowing more money to be spent by the Administration on projects without prior public knowledge, of course.

2) Establishment of "Slush Funds." The Administration proposes the establishment of an array of new self-administered "accounts":

• Contingency Fund (Cost overruns - $100k expenditure cap)
• Future Projects Account (No $ cap)
• Study Account ($60k cap)

We've of course taken the liberty of characterising these as "slush funds." But given Mayor Godfrey's cavalier disregard for the boundaries of various departmental accounts over the years, we believe such characterization is apt. We contend the establishment of such accounts is a very bad idea... "a frightening proposition, given the Little Lord's well demonstrated "spending propensities."

For those readers who'd like to consult the Council Packet for tomorrow night's meeting, click the link below:

• 04/05 City Council Regular Session

Once you've had a chance to check out these documents we're certain you'll agree that these ordinance changes would reduce transparency, allow more money to be spent on projects without prior public knowledge, substantially and detrimentally relinquish existing Council financial oversight and and unreasonably hand even more discretionary spending power over to Boss Godfrey.

We'll invite you all to throw in your 2¢; but before we do, here's a little something extra, a query tossed into the CIP ordinance amendment discussion in one of our lower comments sections:

Currently as the CIP budget is now put together the projected expenditures are of some 2.25 mil for next year, with 1.0 mil of that amount being for the field house.
Why would we be committing this much money to the field house when we haven't even decided whether we're going to build it or not?"

Great question, Ogden Resident, BTW! How the hell DID $1 million in Fieldhouse Project funding wind up on the CIP list, actually?

The floor's open, O Gentle Ones.

Who will be the first to chime in?

Update 4/6/11 7:33 a.m.: Scott Schwebke reports that the Council bought the full proposed CIP amendment package, hook line and sinker, by a 6-1 vote:

• Ogden amends CIP ordinance

Fiscal prudence in Emerald City? Fuggedaboudit.

Sunday Morning Emerald City News Roundup

Plenty of interesting tidbits in this morning's S-E

By Dan Schroeder

Plenty of interesting tidbits in today's Standard-Examiner:

Trentelman tells us what a nice guy Sen. Knudson is even though he voted for HB477 twice. No sympathy for Sen. Reid, however:

• HB477 is dead; we can keep fighting or move forward

Schwebke tells us that there's an open space plan under consideration, but doesn't tell us much about it:

• Ogden may alter open space plan

Grondahl depicts our mayor running down a sports field in spiked shoes, trampling everyone in his wake:

• Grondahl Cartoon

Saal ridicules WCF (no such thing as bad publicity, right?), and speculates on the mayor's goals for his last nine months in office:

• Ogden City, we are at your disposal

And the fine-print agenda list includes a tiny item informing us that on Tuesday the council will voluntarily hand the mayor even more power to divert funds to his pet projects:

• Agendas

Update 4/3/11 8:30 a.m.: The SE editorial board slams the Ogden Police Department's "dysfunctional" "double-dipping culture":

• OUR VIEW: Double-dipping at the department

Paul Rolly: Legislators’ Privacy’ Argument for GRAMA Overhaul is a Ruse*

*English Translation: All BULLSHIT!!!

Paul Rolly this morning uncovers more unadulterated B.S. from the GOP Corporatist thug faction in the Utah legislature, who still cling to their paranoid pro HB477 lies and delusions, despite the stinging bitchslap they received from Utah civil libertarians and just plain ole regular Utah voters this week:

• Legislators’ privacy’ argument for GRAMA overhaul is a ruse

Full disclosure, folks. Your blogmeister is a life-long Republican who's sickened by the marked general deterioration in quality of Utah GOP office holders within the past ten years.

And no. And in spite of recent attempts by some Utah GOP "Leaders" (so called) to sway your blogmeister back onto the Utah GOP "straight and narrow," these highly paranoid GOP authoritarians will soon learn the hard way that they won't be able to bring your blogmeister to toe.

Wake up Utah Republicans! Our party has been captured by a claque of lying anti-liberty corporo-fascists, to whom we cordially invite to engage "old time Republicans" like us, so as to box their traitorous neoCON Cauliflower EARS!

Breaking: Boss Godfrey's NOT Running Again

We'll update this article through the day, as additional news stories roll in

Just got off the phone. Word's just in. According to one of our gentle readers (Neil Hansen) who attended this morning's municipal building press conference...

Godfrey's NOT runnin' again.

We'll update this article through the day, as additional news stories roll in.

Update 3/31/11 10:53 a.m.: Read Godfrey's pre-press conference announcement obtained and submitted a coupla minutes ago by Dan Schroeder:

• Boss Godfrey 3/31/10 Announcement

Update 3/31/11 11:19 a.m.: The Standard-Examiner is now carrying this politically-uplifting story too:

• Godfrey won't run for fourth term

Update 3/31/11 3:37 p.m.: The Salt Lake Tribune is also now running a version of the this story, which includes a series of weird, pro-Godfrey reader comments, touting the big spending right wing socialist Boss Godfrey as some kinda outgoing local hero:

• Ogden mayor will not seek 4th term

Looks like time for some of us who know the real story to get online and set the record straight.

Update 3/31/11 9:00 p.m.: For some genuinely creepy video footage of yesterday's press conference, view the KSL News and Standard-Examiner sites:

• Ogden mayor will not seek a 4th term
• Mayor Matthew Godfrey to Retire

City Weekly "Best of Utah 2011 Nightlife" Ratings: Two Great Ogden Clubs Top the List

Really no surprises here for those WCF readers who already patronize these two great Ogden clubs

City Weekly has come out with its Best of Utah 2011 Nightlife ratings this morning; and two great Ogden hotspots top the list:

Brewski's - Best Ogden Club:


The Kokomo - Best 50th Birthday:

For those WCF readers who already patronise these two great Ogden clubs, there are really no surprises here, of course. Still it's great to see Brewskis' Bill and Heidi and The Kokomo's Eddie and Cindy honored in print by City Weekly this morning for their extremely customer-friendly efforts.

And for those readers who haven't checked them out... get on down there right this minute for a nice Breakfast Ramos (or whatever)... and tell 'em Uncle Rudi sent ya's.

Salt Lake Tribune: False Pretenses - Reasons for HB477 Fall Apart

Fantastic story that's playing out here, as the shabby behavior of Utah legislative leadership is ever so publicly laid bare

Eye-opening Salt Lake Tribune editorial this morning, following up on the theme of Tuesday's WCF article. Here's the lede:

It isn’t the things we don’t know that give us trouble, Will Rogers said, it’s the things we do know that just aren’t so.
As more digging is done into the reasons why leaders of the Utah Legislature found it necessary to make their nearly successful attempt to gut the state’s open records law, it becomes more apparent that many of the offered justifications for the action were just not so.
A public outcry resulted in the bill of goods known as HB477 being repealed last week. But as the postmortems continue, it appears more and more clear that many of the lawmakers who supported the bill did so based on faulty information provided to them by those they should most be able to trust — their leadership.

Read the full Trib editorial here:

• False pretenses - Reasons for HB477 fall apart

Fantastic story that's playing out here, as the shabby behavior of Utah GOP legislative leadership is ever so publicly (and painfully) laid bare.

Standard-Examiner Guest Editorial: Imbalance and Secrecy in Utah

This strong guest editorial is sensible and true and a 180 degree far cry from some of the crap that Ed Allen has put up on the net fairly recently

This is one great guest editorial piece from Boss Godfrey's father-in-law, Ed Allen, for once, from today's Standard:

• Imbalance and Secrecy in Utah

This strong guest editorial is sensible and true and a far cry from some of the crap that Ed Allen has put up on the net fairly recently, like when he was very recently blindly touting his plainly botched brain-dead son-in-law:

• Ed Allen 9/29/07 Letter

Bravo to Ed, this time, at least. We won't hold his earlier-demonstrated stupidity against him for now.

Next!

Standard-Examiner: Godfrey to Announce His Political Plans

Any guesses as to what the little feller's plans may be?

By Ozboy

Well I see that the Street Car subject seems to be drawing a big yawn here today.

So...

How about the announcement on the Standard site from Godfrey that he is going to make an announcement on Thursday about his political future?

• Godfrey to announce his political plans

Why is he forever announcing that he is going to make an announcement anyway? Why doesn't he just cut the middle man out of the deal and make the friggen announcement already?

Any guesses as to what the little feller's plans may be?

Streetcar Project To Be Discussed Tonight By Ogden City Council - Updated

3/29/11 City Council Notes

By: Brandon Chase Bell
Trolley District Community Advisory Network

A City Council Work Session is scheduled for tonight immediately following the Special City Council Meeting at 6:00 p.m. (there is not a set time for the Work Session, rather it begins immediately after the Special Council Meeting ends, which based on past experience has been approximately 7:00-7:15 or so).

In addition to discussing the Open Space Plan, the City Council will discuss the Streetcar Project and “options regarding the “preferred alternative” for the Ogden/Weber Transit Corridor Alternatives Analysis. Also, Council member Van Hooser will give a presentation on transit issues based on a recent Rail-volution Conference she attended.

Meeting Information:

Ogden City Council Work Session

March 29, 2011 – immediately following the Special Council

Meeting that begins at 6:00 p.m.

City Council Chambers – Third Floor

Municipal Building, 2549 Washington Boulevard

Streetcar Project Update and Issues to Be Discussed:

Important City Council Letter Sent on February 14^th, 2011 to WFRC, UDOT, and UTA

The information packet for the meeting contains a lengthy review of the Streetcar Project and efforts to bring a modern transit system to the Ogden area. It states that, most recently the city council sent a letter to the Wasatch Front Regional Council, Utah Department of Transportation and Utah Transit Authority on February 14^th, shortly following the City Council meeting in January with the WFRC where UTA, and UDOT representatives were also present.

The text from the City Council’s letter relating to Harrison Boulevard and the Streetcar Project are as follows (as contained in the information packet for tonight’s meeting):

Harrison Boulevard

1. We [the Ogden City Council] are interested in pursuing a corridor study for Harrison Boulevard with UDOT as the lead agency and are willing to contribute 50% of the funding required for the study (contingent upon the Mayor agreeing). We request that this study commence as soon as possible.This corridor study will assist the City with decisions that need to be made relative to the Transit Alternatives Analysis and needed operational improvements can be clearly defined.

2. We have concerns with the proposed expansion of US 89 south of Harrison Blvd. and how this increased traffic would be handled by either Harrison or Washington. Further information would be helpful.

Transit Alternatives Analysis

3. We feel strongly that 25th Street should be an alternative route in the Transit Alternatives Analysis and be shown as such in the 2040 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). We were surprised that the mode for the “Ogden Streetcar Project” was changed from streetcar to bus rapid transit in the plan. We look forward to receiving a recommendation from the project’s stakeholder group and considering the options further. (Emphasis added)

This letter is significant news in the streetcar project and it’s long history. Many Ogden residents feel that a 25^th-Harrison alignment has been needlessly ruled-out as an option. There has been longstanding, consistent, and overwhelming public support voiced in Ogden for a 25^th-Harrison streetcar alignment. Our City Council has now taken the opportunity to formally request that it not be ruled out as an alternative, and that a 25^th-Harrison alignment be taken forward as a potential alignment in the final Alternatives Analysis, that will eventually be finalized and released by UTA.

We are glad that the City Council has acknowledged this public support of a 25^th-Harrison alignment and given voice to the will of Ogden residents in writing this letter to the Wasatch Front Regional Council, Utah Department of Transportation, and the Utah Transit Authority. Additionally, the City Council has also responded in this letter to UTA’s sudden change of plans in suggesting a Bus-Rapid Transit as the transit mode, when for quite some time now, the general consensus and discussion has revolved primarily around a streetcar system.

Tonight’s meeting is an important moment in the process of bringing a modern transit system to Ogden, hopefully along the right route, and the right mode of transit. As the meeting is a City Council Work Session, public comment is not allowed. However, attendance tonight is important to show continued public support for a 25^th-Harrison Streetcar alignment, and a streetcar system, as opposed to UTA’s recent suggestion of a Bus Rapid Transit project. Please attend tonight’s meeting and be sure to express your support, in person, to members of the City Council for a 25^th- Harrison alignment, and for a streetcar transit system specifically, both before and after the meeting.

Update 3/30/11 9:00 a.m.: For those following the Street Car Topic discussion, one of our gentle readers who attended last night's council meeting provides the following meeting summary concerning the council's posture on the 25^th- Harrison alignment:

• Summary of 3/29/11 City Council Meeting

Standard-Examiner Editorial: Open Government Battle Not Over

Nope. The sky wasn't falling. Yep. They lied to us. And yes, they're gearing up to do it all over again

Excellent Standard-Examiner editorial this morning, echoing the words of gentle WCF reader "Paul Revere":

• OUR VIEW: Open government battle not over

The Standard is right. The legislature's attempt to "hastily install a law that limited the right of citizens and media to have access to government business" was "a deliberate, insidious, anti-democratic move;" and Utah citizens would be wise to anticipate more of the same, as a handful of legislative tyrants mendaciously begin the process of conducting "planning workgroups and special sessions to make changes to the state's Government Records Access Management Act."

It's pretty clear that legislative "leadership" such as Sen. Michael Waddoups and Rep. Becky Lockhart will continue to resort to whatever extreme devices they can exploit to create a "sky is falling" atmosphere surrounding the current GRAMA law, just as they did in the runup to the initial passage of HB477. And in that connection, we invite our readers to check out this morning's astonishing Salt Lake Tribune story, which demonstrates the outright dishonesty employed by HB477 adherents as these authoritarian legislators whipped up fear-driven HB477 support during the final few hours of the 2011 legislative session:

• Documents don’t back legislators’ HB477 claims

From the Tribune story:

As Utah lawmakers argued why they needed the now-repealed HB477 to shield more records from public release, leaders repeatedly said their staffers had been swamped by records requests in 2010 and spent more than 400 hours filling them.

But an open-records request from The Salt Lake Tribune shows the Legislature can produce no records to substantiate that claim, and attorneys now say it was an estimate. Related records that do exist suggest that the estimate may have been high.

Also during debates, lawmakers worried aloud that the Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) could force disclosure of their personal emails or texts.

However, the documents obtained by The Tribune show that whenever such records were requested recently, the Legislature denied them, saying they were not public under GRAMA (without changes sought by HB477).

Nope. The sky wasn't falling. Yep. They lied to us. And yes, we'd be wise to heed the warning of this morning's Standard editorial, as the forces of government despotism crank up the "fear machine" for another craven assault on Utah's Open Government Laws.

Yesterday's News Today: Monday Morning WCF Back-burner Cleanup

So many questions... so few answers

News is a mite slow this morning; so it's time for a little Weber County Forum backburner cleanup. Here are a couple of noteworthy news items which appeared in the northern Utah public press during the last week, which we never quite got around to spotlighting for discussion:

1) Following up on our March 13, 2011 article, wherein we reported that the Boss Godfrey administration had calendered a (statutorily unauthorized) "motion for reconsideration" of the Ogden City Records Review Board's March 3, 2011 decision, (which had ordered the Godfrey Administration to produce a list of potential Field House donors to GRAMA applicant Dan Schroeder), the Salt Lake Tribune reported on Thursday that The Board unanimously (and unceremoniously) denied the city's desperate and dilatory motion:

• Decision to release Ogden Field House donor list stands

It's a commendable written ruling from the Review Board, wethinks, constituting more evidence that Utah's GRAMA law (slow and tedious though it may be) works as it stands, bends over backwards to protect a public agency's privacy interests and requires no further tinkering.

A Weber County Forum Tip 'O the Hat also goes out to Dan Schroeder this morning, for his dogged persistence in this matter.

2) By popular request we'll shine the "high beam laser " WCF spotlight on this truly oddball Tom Christopulos guest editorial, which appeared in Saturday's Standard-Examiner:

• Ten years of economic development in Ogden

Many of our readers have been inquiring behind the scenes why the Standard published this extravagant, inaccurate and shamelessly self-promoting Godfrey Administration puff piece.

So what about it O Gentle Ones? Is the appearance of this over-the-top Christopulos-drivel a sign that it's municipal election season again? How much of the data provided by Mr. Christopulos survives a fundamental "fact check test?" Is there any Godfrey Administration press release at all which the Standard will refuse to publish? Are we doomed to see our hometown newspaper, the Standard, which has performed so marvellously of late in connection with the HB477 kerfuffle, revert again to its old sleepy, Godfrey Administration-facilitating self?

So many questions... so few answers.

Who will be the first to comment?

Standard-Examiner: Double Dipping at Ogden City Police Department! - UPDATED

Greiner says: "I didn't do anything wrong"... And the beat goes on...

By: Biker Babe

Anonymous complaint cries: Double Dipping at Ogden City Police Department!

• DOUBLE-DIPPING - Anonymous complaint accused Ogden Police Department of manipulating rules for retirees

City Atty Williams says: "We were very careful to comply with all laws"... when he really means: "We were very careful to find all the loopholes and maximally utilize them for our (and FOM's) benefit."

And of course Greiner says: "I didn't do anything wrong."

And the beat goes on...

js,

BB

Update 3/29/11 10:23 a.m.: For those readers who've been standing by with abated breath, awaiting the posting of the above-linked "double dipping" story to the SE Live! (free) site, we're delighted to inform you that the story is now up in all its glory:

• Anonymous complaint accuses Ogden Police Department of manipulating rules for retirees

Have at it, O Gentle Ones.

Salt Lake Tribune: Utah Growing Like a Third-world Country

As rational a discussion of this idiotic "growth for growth's sake" phenomenon as I have ever read

By: Ozboy

There is an excellent opinion piece in today's Salt Lake Tribune about "growth for growth's sake." It is written by a WSU professor, Eric C. Ewert and is about as rational a discussion of this idiotic phenomenon as I have ever read.

Several of the more pertinent paragraphs:

"From business people to elected officials to community leaders, Utahns embrace growth with the fervor of a religious zealot. In fact, not to grow, or to not grow fast enough, is labeled failure in our calculus of economic development.

and...

"Utahns, it seems, have conflated “quality of life” with “quantity of life.” Somehow we have decided that more is always bigger, better and more desirable. For a business person thinking simply, more people means more customers and more money. The reality is, though, that once a certain threshold is reached, another business will open to handle the demand and compete with the first."

and...

"Well, like the out-of-control cancer cell, eventually the host organism loses its quality of life, gets sick and dies. Utah has a chance right now to leave a high quality of life to its future generations, but will we be wise enough to slow and plan for growth?"

See the complete article here:

• Utah growing like a third-world country

Well???

Standard-Examiner: Utah Legislature Repeals HB477

The forces of government tyranny haven't given up yet

By Paul Revere

Despite the finality implied by this morning's Standard-Examiner headline and story, this is not over.

• Utah Legislature repeals HB477

We need to continue to be vigilant and bring pressure on all of our legislative representatives. If we are not, they will slip in the most onerous parts of HB 477's provisions and get a new bill passed in a special session.

Update 3/26/11 9:13 a.m.: From an examination of yesterday's House and Senate vote tallies in connection with the HB477 repeal bill (HB1001), here's a list of our Weber County legislative delegation, broken down by their postures regarding HB1001:

1) Voted "Yes" (to repeal HB477):

• Brad J. Galvez (R) - House District 6
• Ryan D. Wilcox (R) - House District 7
• Gage Froerer (R) - House District 8
• Jeremy A. Peterson (R) - House District 9
• Dixon M. Pitcher (R) - House District 10
• Brad L. Dee (R) - House District 11
• Richard A. Greenwood (R) - House District 12
• Scott K. Jenkins (R) - Senate District 20
  

2) Voted "No" (NOT to repeal HB477):

• Stuart C. Reid (R) - Senate District 18

3) Missing in Action (Absent/No Show/Voted with Feet):

• Allen M. Christensen (R) Senate District 19

Hopefully all Weber County political wonks will be carefully keeping notes.

Friday Morning HB477 News Roundup -UPDATED

Update: As some are prone to say in Utah- HB477 was "repilled"

Okay people. Governor Herbert's HB477 repeal bill has been drafted; it's been placed on today's calender; and Herbert is confident that it will be passed in today's special session:

• Herbert predicts HB477 repeal on Friday

In a curious twist, original HB477 sponsor John Dougall is sponsoring the repeal bill in the house, bringing down the ax on his original legislation, all the while still insisting that HB477 was nevertheless a danged good idea:

• Move to dilute GRAMA stirred up hornets’ nest

And adding to the circus atmosphere, GOP tea-party darling Jason Chaffetz, the guy who sets the gold standard for Utah GOP "conservatism," came to town yesterday and stuck his thumb in the eyes of Governor Herbert and neoCON Utah GOP legislative "leadership," by signing the petition to put the repeal of HB 477 on the ballot:

• Rolly: Chaffetz signs referendum petition to repeal HB477

“Why fix something that isn’t broken?” Chaffetz said. “Had I been governor, I would have vetoed it.”

Gotta love dat Chaffetz guy, no?

Update 3/25/11 4:50 p.m.: (Per Al) ... As some are prone to say in Utah- it was "repilled":

• Utah lawmakers repeal HB477

Thursday Morning HB477 News Roundup

Let's not take any chances, people. As the Standard-Examiner urges, it's time to contact our Northern Utah Senatorial delegation

Let’s see how far the monsters go. Hillyard, Waddoups, Lockhart—it’s my hope that someday those names are as scary to children as Adolf, Muammar or Saddam.

Salt Lake City Weekly - John Saltas
GRAMA Bama
March 23, 2011

Basically, HB477 allows them to keep secret text messages and e-mails they send to and receive from lobbyists, contract bidders and their legislative cohorts so you don't know what's behind their governance. They can spin it all they want, but that's the crux of the matter.

Standard Examiner Editorial Board
Editorial: HB477 Is Your Fight
March 24, 2011

Two hard-hitting editorials from our Northern Utah print media this morning, City Weekly and the Standard-Examiner (front page placement, no less):

• GRAMA Bama
• Editorial: HB477 Is Your Fight

Charlie Trentelman adds few choice words too, skewering our spineless Governor and Machiavellian Senate "leadership" from his ever-excellent Wasatch Rambler perch:

• Gov. Herbert blew his chance to curb legislative power

And as we stand one day shy of tomorrow's "special" legislative session, we now learn that...

1) Rep. John Dougall, the sponsor of HB 477, and the nitwit who started this whole mess, now says the measure should be repealed:

• Even HB 477 sponsor now supports bill being repealed

2) There may actually now be enough votes in the Utah Senate to repeal HB 477 during Friday's Special Session...

• HB 477 repeal may have enough votes in Senate

Let's not take any chances however people. As the Standard-Examiner urges, it's time to contact our Northern Utah senatorial delegation, if you haven't already done so:

• Peter Knudson
• Allen Christensen
• Scott Jenkins
• Stuart Reid
• Jerry Stevenson
• Stuart Adams
• Dan Liljenquist
• Lyle W. Hillyard

(Once again we'd like to thank our palz @ Utah Policy Daily, for helping us come up with a few of the above links.)

Standard-Examiner Editorial: Repeal HB477; Maintain Openness

Don't forget to tell your Senator that his vote intertwines with his job security

Fine editorial in this morning's Standard-Examiner, ripping two out of three of Spinmeister Gary Herbert's HB477 "goals," identifying repeal as "the sole necessary step" and urging SE readers to "let their Top of Utah state senators know" that repeal is exactly what we want:

• OUR VIEW: Repeal HB477; maintain openness

The SE cuts straight to the chase and helpfully supplies the names of those northern Utah Senators who'll be called upon to unravel this HB477 mess on Friday, so we'll reel them off here in live link form, for the convenience of those readers who'd like to do some lobbying this morning:

• Peter Knudson
• Allen Christensen
• Scott Jenkins
• Stuart Reid
• Jerry Stevenson
• Stuart Adams
• Dan Liljenquist
• Lyle W. Hillyard.

The word from the DNews is that votes for Senate repeal are still a few shy, so don't forget to tell your Senator that his vote intertwines with job security, just as the Standard suggests.

Standard-Examiner: Wasn't There Another Ogden Mayoral Candidate Mentioned in Today's Paper?

All this speculation about a "weakened" Godfrey, etc.

By: John "Pureheart" Patterson

Wasn't there another Ogden Mayoral candidate mentioned in today's paper?

• Weber official registers campaign committee for Ogden mayoral bid

All this speculation about a weakened Godfrey seems to suggest NOW is the time for someone in this WCF cabal to file for Mayor and give it a run.