Standard-Examiner: New Law Changes Way Judges Are Selected

A step backwards, in our opinion, from what was formerly a rather "enlightened" judicial selection process

Putting judicial appointments under the control of the legislative and executive branches will not make the process political.

Senator Scott Jenkins
New law changes way judges are selected
August 2, 2010

It is hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in his place.

H. L. Mencken
Honesty Quotes
September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956

Discouraging news from the Standard-Examiner this morning:

• New law changes way judges are selected

Here's the lede:

Any power over the appointment of judges has now been virtually stripped away from Utah's judiciary, an erosion that leaves the legal minds with but one small part in the nomination process.
"Was there something broke? No," said Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, chair of the Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee. "But it just didn't appear quite right. We thought it's better handled outside the courts. The courts shouldn't be influencing those nominations."

This is an unfortunate development, folks. Under the earlier system, whereby judicial appointees were initially screened by their peers for qualities which would affect their fitness for service on the bench, the process is now almost entirely turned over to the Governor's Office, which effectively guarantees politicization, in our opinion, as a practical matter.

The new system will erode the independence of judges from the other branches of government (or partisan politicians), and reduce judicial independence from political ideology or public pressure.

This is a step backwards, in our opinion, from what was formerly a rather "enlightened" judicial selection process, notwithstanding GOP Senator Jenkins' protestations to the contrary.

Senator Jenkins admits the previous selection process wasn't "broken," so we're scratching our heads wondering why the political party in charge of the two other branches of government (Executive and Legislative) has set about to "fixing" it.

Have at it, O Gentle Ones.

Be sure to throw in your own 2¢.

Standard-Examiner: Marshall White Community Center Finds Success Once Again

"All's well that ends well," as the old saying goes

Here's an item in this morning's Standard-Examiner well worthy of note:

In the wake of last year's Marshall White Center brouhaha, Ace Reporter Schwebke reports this morning that last year's Ogden-Weber Community Action Partnership (OWCAP) management contract is working out great:

• Better times: Marshall White Community Center finds success once again

Notably, all that federal grant money which OWCAP and Boss Godfrey had been banking on never came through:

Ogden's administration had initially hoped that OWCAP would be able to obtain grants to completely operate the Marshall White Center without any financial subsidy from the city, said Mayor Matthew Godfrey.
As that hasn't happened, the management agreement has proven to be an effective option enabling OWCAP to succeed in running the Marshall White Center, he said.

A Weber County Forum Tip O' The Hat to the Ogden City Council for wisely picking up the reins on this, overriding the Mayor's veto and providing the monthly funding to keep MWC afloat (and the pool open).

Unlike last year, it appears that Boss Godfrey is now happy as a clam:

As that [federal funding]hasn't happened, the management agreement has proven to be an effective option enabling OWCAP to succeed in running the Marshall White Center, [Matthew Godfrey] said.
"They accomplished all the objectives we hoped for," Godfrey said in an e-mail to the Standard-Examiner. "The Marshall White Center is far better utilized by the community, it's cleaner and they are doing it for less money."

We'll assume therefore at this point there'll be no further talk of mayoral civil disobedience or nasty administration lawsuits.

All's well that ends well, as we opined before.

Being the ever-eternal optimists here at Weber County Forum, we'll also assume Boss Godfrey learned a little about the operation of democratic government in the bargain.

Deseret News: Ogden Weighs Streetcar Placement

Time to get ready for a lumpencitizen vs. UTA bureaucrat showdown in September

"They completely ignored what the public wants," said Trolley District resident Shalae Larsen, who believes the 25th Street alignment is more likely to get federal funding based on public support. "The whole pubic process is a farce. There is no public process."

Deseret News
Ogden weighs streetcar placement
August 1, 2010

But Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey, who was on the stakeholders committee, said the study was rigorous. "It's been a year now worth of study," Godfrey said. "It's all data-driven."

Deseret News
Ogden weighs streetcar placement
August 1, 2010

Informative story in this morning's Deseret News, illuminating the dilemma of Ogden City public transit activists who've been working feverishly to revive the central core of Ogden City, through construction of an east-west streetcar corridor through Ogden's aptly-named Trolley District:

• Ogden weighs streetcar placement

Despite the vigorous participation of Ogden Citizens in the public planning process at every formal opportunity, UTA bureaucrats have been essentially working behind closed doors, and remarkably contend that Ogden residents "entered the conversation late in the process."
And we have to admit we just loved this Gerry Carpenter quote, which impliedly says, "To hell with Ogden's Central City": "[I]n modern times, the south end of Ogden and neighboring South Ogden also could use mass transit," which again raises the question, "What -- or whom --- is driving UTA on this southerly route?"

Notwithstanding the fact that it appears that UTA bureaucrats already have their minds made up, this morning's DNews story announces that another public open house has been scheduled for an unspecified date in September. If there's anyone in our WCF reader audience who can provide us the precise date and time, we'll set to work to organize a properly energized, pitchfork and torch totin' citizen welcoming committee:


Have at it, O Gentle Ones. Who will be the first to chime in?

Saturday Morning Open Topic Thread

Talk about whatever you want to talk about

Freedom of expression... that's what the World-Wide Blogosphere is all about.

Rant on, O Gentle Ones.

Your blogmeister will be taking the weekend off...

Standard-Examiner: HAFB a "Preferred" Site for F-35, Says Congressman

Whatever you do, GOP Senators Hatch and Bennett, and GOP Congressmen Bishop and Chaffetz, try to not screw this up

Good news for the local economy this morning, as the Standard-Examiner reveals that Hill Air Force Base is apparently on the inside track for deployment of the first two operational squadrons for the advanced F-35 stealth fighter.

Congressman Rob Bishop said he was informed Thursday by top Air Force Officials that Hill Air Force Base (AFB) has been selected as the Air Force's "preferred alternative" for the location of the first two operational squadrons for the advanced F-35 stealth fighter.
Operation could begin as early as July 2013, according to Bishop in a press release out of Washington, D.C.
Officials indicated that Hill would likely obtain a third operational squadron mid-2019, assuming the F-35 program remains funded and on-course, he said.

For those who are unaware, Hill AFB is "one of Utah's most significant magnets of economic activity," according to the Utah Economic Development Department:

Covering parts of Davis and Weber Counties, Hill AFB is the largest single site employer in the state. It accounts for nearly 50,000 direct and indirect jobs, pumps approximately $3.6 billion annually into the Utah economy, creating $2.3 billion in personal income and annual state tax revenue of $192 million, according to estimates for 2009 from the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research, which studied the economic impact of closing Hill AFB prior to the last round of military base realignment and closure (BRAC) efforts.

With the recent paring down of HAFB mission capability, it's great to observe that we're first in line to replace the old with the new, technology-wise.

Yesiree, the F-35 is one hot bird; and it would be great to have a few squadrons of these parked in Emerald City's back yard for the next few decades. More... ? Just axin'

And a quick cautionary note to our Utah GOP congressional delegation. Please be extra nice to President Obama over the next few months. As this morning's article emphasizes, "the decision is not one-hundred percent concrete until the final Environmental Impact Statement is complete." Whatever you do, GOP Senators Hatch and Bennett, and GOP Congressmen Bishop and Chaffetz, try to not screw this up.

A word to the wise is sufficient, we hope.

Standard Examiner Editorial: Newspaper Exposed High Salaries in One California City

Does this morning's editorial send a subtle signal that the Standard-Examiner will be turning over a new leaf?

What happened in the small, working-class Los Angeles suburb of Bell... is a lesson in the power of the press and how the lack of a local, daily newspaper with strong reporting resources helps unethical and corrupt public officials to escape detection...
We wonder, though, how many other public officials are behaving outrageously without an adequate press to keep note?

Standard-Examiner Editorial
OUR VIEW: Newspaper exposed high salaries
July 29, 2010

Before 2007, the Standard-Examiner printed every guest commentary I submitted (I think there were about four). Yet during the last three years I’ve submitted seven guest commentaries, and they’ve rejected all but two. The two that they printed steered clear of any direct statements about Mayor Godfrey; the five that they rejected all pointed out facts about the mayor that the Standard-Examiner has downplayed or ignored.

Weber County Forum
Ogden Administration Uses Tax Dollars to Deceive Citizens
July 27, 2010

On the heels of Tuesday's scathing Dan Schroeder piece, the Standard-Examiner follows up this morning with this elegantly timed editorial, slapping the Los Angeles Times on the back for exposing the government corruption in one California city:

• OUR VIEW: Newspaper exposed high salaries

We're not quite sure how to interpret the timing of this. An oblique mea culpa, perhaps?

Does this morning's editorial send a subtle signal that the Standard-Examiner will be turning over a new leaf? Will the Standard-Examiner henceforth devote its own strong reporting resources to detecting and reporting government corruption in Emerald City?

Ogden Administration Uses Tax Dollars to Deceive Citizens

Yet another commentary that the Standard-Examiner refused to print

By Dan Schroeder

This month marks the third anniversary of an audacious fraud carried out by the Ogden City administration, paid for by Ogden City taxpayers.

In July 2007, the administration published and mailed a utility bill insert with an article loudly proclaiming that The Junction was “a good investment”. That’s a matter of opinion, of course, but the article based its claim on a fraudulent statement of the facts.

The article said the city’s “original investment” in The Junction was merely the $6 million purchase price for the property, never mentioning the additional costs of tearing down the old mall, building the Salomon Center, and so on. In fact, the city had to borrow nearly $40 million to finance The Junction, and will eventually have to pay back all of that, plus interest.

The article also “projected” that The Junction would generate over $2 million in property tax during 2007, when in fact it generated less than $150,000. This factor-of-14 error was not mere over-optimism. By July 2007 the assessed values of all the Junction parcels were known, and the actual 2007 property tax could easily have been calculated.

Finally, the article projected more than $3.2 million in Junction property tax for 2010. The actual property tax this year will be very close to $1 million. Basically, the article’s unnamed author assumed that the two undeveloped parcels at The Junction would each end up being worth as much as all the rest of The Junction put together. Even in the best economic times, that never would have happened.

A similar article making some of the same outrageous claims was published as a taxpayer-funded advertisement in the Standard-Examiner on May 31, 2007.

Again, whether The Junction is actually a good investment is a matter of opinion. Perhaps it has increased the values of nearby properties, or perhaps its intangible benefits outweigh its high cost. But the numbers that the administration used to make its case were fraudulent.

Unfortunately, this is not the only example of the administration’s use of publicly funded communications to deceive citizens.

Just two months later, in September 2007, the administration published a utility bill insert claiming that Ogden’s violent crime rate had decreased 43% between 1999 and 2006. The same claim appeared in a taxpayer-funded Standard-Examiner advertisement on August 30. When the state and federal governments later published statistics that were supposedly based on the same data, they showed no significant change in the violent crime rate.

We eventually learned the reasons for the discrepancy. First, the administration was inflating the 1999 crime rate by using an absurdly low population estimate, left over from the 1990 census. And second, the administration had inexplicably stopped including some categories of crimes in the statistics starting in 2005, even though those categories were included through 2004.

It can hardly be a coincidence that all of these dishonest communications appeared during Mayor Godfrey’s 2007 reelection campaign. And in fact, some of the same deceptions were copied directly into the mayor’s campaign mailings. Sadly, Americans have grown accustomed to politicians telling lies in campaign advertisements. But it’s a much bigger problem when they spend public tax dollars to broadcast those lies on the government’s behalf.

During the 2009 election season we saw more inappropriate uses of taxpayer-funded communications for electioneering. First the administration used the city’s public web site to prominently broadcast a verbal attack by the mayor on an incumbent City Council member who was running for reelection. Then the mayor’s office attempted to use Channel 17 to dictate the time, place, and format of a series of debates between City Council candidates.

State and local laws prohibit government officials from using public resources for political purposes. Whether these laws apply to the cases I’ve described, however, is probably open to interpretation. It’s up to the city attorney to interpret such laws, and the city attorney answers to the mayor. In fact, Ogden’s city attorney has repeatedly interpreted these very same laws to the mayor’s advantage, and to the disadvantage of his opponents.

Could the laws be clarified to reduce the city attorney’s discretion? Perhaps this type of abuse will eventually get the Utah Legislature’s attention, but I’m not holding my breath.

A better law at the local level might seem easier, but it may not be. Ogden’s City Council has adopted procedures that make it virtually impossible to pass an ordinance without the blessing of the city attorney. Again, the city attorney answers to the mayor.

The 2011 campaign season is now only a year away. If we want better laws, now is the time to pass them--before we know who the candidates will be. I hope the Ogden City Council will make this issue a priority and crack down on the unethical use of taxpayer-funded communications.

Addendum: This commentary was submitted to the Standard-Examiner earlier this month. A few days later I received a response from editorial page editor Doug Gibson indicating that it would not be published, but inviting me to submit a much shorter version as a letter to the editor. In response to a further inquiry, Mr. Gibson explained: “I don’t think the topic is fresh enough. It has been rehashed many times, including on your blog.”

How are we to interpret Mr. Gibson’s explanation? True, the topics in my commentary have been discussed many times here on Weber County Forum, and even mentioned in passing on my personal blog. But the majority of this content has never been mentioned at all in the Standard-Examiner. Are we to understand that thoroughly discussing a topic on a blog disqualifies that topic from being discussed in any detail in the local newspaper? That seems to be what Mr. Gibson is saying.

But I don’t think he’s telling the whole truth. Before 2007, the Standard-Examiner printed every guest commentary I submitted (I think there were about four). Yet during the last three years I’ve submitted seven guest commentaries, and they’ve rejected all but two. The two that they printed steered clear of any direct statements about Mayor Godfrey; the five that they rejected all pointed out facts about the mayor that the Standard-Examiner has downplayed or ignored.

Added Addendum: Now that the 2010 property assessments are available, here’s an updated version of the Junction property tax graph that I published last year:

Standard-Examiner: Export Sales Growing in Weber, Davis and Morgan Counties

More manufacturing operations, please... forget the goof-ball hotels

Apparent good news for the Ogden economy this morning, as the Standard-Examiner reports the latest economic research data from the prestigious Brookings Institute. Here's the lede:

OGDEN -- Davis, Weber and Morgan counties posted the 15th largest growth in export sales among the nation's 100 biggest metropolitan areas between 2003 and 2008, according to a national study released today.
The study was completed by the Brookings Institution, a public policy think tank based in Washington, D.C. It analyzes export activity for the 10 largest metros in the Intermountain West, including the Ogden-Clearfield Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Weber, Davis and Morgan counties.
The purpose of the study is to examine why exports are important to the national economy, as well as why metro areas are vital to exports.

Read the full SE story here:

• Export sales growing in Weber, Davis and Morgan counties

Be sure to check out this Brookings Institute PDF, which serves as the foundation for this morning's SE story:

• Export West: How Mountain West Metros Can Lead National Export Growth And Boost Competitiveness

After a laborsome search of the Brookings website, we were also able to come up with an online Ogden-Clearfield profile, which fleshes out the particulars of the local data, and further substantiates the information provided in this morning's SE article:

• Profile for Ogden-Clearfield UT MSA

In this connection, we believe the Brookings Institute hits the nail on the head with this:

To reset its economic trajectory, the United States needs to connect the macroeconomic goal of increasing exports with the metropolitan reality of export production. Public and private sector leaders at the metro level need to collaborate and engage actively to leverage already extant export concentrations to create good paying jobs at home.

In our view, our national and local economies will never recover from the economic doldrums which were induced during the wave of U.S. manufacturing "outsourcing" which occurred during the last two decades, (when substantial portions of the U.S. manufacturing base were transferred offshore,) unless and until a robust manufacturing base is re-established in the U.S.

We're thus delighted to observe that our local economy is in the forefront in building an export-oriented manufacturing capacity; and we'd therefore like to convey these words of wisdom to our elected Ogden City officials:

More manufacturing operations, please... forget the goof-ball hotels.

And what say you about this, O Gentle Ones?

Great Moments in Corporate Media History

Too funny:

Six Months to Go Until The Largest Tax Hikes in History

What will be the effect on the economy - and on your family budget?

By Danny

Anybody else looking at sources like this?

• Six Months to Go Until The Largest Tax Hikes in History

Here are the tax brackets for 2010, married filing jointly:

$0 – $16,750 10% 10%
$16,750 – $68,000 15%
$68,000 – $137,300 25%
$137,300 – $209,250 28%

(Presumably that covers most here, but it goes up from there. . .)

Unless congress acts, on January 1 of 2011 these will jump to:

$0 – $16,750 15%
$16,750 – $68,000 28%
$68,000 – $137,300 31%
$137,300 – $209,250 36%

For someone making taxable of $68,000 per year, that is a tax increase of $7,500 per year in federal tax.

Also, the child tax credit drops from $1000 to $500 per child. So if you have four kids, that's another $2,000 per year in federal tax on top of the $7,500.

Given the size of the deficit, and the spending habits of the present congress, what are the chances they will fix this?

What will be the effect on the economy - and on your family budget?

Editor's addendum & disclosure: Gentle reader Danny submitted the eye-opening main article; your blogmeister took the editorial liberty of providing the helpful links.... and the following bonus video, of course. (We do hope Gentle Reader Danny will approve of these editorial additions):


Ooooops!

Ogden Pioneer Day 2010

We'll keep this thread open for anybody who desires to chime in about today's events, or anything else, for that matter, which lifts our readers' skirts

Happy Pioneer Day, folks. For those laggards who who haven't yet made plans, we've gleaned today's calender of events from the Ogden Pioneer Days website:

JULY 24 ~ Saturday
7:00 am	Kiwanis Club Community Pancake Breakfast	Ogden Municipal Gardens
9:00 am	July 24th Parade	Washington Blvd 35th - 20th St
Following the Parade	Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum Open House	Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum (2148 Grant Ave.)
12:00 pm - 5:00 pm	Pioneer Skills and Crafts Fair	Fort Buenventura (2450 A Ave.)
6:30 pm	Pre-Rodeo Events & Entertainment	Ogden Pioneer Stadium
7:30 pm	PRCA Rodeo “Pioneer Day State of Utah Holiday”	Ogden Pioneer Stadium
	Miss Rodeo Utah Coronation	Ogden Pioneer Stadium
Following the Rodeo	Fireworks	Ogden Pioneer Stadium

Don't miss today's Std-Ex writeup about this morning's Big Parade:

• Ogden Pioneer Day parade promises diverse spectacle for all

With Ogden funmeister Doug Stephens in charge it's bound to be a real doozy.

And as the Standard-Examiner admonishes this morning, use common sense... and don't get yourself killed:

• OUR VIEW: The Pioneer Day spirit

We'll keep this thread open for anybody who desires to chime in about today's events, or anything else, for that matter, which lifts our readers' skirts.

Update 7/25/10 8:00 p.m.: For the many readers who are Googling for Emerald City post-Pioneer Day reports (believe us, our web stats software says there are plenty of them,) the Standard-Examiner has the lowdown on yesterday's parade:

• People don't mind summer heat, but keep water bottles handy at Ogden Pioneer Days parade

It's still not to late to chime in, folks.

Salt Lake Tribune: Legislative Leadership is Bought and Sold on the Hill

Contributions from one legislator to another are not illegal under current Utah law... the law needs changing.

Enlightening guest commentary in this morning's Salt Lake Tribune, wherein former Utah legislator and current Utahns for Ethical Government Chairman Kim Burningham spills the beans about the grubby Utah legislative leadership selection system, wherein Utah legislative leadership positions are sold to the highest bidder, via a sleazy, lobbyist-financed payoff racket worthy of a Baghdad street bazaar:

• Legislative leadership is bought and sold on the Hill

This morning's SLTrib article has a bad link to the Lieutenant Governor's Campaign Finance Disclosure site, so we'll provide here a working link, for those readers who'd like to dig in and prowl around:

• Lieutenant Governor's Office Disclosures

For a representative example of what you'll find there, here's House Speaker David Clark's most recent disclosure form, which is mentioned in Mr. Burningham's article:

• David Clark - 2010 primary

We believe that Mr. Burningham hits the nail squarely on the head with this:

Where lobbyists supply money, and leaders use that money to increase influence, much power is transferred to a few leaders and the lobbyists who influence them. [...]
Contributions from one legislator to another cited above are not illegal under current Utah law. The law needs changing. The safest approach would be to prohibit such exchanges of money. The Utahns for Ethical Government initiative petition does precisely that. If would-be leaders want to help their friends, they should do so from their own wallets, not somebody else’s.

One more reason to sign the UEG petition, folks! (Scroll down the page to find a petition location within your own county.)

Standard-Examiner National Commentary: Obama, Talk Radio and Road Rage, Sort Of

Ahah! The ubiquitous Obama bumper sticker... a sure fire way to spontaneously spark lively but uncomfortable confrontations with members of the talk radio set

Offbeat Standard-Examiner editorial piece by Los Angeles Times columnist Peter Mehlman this morning, which leads off thusly:

My mother doesn't like to talk to me on the phone when I'm driving, so she made her point that the world is in worse shape than she'd ever seen it in her 80-plus years, then hung up. I diluted her grim words with rock radio and was thoroughly enjoying an Eagles' song I'd hated in 1975 when a man in a Dodge Caravan honked and motioned for me to roll down my window.Actually, for the sake of accuracy, I didn't notice he drove a Caravan until later, when I was homicidally tailing him up and down side streets.Anyway, my window down, the 60(ish)-year-old man said, "So, you're listening to music, huh?"
My eyelids crinkled: Excuse me?
Then he said: "You should listen to talk radio so you can hear how Obama is ruining the country."
The light turned green. My lane was slow enough for me to pull my jangled faculties together and remember the Obama sticker on my rear bumper. There are roughly 9 trillion Obama stickers in L.A., so right off I knew I wasn't dealing with a novice maniac...

Ahah! The ubiquitous Obama bumper sticker... a sure fire way to spontaneously spark lively but uncomfortable confrontations with members of the talk radio set.

Happily, we came upon a solution to Mr. Mehlman's problem this morning whilst Googling... the Obama Bumper Sticker Removal Kit:


And yes, gentle readers. This promotion is for real (we checked.)

Chalk this up as a blatently transparent attempt to keep the WCF discussion purring along during yet another aggravating Pioneer Days Holiday red meat news lull.

Feel free to respond to this article on-topic, or treat this as an open topic thread.

Standard-Examiner: Plenty of Work Left to Make New Hotel a Reality

For reasons which should be fairly obvious, we believe this is a project which must be closely watched

Ace Reporter Schwebke gets back into the groove on the Junction Hotel Project story this morning with a writeup which reveals a few more facts and opinions regarding the proposed financing for this project:

• Plenty of work left to make new hotel a reality

Among the most interesting new fact revelations are these:

1) Specifically, the Ogden Redevelopment Agency has been allocated on behalf of Sequoia Development about $9 million in Recovery Zone Facility Bonds for hotel construction.
2) The state also has allocated the RDA $3 million in Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds for construction of the parking garage that would be owned by the city.

Up until now, Mr. Schwebke's reports have been rather vague about the nature of this new proposed bonding; but with the terminology we've highlighted above, we're now able to refer to online documents to find out a little more about the basic mechanics of this proposed bonding:

• Recovery Zone Bonds - Low Cost Financing Options

Notably, both Recovery Zone Facility Bonds and Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds are bonds which are issued by municipal entities, as borrowers. This of course clears up the question about who the primary obligor would be in this proposed transaction. Yes, gentle readers, it's the Ogden RDA, the issuer of these bonds, which will be ultimately "on the hook" if and when this project goes forward.

Having made that observation, we'll refer you to this Richard McConkie quote:

The RDA will have no obligation to pay off the bonds if Sequoia Development defaults, said Richard McConkie, city director of community and economic development. If that occurs the lender could sell the hotel to recover the debt, he said.

With all due respect to Mr. McConkie, we do not believe this above statement accurately squares with the true nature of this proposed bonding. What happens, we ask, if Seqouia were to build out the project and default, for instance? While it's true that the lender in this transaction (the bond holder) would have recourse to the property security (the hotel), what happens if there's a deficiency in the property's selling price after foreclosure? Who would then be "on hook" for that deficiency?

The Ogden RDA, that's who.

Although the facts still remain fuzzy at this early stage of this proposed project, we believe this is a project which must be closely watched by Ogden City taxpayers. The last time that we were promised the taxpayers would not be "on the hook" for an ambitious Boss Godfrey Junction project, it didn't quite work out as advertised, did it?

Who will be the first to comment?

Standard-Examiner Editorial: A Ridiculous E-petition Rule

A Weber County Forum Tip O' The Hat to SE editorial page editor Doug Gibson and the full SE editorial board, for continuing to stand tall on this issue.

Another fine editorial in this morning's Standard-Examiner, blasting "Utah political leaders" generally, and Lt. Governor Greg Bell specifically for enacting an Orwellian "interim rule" which would in effect require online citizens initiative petition signators to have a petition gatherer physically looking over their shoulders while "signing" an online petition:

• OUR VIEW: A ridiculous e-petition rule

As Utahns for Ethical Government lawyers prepare to take Lt. Governor Bell back to court, there's one thing all lumpencitizens can do to eliminate the legal confusion, folks.

Sign a paper petition, folks! With the August 12 UEG Ethics Initiative Petition submission deadline fast approaching, we urge all WCF readers to carve a few minutes out of your busy schedules, travel to one of the below locations where petitions are available for your signatures and take the affirmative step of letting obstructionists like Greg Bell know the will of the Utah lumpencitizens will not be thwarted:

Weber County
• Joyce Wilson (Senate District 18) 979 27th Ogden, UT 801-941-1613
• Ogden-Weber UniServ (Senate District 18) 939 25th St Ogden, UT 84401 801-399-3746
• Lou Shurtliff (Senate District 19) 5085 Aztec Dr Ogden, Ut 84403 801-479-028 lmshurtliff@comcast.net
• Dr. Ed Allen’s office 3860 Jackson Ave. Ogden, Utah

We're within "spittin' distance" of gathering the requisite signatures in Weber County to help qualify this measure for the ballot, folks. Take it from us, your signature CAN make a difference in this instance.

A Weber County Forum Tip O' The Hat to SE editorial page editor Doug Gibson and the full SE editorial board, by the way, for continuing to stand tall on this issue.

Standard-Examiner Editorial: OUR VIEW: Burn Vacant Homes

It's time to move it forward, Ogden Council

Our suggestion to Boss Godfrey: Put those worthless drones in the overly-bloated economic Development Department to work on this right now. Tell 'em to drag out their calculators, get together with OFD and City Engineers and Public Works and crunch the numbers. We're sure the city council will be delighted to allocate the funds to complete this long overdue project post-haste, once relatively firm numbers have been ascertained. It's time to quit shooting the bull on this. It's time to accomplish something useful for once.

Weber County Forum
Fire Chief Proposes Burning Vacant Ogden Homes
July 9, 2010

The Ogden Fire Department's request to burn the vacant homes in the Ogden River Project area for firefighters' training purposes is a great idea that Junction City leaders should fund as soon as possible.[...]
The city council needs to take charge and get the homes demolished to move the river project ahead.

Standard-Examiner
OUR VIEW: Burn Vacant Homes
July 18, 2010

Another straight-to-the-point editorial this morning from the Standard-Examiner, following up in tandem on our earlier WCF commentary, and making another strong case for the immediate commencement of Ogden Fire Chief Mike Mathieu's proposed Leshemville fire demolition project:

• OUR VIEW: Burn vacant homes

We're mystified that the Administration and Council are not already aggressively moving forward on this. What are they waiting for? Warmer weather?

(Click to enlarge image)

Saturday Morning Open Topic Thread

Who will be the first to chime in on any of our suggested topics, or open up a discussion all your own?

Red meat Emerald City political news, our preferred Weber County Forum diet, is a mite scarce this morning, so we'll set up an open topic thread, just to keep the WCF reader discussion humming along. As a prelude to turning the floor over to our ever-savvy readers however, we've identified a few items which might be worthy of reader comment; and we'll thus reel them off one by one:

1) The Standard-Examiner carries a hard-hitting editorial this morning, urging congress to find the courage to rein in its reckless spending:

• OUR VIEW: A bankrupt America?

Although we're in complete sympathy with this editorial, we're wondering whether the SE Editorial Board might be wasting valuable space aiming its message toward the pols in Washington D.C. We have serious doubt that this editorial will be the hot topic in the halls of congress this morning; and in this connection we'll therefore humbly suggest that the SE go back to the drawing board and consider repackaging this message and redirecting it to our local BIG GOVERNMENT borrowers and spenders, right here at Ogden City Hall. Although the federal government can't really go bankrupt in a technical sense (the feds can always "print money" when federal revenues fall short,) local governments like Ogden City can actually go broke when they continue to borrow and spend like there's no tomorrow. Seems to us that the SE should remind our local elected officials of that, at least occasionally.

2) It appears that Utah officials are making great progress in the blockbuster story which broke yesterday, suggesting that somebody had breached the security of a state database. And this morning's SE story now reveals that two individuals who apparently broke into a Utah Department of Workforce Services computer, and spammed various Top of Utah newspapers and law enforcement agencies with a list of "1300 suspected illegal immigrants" have now been identified and placed on administrative leave:

• Two Utah Department of Workforce Services workers behind illegal immigration list on leave

It's evident that Utah authorities are serious about getting to the bottom of all this; and Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is talking about serious felony time.

We believe Governor Herbert hits the nail on the head with this: "I think it's an immense hypocrisy to talk about taking people to task for being illegal and doing so by breaking the law," which also brings to mind the old jail-house ax, "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime."

3) Last but not least, we'll refer to yesterday's SE story, which, believe it or not, was one of the SE's top stories on Friday, adding new meaning to the term "slow news day":

• Pickleball courts coming soon

Although we'd originally decided to ignore this story, we're now dredging it up and placing it on the WCF front page, due to the robust debate which broke out in the SE reader comments section between SE readers Neal Cassidy and Bob Becker on the issue of whether "Gullo's private funding of the courts means the city council does not have to adopt a Capital Improvement Plan amendment prior to construction of the courts, because no municipal funds are being used."

Tempest in a teapot? We do not know; but we will opine, just to advance the discussion, that we side with Mr. Cassidy on this, and argue that Gullo's donation does fall into the category of city revenue; and will argue that it therefore ought to have been the subject of a Capital Improvement Plan amendment, (you know, like the last generous donation Mr. Gullo made to Ogden City government.)

That's it for now, O Gentle Ones. Who will be the first to chime in on any of the above topics, or open up a discussion all your own?

Former Emerald City Councilman Kent Jorgenson Is In The News

Yes, Kent is moving on... let's wish him well as he helps people in Africa

By Danny

Kent Jorgenson is in the news.

• Kent in the news

Remember him? He was part of the Saftsen gang who gave us the black hole Salomon Center that will bleed us all for the rest of our lives.

He was part of the group that trusted the notorious liar, Matt Godfrey, who said no public funds would be used for the Sal Center, then had the fools vote BDO funds to back the loan, while the banksters cheered his acumen at looting the city for them.

Yes, Kent is moving on. Let's wish him well as he helps people in Africa. Since people in Africa can never seem to get their act together, people like Kent will always have something to do.

Developer In Default: Bank Has 'Solutions' To Finish Building In Ogden's Junction

A real confidence builder for building a hotel, parking structure, etc. with public backed loans

By Ray

According to the Standard Examiner this morning the Junction's Earnshaw Building is in default for its 6.2 million dollar loan:

• Developer in default: Bank has 'solutions' to finish building in Ogden's Junction

Hmm... thats a real confidence builder for building a hotel, parking structure, etc. with public backed loans.

Standard-Examiner: Bonds OK'd for Hotel, Parking Garage in Ogden

Our fear is great that the Ogden Council/RDA is allowing this project to be shoved down the taxpayers' throats without adequate time for cool deliberation

Surprise of surprises. A mere two days after our Ogden City Council/RDA Board voted "to approve [a] letter supporting the allocation of two tax-exempt bonds totaling $12 million" for the Junction Hotel Project, the Standard-Examiner reports this morning that "State officials agreed Wednesday to allocate to the city about $11.3 million in tax-exempt bonds for construction of a hotel and underground parking garage at The Junction":

• Bonds OK'd for hotel, parking garage in Ogden

That's what we call a rapid response, folks. It's evident that the Obama stimulus funds which are feuling this bonding effort has been burning a hole in the Utah Department of Community and Culture's pocket, and that the ball is back in Ogden City's court once again.

In yesterday's SE story on this topic Council Chair Gochnour provided a quote suggesting that the RDA Board was merely locking in its bare request, and that the decision on whether to formally sign aboard this project would come at some point down the road, after careful and deliberate evaluation of the facts:

"It's a great opportunity for the city to get this funding," said Council Chairwoman Caitlin Gochnour. "We're just showing our support at this step of the process.
The RDA board will have an opportunity to review or tailor its support with further information in the future, she said. [Emphasis added].

Well, folks, at the frenzied rate with which this matter is proceeding, it's evident that "the future" to which Ms. Gochnour refers is NOW.

Adding aggravation for Ogden taxpayers who are watching this rapidly developing situation is the fact that neither the Standard-Examiner nor the Council/RDA itself has clearly explained the true mechanics of this proposed multi million dollar bond funding. This morning's SE story again refers to "allocat[ion] to the city," which would logically imply that the primary new obligor under this arrangement (The Ogden RDA) would be assuming obligations founded on presently-existing bonds. Nowhere in any of the previously published stories or reports has it been suggested that the Ogden RDA will be issuing any new bonds, yet the true source of these bond funds remains entirely foggy. Did some other Utah municipality previously qualify for these bond funds and then back out? If so, why? Did the Utah Department of Community and Culture issue an underlying bond itself; and is it now scrambling to find another sucker to take on these already-bonded obligations?

Our fear is great that the Ogden Council/RDA is allowing this project to be shoved down the taxpayers' throats without adequate time for cool deliberation. As we opined on 7/12/10, there are many facts and feasibility issues which yet need to be resolved before the council should jump into this project with both feet.

So what about it, gentle readers?

Now that the Council/RDA has gone out on a limb and requested to participate in this bond funding, and now that the that the pressure is on, will our seriously outgunned City Council be shamed into signing on to this risky deal?

The world-wide-webosphere awaits your ever-savvy comments, O Gentle Ones.

Don't let the cat get your tongues.