Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area Bill Becomes Law

Cautious optimism is in order. Bush put his stamp on a defense bill that includes declaring the Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area to law. This would likely be a deterrent to nuclear waste being stored by Private Fuel Storage (PFS) on the Goshute Reservation in Tooele County, Utah.
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Today in history

January 7

1911
First airplane bombing experiments with explosives, San Francisco.

1953
President Harry S. Truman announced in his State of the Union address that the United States had developed a hydrogen bomb.

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Sundance Film Festival

The 2006 Sundance Film Festival takes place January 19-29 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Sundance, Utah.

There is a new procedure for the purchase of tickets for the Sundance Film Festival. This year, instead of waiting in long lines to purchase tickets, film goers should report for the “Festival Kick-Off” gatherings on Friday (today) from 5 to 7 p.m. at the main box offices – Trolley Square in Salt Lake City, and the Gateway Center in Park City. Wristbands will be distributed randomly, with numbers that correspond to a half-hour time slot to buy tickets Saturday or Sunday.

Best of Festival: Free tickets for the annual “Best of Festival” screenings will be distributed the weekend of Jan. 13-15.

Further details can be found at Sundance. Here you can also get a list of films being shown and sign up for email newsletters for Utah based events.

UTA proposes route **cuts** while touting environmental responsibiltiy

I found out yesterday that the Utah Transit Authority is proposing cuts to midday routes so as to implement an express route from the South (Salt Lake)Valley for commuters. This has a lot of people, including me, upset.

Our valley is becoming more and more unfriendly to public bus riders and, by virtue of UTA’s actions, making mass transportion more unaccessible to the poor.
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Today in history

January 6

1831
First world anti-slavery convention held.

1832
William Lloyd Garrison along with 15 others, founded the New England Anti-Slavery Society at the African Meeting House in Boston.
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Building Green

A Salt Lake Contractor wants to help the environment by adding solar panels to a historic home that he is expanding. He wants to add 8 panels but is meeting resistance from city planners who are concerned that the panels will significantly impact the historic integrity of the property and its context.

That’s crazy talk.
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Report Card for Utah Schools

Education Week has released the report Quality Counts 2006 which grades states based on their education policymaking and student achievement.

The report gives Utah a C+ on state education policy which is in line with the national average, according to the report.

Statistics can be misleading. I was glad to see that many items included in the report were debunked and/or explained by a Utah Sate of Education official.
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Free the Four

Here is a letter from the from the Washington Peace Center asking captors to release the four peace activists who are being held hostage in Iraq. The Peace Center is attempting to get folks to sign on to the letter.
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Dear Friends,

Accompanying this is text of a statement we want to issue at the end of the week in support of the Christian Peacemaker Team captives. We envision accompanying this statement with a press advisory issued both to area and Middle-eastern press outlets.

It is our hope that a great many organizations concerned with the Middle East and especially with the war on Iraq can join us in this statement and that it can lead to a fresh impetus to see these hostages safe home.
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Today in history

January 5

1527
Felix Manz, first Anabaptist martyr, sentenced to death, Zurich.

1869
First Black Labor Convention
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Abramoff and Utah

As the Abramoff scandal continues to unfold, more and more lawmakers are under scrutiny for their dealings with the ex-superlobbyist . Today, Utah State Congressman Chris Cannon has announced that he will return $2,000 in contributions from Abramoff.

Up until Abramoff’s plea agreement, Cannon had refused to return the money.

There is a catch to Cannon’s recent move, however:
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