Tag Archives: Utah

Last night was the Salt Lake session sponsored by the feds on the Divine Strake Test at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City.
I stood outside with a few others with protest signs and handed out literature. As soon as we arrived we were approached by hotel security and told we couldn’t be there with our signs. We promptly told him we could be on the sidewalk because it is public property. He tried to tell us we need a license to do that, to which Tom replied:
(stepping on hotel sidewalk block)This is Grand America. (stepping on public sidewalk)This is America, land of the free where we have the right to exercise our freedom of expression.”

That shut him up.

We took turns going inside, although I chose to stay outside the whole time.
Everyone I talked to going in and out was opposed to the test. One man inside caused an uproar when had yelled out for those opposed to the test to say so (to which the entire room did). He was escorted out (go Kevin Donahue!).

We all were interviewed by the media. Tom’s quote got into the Deseret News (link to article below):
“My primary concern is for the well-being of life on this planet,” said Tom King, Salt Lake City. Besides damage from radioactive isotopes at the test site, he said, he is worried about the government’s intentions.
“They want to see what a little nuke will do to underground facilities,” King said.

The governor has set dates for hearings:
Governor sets Divine Strake hearings

Articles in today’s news about the meeting:
Divine Strake session criticized
Divine Strake visitors frustrated
‘Divine Strake’ meeting draws small but boisterous crowd
Meeting Regarding Explosion Draws Big Crowd
Divine Strake Hearing Draws Hundreds

Next week there will be National Nuclear Security Agency and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency “public hearings” on the Divine Strake Test in Nevada and Utah (schedule below) – only they aren’t really “hearings” but, rather, “poster shows”. While written comments will be accepted, the public will not be permitted to make public comment at these “hearings”.

The Stop the Divine Strake Coalition, of which I am a member, brainstormed last week on how the public would be able to vocally voice comments on the DS Test. We decided that organizing and holding our own hearings was necessary and have proceeded to organize them. We plan to videotape the hearings and send them to the DTRA.

One of the coalition members contacted Utah Governor Huntsman’s office to see if he would agree to hold a public hearing.

He agreed.

Today’s Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News have articles on the Governor’s acceptance of the concept of holding a hearing:
Guv wants Utah to have a say
State will hold its own public hearings to allow residents to express Divine Strake concerns
Huntsman orders 2 hearings on ‘Strake’

Schedule of next week’s Federal Government “hearings”: