Special Nuclear Waste Edition II
Rallies Today at Capitol and in Cyberspace
Today, something quite unique is happening in Utah. Citizens, political leaders and business leaders are rallying for a great cause – opposition to nuclear waste storage in our state -- but the rally is occurring in two dimensions: in a physical location and in cyberspace.
The physical rally occurs at noon today in the State Office Building auditorium behind the Capitol. (We encourage everyone who can to attend!) It will be a traditional rally hosted by Gov. Jon Huntsman, Sen. Orrin Hatch, Congressman Jim Matheson, Congressman Chris Cannon, and a lot of other political and civic leaders. Gov. Huntsman will sign a “No Way” day proclamation and there will be banners, speeches and a call to action.
Due to constraints of time, travel and the size of the auditorium, participation in the rally will likely top out at a few hundred people, although the impact will be greatly amplified by expected news media coverage.
The cyber-rally, on the other hand, has no constraints of time, space or place. It can and will involve many thousands of people, and it is much more decentralized, driven by bloggers, blasts to e-mail lists, on-line news stories, and web sites providing background information and simple e-mail wizards to send messages to the Bureau of Land Management.
The two rallies actually complement and feed off each other, and one is not necessarily more effective or important than the other. Together, and combined with traditional news coverage, they create a powerful force to move people into action.
Part of the cyber-rally is Utah’s first “blogswarm,” in which at least 20 Utah bloggers participated (see Blog Watch below), posting information about the nuclear waste issue and encouraging readers to send letters or messages to the BLM.
The blogswarm has generated a lot of buzz and a lot of interest within the traditional news media. Thanks to all the bloggers who have participated, and please keep writing about this issue.
A couple of other developments:
- The Governor’s Office has excellent information about the nuclear waste issue on the state web site, including an easy link to send an e-mail message to the BLM. Just go to the home page of the state Web site and click on the “No Way” headline.
- Phil Conder, candidate for House District 29 (West Valley City), will be running a BLM letter-writing campaign during the Salt Lake County GOP Convention this weekend. He will be in Booth #37 next to Orrin Hatch’s booth with a banner saying, “Help Prevent an Economic Disaster of Nuclear Proportions”. He will have paper, clipboards, pens, everything necessary to write letters, and he’ll pass on all the correspondence to the BLM.
- Remember to write yourself to:
Pam Schuller
U.S. Bureau of Land Management
Salt Lake Field Office
2370 South 2300 West
Salt Lake City, Utah 84119
Email: pam_schuller@blm.gov
Blog Watch
Blogswarm! The Utah Blogosphere sends an emphatic message to the feds, rallying to collectively say No Damn Way to the proposed storage of 44,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste in Skull Valley:
- The Senate Site blog,
- SLCSpin,
- Part of the Plan,
- Utahnia,
- Jen's Green Journal,
- The Utah Amicus,
- JuniperWest,
- Reach Upward,
- Dee's 'Dotes,
- Media Relations,
- Obiter Dicta by Steve,
- Eric Hamilton's Reality Check,
- Political Spyglass,
- Josh Ewing,
- Wilf Sommerkorn,
- Rural Blogging,
- Utah Conservative,
- This Divided State, and
- Charley Foster
come out in clear opposition to Private Fuel Storage's nuclear skankabrations; Hot Blava expresses mixed feelings about the issue; One Utah opposes both N-waste and Sen. Orrin Hatch; and Utah Democrats supports the No Way Day effort but has a quibble about the timing...
NPR's Mara Liasson asks: "Is a member of a cult running for President?" (hat tip: Obiter Dicta)... Lefty über-blogger Markos Moulitsas Zúniga of Daily Kos recounts his recent visit to Utah, in which he met with several Utah bloggers (hat tip: Democracy for Utah) (see also here and here).
-- Compiled by Golden Webb
Podcast Watch
Jennifer Napier-Pearce’s InsideUtah.com podcast this week features ACLU Utah’s Dani Eyer (:30) on tightening Salt Lake City’s Taser policy; U. professor Greg Clark (7:43) on creating a bionic arm; and Tori Baker (16:15) with a preview of indie films coming to SLC.
Washington Watch
The Hatch Report
Sen. Orrin Hatch receives briefing on the "Divine Strake" weapons test scheduled for June 2 at the Nevada Test Site, says he's "not confident the public has enough information about this" (Associated Press and press release); Sen. Hatch praises the Senate Republican Energy Working Group for seeking to expand two provisions he authored in last year’s energy bill -- increasing refining capacity and promoting alternative-fuel and hybrid-electric vehicles -- to help lower gas prices and reduce America’s demand for oil (press release); Hatch to receive honor from the National Breast Cancer Coalition (press release); Utah resident Dinesh C. Patel, after being nominated by Hatch, receives the 2006 Ellis Island Medal of Honor (The Economic Times).
Cannon Phone Bill Approved
Rep. Chris Cannon hails the passage of H.R. 4709, the Law Enforcement and Phone Privacy Protection Act of 2006, which "will protect the privacy of citizens and law enforcement officials by creating new criminal penalties for fraudulently obtaining and disclosing of confidential cell phone records" (see press release).
New Utah Foundation Report
The Utah Foundation has posted a PDF file of its latest Research Report, "Paradox Lost: Utah's Public Education Funding Effort No Longer Surpasses the Nation." The report looks "beyond the typical comparison of states' in per-pupil funding and examines 'funding effort' -- a measure of the tax burden states impose specifically for public education," and finds that Utah's "education paradox" no longer exists, "as education funding has fallen behind economic growth for more than a decade." To read the report, click here.
Mayor’s Climate Presentation
The Salt Lake City Mayor's Office has posted a video of Mayor Rocky Anderson's "award winning presentation, 'Effectively Combating Climate Change Together'"; Rocky announces appointment of Roy A. Williams as the next Executive Director of the Salt Lake City International Airport, subject to the approval of the City Council (see press release); Anderson invites Salt Lake City residents to an April 29 open house on the future of Pioneer Park (press release).
Senator McCain Visits SLC
Arizona senator and presidential hopeful John McCain is bringing his Straight Talk America show to town Saturday, May 13th at the Little America Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City. The roundtable (5pm) and reception (6pm) is a fundraiser to help candidates during the 2006 elections who support McCain’s reforms. The reception will be hosted by an impressive committee of local political leaders and activists (view the list here).
The reception costs $1,000 per person. To attend both the reception and roundtable costs $5,000 per person. RSVP to Kristy Jensen at 801 634-8868 or by email.
Casual Friday
Time For Spring Fishing
With high runoff making most streams unfishable, it’s time to hit some of the good flatwater fisheries in the state. Scofield Reservoir has been one of Utah’s most consistent fish producers for decades, and it is an especially good family fishery, a place where young children can catch nice fish right from shore.
For some reason, even though Scofield fishing has remained very good, with large numbers of big fish in the water, fishing pressure has dropped off considerably. The reservoir used to boast annual angler hours around 350,000 back in the mid-80s, while today angler hours have dropped to around 100,000.
So the Division of Wildlife Resources is encouraging more fishing at Scofield and may even increase limits. For a lot more information about Scofield, read this excellent article by Brent Stettler and Stacey Jones. Also see photos associated with the article. |
