Skull Valley

As BLM contemplates its role regarding the Skull Valley nuclear parking lot, I'll link to a previous post I wrote on the nukes issue. Also, I'll attach a letter I wrote to the NY Times in response to an editorial it ran last year.

In “Nuclear Waste Site in Utah, ” (Sept. 16), you endorse moving spent nuclear fuel rods to Skull Valley, Utah, 50 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, because “[t]he site seems safe enough.”

I doubt the Times is advocating a broad what-the-heck-seems-safe-enough-to-us standard for environmental and nuclear policy issues. Instead, it is likely just acting parochially.

Nuclear waste issues are complex and significant. They require study and deliberation. For example, rather than simply dumping the problem on the West, recycling should be considered. Over 90% of the material is recyclable, and, as things currently stand, the amount of material generated exceeds the combined capacity of Skull Valley and Yucca Mountain.

If disposal is best and if an alternative to Yucca Mountain is needed, the relative merits of various locations should be studied. Environmental and geological considerations should be examined, as well as security issues like routing-safety and emergency-response scenarios. Some places are better suited than others for disposal, and that should be a basis for decision – not that one site (picked because it has tribal sovereignty) “seems safe enough.”

Moving the stuff across the country, to park it in the open air west of the Wasatch Front, is a staggeringly bad idea, and it should be rejected. But, I also hasten to add that Yucca Mountain isn't much better for Utah (given the longer transportation routes through the state). Utah needs to build a coalition with other western states (e.g., Nevada comes to mind) and force a more creative, comprehensive solution.

The Playlist

I get a lot of work done when the phones aren’t ringing (like 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. yesterday/today and probably tonight). With 30 trials scheduled for March/April, typical legislative issues and lingering session issues, and soccer and baseball teams to be coached, the wee hours and I have been far too chummy this Spring. The goal was to survive until the end of April, and the good news is that we’re almost there. I hope to put some polish on a few things in May and, then, to sleep the entire month of June.

For what its worth, here are some newly-discovered and newly-remembered artists and sample songs that made the playlist from Pandora playing in the background during those wee hours. Because I’d grown thoroughly bored of my music collection, it has been fun to find some new sounds. I look forward to checking them out further during my few waking hours in June.

Golden Birds -- New Year’s Eve
The Incredible String -- First Girl I Loved
Jolie Holland -- The Littlest Birds
U. Utah Phillips -- The Telling Takes Me Home
Elliott Smith -- Let’s Get Lost
Ani Difranco -- Swim
The Great Unknowns -- Abilene
Bright Eyes -- First Day of My Life
Willie Mason -- Oxygen
We All Together -- It’s a Sin to Go Away
Sean Hayes -- 33 Fool
Dispatch -- Outloud
Joanna Newsom -- Peach, Plum, Pear
Eef Barzelay -- Ballad of Bitter Honey
Destroyer -- Goddess of Drought
The Mountain Firework Co. -- The Exit’s at the Back
The Bottle Rockets -- Smokin’ 100’s Alone
Pete Krebs -- Horsepower Daydreams
Rick Nelson -- Love Story
John Frusciante -- The Past Recedes
Jude -- You and Me

Science Fair

My son brought home some first-place West Elementary science fair hardware this week for his cutting-edge experiment regarding the effects of different fat sources (butter, margarine, Crisco) in peanut butter cookie baking. You'll read about it next month in Popular Science, no doubt.

My oldest daughter, on the other hand, who has a perpetual black cloud over her science fair efforts, suffered yet another lab disaster. Though she intended to study something else, she discovered that mice eat mice. "Oh, Dad! Come here! Dad! Oh, I think I'm going to be sick!" Disturbingly Willardian, the whole thing.

Tax Cut

The House Republican caucus met today and discussed tax cuts, among other things. In particular, we discussed the $70 million that was set aside for an income tax cut. Today, the House Republicans tallied 50 votes to return the money to taxpayers in the form of a simple rate reduction.

Though they have not taken a position, I hear that the Senate might not be too far from that position.

Unfortunately, the Legislature cannot call itself into a special session. That power is left exclusively to the Governor. However, the Governor has indicated that he will not call a special session to deal with any tax plan other than his "simpler, fairer" plan -- meaning, as things stand now, there won't be a special session and there won't be an income tax cut. The numbers generated by the Tax Commission regarding the "simpler, fairer" plan were significantly off the mark (and, maybe more to the point, the plan lacks the necessary support in the House).

It would be nice to have a stand-alone session on the truly simple plan -- reducing the rate. Our state system is not overly complex. It simply takes too much money and, because of that, slows economic growth. Because our current system is coupled to the federal system, once a taxpayer does his/her federal taxes, it is a simple process to generate the state return.

To deal with the high top rate (which applies to the vast majority of taxpayers), I think we should commit to reduce it from 7% to 6% by 2010 (rather than drastically cut it and, then, claw back the revenue on the backside, by reducing exemptions and deductions). It's not sexy, but it is good policy. The plan I support would start with a healthy .22 reduction this year.

UPDATE (later): I better give some credit where credit is due. Rep. Jim Ferrin ran a bill that basically would have accomplished what I outline above. Sen. Tom Hatch (and Sen. Bill Hickman) did the same in the Senate. And though I'm too pressed at the moment to find it, Rep. Jim Dunnigan had a substitute to the "simpler, fairer" bill that would have accomplished the same thing.

Senate Majority Leader Pete Knudson opines that the Senate might not be too far from the position outlined above. That would be great. Stay tuned.

Accountability and Education

Before 2004, competency was assumed but not required.

So reads a Tribune editorial regarding Utah's high school graduation test. The pronouncement reads:

When the Class of 2006 started first grade, spending the proper amount of time in class and earning the required number of credits were the only graduation requirements. Demonstrating overall proficiency was not part of the deal, for students or teachers. Before 2004, competency was assumed but not required.

Translation: prior to imposition of accountability requirements, according to the Trib, the expectation for students and their teachers was that Utah children only needed to warm a chair for a certain amount of time, regardless whether learning occurred. Expecting competency without accountability, according to the Trib, is not fair.

If the Trib favors our graduates being competent in math, reading, and science, which I assume it does, wouldn't its underlying assumptions make the Trib's editorial board an advocate for greater accountability in education?

Chili Cookoff

The International Chili Society hosted their Utah championship today in St. George. Before I lost all sense of taste and feeling in my mouth, I downed some of the finest chili I have enjoyed in years. Mmm Mmm.

Art Around the Corner

Sara is chair of the Dixie Arts Foundation. One of the Foundation's projects is Art Around the Corner -- the statues in downtown St. George. Last night was the gala event for installation of new pieces.

By any measure, the event is a huge success. Local businesses and individuals stepped up last year to fund the exhibition of 18 pieces (which are exhibited for a year and, if not purchased and donated to the permanent collection, rotated out). Six pieces were purchased, and 2 were added to the City's permanent collection -- an unbelievably good start for a project like this.

This year, 20 pieces will be exhibited (one already was purchased last night). The exhibit greatly beautifies downtown, and it provides a nice destination and diversion for school kids, tourists, shoppers, and anyone else who has a few minutes to enjoy some excellent art.

The City of St. George deserves enormous kudos for the way it has embraced this project. Though the City faces great challenges with the rapid growth of the area, it is a can-do partner in many worthwhile activities.