Salt Lake:Official development news thread

[delts145]

Next round's on me, says S.L. mayor - Reform » He wants to 'normalize' city booze laws

by Derek Jensen
The Salt Lake Tribune

As epiphanies go, Utah's decision to eighty-six its arcane private clubs and Zion curtains was colossal -- drawing international headlines as the state's biggest booze revision since the 1960s.

But the breakthrough on Capitol Hill also energized leaders down the street at City Hall.

Now, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker feels the time is right to cash in a campaign pledge and pull the progressive capital's booze rules into the 21st Century.

"I would like to do some normalizing," Becker said, borrowing a term employed by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. during his triumph over private clubs. "I'm confident we'll be able to work out some comprehensive changes to our liquor policies."

On tap: Eliminating the two-bar-per-block restriction, paving a path for neighborhood pubs, and creating a downtown entertainment district that is more alcohol tolerant.

Language already is being vetted by the city attorney, and Becker plans to serve the City Council his reform cocktail as soon as early summer.

But is the sophomore-year mayor going too far? Even if couched as a pro-business addition, could Becker's move backfire when the Legislature reconvenes?

Rep. Greg Hughes, the Draper Republican who led the "normalizing" effort along with Huntsman, says it depends.

Crafting consensus requires doing the hard work early, he says. "That's how we did it at the Legislature."

That means bringing the hospitality industry, Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the LDS Church all to the negotiating table -- a strategy Becker says he will follow to achieve balance.

"If it isn't a collaborative process ... you may see some of those [parties] looking for redress in a legislative session in the future," said Hughes, who was told before the session there was "no way under the sun" private clubs would be eliminated. "What you have to do is ignore the critics and get the people communicating."

"I have always admired Ralph's ability to bring people together," the lawmaker added. "If anyone can do it at the city level, it's the mayor." Becker says liquor discussions have been brewing behind the scenes for the past year-and-a-half. His goal is a sensible rewrite of the city's liquor rules -- easy for the public to understand -- that balances economic development and public safety. The mayor also wants to weigh neighborhood interests, tourism, and the city's diverse population.

"I'm not overly concerned about recriminations from the Legislature," Becker, former House minority leader, said. "But I do want to make sure that we involve all the interests."

Scott Beck, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau, says clustering clubs is very important and creates a sense of place for visitors and locals.

"We would prefer it to be like it is in every other city where there isn't a limit," he said. "And with the free market, organically, those things will work where they are supported."

Former Mayor Rocky Anderson tried in vain to ease the rules, though insiders say his contentious relationship with the City Council did not help. That shouldn't be a problem with the current group, according to Councilman J.T. Martin, who came into office the same time as Becker.

"There's four votes in the council for it," he said, cautioning the capital cannot just "open the floodgates."

"We will be much more successful in our good, sound liberalization of liquor laws if we don't let the pendulum swing too far."

But boosting the density of bars, no matter where they are, always poses a threat, insists Art Brown, president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving's Utah chapter.

"When you increase the number of open bars, research shows you increase the prospect of public-safety problems," he said.

Brown worries neighborhood bars will expose more kids to alcohol and entice them to drink. And he argues scrapping private clubs shouldn't have a ripple effect. "It doesn't seem to me it necessarily has to trigger everything Salt Lake City is doing," he said.

Robert McCarthy, who owns Stoneground restaurant and just filed a zoning-amendment petition to serve liquor at his Jam in the Marmalade club, sees it just the opposite.

"The city has been hanging out and seeing what direction the state would go," he said, calling the private-club change "a nod to the city."

"I don't think it's going to be an overreach. If a person is not running a good establishment, he or she would not be in business. With good enforcement, it will take care of itself."

[Viperlord]

Utah Ranked No. 1 for Expected Economic Recovery

by PR or News Wire

20 March 2009—



In the midst of economic turmoil, federal bailouts, and budget deficits in more than 40 states, a new report from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) offers a roadmap to recovery based on economic performance trends from states over the last 10 years. The second edition of Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index shows how the federal bailout of the states may simply encourage out-of-control spending by states, which is up 124 percent over the last 10 years, without requiring them to make the tough decisions needed to bring about financial stability.

“Too many states were too eager to add programs and increase spending during the good times, but we now face very difficult choices,” said Indiana Senator Jim Buck, chairman of ALEC’s Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force. “While we need to make tough choices to live within our means, we also need to remain focused on policies that foster economic development and job growth as the best solution to our budget woes.”

Co-author and renowned economist Dr. Arthur B. Laffer summarized the report's finding when he said, “States cannot tax their way into prosperity.” Rich States, Poor States presents rankings of the 50 states based on the relationship between policies and performance, revealing which states are best positioned to make a recovery, and which are not.

Laffer and his co-authors, Stephen Moore, senior economics writer at The Wall Street Journal, and Jonathan Williams, director of the Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force for ALEC, analyze how economic competitiveness drives income, population and job growth in the states. They found that, “states with a high and rising tax burden are more likely to suffer through economic decline, while those with lower and falling tax burdens are more likely to enjoy robust economic growth.”

According to Williams, “The top performing states keep taxes, spending, and regulatory burdens low, while the biggest losers in the book tend to share similar policies of high tax rates, unsustainable spending and regulation.”

“New York earns the dubious distinction of having the worst economic outlook of any state,” according to the report. “The New York governor just might have broken the record for the number of bad ideas he put forward during a recent 17-minute budget address—most notably his 137 proposed tax increases come to mind.”

“As legislators, we know that we are in direct competition with other states for human and investment capital,” said Utah Revenue and Taxation Committee Chairman, Senator Wayne Niederhauser. “Rich States, Poor States has provided invaluable information to strengthen our efforts to reduce tax burdens in Utah and we are happy to again be ranked as the most competitive state in the nation.”

TOP FIVE STATES
1. Utah
2. Colorado
3. Arizona
4. Virginia
5. South Dakota

BOTTOM FIVE STATES
46. New Jersey
47. Maine
48. Rhode Island
49. Vermont
50. New York


Rich States, Poor States shows that “The decline of California is probably the best evidence that we can present as to the impact of poor state policy making on the economic pulse of a state.” In chapter two, the report contrasts the fiscal policy structures of California and Texas to “demonstrate how economic theory actually works in the real world.”

“California continues to increase regulations, raise taxes and spend profligately,” state the authors. “Texas, on the other hand, has a pro-growth economic environment with a competitive tax system, sound regulations and spending discipline that will help Texas maintain its superior performance well into the future.”

[WeST]

California is the living example of what will happen to a State if they adopt the kind of agenda that is poisonous to business, innovation, competitiveness and growth. If this economy doesn't turn around soon, you may see the first State in the history of the Union to declare bankruptcy and go into federal receivership. What a sad story for a State blessed with vast natural and human resources! The only way California has been able to get away with their horrid political leadership and irresponsible electorate, has been because they have a State that has sooooo many resources that make many want to be there. If Utah tried the same destructive policies, they would cease to be populated by anyone except those who worked for or ran the LDS Church.

From a economic growth, public policy and public administration perspective, this State is an embarrassment to the United States. They have such creative minds and forward thinkers, it is a tragedy that it is being squandered by proliferate spending on welfare, bad schools and unprecedented government waste.

Many say spend more, spend more, spend more and this investment will lead to greater prosperity, but California shows that spending by government doesn't necessarily equate to greater economic synergy. In 1990 California spent $1,350 per capita, but by 2008 they spent $2,650 per capita! I hope the citizen are getting that much better government services!

Many Utahans will complain how bad out government is run here, but ignore the fact we rank at the top or close to the top of almost every metric used to measure how successful our State or the government running it is. If California isn't careful, they will have one of the greatest brain drains in history. Utah is prepared to capitalize on their poor management and will greatly benefit much like we did in the early to mid nineties.

Now I'm ready for the weekend!

[urbanboy]

City Hall, Library, and Courthouse from the top of the Boston Building:



Market Street and Odd Fellows Hall relocation:



Some photos of the Boston Building's renovation progress:

[Comrade]

You can actually make out the HP...

[delts145]

Originally Posted by WeST

California is the living example of what will happen to a State if they adopt the kind of agenda that is poisonous to business, innovation, competitiveness and growth. If this economy doesn't turn around soon, you may see the first State in the history of the Union to declare bankruptcy and go into federal receivership. What a sad story for a State blessed with vast natural and human resources! The only way California has been able to get away with their horrid political leadership and irresponsible electorate, has been because they have a State that has sooooo many resources that make many want to be there. If Utah tried the same destructive policies, they would cease to be populated by anyone except those who worked for or ran the LDS Church.

From a economic growth, public policy and public administration perspective, this State is an embarrassment to the United States. They have such creative minds and forward thinkers, it is a tragedy that it is being squandered by proliferate spending on welfare, bad schools and unprecedented government waste.

Many say spend more, spend more, spend more and this investment will lead to greater prosperity, but California shows that spending by government doesn't necessarily equate to greater economic synergy. In 1990 California spent $1,350 per capita, but by 2008 they spent $2,650 per capita! I hope the citizen are getting that much better government services!

Many Utahans will complain how bad out government is run here, but ignore the fact we rank at the top or close to the top of almost every metric used to measure how successful our State or the government running it is. If California isn't careful, they will have one of the greatest brain drains in history. Utah is prepared to capitalize on their poor management and will greatly benefit much like we did in the early to mid nineties.

Now I'm ready for the weekend!

WeST, I dearly love California, but you have made some points that are unfortunately right on target. I am concerned that one of my favorite places on earth will not only jump off the cliff, but being so large, "drag much of the nation down with it." In short, there really is a pervasive attitude by too many, that funny money is acceptable. The politicians never say no to an increasingly large segment of the populace, who works the system as if they had a doctorite in government manipulation.

[T-Mac]

Great shots of Salt Lake everyone. Keep them coming. While downtown this morning doing my routine, I got some shots of the new Hyatt at the Gateway and they are skinning it. The north end is done. I didn't have a chance to look very long but the north end looks very "Gateway". I don't think people will be too happy with it. It's probably too early to judge and I didn't get too close to tell, but it looks just like everything else down there. I am hoping that the other details of the building will turn out a little differently.

[East2Westback]

Originally Posted by Comrade Reynolds

You can actually make out the HP...

Two things:

1. What is the HP?

2. While I have come to respect a few of the Boise people, I still laugh when a few talk about how similar the Boise skyline is to SLC. LOL

I like how they love their city. It is indeed beautiful and has many excellent aspects but the element of a downtown core is no comparison.

Impressive view with an angle that shows focus. I love Comrade Reynolds photographs.

[urbanboy]

Sorry, mine were just taken with my iphone.

[jmonkey]

Originally Posted by WeST

California is the living example of what will happen to a State if they adopt the kind of agenda that is poisonous to business, innovation, competitiveness and growth. If this economy doesn't turn around soon, you may see the first State in the history of the Union to declare bankruptcy and go into federal receivership. What a sad story for a State blessed with vast natural and human resources! The only way California has been able to get away with their horrid political leadership and irresponsible electorate, has been because they have a State that has sooooo many resources that make many want to be there. If Utah tried the same destructive policies, they would cease to be populated by anyone except those who worked for or ran the LDS Church.

From a economic growth, public policy and public administration perspective, this State is an embarrassment to the United States. They have such creative minds and forward thinkers, it is a tragedy that it is being squandered by proliferate spending on welfare, bad schools and unprecedented government waste.

Many say spend more, spend more, spend more and this investment will lead to greater prosperity, but California shows that spending by government doesn't necessarily equate to greater economic synergy. In 1990 California spent $1,350 per capita, but by 2008 they spent $2,650 per capita! I hope the citizen are getting that much better government services!

Many Utahans will complain how bad out government is run here, but ignore the fact we rank at the top or close to the top of almost every metric used to measure how successful our State or the government running it is. If California isn't careful, they will have one of the greatest brain drains in history. Utah is prepared to capitalize on their poor management and will greatly benefit much like we did in the early to mid nineties.

Now I'm ready for the weekend!

Blaming California's problems on just spending is a bit simplistic--You are missing half the picture. California's tax structure is equally to blame. While Proposition 13 was passed in 1978 with good intentions, it has had many negative effects. Because property taxes are capped, the state has grown increasingly reliant on sales taxes, which are highly susceptible to market fluctuations. Whenever consumer spending slows down, California's tax revenues plummet. There are also gross inequities in California's highly rigid housing and commericial real estate markets created by Prop 13, and severe repercussions for local municipalities and school districts, which are unable to rely on property taxes as a means for funding.

Yeah, yeah, taxes are bad and no one should pay any ever, because government is the problem. Blah, blah, blah. Thing is, that doesn't stop anyone from wanting the government to build highways, put police on the streets, and keep the air clean. It's far past time for this country to stop whining about taxes, so we can fund government to do what we want it to do. Government spending benefits us all, even if we don't immediately see the impacts.

[zmaj101]

Sorry if I missed all the homeless talk and we're past that topic, but I thought I'd chip in.

Last summer, I lived in the ArtSpace building (230 S. 500 W.) across the street from the shelters. I used to catch the Old Greek Town Trax every day to work downtown (by the way, what exactly is Greek about that part of town?).

When we moved in, I thought that the summer would probably make me more sympathetic to the plight of the homeless. In fact, just the opposite happened. Homeless folks are everywhere around there, loitering from the south end of the Gateway to the Rio Grand station. I grew tired and frustrated by all the trash around the streets, noise and yelling all hours of the night, police coming to break up fights several times each night, and people accosting me on my way to the Trax because I'm wearing a suit and tie.

I also grew tired of seeing people sleeping on the sidewalk when I went to work in the morning at 7:30as, and finding that exact same person sleeping in the exact same spot at 5:30pm when I came home.

I get it that you're homeless. But why does that mean you have to stay up all night yelling? Why do you have to throw your trash on the ground? There are garbage cans all over the place! Take a little pride in yourself and your surroundings. You don't need a job and a house to put your trash in the garbage can.

And the shelters there also do some things that irritate me. For example, the Catholic Charities shelter rolls out a van every morning and feeds all the people breakfast. But rather than do so from their own parking lot or from the street in front of their building, they park one block to the north next to the Gateway residential buildings (on 500 W.). By the time the line dissipates and the van packs up and leaves, there is garbage everywhere. Styrofoam bowls and cups are literally all over the place. Then the Gateway grounds crew people have to come out and clean everything up.

Homelessness is not a problem that can be solved or cured. If it was, we would have solved it sometime in the last 3,000 years of humanity. All we can do is treat it. We try to help those who are willing and capable of getting out of the cycle, and we try to keep the rest from bothering everyone else. My off-the-cuff opinion is that about 50% of the people that frequent the shelters are mentally ill, 49% are lazy, and 1% are passing through while they're down on their luck, and will soon be back on their feet. You can't do much to rehabilitate the 99% of people who are incapable of rehabilitation due to illness, or unwilling to change by choice.

When the shelters were built there on the west side of town, they were built in an area where they wouldn't bother the rest of society and could still serve their demographic. Things have changed, and they ought to be moved. Not to mention, if the Gateway complex could run from Union Station in the north to Rio Grande in the south, it would be one of the neatest retail/residential/historic districts in our city. Rio Grand station, the Rio Grande cafe, and the hotel next to it are dying to explode, but people are unwilling to walk from the Gateway to the Rio Grande because they don't want to pass through the gauntlet of garbage and panhandling that stands between the two. I don't blame them--I used to walk by there every day. Moving the shelters and connecting Rio Grande to the Gateway would be the catalyst for revitalizing the entire Pioneer Park neighborhood. The business and residents of that neighborhood (most of which don't fit the cookie-cutter Utah mold, by the way) have been working for years to bring change to their community and get the riffraff out. Their efforts have been largely futile because the shelters are magnets for the exact kind of trouble (trash, panhandling, drugs, criminal activity) that they've been trying to get rid of. A neighbor of mine over the summer who is a board member of the Pioneer Park Neighborhood Association said it's like trying to towel yourself dry while you're still in the pool.

[Urban_logic]

Originally Posted by WeST

California is the living example of what will happen to a State if they adopt the kind of agenda that is poisonous to business, innovation, competitiveness and growth. If this economy doesn't turn around soon, you may see the first State in the history of the Union to declare bankruptcy and go into federal receivership. What a sad story for a State blessed with vast natural and human resources! The only way California has been able to get away with their horrid political leadership and irresponsible electorate, has been because they have a State that has sooooo many resources that make many want to be there. If Utah tried the same destructive policies, they would cease to be populated by anyone except those who worked for or ran the LDS Church.

From a economic growth, public policy and public administration perspective, this State is an embarrassment to the United States. They have such creative minds and forward thinkers, it is a tragedy that it is being squandered by proliferate spending on welfare, bad schools and unprecedented government waste.

Many say spend more, spend more, spend more and this investment will lead to greater prosperity, but California shows that spending by government doesn't necessarily equate to greater economic synergy. In 1990 California spent $1,350 per capita, but by 2008 they spent $2,650 per capita! I hope the citizen are getting that much better government services!

Many Utahans will complain how bad out government is run here, but ignore the fact we rank at the top or close to the top of almost every metric used to measure how successful our State or the government running it is. If California isn't careful, they will have one of the greatest brain drains in history. Utah is prepared to capitalize on their poor management and will greatly benefit much like we did in the early to mid nineties.

Now I'm ready for the weekend!

Originally Posted by delts145

WeST, I dearly love California, but you have made some points that are unfortunately right on target. I am concerned that one of my favorite places on earth will not only jump off the cliff, but being so large, "drag much of the nation down with it." In short, there really is a pervasive attitude by too many, that funny money is acceptable. The politicians never say no to an increasingly large segment of the populace, who works the system as if they had a doctorite in government manipulation.

As Delts has commented, you are right on target with your assesments. I wouldn't necessarily say that more spending is necessarily a bad thing, it becomes destructive when it is poorly managed and taken advantage of. Well managed and directly targeted spending is very beneficial to the populace. The problem in California is how everyone wants their piece of spending - political leaders raising their salaries anualy, earmarking pork out of the budget for projects that are wasteful and not necessary, etc when they could, instead, focus that spending on infrastructure and programs that benefit society, not just private individuals. California needs a management over-haul. We need more oversight of spending and to scale back spending to a level that is affordable.

When you say "drag much of the nation down with it", Delts, you're frighteningly correct. First of all, 1 in 7 Americans is a California resident - so that's 1/7th of the nation right there. Then when you think of all the people and businesses that rely on California, you're set up for disaster. Plus, the burden this would put on our already-financialy-straped federal government would be tramendous.

West, you are most certainly right about how Utah is capitalizing on California's mistakes. Utah has a MUCH more business-friendly environment than California does. Being at such close proximity, it's the escape-haven for California companies. California has worked so hard to make it the most worker-friendly state in the nation. As good as that sounds, it is a very destructive paradigm. Without healthy businesses to work for, this ends up harming workers in the end. Utah is at a perfect balance where workers rights are respected, but businesses are able to thrive. As a right-to-work state, Utah workers are able to make the choice to be part of a labor union or not.

Originally Posted by Comrade Reynolds

You can actually make out the HP...

I vote this as being the new Wikipedia picture for SLC!!!

[urbanboy]

I vote we wait for a clear day.

[John Martin]

Mmm, tepanyaki!

[Justnslcsugarhood.]

Eighteen of the nation's 100 largest labor markets now have unemployment rates of 10 percent or more, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report issued Thursday.

Three inland California markets are saddled with the nation's worst jobless rates -- 15.7 percent in Fresno, 15.1 percent in Stockton and 13.8 percent in Bakersfield. Toledo has the highest unemployment rate outside of California, 13.3 percent.

Only one major market is below 5 percent -- Salt Lake City, at 4.6 percent.

The list of America's worst jobless rates is a mixture of Sunbelt and Northern industrial markets. Buffalo, according to the New York state Department of Labor, had earlier placed the area's jobless rate at 9 percent.

Twelve of the 18 metros above the 10-percent mark are in California, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina and Texas, states that enjoyed prosperity for most of the decade. Two factors -- the bursting of the real-estate bubble and the subsequent decline of the banking industry -- have hit those markets with exceptional force.

The other six metros on the 10-plus list are in Michigan, Ohio and Rhode Island, industrial states that have been struggling in tune with their manufacturing sectors, especially their automaking plants.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics report includes preliminary data for January.

The market that suffered the worst increase in unemployment during the past year was Youngstown, Ohio, which jumped six points from 7.1 percent in January 2008 to 13.1 percent in January 2009.

A pair of North Carolina markets experienced the second-biggest increases, 5.2 points in the past year. Charlotte and Greensboro both soared from 5.3 percent a year ago to 10.5 percent in January 2009.

These are the 18 major U.S. markets with jobless rates of 10 percent or more, as of January:


Fresno, Calif., 15.7%
Stockton, Calif., 15.1%
Bakersfield, Calif., 13.8%
Toledo, 13.3%
Youngstown, Ohio, 13.1%
Detroit, 13.0%
Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif., 11.8%
Providence, 11.5%
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., 11.5%
Dayton, Ohio, 10.9%
Charlotte, 10.5%
Greensboro, N.C., 10.5%
Sacramento, 10.4%
Grand Rapids, Mich., 10.3%
McAllen-Edinburg, Texas, 10.1%
Los Angeles, 10.0%
Las Vegas, 10.0%
Bradenton-Sarasota, Fla., 10.0%

And these are the major metros with the lowest unemployment rates:


Salt Lake City, 4.6%
Honolulu, 5.2%
Ogden, Utah, 5.2%
Oklahoma City, 5.2%
Omaha, 5.2%
Des Moines, 5.3%
Madison, Wis., 5.3%
Albuquerque, 5.4%
Baton Rouge, La., 5.4%
New Orleans, 5.5%
Washington, 5.5%

[i-215]

Originally Posted by delts145

WeST, I dearly love California, but you have made some points that are unfortunately right on target. I am concerned that one of my favorite places on earth will not only jump off the cliff, but being so large, "drag much of the nation down with it." In short, there really is a pervasive attitude by too many, that funny money is acceptable. The politicians never say no to an increasingly large segment of the populace, who works the system as if they had a doctorite in government manipulation.

As risk of hijacking the thread, but could a NorCal/SoCal split into two states make the state(s) easier to manage?

[Justnslcsugarhood.]

Does anyone know the foreclosure rates in Cali vs. Ut. Because this is what tanked the market so if Cali has a higher foreclosure rate then Utah of course they are going to have a worse economy.
And I think a lot of the government spending in Cali is due to Cali being so damn expensive in comparison to other places like utah. If you look at where it is expensive to live you see a worse economy and probably a higher bankruptcy and foreclosure rate.

[Justnslcsugarhood.]

Originally Posted by i-215

As risk of hijacking the thread, but could a NorCal/SoCal split into two states make the state(s) easier to manage?

Plus north cal is so similar to the northwest socialy I wouldn't see an issue. However I think north cal. is a lot more stable then south cali.

[DMTower]

^^^ seems like it might, but not likely to happen. The politics involved would be way too convoluted. Plus that would totally screw up our flag design... 51 stars? lol

[Justnslcsugarhood.]

Originally Posted by DMTower

^^^ seems like it might, but not likely to happen. The politics involved would be way too convoluted. Plus that would totally screw up our flag design... 51 stars? lol

We could sell Alaska to Palin to pay off debt......