Salt Lake:Official development news thread - Part 2

[urbanboy]

Originally Posted by TANGELD_SLC

Well there ARE polygamists(fundamentalist Mormons, to be precise) living in Salt Lake City, but we keep a low key & are generally as mainstream as anyone, arguably moreso than members of the LDS Church(most of us drink coffee and alcohol, for example). However most "polygamists" live in the suburbs of Salt Lake City. In my experience, we're not viewed as a problem by the general populace, since we generate billions of dollars as business owners and even, yes, politicians. It's definitely a very unique aspect of the SLC metro, but not one that detracts from it in any way. If anything, it keeps things interesting. SLC could be considered the "Alternative Lifestyle Capital Of America", with the large gay and polygamous communities located here that you won't find anywhere else. In reality, we're a more progressive region than we get credit for.

I think polygamy or polyandry is fine, however, I do have a problem with patriarchy and religious undertones in relationships. As long as all parties are equal and happy.

[TANGELD_SLC]

Then you'd love my relatives, UB. Mom 1(my own mom) is a small business owner, Moms 2&3 are stay-at-home moms, mom 4 is a General Manager at a large corporation in the valley, mom 5 is an RN & Mom 6 is an accountant. I'd say the balance leans heavily towards them than my dad's any day though...

[urbanboy]

Wow, that sounds fascinating! I'd love to meet your family!

[urbanboy]

Here is an article from the New York Times that helps explain the current political climate in Utah:

New York Times

Utah Lawmakers Won’t Take Up a Ban on Discrimination Against Gays

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: January 30, 2010

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah lawmakers will not consider a law that would ban discrimination against gay men and lesbians in the workplace and in housing, and will instead spend the next year studying the issue, key lawmakers said Friday.

In exchange, opponents of gay-rights legislation will drop any effort to prevent local governments from passing their own nondiscrimination laws this legislative session.

Gay-rights advocates had hoped to build on recent momentum created by the Salt Lake City Council, which passed nondiscrimination ordinances last year. Those ordinances passed after The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said it would support the measures.

In Utah, few law changes occur if the church disapproves. More than 80 percent of state lawmakers are Mormon, including Gov. Gary Herbert, a Republican.

Mr. Herbert has said he disapproves of discriminating against gay men and lesbians, but that he does not think it should be illegal.

In calling for a type of legislative cease fire, lawmakers are hoping to avoid drawing national attention to Utah in the battle over gay rights during an election year.

The state has drawn criticism for the involvement of residents and the Mormon church in the fight over Proposition 8 in California, which banned gay marriage there.

“There is a common desire to ensure that Utah is not the battleground for the nation on these kinds of issues,” said State Senator Howard Stephenson, Republican of Draper. “We simply refuse to be that battleground. We hope to set a standard of civility and cooperation and respect that hopefully will be copied in other states.”

Mr. Stephenson is co-sponsoring a measure introduced Friday calling for a study of employment and housing discrimination that will be completed by the end of the year. He said lawmakers may consider nondiscrimination laws next session.

State Representative Christine Johnson, Democrat of Salt Lake City, said she was hopeful the new tactic could help move gay rights forward. Gay-rights bills in the past have repeatedly been shot down by the Republican-controlled Legislature because of fears it could lead to legalizing same-sex marriage, despite a constitutional ban on the practice.

“This in no way means that opposing sides are abandoning their respective legislative goals,” said Ms. Johnson, a lesbian who is carrying a child for two gay friends who cannot legally adopt in Utah.

The church has not publicly weighed in on a statewide nondiscrimination law.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/us/31utah.html

[SLC Projects]

Nice to see that once again we are turning a Development thread into Gay news crap. If you guys want to talk about gay topic or issues then please take it elsewhere. It doesn't belong here. Let's get back to Development talk.

[urbanboy]

162 Utahns will lose jobs when CompuCredit closes
Call center » A challenging economic climate cited as a factor in ending the operation.

By Lisa Carricaburu
The Salt Lake Tribune


A Salt Lake City call center will close March 31 and 162 employees will lose their jobs in a cost-cutting move confirmed Saturday by CompuCredit, an Atlanta-based financial services company.
Employees at the call center, 5215 Wiley Post Way, learned of the closure Thursday, CompuCredit spokesman Tom Donahue said.
Each has been offered a severance package based on years of service. The company also will offer help finding other jobs, he said.
Donahue declined to provide an average wage for the displaced workers, who primarily make credit collection calls. He did not know whether the company owns its Salt Lake center or operates in leased space.
The closure decision, which also extends to CompuCredit call centers in Wilkesboro, N.C., and Duluth and Sandy Springs, Ga., is the result of an economic climate that continues to be challenging, he said.
"It was based on business demand more than anything else," Donahue said. "We don't have the level of activity to sustain all our offices."
CompuCredit provides credit cards and car loans to consumers who can't get financing through traditional lenders. The company's problems have included allegations of deceptive marketing practices that led to a $116 million settlement with federal regulators in December 2008, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper.
Under the settlement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Federal Trade Commission, CompuCredit agreed to credit certain customer accounts opened between 2001 and 2005 with $114 million, the newspaper reported. The company also agreed to pay a $2.4 million penalty to the U.S. Treasury.
A total of 740 employees will be affected by the four centers' closure. CompuCredit will continue to operate centers in Las Vegas; Lake Mary, Fla.; and St. Cloud, Minn.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14301965

[urbanboy]

Here is a YouTube video about Salt Lake City I hadn't seen before:

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lExoPqgJ4UY[YOUTUBE/]

[urbanboy]

Here is a YouTube video about Salt Lake City I hadn't seen before:

• Video Link

Although it's interesting how the narrator says: "only native americans walked through here..." as if they didn't live here. Also, the Salt Lake Valley wasn't as barren as many people think.


More videos about Salt Lake City: http://www.5min.com/Video/Things-to-do-in-Salt-Lake-City-112628484 and http://vimeo.com/2184623

And the antiques roadshow here in Salt Lake City: http://video.pbs.org/video/1050092022/

[TANGELD_SLC]

Great find, UB. Thanks for posting

[delts145]

Originally Posted by Stenar

On my block in Sugar House, there's one polygamist house, 2 lesbians across the street, me (part of a gay couple) and my neighbor who was in a lesbian relationship for several years, but now has a boyfriend for the past 2 years and a Mormon church across the street.

LOL, and I thought Hollywood was diverse.

[TonyAnderson]

I suppose it's diverse relationship wise, though I think there's much more to diversity then that.

[urbanboy]

Of course it could be more diverse, but you must admit that is pretty diverse.

[urbanboy]

Not really development related but...

All Vancouver needs now is big snowstorm
Olympics » Warm weather, lack of snow putting a damper on preparation for games.
By Michael C. Lewis
The Salt Lake Tribune

The tickets have been sold, the venues constructed and the athletes selected to compete at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. All of Canada is ready for its long-awaited moment in the international spotlight. There's only one thing missing:
The snow.
Unseasonably warm temperatures have left Vancouver looking a lot more as if it's preparing for a summer Olympics -- photos of bare mountainsides and blooming flowers have appeared in the local media -- and seemingly threatened the quality of the competition in snowboarding and freestyle skiing scheduled to take place at nearby Cypress Mountain.
Meteorologists do not expect any significant snowfall before the Games begin Feb. 12, either...

http://www.sltrib.com/collegesports/ci_14295790

[urbanboy]

Eight Years Since Olympics, Salt Lake, Park City, Ogden Still Set Standard



Passing the Torch- 8 years later.



On the eve of the XXI Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Feb. 12-28, tourism professionals from Salt Lake, Park City, and Ogden will be off to the Games. Their mission: to continue spreading the message about the impact of the Olympics on Utah as a world-class destination for tourism, conventions and the economic impact the tourism industry can bolster.

Eight years removed from hosting one of the most successful Winter Olympics in history, it's safe to say the three Utah cities not only rocked the world for 17 magical days in 2002 but charted a course for year-round success.

Salt Lake, Park City, and Ogden have greatly benefited from hosting the Olympics, as shown in the lasting legacies: growth in Utah's tourism and convention industry; the fact that numerous world-class athletes now call Utah home due to the state's sports infrastructure, including many Utahns who were young children during the 2002 Olympics; and, perhaps most important, the economic growth and prosperity enjoyed by the three destinations.

"We have an opportunity every time the Winter Olympics comes around to be reminded of the impact on our community. There is no better stage than the games themselves to remind the world what they discovered about Salt Lake when we were the host city," said Scott Beck President and CEO of the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"The 2002 Winter Olympics helped establish Snowbasin and the Ogden area as a prominent winter destination. That recognition has lead to an influx of visitors and winter sport enthusiasts eager to experience and take advantage of our area's offerings," commented Sara Toliver, President/CEO of the Ogden/Weber Convention & Visitors Bureau. "After discovering Ogden, many outdoor recreation-based businesses have relocated to the area."


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Eight Years Since Olympics, Salt Lake, Park City, Ogden Still Set Standard
3 hours, 39 mins ago Jill Adler, Associate Editor Comments (0)


Passing the Torch- 8 years later.
At A Glance
Where: Utah


On the eve of the XXI Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Feb. 12-28, tourism professionals from Salt Lake, Park City, and Ogden will be off to the Games. Their mission: to continue spreading the message about the impact of the Olympics on Utah as a world-class destination for tourism, conventions and the economic impact the tourism industry can bolster.

Eight years removed from hosting one of the most successful Winter Olympics in history, it's safe to say the three Utah cities not only rocked the world for 17 magical days in 2002 but charted a course for year-round success.

Salt Lake, Park City, and Ogden have greatly benefited from hosting the Olympics, as shown in the lasting legacies: growth in Utah's tourism and convention industry; the fact that numerous world-class athletes now call Utah home due to the state's sports infrastructure, including many Utahns who were young children during the 2002 Olympics; and, perhaps most important, the economic growth and prosperity enjoyed by the three destinations.

"We have an opportunity every time the Winter Olympics comes around to be reminded of the impact on our community. There is no better stage than the games themselves to remind the world what they discovered about Salt Lake when we were the host city," said Scott Beck President and CEO of the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"The 2002 Winter Olympics helped establish Snowbasin and the Ogden area as a prominent winter destination. That recognition has lead to an influx of visitors and winter sport enthusiasts eager to experience and take advantage of our area's offerings," commented Sara Toliver, President/CEO of the Ogden/Weber Convention & Visitors Bureau. "After discovering Ogden, many outdoor recreation-based businesses have relocated to the area."

Economic development in outdoor recreation has experienced such growth that it is now one of eight economic clusters being targeted by the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development.


http://www.onthesnow.com/news/9/a/11217/...-lake-park-city-ogden-still-set-standard

[East2Westback]

Originally Posted by urbanboy

Not really development related but...

All Vancouver needs now is big snowstorm
Olympics » Warm weather, lack of snow putting a damper on preparation for games.
By Michael C. Lewis
The Salt Lake Tribune

The tickets have been sold, the venues constructed and the athletes selected to compete at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. All of Canada is ready for its long-awaited moment in the international spotlight. There's only one thing missing:
The snow.
Unseasonably warm temperatures have left Vancouver looking a lot more as if it's preparing for a summer Olympics -- photos of bare mountainsides and blooming flowers have appeared in the local media -- and seemingly threatened the quality of the competition in snowboarding and freestyle skiing scheduled to take place at nearby Cypress Mountain.
Meteorologists do not expect any significant snowfall before the Games begin Feb. 12, either...

http://www.sltrib.com/collegesports/ci_14295790

When 10 out of 14 posts are by the same person...wow!

[SLC Projects]

Crazy to think that it has already been eight years since the winter Olympics were held here in Salt Lake. I remember it like it was yesterday. I hope the day will come when Salt Lake gets to host the games again.

[delts145]

Salt Lake's Olympics are going to look awfully good compared to Vancouver. If they don't get at least some snow soon, it's going to be a disaster!!

[RTD]

Originally Posted by urbanboy

Not really development related but...

All Vancouver needs now is big snowstorm
Olympics » Warm weather, lack of snow putting a damper on preparation for games.
By Michael C. Lewis
The Salt Lake Tribune

The tickets have been sold, the venues constructed and the athletes selected to compete at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. All of Canada is ready for its long-awaited moment in the international spotlight. There's only one thing missing:
The snow.
Unseasonably warm temperatures have left Vancouver looking a lot more as if it's preparing for a summer Olympics -- photos of bare mountainsides and blooming flowers have appeared in the local media -- and seemingly threatened the quality of the competition in snowboarding and freestyle skiing scheduled to take place at nearby Cypress Mountain.
Meteorologists do not expect any significant snowfall before the Games begin Feb. 12, either...

http://www.sltrib.com/collegesports/ci_14295790

Vancouver rarely gets snow. It has a sea-level elevation, so it usually remains above 0C for most of the winter, causing precipitation to fall as rain the majority of the time. It's at higher elevations towards the mountains where the land gets hammered with snow. Places like Whistler, where several venues are being held, will be covered in the white stuff. Last year would have been perfect, though, as Vancouver kept getting pummeled with snow and cold temperatures (very abnormal for the area), making the snow stick around for over a month. I don't think we'll see that at the games though, so don't expect to see a snowy Athletes Village or you'll be sorely disappointing.

[Future Mayor]

The KJZZ building

Commerce CRG was the listing agency and the building was listed at $6.6 million

[i-215]

Wouldn't it be funny if all the snow melted, and they had to make an emergency move of some of the venues to SLC?