OCR Text |
Show A6 JUNE 13, 2001 ~ Rumors of our Death are E xaggerated (We’re here, aren't we?) be 2 nteresting article in the Deseret News last week eh? Not bad, but a few things need to be cleared up. First, Janice Keller of the Utah Press Association just does get the concept. The Utah Press Association actively opposes new newspapers. It legal notices. In the best tradition of American journalism; enue and keep the Janice, this paper was ness model where the ported the paper and protect the revnew guys out. based on a busiadvertisers supnot the readers. _ Kind of like broadcast TV. But it didn’t work, especially when we found we here like there is in Salt Lake to support a free paper. But to say we didn’t hurt couldn't look the other way on controversial issues, like so many members of the Utah Press Association. We were the Wave? Gee they sure improved a lot. in a short time didn’t they? No niche? If the comments we received this week wrong; are any indicator, we have a pretty good there isn’t the “critical mass” “niche” following. Speaking of the Wave, Dick Buys says the first years of his ownership were brutal, that it took years to make actually supports hurdles to new newspapers by requiring 18 months of printing before being eligible for membership in its association and the perks that ee come with it. They also strongly sup- a profitable paper of the Wave. And that was without any competition. Imagine if there had been a choice? Further, we can reverse engineer a Conjer port an antiquated 1953 law which requires that a paper print weekly for 18 months AND be sent second class mail (as opposed to bulk, first or third class) paper just like anyone else and get a good feel for what it brings in revenue before it can be a “paper of record” and wise. And we know what it costs to produce a paper. The Wave ain’t bringing in the big bucks either. get the big bucks for legal notices in the classifieds. Where is the logic in this? Don't we want the legal notices to go to the most people The business model we are using at the lowest price? just doesn’t work in this small a market, with or without a controversial Seems like a free paper sent to every household in the county would fill the logical requirements. But that would cut into the revenue of the UPA membership, hence the artificial barrier to free competition. The Utah Press content. Remember the Mountain Times put out by the successful and controversial City Weekly. They couldn't do it along the Wasatch Back either, yet they rock in the big city. So we’re Association also actively opposed a recent measure that would have encouraged using the Internet to post looking at other ways to make this work. Consider this a work in progress, not the final chapter. CU WELLL | WASATCH COUNTY COURIER Lo) BY DAN STEPHENS n a perverse kind of way | love to in a Letter to the | 13 get trashed Editor. At feast{ know someone is reading my stuff. And if someone who doesn't ordinarily put his or her thoughts on paper takes the time to sit down and tell me I'm full of it, well, | feel I've accomplished some- his previous employer. You can’t work 101. in the feedlot without getting a little Take the recent series of comments between Michael Wren and myself. Michael is obviously intelligent and articulate. Nothing I like better than a little verbal jousting with a wor- thy opponent. He takes as well as he gives. So good for you Michael, don’t hesitate to write again. Good Point — Counter Point. Just remember folks, if La you play this game you can’t take it personally. I used to take it seriously ae LJ WLM) J thing. Call it Motivational Writing and personally. Couldn’t even sleep many nights worrying about it. Now, I couldn’t care less. It’s kind of a game. By the way I don’t read the Wave, mostly because there hasn’t been a story in the Wave in recent memory that I haven’t already researched. But I understandI take a lot of shots in there from people too timid to write to the source. So if you want to take a per- sonal shot, better send it here. At least Mr. Wren has the guts to mix it up one on one, mano a mano (or rather word processor to word processor.) Mr. Wren seems concerned about County Attorney Derek Pullan and the ‘way he has been portrayed in these pages so I thought [’d share my thoughts on Mr. Pullan. First, I can’t - speak for the other Opinion writers or Letter writers that have written about Mr. Pullan. Some have a very different opinion than I do. However, I do think Mr. Pullan has done some very admirable things during his tenure, but also has had his share of duhs. I feel that when Mr. Pullan was first appointed to complete the term of exCounty Attorney Dan Matthews, for whom he was working at the time, he may have carried some baggage from © “dirt” on you. But to his credit, Mr. Pullan has taken the office of County Attorney from what I consider a disgraceful state to a very professional and ethical department. The books, the budget, the general lack of conflict of interest and his aid in creating the Children’s Justice Center all speak very highly of Mr. Pullan. This office had a LONG way to go to pull itself out of the “mud” and Mr. Pullan has cleaned it up. But Derek and I have different ideas of whom he works for. I feel that since he is an elected county officer, he should be representing the interests of those who elected him, which would be us folks, the citizens of the county. Mr. Pullan, drawing on the Doug Short fiasco in Salt Lake County, seems to feel that he represents the citizens by representing the County Commission. The reasoning appears to be that since the County of the county and are elected by the citizens, by taking directions from the County Commissioners he is, by definition representing the will of the peo- ple (as expressed Commission.) by the County But if that is the case, why do we have an election for County Attorney? If his only. job is to take instructions from the Commissioners, | why not just have the Commissioners appoint their own County Attorney? The mere fact that the position is elected rather than appointed indicates to me that the County Attorney should be representing the people, even if the will of the people is contrary to the wishes. of the Commissioners. Besides, it seems that the Commissioners have their own defacto attorney in Joe Tesch, who always appears on the Commissioners’ side when there is an issue they feel strongly about. It’s almost like they don’t have faith that Derek can do the job and need to bring in the big guns. Personally, if I was in need of an attorney and had to pick from Mr. Tesch and Mr. Pullan I’d take Derek every time because I admire his character. _On the subject of representing the pecple who voted him in, the Change of Government Initiative is a kind of litmus test for a lot of folks here. First, Derek was. given Carte Blanche. to make any revisions he felt necessary to the Initiative. Having spent 140 hours working on it, he is as much the author of the law as is Gordon Duval who originally drafted it. And it is the law. It was duly passed, by a good margin, and love it or hate,.is THE LAW of the county. The farcical Duke- Kohler lawsuit (represented by, sur- prise, Joe Tesch),. is. the ultimate Catch-22. The Council boundaries were based on information provided by the county and reviewed by Mr. Pullan and the General’s Utah Office. Commissioners, via Attorney The their Duke- Kohler pawns, seem to be saying to the voters of the county, “yeah, we gave you some bum numbers to use, so even though you won at the polls we'll win in court. You shouldn’t have been so dumb as to believe we’d keep accurate records.” And you wonder why some people have a hard time believing that Mr. Pullan represents “the People” when he tenders such a> weak defense to a B.S. challenge to a duly passed initiative that he helped draft? Compare the defense of the Initiative with the defense of the county in the Canyon Meadows case. Tens of thousands of dollars have already been spent fighting a battle the county will likely lose and, moreover, the county has agreed to defend and indemnify county officials who were named as individuals in the suit. How do you explain the difference in the | degree of effort other than to say when it comes to protecting,their own fannies the Commissioners have no problem spending taxpayers’ money? But defend a valid law passed by these same taxpayers; gee we seem a little shy of resources. a Come on Derek ,you are so close to being a great County Attorney. Just climb out of the Commissioners’ bed and dance with them that brung you. Represent the will of the people, not the Commissioners. You'll feel good, the voters will feel good and all will be right with the world (well at least at the County Attorney’s Office.) — | |