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Show Enow AflMMMt nt? (BwnMDDini'd; Will the recent ban on alcohol have any effect on your attendance at Parkwest concerts this summer? LizHeimos It's too bad you can't enjoy the music with a beer or two. But it won't affect my attendance or, I believe, anyone else's, because if rjeonle want to eet alcohol in. thev will. Page A2 Thursday, July 9, 1981 r g J ' -4 IP x J-... Park City may yet win a county commission seat Question: Which is the fastest-growing, most progressive community in Summit County? Answer: Park City, of course. Question: How many locals have served on the County Commission, a three-person board that wields considerable power? Answer: Two, in the last quarter of a century. That's a dismal record, and one that can be attributed to divergent religious, political and economic interests throughout the county, and local voter apathy. The lack of representation has proven detrimental on a . number of occasions. If Park City had had a voice on the commission, perhaps the county would not have withdrawn funds in 1980 to support a county family planning clinic. Maybe it would have allocated a bigger piece of the budget for upgrading and maintenance of the county-owned" Memorial Building, negating the need for Park City to purchase the building and make extensive repairs itself. Possibly it would not have imposed the recent ban on alcohol at the ParkWest concerts, which may prove to reduce attendance and sales tax revenue to Park City. Park City seems to be a weed in the Summit County garden, and it has created a consistent lack of communication between the north and south ends. The most noteworthy example was the "oversight" in May 1980, when Park City was not informed that the filing deadline for commission candidates had passed without notice. That meant another two years before Park City could hope to gain representation. In an area that is growing faster all the time, it's important that we have some say in the allocation of county budget dollars and the development of areas right outside our city limits. Although a commission seat has eluded us for years, it is not entirely the result of factors beyond our control. In 1978, less than half the registered voters in Park City turned out for commission elections. As a result, Lloyd Stevens lost a bid for a four-year term by an infuriating 31 votes. w$mencarithandlfi toe life of a draftee.. scrubbing floors... g$$L maKirsbunKs.. 0S polishirgrriebal,,. cleaning toilet.. URDU Ik, earning less,,, w .llllor 2HmTI by Jack Anderson qgqglj&,M.y 9 pHCilgttll & Joe Spear No Potomac cruising for Reagan and crew : Washington President Reagan's political instincts are the despair of his opponents. He has an uncanny ability to sense what the American people feel is proper behavior for their president. He cracked jokes on his way into surgery after the assassina- tion attempt. He has an engaging way of identifying with the common man, even though he is a self-made millionaire. Now, once again, President Reagan has demonstrated his skill in achieving achiev-ing the common touch. He has turned thumbs down on the offer of a free yacht. The boat in question is the erstwhile presidential yacht, Sequoia. Eight presidents cruised up and down the Potomac River on it. It was one of the more elegant perks of the presidency. Then Jimmy Carter got rid of the Sequoia. It was part of his determined pursuit of the populist image like carrying his own clothes in a garment bag. Now, a group of industrial fatcais have bought the former presidential yacht. They have fixed it up and have offered it to President Reagan anytime he wants it free of charge. But the president isn't buying the idea. He won't touch the Sequoia with a 10-foot barge pole. Instinctively, the president realizes that it wouldn't go down too well with the public. At a time when Americans are being asked to tighten their belts, he realizes that it would look bad for the Great Economizer to go tootling off for a cruise on a million-dollar yacht. There's more to it than that. The businessmen who bought the Sequoia have plans to make the boat a floating tax shelter for corporate big shots. Those who donate money for its refurbishing will get to use the yacht for private parties. But they wouldn't be able to write off their donations unless the Sequoia is also made available to the public at least part of the time. So the plan is to let small groups tour the yacht when its corporate owners aren't using it. And the president would always have first call on the Sequoia. But Reagan is too smart to be roped in on a deal like that. He has made it clear he doesn't want to be so much as piped aboard the former presidential yacht. There may be another reason for the president's reluctance. His seagoing sea-going background doesn't run deep. He prefers horses to yachts. For all we know, Ronald Reagan may even get seasick. And a lot of his fellow Americans could understand that. A not-so-rosy message? The Reagan Rea-gan administration is planning a major effort to crack down on the drug traffic. And there is evidence that the Mafia is worried. In fact, there is some bizarre evidence that the mobsters are actually trying to scare off the government. Here's the story: On June 2, three top officials of the Drug Enforcement Administration received surprise gifts of flowers at their Washington offices. The agency's outgoing chief, Peter Bensinger, received six roses. J.W. Gunn, head of the science and technology office, also got six roses. And William Fink, head of intelligence, got 10 carnations. All of the bouquets had this message on them: "Greetings, guinea pig." And all of them had been sent by wire from Las Vegas, a known mobster stronghold. The following day, June 3, the mysterious flower giver struck again, and this time the target was the White House. Our sources say President Reagan and Mrs. Reagan received six roses each. The mystery bouquets also cm rried si m i lar greetings. It's quite possible, of course, that the floral surprises were the work of a disturbed mind. But underworld sources say that sending flowers in this manner is a standard Mafia message of warning. It's the mob's way of saying, "Get off my back." The Secret Service's response to our inquiries was a little strange. At first, officials said they couldn't comment on anything that is under investigation. investiga-tion. Later, a Secret Service spokesman spokes-man called back with a carefully worded denial. "Mrs. Reagan has not received such flowers or such a message," he said. This would seem to mean they are not investigating it. We have learned that the Drug Enforcment Administration has been investigating the flower incidents, and has discovered that the bouquets were ordered at two different locations in Las Vegas. They were paid for in cash by a woman identified as "Paula Cole." "There is no rational explanation," said a drug agency official. "It could be the work of a nut." Watch on Waste The high price of beef and dairy products might be due to a weak and ineffective disease-control disease-control program run by the Agriculture Agricul-ture Department. That's the conclusion conclu-sion of federal investigators who recently reviewed the department's program. The probers said that livestock diseases have caused higher prices and have cost American consumers billions of dollars. Republican members of the Joint Congressional Economic Committee recently decided they needed the results of research on how drug usage affects productivity. So they launched a research project to research what research has already been done. 1981 United Feature Syndicate, Inc. But there is hope in sight for Park City. A 17-member committee made up of county residents currently is studying alternate forms of county government that would ensure that the historically-divided North Summit, South Summit and Park City areas have fair representation on the commission. The idea seems to be as much to provide Park City with a say in the county as to prevent it from capturing a majority of a three-member board as the population continues to grow. The most popular alternative among the committee members appears to be a council form of government, where a majority of representatives are elected by district rather than at large. We would support a structure like Park City's government: five members (one from each district, a second from the most populated area, and one at-large member) to set policy; a chairman to preside over meetings and give direction; and a professional public administrator to implement the policy. We also would be in favor of eliminating a partisan ballot. There is little sense in selecting candidates according to party affiliation when the commission has no direct relationship with the state or federal government. The committee plans to meet every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Summit County Courthouse in Coalville, with the hope of presenting a proposal to the commission on Sept. 14. The goal is to have an approved proposal ready for public hearings so that it can be placed on the ballot in March, prior to the April 1982 filing deadline for the next commission race. Thjs is Park City's big chance to help influence the future of Summit County. The committee meetings are open to the public, and it would be to the city's benefit for residents to attend and offer creative suggestions. It is important to the city and the county as a whole that all of its communities pull together in a cooperative effort to seek better government. BBM Anne Bennett I have never been to an outdoor concert where alcohol flows so freely. I do feel the Summit County Commissioners over-reacted, but it won't affect my attendance. Jim Ruzicka It won't change my plans for attending. I still will go to the concerts I had intended to. I will, however, be very thirsty bj o very thirsty by the Ivor Mclvor No, it will not change my plans to attend. As long as the music is good, alcohol should not play that much of a role in the enjoyment of a concert. Bill Gardner " Not at all. I will still attend those concerts I had originally intended to go to. H ; - ;" i ' t ' r l. -A . L J v Mindy Roden No. I haven't gone anyway because they are too expensive. But if I did go, the ban would have no effect. by Stanley Karnow I TT 1 V t f New1 U.S. monetary strength may mean trouble for allies Washington D.C. American tourists abroadare delighted by the soarding value of the dollar, which again has made traveling relatively cheap. But it is testimony to the , topsy-turvy economics of these times that this new U.S. monetary strength contains the seeds of trouble. ' A more muscular dollar means that U.S. exports will become more expensive and less competitive over seas. As a result, America's global trade deficit is going to widen. The firmer greenback also is causing tensions between the United States and its allies. Among other things, their energy costs are skyrocketing sky-rocketing because they must pay for imported oil in dollars. There are no easy answers to the problem, but the time is certainly at hand for Reagan administration specialists to sit down with their West European and Japanese colleagues in order to shape some kind of cooperative international economic approach. . A good place to plan such a meeting would be at the summit of the Atlantic leaders scheduled for Ottawa on July 20. But international cooperation will depend on a readiness on the part of the advanced industrial countries to work out compromise arrangements. The West Europeans and Japanese are particularly tough on the Reagan administration, contending that its tight-money strategy will prevent them from emerging from recessing during the coming year. Indeed, they forecast even worse conditions ahead unless Reagan reverses his policy. Newspaper Claude Cheysson, the new French foreign minister, hammered away at this point during his visit to Washington a few weeks ago. It was stressed bluntly in a recent report of the Bank for International Settlements, Settle-ments, and at the annual session of the Organization for Economic Cooperation Coopera-tion and Development held in Paris the other day. The foreign experts submit that Reagan's determination to keep interest rates high, his device for combating inflation, is having a damaging effect on their economies. For one thing, it is forcing foreign bankers to raise their interest rates as well in order to defend their currencies, which are being transferred trans-ferred into dollars that yield high returns. Accordingly, fresh investment invest-ment is being stifled, business is stagnating and unemployment is hitting record levels in Western Europe. With the dollar rising in value against the West German mark, French franc, British pound and even Japanese yen. the economies of foreign nations are being further hit by a bigger bill for imports, especially of oil. Cheysson, for instance, said that France is taking its hardest blow since 1973, when the Arab petroleum producers imposed their embargo. The West Europeans warn that an aggravation of the economic crisis in their countries could trigger political and social unrest, and in the long run weaken the Atlantic alliance. The experts note, too, that the strong dollar is crushing the develop ing countries, which must service their debts at a time when demand for their exports by the depressed Western economies is falling off. In the opinion of many foreign bankers, the Reagan administration ought to fight inflation by fiscal means rather than through a rigorous monetarist strategy. That would entail cutting budget deficits instead of slashing taxes, and limiting wage boosts. A number of these bankers also are worried by Reagan's plan to increase defense spending, which they believe will contribute to continuing inflation and keep the budget deficit in the stratosphere. American business spokesmen, meanwhile, are beginning to express misgivings about the Reagan program. pro-gram. They forecast that profits of U.S. corporations that rely on exports soon will start to drop, casualties of a more valuable dollar that makes their products expensive in relation to those of their West European and Japanese rivals. Predictably, Reagan administration administra-tion officials appear to respond to these warnings with a nationalistic view, suggesting that they intend to put America's interests first. They may have a sound case. But at least the administration ought to thrash out its differences with America's allies, lest international cooperation be shattered and the world economy disintegrate as a consequence. Released by The Register and Tribune Syndiate 1981 Subscription Rites, $6 a year in Summit County, S12 a year outside Summit County Published by Ink, Inc. 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