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Show DAILY HERALD Wednesday, April 29, 2009 A7 EBITORIALS EDITORIAL BOARD Rona Rahlf, President & Publisher Randy Wright, Executive Editor Jim Tynen, Editorial Page Editor IN OUR VIEW HkHf Property rights in Palmyra too bad that Utah County have to clam up over the plan to build a transfer station in the area. The whole issue of private rights versus community needs a good public debate, but now that may not happen. A man involved in opposing the station seems to have sent an suggesting the possibility of litigation. He may not have meant to affect the process, but that's what happened. The commissioners say that means they can't comment publicly on the matter. Some might think they are being overcautious; others would say that it's a sad fact of life today that they had not choice but to turn the matter over to the lawyers. That's too bad, because important issues need to be hashed out. Last week a good-size- d crowd of people tried to persuade commissioners to reject the zoning change needed to build the station, and they brought up legitimate concerns. One is a legal quirk that is likely to be resolved quickly. Another is worry about the safety of the road to the site. Most important, many in attendance objected to the plant for what might be summarized as the feeling that it would change the rural character of Palmyra and spark runaway development or "urban sprawl." At the center of the controversy are reasonable expectations of people in any community. For example, if you buy a house in an area zoned as a residential neighborhood, odds are that you chose to invest your money because you expect that it will continue to be the kind of place you want to live. You'd object, and rightly so, if someone suddenly tried to build a service station or a doughnut shop on the empty lot next door. That's what zoning, at least in theory, is about: Establishing a reasonable expectation for property use. In Palmyra, people have invested or maintained their ownership of land precisely because they like rural life. And many reasonably expected that rural is what Palmyra would continue to be. In weighing the waste station, commissioners need to keep that It's RA1. At the same time, if you buy property, you may want the option to develop it in the future. Throughout the most recent discussion of the Palmyra project, commissioners alluded to that. "You folks that own the land determine whether it will be developed. We do not," said Commissioner Larry Ellertson. Too much regulation of private property development can have baneful results. Thomas Sowell has an excellent discussion of this phenomenon in his 2007 book, "Economic Facts and Fallacies." He points out that many zoning and land-us- e regulations have ostensibly worthwhile aims, but in the long run they can harm not only property owners but the larger community by stifling legitimate development. It might be that some development near Palmyra would be the best use of the land for the community. All in all, the county commissioners must decide not only the letter of the law but how to reasonably balance competing rights. We trust that they will look at the whole picture in deciding this THE No fifth-grade- Help MK. ANSWER. harms? MAY v y3fT V ANSWER 4 y jrfr ts'N. ' i NOT well, Smiles Foundation also appreciates the great coverage of Emilio's story. The participation of the Riverwoods Surgical Center and its administrator, Francis Gibbons, was not mentioned in the last article of a week ago. Their opening doors and giving of time, materials and staff involvement without charging is also worth a big thank you from Emilio, his family, Hirsche Smiles Foundation and the community. I Sandra S. Mangum, surgical mission coordinator, Hirsche Smiles Polluters need to pay H JL. 7 MALLARD FILLMORE THB COLLEGE MEAN THEFAO YOU r K16H- TITSTIIUE V00 lf J? C-- 344-298- 5; 717, Provo, UT, 84603 I So letters can be verified, writers must include their full name, address, and daytime phone number. (Street addresses and phone numbers will not be published.) I We prefer shorter letters, 100 to 200 words. Letters may be edited for length. I Because of the volume of responses, we cannot acknowledge unpublished letters. I Letters become the property of the Daily Herald. Bruce Tinsley 1 poem J We invite readers to share their thoughts. You can: Go to www.heraldextra.com and find the "submit a letter" link under the Opinions tab, or under "Reader Services;" letters to dhlettersheraldextra.com; mail to P.O. Box fax to Aril? want me - How to comment ftTl U THEOUES-VON YOU ilk vfmmf&t rht7X Li vyrwsweoiiA i 24-ho- free-for-a- Pitt-ma- Km- investor to purchase stock on extensive credit. An investor could lay down a $100 and borrow $900 from a bank through his broker, to purchase $1,000 in securities. However, such loans could be called at any time. If they were, the investor had twenty-fou- r hours to pay it off. Most investors could only pay their loan off by selling their stock. So at a given time, the New York financiers started callbroker call loans due. The ing customers dumped their stock to pay the loans. This collapsed the stock market and brought on the Reserve banks banking collapse across America. "In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation. There is no safe store of value," said Alan Greenspan in 1966. I Bliss Tew, Orem non-Feder- al I believe that money is what speaks the loudest in our country. That is why a bold carbon cap that sends clear price signals for pollution is an imperative to fight global climate destabilization. No longer will the atmosphere be a ll dump for combustion prodture, burnings, starvation and disease ucts that make our lives comfortable. caused by poisoned wells. Where is the If we all don't start paying for the true cost of burning fossil fuels, then our world now? Where has the concern children will have to pay the costs of been for the last six years? I can only conclude that there is eitrying to live in a world where food is ther not enough coverage and awaremuch more difficult to grow, where climate systems are much more exness of these events, or the world is full of apathy. I would like to think treme, and where millions will have to that the world does care, that my felmigrate from ecosystems that can no low human beings are compassionate. longer support large populations. I ask that you please honor the victims It is high time that we realize the imof past and current genocides and morality of building our wealth at the help spread awareness by posting a expense of future generations. Jacob Hanson, Alpine story about the atrocities happening in Darfur, to urge people to get involved. Grassroots campaigning for Darfur Blame Fed, not gold has proven to work! I read Robert Samuelson's view that For more information: savedarfur. the gold standard caused the Great Deorg, genocideintervention.net, n and stopgenocide-now.or- g pression, but disagree. In 1918, the Silver Purchase Act authorized I Jeannie Maloy, American Fork the substitution of Federal Reserve banknotes as money. The Federal Reserve System became America's isThanks to all suer of currency and by expanding the We are pleased with the two armoney supply by 62 percent between 1923 and 1929 encouraged stock marticles about Dr. Charles H. Stewart's ket speculation due to easy credit. surgery and repair Emilio Bedoya's A "24 hour broker call loan" at cleft lip and palate. There were also two Beehive commendations. Hirsche the New York exchange allowed an Garry Trudeau ii if the victims April is Genocide Awareness Month. We hear endless stories of past genocides including the Holocaust, Cambodia, Ukraine, Armenia, Bosnia, Rwanda, etc. After the Holocaust, the world cried out, "Never again!" This leads me to wonder why it keeps happening again if the world really does care. In 2003, a storm was brewing in Darfur, Sudan. For the past six years, the people of Darfur, Sudan have been subject to rape, tor- Sen. BUT ITS NOT THE KINP OF QUESTION THAT YOUR AYBRA6E JOE KE66ER CAKES ABOUT. ITS ON LY THE BUTE FILTERS THAT CADE! W"artai filter is perfect none are perfect. They have gotten much better over the years, but so have the techniques of those who seek to subvert the filters. Building a filter involves a balancing act between blocking sites with innocuous content and not blocking sites with forbidden content. There are cases of the former where, for example, Web sites that discuss Essex have been filtered. Two recently found an example of the latter. The nature of the problem is such that no filter can block all forbidden content without also blocking innocuous content; conversely, any filter that blocks no innocuous content fails to block some forbidden content. Parents should supplement filters with other approaches, such as software that sends a daily report of all sites visited. I Jerry James, Provo for homeowners in Chapter 13 bankruptcy negotiations. Judges already cram down most other Dick Durbin's types of debt, but banks long ago carved out an exemption for (and much-cusse"cram down" leg- mortgage loans. Under Durbin's proposal, hoislation may come to a vote in the U.S. Senate this week, possibly as meowners in bankruptcy could remain in their homes as long early as Tuesday. It deserves to as they continued making the pass. Thanks to the stranglehold lower payments. In most cases, that the banking industry has on the mortgage holders also would Republican lawmakers, it probcome out ahead. They wouldn't ably won't. have to maintain the properties As of Friday, the Illinois Demoand try to resell them in today's crat's "Helping Families Save Their Home in Bankruptcy Act," glutted market. But the financial industry wants was a vote or two short of the 60 federal assistance to flow only it needs to close off Senate debate. Negotiations were scheduled over one way. It's one thing for banks to get hundreds of billions of dolthe weekend with some smaller lars in taxpayer money, but it's banks and credit unions whose support could sway some senators. quite another for banks to cut their customers any slack. The bill would allow federal reduce to Right now the balance between bankruptcy judges banks and consumers is so far out or "cram down," as it's called in of whack that it would be hard to bankruptcy court mortgage make it any worse. principle and interest rates THB wrN OF fcMtWGV fifth-grade- Post-Dispatc- h, D00NESBURY HEALTH In your editorial on pornography in school you opined, "... a filter that doesn't block from forbidden sites ought to be scrapped." Then all filters must be scrapped, for From the St. Louis Monday, April 27: IT YOU BIe6ET THREW TO THE LETTERS Help mortgage-holder-s KNOW r- - qualities. MEDIA VOICES J TAKE ; around Palmyra has special value for agriculture and for maintaining the ecological balance around Utah Lake. They have a point, and the county may have a legitimate interest in maintaining those issue. This won't be an isolated incident in Utah County, which, like it or not, is going to grow. The only question is whether it will grow well or grow badly. And the Palmyra situation is likely to arise more and more often, especially once the economy picks up again. People love Utah Valley in ' part for its natural beauty. When people own or buy land in an undeveloped area, one of the qualities they may reasonably expect is that it will retain its rural character. Yet people still need jobs and affordable housing and commerce, and all these require development. Sadly, the Palmyra situation may not be decided by a healthy discussion of all these factors, but lawyers dickering and the judge handing down their pronouncements. That may settle this case, but it might give Utah Valley little, ' in mind. or no chance for a clear under- -' Some have argued that the land standing of the underlying issues:, PONT KEEP HftA sEWSED i l jt wm - i n L-ss- i -t K?. a i w i y a -- vt j i K CAP Kb |
