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Show Il t'iMi CI Friday M mm, Mi teMe wfca I iilllii il. Ptrtrt iiiiiMim Sept. aafftae nkr nhr Wt5 m Xwr, rHW. f FUrt IwiptM, tUtmM 15. 1989 A, fi. f mooti I lse (3Ei)cM(q 11 It's the only thing." XWertunately, that attitude has pervasive in our society. People fcjvelyid in athletics at all levels want to ft&C so badly that they use every means, unethical and unhealthy ones, ging ! Ji Ji recent issue of News, Bill trainer at Eastern New Mexico Jea (jQyerjsity, suggested "the only way to NCAA vet the problem is to cut out financial altogether and let the schools play athletes who are students at the ! Herald comment be-fca- e; jjfie collegiate and professional the standard for lower levels, I "3dea may have some merit. J2sJorically, athletes competed for the ot.it. They participated in athletics use tney could see it taught them .to deal with life situations and Caose it was healthy. - Pbviously the goal in competition of to succeed in some vjritiDd is to win riy.C But the goal isn't the ll and eall-tha- t it has become. unlikely that the ENMU tf iser!s suggestion will be taken seri-- f yl But, maybe it should be. 9 Jolts has a place in American that it has earned in over a 3ury of healthy competition. isthletoa at all lovole nooH in ha I jht to live by the rules. ath-rij- et be-a- tgf-rWghl- y socie-i;pla- ce i vtnii -- I . IbSDD 4S&NGT0N Opponents of nuclear jt may feel cocky after stalling plants aljfbrnia, New Hampshire and Long i ft ft Dal ting off that public input? If you guessed campaign donations, you're warm. The operators and builders of nuclear power plants have been buying access to Congress for decades. In just the last eight years, the industry has pumped more than $25 million into the campaigns of senators and representatives, according to a cam- finance study by the U.S. Public Eign Research Group. ; "Many of the nuclear corporations that use (campaign donations) to buy access to members of Congress are asking those same members to deny the public access to important decisions," PIRG attorney Bill MaGavern told our associate Stewart Harris. "It appears the real reason for these contributions is to buy votes," said PIRG's Executive Director Gene Karpinsky. It should come as no surprise that on the average, representatives who voted in committee to endorse the House bill received a good chunk of nuclear money. In fact, since 1981, they have collected almost twice as much from the industry as those who voted against the limitation on public hearings, according to campaign records. The measure passed by a 0 vote in Subcommittee and then was narrowly de0 in the House Energy and feated Commerce Committee. But its tireless Sponsor, Rep. William Dannemeyer, vows to bring it to the floor for a vote of the full House this fall. Dannemeyer has been a nuclear power advocate for years and the industry has rewarded him handsomely. He received $45,945 in campaign contributions between 1981 and 1988 from companies with a direct interest in nuclear power. I Other beneficiaries to vote for the bill in committee, and their contributions between 1981-8were Jack Fields, ); Joe Barton, ($94,550); Don Ritter. ($94,466); Norman Lent, R-13-1- 22-2- 8, ($99,-550- R-P- a., Van Atta UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE r2K)ut Why would Congress even consider cut- Jack Anderson bia:Congress. 2 Bffl4wer. 1S5 7: N.Y., ($93,480); and Thomas Bliley, ($78,107). One exception to the pattern was who has reRep. John Dingell, ceived $121,950 in industry contributions since 1981 but voted against Dannemeyer's biU. Under the current procedure, public hearings are held before a plant gets a construction permit and again before it gets a permit to go to full power. Dannemeyer wants to eliminate the second hearing. He says his bill is intended to send a clear signal to the industry that the country is interested in "nuclear power as an American energy option." The people whom Dannemeyer represents may not share his optimism, and at the very least they deserve the right to be heard on safety issues. Under Dannemeyer's amendment, they would have to appeal their concerns to the NRC, which has not exactly distinguished itself as the champion of the people. MORE FREEDOM, LESS FOOD We heard open talk in Moscow this summer that Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev could be overthrown by a political revolt or military coup. Political reforms are racing ahead of economic reforms in the Soviet Union. That has resulted in more freedoms, but less food. People have more freedom to grumble, but more to grumble about. Hard-lineare using the shortages to point out the failures of perestroika. The next logical step for Gorbachev is to in the replace more of those hard-lineKremlin with reformers. Colombian President Virgilio Barco recently cast his country as the victim of the cocaine trade. He said cocaine users in America "have created the largest, most vicious criminal enterprise the world has ever known." Maybe Barco thinks Americans have short memories. Up until Colombia got religion last month, the government there gave sanctuary to that vicious criminal enterprise by refusing to let the United States extradite suspected drug kingpins for trial. There is plenty of blame to go around. Copyright, 1989, United Feature Syndicate, Inc. - rs disfributora not fining prices, but acting lake my businessman that there has been .an bias that is not supported By historical fact. "The market has worked. It's been pret-- : anti-bigne- ss When gasoline prices dropped about 10 cents a gallon recently I was reminded of rumors that the local oil companies are conspiring against motorists by rigging gas prices. Earlier, right after the oil spill in Alaska, prices at the gas pump had shot up about the same amount, obviously before service stations had experienced any rise in their costs. This past weekend prices for unleaded gas were $1.04 910 in Provo, $.99 910 in Salt Lake and $1.19 910 in Cedar City and St. George. Several years ago the state attorney general's office charged three Utah oil distributors with price fixing. The parties agreed to a consent decree under which they agreed to cease and desist these alleged illegal acts. Then about a year ago Attorney Geneneral David Wilkinson wrote a letter to Utah County oil distributors warning them against fixing prices. So what does one make of this situation? Are the price fluctuations simply an example of what happens with a competitive free market? Or are the oil distributors conspiring to jack up the prices? The fact that the attorney general's office looked into this matter and that some firms admitted "guilt" would, on first glance, suggest the latter. But hold on. Dr. Robert Crawford, head of the Managerial Economics Department at BYU, who has done research on the international oil market, doesn't believe for a moment that oil distributors have been fixing prices here. He says the idea is not logical in economic terms, and that moreover there's no evidence of it. "There's no way to enforce a collusive arrangement," he says, "And even if they. Ed Haroldsen HERALD COLUMNIST had one, they couldn't keep it hidden for any length of time." The economic forces of supply and demand determine gas prices here and elsewhere, Crawford says. Each of the 40 independent service station operators in Utah County tries to maximize profits just as does every other businessman in the world. Their economic behavior is not different than that of us property owners who try to get top dollars when we sell our homes. From this perspective, it is perfectly understandable that service stations inch up their gas prices during summers and holiday seasons when gas consumption rises. Since gas prices are posted for all to see, no one dares get out of line. Crawford also points out that in pricing oil, as in the stock market, expected future events greatly affect the market. Thus oil distributors anticipating tighter supplies following the Alaska oil spill did not wait until they had to pay more for their product before boosting their prices. Incidentally, Crawford doesn't agree with the idea that big oil companies have shafted the public. His study of the oil industry in the 19th century convinces him J ty competitive, even1, back through the; robber barons," years of the ! Crawford says. v ' Max Eggertsen, a Provo wholesale and; retail oil distributor,' says the three firms invovled in the consent decree "were not! guilty. They decided it was easier to plead" guilty than fight." 'i t; - -- . He adds that there's no way 40 independ-- ! ent operators could get together to fix; prices and says the attorney general's; action was politically motivated. ' "The most popular thing in the world is to let the public know you are out there; watchdogging prices, saving them money. What could be politically better than that?" i Politically motivated or not, the attorney! general's investigation obviously did not; uncover extensive evidence of hanky panky in the oil industry. It is not that these oil people are any nicer than other business- men. Rather, the independent actions of competitors keep everyone in line as it, were. That's the beauty of the free enter-- ; prise system. Like Crawford, I can't believe there's! collusion in the oil distributing industry.; It's like the news business. Some naive people suggest the media giants conspire! to tell us only what they1 want us to know.; However, the bitter vcompetition among' national and regional print and broadcast! organizations is just too great for any such J collusion to work even if the media people were evil and wanted to do that? Those like me who have worked in th national media know that idea is just pure i baloney. i Letters rs - Daily Horald should got off Geneva's back Editor: You people at The Herald that pretend to be next to perfect and get your kicks from bashing Geneva Steel should have the EPA check you out. You do pollute in more ways than one. There are times, and quite often in the past six to eight months, when I open your paper that within 30 seconds my eyes water, my nose runs, but I don't believe my feet smell. Sept 6, across the front page you showed a picture of some guy holding a dirty rag with pollution that supposedly came from Geneva Steel. Maybe it did or did not, but I fail to get the point Are you saying that m mwK jf i. J Oil approved! 9&But a potential meltdown looms for iJCbill goes to the House floor soon that gegdjeurtail. chances for the public to against nuclear plants before IO &n! operational. the public is using Jftwmore than ever, th Jwjaal hearing process to pressure the wflaWmeed Nuclear Regulatory Commis-fig-rf j5: enforce safety measures at the Zaut the House bill would eliminate public hearings that are now held ore new plant sets a license to eo to JAKMY WYE. es Sllr-k- al M Irtouse JUST no-pla- Sueta power foe! till COME ON, JIM THAT'S ' D The best way to teach them is to teach the proper example at the collegiate level. Some schools, among them Notre Dame and BYU, have set examples by requiring their athletes to meet academic standards and be students first. Because of their rules, certain athletes either are not welcome or simply can't qualify to attend. This should be the case nationwide. It should likewise be the case in high y schools. Texas' rule set the proper precedent for prep athletes. If an athlete isn't passing all his classes for a certain period (normally six or nine weeks depending upon a school's grading system), he or she isn't allowed to play. It's as simple as that. Athletics have a value to our society. But, because of the emphasis on winning, our ideas about what is important have become skewed. Certainly winning beats losing. But the at important thing for student-athletall levels is to win in the game of life. That's the goal all schools should be pointing toward. no-pas- s, I. IN THAT COUHTROOM! I'M SSEIN' ANOTHER WILD-EYEDEMON! jtjHCbne once said, "winning isn't fty$ing. CANT GO BACK Geneva Steel is dirty? I thought most people knew that Geneva Steel is a producer of iron and steel and not ice cream and cake. Do you people have any kind of a code of ethics. Do you report facts or do you report your own opinion? I have been a subscriber of the Provo Daily Herald for more than 43 years and every one of these payments have come from Geneva Steel money. Why don't you people take time out from bashing Geneva for one week and run your own survey and see Just how many people with real close ties to Geneva subscribe to your paper. They say 97 percent of the population is known as the silent majority. Geneva Steel goes back 46 years and Ironton goes back 66 years so there are the original employees and employees plus their kids, grand-kid- s and so on and on and on. I have been a defender of everything that is good for our country. This includes all war veterans, defense plants and old glory, and I still take offense, against anyone criticizing the defenders of my county and yours, and this most definitely includes one county public servant running wild and saying it stinks. Why do you people at The Daily Herald change your lineup every few days. I can't find what I used to look for and one of these days I expect to find the "front page" buried back in the classified section. I better quit so you people can publish this letter if you will before we all die from Geneva's pollution. I gues we all should have died 35 or 40 years ago. Geneva's pollution was worse then than now. They had very few filters back in those days. WA. Watkins Oram Sovon Poako Resort would havo bad of feet Editor: As I read through the Environmental Impact Statement (draft) for Seven Peaks Resort, I found myself identifying, with a high lite pen, the negative impact on our environment When I finished the EIS, I went back through it several times and was amazed to find that there were no positive impacts to be derived, except maybe the financial gain of one corpora tion and that is a big maybe. An excerpt from the EIS page 145 the ski industry has acknowledged that the pool of hardcore skiers (late teenearly 20s) is shrink ing as a percentage of the population. I', question the basis for another ski resort' with eight existing resorts in Utah to' accommodate the industry. J The Gilmore and Duff (1974) Study of the ; Aspen Resort, Pitkin County, Colo., (page 158 EIS) identified, for that area, a decline in quality of life, industrial productivity, ; quality of local government and serious' conflict occurred. I'm not willing to give ' up industrial growth, which in the past has kept a younger, better educated and type of community in Utah Coun- -' ty, for a skier profile community, which consists of resorts, tourists, bars and, I quote, "Employees in resort communities are rated slightly less reliable, more poor--! ly trained, and have a poorer attitude." ' (Page 165 EIS) There will be a negative impact on, to ' name a few, soils (page 37), vegetation , (page 52), fire control (page 53), food for wildlife (page 53), hunting (page 121),! traffic (page 136) and on page 122 where it ! talks about visual resource, it should have ' ; been titled visual handicap. It's my opinion that a ski resort located in this particular area and accessed by the proposed route would be detrimental to the future of the Orem-Piov- o community as a whole. Whatever financial gains that might be derived, are not worth losing the traditional conservative lifestyle and extremely desirable community we now live and raise our children in. If Seven Peaks would consider some alternatives, then I might have a different opinion, but if they close their avenues, it forces one to make a closed decision. W.C. Rawlings Orem |
