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Show Page AI2 THI; DAILY HhRAUJ. Provo. Utah. Sundav. Nmcmhcr I. IWX Snow while the sun shines Grand Canyon mines private sources to fund improvements Four are public facilities By NANCY SAN MARTIN that will be built with private Knight Ridder Newspapers donations: A pedestrian plaza with museums and learning centers collectively known as GRAND NATIONAL CANYON PARK, Ariz. people who run the 'W j ! I k I ' "V, . PKTKK M. FRCDIN The Associate! Press Tanner Miller, a snowmaker with Vail Resorts, adjusts the direction of a snowmaking gun on Vail Mountain's Born Free ski slope Thursday in Vail, Colo. Vail Resorts is making snow in preparation for their Nov. 6 opening. Corporations go to court to find statements By STEVE WOODWARD hir The Associated Press PORTIxANl). Ore. John may bo the most wanted person in cyberspace. Corporat ions everywhere, including three in Oregon, are tracking him down in lawsuits that allege sins ranging from interference with business relationships to defamation to breach of fiduciary duty. John Doe. of course, is a legal code name for Anonymous. In the anonymity of the Internet, with its camouflaged online identities. John Doe could be anyone and anywhere. Anonymity itself is no crime. But some anonymous speech falsehoods, abusive threats, statements that damage repuis proving to be fertations tile ground for civil lawsuits. Once John Doe crosses certain boundaries, he or she risks being unmasked in the harsh glare of a courtroom. PaeifiCorp. the Portland-baseutility and energy company, filed suit this month in U.S. District Court in Portland, seeking $l million in punitive damages against a John Doe who Doe d allegedly misappropriated insider information and posted it on a World Wide Web message board. Itex Corp.. a Portland-baseoperator of a retail d barter exchange, sued last month in Multnomah County Circuit Court, alleging that numerous John Does posted "maliciously false and defamatory statements" on a message board. Southern Pacific Funding Corp., a Lake Oswego-based financier that mortgage declared this bankruptcy month, filed suit last month in Multnomah County, also alleging that numerous John Does posted "maliciously false and defamatory statements" on a message board. Moreover, two other unrelated "John Doe" lawsuits were filed last month in Multnomah County Circuit Couit by Portland-areresidents who received abusive, at work from threatening anonymous senders. Itex, Southern Pacific and PaeifiCorp found their detractors on message boards operated by Yahoo! Inc., the world's most heavily trafficked Web site, with 40 million visitors a month. a message boards at and other Web sites can be wild and woolly open forums, full of speculation, trash talk and outright misinformation. Hut unlike cocktail party chatter. Internet messages can live on in published form, distributed for millions to read. Moreover, the people who write the messages fall under the legal definition of a "publisher." like a newspaper or broadcast station, subject to the same laws governing defamation. Those laws vary bv The Yahoo! state; in Oregon, a plaintiff can recover any actual damages suffered as a result of the defamation. There's nothing wrong with freedom of speech, says M. Max Williams, an attorney and former computer industry insider who represents Southern Pacific. "But there has to be accountability for that speech. Spreading misstatements and falsehoods to have an influence on the price of a stock that's not legal in this state or in any state." Cyberlaw begins to grow The Oregon cases are part of a growing stream of litigation from Internet activities. They involve everything from intellectual property rights to battles about who has jurisdiction when it comes to the Internet. The war between businesses and anonymous detractors on chat boards traces its roots to a New York case called Cubby v. CompuServe. Cubby Inc., a startup news company, sued CompuServe in 1990, alleging that CompuServe allowed defamatory statements about Cubby to be published in the Kumorville USA section of its Journalism Forum. CompuServe argued that it was merely a distributor of someone else's statements, not a publisher that exercises editorial control. A federal district court agreed, relieving CompuServe of liability for content posted by third parties. The Grand Canyon say their need for additional cash runs deep so deep that they have called out from the wilderness for help. They have turned to corporate and private philanthropy and private developers in what is called the largest financial endeavor ever taken up by a national park. It is a novel approach that isn't universally endorsed, one that leaves some wondering whether accepting private dollars will change the essence of national parks from natural treasures to "Disney" lands. "This is about bringing people in," said J.T. Reynolds, deputy superintendent. "That's where there is a dilemma between preserving and accommodating." The Grand Canyon in northern Arizona is the walking and biking trail on the South and North rims. A View Canyon Information Plaza at the South Rim Entrance. It would serve as a transit station. A Tennessee-Nort- A new from a fee 1 sys- "This is a whole new way of h supporting pro- by gram implemented Congress that allows parks to keep money they generate. Most of it will be used for maintenance. "We have a 950-issort of infrastructure," Reynolds said. "Back then, we had one million visitors (a year). Today, we have five million." Although other national parks and memorials Yellowstone, including Yosemite and Mount a'lso have turned Rushmore to private business, officials say the Grand Canyon could eventually serve as a national model. The U.S. Forest Service has endorsed five privately funded projects as part of a $:o0 million park improvement plan. transportation h . the currently inside the park. k Wttk' JERRY FOR UTAH COUNTY COMMISSIONER "A" REPUBLICAN.. t t. ZCMI purchases all of our suits from the highest quality manufacturers. Enjoy everyday great prices. protection areas. 219.50-299.5- 0 5. Completed numerous Two-pa- nt road, trail, and bridge transportation projects. 6. Closed the old Lindon landfill without suits raising dump fees. 7. Instituted customer oriented 22.99-25.9- 9 Reg. $30-53- 2 Van Heusen wrinkle-fre- e management among employees. 8. Upgraded 21 dangerous railroad crossings. white shirts 14.99 Reg. 22.50-S2- 5 :h?V-X?- operated centralized lM program. 2. Restructured Timpanogos Wastewater District for north County. 3. Successfully defended Utah County water rights from Salt Lake interests. 4. Created voluntary agricultural with the best fabric and stitching. Reg. M 1. Slopped EPA's government Our suits are made exclusively for ZCMI and designed S350-S45- 0 UK ACCOMPLISHMENTS regular- - and athletic fit suits. double-breaste- rPL QUALIFICATIONS and Polyesterwool fabric is Extra pants are perfect for missionaries and travelling businessmen. ZCMI offers one of the largest selections of suits in the United States. single-an- d I Current Utah County Commissioner Chairman, North Utah County Solid Waste District B S. Degree in Geological Engineering Master Degree in Civil Engineering Licensed Prolessional Engineer (PE) Adjunct Professor. UVSC, Chemistry and Environmental Law Senior Environmental Engineer at Geneva Steel over Wastewater, Drinking Water and Solid Waste Compliance Public Lands Committee Member, American Mining Congress, Washington, D C. State ol Utah Toxic Chemical Advisory Panel and Industrial Pollution Prevention Group Mineral Title Examiner Engineer, Mercedes Benz Extra pants double the life of your suit and save on cleaning costs. ZCMI carries D. GROVER nt wrinkle-resistan- 11 I: 1 Why Buy Two-PaSuits? m Brownstone or Courreges silk neckwear POSITION ON ISSIIFS I i No future property tax increases. 2. Decrease restaurant food tax. 3. Reduce vehicle emissions testing to every otner year instead of annually. Continue effort to phase out State 1. program. Support expanding inmate work programs. Institute electronic monitoring of low risk inmates to save money. Federal agencies should pay their fair share for services since they don't Day DroDertv tax. 8. Make early payment on outstanding county bond indebtedness. oxy-fu- .:. '"i -- ZCMI .? I i ... J . , Many would be moved to Canyon Forest Village. The land adjacent to! Tusayan has become a battle- ground between developers apd the nearby business community. MMUt TO :' J - Heritage Education Campus. Of the five proposals, a private venture involving a tract just outside the park, Canyon Forest Village, has generated the most controversy. It would put 900 hotel rooms and 220.000 square feet of commercial space on a chunk of forest land. Although developer Tom De Paolo's initial, larger proposal was scaled back, opposition remains. De Paolo says the resulting plan leaves out significant construction, and he's still pushing for the larger plan to be approved. That scaled-bacplan allows for fewer hotel rooms, less commercial space and no Native American Market Place where local tribes could sell items. It also calls for the complex to sink ; side and against the scaled- back plan. They said they are ; concerned that excessive use I of ground water eventually I could dry up natural water . reserves. A final decision is not March. until expected Construction won't begin for five years, concluding in 2010. ; Almost all community facilities, including a school, medical clinic and churches, are visiting the park," said Ellis E. Richard, chief of visitor services and interpretation afr Entrepreneurs in nearby the park. Tusayan, an unincorporated "For people really want area of 144 acres surrounded to learn, they could explore by the Kaibab National how the Grand Canyon was Forest, fear any government-- , created, why it has so many sanctioned competition will layers, why it's so high and wipe them out. "I had no idea the emotion how the river cuts through it." About $fi million already that this would have generathas been pledged by private ed back then," said De Paolo. for enterprises projects "This is like a bad soap opera." De Paolo's original plan inside the park. Donors include American Airlines, carries an estimated $292 which is backing the walking million price. After meeting and biking trail, and Del E. basic expenses, it is expectWebb Foundation of ed to produce $15 million a Whickenburg, Ariz., which is year in profits for the Carolina border. Its budget is $19 million, $16 million of which pays the salaries and benefits of 400 employees. Reynolds said. Until recently, entrance fees of $20 per vehicle were used to defray costs throughout the national park system. Over the next three years, the park expects to recoup $10 million 70-mil- e tem that would replace private vehicles. Visitors would park in Tusayan, seven miles to away, and board light-rai- l the Canyon View plaza. Parkgoers would then walk, bike or shuttle to destinations within the park. Informational booths and exhibits would aid visitors. park, behind Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the ronmentalists on De Paolo's Campus. national ost-visited Education Heritage v water wells instead of trucking or piping in its water sup-- . ply from the Colorado River, as provided for in the initial plan. The reliance on wells for water has gotten some envi-- ; PAID FOR By GROVER FOR COMMISSIONER v . |