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Show The Salt Lake Tribune L @ FOR THE RECORD, C-2 WSTATE OF THE STATE, C-3 ) ee TL \H ic; FRIBAY Ml OBITUARIES, C-40 JUNE 14, 1999 SLC Refuses to Back Down on Plaza Access City attorney saysif court forced rewrite of deal with LDS Church, city would probably abandon easement BY REBECCA WALSH fund the church's money, Cutler wrote © 1999. THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE ment] up, and nobody's discussed that Cutler said Thursday. “But we're not would rather give up public access to the giving the moneyback. It’s already been spent.” to broadcast conference talks and music and distribute literature. Cutler and Clark have been exchang, ing letters for weeks. Clark has ques plaza than renegotiate termsof the deal. In letter to American Civil Liberties Union of Utah Legal Director Stephen Besides, he said, the Mormon church behavior andspeechandtheprotections Wehave no planstogive[the ease Salt Lake City Attorney Roger Cutler LDS Church's Main Street pedestrian PAUL ROLLY and JOANN JACOBSEN-WELLS © 1999, The Salt Lake Tribune j i Clark, Cutlersaysif a judge required the SLC Suckering / | Visitors Into ‘ Parking Fines? Wehavewritten about Salt Lake City’s age city to rewrite the easement'’s restrictions to protect free speech, he would abandon it. Theoretically, the church ‘didn't pay $8 million for nothing On April 13, Salt Lake City Council members decided tosell 2 acres of Main Street between North Templeand South Temple to The Church of Jesus Christ of tioned the constitutionality of thecity sanctioned restrictions on public response to The Salt Lake Tribune's re quest for records under the Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) for church activities. Cutler has dis. missed Clark's arguments. But thecity attorn latest letter in. cludes the upshot Clark feared: Rather then could closeoff the block. beenclosed and constructionof the plaza Latter-day Saints. The street has since than pay back someor all of the money city leaders probably would give uppublic access to the block Cutler is confident Salt Lake City could win a court challenge of the restrictions. But if the city didn't prevail, “it is more than probable that, if forced to choose, the city would elect to deed the easement to the purchaser, rather than face” the prospect of having to re- is under way. In exchangefor $8.1 million and a perpetual public easement, church attor- Clark said “They made remarkable concessions to assuagecrities of the closure. but the transaction would never have occurred under the terms that the ACLU and oth- er critics now propose. I get the sense that it's a threat,” Last month, The Tribune requested all documents memos. letters. faxe: and e-mails — city staffers and church attorneys exchanged whendrafting the ease: Asfar as Cutler is concerned, the mat neys drafted restrictions on behavior ter is closed. Clark can takehis case to tests and even riding bikes through the plaza. The church, however, will be able beginning wasclear that the purposefor that will outlaw boomboxes,signs, pro- which they were expending millions of dollars in constructing improvements on this 2 acres would not accommodate the turmoil and disruption of an open, free speech public forum.” Cutler wrote in the church ment “The [LDS Church’s] position from the See SLC. Page C-10 en- forcement of the state law requiring front, as well as back, license plates while neighboringcities ignoreit Salt Lake City’s quick towing of cars, levying strict fines, even whenit turns out no lawwas broken. @ Parking violations enforced by Cannon Drives Into Salt Lake City at a morefrenzied rate than in other jurisdictions in Utah. The explosion in traffic tickets handed out in Salt Lake City that be- Closed Area gan at the same time a law wentinto effect giving cities a 10 percent surchargeontraffic fines. Now comes Mark Brinton of Gilbert, Ariz, who droveto Salt Lake City in April to attend the LDS Church’s general conference. Brinton parked at a meter near Temple Square. It was a Saturday and theinstructions at the top of the meter noted free Saturday parking. Congressman may have broken law on BLM land BY JIM WOOLF THE SALT LAKETRIBUNE He returnedto find a ticket on his Rep. Chris Cannon drove past two car and most of the others parked there. A sticker on the meter’s pole. about 2 feet above the ground, says the free parking is for two hours. Brinton didn't see it, and the other “road closed” signs and a U.S. Bureau of Land Management ranger on Saturdayto get afirst-handlookat oneof the dirt roads at the centerof a dispute between Uintah Countyand fed. eral land managers Asked Thursday whether he violat- drivers probably didn’t either. After the city rejected Brinton’s request to dismiss theticket, he wrote to the City Attorney's Office last month: “With yotit city on the door- ed the law by driving a closed road. the Republican congressman said: “It’s a prettyclear case of my right to investigate.” He is a member of the step of hosting thie Olympics, why do you wish to uate. a trap for the unwary? I House Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands. Cannon said the BLM ranger who Bresumethepractice has proven to be such rich source of revenueit is too difficult to wean yourself from it. had warned others in his group to keep their vehicles out of the area essentially waved meon through.” o He said the ranger apparently recog- Trading Places? nized him and felt he, as a Utah repre- During a squabble between West Jordan Mayor Donna EvansandCity Manager Dan Dahlgren, City Attorney Brett Crandall A BLMspokesman on Thursday A Romp for the Whole Family Greg Curtis was askedtointervene. But Curtis said as an appointee of the city manager, it would bea conflict of interest. So the City Council decided formal- carefully selected his words when asked whether Cannon violated the law The Romp family, from right: father Bill, Ellie, mother Patti, Henry and Timmy(in the trailer) pedal their quad bike through Provo on their odyssey from Shoreham, Vt., to Homer, Alaska. The family camps, stays with friends or pulls into a motel as they zig-zag across the country. To keep track of them, check their Web site: www.romp f ly.com lyto ask Utah Atty. Gen. Jan Graham for a legal opinion on whether Curtis could be independent of the executive andlegislative branches. That would be the sameGreg Cur tis who, as a Republicanstate representative, sponsored thebill last ses- sentative, had a right to enter the area ° ° Semnani, Loan Partner Will Not Be Prosecuted ‘The congressman was part of a | See CANNON, Page C-8 a San Juan May Reopen Roads : Speaker Criticizes sion stripping the attorney general of independent civil litigation authority BY BRENT ISRAELSEN oO Mixed Messages Thesign promoting coming events at Highland High School in Salt Lake City noted theschool’s graduation ceremony will be June1 Beneath was a promotion for the play: “Much Ado About Nothing Bringing Back the Past William ThompsonofSalt Lake City recently hiked the northern Stansbury Mountains in Tooele Coun tyand found a wallet with twoex. pired credit cards, a military dog tag and 1975 huntinglicenseissued to DwayneWilliam Benson of Kearns. Unable to locate Bensonat the ad dress he had 24 years ago, Thompson asked us for help. We succeeded and relayed Benson's new Taylorsville ad. dress to Thompson. Benson was hunting deer 24 years agoandlost his wallet and his pri cessless dogtag. He hadservedin the USS. Army infantry and with 14 Utah friends went to Vietnam. He was one of only four to returnalive THESALT LAKE TRIBUNE Khosrow notbeprosecuted for guaranteeing a personalloanfor a After Charlene Snyder at Christo pherson Travel in Holladay took a reservation froma "Johnny Mathis, she was struck that the famous singer the loan guarantee and found it did not violate Utah's Bill Sinclair, director of the Division of Radiation Control, knew nothing about the Semnani-Trumanrela- TheUtah Attorney General's Office has investigated ethics laws, said assistant attorney general Reed Rich ards. It was at a YMCA camp that the musical talents of a young Johnny Richards said the ethics law would haveprohibited a direct loan from Semnani to Truman if the interest rate were‘substantially below’ the market rate. But in this case, Semnani simply co-signed on a loan by a bank Utah House Speaker Marty Stephenssaysit is inappropriatefor lawmakersto solicit donations of up to $5,000apiece from lobbyists and corporations to pay for an upcominglegislativefield trip community on the 11-member Radiation Control Board In effect, then, Utah law allows a business to guaran tee a loan for someonewho sitsonastate government boardthatin part regulates the business, Richardssaid The board, appointed by the governor, oversees laws that govern businesses like Envirocare that deal in ra dioactive materials Is that a good idea? No It would be nice if some See ENVIROCARE, PageC-9 SLOC Plans to Cash In on 7 New Olympic Events BY MIKE GORRELL THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE If there were ever any doubts whether seven new including women’s bobsled and skeleton will debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics, it was dispe with one observation Thursday Salt Lake Organizing Committee officials are con. vinced the events will make money dorsement to the International Olympics Committee's itive board next week for final approval. That, too pected to be a formality Some things don't make sense,” Romney said, like having a men's bobsled competition but not a women's ‘OPY| askedtheattorney general toinvestigate Trumanand Semnani served on the board from 1991 to 1997, and had apparently become goodfriends Mathis werefirst recognized Rolly & Wells welcome e-mail at ROL y& Wells@altelb,com BY DAN HARRIE testified in an unrelatedcivil-lawsuit deposition that Semnani co-signed on a $15,000 bank loan for Truman in 1993. Truman at the time represented the environmental helps the YMCAsend hundreds of needy children to camp. Stephens advises target donors to ignore outstretched GOP hands THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE mitteeof the Salt Lake Organizing Commit board. Now SLOC President Mitt Romney and sports direc. tor Cathy Priestner Allinger can take the board's en: Mathis performed in Abravanel Trip Fund Scheme. tionshipuntil this year. Uponlearning of theloan, he Theinvestigation was launched in May after a witness Hall Wednesdayto raise funds for Regence BlueCross BlueShield’s “Car ing Programfor Children," which C8 C8 ®Semnani Wants Tapes Quashed member of the Utah Board of Radiation Control The board member, Preston Truman, will not bepros. ecutedeither Addthat positive financial news to thediversity divi dends from inviting more women athletes into the Games andto the morale-raising prospects of generat ing more American medals in 2002, andtheextra sports werea shoo-infor acceptance by the management com confirmed his ownreservations. @ Anderson Case Not Dismissed The loan turned out to be a nuisance for Semnani however. Trumandefaulted, forcing the lender to foreclose on funds in a bank account held by Semnani, who was later reimbursed from equity in Truman's home. which Truman sold events One Humble Guy Semnani, owner of Envirocareof Utah, will It's just not right and needs to be adjusted ‘ That adjustment will add 20 women athletes, plus ra @ Big Dreams for the Poratympics teamofficials, to the 3,500particip: presence accounts for most of the holding women’s bobsled and men’s ton (the patted Their 10,000 net cost of and women’s skele sport of riding a sled head-first down the bobs led /luge track) competitions ona single day at the Utah Winter Sports Park Adding cross-country skiing sprint events for men My recommendationis going to be that wejust ask people to disregard” the request for contribu tions, Stephens said Thursday. “It's something 1 don’t think is appropriate solicitation sent to an es ee — “T really timated 150 lobbyists and cor: porations under legislative thought it was letterhead was signedby five a letter to lawmakers, including Senate business Majority Leader Lyle Hil lyard, R-Logan, and House leaders about Majority Whip David Ure, R Kamas Somelobbyists invited to chipin viewedtherequest as a shakedown, causing one to give a copyof the June1 let ter to The Salt Lake Tribune. Stephens and Senate Presi dent Lane Beattie said they were unaware of the letter tours and to advise them that we were coming. I guess I should have read it.” Lyle Hillyard Senate Majority Leader, R-Logan and women will add another $20 and did not authorizeit offset by ticket revenue from new 1,500-me men’s and women's short-track speed ska Allinger estimatedthoseevents will ge’ °$ leaving the overall package $210,000in thebla Romney said the extra events should spur increased American corporate interest in supporting the Games because the U.S. has serious medal hopes in all but cross-country skiing Board member Randy Dryer saidthe expandedbase hesigned 150times. — Treallythought it was a letter to business leaders about tours and to advise themthat we were coming,” said Hillyard, an attorney. “I guess 1 should have readit Ure downplayed his role in the fund-raising But officials say those expenses will be more than of athletes who can use the bobsled-luge track and the See SLOC, Page c-4 Hillyard seid he did not read e contents of the letter scheme, but was unapologetic for wanting to do ev- erything possible to get a large turnout for the events planned in his and surrounding legislative See DONATIONS, P: (° co |
