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Show Opinio PAGE A6 Che Salt Lake Cribuni MONDAY,January 1, 1996 OUR VIEW The Salt Lake Tribune’s Editorial! Position | | | HappyCentennial Year Today marks the dawning of a year that has been long anticipated by Utahns — the centennial yearof 1996. It promises to be an exhilarating new year, a yearreplete with centennial commemorations, a year in which to celebrate and reflect upon Utah’s unique natural and social features. It was 100 years ago this week that Utah officially became the 45th of these United States of America. In marking thathistoric event, the Utah Centennial Commission has been preparing what amounts to a yearlong festival, beginning with this week's statehood observances. While eager Utahns greet 1996 with their centennial license plates centennial books andother centennial trinkets, the state has garnered 4 larger-than-usual slice of the spot- light beyondits borders as well. Internationally, it now carries the designation of an Olympic community, by virtue of its selection six months ago as the site for the 2002 Winter Olympics. And nationally, Americans got a warm 30-page glimpse of Utah in the most recent issue of Va tional Geographic magazine Yes. these are heady times for Utah. But, while Utahns embark on their 1996 celebrations, they must take sometimeout fromtheparty to contemplate thestate's directionat the beginning of its second century This can be done onvarious planes. such as the continuing debate over wilderness designationorthe strategyfordealing with explosive growth By planning andreflecting, Utahns canridethe pervading spirit of optimism into the next century. Or, if they are less careful, they can allow the waveto crest with the festive mood of '96and fail to take advantage of its momentum. Indeed. 1996 need not be simply a milepost at whichto stop and celebrate Utah's first 100 years, but also a stepping stone into its next 100. Of course. while Utahns have their ownspecial reasons to weleome this newyear, 1996 will also be significant outside the state. National elections next Novemberwill determinethepolitical courseof the UnitedStates fortherest of the 20th century. And overseas, this new year brings hope for greater steps toward peacein trouble spots like the Middle East, the Balkans and Northern Ireland So, there is a sense that Western civilization is on the doorstep of an important yeartoday, that perhaps the first rays of the new millenium can beseenandfelt in 1996. And in Utahthereis extra causeto greet the newyear with a heightened senseof anticipation. This is a day to wish Happy New Year" to all; it is also a day to wish “Happy New Century” to thestate of Utah Immigration Mistake Kritsana Imvitaya is one of a few people in the United States with a master’s degree in social work from an American university who also speak: English. Thai and Lao, languag uses in her work with Asian immigrants The Immigration and Naturalization Servicedoesnot seeher skills as critical enoughto the national inter: her request for permanent residency The INS has a myopic viewof the national interest In Utah, Imvitaya works with people who haverunafoul of the law. Many of herclients are young people. (Herstudies at the University of Utah included ciologyandcriminology.) In addition she has served on a federal committee studying ways to reshapethedelivery of social services to clients. Hertransla tions into Lao of pamphlets on alcohol ism have beendistributed to thousands of people. Unquestionably, that’s effort in behalf of thenational interest. But according to the INS, that work doesn’t pass muster, She will have “an extremely limited impact on the Asian population in the UnitedStates.” according to a report by one INS official That's an odd argument to make whenthereare so few peoplewith Imvi- MARQULIES © Letters from The Tribune's readers Let’s Clear the Air today. If I didn’t know the mountain were there, I wouldn't know the moun Whereto Write M@ When submitting letters to the Public Forum, pleaseincludeyour full name,signature, address and daytime telephone numbers.Information other than your name andthecity in tains were there. We must do something It's not too late. Is it? JEAN BINYOD H Keepit short, Conciseletters developing a singlethemearemorelike- December19: Theair is bad again to day. My eyesarestinging. The air shoul be invisible, not brown-uglyasit is agair And whereelse in the labor pool pray tell, are social servicesofficials to turn to find a person with Imvitaya’s skills and knowledge of this state to deal with people who speak primarily Thai or Lao? She cameto the United States from Thailand. Someoneelse with her expertise, if such a person could be found, likely would share a similar personal background To be downright mercenaryaboutit, Utah taxpayers have invested in her graduate education. Now that sheis paying returns on that investment, a federal agency threatens to get in the way Local, state and national interests aren't distinguishable in this case; they are one and the same. The INS should reverseits decision en us much moretime to consider tht wondersof living here 1 drive 9th East from 53rd South ti 35th South every day. I drive to worl because I’mrequired to go out onsale calls during the day. Becauseof the engi neers’ vision andintelligence, intersec tions where I used to makegreen light: now are always red, allowing extra time for meto think. Especially the ones or 39th South and the one on Van Winkle As a matter of fact, from about 4:15 it the afternoon to about 6 p.m., traffic nov backs up from Van Winkle and 9th Eas all the way to just north of 39th South The wonderful thing about this is tha beforethey ‘fixed’ the stoplights a cou ple of months ago, you coulddrive thi: stretch of road with nary a stop if you followed the speed limit, which, 0 course, does not allow enoughtime t( contemplate the joys ofliving in Sal e Everybody knows that your car get much better mileage and ejects lowe peace talks betweenIsrael and Syria at Wye on Maryland's Eastern Shore are moving andwill continueonschedule this ton administration has madethis negotia. ition a showcase of American diplomacy. American officials are deeply immersed in these talks as sponsors andfacilitators. names exactly the opposite of the rez intent only obscures information that i needed for government by the people Oneof many examplesis the deceitfu sained as a result of the Israeli public's for intangible assurances has a rough Israelis feet in yielding tangible territory responseto the assassination of Yitzhak match in the reluctance many Arabs — of of the talks: from a contained swap land for peace — full restoration of war: cepting in their midst a nation that many Rabin. Theotheris theshifting emphasis lost territory for Syria, full peace by it definition for Isi el - to the concept of an Israeli-Syrian deal as the stepping toneto a peaceinvolving the whole (non rogue) Arab world Another factor is, though not new, com. pelling: a strong Americanrole. The Clin perhaps Syria above all —still feel in ac publican plan increases rather than de like thedeficit is going in exactly the of get’ er, with American assistance, in ways that by this. the 104th Congress, will only b UTAH'S INDE PENDENT VOICE John F. Fitzpatrick John W. Gallivan Jerry O'B: (1924-1960 SINCE name which the Republic ceitfully trying to claim. Any la the law until th 5th Congress enacts budget for 1998 and 1999, the 106th Con gress for 2000 and 2001, and the 107t Congress for 2002 and 2003 Gramm-Rudman farce of untruthfull claiming credit for paper budget cut procrastinated into the future is doomet to failure as was the original Gramm E. Shell EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR E. KEARNS-TRIBLNE ( PORATION. 14, gress of the previous Congress, the defi cit would need to drop to the $50 billio! range in 1996. This warmed-ove EDITOR (1960-1983 383-1994 has happened? To improve upon the pro 1871 Full Jr MAIN ST. SALT LAKE CITY, 84011 a ognition) software to digitize the corre spondencein case the addressee wishes to import the message into a word pro cessoror other program forfurther manipulation What are the tester’s hot buttons of in terest? Some 14.000 different newsgroup topics await you. Readas asilent observer or join in the discussion, exchanging private E-mail with those you meet It is easy to knock surfing the web unless you've tried it. Hey, this is easy and it’s all graphical. Want to visit the Smithsonian site? The White House? Congress? Check out sites relating to as- Rudman blither. We are obliged to throy Let himplay on the Internet for a month or so and then condemn it. I dare him. S.A. STEPHENSON Sandy Salt Lake County Commission ‘Signed Away’ the Residents’ Will true worth of the sign company’s bargaining chip, which could have been in vented just ‘or the purposeofholding it ing an influence-buying sign business permission to erect jumbo billboards, in violation of county statutes, speaks vol- mirrored the sign firm's more powerful The fact that construction of the first of the mammoth billboards was all but completed before the hearings is indicative of thefirm’s brazen confidence proposition The admission by Commissioner Randy Horiuchi that he had accepted campaign inuHion# fron the e sign isa): SIE: Gompany pe contributions plausible explanation for the County Commission's otherwise puzzling action. It says the quid pro quos of politicians and their special interests are more Im: portant than the needs of ti.e citizens w ho elected them The company, whichdid not see fit to be represented by its own management over the commission's collective heads. If they truly had the public interest at heart, the commissioners couldhave deflated that balloon by adopting a “we'll cross that bridge when we come to it attitude, especially since the next forum to deal with sign applications would be the new Taylorsville-Bennion city coun- cil. Who knows, these new champions of the public interest might have come up with an anti-sign city ordinance stringent enough to withstand the threats of the sign company Meanwhil the new Tavlorsvile-Ben: nion mayor ect stood by, wringing his hands begrudgingly ce g the : = Ne accepung ta Pyceo ye uae eeces weet lens s01tpe already tainted County Commission to place a ban on any further billboard permits” in the affected area, knowingit would not do that. Not a very auspicious beginning for anofficial who has yet to take office. Whenyou stop to think about it, if the commission issued such a ban, it would effectively invalidate the sign firm's bar. but instead chose to send ahired influ gaining chip, in which case the commis Commission into accepting a deal, saying in effect, “If you let us ¢ at awa with this sion might just as well return to legality andconcur in theplan’ mmission's action to deny constructionof the jumbc ence-peddler, pressured the County arrangement, we won its three more billboards. using our matized the politicians. Shaking in th Salt Lake Cit] is not ignorant; he is merelyuninitiated The Salt Lake County Commission's disgraceful invalidation of the county planning commission's function in deny lying politicians out of office posthaste democratic obligation to vote RON RAUNIKAL tronomy, nanotechnology, any well- Layton that it would win approval of an illegal with a straight face that they are balanc ing the budget when exactly the opposit PUBLISHER Welch Dom KAYDELL LEAVITT leverage. billion in 1996 and further increases t How can Speaker Newt Gingrich, Sen Bob Dole, and Rep. Enid Waldholtz clain PAST PUBLISHERS signs it $189 billion in 1997. This certainly look $163.85 Yet on bothsides of this divide, Israelis and Arabs have reached out to eachoth The Salt Lake Tribune to resign for her own good and forthe goodoftheparty I believe her when she says that she didn't knowthat Joe financed the cam paign illegally. It’s like when one spouse fills out federal incometax forms, usual ly the other spouse trusts the work and billion. Under the Republican Balanc Budget Act, the deficit increases to $17 thelast fiscal year, 1995, was posite direction from the “balanced buc powerful reasons to take. newspaper editor. I amcalling for Enid umes The planning commission's legitimate action had reflected the will of the resi dents. The County Commission's reversal still regard as an alien presence make an Israeli-Syrian deal seem merely the next step, one that the two of them can searcely avoid, one that they have lamaRepublican, nota critic and nota Howis it that a budget with increasin; deficits gets namedthe Balanced Budge Act? Government by the peoplerequire good information if wise decisions are t) be made. The habit that the new Congres has of dissembling the true meaning o legislation by dubbing the bills wit creases the federal deficit. The deficit i much as strategic ones. The anxiety that That is not true. not require OCR (optical character rec- What advancement hasnot faced opposition fromtheignorant? But Mr. Walker Salt LakeCit day psychological factors count at least as peacemaking shows that at the end of the ing for Enid to resign are Democrats. longtimecritics and newspapereditors. I would hopethat she bere-elected and that the special election would help the scandal to cometo an end. Even if she is not re-elected, fair is fair. Enid needs to do what's “real andright RICH SHEY¢ seem to be inplay One is the wider political space Israel's new leader, Shimon Peres, seems to have 20-year Recently a spokesperson for Rep. Enid Waldholtz said that the only peoplecall- charge beyond their monthly nominal charge. Unlike sending a fax, E-mail does known author living or dead? It’s all here, together with sites authorec your neighboracross the street ing all of us the opportunity of alitth moretime alone. ly named Balanced Budget Act. This Re reason for caution. But two new factors The business associates around the worldin time units measured in minutes free of Resign for Republicans Keep up the good work, guys; you'regiv record of Middle East week. On past performance there is vast correspond with friends, relatives and Althoughit may all be Joe's fault, it is undisputed that the election campaign Deceptive Bill Titles Hopes for Israeli-Syrian Peace Bythe agreedsparse official word, the articles that solicit response and who publish E-mail addresses. Testers can was financedillegally and therefore Enid should resign herseat, Enid needs to re. sign as a showofgood faith oO WashingtonPost thors of books, magazines and newspaper 2022. emissions if it is not idling in gridlock a\ opposed tocruising at a steady speed ANOTHER VIEW From The that onegive Mr, Walker's so-called nemesis a month’s trial with some defined trial parameters to insure a fair test Testers” should agreeto be on-linefor a minimumof 15 hours and none of those muddylittle ponds qualify like Prodigy,AOL, Compuserveor MSN. The subject of this test is the wild, open ocean knownas the “Internet If the testers enjoy reading, they are now free to exchange E-mail with au M Pleasetype and double space M Letters are condensed andedited. @ Because of the volumeof mai ceived, not all submissions ar lished. @ Mail to Public Forum, The Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt La City, Utah 84110. W Our fax number is (801) 237- Stop the Stop and Go Congratulations are in order for ow Anobjective Internet opinion requires ly to be published. Salt Lake City wonderful traffic engineers. They'vegiv Joys ofthe Internet Don Walker's tirade against the Internet (Forum, Dee. 25) can hardly be taken eriouslysince he is not anInternet user whichyoulive are kept confidential. oO soning, any social worker short of Moth- that alienation without communication Jiwtary aol.com THE PUBLIC FORUM taya’s rare skills available to make even a limited positive impact. By INS reaer Teresa wouldn't merit permanent residency Whenthereare few people with languagefluencyto counsel directly a Laotian child who may have been caught up in a youth gang, for example. the INS criterion is laughable. Social isolation plays a central role in most gang involvement, andit’s impossible to break 95 THE Razcny NAW. This dire warning must have tr for trau boots,they obviously faile d to weigh billboards . But where would that leave the quid pro quo? HORST A. RESCHKE Taylorsville-Bennion |