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Show Travel Council budget and to take tourist promotion to new levels. WE MUST HAVE MORE TOURISTS TO SURVIVE!!! Now read this: "It’s Reality Time. With the commercial infrastructure of this town growing at a rate much faster than the visitation increases, what could we possibly expect? How thin can you slice the pie before everyone starves? "So what is the response? "WE NEED MORE PROMOTION!" Of course. The never ending spiral. We promote the area. Visitation increases. New businesses come in until we have more businesses than can really be supported by the current level of tourist visitation, and profits start to fall. The demand goes out for more promotion and visitation shoots up again. More new businesses come to town. The slices of pie shrink yet again, and the call goes out for more promotion. Et cetera...Et cetera...Et cetera.” I wrote that almost seven years ago.. In the same issue, I printed a letter that was sent anonymously to many Moab businesses, urging them to demand more tourist promotion. In part, the letter said, "Grand County must not give the impression that we do not want tourists. We need to be able to pay our bills and put food on our and our employees’ tables.” Then the Unknown Letter Writer said this, "We have experienced enormous growth and the solutions to the problems associated with the influx of people will take care of themselves (emphasis added).” It really said that. All of this rhetoric, mine and theirs, came in the summer of 1994. Calculate how many more thousands of people come here annually. Then take note of how many new motels, restaurants, and curio shops have come to Moab in seven years. More motels are on the way, even as | write this. I recently heard that the Spanish Valley Water Conservancy District wants to extend its service area all the way north to Seven Mile Canyon’ and the Dead Horse Point Road, so that some entrepreneur can build even more motels out there. And then add Cloudrock into the mix. Are we completely mental? Once again, I’m sure I'll get tagged with the old "Anti-Growth" label, but is it anti-growth simply to want the existing local businesses to survive and flourish? Communities like ours can experience two types of growth: Internal and External. External Growth requires the never-ending influx of new businesses to an economic area and generally these businesses merely compete with businesses of the same kind that are already there. Motels? Fast food chains? Souvenir ball caps? How many more of these tourist-driven businesses will be needed to satisfy the voracious, bottomless appetites of pro-growth boosters? So why doesn’t this town focus more on internal growth? Why doesn’t the Chamber of Commerce or Pro-Moab support the growth and expansion of already established businesses? If the Chamber really wanted to be effective, it should advertise the idea that if outof-town businesses want to come here, they should at least offer us something we don’t already have. Consider the coffee shops in Moab. Right now they’re all independently owned and operated and struggling to survive as it is. So do we want to boost our tourism to such levels that we finally meet the demographic requirements for a Starbuck’s? What will that do to Red Rock Bakery and the Knave of Hearts and Mondo and Eklectica and the others? Is the purpose of tourist promotion to drive out the small businesses and replace them with national chains? I seriously hope not. But that seems to be where we're headed. I DETECT A PULSE! _ It has always been my opinion that this town can move - mountains when it wants to, but that we rarely feel inspired enough to try. Recently, I even narrowed the focus of my wrath to the "under 30” population in this community and asked sarcastically, if any of you cared about anything beyond cappucinos and rock climbing. I am happy to announce that in the last month, I have been shamed by that very demographic group beyond my wildest dreams. As opposition to Cloudrock grows, it is important to note that many of the most vocal leaders of the opposition are young Moabites who have moved here in the last few years and who are devoted to preserving the character and diverse quality of life in Grand County. However Moab’s latest, and perhaps most crucial, controversy plays out, it is heartening to see such passion and conviction from a growing number of citizens who are not willing to just sit back and let their fate be determined without their participation. The December 6 meeting of the Grand County Planning and Zoning Commission should have at least sent that message to our elected officials. | haven’t seen a turnout like that at a public meeting in a decade. On a personal note, I’d like to thank all of you who have decided = to get involved in this issue. And to Molly, Matt, Mark, Howard, Kilie and the other "young" locals who have already devoted so much of their time to fighting for their town, thanks for making a liar out of me. Keep up the good work. STANDARD RETRO ISSUE DISCLAIMER As many of you know, this issue of The Zephyr is printed before Christmas, but does not reach newsstands until late January. This allows the publisher and writers to screw off even more than they usually do. So...if local, state, national, or world events occur between press day and distribution day that render all or parts of this issue irrelevant, tasteless, or just plain wrong, we apologize. SUBSCRIBERS! If your label says 2/01 or 3/01. you're about to expire PLEASE SEND US YOUR MONEY BY MARCH 10 THE ZEPHYR Volume 12 Number5 February/March 2001 4... THE NUTSHELL With Steve Russell No way to treat a goosc...Pending Moab City litigation... The election... The Good News 6...POINTBLANK: I Was a Teenage Pyromaniac By Evan Cantor and NEW WEST BLUES Classics #1 by Jim Stiles 9... THE NUTSHELL: Photographic Evidence Revegetation area?... The first bovine Dog of the Month... Tom Tom Arnold: His junk is the "Last Bastion of Defense” and he has cats fixed too. 10... THE VIEW FROM ABOVE JOHNSON'S UP-ON-TOP Just how well do 110 homesites, 225 lodge rooms and 150 condos fit up there? Take a look. 1S... THE 1940s: THE DECADE IN PICTURES. 16... THE DECADE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD Moab was a sleepy little town in 1940—-it would play a role in ending the war. A review of the decade...By Jim Stiles 18.... THE WORLD WAR II ORAL HISTORY OF ED McCARRICK Ed gave this remarkable interview in 1989, 45 years after the Battle of the Bulge 20..... MOAB’'S CONCENTRATION CAMP In 1942 an ugly side of the war came to Moab By Lloyd Pierson 23...FROM THE HERB RINGER JOURNALS Herb’s notes from that fateful day: December 7, 1941 24...AROUND THE BEND AGAIN Ken remembers life in the 1940s. By Ken Sleight 26...STREAMOFCONSCIOUSNESS “My Missing History” By Anne Wilson 30..... FEEDBACK Letters from an insulted Park City couple offended by the term "Rich Weasel.” One more time from the Sierra Club.. Etc.. SUBSCRIBE TO THE ZEPHYR SIX ISSUES (ONE YEAR): $15... TWELVE ISSUES (TWO YEARS): $28 EIGHTEEN ISSUES (THREE YEARS): $40 _ STATE 6 9-DIGIT ZIP PLEASE READ THIS! The Post Office will NOT forward 3rd Class mail. If you do not send us.a change of address, we cannot be responsible for issues you did not receive. Subscriptions must begin with the next issue. Back issues are available at ridiculous prices. Call for a price list. Those readers who choose to take advantage of the ae discounts do so at their own risk. There is no guarantee that the world will be here in three years, let alone this publication. CHECKS OR MONEY ORDERS ONLY TO: P.O. BOX 327. MOAB, UT 84532 |