Mistakes Were Made
Even while the Utah inland port is being built out, you can still see yard signs that scream "Repeal the Port." Is that even possible given the money and political capital already invested? Port opponents have kept up the drumbeat and have been serendipitously helped by two recent state audits of the port administration's unilateral decision-making. Among the most vocal opponents is the Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment. Most recently, a white paper by a Berkeley professor was scathing in its assessment of the port, calling it fatally flawed. In other words, "it simply does not fit the needs of the Trans-Pacific supply chain." That, along with the two audits, calls for more transparency in what and how they spend money. The port has a new director who promises to do better, but they never have yet. Public pressure is mounting and if repealing doesn't work, maybe rethinking will.
Trickle Down
As Utah finishes another water year without water, lawmakers continue to push for pipelines and deeper wells believing that stop-gap measures can solve the problem of overuse and neglect. The state is about to experience its 34th driest year since 1895, with reservoirs at less than half capacity and more than half the state under extreme or exceptional drought conditions, the Deseret News reports. The Guardian has been running a series on the threat to water, encouraging something close to mandated conservation. Utah is being "loved to death" with tourism, population growth and curiously cheap fees for water. "It could take years to recover what has been lost in the drought if it happens at all," the News wrote. Utahns have cut back, but clearly it's not enough. And crazy as it seems, the state is looking to increase tourism.
Too Many Secrets
The public probably doesn't notice how hard it is to get a "public" record, but laws, fees and simple ignorance have made it like a Dan Brown novel in search of the Da Vinci code. The Salt Lake Tribune and other media outlets have long been transparency's only hope. A recent controversy arose when Trib chairman Paul Huntsman hired an outside firm to parse public records. Now, in an apparent acknowledgement of the near-insurmountable tasks, lawyers from five Utah law firms are donating their time "to help reporters appeal records request denials—and get information that should be public under the law," the Trib reports. It can only help as government agencies "drag their feet" and records disputes increase. But while governments persist in hiding facts from the public they serve, it might be better to look at changing the laws and taking offenders to court.
About The Author
Katharine Biele
A City Weekly contributor since 1992, Katharine Biele is the informed voice behind our Hits & Misses column. When not writing, you can catch her working to empower voters and defend democracy alongside the League of Women Voters.
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