BEST NARROW ESCAPE FROM ECONOMIC CATASTROPHE
ntttDelta Air Lines SLC hub
nttIt was looking pretty dicey for Salt Lake City’s largest air carrier this past December and January, as US Airways launched a hostile takeover bid that would have left the future of the local hub in question. But creditors rejected the takeover attempt, and in February, a bankruptcy judge approved Delta’s own reorganization plan for exiting bankruptcy. For the moment the hub appears not only safe but is actually increasing direct flights.nn

BEST CIVIL SERVANT PROTEST
ntttOgden Police Officer Matthew Jones
nttFreedom of speech: Don’t think it applies to you if you draw a government paycheck. When Ogden police officer Matthew Jones questioned whether the number of traffic citations written should be part of an officer’s pay-raise evaluations, he didn’t do so quietly. “Welcome to Ogden City, home of [Ogden Mayor Matthew] Godfrey’s Ticket Quota,” read a sign on a moving van driven around town by Jones’ wife. The fact that Jones was placed on administrative leave that same day for an “unrelated matter”? Purely coincidental, of course.nn

BEST REPUBLICAN Readers’ Choice
ntttJon Huntsman Jr.
nttHandsome in that toothy, all-American way that goes so well with slogans and pin buttons, and a master of spin and tactics when it comes to getting his way with the Legislature, the Guv seems to land on his feet in most endeavors. Although his passion for multiple overseas adoptions might strike some as odd, somehow it works into the packaging of a progressive, caring Republican that seems to be the way forward for the GOP, if last year’s election results were any indication.
nt2. Orrin Hatch
nt3. Keith Christensennn

BEST LOW-INCOME ADVOCATE
ntttAnti-Hunger Action Committee Director Bill Tibbitts
nttAdvocacy is all about the voice. Listen to Bill Tibbitts talk about the impact of bus fare hikes on the poor or discuss the Republican agenda when it comes to the future of Medicaid, and there seems no room for argument or debate. The quiet, constant passion of his tones leaves you convinced this is the only problem and this, the only solution. His penchant for slightly geeky dress'a bulky yellow jacket stood out in the Capitol during the legislative session like a beacon'seems only to add to his beguiling humility. His is a determination that seems unstoppable in its quest to give voice to the voiceless.nn

BEST REASON TO VOTE DEMOCRAT
ntttState Sen. Scott McCoy
nttIn the run-up to the November 2006 election, The Salt Lake Tribune’s endorsement of health insurance guru Dr. Joe Jarvis over Democrat incumbent Sen. Scott McCoy for Utah Senate District 2 suggested to some he was in danger of not holding on to his seat. Underpinning Jarvis’ universal health-care platform was the long-held argument that a vote for Democrats in a Republican-dominated Legislature was a wasted one. Voters, however, didn’t agree and returned McCoy. In the last legislative session, McCoy fought the straight-gay club ban, sponsored a constitutional amendment for basic, affordable health care, and got five pieces of legislation passed. His political confidence and the respect he earned in the Legislature underscore that a vote for Democrats like McCoy is far from wasted.nn

BEST USE OF THE WORD “SYCOPHANT”
ntttRocky Anderson’s War Protest Speech
nttWhatever your qualms are about Salt Lake City’s roving Mayor Ross “Rocky” Anderson, the controversial politician deserves mad props for sticking to his guns during an anti-war protest last August. Disgusted with the administration and its misguided policies, Anderson more or less called President Bush a fawning parasite. That’s not to say his speech relied on schoolyard taunts'far from it. Anderson shouted, in meticulous fashion, what many believe but are too afraid to articulate.nn

BEST POSITIVE USE OF UTAH LIQUOR LAWS
ntttRiverton Gets a Utah State Liquor Store
nttSince there are only three Salt Lake County liquor stores south of 2100 South and west of Interstate 15 (!), the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control was actually mandated by the state in December to build a new store to service the citizens with a perfectly legal substance, even though the Riverton City Council is vehemently opposed to having a hooch hut in its fair city. “They are a commercial venture for the state of Utah, but they do not have to follow any of the rules other commercial ventures follow,” Riverton Mayor Bill Applegarth told the Deseret Morning News. “That’s of great concern to me.” Yeah, tell us about it.nn

BEST CAMPAIGN SIGN RECYCLING
ntttPete Ashdown
nttXMission founder Pete Ashdown, Democratic challenger to Utah’s incumbent-senator-for-life Orrin Hatch, fought the good fight and came closer to victory last November than many expected, and you may have noticed that his campaign materials did not list a specific year: Hold on to those lawn signs'Ashdown may take another run at it.PAshdown.orgnn

BEST CAMPAIGN FOILER
ntttSatan, Re: John Jacobs
nttRepublican 3rd Congressional District candidate John Jacobs’ assertion that none other than Satan was thwarting his primary campaign against five-term Rep. Chris Cannon may have ultimately sunk him last election season, but when it hit Drudge.com, it at least generated some funny blog chatter: “The devil is impeding his efforts? How self-important can you get?” was answered with “Bush sent Laura out to campaign for [Jacob’s] opponent'Chris ‘Open Borders’ Cannon'so maybe it’s the ‘devil in a blue dress’ he’s talking about.”nn

BEST POWER BROKER Readers’ Choice
ntttJon Huntsman Jr.
nttHe shot down nukes in the west desert not once but twice, sweet talked the Legislature into putting money in schools and resurrected a soccer stadium deal everyone thought was dead. Junior’s best power play may yet prove to be going against the Utah grain to endorse John McCain for president over golden boy Mitt Romney. Not that we subscribe to the conspiracy theory that McCain was brainwashed in Vietnam to run for president as a “Manchurian candidate” and Huntsman is his Chicom handler. Then again, Huntsman does speak Mandarin …
nt2. Larry H. Miller
nt3. Dave Checkettsnn

BEST USE OF POLITICALLY EXPEDIENT FAUX STUPIDITY
ntttSalt Lake County Republican Party Chairman James Evans
nttIn his speech at an Aug. 30, 2006, anti-Bush rally, Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson accused pro-war Republicans of “slavish, blind obedience” to President George W. Bush. James Evans wasted no time in purposefully misinterpreting the mayor, saying, “I can’t believe he just called me a slave,” and demanding Rocky’s censure by the City Council. When a Washington, D.C., mayor fires a staff member over his use of a racist-sounding but innocent word, it might just possibly be attributed to ignorance'but Evans is too smart to think he can get away with acting stupid just to make political points.nn

BEST LONE DEMONSTRATOR
ntttLarry Bergan
nttIt’s one thing to march en masse against George W. Bush during an anti-war rally in downtown Salt Lake City. It’s another, several months before the war rally, to get out on the streets carrying a sign demanding Bush’s impeachment'by yourself. Bergan has walked 400 miles up and down Salt Lake City streets over the past four years making his lone protest against the U.S. war in Iraq. Now he stands on street corners collecting, he says, as many thumbs up as he does birds. The 54-year-old out-of-work optician has lost three signs to irate citizens but that hasn’t stopped his urgent sense of civic duty one iota. He’s Utah’s last angry man, it seems, and we’re all better off for him.nn

BEST CHILD SUPPORT
ntttGuardian Ad Litem
nttGuardians, state-appointed attorneys who represent children in court cases, often find little favor with the right or left. But spend time watching then-GAL (now Commissioner) Anthony Ferdon, one of boss Kristen Brewer’s 31-strong legal crew, and you’d see passion in action. It became clear quickly that a GAL at the top of his game has only one thing on his agenda: looking after children betrayed by the one love that should have protected them. While a GAL can’t undo that betrayal, he or she can at least help ensure it doesn’t happen again.

BEST TAX DOLLARS IN ACTION Readers’ Choice
ntttEducation
nttWe’re not sure what readers had in mind here. It might be the 2007 Utah Legislature’s belated investment in public schools'including money for all-day kindergarten, significant teacher salary hikes and smaller class sizes. Then again, readers might have preferred the Legislature turning around and creating the nation’s largest taxpayer-funded school voucher program for private schools, a move seen by some public-school backers as a slap in the face. Either way, there’s no doubt education tax dollars are in action. It’s just likely to be of the smackdown variety.
nt2. TRAX
nt3. Real Soccer Stadium

BEST REASON TO DRINK
ntttDistilled Water Cleanup of Radioactive Sludge Near Colorado River Is Delayed Till 2028
nttWe’ve known for years about the radioactive sludge piled on about 130 acres outside Arches National Park near Moab. The area’s reserves of uranium were mined in the ‘50s for use in nuclear bombs. The sludge comes from a uranium mill bought by Atlas Minerals Corp. in 1962 which later closed in 1984. In 1998, the company filed for bankruptcy and put a temporary cap on the pile. The sludge cleanup near the Colorado River'which provides drinking water for millions of people in the West'was supposed to be done in 2012. Now, due to Energy Department budget constraints, it may be pushed back to 2028. Gee, and we thought President Bush liked the good people of Utah who resoundingly voted for him.

BEST CALL TO HARPS
ntttBad Brad Wheeler’s
nttHarmonica ArmyMost people forget their dreams, some write them down. Few, however, actually act on visions that seem so odd in waking life. Bad Brad Wheeler nearly shrugged off his REM vision of harmonica players gathering en masse until Grandma wised him up. The dream, she said, is a call to action. Wheeler, perhaps Utah’s most proactive bluesman with a weekly KRCL radio show, gigs with his band The Legendary Porch Pounders, student music lessons and a homemade cigar-box guitar operation at home, rallied the troops to help break an unusual record: 2,500 harmonica artists playing in unison for five minutes. While Wheeler didn’t quite meet his goal, he managed to convince 1,200 people to fill Ogden’s Lindquist Field to fulfill one man’s “harp” dream. Watch for a second attempt this spring.nn

BEST RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY
ntttCarbon County
nttIf you’ve had it with the religious divide, move here. Settled by mostly European coal miners, this is one of the few rurals areas outside Salt Lake City to elect Democrats to the state Legislature. With no majority religious group, it’s not unusual to find members of the Mormon Bishopric at the ultra-modern Lutheran/Episcopal church enjoying spaghetti dinners. And they join the Catholics, Southern Baptists and Greek Orthodox to support community festivals.nn

BEST UTAHN Readers’ Choice
ntttMatthew Minkevitch
ntt“There’s this family in the shelter,” Road Home director Matthew Minkevitch says. “The father’s 7-year-old was having a rough time with switching schools three times in a year. She was throwing a tantrum, and he was taking a breather. He wasn’t talking about his tribulations but instead was being so understanding of hers. He’s such an inspiring parent. The rest of Salt Lake City will probably never get the privilege to know him.” That’s Minkevitch in a nutshell, consumed by the passion, the humanity of every life he touches, and that touches him.
nt2. Rocky Anderson
nt3. Jon Huntsman Jr.nn

BEST CELL PHONE SYMPHONY
ntttSalt Lake DMV
nttAs anyone renewing their auto registration or changing titles knows, you’re in for a long wait at the Salt Lake City DMV. To keep those in line from rioting, rows of seating have been provided, allowing 100 or so people a place to kick back and read Tolstoy’s War and Peace, knit sweaters for a family of eight and/or talk and text on their cell phones. In fact, so many ringtones and realtones sound as to create a symphony of sorts. Fort Minor’s “Where’d You Go” competes for dominance with D4L “Laffy Taffy.” Henry Mancini’s The Pink Panther theme counterpoints Koji Kondo’s Super Mario Brothers theme and the strains of The Black Eyed Peas “My Humps” add compelling tension to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama.” As the Mission Impossible theme rings in, you hear your number called, and on you go.nn

BEST LAWYER FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT
ntttJanet Jenson
nttHere’s a former Merrill Cook staff member gone good. Jenson has taken on many of those good-government “lost” causes often for that warm fuzzy feeling deep inside. That’s pro bono to you outsiders. In 2000, she drafted Initiative B forbidding asset forfeiture against innocent owners. Now, she is taking on Questar for trying to force consumers to foot an upgrade bill. Next? Perhaps on to the voucher fight.nn

BEST MAYORAL CANDIDATE WHO’S NOT RUNNING
ntttSoren Simonsen
nttHave you been looking for another Salt Lake City mayor who can kick ass? Well, Soren Simonsen could be the one'although he’s not running with the pack. Simonsen, elected to the Salt Lake City Council to represent District 7 in 2005, is an architect who “brings many years of professional experience and advocacy for sustainable and livable communities,” according to his bio. He stood up and fought the rest of the council to preserve the Sugar House master plan after the council voted to allow buildings up to eight stories high. Now the merchants have been evicted, and Simonsen is helping form a task force to keep watch over the evil developers. Stay tuned.nn

BEST “TOO MUCH INFORMATION” CAMPAIGNING
ntttLaura Black
nttIn Utah, you almost can never go wrong by pushing how much you value them family values. But the Democratic challenger for a Sandy state senate seat ventured into awkward territory with campaign literature boasting her “pro-life” bona fides. She herself had once faced a high-risk pregnancy, a mailing to voters announced, and she opted not to terminate, even at the risk of her own life and leaving her other children motherless. Wrenching though a choice of that kind must have been, was the public airing of such a personal crisis really necessary?nn

BEST HISTORIC BULLDOZERS
ntttPark City Council
nttThe city runs the risk of losing historic status for “Historic Main Street” due to years of plunking down new, ugly tourist-pleasing malls on top of turn-of-the-century buildings left over from the one-time mining town. Historians warned Park City officials in December that the town’s Main Street Historic District could be dropped from the National Register of Historic Places unless the city took measures to preserve old buildings that are left. But officials'basking in the glow of development dollars and primping for Sundance celebrities'told the historians to take a hike. Nothing like success to ruin a good thing.nn

BEST DEMOCRATIC SCANDAL
ntttRob Weyher
nttThis year’s guilty plea to alcohol-related reckless driving and attempted assault on a police officer wasn’t a disqualifier for the chairman of the Summit County Democratic Party. This is Park City, after all. But his political high jinks had some Democrats red in the face. When Christine Johnson and Josh Ewing entered the primary for the safely Democratic House District 25, it provided Utah Democrats one of the few opportunities of the year to fight one another. And fight they did. Weyher, a Johnson supporter, took it upon himself to telephone Ewing’s boss at PR agency Love Communications offering to pay Ewing’s campaign expenses if he would drop out of the race. Weyher initially defended his actions, saying since phone records showed his call came from Denver, he was out of jurisdiction of Utah law enforcement. Eventually, however, he pleaded guilty to prohibited election activity, a misdemeanor. Weyher survived all the bad press to retain his chairmanship.nn

BEST DRESSED HAWK
ntttPaul T. Mero
nttWalk into the conservative think tank The Sutherland Institute with its bank of windows overlooking Temple Square, and you find out the devil doesn’t only have the best tunes but also the sleekest offices. Sleek is an adjective that might well be applied to Sutherland’s President Paul T. Mero. His pinstripe or black Italian suits and choice Italian loafers reflect a predictably conservative but nevertheless sharp, natty sartorial style. His wife, he admits, buys his clothes and cuts his hair. But it’s Mero who chooses his striking power ties that dazzle with their reds and golds. Mero’s dress sense seems just as smooth as the Sutherland’s official talking points, showing that even with his threads, Mero stays on message.nn

BEST FUND-RAISER
ntttHogle Zoo
nttPatrons across the street at This Is the Place Monument always suspected there were raucous parties going on at the nonprofit Hogle Zoo. And at least for one evening a year, they’re right. For its fund-raiser, the zoo scatters bars and food from valley restaurants around the zoo itself. Patrons sip wine while watching the animals or human entertainment, like fire-eaters, before dancing. Decadent? Perhaps. But the combination of a stiff drink and monkeys scratching themselves is a sure recipe for party. 2600 Sunnyside Ave., 582-1631, HogleZoo.orgnn

BEST CAMPAIGN GAFFE
ntttChurch-Romney Plotting
nttNo need to worry a Mormon U.S. president would take marching orders from South Temple. So the backers of Mitt Romney tell us over and over. So what were Romney political operatives doing meeting privately with a church apostle in a LDS Church building? The official explanation is that LDS officials were explaining why they couldn’t help the Romney campaign'a little something to do with the separation of church and state. But an intercepted e-mail told a different story about a plan to use church-owned BYU’s business school alumni chapters throughout the country as building blocks for a Romney run.nn

BEST BOXING PROMOTER
ntttRep. Greg Hughes
nttIn one corner is the state’s athletic commission, which regulates prize fighting. In the other is a state lawmaker, a Republican from Draper, who also is part owner of welterweight Chris “Kid Kayo” Fernandez. Claiming the athletic commission favors ultimate fighting over boxing and upset that regulators suspended the promoting license of Fernandez’s trainer, Rep. Hughes has proposed replacing the athletic commission with a new sporting authority whose members would be picked by lawmakers.nn

BEST BARNEY FIFE IMITATION
ntttMatthew Godfrey
nttOgden’s mayor became an amateur flatfoot after upset city cops took to the street in protest of their wages being tied to a ticket-writing quota. After spotting a van being used as a mobile protest billboard, Godfrey followed it until its driver was picked up by another car, then phoned in the license plates to the city’s police chief. The plates came back registered to an Ogden police officer, who was placed on leave within hours in an action city officials insisted had nothing to do with the mayor’s junior G-man stint.nn

BEST PROMISE KEEPER
ntttLohra Miller
nttSoon after taking office as newly elected district attorney of Salt Lake County, Miller shelved the case of a school cop charged with shooting an unarmed man. She dropped the case at the request of police whose support she heavily courted during her “Ask a Cop” election campaign. We must wait to see what happens when it comes time for the district attorney’s office to get new digs. One-third of Miller’s campaign cash came from employees of a single downtown developer. The employees all received mysterious $2,000 “bonuses” just in time to turn around and donate the money to Miller’s campaign.nn

BEST TAX SHELTER
ntttDixie Anne Leavitt Foundation
nttThe foundation run by the family of former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, now a member of President Bush’s cabinet, allowed Leavitt to take $1.2 million in tax write-offs thanks to the foundation’s charitable donations. Luckily for Leavitt, most of the foundation’s money was spent on Leavitt family businesses or real estate holdings. Leavitt himself got a loan from the family foundation, which donated less than 1 percent of its assets to charities, including a charity dedicated to the noble and tax deductible cause of investigating the genealogy of the Leavitt family. The IRS named the type of foundation used by the Leavitts to its list of “dirty dozen” tax scams.nn

BEST WALK
ntttMarshall Thompson
nttAs an Army journalist, reservist Sgt. Thompson was tasked with finding uplifting stories in Iraq to bolster the war effort. What he found was troops with serious doubts about their mission and Iraqis eager to end the American occupation, none of which he was allowed to write about. Returning to the States, the Logan native decided he needed to do something dramatic to get the truth out, deciding on a walk across “the reddest state in the country.” He completed the 500 miles from Idaho to Arizona in 21 days.nn

BEST JET-SETTER
ntttMike Leavitt
nttLet it never be said Utah’s former governor doesn’t know how to live. While President Bush’s other cabinet secretaries flew commercial, Leavitt, as the country’s Health and Human Services Secretary, crisscrossed the country on a $3 million-per-year, 14-passenger Gulfstream III equipped with leather couches. Unfortunately for a patient in Puerto Rico who needed an antidote for radiation poisoning and a New York anthrax victim, the plane was supposed to be on stand-by for emergency use of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Leavitt’s 19 trips on the jet cost taxpayers $72,000 over and above the $3 million lease cost.nn

BEST BAIL BONDSMAN
ntttSen. Orrin Hatch
nttWhen music industry types are in trouble they know who to call: fellow songster Hatch who can unstuck the stickiest legal problems with a single phone call. Usually, getting popped with cocaine in the conservative United Arab Emirates brings years behind bars. Not for R&B producer Dallas Austin. He was caught with coke when he entered Dubai heading for Naomi Campbell’s three-day birthday party but was sprung by a call from Utah’s senior senator. Grammy-winning songwriter Hatch and Austin share the same entertainment lawyer.nn

BEST USE OF ROSES TO SCORE”
ntttMary Kaye Huntsman Lobbying for Real Soccer
nttThe Bible advises that “it is better to live on the corner of the roof than to share a house with a nagging wife” (Proverbs 21:9). After the Missus complained about Sandy losing its major league soccer team because no one seemed willing to finance a stadium, the Guv placated his beloved by fast-tracking a deal. This after Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon already nixed the investment as being too risky for public dollars. For her “lobbying” efforts, Utah’s First Lady received 35 roses from Real CEO Dave Checketts, a rose for each million of public funding she helped secure. So while Checketts got a stadium and the Guv got to come down from the roof, Salt Lake County taxpayers also can claim they got screwed in exchange for 35 roses.nn

BEST LIBRARIAN
ntttNancy Tessman
nttShe rose through the ranks, eventually becoming director of the Salt Lake City libraries. It was her vision of a library as community gathering space, open to all, as much as spectacular architecture, that turned the Main Library downtown into the center of Salt Lake City. Tessman retires in June after 30 years at the library. We can only hope the next director'no doubt selected in a national search and coming with a resume chock full of fancy pants degrees'will do so well.nn

BEST WASTE OF YOUR TAX DOLLARS
ntttThe Carpool Lane Freeway Entrance on 400 South
nttLet’s hear it for the Salt Lake Police Department for completely ignoring the drive-thru-style drug deals that take place on the corner of 200 South and 500 West near the homeless shelter. They would rather stake four to six motorcycle cops at the on-ramp to bust carpool violators. Meanwhile, the tenants of The Bridge project are scared to leave their building after dark for fear of getting tangled up in something they can’t stop. Apparently, the safety of others isn’t as important as we thought.400 South & 700 West, Weekends

BEST UTAH TWO STEPS FORWARD Readers’ Choice
ntttTeacher Pay
nttThe Legislature’s greatest love of all may be for a huge budget surplus'trying to get it to loosen Utah’s purse strings for a purpose other than a parking garage or some one-hand-washes-the-other corporate-welfare boondoggle is often a losing game. That’s why it came as such a pleasant surprise to find that, like Whitney Houston, the Legislature believes that children are the future'and the people we trust to teach them well deserve more than subsistence wages. Teacher pay is still incommensurate with teacher importance, but the long-overdue $2,500 per year raise is better than a rap on the knuckles with a yardstick.
nt2. Smoking Ban
nt3. Real Soccer Stadium

BEST UTAH ONE STEP BACK Readers’ Choice
ntttReal Soccer Stadium
nttThe taxpayers didn’t want it. Salt Lake County didn’t want it. Nobody wanted it, really, except David Checketts and that Sandy mayor who looks like the Monopoly guy'but, thanks to our friends in the Legislature, we’re all going to be forking out big-time for years to come. For those few who disagree, please at least get this straight: The problem isn’t that we don’t like soccer or that we don’t understand how exciting it is or that we’d rather watch some other sport. We just think it’s a bad idea to funnel public dollars into a private corporate behemoth owned by a guy who already has more money than God.
nt2. School Vouchers
nt3. EnergySolutions Arenann

News_&_Columns Best of Utah 2007 Media & Politics See Pt. 5 1CA7B7FC-2BF4-55D0-F1F7DA6F44BBC2E3 2007-06-11 15:19:20.0 1 1 1 2007-04-05 00:00:00.0 971 0
City Weekly Staff

BEST PUBLIC ART
Flying Objects
So much public art ends up looking like someone’s private gack abandoned on the sidewalk. However, Michael J. Bingham’s rocket-powered flying cow near the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center is really the highlight of Flying Objects, a public-art project funded by the Salt Lake Redevelopment Agency. It somehow manages to convey whimsy without burying the needle on the twee-o-meter. Long may she fly.

BEST BIKE TRAIL Readers’ Choice
Bonneville Shoreline
Not just one trail but, if you’re a true dirt-bike completist, a series of trails stretching along the whole slope of the Wasatch Mountains. If you insist on just one section, however, pick the northern Salt Lake City section, which begins on Bonneville Drive just slightly east of the City Creek Canyon road. This is a 10-mile loop that won’t disappoint, especially the heart-stopping descent around mile 5, not to mention heart-stopping views of the Salt Lake Valley if you ride the trail’s topmost portions. You’ve got plenty of points of entry to choose from, too, including feeder trails near Red Butte Gardens. Simply stunning.
2. Jordan River Parkway
3. Wasatch Crest Trail

BEST NEW WILDERNESS
Cedar Mountain
Utah enviros pushed for years to have the Beehive State’s remaining unspoiled areas protected as federal wilderness. They got nowhere until Utah’s wilderness-hating congressional delegation saw the proposal as a way to keep nuclear waste out of Utah. Rail lines needed to bring the nation’s waste to a nuclear dumping ground proposed by Private Fuel Storage aren’t allowed to cross official wilderness, you see. So just like that, Utah got 100,000 acres of wilderness called the Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area, and, maybe, a foot in the door toward a future, much larger, Utah wilderness bill.

BEST CHEERFUL URBAN DECAY
The All Star Travel Inn
Its empty pool transports the imagination to a happier time. In the 1950s or thereabouts, the sight of its magical “Kiddie’s Fairy Land,” complete with anthropomorphic bears, dwarfs and a swimsuit-lacerating concrete waterslide, must’ve done a bang-up business with road-tripping families capturing the rapt attention of every kid in the back of every Winnebago passing by. (“Can we go there?!”) The signage’s weirdly out-of-place bikini babe clinched the deal for Dad—while Mom, heaving a long-suffering sigh, searched the bottom of her purse for that last forgotten Valium. Nowadays, it mainly serves as an interesting diversion for wait-listed Red Iguana customers. 754 W. North Temple, 531-7300

BEST SNOWBOARDING Readers’ Choice
Brighton Resort
Referred to by many as the capital of snowboarding, Brighton is great for beginning and advanced boarders. Ticket prices are affordable, and you get more bang for your buck with night boarding till 9 p.m. six days a week. Brighton’s night boarding terrain is the biggest in the state with over 200 lighted acres. This boarder haven also boasts four terrain parks, a half pipe and easy backcountry access for anyone looking for a challenge. If you don’t like riding the rails, the terrain parks are a perfect place to watch other people fall and hurt themselves. But, if you need one more reason to choose Brighton, go for the nachos. Molly Green’s, a bar at the bottom of Crest and Majestic runs, offers a plate of nachos big enough to feed four and stays open late for the après-ski crowd. 12601 E. Big Cottonwood Canyon, 532-4731, SkiBrighton.com

BEST COMMUNITY SPIRIT
CLASS
What most impresses about CLASS, the nonprofit dedicated to education and the arts for all ages is the sacrifice its founders and supporters make to keep the dream alive. Part of its survival is due to the support of its landlord, local realtor Ken Chung. Co-founder Daynen McCarthy also kicks in what money he can from working nights on inbound telephone sales. His partner Lily Johnson pushes on with art classes for children and adults, as well as working with youth in custody. While grants trickle in, CLASS fight to bring arts free of charge to public schools, allowing hundreds of kids each year access to the magical world of creation. 71 W. 2100 South, 792-1925

BEST SPIN CITY
Gallivan Ice Rink
Nestled among so many tall buildings, you might be forgiven for thinking the Gallivan rink a (very) poor man’s Rockefeller Center. But, on the ice, the landscape’s corporate-soullessness slips away. In its place rises a romantic yearning for times past. As you glide around the rink, dodging the odd child determined to take your legs out from under you, it’s as if you’re starring in your own Christmas TV special, awaiting only Marlo Thomas or Melissa Gilbert to complete the effect. 239 S. Main, 535-6110

BEST SOUND OF SILENCE
Abbey of the Holy Trinity
God is not in the details but rather in the silence. At least that’s the impression you get at Ogden Valley’s Holy Trinity Abbey. Whether it’s reading in the hush of the well-stocked library or a walk in the grove on the south side, there’s a quality to the depth of the silence that’s as transcendent as the light draping itself over nearby hills. Sign up for a weekend retreat at the abbey and that silence—that connection into a deep spiritual reality—can be yours for no more than the drive out to the valley, some dish-washing and the intestinal fortitude required to survive the monks’ cooking. 1250 S. 9500 East, Huntsville, 801-745-3784

BEST MOVES
Uprok Records’ Monthly Break-Dance Competition
If you’ve been patiently biding your time, honing your Dance Dance Revolution moves in the seclusion of your mother’s basement, waiting for the chance to release the dance fanatic within, your time has come! Uprok Records holds a monthly competition for break dancers of all skill levels. With guest DJs spinning the beats, it’s time to dust those shoes off and see what you’re made of. On the floor or in the crowd, it’s an incredible sight to see these gravity-defying beat warriors practicing their skills—plus the event’s free to the public. 342 S. State, 363-1523

BEST HIP NEIGHBORHOOD INFUSION
East Broadway
It has always harbored its own unique charm of sorts, long providing a good home to such Salt Lake City staples as The Tavernacle, Salt Lake Film Society’s Broadway Cinema, Ken Sanders Rare Books and a number of Utah’s best antique shops. But, more recently, the atmospheric charm has been energized and the East Broadway neighborhood along 300 South between State Street and 500 East has concentrated its efforts to become a hip and trendy downtown locale that easily rivals the likes of 9th & 9th and central Sugar House. With Nobrow Coffee providing a virtual social hall, it’s the eccentric storefronts such as Slowtrain, Aerolab Salon and Retro Rose that offer up some rare diversity in a reputedly conventional town.