Miscalculated Fear
Can we just get over the nimby business? The Inn Between has finally purchased a facility that will help its mission of providing end-of-life care to the homeless, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. And yes, they will also be treating people with cancer or other serious medical issues—you know, the really, really dangerous homeless people who can barely walk. The Inn Between has spent three years garnering neighborhood and city trust of their west-side facility, but hey, that's the west side. It's not Sugar House, where people have sensibilities. Neighbors just have to grow a pair. The city, and in fact the state, are looking at venues to spread out homeless shelters, a much needed solution to a burgeoning problem. This is not a shelter, but what if it were? Fear of other people placed its stamp on society long before 9/11. The miscalculations of risk are just one more result of the #fakenews world we live in.
Bankruptcy Backfire
It would be funny if it weren't so serious. San Juan County could go bankrupt for trying to beat back federal designations and keep those upstart Navajos in line. Yes, Commissioner, scofflaw and presumptive legislator Phil Lyman is all huffy about it. He told the Four Corners Free Press he's "deeply, deeply concerned," and it's "all Bears Ears-related and has nothing to do with race or voting or anything else. It's completely environmentally driven by the same folks that have been filing lawsuits for the last 25 years in San Juan County." That's frivolous as in voting rights violations or protecting wilderness and Native American artifacts. The county is down from $9 million in the general reserve to less than $5 million, and looking at millions more. Possible bankruptcy? Unfortunately, the Native Americans who have voting rights will be left holding the bag.
Mystery Data
You know something's wrong when they call it a "mystery data center." Utah once lost a huge Facebook facility because of out-of-control incentives that might bring jobs but at a cost to schools, the environment and perhaps lifestyle. Now, Eagle Mountain has learned a lesson, according to a Salt Lake Tribune editorial. They got some little commitments for things like roads and infrastructure—all behind closed doors. No one really cares about how much water these places will need because apparently climate change is giving the state plenty of that. Utah's not alone in its avarice. It competes with other states for what might or might not be a behemoth that will shut out small businesses, deplete natural resources and push young workers into data caves for their livelihood.
