Buzz Blog

"We'd go down to the river / And into the river we'd dive." —Bruce Springsteen ---

A quick tip for reporters in need of an easy story that gets you out of the office: float the Jordan River. And when you do it, ignore the drunk guy in the corner office/supply closet at City Weekly shouting, "No! No! No!" Who cares that it's been done, and done, and done. Don't worry that I've done it, years ago, and that about six other D-News reporters did the same story during my time at that paper. Ignore the fact that Stephen Dark did it last year. Ignore, ignore, ignore. Because, honestly, it's a fun little trip -- as long as you don't almost die, as Dark did -- and extremely easy to write.

Now is a great time to do it, by the way, because government leaders have banded together to form some sort of commission to study committee recommendations from advisory boards about how to start developing the river area. Developing, I said! According to this Tribune article, "large-scale riverside developments" are part of the mix. Sounds wonderful. And vague. Are they industrial? Because that screwed the river initially. Are they residential? Because we already have those. Ditto for golf courses and, at some point, soccer fields. Oh, and don't forget gun clubs and a motocross track (is it still there?).

Ahh... but we don't have mixed-use. You know, those awesome developments that have made Sugarhouse and Marmalade the gems they are today. So, we can dig another hole and plow another field along the Jordan.

Here's why this is not an historic day, as the Tribune suggests: Attempts to develop/save the Jordan River have been happening for decades. Governments have banded together and committed money, trails have been proposed, plans have been hatched. In just the time I covered the suburbs and Salt Lake County, there was a joint effort to build the entire trail, there were about a half-dozen plans for a "large-scale" housing development, land was set aside for preservation, and so forth. And guess what? Not much happened. Yeah, some trail got built, and a couple of golf courses. Are things better? Yeah. Will this new commission turn the river into an urban treasure, as they want? No.

So please, dear fellow reporters, float the river. I need something to bitch about, because quite frankly, this Joel Gott wine I'm drinking is too damn tasty and I hate being content.

Other historic events today:

List, Continued:  Can anybody outdraw Robert Gehrke on a GRAMA request? It seems that just as other news agencies are considering a GRAMA request for something, Gehrke is writing a story about it. Case in point: The termination letter of one of the employees who released The List.

Prop. 8, Continued: Yesterday, there was semi-historic ruling in California that means nothing, according to CW's own Jesse Fruhwirth. (An atta boy to him for turning a tweet into a blog). Mother Jones tackles the issue of the judge's homosexuality. In semi-related news, Taylorsville adopts an anti-bias ordinance.

Jordan River, Paved: Wanna get creative, reporters? How about a walking tour of North Temple, which SLC wants to be grand. Or better yet, how about walking in a canoe, Flintstone-style, down the boulevard? Now that would be fun. 

Herbert's Open Bar, Continued: Seriously, I think good booze is to be had in Herbert's campaign office. They've put on pause the 104 reasons to re-elect Herbert -- which seem to have nothing to do with actions Herbert has done -- to post on "Blog" about two accomplishments that Herbert actually can claim, including Adobe opening an office here.

Historic Food Prices: Michael Pollan advocates for $8 eggs. And, goddammit, he actually makes sense. Stupid Michael Pollan.