Citizen Revolt: Week of March 3
Save the Prison Chapel, Get Your Home Tested, Keep Up on Political News
By Katharine Biele @kathybiele
Save the Prison Chapel
Beyond the call for affordable housing, there is an urgency among developers to stuff their pocketbooks during this frenzied development period. The old state prison site is no exception. Now called The Point, the site is slated for lots of housing, office towers and retail outlets. We won't talk about the potential for pollution here. At the urging of Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, developers decided to save something, but they chose the wrong thing. As a commemorative token, they now plan to leave a single guard tower. "They decided to save the creepiest part of the prison," says David Amott of Preservation Utah. Lost in the building mania is the planned demolition of the small chapel by the wayside. It was during the tenure of Gov. George Clyde when 511 inmates revolted, took hostages and made demands for things like better food and a kinder parole board. The revolt ended and Clyde saw that the inmates got an ecumenical chapel for dances, theater and more. Prisoners built it themselves. If you care at all about this important history, comment now before only a guard tower is left. Comment at info@thepointutah.org, before Tuesday, March 8.
https://bit.ly/35a6h7V
Get Your Home Tested
If you live in the vicinity of the Department of Veterans Affairs George H. Wahlen Medical Center, you can have the air in your home tested. Why? Because the groundwater and natural springs have become contaminated with toxic chemicals that have spread in a plume southwestward for about 1.25 miles. A former dry-cleaning facility there was identified as an EPA Superfund site in 2013 and has become a priority for clean-up. You can see where the area is—surrounding East High School—on the Superfund website PCE Plume Superfund Site. The EPA is offering free testing for residents in the neighborhood. 700 S. 1600 East, the week of Monday, March 7, free. pceplume.org
Keep Up on Political News
Have you been listening to the Hinckley Institute Radio Hour? If you want to keep up with local politics, this is the place. Most recently, there have been programs on the role of local media, U.S.-China Relations in the Biden era and, of course, coping and resilience in the face of severe drought. With all the partisan bickering over inflation, climate change and international relations, these regular programs are not to miss. Hinckley Forums are held at the U of U Hinckley Caucus Room, 260 S. Central Campus Drive, Room 2018, hinckley.utah.edu/calendar
Radio programs run Wednesdays and Saturdays on KCPW 88.3 FM, Wednesdays at 10 a.m., Saturdays at 9 a.m. https://bit.ly/3hmrHkw
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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