First went the old train. Then went the old substation.
Yesterday, crews demolished the cinder block substation at the old Saltair site. All intact remnants of Old Saltair are now gone. I’m doing my research now and will have the story within the next few days. Stay tuned.
If you’re interested and will be in the neighborhood, I’ll be speaking at the Tooele County Historical Society meeting on the evening of Tuesday, Dec. 14. I’ll be talking about my history-driven adventures in the west desert. The meeting takes place at 7pm at the Pioneer Museum at 47 E. Vine St in Tooele, UT.
There is no cost to attend this meeting, but $5 will buy you a year-long membership to the Historical Society. They’ll also have some good books for sale at the meeting. If have anything in mind you’d like me to give particular emphasis to during my presentation, contact me via email or Twitter.
As oil continues to leak into the Gulf of Mexico to the tune of 40,000 barrels per day, Utahns have watched the devastation from a considerable distance. So it came as quite a surprise to Salt Lakers yesterday when Red Butte Creek began flowing black with crude.
This time it’s Chevron in the hot seat. The oil was traced to a leaking pipeline that feeds one of several refineries in North Salt Lake. Crews successfully capped it late yesterday afternoon, but the damage had been done. An estimated 50-60 gallons of medium crude leaked from the pipeline per minute, and it’s unknown when the leak began.
Though the Red Butte leak doesn’t come close to comparing to the Gulf blowout, it is tragic on many levels. Noxious fumes and tainted water aside, the spillage drenched many birds and damaged the century-old trees along the creek. Fish were undoubtedly affected as the slick enveloped the pond at Liberty Park. The creek feeds the Jordan River and eventually the Great Salt Lake– a lake with no outlet– and the heart of the non-coastal West’s migratory ecosystem.
Chevron crews are working feverishly to clean up the crude, but it will take time to assess the damage. Click over to the Salt Lake Tribune for a good run-down of the situation.
MTV has posted a new re:Play video featuring Jack Jonson. In it Jack discusses his musical roots, his upcoming album To The Sea, and that Hawaiian sound. If you listen close, you might hear a few chords from his new single, “You and Your Heart,” which hits iTunes on April 6.
I LOVE the new sound. The new mid-life crisis hairdo, not so much.
Click over to MTV to watch part 2.
*Sorry MTV, your embed code doesn’t work for WordPress, so I had to go with the YouTube rip. My apologies.
More Jack Jonson blogging here.
For a few years now I’ve been meaning to participate in Project 2,996, an annual effort to memorialize all of the victims of 9/11 in the blogosphere. It’s a simple deal– I volunteered and was randomly assigned two victims to remember.
Like most everybody in the United States, I remember where I was 8 years ago this morning. I was on my way to work in Salt Lake City. Unlike most mornings, I opted to listen to music in the car instead of news/talk radio. I didn’t know what was going on until I got to my desk and did my morning Drudge check.
I tried online streams for CNN, Fox News– any news outlet. Nothing but busy networks. Everybody in the world was trying the same thing at the same time. I stuck to refreshing Drudge.
First tower down.
Because the full scope of these events had yet to unfold, work went on as usual. We started a meeting, which was somber. One guy had a sister that worked in the Pentagon. He hadn’t been able to reach her since he heard the news.
We talked client software user manuals and data sets. I didn’t pay attention much, which noticeably irked my supervisor.
Second tower down.
The world was changing as we deliberated. I didn’t know anybody directly affected by the attacks, but my gut and heart were deeply affected then. Here are a few sentences about two people I didn’t know, but who both fell victim to terrorist attacks on our own soil that morning:
John M. Rodak
Mr. Rodak, 39, worked in 2 World Trade Center. He was just getting his day started after a 2-hour commute from his home in Mantua, N.J. He was survived by his wife and two young daughters.
Emerita (Emy) De la Pena
Mrs. De la Pena, 32, was the mother of a 1 year old daughter, Daniella. She worked on the 90th floor of the same building as a secretary. She was survived by her daughter.
Mr. Rodak and Mrs. De la Pena, we remember you today. My God bless you and all those who loved you.
Mr. Rodak, 39,
Yeah, it’s been a couple weeks, but I didn’t forget my Summer Tunes series. This week’s offering comes from San Diego-bred singer/songwriter Tristan Prettyman. Enjoy!
more about "Summer Tunes: Tristan Prettyman’s ‘Ma…", posted with vodpod
Ok, this may just be the funniest thing I’ve ever heard.
It’s been floating around the Web for a while now, but I recently heard this and had to share. The audio is a complaint call to the Jimmy Dean Sausage company’s customer service line that was leaked by an employee. I’ve Googled it extensively and checked Snopes and the like, and I can’t find anything that suggests the call is a hoax. It contains a bit of mild cussing, but it’s probably fine for work. I think I now know where Mike Judge got his inspiration for Hank Hill. I’d imagine this guy has changed his phone number by now. Good stuff!. Click the play button below…
This segment of the trail was well-shaded and picturesque, traversing several green meadows before climbing 2,200 feet via switchbacks to a saddle. The abrupt saddle approach is my least favorite part of any ascent. I’m usually grateful to switchbacks for sparing me a class-5 climb up a sheer slope. But on saddle approaches, they become maddening lanes of an endless alpine rat maze that only seem to widen the gap between me and the pass.
My psychological aversion to saddle approaches has the physical effects of Tylenol PM. As my energy levels plummeted, I began to wonder whether the aerial photos that Meadow suggested might have been a better idea. Periodically glancing up at groups far above us didn’t help. Neither did the thinning air.
The above is an excerpt of my article in this week’s Tooele Transcript Bulletin. Click over to the TTB to read the full story.
Check back Monday or so for a comprehensive guide to hiking Deseret Peak.
For those of you following the life of Hunter Greyson Keel, which I touched on a few weeks ago, I’m sad to inform you that he passed away on January 11. I received a note from his mother several days ago. In it, she said that Hunter’s first Christmas was wonderful, and that Hunter passed comfortably as she held him in her arms.
You can read his obituary here.
Amber, you and Dennis are in my thoughts and prayers.
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