General News

Elder Hugh Pinnock Dead At 66 Salt Lake City's KTVX TV4 reported this evening that Elder Hugh W. Pinnock of the First Quorum of the Seventy died today after a short illness. Elder Pinnock has served as an LDS General Authority for the past 23 years, including as one of the quorum's seven presidents and as general president of the Church's Sunday School. He was 66.

LDS Church Goes With Large In New Plaza Creches The LDS Church is following dozens of local LDS congregations and has created a display of Christmas Creches from around the world. But the Church's display is also very different from these displays; instead of hundreds of creches, the Church's display, on its new main street plaza, has just four, the creches were created by Church-commissioned artisans, while those in other displays were generally purchased or made by private individuals, and the figures in the creche's are much larger than usual -- 2 feet (.6 meters) to 4 feet (1.2 meters) high.

Local News

After 14 Months Of Silence, Solomona Tells His Story Peter Solomona, on trial for murder in the October 18, 1999 death of popular high school student Brandon Ketsdever, publically told his version of the events leading to his shooting Ketsdever. In two hours of tearful testimony, Solomona said his gun accidentally discharged when his trigger finger knocked against the door frame of Ketsdever's car. His lawyer then told the court that Solomona, an LDS Church member, is the innocent victim of a tragic accident.

This Year Reno Temple Lights No Problem Unlike last year, no one showed up to oppose a special use permit covering the lighting of the Reno Nevada Temple. The Reno City Council met Tuesday to discuss the LDS Church's application for a special use permit to light the outside of the building, leading the council to unanimously approve the lighting plan.

Sports

One Year Later, Ainge Has No Regrets A year after he stepped down as coach of the NBA's Phoenix Suns, Basketball star Danny Ainge says he has no regrets. Ainge spends his time just as he said he would a year ago -- on his family and Church. The results have been good, he says, and while he maintains some connections with sports, don't look for him to go back.

Steve Young: It's A Boy! Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young's wife Barbara gave birth to a boy last Wednesday, according to an announcement from the San Francisco 49ers. The baby was born at 1:30 pm on December 6th, weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long.

Politics

Former LDS Congressman Allan T. Howe Dies Former Congressman Allan T. Howe, who represented the Utah that included Salt Lake City, died yesterday at his son's home in Falls Church, Virginia. Howe served in Congress starting in 1974 for one term, losing his bid for re-election in 1976 after a scandal over his arrest for soliciting sex acts. He was 73.

IOC Claims Hatch-Sponsored Drug Regs Lax The International Olympic Committee attacked Utah Senator Orrin Hatch on Tuesday, criticizing the Senator for his support of the dietary supplements industry. The IOC claims that dietary supplements are poorly labeled, and sometimes contain steroids that the IOC has banned for athletes. Explanations from athletes who tested positive for drugs during the Sydney Australia games led the IOC to blame the supplements.

Internet

LDS Entrepreneur's Mission Leads To Nativities.com Kurt Holmgren's LDS mission to Poland started him on the road to his business, Nativities.com, a website that sells unique nativity sets from all over the world. Kurt and his wife Erica started the site last year after developing the concept as a side business, and it has since grown into a small business that may now lead to their operating the site full-time.

People

Former Temple President, Banker C.R. Canfield Dead At 66 Former Johannesburg South Africa Temple President and long-time Utah Banker Charles "Chuck" Robert Canfield died Monday, December 11th in Bountiful, Utah after a battle with cancer. After a career working in banks in Washington, Colorado, Nevada and Utah, cumulating as President and CEO of Salt Lake City's Tracy Collins Bank, Canfield served the LDS Church in South Africa and then served as Director of the Hill Cumorah Visitor's Center and Historical Site. He was 66.

Arts & Entertainment

MoTab Christmas Album Called Their Best Ever Reviews of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's latest Christmas album call it the choir's best Christmas album ever -- out of more than 20 that the group has recorded since 1945. The album, called "A Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas," was released recently by the Telarc label, and is reviewed positively in the Salt Lake Tribune and on the Amazon.com website. However another review takes issue with the album, calling it "over-produced."

Business

Tribune Loses Attempt To Block Sale US District Court Judge Tena Campbell turned down the Salt Lake Tribune's request that she halt the paper's sale to Denver's MediaNews group. Campbell denied all the Tribune's claims, saying that the evidence did not support the claims. The Tribune said it plans to appeal the ruling to the US 10th Circuit Court as early as Monday.

Bonneville Buys Chicago's WNIB, Fans Fear Format Change LDS Church-owned radio company Bonneville International agreed last week to purchase Chicago classical music station WNIB-FM and its sister station WNIZ-FM for $165 million increasing Bonneville's presence in Chicago to five stations. But the announcement left fans of the 45-year-old station certain that it will not keep the classical format, instead choosing a more profitable format that fits better with Bonneville's other stations in Chicago.

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