Local News Briefs

BYU volunteers help prepare Temple Square for winter

About 500 BYU students spent Saturday, October 9th working on Temple Square, preparing the 20 acres of flower gardens for the winter. The volunteers pulled up some 100,000 annuals that would not last through the winter.

The following Saturday, October 16th, volunteers were scheduled to help plant 90,000 bulbs and 160,000 flowers to replace those removed. The replacements should last through the spring.

see: BYU volunteers help prepare Temple Square for winter
(BYU) Daily Universe 11Oct99 D1
By Diana Van Orden: NewsNet Staff Writer

Detroit Temple Cornerstone Box Prepared

The Detroit Temple Committee has prepared a Cornerstone box to be placed in the cornerstone of the Temple when it is dedicated. The steel box is inscribed with the dedication date and will include a photographic record of the temple construction, open house information, media coverage of the temple, interesting church history of the area, a single page from each unit of the Detroit Temple District, a copy of the scriptures, the hymnal, a book by President Hinckley, programs from the ground breaking, open house, and dedication, minutes of the committee meetings and a copy of the dedicatory prayer.

LDS Church members in the Detroit area also have the opportunity to provide crocheted altar cloths for the Temple.

see: Cornerstone Box Prepared
Detroit Temple Times 5Oct99 D1
By Richard Stamps, Temple Committee Historical Chair

New LDS Mission President in Las Vegas noted

The Las Vegas Sun notes that Warran G. Tate is the new mission president of the Nevada Las Vegas Mission. Serving with his wife, Suzanne Jeppson Tate, he will oversee missionary work in eastern Nevada and northwestern Arizona.

Prior to his service, Tate was chairman, owner and general partner of Tate/Brubaker Corp. of Salt Lake City and a partner of Tate/Brubaker Realators. He has also served as a state and county delegate for a political party and served as chairman and a member of the board of directors of the Granite Education Foundation.

see: Community news briefs (Tate to head training of area missionaries)
Las Vegas NV Sun 4Oct99 D1

Utah Area Presidency asks Stake Presidents and Bishops to learn about Domestic Violence

The Utah area presidency asked stake presidents and bishops in Utah county and surrounding areas to attend a free conference on domestic abuse presented by the Provo, Utah Police Department. The conference was held on Saturday, October 16th in Provo's Marriott Hotel.

see: Police need support to end family violence
Provo UT Daily Herald 10Oct99 D1
By Candace Perry: The Daily Herald

LDS candidate for Salt Lake City Mayor accused of mudslinging

A recent primary election reduced the number of candidates in the race for Salt Lake Citys mayor to two: Rocky Anderson and LDS Church member Stuart Reid. Many observers worry that the race will turn negative, and some contend that it already has.

Reid, a conservative Democrat, is accused of connecting fellow conservative candidate and LDS Church member Steve Harmsen to abortion by sending out a mailer to voters pointing out that Harmsen was endorsed by the pro-choice group Utahns for Choice. "I'm a member of a Mormon bishopric, for heaven's sake," said Harmsen, who opposes abortion but recognizes that it is legal under current law and says the mayor can do little to change it.

see: Mayoral Race Shows Signs of Attack Tactics
Salt Lake Tribune 10Oct99 D2
By Rebecca Walsh: Salt Lake Tribune

The LDS Church's impact on Utah School Funding

In an editorial on School Funding in Utah, the Tribune argues that Utah's woes are due to LDS Church teachings and Utah's cultural beliefs on family size: Utah, which is 70 percent LDS Church members, has a birth rate that is 50 percent higher than the rest of the United States. It spends relatively less per pupil on education while spending about the same per taxpayer on education as the rest of the US.

The long-term solution may boil down to a choice between increased funding and taxes and a lower birthrate. The Tribune suggests that the choices are either increasing taxes, instituting a 'head tax' on families with more than two children in the school system, or coming up with creative ways to maximize use of tax dollars for education.

see: Why School Funding's Tight
Salt Lake Tribune 10Oct99 D2

BYU Academy restoration on track

The renovation of the old BYU Academy Building into a new library for Provo is right on schedule, says Maurine Brimhall, vice president of the Brigham Young Academy Foundation. The building was owned by BYU until 1976 when it wrs purchased by the city. What to do with the building was a source of debate in the city until 2 1/2 years ago, when voters approved a $16 million bond to restore the building for use as a libbary.

see: Progress on schedule at Brigham Young Academy
(BYU) Daily Universe 5Oct99 D3
By Rob Rogers: NewsNet Staff Writer

Nauvoo contributing to more tourism in Illinois

Illinois' new director of Tourism, Cathy Ritter, expressed her admiration for the growth in tourism in the area of Quincy on a recent visit. Ritter noted that Quincy, one of the closest large cities to Nauvoo, has doubled the number of hotel stays over the past five years.

She also indicated that Nauvoo was an example of the power of tourism to boost local economies, and said she expects the growth of tourism to increase in Nauvoo with the construction of the Nauvoo Temple.

see: Illinois tourism director visits Quincy
WGEM TV Quincy Ill (MSNBC) 11Oct99 D4
By Stephanie Schaefer

The Salt Lake Tribune's coverage of LDS General Conference

In his weekly "Letter from the Editor," Salt Lake Tribune editor James Shelledy notes that the Tribune was hit last week with its biannual dozen cancellation of subscriptions due to coverage of General Conference. These subscribers don't want the Tribune to cover the LDS Church at all.

Shelledy says that because of the size and influence of the LDS Church in Utah and Salt Lake City, the newspaper must cover it. "I am astounded that there continues to be a percentage of Utahns who want to ignore what is occurring in the state's largest and most politically active religion -- an organization that influences every walk of public life in this state and a force that defines Utah culture. The Tribune is most interested," says Shelledy.

He also notes that their is a "chasmic difference" between the Tribune's coverage of the LDS Church and that of the Church-owned Deseret News, "The Tribune will cover aspects of the LDS church that the company publication won't address. We attempt to handle controversial stories with fairness, sensitivity and accuracy. But as the state's No. 1 news source, we consider it our obligation to cover all sides of the LDS Church."

see: Letter From The Editor
Salt Lake Tribune 10Oct99 D6
By James Shelledy: Salt Lake Tribune Editor