Story Archive for 05/25/2010
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Small oil lease sale held in SLC
Published on May 25, 2010 at 03:20PM
Updated on May 25, 2010 at 09:21PM
(SALT LAKE CITY) – A small oil and gas lease sale was held today in Salt Lake City of two offered parcels in the Fillmore Field Office. Reports showed the Utah BLM sold one of the two parcels totaling 957 acres of federal land. During the oral auction, BLM received $3500 in total revenues from the sale. The highest total bid per acre was $2 on a parcel and the highest total bid per parcel was $1,914 on a parcel.
State Agency Takes Over Planned Southern Utah Community
Published on May 25, 2010 at 02:43PM
(SALT LAKE CITY)-The state agency overseeing trust lands is taking over a half-built resort community near St. George after the developer ran into trouble due to the declining real estate market. Utah’s School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration is taking back finished lots, infrastructure, office buildings and other lands from SunCor Development Co. of Tempe, Ariz. The agency paid $3.4 million to buy out its one-time partner, marking the first time it took over a housing development, stated Kevin Carter, the director of the trust lands administration. SunCor failed to find another buyer offering acceptable terms. In Utah, about half of 2,000 planned homes had been built at Coral Canyon adjacent to Interstate 15 in Washington County. The development features a golf course, which was sold to another buyer, a clubhouse, pools and a trail system, a setup which caused Carter to call it one of the region’s better laid-out communities. SunCor, which is a subsidiary of Phoenix-based Pinnacle West Capital Corp., received virtually all of Pinnacle’s assets, as it is Pinnacle’s real estate development subsidiary. Currently, Pinnacle has taken $334 million in write-downs on real estate operations as a result of this transaction.
Cedar Breaks Delays Opening
Published on May 25, 2010 at 02:36PM
(CEDAR CITY)-The opening of Cedar Breaks National Monument has been delayed due to lingering wintry conditions. The monument, which is located up Cedar Canyon in southern Utah, typically opens on Memorial Day but will be postponed for at least another week as snowfall remains at a high level. The snow level in the mountains of Southern Utah is currently double what it normally is in late May and efforts to open Cedar Breaks Scenic Drive (S.R. 148, which is accessible from S.R. 14 out of downtown Cedar City), are underway but snow drifts are preventing it from public access. Park superintendent, Paul Roelandt, says while it’s important to be open for Memorial Day weekend, visitor safety transcends all else. Roelandt says that at this point, the earliest the road will be opened is Saturday June 5.
New Billboards Across Utah Welcome Tourists
Published on May 25, 2010 at 02:29PM
(SALT LAKE CITY)-Tuesday, the final new “Welcome to Utah” billboard sign was put into place at the Salt Lake City International Airport. The billboard is the culmination of a 20-month project and replaces those which promoted the state as the home of the 2002 Winter Olympics and have been placed at 35 different entrances to the state. Utah Governor, Gary Herbert, was on hand for the final placement and said the new billboard shows the various ways that Utah can be enticing to visitors. The signs are among the most prominent elements of the state’s “Life Elevated” rebranding effort which began in 2006 and helped boost tourism spending. The new signs also feature a variety of colorful images meant to remind travelers some of the most stunning scenery in the West belongs to Utah, even more so than decorated neighbors such as Colorado and Arizona. Featured images on the new signs include Arches National Park, Lake Powell and Zion National Park. Additionally, a sign featuring Salt Lake City’s skyline and the Wasatch Mountains was put up Tuesday at SLC International.
DWR allays fears of public road access
Published on May 25, 2010 at 12:49PM
(SPRINGVILLE) – Several local public lands access groups are concerned over what appears to be a federal government takeover of public roads from Spring City to Salina. John Fairchild from the Regional Division of Wildlife Resources Office in Springville, says the feds are not taking over the roads, they’re trying to manage roads that affect big game hunting. Public access groups are worried that hundreds of miles of local roads will be closed if the public doesn’t respond to the issue. Fairchild commented that a public meeting will be held in Manti in June to help answer concerns and questions on the management of state-owned roads in Sanpete and Sevier County.
Constitution Party candidate visits Richfield
Published on May 25, 2010 at 11:31AM
(RICHFIELD) – A candidate for the Constitution Party running for the U.S. Senate will pay a visit to Richfield this Saturday. Party organizer Leonard Brown of Richfield says Scott Bradley represents the views of most Americans. Brown said that Bradley also represents the issues brought up by those belonging to the Tea Party movement. Bradley served in the Utah National Guard and the U.S. Air Force before serving an LDS mission. He returned to receive a B.S. Degree from Westminster College and later a Masters Degree in Public Administration from BYU. For thirteen years, Bradley worked as an executive at AT&T. The public meeting will be held at the Richfield City Park at 1pm on Saturday.
LSRA projects may affect visitors
Published on May 25, 2010 at 10:50AM
(NEPHI) – Construction projects at the Little Sahara Recreation Area in Juab County may affect visitors to the area for the Memorial Day weekend. The BLM says repaving of roads might hold up traffic and reduce speed, including the road to Jericho and Jericho Loop. The entire project involves about 16 miles of asphalt road, which are being pulverized, re-graded, compacted and have a new 2.5-inch layer of hot-mix asphalt applied. BLM officials say that contractors will finish work for the Memorial Day weekend and the entire recreation site will be open for public use through May 31.
Narrows Project Comment Period Ending
Published on May 25, 2010 at 09:30AM
(Manti) The public comment period for the proposed Narrows Water Project in Sanpete County is coming to a close. Interested parties only have until June 1st to mail or email comments to the Bureau of Reclamation. The project was promised to the county decades ago by the Federal Government, but despite those promises and the legal right to the water, the dam and reservoir have never become a reality. In the last couple of years, Utah’s Congressional Delegation has voiced support for the project, and both houses of the Utah Legislature overwhelmingly passed resolutions calling for it to be built. Opposition has largely come from Carbon County which contends that if the Narrows is built, it will diminish water reserves in Schofield Reservoir. But Schofield was doubled in size years ago to mitigate the effects of the Narrows project on the neighboring county. According to Sanpete County Water Conservancy District Public Relations Representative Greg Soter, the Bureau of Reclamation has indicated that public response from Sanpete County has been small and apathetic. Without input from residents in the affected area, the project may never become a reality. For information on the Narrows Reservoir, its history, and the impact it would have on the area, you can go online to www.narrowsproject.com.
Judge releases warrants in Fox case
Published on May 25, 2010 at 07:30AM
(FILLMORE) – Several search warrants issued during the investigation of the death of a Millard County Sheriff’s deputy were released on Monday. Fourth District Court Judge Donald Eyre ruled earlier this month that the state must unseal seven search warrants containing information of two men involved in the shooting death of Deputy Josie Fox. The release of the documents comes after several media agencies launched a court battle to unseal the search warrants on addresses for property and vehicles in Salt Lake City, Delta, Fillmore, Beaver and Spanish Fork, where officers believed Roberto Roman and Ruben Chavez-Reyes might have firearms, ammunition, clothes, cell phones and DNA evidence connected to the case. The Utah Attorney General’s Office said the release of the warrants could jeopardize their case but the judge said information in the seven warrants has already been released to the public.