Today's
word on journalism
May 8, 2009
The
Last WORD
The Fat Lady Sings, Off-Key, Drools
At about this time every year, like
the swallows to Capistrano or the buzzards
to Hinckley, Ohio, the WORD migrates
to its summer musing grounds at the
sanitarium —St. Mumbles Home for
the Terminally Verbose.
The reason is clear, and never moreso
than as this season —the WORD's
13th —peters out.
It's been a fraught year of high palaver
and eye-popping transition, both good
and not-so-much. An interminable presidential
campaign saga finally did end, and in
extraordinary and historic fashion.
Meanwhile, the bottom and everything
that's below the bottom fell out of
the economy, with families, homes, entire
industries and —of particular
interest to WORDsters and the civic-minded
—dozens of daily newspapers ("I
don't so much mind that newspapers are
dying--it's watching them commit suicide
that pisses me off." --Molly Ivins).
. . all evaporating. What replaces them,
from the individual to the institutional
to the societal? Are we looking at a
future of in-depth Tweeting?
As any newsperson or firehorse knows,
it's hard to turn your back on day-to-day
catastrophe --we just have to look at
the car wreck. But even the most deranged
and driven need a rest. As philosopher
Lilly Tomlin once observed, "No
matter how cynical you become, it's
never enough to keep up."
So this morning, as a near-frost hovered
over northern Utah, the unmarked van
pulled into the driveway and the gentle,
soft-spoken men in the white coats rolled
the WORD out of bed and into a straitjacket
for the usual summer trip to St. Mumbles,
where the blathering one will be assigned
a hammock and fed soothing, healthy
foods --like tapioca, dog biscuits and
salmon --while recharging the essential
muscles of cynicism, outrage, sarcasm,
social engagement and high-mindedness,
in preparation for the next edition.
Summer well, friends.
Speak
up! Comment on the WORD at
http://tedsword.
blogspot.com/
Feedback
and suggestions --printable and otherwise
--always welcome. "There are no
false opinions."
|
|
 |
|
 |
River Heights OK's dog kennels, home
hair salon
By Patrick
Oden
April 9, 2009 | RIVER HEIGHTS -- Three
conditional use permits were issued Tuesday night, two for
dog kennels and one for an in home hair salon.
Debbie Johnson, 694 S. 600 East St., was
granted a permit that will allow her to have three dogs on
her property. Johnson has a 15-year-old Malamute mix, a 12-year-old
Greyhound Lab mix, and a 9-month-old mixed breed puppy. Johnson,
who works for Mountain View veterinary clinic, occasionally
brings home newborn puppies to care for them during the night.
Dogs under 4 months of age do not have to be reported to the
city. The committee heard from Johnson's neighbors who said
barking was not an issue with Johnson's dogs.
"My kids are louder than my dogs."
Johnson said. "Maybe I should get a kid permit."
Fred Baker, 630 S. 500 East St., was also
granted a permit to keep three dogs in a 6- by 12-foot kennel
on his property. Baker uses his dogs to hunt and told the
committee they would spend the day in a Humane Society certified
dog house, which is rated to 35 degrees below zero, and would
spend nights inside the house. Baker recently acquired a pointer
puppy to replace his 12-year-old Labrador as a hunting companion.
"That puts me in the three-dog category I guess," Baker said.
"Sounds like anybody that was sent
to the doghouse would be happy out there," said committee
member Steve Barfuss.
Katie Harris, 845 Stone Creek Dr., was
also unanimously granted a conditional use permit for an in-home
hair salon. Harris said she wanted to be able to spend more
time around her kids and expected to serve fewer than 25 customers
during the two days per week she intended to operate the salon.
Harris said she currently services fewer than 25 clients at
the salon where she presently works.
The permit will allow her to operate her
in-home salon Monday through Saturday between the hours of
8 a.m. and 6 p.m. to provide her flexibility in scheduling.
The conditional use of the permit limits the number of clients
Harris can serve to an average of six per day and no more
than two clients at a time to prevent traffic congestion in
the neighborhood.
NW
AH |
