Eideard

A housekeeper was hospitalized Sunday after a can of bear spray discharged in the Marriott Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City.

The woman was pushing her housekeeping cart on the 6th floor of the hotel, near 100 South and West Temple, when the cart bumped a can of bear spray that had been left on the floor of the hall.

The can sprayed when it was struck, shooting out a substance that “is like pepper spray, only 10 times stronger,” said Salt Lake City battallion fire chief Clair Baldwin. Investigators were trying to determine why the can was left in the hallway.

The woman was unable to open her eyes after being exposed to the spray, so she was taken to a hospital, Baldwin said. All guests at the hotel were evacuated for about a half hour while crews ventilated the building.

WTF? I never stayed in a hotel as snazzy as the Marriott when I used to be on the road in that neck of the prairie. My budget didn’t allow for that level of classiness.

But, even in the lower-priced motels near downtown, I don’t think anyone was ever worried enough about bears strolling in from the woods to bring a can of bear repellent indoors!

 
Police in Utah are searching for a group of construction workers, students and bystanders. But for a good reason.

This group is credited with saving a man’s life by working together to lift a burning car and pull a man to safety.

It was a “life-saving move that the Logan Police Department does not want to go unnoticed,” said Jeff Curtis, assistant chief of the police department in Logan, Utah.

The incident occurred Monday morning on a street near Utah State University and was captured on video.

Police said the BMW pulled out of a parking lot and in front of Wright. Curtis said the motorcyclist tried to avoid the car, which resulted in him laying the motorcycle down. After crashing, gas spilled out of the motorcycle and ignited, engulfing both the motorcycle and the front end of the car in flames…The motorcyclist became lodged underneath the burning vehicle…

Curtis said police are trying to find the people who helped so they can be recognized for their efforts at a city council meeting.

Bravo. Ordinary people torn an their ordinary day by extraordinary circumstances. Caring – as we all should – for the life of another human being.

A mystery man arrested on minor charges more than three weeks ago remains behind bars in Utah while law enforcement officials try to determine his true identity, which he refuses to reveal.

“This is really a strange case,” said Lt. Dennis Harris with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office. “He just doesn’t want to be found.”

The unidentified man, who has graying hair, a light beard and is believed to be in his 60′s, was arrested on July 1 for trespassing in a parking garage. He was booked into jail on three misdemeanor charges and has thwarted any chance of release, with or without bail, by refusing to identify himself…

“He either has to be wanted by some other state or he could be on some other registry or database that has not shown up,” he added.

Law enforcement officials say the man is “fairly well spoken and educated,” but very guarded about his identity.

As a result of several short conversations with him, officers believe he may not be from Utah…

Officials say in three weeks of jail the mystery man has shown a pleasant demeanor and has communicated that he is being treated well.

“He said the food has been great,” Harris said.

“I realize that sometimes people want to go to jail because they are homeless, have nothing, they are destitute. I’ve seen that over the years. I just don’t get the impression that’s the reason. He just doesn’t want to be discovered by somebody.”

Now in his fourth week of incarceration, the man added another twist to the story recently by hinting he had business of some kind outside prison that he would need to attend to.

“He said there was a point at some time that he would need to get out of jail,” Harris said. “That’s the closest I can find of what he wants to do. And that makes no sense to me whatsoever.”

Not anyone that I know. How about you?

The Holy Ghost Panel rock painting in the Great Gallery in Horseshoe Canyon, Canyonlands National Park in San Juan, Utah, with the Milky Way in the background

Attorney Andrew McCullough in Dr. John’s Novelty and Lingerie Shop

Two escort services have filed a federal lawsuit to halt a Utah solicitation law they fear could lead to the arrest of strippers or escorts who are simply acting sexy.

Utah defines solicitation as a person agreeing to sex in exchange for money. A new law that went into effect this month broadened the definition to include any person who indicates through lewd acts, such as exposing or touching themselves, that they intend to exchange sex for money.

It was intended to help law enforcement agents working undercover in prostitution stings, Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank said Friday. He said it would protect officers who were being asked by prostitutes to expose or touch themselves to prove they’re not police because making such requests as a precursor to offering sex for money is illegal under the new law…

Andrew McCullough, an attorney representing the escort services in the lawsuit filed May 9, said the law is so broad that it could allow police to arrest licensed employees of sexually oriented businesses, such as escort services or strip club dancers, for doing their job.

The expanded law includes language that makes a person exposing their genitals or touching themselves sexually an indication that they are offering sex. Those acts are legal in Utah for private strippers.

“Most girls who touch their breasts are not telling you they’re open for sex,” the attorney said.

Sounds like Utah lawmakers have never been to a contemporary rock’n roll concert. Which actually is no surprise.

Or someone might even be scratching – in mosquito season.

Ilene and Arnold Bangerter

He hit the mother lode, but not once did Josh Ferrin even think of laying claim on the more than $45,000 cash that he found in his garage. In fact, he gave it all back. “You can’t make plans for money like this that’s found in a situation like this,” Ferrin said. “It just doesn’t feel right to do anything but give it back.”

Within an hour of closing on his first home, Josh Ferrin, an artist for the Deseret News, used the keys to take his first official look inside.

While taking it all in, he noticed a tiny scrap of carpet peeking out of a small door in the ceiling of a workshop at the back of the garage. He got a ladder and climbed up to explore the unseen space. It was dark and musty, but Ferrin could see a black metal box sitting there.

It was a heavy metal box — the kind used to haul ammunition during World War II — and it was filled with cash, old stamps, bond certificates and other random memorabilia.

“I immediately closed it, locked it in my truck and called my wife. ‘You won’t believe what I just found,’” he said. Tara Ferrin immediately knew the couple had to return the money to its rightful owners.

However, Arnold Bangerter, the former homeowner, passed away in November 2010 and his youngest son, Dennis Bangerter, the executor of Bangerter’s estate, had just signed the 1950s red-brick rambler away…

“Going through those boxes, I felt like I had a peek into his life,” Josh Ferrin said about the man who left the surprising find. “This is a beautiful outcome and it feels good to be a part of it. It’s a rare opportunity to be able to do something extraordinarily honest.”

Arnold Bangerter, an fisheries biologist for the former Utah Department of Fish and Game, had purchased the home in 1966 and lived there with his wife, who died in 2005…

The money is being divided among Mr. Bengerter’s six children. From honest folks in Bountiful, Utah.

Debra Brown with her kids back in the day

In a groundbreaking ruling, 2nd District Judge Michael DiReda on Monday exonerated a 53-year-old Logan woman in the 1993 fatal shooting of her friend and employer — a crime for which she has served nearly 17 years behind bars.

But Debra Brown isn’t quite a free woman.

DiReda’s ruling, the first-ever case in Utah to be heard under a 2008 state statute that allows convictions to be challenged based on new facts rather than new DNA evidence, is on hold for another five days while prosecutors decide whether to appeal.

But Ryan Buttars, who was 17 when his mother was arrested in September 1994, said he has been waiting half his life for Monday’s decision and that another five days won’t matter…

If the state declines to appeal, the judge’s order setting Brown free will go into effect Monday at 2:30 p.m.

“We do not believe she will stay in prison longer than Monday at 2:31,” said defense attorney Alan Sullivan.

DiReda found Brown was “factually innocent” based on hearings earlier this year. In his ruling, DiReda noted that the state argued 75-year-old Lael Brown, who wasn’t related to her, was murdered on Saturday, Nov. 6, 1993, about 7 a.m. — a time for which Debra Brown apparently had no alibi.

And that was apparently sufficient for a jury to convict – in 1993.

Skull Valley sheep kill 1968

A Utah military facility that tests chemical and biological weapons was locked down “to resolve a serious concern,” and authorities were working to reopen the base, officials said Thursday. All base personnel were safe and working, and no evacuation was needed, said spokeswoman, Bonnie Robinson. She would not say why the base was locked down…

About 1,500 employees and contractors are stationed at the base.

Dugway commander Col. William E. King IV said earlier authorities were “working as quickly and as thoroughly as possible to resolve a serious concern within the Test Area” but he didn’t elaborate.

“As you know measures like these (lockdown of our gates) are not taken lightly. No one is in immediate danger but these steps are required.”

The proving ground covers 798,214 acres and is located in the Great Salt Lake Desert, around 85 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.

Also a historic center for the development and testing of chemical and biological weapons.

Dugway has been a test site for weaponized anthrax as recently as 1998.

Former Republican Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., the Obama administration’s ambassador to China, hinted in an interview with Newsweek that he is considering running for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012.

Sources close to Huntsman said he met with political advisors last month on a home visit to discuss the possibility of leaving the administration to join the crowded GOP 2012 field, the magazine said.

When asked directly whether he planned to mount a challenge, Huntsman declined to comment, the magazine said in an article posted on its website Saturday…

Huntsman, 50, is a moderate, pro-business Republican who has been considered a rising star in his party. When Obama appointed him ambassador to China in 2009, a gesture that underscored the president’s oft-stated commitment to bipartisanship, some speculated that the president was removing a potential political rival.

In an interview last month on “Charlie Rose,” Huntsman said it was his sense of duty that led him to accept Obama’s offer, which came six months after he was reelected governor in a landslide.

“I accepted because the president asked,” Huntsman said. “I am a traditionalist in that sense…. If you can make a unique contribution in that particular job, hardship though it might be, you stand up and serve.”

Huntsman, who has lived in Asia four times, speaks Mandarin fluently. “You cannot understand the complexity and color and richness of the Chinese culture unless you are able to speak the language,” he told Rose.

Let’s see: A bright, well-educated moderate conservative. Supports bipartisan politics on behalf of the needs of the whole United States. An understanding participant in global economic matters, capable of negotiating from a position of experience, understanding and competence in Asia.

Har! It is to laugh.

A Canadian mining company is close to finalizing a deal that will give a Russian company controlling interest in its uranium operations, which include a Utah town, a uranium mill and thousands of acres of claims.

In October, four members of Congress urged the U.S. Treasury Department to block plans by Uranium One to sell majority ownership to the mining company, Atomredmetzoloto (ARMZ), whose parent company is Rosatom, the Russian nuclear agency, to protect national security. Since then, the Treasury Department has approved Uranium One’s plans, as has the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Utah Division of Radiation Control.

“Uranium One has now received all necessary approvals to proceed with the closing of the ARMZ transaction,” said Rob Buchanan, head of investor relations for the Canadian company, “and we are on track to close the transaction before the end of the year…”

Hacks with their heads stuck into Cold War dementia should step aside from commerce and energy production designed for economies years ahead of American engineering, investment and politics.

“Day-to-day decisions with regard to the operations at the Shootaring Mill will be made by the management of Uranium One Exploration U.S.A. Inc. in coordination and consultation with Scott Schierman as the Corporate Radiation Safety Officer for the Shootaring Canyon Mill,” the company’s attorney said in an e-mail to Utah Assistant Attorney General Denise Chancellor. “Strategic decisions with regard to investment and development of the Shootaring Mill will be made by Uranium One Inc.”

I worked within the nuclear power generation industry when core operations – as far as I was concerned – were as dedicated to being a welfare check to participating corporations as they were to producing electricity. I left before greed and mediocre engineering required safety concerns to take precedence over advancements in design. Most US firms capable of competing have folded or been sold off.

Most environmental fears are now decades out of date. I know that doesn’t matter to the fearful. But, it is the reality.