in Park Rag
Everytime I see this sign I think of Teri Orr
About a year and a half ago, the Park City School District was holding one of three sessions to gather public input on the design of new schools. Six months later, it would end in a bond defeat for the school district.
However the night of the second public meeting was special. Ahead of time the school district and its golden boy architect, VCBO, had created maps of the Snyderville Basin and cutouts representing schools, athletic fields, etc. Members of the public were instructed to place the cutout where they thought schools should go. The exercise appeared to be designed by the Master Planning Committee to keep almost everything on Kearns and add a 5/6 school at either Ecker Hill or a Bear Hollow property. There wasn’t much left to the imagination of the public.
If memory serves me right, five of the six public groups placed their cutouts (as designed by the powers that be) on the Kearns Campus and Ecker Hill properties. However, one group, led by Teri Orr, put one of their schools out on this parcel of land in Silver Summit. This is the open space land, south of Silver Spring and Trailside, that will likely one day become condos. As part of this exercise, a school wasn’t supposed to go there. When Teri presented the idea, she said her group knew it was a lark but that everyone else was doing the same thing.
She and her group thought differently.
Looking around at everything that is happening…I think we need a little more of that around here.
in Election
As seen on the streets of Park City
I love election season…
Citizen is concerned with Blyncsy and Park City
Last year we wrote a couple of stories (here and here) about the county and city putting in Blyncsy cell phone monitors to track phones and help monitor traffic. Today a reader wrote in with the following:
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The facts are that once information is available on anyone, law enforcement will want it, and it will be monetized by selling it to who ever will pay. Blyncsy is all about this with the PC deal. It’s wrong and it’s being misrepresented to the citizens of PC by the city and the company.
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To be fair, the Park Rag has no knowledge that Blyncsy is selling information or helping law enforcement to track minorities or protesters (and we have no reason to believe they are). In fact, Blyncsy has a privacy policy that spells out that information is anonymous. The only problem with that, given the citizen’s concern, is that what Blyncsy may consider to be anonymous information may not really be anonymous to law enforcement.
Most technology like Blyncsy’s works based on what’s called a MAC address. The MAC address is a unique identifier in every phone (and other connected devices). Monitoring systems work by having antennas that “listen” for devices as they accompany you driving down the road. Your trusty Samsung Galaxy Note is shouting to the world, as you drive down Highway 224, hey I’m “01:23:45:67:89:ab.” These antennas record that information and then can tell the city and county 01:23:45:67:89:ab is heading towards the art festival. Combine that with data from everyone else and I suppose it could be powerful to transportation specialists as long as they are manning the command center at 3PM on a Saturday and have tools that are effective to impact traffic.
I continue to have doubts how effective these systems will really be. Do they distinguish between cars and buses? If not, the 87 people on the bus, with their phones, headed to PCMR, isn’t car traffic. How about bikers? My e-bike does 20 mph, is that filtered out? My car also has a mac address (as do most recent vehicles). So, how do they know its only one car headed into town and not two? What about my Apple watch that has a MAC address. And what about your Fitbit? How about multiple people in cars? Is that 4 people with 2 devices in one car or is it eight cars? The real kicker is the iPhone. You see, in some cases Apple doesn’t like others invading your privacy. So, they put in a feature called MAC address spoofing a couple of versions ago. This broadcasts out FAKE MAC addresses to confuse systems that try to monitor your MAC address (probably like Blyncsy). So, instead of one person heading from KJ to Deer Valley, you are now magically eight people because you are constantly changing your MAC address.
Maybe Blyncsy has it all figured out and there is no potential for privacy issues… I doubt it.
But I digress on the citizen’s original topic. If there were riots on Main Street, would the Park City Police Department try and use Blyncsy? They probably would. Then, if through some means they knew that Joe Smith, a person of interest, has a phone with the MAC address 04:23:53:65:qq would they try to get the Blyncsy data before an further anonymization took place to pinpoint Joe’s location? Probably. If not, would they demand Blyncsy’s algorithm for encoding the MAC address and then apply that algorithm to the MAC address (they know) and search for that in Blyncsy’s databases? Probably. Would they be successful? Probably. It’s done every day by hackers. That’s why you get messages saying that you need to change your Yahoo password, or your Dropbox password, your bank password, etc. It’s just not rocket science.
So, I guess at best I believe a system like Blyncsy is of very limited real value. Hopefully our government hasn’t paid them much. At worst, it has the potential to be an invasion of privacy.
Now, does Blyncsy sell the data? I would really hope not. If so, anyone involved in our city or county governments that allowed that to happen should be removed from their position. Even to use a system like this, the data had better be GOLD… But my guess is it’s more pyrite.
If you care about the topic, here is an article about some people in West Jordan fighting Blyncsy.
in Environment
Summit County needs NEW and BETTER education on curbside recycling
We all know that recycling is “The everyday way to save the world.” I mean, who doesn’t want to save the world?
With that in mind, we have a question for you. Which of the following can be put in your curbside recycling bin?
If you aren’t 100% confident, you aren’t alone. In a recent newsletter from Recycle Utah, it says up to 60% of curbside recycling may be contaminated. Bins (or items in the bins) can become contaminated when they come into contact with food waste, styrofoam, yard waste, glass, etc. That may mean that your entire bin is thrown out.
On social media, people have also talked about plastic grocery bags not being allowed, with some contacting Republic Services (the people who pickup and are responsible for processing our recycling) who apparently have said plastic grocery bags are OK. Another citizen contacted Summit County and was told that it was not OK, because it gums up the processing.
We’ve also heard that if you put your recycling in a plastic garbage bag, the entire bag will be thrown out. Others have said that is not a problem. Imagine that you think you are doing great by the environment by saving up 50 soda cans and then put them in a plastic bag inside your recycling. If, of course, they really get thrown away.
It’s frankly confusing and it’s caused my family to recycle less. It’s frankly a mental hurdle. Can I put the Digiorno Frozen pizza box in the recycling? UHHH… it’s a pizza box so you’d think no… but it’s cardboard and shouldn’t have food on it, so probably? Can I put the cardboard the frozen pizza sat on (inside the box)? It is cardboard, so I’d think yes… but is that grease or just water that has stained the cardboard a bit… so, probably no? How about the plastic wrap that went over the pizza? It’s plastic, so I’d think it’s OK, but I could see how it could gum up processing… so no (I guess)? That’s confusing and that’s just one lunch.
As part of the contract with Republic Services, they are responsible for education on the topic (here is their web page on the topic). I believe Recycle Utah also has a part in that education, too, as does Summit County. Whoever is ultimately responsible for that education, needs to rethink how it is being done.
I was at a dinner party last night and four out of the five of guests said putting plastic grocery bags in recycling was fine (the equipment sorts it!). Are they right? I don’t think so… but maybe? It just highlights the confusion out there.
Oh, and here are the answers to the question at the top as to what can be recycled in curbside bins (at least as I understand it):
- Plastic milk jug: Recycle
- Plastic bag: DON’T Recycle
- Pizza Box: DON’T Recycle
- Horizon Milk (and other waxy cartons): DON’T Recycle
- Cardboard: Recycle (as long as it doesn’t have food on it… does liquid count as food?)
- Tin/Aluminum Cans: Recycle (how much food in them is considered contamination? I don’t know.)
- Glass bottles?: DON’T Recycle
- Coffee bag: I have no idea.
Finally, you can recycle many items by taking them to Recycle Utah and recycle glass at many parking lots (i.e. the Jeremy Park and Ride). However, that’s not really the point of this story. The point is that most people want to do the right thing but they generally do the easy thing.
Something needs to be done to CHANGE the way people are educated about what can be recycled in our curbside bins. It needs to come from one source. It needs to be pinpoint accurate. It needs to be complete (i.e. figure out a way to explain recycling everything in that Digiorno box…and give us real life examples). It needs to be the final word.
Until a better job is done educating residents, it’s like throwing half your recycling in the landfill. Even if you are doing the right thing, your neighbor’s choices may ruin your recycling too. That just doesn’t feel very good.
Park City drug issues are not new and may cost you everything
Days before my 16th birthday, my next door neighbor committed suicide. He drove out to a lake, wrote his parents a letter, and pulled the trigger on a shotgun. In the aftermath, and for a VERY SHORT while, people tried to explain it, but they never really understood. They missed the point and ignored the broader picture.
I somewhat feel the same with recent coverage of the teenage overdoses in Park City. The Park Record says, “Residents were stunned. Police said the boys had been talking with their friends on social media about dangerous drugs, a revelation that caused parents to fear that other children were also in danger. In a matter of days, the issue had been dragged into the light, and officials were saying it as clearly as they could: Drugs are a larger problem in Park City schools than many parents realize.”
It’s all so sanitized and medical. So, let’s please cut to the chase and avoid the niceties . Your kids are in a place where drugs and alcohol are prevalent. Your kids are in a place with lots of money which leads to lots of options. Park City kids have been associated with a drug culture for 30 years.
My wife grew up in Sandy in the late 80’s and early 90’s. It was “known” back then that if you wanted drugs and alcohol, you went to Park City.
What was our main concern when moving to Park City from Sugarhouse seven years ago? Do we want to raise kids in the alcohol and drug environment of Park City? We hoped we could instill the right environment for our kids (and educate them on the topic), so we decided to move here. Will one of our kids try alcohol before age 14? Probably.
I have no magical answers for “solving” Park City kids’ drug issues. However, I do know that treating it like something new and mysterious does everyone a disservice. Who cares if it is some synthetic opiod from China! That makes it sound like something most kids wouldn’t go to the effort to obtain. I can hear the kitchen talk, “Oh it’s not going to happen to our kids.”
So, let’s tell it like it is:
- Your 18 year old knows someone who regularly does cocaine
- Your 17 year old knows people who do heroine
- Your 16 year old knows someone who could get them vodka this Friday
- Your 14 year old can find some money, go to Smiths, buy a prepaid credit card, order who-knows-what from the internet, and then receive it via UPS on a Friday at 2 PM.
Do with that what you will, but please don’t tell me it’s unexpected.
It’s up to you to save your kids. It’s up to all of us parents, individually, to save our kids.
Our kids are in the jungle and it’s up to each of us to get them through.
To do anything less, or expect that it’s not an issue, is putting blinders on. Those blinders may cost you everything.
The Mayor is surprised that Park City ski rankings dropped?
Today’s Park Record is reporting that Park City mayor Jack Thomas said it was a surprise “to see the ranking drop so much. I saw dramatic improvements to the infrastructure of Park City mountain and The Canyons,” Thomas said, adding, “How did we drop that fast when the resort put so much into the mountain?” Thomas said the skiing was good last season and PCMR was managed well.
Ummm? Is our nice, kind mayor suffering from short-term memory loss? Perhaps he is just doing his best sales job for Park City. Either way, let’s try and remember what happened during the past year that could have contributed to people’s opinions on Park City (ski resort).
First we have that “little” legal dispute with Park City Mountain (or whatever it’s being called) trying to steal the city’s name. It ended thanks to citizens’ efforts and a lot of work by former Mayor Dana Williams.
Then we have the fact that it was about impossible to park at PCMR. Good luck if you got there after 8:30 on most days.
Then we have the $50 million in improvements that Mr Thomas mentions. Wasn’t that mostly for the marketing effort gondola to connect PCMR to Canyons? Would anyone call that a dramatic upgrade to their daily skiing experience? Not likely. Yes, it was also supposed to pay for upgrading some lifts at PCMR, improved restaurants, and some snow making. I guess maybe money can’t buy success either. Tom Clyde summed up that $50 million spent pretty well.
Then we have the condition of the lifts. I remember one day being at Canyons and a whole bunch of Vail execs were getting on the chair right in front of me. I then got on the lift. The chair was tattered, with fabric flapping in the wind. It had some holes in it. It stuck in my mind because I thought, “why couldn’t those Vailians have gotten my crappy chair?” It just looked second rate.
Oh, and while we are talking about lifts, remember this article from the Park Record, Another lift malfunctions at PCMR from back in March? The story reported that “Park City Mountain Resort’s popular PayDay lift malfunctioned Sunday morning, stranding almost 300 skiers and snowboarders, in what was the fourth time a PCMR lift has broken down with people on board in the past two ski seasons… Ski patrollers spent two hours and 40 minutes evacuating the stranded skies and snowboarders using ropes.” Then of course there is the money quote from the Chamber’s Bill Malone, “Obviously it’s not a positive experience if that happens to you . . . I couldn’t say whether that would cause someone not to come back.” Maybe someone would come back, but they are probably not too happy when the ski magazine conducts their survey.
Next there was the opening week last year, with complaints of 40+ minute lift lines amid the charges of understaffing.
So, combined, you have a resort that pissed of the city, got lots of bad press both locally and nationally, didn’t open well, was charged with understaffing, has terrible parking, made customers climb down ropes from the ski lift, spent a butt load of money with little real return, and has some really crappy looking lift chairs. Why aren’t they #3 (or even #10)? Because they don’t deserve it.
All that said, I’m sure I’ll see you there this winter. I don’t need Park City to be #1, or #10, or even #30. Who cares? Theoretically, a great ranking only serves to bring in more people. What we really don’t need right now is more people. From my perspective the Canyons side is great for a few hours of skiing. If I want a really nice resort, I’ll go to Deer Valley. If I want nice and different (and there’s snow), I’ll choose Snow Basin. If I want great skiing I’ll do Snowbird or Alta.
I think if you are Mayor, you have more important issues than worrying about whether Park City rankings are falling. Maybe a few less people come to Park City from out of town. They head to Colorado instead. That’s probably OK for a year or two.
in Park City
North Face Endurance Run is a Fun, Fall Race
Sorry for getting this out so late … We received this submission a couple of weeks ago.
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It’s time to lace up those sneakers for those crazy enough and healthy enough to run The North Face Endurance Challenge next weekend (Sept. 24-25) at the Park City Mountain Resort.
Registration is still open for the Park City race, which is one of six locations included in the North American series. Even if you’re not a hard core endurance junkie, the event covers seven distances ranging from a 5k to 50 miles.
I ran the 50k during Park City’s inaugural North Face event in 2014. It was probably my favorite ultra that summer! Not only is it a beautiful time of year, the trails along the Wasatch back are world-class.
You run through world-renowned Park City Mountain Resort on double and single track, ski runs, mountain bike trails and dirt access roads. I can’t think of a more spectacular way to spend a Fall day in Park City.
The branding that goes along with a North Face race typically means you’re getting a well-run, well-marked, and fully fuelled race. In its 9th year, The North Face Endurance Challenge Series pushes athletes to run their best race while promoting the sport of ultra-trail running. I’d say their sponsorship generates positive publicity, which should be the goal for any big brand.
The volunteers are extremely helpful, so be sure to thank them and always be polite.The aid stations are stocked with pb&j sandwiches, fruit, salty snacks, water and electrolytes. I got a nice technical tee and a finisher’s medal. Ultramarathon Man Dean Karnazes also spoke the morning of the 50k, at least he did in 2014.
The North Face brand paired with Karnazes to form this endurance running series in 2006 after Karnazes’ quest to run 50 marathons, in 50 states, in 50 days in what was otherwise known as The North Face Endurance 50.
What’s special about the Park City race is the verts in the breath-taking mountains. The course starts at the highest elevation within the North American series at 7,000 feet and climbs to the highest as well at 10,000 feet.
“Bring your legs and your lungs,” as eloquently described on the event’s website.
in Schools
How will later start times for Park City High School students impact other students?
The Park City School District is proceeding down the path of having high school students start school after 8:30 AM. The school district has formed a committee who will be tasked with providing recommendations; however, it looks like later start times for an older portion of our kids is a done deal. However, what does that mean for younger students?
A reader wrote in and said, “The Park City School Board just made a motion to implement a committee to move forward with changing school start times for secondary schools to start no earlier than 8:30am. They have recommended this with the implication that elementary schools would start earlier (7:45am) to accommodate bus scheduling. While the research supporting later start times for adolescent students is valid, there is also research showing that elementary students suffer when start times are early as well. Changing secondary start times at the expense of elementary students’ achievement makes no sense and this group of parents and the school board has flagrantly disregarded these students in their decisions so far.”
The reader also provided a copy of a University of Kentucky study that talks about impacts of earlier start times on elementary students. Effects on younger students seem to be pronounced as well. It’s just not a high school problem.
What is interesting in the study, and from discussions we have heard, is that the decision to stagger school start times (i.e. why all school can’t start later) is busing. If you want to use the same buses and drivers, you need to stagger school start times. If not, you need more buses and drivers. Thus, it costs a lot more. In Park City’s case, that number is likely more than a million dollars more.
It’s an interesting problem. Should we sacrifice younger minds for older ones? Isn’t there any other creative way out of this? You’d think in a place with as talented people as Park City that there would be some other alternatives.
Maybe not.
Hopefully the committee tasked with looking at this can come up with something better than just starting high school later and starting elementary school earlier.
Here is the UK study talking about elementary kids’ impacts, in case you are interested.
h/t to the reader who sent this in
The fundamental problem with traffic around Park City…
We all know traffic can be bad around Park City, on a handful of days during the year. That said, I am of the opinion that we don’t really have a traffic problem compared to other areas, that any issues we have are typically a minor inconvenience, and that a few times a year it will take an hour to get from Park City to Kimball Junction (but it’s not the end of the world).
I am starting to believe that our focus on traffic, and our seeming demands to our government officials to “FIX IT”, detract from larger issues we need to collectively be working on.
Yet, I am still drawn to the issue more out of curiosity than anything. Why does it take 6 minutes to get through Kimball on a Friday versus 3 minutes on a regular day? The video below shows one of the fundamental problems with traffic. I was a little skeptical when I watched it but I began watching traffic around the Basin. It is spot on.
Solve this and much of our traffic “problem” is solved.
in Environment
In defense of the plastic grocery bag in Park City…
Every few years, the topic of banning plastic grocery bags comes up in Park City. I’ve never been a fan of the potential ban. It inherently made sense to my thick skull that plastic bags were bad and other forms of bags were better, but I could never understand how that would work for all of our visitors. I also never understood why we were trying to ban plastic bags and not banning plastic water bottles, which many consider a worse “environmental offense.”
This weekend a reader sent in an article from the Atlantic called Are Tote Bags Really Good for the Environment?. Basically, the story cites research from the UK stating that:
- Plastic bags require very few resources to manufacture and transport
- Plastic bags produce less carbon, waste, and byproducts than cotton or paper bags
- When looking at carbon, a paper bag would need to be used 7 times, a polypropylene bag would need to be used 27 times, and a cotton bag would need to be used 327 to equal the carbon cost per plastic bag.
- While people buy polypropylene totes, use paper bags, etc. only 10% of people do it regularly, leaving the reusable bags to sit in their cupboards while they get additional plastic bags.
- Conventional plastic bags made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE, the plastic sacks found at grocery stores) had the smallest per-use environmental impact of all those tested.
It is true that plastic grocery bags mess up our landfills and THEY CANNOT GO IN OUR RECYLCE DUMPSTERS (because they gum up the works) but it is likely they are a good choice for our grocery stores.
By all means, if you can commit to using polypropylene reusable bags and ALWAYS have them with you and ALWAYS use them, that is probably the best choice. However, if you are like many of us, then plastic bags aren’t necessarily the worst choice. As the Atlantic article says, if you want to be environmentally conscious just try to use every one of them twice. Bring home your groceries and then use it in your trash basket…. or for dog poop. Better yet take them with you to Smith’s once a month and recycle them. That way it will become decking, playground equipment, or something else useful.
So, don’t feel bad about using a plastic grocery bag, especially if you can find secondary ways to use the bags (or are willing to recycle the bags at one of our local supermarkets). In many ways, in the real world, using a plastic grocery bag (TWICE) is superior to other alternatives.
Parkrag
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