Salt Lake Crawler

It seems like everyone I talk to about Mayor Ralph Becker, even his most loyal supporters, is baffled by what the hell he's up to with Library Square. Out of left field, Becker decided to build a police security complex on the park on the east side.

People who love the award-winning Library Square—which is everyone from bums to kids to former Mayor Rocky—are appalled and have made their outrage known, yet Ralph forges ahead with his plan. Why?

Three explanations have been floated:

Politics — Ralph wants to make nice with the cops and firefighters to ensure re-election.

Glory — Ralph wants something, an edifice, to mark his regime.

Ineptitude — Ralph and his advisors blundered into this mess, thinking everyone would be delighted with their cut-rate cop shop. Now, he can't back down without looking like a bumbler.

The root problem is that Salt Lake voters were gambling on Ralph without realizing they were gambling. As a long-time Democrat in the Legislature, Ralph never got anything accomplished, we assumed, because the GOP runs the joint. That's true, but it also meant Ralph was never tested as a leader.

Now we've got a mayor who sweating out his final exam on leading Utah's biggest city. Worse, Ralph seems to have cribbed his public policy skills from the Republicans in the Legislature: Step 1—Meet behind closed doors with the few and make The Decision. Step 2—Hold a few "show" public hearings. Step 3—Do what you decided in Step 1.

Though it usually works on the Hill, but Ralph is in for an education on Library Square.

Many of the soldiers, sailors and Marines being honored today were recruited. The Tribune's Matt LaPlante explores the tragic bond between a Utah recruiter and recruit.

The recruit, Utah State grad and father-of-two Micheal Alleman, was killed in Iraq and that forever changed the life of the Chris Johnson, the man who put him in uniform. Johnson says Alleman was the "ideal soldier."

He was more than just someone I'd put into the Army. I really got to know him. I got to know his wife and his family. I considered him a very good friend. He was there in Iraq, in part, because I happened to be his recruiter. That hit me pretty hard. 

UPDATED!

Some recent crime stories to make you ashamed to be a hominid:

A pregnant Uintah County teen pays a man $150 (updated information) to punch her in the stomach to induce a miscarriage. Naples Police Chief Mark Watkins says:

Never in my 21 years in the business was I shocked so much. It's just cold and ruthless.

Doctors say the fetus seems OK, but they won't know for sure until it's born.

Two teenage boys discuss using the slasher film Saw as a blueprint to dismember and kill two female classmates and a police security officer. Even their ever-loving parents were horrified and called the cops, saying:

It was a conversation you take seriously and take to the police department.

The teens' lawyer says the parents over-reacted and should have handled it at home. The step-father of one of the boys, points out:

I'm not qualified to deal with a kidnap and murder plot.

Finally, there's the geniuses who robbed and beat a skate boarder with his own board. There couldn't have been much in his wallet. Hey, Crooks! Although the cops can't profile their targets, you can.

All you novice bandits, jot down this handy rule-of-thumb: Rob guys in three-piece suits driving BMWs, not twenty-something losers on skateboards.

UPDATE! The wounded Cassowary was captured behind a shed in Orem.

 

The "most dangerous" bird in the world is on the loose in, where else?, Utah County. The man-sized Cassowary, (think velociraptor), escaped an animal sanctuary after a semi rolled on Interstate 15 last night. The truck knocked down the sanctuary fence and may have injured the bird — searchers found blood at the scene.

Cassowaries are reputed to be able to disembowel a man with a kick — the long second toe claw slashing open the gut. Cool.

The Louisiana Legislature's version of a bill drafted by disbarred Florida attorney Jack Thompson for Utah, only to be vetoed by Gov. Jon Huntsman, has bogged down in the Pelican State too.

In Utah, the proposal, sponsored by Rep. Mike Morely and supported by the Eagle Forum and Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert, would have made the sale of an age-restricted game to a kid a deceptive trade practice, allowing parents to sue the retailer. Huntsman, seeing the drums of unintended consequences it would open, round-filed it.

But the bill's sponsor in Louisiana, Sen. A.G. Crowe, has gutted the measure after conferring with retailers and attorneys. Even with that, the bill is being challenged by other lawmakers for being vague and duplicating other state laws.

Crowe can expect to receive ranting emails from Thompson with videos attached of scantily clad cartoon strippers.