My Page: Amy Seigel

Gimme Shelter

There’s no way around it—it’s darn cold outside. For most of us that translates to some minor discomfort in the morning when we go out to start our ice encrusted vehicles or go for an early, lung-chilling run. But for Utah’s homeless this cold weather is more than an inconvenience, it’s a life-threatening reality. While Salt Lake City shelters are filled to capacity, and overflow facilities are likewise taxed, Salt Lake County’s homeless advocates seem to be doing their best not to have to turn away those in need. But just one county south, in Utah County, those in need have recently, literally, been left out in the cold. [more]

Kill 'Em to Save 'Em

Some people don’t think much of hunters. There’s a general perception out there that the folks that spend every free hour learning the habits of their quarry, tracking them over some of the most remote landscapes still left in the country are anti-conservation—at least in as much as they don’t follow the “take only photographs, leave only footsteps” advice of the new generation of outdoorsmen and women. There’s no denying that hunters generally get a bad rap when it comes to taking care of wildlife and wilderness, but a program sponsored by the Utah wildlife agency is helping change that image—one trophy tag at a time. [more]

Reclamation Rehash

If you’re a fisherperson, a paddler, or just someone who cares about the health of river ecosystems, you might think about taking some time out tonight to head downtown and tell the powers that be just what you’d like to see happen on the Colorado River in the next ten years. According to an article in today’s Salt Lake Tribune, the Bureau of Reclamation will be seeking public input on a new long-term experimental plan for managing the Glen Canyon Dam and downstream ecosystem of the Colorado River during the next decade. [more]

New Stores, Same Silliness

It is that time of year again. Time for holiday parties and festive dinners laden with Christmas hams, Hanukkah latkes, Kwanza cookies, New Years nogs, and, of course, all the beer, wine and spirits we can drink. And for those Utahns who are looking forward to ringing in the New Year with something a little harder than sparkling apple cider, this can also the time of year for venting frustrations at the state’s department of Alcohol Beverage Control. Although the state has a list of new, bigger stores it’s planning on opening over the course of the next several months, Utahns will still be forced to endure the ever-present 64.5 percent markup on liquor, wine and beer, in addition to our over-crowded, and inconveniently or often un-locatable liquor stores. [more]

RFK Wows audience at Westminster

Well, it seems that Salt Lake City’s most recent environmental debacle—naming it’s basketball arena after a company responsible for disposing of nuclear waste—didn’t stop Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from making Salt Lake’s Westminster College the site of a very rousing evening of environmental campaigning. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that in a speech this past Sunday evening, an impassioned RFK told his supporters that although he had always endeavored to stay out of the political arena, the Bush administration’s environmental policies have forced him to have second thoughts about the prospect of running for office. “I feel like somebody's stolen my country,” Kennedy told an audience of 300 on Sunday night. [more]

Pursuing that Perfect Powder High

About this time every year, as I watch the little, fluffy flakes of the first “big storm” drifting by outside my window, I find myself grappling with a decision that has haunted me since my early days as a Colorado powder hound: to ride, or not to ride, in the back country. Is the glorious snow and untracked expanse of the back country worth the risk of avalanches? Is it ever right to risk my own life and the life of others—my ski buddies, my potential rescuers—for the chance at the ethereal experience of virgin powder in pristine bowls and along wild ridgelines? [more]

Beaver County: Blowin' in the Wind

With a population of 6,000, Beaver County may not have much in the way of cosmopolitan amenities, but it does have some very wide open spaces that often make for some pretty serious winds. And for UPC Wind Management LLC of Newton, Mass., those two elements make the sparely populated county in southern Utah a prime spot for a new, $400 million electricity-generating wind farm. According to Krista Kisch, the business development director for the company, "The Milford Valley creates a funnel effect that produces a great wind resource." Harnessing this resource will involve a wind farm that is set to encompass some 16,000 acres, and will potentially generate some 320 megawatts of power-enough juice to supply about 60,000 homes. [more]

Livin' the high life in Heber City

Just south-east of the glitz and glamour of Park City’s main street is the little town of Heber City. Amazingly, despite its proximity to some of Utah’s most exclusive ski venues, Heber is still largely a ranching community full of sheep, sagebrush and wide open spaces. All of this may be about to change thanks to a proposed residential development that could increase the number of residences within the city's boundaries by 50 percent, and bring a little slice of Park City extravagance to Heber’s quiet, cowboy atmosphere. [more]

A Kinder, Gentler Halloween

It was bound to happen. In an era when schools are banning the game of “tag” because it’s too violent and rough, or because it creates self esteem issues amongst the weaker and slower children, it isn’t too surprising to hear that Utah schools are doing their best to make Halloween a little less, well, scary. [more]

That Same Old Line

It seems the national press has the LDS church scrambling to distance itself from the potential presidential candidacy of Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. In a story that was first reported by the Boston Globe, and later reworked in a rash of Salt Lake Tribune articles, the church’s involvement in Romney’s candidacy is thoroughly scrutinized—something that may prove detrimental to both parties. At issue are the somewhat shadowy circumstances surrounding emails from BYU professors intended to generate support for the Massachusetts Governor’s potential bid for the presidency in 2008, and the federal law prohibiting both the church and BYU, as tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations, from advocating on behalf of a particular candidate or political party. [more]