New West Network

My Page: Lucy Burningham

Road Trip Revised

Unlike most of my East coast-transplant friends, I’ve never driven all the way across the country. For me, the Midwest remains a mysterious flat space dotted with things like the largest ball of twine and Mount Rushmore. From my friends, I’ve heard about one legendary store that in my mind represents the quirkiness of a cross-country road trip—Cabela’s, which those in the know describe as a Sportsman’s Warehouse on crack. [more]

Pondering Political Correctness

Earlier this month, the NCAA made a grand announcement: 18 schools would face sanctions for using “hostile and abusive� nicknames, mascots or imagery. All of the schools cited use American Indian tribal names or related symbols, including the University of Utah Runnin’ Utes. [more]

Media Watch

The Commander-in-Chief doesn’t make it to Utah all that often, so when he does, especially to defend growing opposition to an ongoing war, you can expect big headlines. Yesterday’s coverage of the President’s visit wasn’t limited to local media, as National Public Radio mentioned the event in top of the hour headlines all day long, and the LA Times sent a staff writer to cover the speech. [more]

Rocky Rallies

Since the Iraq war began, Utahns have continually expressed their views on the conflict by writing letters to the editor, wearing yellow ribbons and holding protests. But on the eve of President Bush’s visit to the state, war supporters, including veterans and one television station, are publicly reacting to a growing anti-war movement. [more]

Spaghetti Sauce and Sculpture

It’s Friday, and time to make plans to get out of the house. Instead of coming up with a Home Depot shopping list, why not opt for some culture and save home repairs for a rainy weekend. [more]

Domesticating the Wild

From the news of the weird department, an Idaho woman recently took an illegal lynx to a veterinarian to be spayed and declawed in Ogden.
According to a story in the Washington Post, the woman may not have realized that her endangered 16-week-old cat, which will grow to be a dangerous 30-to-40-pound adult animal, was illegal in the state of Utah. And why would she? In Idaho, it’s perfectly fine to raise such animals as long as owners have a health certificate and import license. For some reason, authorities let the owner take her lynx home, despite the fact that it bit and scratched the vet and will eventually need to be placed in a zoo or rescue facility. The lynx is a beautiful animal, but not one that looks like it should be hunting mice in the pantry and eating Meow Mix.

Notable Non-Profit

After visiting Portland last week, I returned to Salt Lake City and instantly sensed that something was missing—bicycles. It wasn’t an original observation, I mean what town can compare with Portland on bicycle friendliness, but I still felt disheartened as I rode my Schwinn downtown to run errands. Minus one guy with a mohawk who was grinning as he rode an odd-looking bicycle in circles in the middle of 200 South, I felt alone despite the fact that it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. There could have been tumbleweeds blowing down the bike lane in front of me.

Then I remembered a very cool organization working to remedy the situation. [more]

As Vocal as Ever

Sen. Orrin Hatch has never been known for delicately articulating his stand any issue. Sometimes his rants get him in trouble, but lately, it seems like the five-term senator has reached a tipping point in his career—he says whatever he wants and seems to have unlimited access to press coverage. [more]

Tracking the Biker-in-Chief

Mark you calendars, President Bush is coming to town. In a state that rarely sees the president, during the campaign season or otherwise, Bush’s stop should stir up plenty of protestors and plenty of praise, but more importantly, it creates the possibility that he'll ride his bike in Utah. [more]

The Perils of U.S. 6

While refueling on caffeine in a café in Portland on Thursday, I perused the front page of the Oregonian, and immediately saw a picture of a gigantic crater-like hole in the middle of a highway. I thought meteor or sinkhole, but on closer examination, the caption told a brief story of an exploding tanker here in Utah, on U.S. 6, which is already considered one of the most dangerous stretches of highway in the state. [more]