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Editorial 3
Vote Obama
On Your Right 3
Vote McCain
The Buzz 10
1% for the Tetons
Munoz speaks
Halloween 37
What are you gonna do?
Verbatim 14
Self-employed voter
Crumbs 47
Cadillac
NEWS
MusicBox 42
Manditory Air
ArtBeat 48
Holloween costumes
HOROSCOPES l WEATHER l GOING GREEN l DINING GUIDE l CLASSIFIEDS
Calendar 38
Oct. 29 - Nov. 4, 2008 l Vol. 6 Issue 46
W W W. P L A N E TJ H . C O M U P DAT E D DA I LY
2. 2 October 29 - Nov. 4, 2008 l Planet Jackson Hole l www.PlanetJH.com updated daily
Darby Canyon Home
• 2,560 sf home in the trees
• .64 acres
• No CCRs
• Great starter home
• Remodel opportunity
• Good rental history
List Price $275,000
Spring Hollow Masterpiece
NEW LISTING
• 22 acre horse property
• 43 acres of open space
• Ponds, trees, wildlife and Grand
Teton views
List Price $495,000
Sagewood:
Out of town seller says SELL
• Bulk sale under market value
• 8 lots on ski hill rd. in Driggs
2 developed, 6 underdeveloped
• In the City of Driggs
• Paved roads
List Price $460,000
Search for homes on our website for free: http://gtt.homestead.com
53 N. Main, Driggs, ID - 307.690.7057
Brady Johnston
Sales Associate
Paul Kelly
Associate Broker, GRI
Mike Sewell
Sales Associate
grandtetonteam@rejh.com
The Grand Teton Team
DIANA HORT Body/Energy Worker of the Divine
Breathe & Believe; Live in the Light of Love...Namaste
DIVEYENA’S DELIGHT
(561) 214-5304 • shortyhort@aol.com
House calls available Inquire about off-season specials
Teacher of Yoga and DNA Theta Healing
Licensed Massage Therapist, Esthetician
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RE-ELECT MARK OBRINGERRE-ELECT MARK OBRINGER
TOWN COUNCILTOWN COUNCIL
Working to Build PartnershipsWorking to Build Partnerships
“We are all in this together”“We are all in this together”
Paid for by the committee to re-elect Mark Obringer
3. www.PlanetJH.com updated daily l Planet Jackson Hole l October 29 - Nov. 4, 2008 3
Vote Barack Obama for President
From the Editor’s Desk
OPINION by MATTHEW IRWIN
Sometimes I feel foolish, such as mornings after three-finger Herradurra nights, mem-
ories of kindly ears indulging nascent ideas, still forming as they come out of my mouth
– the kind of embarrassment and regret I hope to dodge on the morning of Nov. 5.
For the last year, America has been drinking political highballs, dashed with ideolo-
gy, slogans and promises. Now, it is convinced in the potentiality of its candidates, and
can’t wait to get started on the future. The nation would like to look into things more in
at dawn, but by then it will have forgotten yesterday’s urgency for today’s need to get
through the day.
On Nov. 5, I hope to wake up refreshed and satisfied with the following candidates
elected:
PRESIDENT
✔ Barack Obama/Joe Biden (D) – Obama is liberal, but his platform is typically
Democratic, trying to rescue neglected goals of the New Deal. If he does what he prom-
ises, he’ll ask American businesses to build equity in this country by investing in its
hometown workers, while providing protections for small businesses. I disagree with
both presidential candidates on Iraq. We need to change foreign policy, not wage war.
U.S. SENATE
✔ Nick Carter (D) & Chris Rothfuss (D) – Barrasso and Enzi were against the bailout,
which I continue to be, but they support the war in Iraq, and they spend too much time
publically congratulating themselves for supporting initiatives with widespread
approval, such as off-shore drilling.
U.S. HOUSE
✔ Gary Trauner (D) – On immigration and healthcare, he is progressive, and eager
to create new plans that take into account the need for immigrant labor and basic
healthcare, whereas existing plans play dumb.
STATE HOUSE DISTRICT 16
✔ Pete Jorgensen (D) – Joe Schloss is a nice guy and a former Planet JH colum-
nist with whom I would gladly clear brush, but Jorgensen’s plan to conserve Wyoming
natural resources is essential as the world economy falters. Plus, if you read my edito-
rial a month back, you know I believe we must pursue universal healthcare.
STATE HOUSE DISTRICT 23
✔ Jim Roscoe (D) – Similar to Jorgensen on natural resources and open spaces.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
✔ Leland Christensen (R) – I agree with Judd Grossman (in the column below) on
Christensen. Dennis Triano seems to want everyone who is not a business owner to
fend for himself.
✔ Andy Schwartz (D) – Supports creating revenue for affordable housing and limit-
ing growth potential in the county to protect wildlife, which my view also makes for a
better community vibe if Town officials allow density.
MAYOR
✔ Mark Barron – I agree word for word with Judd, adding that I’m also afraid nostal-
gia would cloud Mike Lance’s judgment and prevent him from understanding what
future generations want out of this town.
TOWN COUNCIL
✔ Mark Obringer – He supports a build-out cap, along with a contained rate of
growth, and he understands officials’ responsibility to educate the public.
✔ Greg Miles – I went back and forth on Greg Miles, because he supports condo
conversions, but I regrettably believe that conversions are unavoidable. Miles will offer
sober consideration per project rather than a blanket go-ahead.
I’m remembering now – after such seriousness – that I actually enjoy three-finger
Herradurra nights in part for the occasion to be foolish. But on Election Day, let’s hope
all the foreboding and serious talk about the future doesn’t have the same effect. Let’s
vote into office leaders whose visions for the valley and the country understand that a
plan is only as successful as its execution, meaning it must be flexible. PJH
On Your Right
Want to respond to this editorial? E-mail editor@planetjh.com, blog at www.planetjh.com or stop in to see editor Matthew Irwin, Wednesday mornings, at Jackson Hole Roasters.
My wife and I are feeling a bit outnumbered
at our own paper. We are conservative, but
almost everyone that works for us is pretty
dang liberal. I may be stirring up a hornet’s
nest with my “radical” headline. I think I’ll say
it again, “Vote John McCain for president”.
God, that’s fun.
I’ve put together a voting guide based on
my principals: conservative in general, and
smart growth when it comes to local planning.
PRESIDENT
✔John McCain/Sarah Palin (R) -
McCain is a true American hero. He has
the right approach to foreign policy.
McCain’s visionary support of the surge
turned around a potentially disastrous
defeat in Iraq, and has brought us to the
brink of success. Palin is an authentic
fiscal and social conservative.
Barak Obama/Joe Biden (D) - Obama’s
moderate rhetoric obscures a very liber-
al record. I’m convinced he will slow the
economic recovery by raising taxes.
Obama will appoint liberal/activist
judges, and impose inefficient govern-
ment intervention into healthcare. Most
importantly Obama is likely to premature-
ly pull out of Iraq, reversing the hard
fought gains of the past 5 years.
U.S. SENATE
✔John Barrasso (R) & ÖMike Enzi (R)
- Win in Iraq, lower taxes and spending.
Against the bailout. Won’t appease Iran.
Pro-life.
Nick Carter (D) & Chris Rothfuss (D) -
Want to pull out of Iraq without victory.
U.S. HOUSE
✔Cynthia Lummis (R) - Win in Iraq.
Lower taxes and spending. Won’t
appease Iran. Pro-life.
Gary Trauner (D) – Talented and artic-
ulate, but appears to be hiding liberal
views in order to run as a moderate.
STATE HOUSE DISTRICT 16
✔Joe Schloss (R) - Conservative.
Market solutions to health care. Broad
property tax relief.
Pete Jorgensen (D) - Experienced and
thoughtful, but too liberal.
STATE HOUSE DISTRICT 23:
✔Charles Strough (R) - Pro-drilling
(energy independence), with better recla-
mation afterwards.
Jim Roscoe (D) – State should regulate
minerals extraction.
COUNTY COMMISSIONER
✔Leland Christensen (R) - Limited
density in the county. Workforce housing
(rentals). Limit suburban sprawl.
✔Dennis Triano (R) - Rabidly against
subsidized home ownership (How
refreshing.). Pro-affordable rentals. Pro-
open space. Supports limited expansion
of town densities onto north end of
Porter Estate.
Andy Schwartz (D) - Lot’s of experi-
ence, but probably too pro-development
for my tastes.
Claire Fuller (D) - Pro-affordable hous-
ing and open space preservation, but her
positions are still evolving. The county
commissioners are expected to manage
a $42,000,000 budget.
MAYOR
✔Mark Barron - Higher density mixed
uses in the core of town. Less sprawl out
into county. (Eventually we will have to
stop these suburban style developments
in the county, and focus on a future of
urban style development in town - the
sooner the better.)
Mike Lance - Skeptical of the new
urbanism downtown. Supports working
class housing on the Porter Estate.
TOWN COUNCIL
✔Greg Miles & ✔Mark Obringer -
More density and mixed uses in the
core of town. (We need to tweak it, so
that we get a better mix of uses.)
Abe Tabatabai - No 4 story buildings
downtown. Annex Porter Estate.
Louise Lasley - Limit growth in
town.
My endorsements will either be a
boost to the candidates or the kiss of
death, but just remember this guide
is a work in progress. I’ll be watching
and learning right up to the moment I
step into the voting booth, and so
should all of you. PJH
Judd Grossman make's his living as a musician, but his favorite hobby is discussing politics. Grossman is co-owner of Planet Jackson Hole Weekly. Respond at editor@planetjh.com.
OPINION by JUDD GROSSMAN
Vote John McCain for President
5. www.PlanetJH.com updated daily l Planet Jackson Hole l October 29 - Nov. 4, 2008 5
307.732.AUTO(2886)920 West Broadway
LETTERS from page 4
“Log onto www.planetjh.com
to join the discussion.”
EXCERPTS FROM
WWW.PLANETJH.COM USER COMMENTS
BEST OF THE BLOG
LETTERS POLICY
who it was: Jim Roscoe.
I remember every moment of that day.
Jim climbing from his truck, his instant
response to the situation at hand, his help
as I jacked the building off of the man
trapped underneath — who, incredibly,
still lived. His overwhelming concern for
all involved, his insistence that I be close-
ly watched because he recognized, even
when I didn’t, that I was hurt far worse
than I thought. His calm, steadying pres-
ence, which made the difference for us all.
This is the Jim Roscoe I know. A good,
decent man. That he’s made a choice to
serve his community only serves to
cement his dedication to those around
him. And the disparagement that has
been leveled at him throughout his cam-
paign by those completely ignorant of him
is shameful — and immoral.
There is nothing — nothing — more anti-
American than lies, slander and hate.
Nothing more un-American than propa-
ganda and the defamation of a man’s char-
acter based on deceit and manipulation.
An argument over qualification is legiti-
mate; one fueled by hate and intolerance
is not.
With the upcoming election, every
American has a choice to make. And we
will all have to live with the repercussions
of that choice, because it’s true — Divided,
we fall.
–Dan McKenzie, Tetonia, Idaho
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
It seems like all we hear from our news-
papers, County Commissioners, and
Mayoral candidates is “how can we get
more and where can we wedge in more
affordable housing units?“ That is ridicu-
lous! Let’s fix the corruption that is tak-
ing place, and there will be plenty of
affordable homes for honest needy fami-
lies.
Affordable housing is not for people
who make a couple hundred thousand dol-
lars a year, or people who live on trust
funds and put their kids in the Journeys
school, or for people who live in them
while they can and do afford free market
homes in Teton Valley, or who build spec
homes and keep their “affordable” home
because they have it “too good!” We all
know these people; it is time to stop this!
Let’s hear from the current
Commissioners and people who are run-
ning for future positions with regard to
how they plan to clean up the corruption
and quit making the people who are work-
ing hard everyday foot the bills for those
who don’t deserve it! Clean it up.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
–Ted Dawson, Jackson
Big government rubber stamp
Trauner thinks that it is a good idea to
expand State Children’s Health Insurance
Program, (SCHIP) a program that will give
healthcare to all people 25 and under that
are 2.5 times above poverty level. Don’t get
me wrong, lets take care of our children in
poverty that are age 18 and under, but there
really is little reason for the program to
extend to me and my nine- and 12-year-old
children also we and millions like us are not
in poverty, even though we are below the
2.5 percent above poverty.
The point is, we can’t afford one more
entitlement program, we are already on
the road to fiscal suicide, because of our
financial collapse, and we already have
San Francisco socialist Nancy Pelosi run-
ning the House of Representatives, liberal
Senate Leader Harry Reid may soon have
a filibuster proof Senate. Obama will rub-
ber stamp every liberal nirvana piece of
legislation that comes down the pike, and
with the liberals controlling both the
House, Senate and Whitehouse there is no
check-and-balance to stop this freight
train full of expensive voter pandering to a
greedy and ignorant public.
Rasmussen Reports Polling finds that
just 9 percent of likely voters give
Congress positive ratings. Why in the
world would we consider strengthening
this body of failures? We can’t afford
another big government rubber stamp lib-
eral in Washington, lets keep Gary
Trauner in Jackson Hole, and make it just
one vote harder for Obama, Pelosi and
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On “ Growing pains”
Damned if you do... and damned if
you don’t. At what point will downtown
Jackson look like downtown
Cheyenne? Casper? Or will we sprawl
out too far and destroy our open
spaces? Or will we shut off develop-
ment enough to save what we have
left just to see prices skyrocket even
more? The only thing that is certain is
that you can’t save one thing (wildlife,
open space, lower price housing,
commercial space, traffic) without it
seriously impacting all the other
things you don’t save. Example - if
you make housing affordable through
density (even in town), it will impact
traffic throughout the county as peo-
ple drive around to activities. Wildlife
will be impacted by not only the
increased traffic and larger roads, but
from all the people playing in the
backcountry, rivers, forests, and
parks. People come here to play and
they will go out and cut new trails, go
deeper to ski, and much more. So I
say again... Damned if you do and
damned if you don’t..
see Letters page 8
6. 6 October 29 - Nov. 4, 2008 l Planet Jackson Hole l www.PlanetJH.com updated daily
For years, I’ve argued against rage in
politics. Seriously trying to understand,
empathize with, and learn from political
opponents seems to me not only wiser on
merits, but smarter politics.
Nonetheless, the conduct of the Cynthia
Lummis campaign for Congress, seen in a
wider context of similar stuff going on
elsewhere, has aroused in me, not rage I
hope, but certainly outrage.
Example: A recent Lummis ad asserts
that her opponent is “for raising taxes
$2,300 a year on our families during an
economic crisis,” for “creating a federal
firearms registry,” for “placing huge taxes
on guns and ammunition,” and “for
amnesty that adds $2.6 trillion to a bloat-
ed federal budget deficit.” Every one of
those four statements (all on “wedge”
issues, most of which are not really at
stake in the next Congress) is demonstra-
bly untrue or, in the case of the “amnesty”
claim, an egregious re-labeling and stretch-
ing. Lummis and her campaign know or
should know that in each case.
Lummis has not quite made these things
up completely out of thin air, but has
deliberately distorted them beyond truth.
There’s no space here to demonstrate, but
if any reader wants to challenge, I’ll gladly
respond. The intent to mislead voters is
palpable without scruple.
Lummis has also characterized Gary
Trauner as a “Wall Street financier” —
obviously aiming to tie him in voters’
minds with the Wall Street executives and
hedge-fund managers whose greed and un-
wisdom did so much to bring our economy
to its present pass. What passes as a basis
for this is that roughly 20 years ago, a
young Trauner worked in New York City
on the financial side of his employers’
businesses — before leaving to spend the
rest of his adult life in Wyoming. That
wouldn’t pass the laugh test if this were a
laughing matter. Instead, it’s another inex-
cusable distortion.
Then, a Lummis press secretary called
into a Trauner press availability under
false pretenses and a false name to ask a
loaded question. Lummis says she didn’t
know of or authorize this particular dirty
trick. Perhaps not, though in context can
we take her word for it? In any case, she
certainly bears responsibility for her cam-
paign, and she plainly created an atmos-
phere in which doing this kind of thing
could be regarded as OK.
The effect of this cheating and distaste-
fulness in a particular campaign is not
even the primary concern. Though the
level of deliberate distortion and attack in
the Lummis campaign has been fairly
unusual for Wyoming (apart from similar
campaigns run by Barbara Cubin), this
kind of politics is, of course, hardly
unique nationwide: John McCain is whis-
pered to have fathered an illegitimate
black child; Senator Max Cleland of
Georgia, who lost both legs and an arm in
Vietnam, has his patriotism impugned; “B.
Hussein Obama” is a Muslim who palls
around with terrorists; only certain people
are “real Americans.”
The prevalence of this stuff in
American political campaigns clouds the
real issues. It damages our political dis-
course. It soils our political leaders —
both targets and perpetrators. It spills
over to spoil the tone and seriousness of
politics between elections, thus eroding
the performance of our governments and
our democratic political system and
undermining the confidence of
Americans in both. It needs to end — or at
least to be cut by an order of magnitude.
That’s our responsibility. The problem is
not in our stars, not even primarily in our
politicians, but in ourselves. In our democ-
racy, ultimate responsibility, which comes
with ultimate power, lies with ordinary cit-
izens — with voters. This stuff won’t stop
until we as voters recognize it for the
unqualifiedly dishonorable business it is,
and punish it severely at the polls.
Of course, Democrats and even
Trauner’s supporters are not entirely guilt-
less in this business. I’ve spoken out on
this with regularity and tried to practice
what I preach. But there’s a difference
between a cup and a pail.
This seems to me a matter of right and
wrong. Each one of us has an obligation,
no matter what others may do, to choose
— and to vote — for what is true and just.
This is but one of many ways in which
Americans need to wake up and tighten
our standards. But it’s a crucial way. PJH
The opinions expressed on these pages do not necessarily reflect the opinions or ideas of
Planet JH staff. Planet JH invites readers to submit contributions, no matter what
side of the fence you sit on. For more information or for contributor’s guidelines,
call us, visit our Web site or e-mail us at editor@planetjh.com.
Guest Opinion
by Chuck Herz
Outrage
Right to Life of Teton County • PO Box 8313, Jackson, WY 83002 • 733-5564 • Elaine Kuhr
B R E A S T C A N C E R
A W A R E N E S S M O N T H
Please send a
donation today to help
keep our ads running.
Source: National Right to Life Newsletter, November 2003
www.nrlc.org www.abortionbreastcancer.com www.healinghearts.org
ABORTION CLINIC ACCUSED OF HIDING
ABORTION-BREAST CANCER LINK SETTLES SUIT
“This settlement will teach the medical establishment that it can no longer profit
by keeping women in the dark about the breast cancer risk.”
– Karen Malec, president of the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer
A New Jersey abortionist and abortion clinic settled a lawsuit that accused them of denying a patient
informed consent by not telling her about abortion’s risks, including a greater risk of breast cancer …
17 year old “Sarah” and her parents sued Cherry Hill Women’s Center and abortionist
Charles Benjamin for violating the parental consent law and for failing to inform Sarah about
the emotional and physical risks of abortion. Benjamin and the abortion clinic settled the
lawsuit October 17, just before the trial was about to begin.
OCT. 31 - NOV. 2
Jack Dennis Annual
Halloween Sale
Discounts on
fishing gear, camping gear,
shoes, clothing, gallery gifts, skis and more!
*guns and ammo not on sale
HUGE RAFFLE PRIZES!
Sale hours: FRI 3-7pm / SAT 9am-7pm / SUN 9am-6pm
15-70%
OFF
CLOSED
7. www.PlanetJH.com updated daily l Planet Jackson Hole l October 29 - Nov. 4, 2008 7
307.732.AUTO(2886)920 West Broadway
Wilson Hardware 3510 South Park Drive
Jackson
307.733.4684
www.jhcycle.com
Monday - Friday 9-6
Saturday 9-4SALES l SERVICE l WARRANTY l REPAIR
16 years experience
and effective leadership
TOWN COUNCIL
I ask for your vote of support as Town Councilor,
to allow me to work with you ... for you.
Dedicated and Enthusiastic
I HAVE VOTED YES
Consolidation
Workforce Housing
Maintaining the Unique Character of Jackson
Social Services
Day-Care
Pathways
Senior Center
Public Transportation
Town as Heart of Region
Fiscal & Budgetary Restraint
Parking
Diverse Community
Environmental Stewardship
Economic Stability
Paid for by the committee to Elect Abe Tabatabai
P.O. Box 305 Jackson WY, 83001 • 733-8612 • ABE@RMISP.COM
One Valley • One Vision • Your Voice
Mark Barron
Mayor
Paid by the committee to elect Mark barron Mayor
I am proud to have been on the Town’s Green Team that Mayor
Mark Barron spearheaded. With Teton County as our partner, we
created 10x10: reducing town county fuel and electrical use 10%
by 2010.
Mayor Barron signed the U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection
Agreement, and now is invited statewide to share information
about our successful energy, recycling, pathways and mass transit
programs. Because of his vision and leadership, the Town uses 100%
green hydro electricity for all of its facilities and our street lights.
Jackson Hole’s environment is treasured worldwide, and Mayor
Barron takes that responsibility personally. You’ll see him pedaling
his Townie bike to meetings!
He is serious about protecting this special place.
Shelley
Simonton
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9. www.PlanetJH.com updated daily l Planet Jackson Hole l October 29 - Nov. 4, 2008 9
Cut Out Save
“We cannot solve problems by using
the same kind of thinking we used
when we created them.”
~ Albert Einstein
Paid for by Citizens for Responsive Government
PO Box 2826,Jackson,WY 83001
citizensforresponsiblegovt@hotmail.com
2000-PRESENT
5004
1000
2000
3000
4000
Jobs created by approved
town commercial development
258 actual housing units created
Mark Barron
Mark Obringer
Greg Miles
Say this is a SOLUTION?
It is the PROBLEM!
VOTE
for
REAL
SOLUTIONS
HOUSING
CRISIS?
to our workforce housing
while protecting our
wildlife open space
and slowing the rate
of growth!
Full disclosure: I have never met, spoken
with or voted for Cynthia Lummis. I have
sent her campaign 100 bucks, as I generally
approve of the policy positions on her Web
site. I don’t believe that this would qualify me
as a “surrogate,” “minion,” or “attack dog.”
They call it the Employee Free Choice
Act commonly known as “card-check.”
Now, who could be opposed to employees
having a free choice? Well, the effect of
this legislation is to circumvent the process
of secret ballots and accelerate the process
of unionizing private business.
As labor has seen its numbers diminish
(in 1955, 33 percent of the non-farm work-
force was unionized – today, it is under 9
percent), organizers are seeking govern-
mental intervention through the force of
law to help them increase their member-
ship. So, with the elimination of the secret
ballot and under the guise of “neutrality,”
the organizer approaches and tells you to
sign the card, but you are a person of prin-
cipal and are willing to risk banishment
and harassment (the words “pariah” and
“leper” come to mind) to make the politi-
cal point that you will not be intimidated
into signing. Right.
Gary Trauner’s support of this legisla-
tion makes it germane to his campaign for
Congress.
During the 10/12 WRLA debate with
Trauner and Lummis, in listening to Gary’s
answer about card-check, it sounded like
Gary was channeling Walter Reuther. We
don’t know where Jimmy Hoffa is buried,
but his spirit is alive and well in the
Trauner campaign. And in the context of
his thundering about “robber barons” and
“excessive CEO pay,” is he troubled that
Gerald McEntee, international president
of the AFSCME union (a contributor to
his campaign) pulls down 629K a year?
Now, I don’t believe that Gary’s support
of Big Labor on this issue is due to its sig-
nificant contributions to his campaign.
Likely, the opposite is true. Big Labor sees
him as an ally and underwrites his candi-
dacy. According to The Center for
Responsive Politics, eight of the top 10 all-
time political contributors are labor
unions.
Gary’s position on unionization obvious-
ly affects his worldview with respect to
trade: “Free” trade without protection for
workers (both here and abroad) is a bad
choice.”
But union dominated industries are find-
ing it difficult to compete not just in the
global economy, but here in the USA
where more than 25 percent of all auto
production is currently in non-union
shops. The medical and pension benefits
offered when Detroit enjoyed a 95 percent
market share are increasingly burdensome
and comprise a large portion of the “lega-
cy costs” challenging industry.
Now, I have actually been a union mem-
ber (AMCBW – local 501), so I may have
a bit of perspective on the glory of closed
shop collective bargaining that would
make Upton Sinclair blush. At one time, I
was formally chastised by my union
because I worked through my break so that
we could meet our time-sensitive produc-
tion quota of Christmas hams – which
were given to all company employees as
gifts - Charles Dickens, call your office.
However, I am not opposed to the pur-
pose of unions, and I applaud the past
heroic efforts to establish a beachhead for
labor. But when unions flex their political
muscle contrary to the wishes of their
membership (“California unions spent
$88,000 in opposing Proposition 22, a
2000 ballot initiative that defined marriage
as between a man and a woman”; a Los
Angeles Times exit poll found that 58 per-
cent of union households had voted “yes”
on the measure), it is more egregious than
“Taxation without representation,” it is
confiscation with misrepresentation.
Ultimately, this issue is about freedom of
choice. I don’t see Gary’s support of this
legislation as diabolical or sinister – just
wrong. And it’s instructive that while Big
Labor champions card check and marginal-
izes the sanctity of the secret ballot
process for establishing union representa-
tion, they inconsistently reverse their posi-
tion and support the secret ballot process
if an employer seeks to withdraw recogni-
tion of the union.
So, you got a problem with that? PJH
Guest Opinion
by Darrell Hawkins
Howdy, where’s your Union Card?
The opinions expressed on these pages do not necessarily reflect the opinions or ideas of the
Planet JH staff. Planet Jackson Hole invites readers to submit contributions, no matter what
side of the fence you sit on. For more information or for contributor’s guidelines,
call us, visit our Web site or email us at editor@planetjh.com.
Darrell Hawkins is a Jackson resident and business owner.
He considers himself a liberal in the classical sense. He likes surfing, loud 80’s
music and everything Hemmingway has written.
10. 10 October 29 - Nov. 4, 2008 l Planet Jackson Hole l www.PlanetJH.com updated daily
by Jake Nichols
The idea was so simple it was behind its time. Why didn’t any-
body think if it before? Skim a penny off every dollar a business
earns and it would hardly be missed. The proceeds could mend an
ailing globe, sickened by profit and greed. And, when the com-
bined penny pool represents the one-percent venture philanthrop-
ic efforts of a charitable community, the pot thickens.
Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard created One Percent for
the Planet out of thin air in 2001. Patagonia had been tithing one
percent of its pre-tax profits to environmental groups since 1985;
a sum totaling more than $19 million. With the help of like-mind-
ed businessman Craig Mathews, Chouinard launched the ground-
breaking and ground-saving 1% for the Planet with 21 original
companies on board. To date, the program Chouinard often refers
to as an “earth tax” has cranked out $30 million by asking mem-
ber businesses to pledge one percent of their annual sales for the
sustentation of the planet.
The concept of a green “giving circle” suits Jackson Hole so perfect-
ly, local economist and founder of the non-profit think tank Charture
Institute, Jonathan Schechter parlayed the plan into a localized version
called One Percent for the Tetons. It was a smash hit.
The alpine alliance of the charity-minded began in 2006 with
18 members. Now boasting 70 pledges, 1% for the Tetons has
raised over a quarter of a million dollars in just two years, grant-
ing most of that out to 19 separate projects throughout the Teton
region deemed worthy by a community-based initiative committee
working loosely as Sustaining Jackson Hole.
On the surface, the Teton tariff seemed to be working perfect-
ly. Higher ups at 1% for the Planet took notice. “One Percent for
the Tetons has been an enormous success, especially for such a
small geographic area,” Terry Kellogg said. The executive director
of 1% for the Planet added that his organization was already look-
ing at ways to replicate the regional phenomena in other areas.
Then began the rumblings. A few got pennywise to the creative
accounting principles of some participating members. The retail
sophistry raised issues of fairness and integrity at best, and has provoked
the Wyoming Department of Revenue into action in the worst cases.
Levying the playing field
One Percent for the Planet’s mission statement is plain: “Use
market forces to drive positive environmental change by inspiring
companies to give.” Business owners sign a two-year contract with
1% for the Tetons, promising to pony up one percent of their total
annual sales.
Cofounder of 1% for the Tetons, Sean Love, owns three retail
shops in town that are participating members of the local One
Percent chapter – Jackson Trading Company, Jackson Hole
Outfitters, and Moose Be Christmas. When customers are rung
up at any of the three downtown businesses they are automatical-
ly assessed a 1-percent surcharge plainly labeled, “1% for the
Tetons.” It’s added in right after sales tax.
Love told the News Guide on June 12, 2006, that 1% for the
Tetons “will be a big thing and we need everyone in the commu-
nity to sign on and start taxing themselves, it’s that simple.”
Is Love taxing himself or tourists who haven’t a clue where
their cents are going?
Cindy Parker, mother of Allison who owns Jackson Hole Book
Traders, a relative newcomer to 1% for the Tetons, said she was
proud to be a part of the program but questioned the practice of
surcharging customers to cover her pledge.
“I’m really surprised by that,” Parker said. “It’s our political
choice and maybe not every customer’s choice. We look at it as
a way that we can give back to the community without passing
that along to the consumer.”
Love, however, defends the surcharge. “I have a lot of options,”
he said. “I could just raise the price and not tell anybody. I
choose to be out in the open at the register. That’s the plainest
way I can do it.”
“I think it’s an individual business’ decision,” said GetN’Green
owner Alexa McMan. Her company is based out of Bozeman,
Mont. “We look at it as something we are giving back. If they are
not saying anything, that’s a little sneaky. I don’t think it’s some-
thing One Percent for the Tetons is encouraging.”
1% for the Planet’s Kellogg has a different take. “We encourage
member companies to make up their own mind. We tell them they
could offset this cost with marked-up prices. The whole issue is a
bit of a red herring. Businesses are constantly raising and lower-
ing their prices based on a lot of market conditions. That’s free
enterprise.”
Schechter agreed: “It’s not our business how someone runs their
business. I have neither the knowledge nor the ability to tell a busi-
ness owner how they should or should not run their operations.”
But the Wyoming Department of Revenue does.
Accounting 101
In Love’s case, the surcharges seem to be added after sales tax
on the base price of an item. Department administrator Dan
The Buzz
by Ben Cannon
Wyoming has come a long way
in its attitudes towards homosexu-
ality over the last decade. When
much of the national media
observed the 10th anniversary of
the brutal slaying of Matthew
Shepard on Oct. 12, the Open
Spaces series on Wyoming Public
Radio pieced together the life and
death of Sheppard through inter-
views with friends, family and law
enforcement who investigated his
murder. (The rumor that he was
victim to a drug deal, which still
lingers in some circles, is base-
less, investigators said.)
Since the tragedy, which
became a national symbol of hate
crime against gays, Wyoming has
improved it general climate of tol-
erance, observers said.
Last week the online Casper
Star Tribune ran
an L.A. Times
piece on reclu-
sive Saratoga
resident Annie
Proulx (“Writer
no longer home
on the range”),
who gained
notoriety when
her short story
“ B r o k e b a c k
Mountain” was made into the 2005
film.
In an interview, the 73-year old
author, who lives in a large mod-
ern home on a sprawling plot of
open space, said she had grown
weary of the local attitudes of rural
Wyoming and wanted to spend
time away. Some of the residents
of Saratoga who were interviewed
welcomed her to leave.
Proulx even indicated she some-
times wished she never had writ-
ten the story.
“Yeah,” one reader commented
online, “she should have never
written that book.”
Others, though, heaped mes-
sages of thanks and praise on the
author.
When the Sublette County
Library screened the film in
Pinedale, some objected, though
library director Daphne Platts said
more than 50 people turned out –
a significant attendance for the
relatively rural county. PJH
Penny-pinching 1% for the Tetons Media watch
SURCHARGES RAISE QUESTIONS OF ETHICS, LEGALITY.
Davies Reid on Town Square
Proulx
indicated
she wished
she hadn’t
written the
book.
11. Noble said that is a no-no. “You have to charge tax on the
surcharge as well,” he said. Noble said his department
would be investigating the matter to see if that’s how
Love’s businesses were practicing their accounting.
Fellow 1% for the Tetons member Bentwood Inn also
adds a 1-percent surcharge to their guests’ bill. Teton Valley
Cabins in Driggs, Idaho, does not. General Manager Lisa
Ridenour said a surcharge would be too confusing.
In the pure economic sense, Schechter said consumers
already do the heavy lifting: “There are essentially three
ways a member can pay for their donation: By taking it
out of their existing pot of money; by raising their prices;
or by adding a surcharge. In each case, though, it’s the
customer who ultimately pays.”
Steve Sullivan is on the advisory board to 1% for the
Tetons. He also owns Cloudveil. He isn’t sure some mem-
bers understand the spirit of giving.
“I don’t believe it’s in the spirit of 1% Percent for the
Tetons to cover yourself with a surcharge on the retail sale
… although, that’s a great idea.” he said. “I think that kind
of goes backwards to the whole concept. It takes a bite
and that’s how it should feel.”
In fairness to Love, he puts his money where his heart
is. He demands that his 10 or so suppliers add a 1-percent
surcharge to his bill and join 1% for the Tetons. And,
when the landlord of his retail space jacked the rent 30
percent this year, Love insisted he go ahead and charge
him another 1-percent to go toward the program.
“I can’t dispute someone’s opinion about a surcharge,”
Love said. “But it’s pretty hypocritical to attack that prac-
tice, because everything comes with a surcharge. You are
paying surcharges when you book a flight. You are paying
tacked-on fees when you use UPS with a gas surcharge.”
The Department of Revenue’s Noble said the real issue
is whether the consumer is made adequately aware of
additional charges.
Signage for 1% for the Tetons varies by location. At
Love’s shops, it’s hard to miss the marketing materials,
though most out-of-town tourists are unaware of the pro-
gram. But Davies Reid, another 1% for the Tetons mem-
ber that adds 1 percent on to their retail sales, has scant
signage and no mention whatsoever of any additional
charge at the point of sale. The bill of sale at Davies Reid
is handwritten and factors a 7-percent tax.
“We have it posted. We add it in,” owner Heidi Davies
said. “You just have to be aware that we charge 7-percent
tax, but 6 percent of that is sales tax and the other percent
is for the Tetons.”
Mountain High Pizza owner Bill Field also chooses to
lump in the 1-percent surcharge with the sales tax. A
receipt from the valley’s oldest pizzeria shows a line item
called “Tax.” It is computed at 7 percent of every sale.
“That is something that is not legal,” Noble said. “And
we will be sending our field rep there. Noble said busi-
nesses are not allowed to charge a tax other than what’s
imposed by the State or County. He added that the
Department of Revenue would also turn the matter over
to the Consumer Protection Office upon conclusion of
his investigation.
Field said a Seattle accounting firm was to blame for
the sloppy cash register tabulations, which he adds do
thank customers for their contribution to 1% for the
Tetons. He is correcting the problem and points out that
customers are not required to pay the fee. “My people
have been instructed to take it off the bill if a customer
refuses to pay,” he said.
Death and taxation and representation
The hubbub may be much ado about nearly nothing.
The majority of daily transactions adding up to the 1% for
the Tetons war chest consist of dimes, nickels and pen-
nies. All put toward the gracious cause of preserving the
region’s waterways, parks and wildlife. But for those suck-
ling on the ideological teat of charity, jostling for the
choice milk is only going to get more contentious as the
economy sputters on. PJH
www.PlanetJH.com updated daily l Planet Jackson Hole l October 29 - Nov. 4, 2008 11
Healing voice in Munoz short stories
by Troy Kavanagh
With a small, standing-room-only reading Monday night at the University of
Wyoming’s Foundation House, the MFA Program extended its invitation through its
Visiting Writers Series to celebrated Chicano writer Manuel Munoz.
Now 36, Munoz was born in Dinuba, located in the largely agricultural Central
Valley in California and although he is currently an associate professor of the
University of Arizona’s creative writing program, he still, as in
his maiden short story collection, Zigzagger (Northwestern
University Press, 2003), finds his fiction in the valley he left
years ago.
Like many of the Hispanic, migrant, and widely unheralded
workforces in the U.S. today, the Central Valley is bisected by
a Chicano population struggling to make amends with tradi-
tional responsibility while restlessly forging a new identity for
themselves. As much of Munoz’s writing painfully concedes,
his characters are developed out of confliction; borne of a
deep sense of shared community, yet often seized and extricat-
ed under isolating circumstances. Above all else, they are more
often than not acutely familial and steeped in the intricacies of
the parent-child relationship.
Striking and soft-voiced, the author held a brief reading from
his latest and second collection of short stories, The Faith
Healer of Olive Avenue, published last year by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, and
shortlisted for the prestigious 2007 Frank O’Connor International Short Story Prize.
Munoz’s lengthy literary accolades and weighty scholastic accomplishments pre-
ceded the night’s reading and include an undergraduate degree from Harvard
University, an equally laudable MFA in creative writing from Cornell University, a
2006 recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts literature fellowship, and
most recently, Munoz has been named a 2008 Fellow in Fiction with the New York
Foundation for the Arts.
By Munoz’s pen, Chicanos are passionate people enveloped in their secrets - those
unshared and those solemnly and painfully acknowledged. Like the author’s own per-
petual leaving and returning, his fiction is a place of magnetic attraction, equally
repellant. As a result, and according to Munoz, his characters are always teetering on
the verge of coming or going. Reading an excerpt from “Senior X” from Faith Healer,
the author accounted a side-by-side male escape to Las Vegas over a hasty conven-
ient store murder-robbery leaving the narrator, literally, holding the bag.
Munoz was jointly approached to come to Laramie by the Chicano Studies
Program as part of Hispanic Heritage Month, but with the University’s recent 10-
year memorial of the fatal beating of Matthew Shepard only weeks passed, perhaps
a more silent, even reverent, request had been made as well.
“My growth, though, as a writer, has also been tied into knowing where I come
from, as a gay man, but also knowing that I had to step out of it and realize that there
were people who witnessed those lives and also matter. That’s why in the second
book you see the shift – not completely – but you hear the mother, you hear the
brother, you hear the people who care about those people that are having the chal-
lenge.”
Recognizing that some editors still find the content uncomfortable, Munoz is an
unabashedly steadfast writer and wants to leave his readers first and foremost with
the words on the page.
“Empathy is what I am after. I’m not afraid of emotion – that’s what it takes – at
the risk of being called sentimental,” he shrugs and quietly adds, “F*ck it”.
Munoz will read next on Nov. 13 at the Poetry Center at the University of Arizona
campus in Tucson, and you can learn more about his life and work at www.manuel-
munoz.com PJH
CHICANO WRITER SHARES FROM HIS LATEST COLLECTION.
from ONE PERCENT page 10
“Empathy is
what I’m after.
I’m not afraid
of emotion.”
– Manuel
Munoz
12. 12 October 29 - Nov. 4, 2008 l Planet Jackson Hole l www.PlanetJH.com updated daily
SOLID MAN, SOLID IDEAS
HONOR Le ading the communit y re spectfully re sponsibly
TRUST Le ading only in the be st intere st of the town’s re sidents
ACCOUNTABILITY Le ading with an open mind fiscal soundne ss
PREDICTABILITY Le ading to ensure that growth benefits
the whole communit y
Pre ser ve Jackson for Future Generations
VOTE Mike Lance MAYOR
Paid for by the commit tee to elect Mike Lance Mayor
13. www.PlanetJH.com updated daily l Planet Jackson Hole l October 29 - Nov. 4, 2008 13
CLOSURE NOTICE
Per Wyoming Statute 22-2-112
the Teton County Clerk’s Office
will be closed for ALL business
except Elections and Recording
on Tuesday, November 4th,
GENERAL ELECTION DAY.
14. 14 October 29 - Nov. 4, 2008 l Planet Jackson Hole l www.PlanetJH.com updated daily
What’s your name?
My name’s Rich.
And how old are you?
37.
How long have you lived here?
Since ’91.
Do you work in town?
I’m like self-employed, so I kinda work from my house,
here.
How do you feel about how Jackson’s growing since you’ve
been here?
I like it. I appreciate the growth. I enjoy the fact that there’s
more stuff to do. A little more diverse crowd of people.
There’s more jobs. Shorter off-season. I’m all about it. When
I first moved here, it was hard.
In what way?
It was like, you had to leave. There was like two or three
months that were completely dead in fall and spring. Nothing
to do. Nowhere to even go eat, let alone somewhere to work.
It was really difficult and really boring. The growth, I mean
whatever.
Well how do you feel about four-story buildings—
– perfect, they should be six-stories, cuz the more you build
up, the more density you have, the less resources you’re using
on a day to day basis and if the store-fronts are below apart-
ments that’s perfect. That’s the way it should grow.
Americans are so used to spreading out, but we’re coming to
this point where it’s not gonna work, and I think we’re begin-
ning to realize that. It’s like if you’re in a suburb 30 miles
from the nearest town, you can’t afford that commute any-
more. Your whole family can’t be commuting all day, your
whole life, you know?
Do you own your house?
No.
What about the fear that people like you won’t be able to
afford to buy a home and settle here.
Well see, there has to be a balance there. The tax should go
to those people that don’t live here. It’s like if you don’t actu-
ally live here, and you own this gigantic house, you should
pay more. Because the only reason your house is worth any-
thing is because there’s this infrastructure here.
What about the concern about the loss of mom-and-pop busi-
nesses like Fred’s Market that have disappeared?
They didn’t disappear, they just turned it into Sotheby’s
and that’s where they work. You know they’re like, ‘Yeah, sell
milk or sell houses?’
Who are you voting for for mayor?
I don’t know. I’m gonna vote Democrat all the way across. I
mean what does the mayor do anyway? (laughing)
Town Council says it wants a lot of input, but from what I’ve
read, most of the people that attend those meetings are special
interest groups, public interest groups or people over 45, who
own land, so I’m wondering if you’re planning on being here for
a long time —
– yeah, I plan on being here —
Would you ever attend one of those meetings, and how
involved would you like to be?
It’s not up to guys like me.
Why not? It’s your town.
I’m not a politician.
But you live here. You are a resident. They represent you.
It’s not my style. It’s like I would go to those meetings and
I would say the wrong thing.
What’s the wrong thing? Like what you’re saying to me?
It’s like, people don’t want to hear it.
Yeah they do. That’s why I’m interviewing you.
You do. As a politician you have to tip toe around every-
body and candy coat everything.
Don’t you think the younger generation of between 20 and 40
should have a voice on how this town is being shaped?
It’s just tough. I don’t have kids in the school system. I don’t
own a house. I’m just like a self-employed ski bum you know
what I mean? Basically. I’m just part of the infrastructure. And
yeah, I have a million ideas, and it’d be great, but you know
politicians are politicians for a reason you know? PJH
Micheline Auger is a playwright and semi-compulsive eavesdropper.Tell us what you think at editor@planetjh.com.
Pearl Street, East Jackson, Oct. 26
Verbatim
CONVERSATIONS IN JACKSON HOLE by MICHELINE AUGER
MINUTE BY MINUTE
ELECTION
COVERAGE
Hang out with
PLANET JH
on election night
on the blog at
WWW.PLANETJH.COMfrom local election parties.
Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m.
15. www.PlanetJH.com updated daily l Planet Jackson Hole l October 29 - Nov. 4, 2008 15
Hello there, you beautiful, intellectual, and,
most importantly, politically aware dear reader,
you. In your hands is Stuff the Ballot, Planet
Jackson Hole’s guide to elections that will
directly affect Jackson Hole, Western
Wyoming and The Equality State. (And also, to
a shorter, though greatly important extent, the
direction of this nation as a whole.)
We tried to bring to this special issue a level
of gravitas with some, uh, balanced reporting,
though we forwent further discussion on town
elections after Herry Sweets’ in-depth cover
story last week.
We wanted to include a little bit of construc-
tive fun. For example, to see how your own view
on some local issues matches up with the candidates,
check out Sam Petri’s who-said-what pop quizes.
Micheline Auger returns with two “Verbatim” columns, ask-
ing local men-(and women)-on-the-street about their takes
on elections, and both sound a like Jackson Hole to us.
Enjoy and Happy Voting!
President
Barack Obama 343 59%
John McCain 236 41%
U.S. Senator
Mike Enzi 321 66%
Chris Rothfuss 161 33%
John Barrasso 304 63%
Nick Carter 178 37%
U.S. Representative
Gary Trauner 382 72%
Cynthia Lummis 150 28%
Wyoming House District #16
Pete Jorgensen 348 73%
Joe Schloss 131 27%
Wyoming House District #22
Jim Roscoe 319 75%
Joe Schloss 131 27%
Teton County Comissioners
Andy Schwartz 310 34%
Leland Christensen 288 31%
Claire Fuller 172 19%
Dennis Triano 146 16%
Mayor
Mark Barron 168 57%
Mike Lance 128 43%
Town Council
Greg Miles 132 27%
Louise Lasley 130 27%
Mark Obringer 127 27%
Abe Tabatabai 87 18%
St. John’s Hospital Board
Bruce Hayse 263 24%
Emily Knoblach 212 18%
Peter Moyer 210 20%
William Best 86 8%
Herb Hazen 85 8%
John Cardis 83 8%
Teton County School Board
Kate Mead 264 27%
Greg Dennis 150 16%
Debbie Meagher 128 14%
Robbi Farrow 115 12%
Dawn Hazen 104 11%
Liz Dufault 102 11%
Cherie Hawley 83 9%
Teton Barber
Shop 2008 poll
Barber poll sees few close shaves
by Ben Cannon
With the exception of the incumbent
U.S. Senators, Teton County will large-
ly vote for the Democrats on Election
Day, according to this year’s Teton
Barber poll.
And the majority Jackson Hole voters
favor incumbent elected officials over
their opponent at the county and state
levels, the community poll suggests.
Teton County Commissioners Andy
Schwartz and Leland Christensen – a
Democrat and a Republican respectively
– will keep their seats on that county
board, while Mayor Mark Barron, the poll
indicates, should beat challenger Mike
Lance by a margin of nearly 15 points.
The race for two seats on the town
council is nearly too tight to call, with Greg
Miles and Louise Lasley leading by only a
few votes over current councilmember
Mark Obringer. Meanwhile sitting coun-
cilmember Abe Tababtabai appears rather
clearly to be out of the running.
The Teton Barber poll has become
an election season tradition that goes
back more than 25 years, sometime
before shop co-owner Mike Randall
began barbering there. Randall closed
the poll, which is open to the general
public, on Oct. 23.
“We don’t always get it right, but
we’re usually good on predicting the
county,” Randall said, noting the poll
is most accurate at predicting local
elections. It is not uncommon for
Teton County voters to break with vot-
ers in other parts of Wyoming, espe-
cially when it comes to favoring
Democratic presidential candidates
over their Republican opponents.
“We went for [former President Bill]
Clinton both times and again for [2004
presidential candidate John] Kerry,”
Randal noted about the county’s relative
liberalism in this largely conservative state.
And Teton County voters over-
whelmingly favor one of their own: the
poll suggests the Democrat running
for Wyoming’s lone U.S. House seat
– Gary Trauner of Wilson – will easily
carry Teton County.
Though the office of Teton County
Sheriff is not up for grabs in this elec-
tion cycle, Randall must have had the
characteristically mustachioed face of
current Sheriff Bob Zimmer in his
head. After receiving an old-fashioned
straight razor shave with steaming
face towels, hot lather and a soothing
tonic, this reporter looked in the mirror
to see his own facial curls lopped off,
his beard reconfigured to the Zimmer
look: a mustache that wraps around
the mouth like a horseshoe. PJH
16. 16 October 29 - Nov. 4, 2008 l Planet Jackson Hole l www.PlanetJH.com updated daily
by Sam Petri
The following quiz contains quotations from
Jake Nichols’ Oct. 22 cover story, ‘The
Challenger,’ on Mayoral candidate Mike Lance
with a response from Mayor Mark Barron? Circle
the quote you most believe in to see with whom
you truly align yourself on planning and develop-
ment. Answers on page 32.
Where should we grow?
A. We have to grow. Unless you are going to
put gatekeepers at the town limits, and that’s
just not going to happen. South Park, the Porter
Estate, is really the only place to go.
B. My focus is in town, with more housing in
every zone outside of single-family neighbor-
hoods and the town square. This is smart and
efficient, less expensive, and environmentally
responsible.
How about these Planned Mixes-Use devel-
opments where apartments are built over new
businesses?
A. If you own a piece of property in town, you
have certain rights that are guaranteed by the
underlying zoning. But you don’t have the right to a
PMD approval. These projects come down to com-
munity benefit.
B. I support in-town housing opportunities
for several reasons, but mostly because peo-
ple want to live in town, closer to their work.
With existing infrastructure, in-town housing,
above commercial or stand-alone, is more effi-
cient. It gets people out of their cars and on
the bus, or on their bike or on their feet. PJH
The Mayor Challenge Mayoral race at a glance
by Jake Nichols
This Tuesday, Jackson residents
will make their choice for mayor
and only the colorblind won’t know
where the two candidates stand.
Jackson’s next mayor will take the
reins just as the town is in the
process of revamping its compre-
hensive plan. He will also likely
inherit something the valley hasn’t
seen nor heard of in more than a
decade – economic stagnation. All
this for $30,000-a-year and a gavel.
Mark Barron
The incumbent, Mark Barron, is green. Green for
go? During his six-year tenure, Jackson has grown
from a ‘town’ into a ‘city,’ quite literally. Population
has increased 50 percent and downtown develop-
ment has shown equal signs of vigor and velocity.
The plan, according to the man seeking a fourth
consecutive two-year term as mayor, is to build-up
to avoid build-out. Containing sprawl means more
density in the downtown core district. But density
equals higher buildings which means someone is
always in the shadows.
Green is the planet. Barron’s 10x10 initiative
pledges bold conservation ideas that are innovative
and hip, even if the Town Square Christmas lights
are off-blue – they suck less Strawberry Creek go-go
juice. The faster bike wheels spin in town, the slow-
er spins Lower Valley Energy meters. That has
Barron peddling all the way to the lead in the barber-
shop poll – 57 percent to 43 percent.
Mike Lance
The challenger, Mike Lance, is orange. The blend of
color between slow and stop on a traffic signal. Growth
is inevitable, Lance admits, but it doesn’t have to swal-
low east Jackson and tear holes in Snow King
Mountain. Lance leads a groundswell of NIMBYs and
slow-growthers who would like to gaze up at the night
sky in Jackson and see something other than a con-
struction crane.
Orange is old school. Hunter (blaze) orange stands
for safety in the woods … maybe FOR the woods.
Lance has said his main motivation for deciding to
accept the ‘nomination’ of six write-in votes was to
ensure a future for the children of Jackson, including
his own. The next generation is graduating and mov-
ing away – frightened off by astronomical housing
prices and replaced by Russians, Mexicans, and the
uber-wealthy who hire them to tend to their lawns.
Planet JH readers like Lance-a-Lot. He won the
online poll convincingly, 64 percent to 36 percent.
-Sam Petri
When you go to vote on Nov. 4, you will
have the option to vote in two new members
to the Jackson Town Council.
Below is a quiz containing quotes from
each of the four candidates, regarding the
major issues in town: affordable housing,
environment and development. Circle the two
quotes you most agree with in each category
and then turn to the answers on page 32 to
see who the quote is from and who you align
yourself with. Then go vote with a new found
sense of clarity, or confusion, depending.
Affordable Housing:
A) “Stop land banking and start building
housing on parcels already owned by the
Housing Authority. Amend the land develop-
ment regulations to encourage more, smaller
housing units in well thought out and creative
housing projects. We need to build some
seasonal, dormitory-style housing in close
proximity to the downtown area and transit
centers.”
B) “Six years ago, I voted on an annexation
of the Porter Estate. It is a proper place for
density and for some workforce housing …
[The county] would like to put most of their
growth in town, and I would do some of it
[but] the county has their own population
centers that can absorb their own growth.”
C) “Commercial developments are driving our
need for more affordable housing. I think that
we should not approve additional commercial
growth without provisions in place that will
ensure that each development fulfills the hous-
ing needs generated by that development”
D) “I think we need to focus the discussion
on these issues: Get clear community con-
sensus as to providing housing solutions.
Have a quantifiable understanding of our
housing needs. Identify a fair and consistent
funding source. Agree on the use of these
funds. Establish checks and balances to
monitor existing housing to ensure compli-
ance. Continually update the program.”
Environment:
A)“The best way we can protect wildlife is to
preserve open space. In addition, we need to
respect the Natural Resource Overlay dis-
tricts to ensure we protect wildlife migration
corridors from development.”
B) Sixteen years of experience and effective
leadership, I have voted “yes” on consolida-
tion, pathways, public transportation, ‘town
as heart’ of region, parking and environmen-
tal stewardship.
C) “The Current Natural Resource Overlay in
the Comprehensive Plan should be extended
to include all of the county — the Highway
390 corridor, Teton Village and Jackson.”
D)“I advocate that the protection of this
place is the only sustainable business plan
we have. The purchase of Karns Meadow,
restoration of the Flat Creek fishery, partner-
ships with the Jackson Hole Wildlife
Foundation, and the Teton County
Conservation District are all examples of my
commitment to these efforts.”
How they feel about Development
A)“I support a build out cap number to be
used for planning purposes only. I would not
support a cap being used as a regulatory
tool, as it is in opposition to our Western and
democratic values.”
B) I see some of these elements of ‘smart
growth’ vali,’ but the character of Jackson to
me to date is not four floors, lot-line to lot-
line, where you don’t have to go to your
neighbors door, you just have to reach out
the window … I value my yard, I value my
fence, I value a place my dog can run without
a leash.
C) “We still need to look at what total num-
bers our region can accommodate without
disastrous consequences to our wildlife and
other natural resources … We cannot contin-
ue to build and grow knowing that doing so
will destroy those very values that make us
so special.”
D) “A ‘build-out cap’ is the end result of cre-
ating Land Development Regulations that
describe what and how much we can build.
What is more important is our ability to
measure and regulate ‘Rate of Growth.” This
is the tool that I feel will allow us to maintain
control over our quality of life.” PJH
The Town Council pop quiz
17. www.PlanetJH.com updated daily l Planet Jackson Hole l October 29 - Nov. 4, 2008 17
Lummis, Trauner get down to wire
by Henry Sweets
The race for Wyoming’s lone house seat is getting tense.
Recent polls have not been able to establish a statistically
accurate leader in the race, and attack ads running on televi-
sion have become more pointed as Election Day draws near.
Lummis says Trauner wants to raise taxes and meddle with
gun rights, while Trauner says Lummis wants to privatize
social security. Both candidates are saying that what the
other says is not true.
Jim King, a political science professor from the University of
Wyoming says it is no surprise to see the blows flying at this
point in the race.
“The way you run a campaign is you give people a reason
to vote for you, and then the ones that are undecided, you
work on them with why they shouldn’t vote for the other one,”
King said.
But now that it is getting down to the wire, what message
can we expect from the candidates to sway those undecided
voters in the last moments of the campaign?
“Its important to us that people consider the effect of having
an Obama presidency, a Pelosi speakership and Harry Reid as
the majority leader in the senate - and that scenario is likely,”
Lummis said. “That hurts Wyoming terribly… and the impor-
tance of a vocal and loyal minority to protect, for example,
Wyoming coal, to make the bush tax cuts permanent and to
protect Wyoming’s values is tremendously important.”
Lummis said that she knew the race against Trauner would
be tight, and her strategy has been to focus on tax cuts.
“Our race has been discussing our need to keep taxes low,”
she said. “Gary Trauner opposes making the 2001 and 2003
tax cuts permanent, he says they never should have hap-
pened in the first place, so that amounts to a tax increase for
Wyoming families.”
She said she knew the race would be tough, but has stuck
with her platform of conservative ideals: less government,
lower taxes a “culture of saving” in Washington. She said her
volunteer base has kept her campaign afloat.
“Gary Trauner has been campaigning basically since he
was narrowly defeated by Barbara Cubin, and he has tremen-
dous financial support,” Lummis said.
Trauner said that the last days of the election would see
more talk about the economy, energy and the right kinds of
government intervention that can solve those issues. “Clearly
it is the economy that’s on everyone’s minds, … and were
going to keep talking about that,” he said. But he added that
“We need an Apollo moon policy for energy independence for
our country,” spanning fossil fuels extraction as well as
expansion of renewables with tax credits. And he said he
would be offering specific solutions to save struggling home-
owners – helping them to refinance broken mortgages and
restore those mortgages to secure investments.
Trauner says he offers non-partisan solutions to the needs
of Wyomingites, and a chance for Wyoming to get it’s voice
back in a house where he says Barbara Cubin has forfeited
the respect of the nation.
But Trauner says he is in favor of Bush tax cuts, with the excep-
tion of cuts for the top one percent of money-earners in the
nation, people earning a million or so dollars a year, he said.
Trauner said Lummis has been a tough opponent, but not
for the reasons that Lummis has said.
“It’s hard to run a campaign and tell people how you want
to solve the issues of the day when the other side is making
stuff up about you and pulling dirty tricks,” he said. “The way
you campaign is the way you are going to govern, and when
you make stuff up about people, that’s not a goods sign of the
person you are going to be in government.”
So how do you make up your mind?
King says in this day and age there is no excuse to decide
your vote on what one candidate says about the other. Just go
to their Web site, read their platform, and let that guide your
decision. PJH
by Planet JH Staff
Since incumbent Monte Olsen was hospi-
talized last year by a domestic dispute involv-
ing a sport utility vehicle, Wyoming House
seat 22 is up for grabs.
A small business owner and banker from
Pinedale, Charles Stough (R), and a con-
struction contractor from Wilson, Jim Roscoe
(D), are vying for the seat.
Both candidates say lower property taxes
and responsible energy development are the
most important issues in the race. But
Roscoe has based his platform around the
environment, and Stough is really going after
the property-tax issue.
Stough owns a ranch in Sublette County,
and has a construction crew there as well. He
said that during door-to-door campaigning
around the district (which is about the size of
Connecticut), people have said that property
taxes are on most people’s minds, and he
wants to bring relief to his constituents.
Stough is stumping on property tax reform.
Stough has been a small business owner as
well as a banker in Pinedale, and said he has
sat on both sides of the table when it comes
to economic issues. He thinks this is the year
for property-tax reform.
“There are a number of property tax reform
proposals that have come and gone,” said.
“But I think they’ve built sufficient momentum
and I really expect something to be accom-
plished in the next legislative session.”
Stough also said that proper reclamation of
energy development sites is something he has
been working on for year, and said the Wyoming
legislature needs to do more to ensure that scar-
ified lands are properly restored.
Teton County Republican Party Chairman
Joe Schloss is hoping to unseat incumbent
Pete Jorgensen in a race for Wyoming House
District 16. Jorgensen has held that seat since
the district was drawn six years ago.
Joe Schloss is a retired Department of
Homeland Security officer and has spent
decades of service in the Boy Scouts of
America. Schloss said he wants to go to
Cheyenne to make sure Teton County can get
property-tax reform.
Schloss said that Jorgensen hasn’t done
enough to write and pass legislation in the leg-
islature, and Teton County needs someone in
Cheyenne that will bring results back home.
Pete Jorgensen has spent six years on the
appropriations committee of the Wyoming
House of Representatives, and is now the
ranking minority member. Though he favors
some sort of property-tax reform, Jorgensen
said Wyoming needs some sort of need-
based requirement, because owners of multi-
million dollar second homes should have to
pay their fair share of taxes as well.
Jorgensen said he has been trying to under-
stand the inner-workings of Wyoming politics,
to foster an understanding in Cheyenne of the
needs of Teton County – especially preserving
its natural treasures. Since all of the House
bills pass through the appropriations commit-
tee then, for six years, he has been able to
keep a bead on the kinds of legislation that
Wyoming accepts, he said. PJH
by Henry Sweets
The Wyoming Libertarian Party
Web site includes a countdown of
Bush’s days left in office, a growing
tally of the cost of the war in Iraq,
the estimated total body count from
that war and the number of
American deaths reported.
Libertarians think that the war in
Iraq is wrong, but they espouse
conservative values. And the war
isn’t the only issue where they side
with liberals.
“I get a kick out of the marijuana
issue,” Dr. David Herbert,
Libertarian candidate for
Wyoming’s house seat and chair-
man of Wyoming Libertarians said,
“To me, it’s this big red herring that
keeps lots of people employed try-
ing to catch people doing it.”
Herbert thinks the government
should not spend money telling
people what to do, unless those
actions infringe on other people’s
rights. But Herbert is far from a lib-
eral. In fact, he claims to be more
conservative than Republicans.
The party grew out of the
Republican Party in the late 60s,
and attracted the followers of Barry
Goldwater. They are called
Libertarians because they support
the enforcer of liberty: the U.S.
Constitution.
Citizens, they say, give something
to the government (taxes, forfeited
rights), and the government gives
them something in return (infra-
structure and security). But
Libertarians think that those sacri-
fices should only be made if they
protect liberty.
Herbert aligns himself with Ron
Paul, a Republican candidate for
president who once ran as a
Libertarian, who Herbert says is a
pragmatic Libertarian, speaking out
against government excess, but
realistic about small government.
“There are a number of functions
of the government that you can’t do
with a private enterprise,” he said.
“That includes a standing military
and certain free-market oversight.
We believe in capitalism, but large
corporations are not necessarily
Libertarianism.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
see LIBERTARIAN page 18
THE ECONOMY, TAXES LEAD A PRICKLY CONGRESSIONAL RACE INTO ITS LAST LEG.
Sixteen plus 22 equals reform
Taxes and environment characterize both Wyoming House races in Teton County.
18. by Keith Gingery
Why are Constitutional Amendments
on my Ballot?
On your ballot, you are going to see two
proposed amendments to the Wyoming
Constitution.
The first deals with the oath of office
taken by all elected officials in Wyoming.
Written in 1890, it is lengthy, cumbersome,
awkward and somewhat odd. It was pro-
posed this year to change the oath to make
it shorter and easier to understand.
Nothing substantive is really being
changed. If you want to look at the existing
oath, it is in the Wyoming Constitution at
Article 6, Section 20.
The second amendment deals with initia-
tive ballots. If the legislature failed to pass
a state law that you really thought should
be enacted, you could gather enough sig-
natures to get the question on a statewide
ballot. You would have to collect signatures
of 15 percent of the qualified voters in two-
thirds of the counties. Potentially, you
could go to two-thirds of the counties with
the smallest populations and get on the bal-
lot. Niobrara County only has a few thou-
sand people, as opposed to a county like
Natrona or Laramie. The amendment
changes the two-thirds of counties to two-
thirds of senate districts. The State of
Wyoming has 23 counties. It has 30
Senate districts.
Why are Judges on my ballot?
Wyoming uses the modified Missouri
Plan to appoint Judges. When there is a
vacancy in a judgeship, a committee of six
people picks three candidates to submit to
the Governor, who then picks one. That
Judge stands for retention at the next gen-
eral election, and every four years there-
after. Thus, judges don’t really run for
office, but voters do have a chance to
remove a judge from office. Back in 2002,
the voters of Teton County removed their
District Court judge. PJH
Keith Gingery is the unchallenged
Republican incumbent for State House
District 23.
18 October 29 - Nov. 4, 2008 l Planet Jackson Hole l www.PlanetJH.com updated daily
St. Johns Hospital Board
by Henry Sweets
A seat on the Board of Trustees and
St. Johns Community Hospital contin-
ues to be one of the most sought after
in town, despite being demanding,
unpaid and exposed to the scrutiny
and harsh criticism.
People take medical care very seri-
ously. And the hospital has been in the
news over the last year – criticized for
an attempted lease of operations to a
second party organization, a CEO
bonus of around $80,000 dollars and
multi-million dollar homes purchased
for doctors and administrators.
But some candidates say
those issues are red her-
rings compared to some of
the future issues that the
hospital might face.
The price of service at
St. Johns is high, and the
patient base is too small to
support lower prices.
Attracting more patients
could lower prices, and
one way to do that is a
merger with Teton
Outpatient Surgery
(TOPS), a business that
some say “skims” the well-
to-do, paying patients
while the hospital must
lose money on those who
can’t pay.
But that move is attracting controver-
sy because it would require a multimil-
lion dollar campus redesign in the
midst of national credit crisis, and
some say the extra spending is too
much for a hospital trying to lower its
prices.
Another big issue candidates are
talking about is community-wide
health insurance. If the hospital wields
its influence, they say, uninsured resi-
dents could be pooled at the county or
state level, to find more affordable cov-
erage. The community benefit is obvi-
ous, but it would also mean more
money for the hospital, because right
now uninsured people are receiving
service and merely not paying.
Current president of the board Ed
Riddell said St. Johns prices have
been climbing more slowly than
national prices, and a recent endeavor
to ensure quality service that is equi-
table for the hospital or necessary to
the community has been successful.
John Cardis has been behind some
of the really positive efforts in the hos-
pital recently. He said that he brings a
career of management to the table,
which helps him understand the ins
and outs of running a multi-million dol-
lar organization. He said that things
are improving, at the hospital, and
wants to stay on board there.
Bill Best moved here from Chicago
where he served on the board at
Chicago Children’s hospital. He wants
to bring his experience to Jackson’s
community hospital, and has some
creative ideas about bringing health
insurance to the community.
Smokey Rhea wants to put the com-
munity back in “community hospital.”
Considered by some to be the
duchess of social services in
Teton County, Rhea says that
she has a better bead on
need than perhaps any other
person in town. She advo-
cates lobbying in Cheyenne
for community health cover-
age.
Dr. Emmy Knobloch saw a
demand for doctors in
Jackson, and since she
moved here she has become
one of a couple who don’t
deny general practice med-
ical care to people without
insurance. She said that
communication between
staff and administration
needs to be improved, and
she is running as a voice for
the patients and staff.
Bruce Hayes is a fixture in the valley.
He is another known to provide med-
ical services to those who can’t afford
it, from ski bums to Mexican immi-
grants. Hayes says that tensions
among staff and administration at the
hospital have worsened in recent
years. He also thinks that prices are
too high. He said if they are lowered,
the patient base will grow.
Herb Hazen, a business owner, has
been upset by his experiences at the
hospital, and he thinks they have very
little transparency and too-high prices.
They spend too much money and want
to “minimize local competition,” which
he thinks is unethical and monopolis-
tic.
Peter Moyer is a former lawyer for
the hospital, and he says that the cor-
porate mentality at the hospital needs
to change. He wants to do what he can
to bring affordable services back to St.
Johns. He said their prices need to be
competitive with the prices in Salt Lake
City and Idaho Falls, not Aspen and
Vail. PJH
What is that?
A LOOK AT BALLOT ISSUES. the best way to run a free market
either.”
Libertarians embody conservative
ideals that Republicans claim: less
government, lower taxes and a strict
adherence to the constitution.
However, they don’t always side
with Republicans.
Herbert said, “the Republicans
talk a good line, but when it comes
to going into Congress, they really
will compromise away their values.
Individual liberty is one side of the
coin, and the other side is individual
responsibility.”
Bob Barr, the Libertarian candi-
date for President, has a press
department that spins silky words
about liberty, and sends out press
releases about Washington’s mis-
treatment of it.
Many of these press releases
make it to the Planet JH editor’s
inbox. Here are a few excerpts: “It
appears that President George W.
Bush should say that we are all
socialists now; “both the
Republican and Democratic Party
presidential nominees believe the
federal government should play Big
Brother when it comes to educa-
tion;” and “Democracy Subverted
for the Benefit of Technology.”
Barr would say that he is holding
Washington up to the principles
handed it by the constitution.
And Wyoming, Herbert reckons,
might be the second most
Libertarian state behind New
Hampshire, who’s motto is “Live
Free or Die.”
Are you a
Libertarian?
TAKE THE TEST.
I took the “Libertarian Purity
quiz,” found on the Wyoming
Libertarians Web site, which basi-
cally asks how much governing you
think you need.
A pure Libertarian scores 160
out of 160, though the less dedicat-
ed score as low as 30. My score
was 36.
The Libertarian purity quiz is
administered at county fairs all over
the state, and Wyomingites typically
score high on it, Herbert said.
You can find the quiz by visiting
www.wyolp.org, and following the link
that reads “Me? A Libertarian? Moi?”
PJH
from LIBERTARIAN page 17
RACE CENTERS ON HOW TO MEET COMMUNITY NEEDS.
Candidates
are talking
about
community-
wide
healthcare.
19. www.PlanetJH.com updated daily l Planet Jackson Hole l October 29 - Nov. 4, 2008 19
Town cleans up loose laws,outdated language
by Jake Nichols
Wyoming sure has its share of wacky laws that
no one has bothered to change. For instance, tak-
ing the picture of a rabbit is prohibited during cer-
tain times of the year. This presumably does not
pertain to the infamous ‘jackalope.’ And don’t even
think of getting on the monkey bars if you are over-
weight. Wyoming prohibits “fat” people, (defined
as 100 pounds overweight), from using playground
or park equipment.
Some antiquated state laws make sense. It is ille-
gal to wear a hat that obstructs peoples’ view in a
public theater or place of amusement. And being
drunk in a mine could get scofflaws a year in jail.
Perhaps Wyoming’s biggest embarrassment of lit-
tle known law is the state statute making it illegal
for a woman to stand within five feet of a bar while
drinking. This from the Equality State, first to give
voting rights to women.
Wyoming municipalities also have their share of
dated decrees. In Cheyenne, citizens may not take
showers on Wednesdays. An ordinance in
Newcastle, Wyo., specifically bans couples from
having sex while standing inside a store’s walk-in
meat freezer. No mention of whether they can do it
lying down.
Politicos in Rock Springs, Wyo., once passed
this law regarding buxom Betties in bikinis: “No
such female between the ages of 16 and 21 years
shall appear in a bathing suit within this communi-
ty unless she be escorted by at least two officers
or unless she be armed with a club.” Tough town.
This amendment was soon after added to the orig-
inal ordinance: “The provisions of this statute shall
not apply to females weighing less than 90 pounds
nor exceeding 350 pounds, nor shall it apply to
female horses.”
Jackson joins the bizarre
With nothing better to do, we blew the dust off
the town’s municipal codes to see if Jackson had
any interesting such oddities of law. Boy, were we
surprised to see someone had beaten us to it.
Town attorney Audrey Cohen-Davis and town
clerk Roxanne Devries-Robinson are currently busy
rewriting the town’s municipal codes. “We are just
bringing it up to date,” Devries-Robinson said.
They are looking for redundancies and inconsisten-
cies, but have also come across a few gems from a
forgotten era.
As recent as 1995, not only was it illegal for a
woman to drink beer near the bar, according to
state statute, but she couldn’t be on the other side
of it either. Not in Jackson. “No female shall be
employed as a bartender in a room holding a retail
liquor license,” read Ordinance 90, in part.
Ordinance 516 repealed that law.
There are also other little-known facts of Jackson
law. The town may never go into debt financing the
Aspen Hill Cemetery. Also, every year Town Council
contracts with a snow removal company to shovel
various walkways downtown when, according to
see Municipal Code page 20
by Robyn Vincent
Wyoming sure knows how to grow ‘em. Meet Mr. Pro-Life – born Marvin Richardson, at a
cattle ranch near Rawlins, the Independent Idaho Senatorial candidate and organic berry
farmer legally changed his name in 2006. Last week, Pro-Life appeared with tears in his
eyes during Idaho’s Senatorial debate, “We need to repent,” he said during the debate. “We
cannot kill our babies and think that we’re going to get out of this economically.” Pro-Life
also cited the need to rebuild the sanctity of churches as a crucial element necessary in
the governing process.
“When I ran for governor [Pro-Life] was my middle name,” he recalled in an interview on
Monday. “But the Idaho Secretary of State would not allow it on the ballot.” So Pro-Life
became his legal title.
“Everybody calls me Pro-Life now,” said Life who also answered the phone “Pro-Life” at
his Richardson Family Farm. “It’s on my license plate, my driver’s license and my social
security name is that; everything I do is Pro-Life.”
When he decided to take a more active role in government, Pro-Life hoped his name
change would be the deciding factor for women facing a tough dilemma. “I [changed my
name] knowing that I was going to run for office,” he remarked. “Some women [are] really
trying to decide what to do with an unwanted pregnancy and some of them even pray:
‘Heavenly father, what should I do with this baby that I don’t want?’”
Pro-Life feels their queries will be answered and their tough decision will seamlessly
morph into an easy choice, after they catch sight of a sign or a ballad displaying his name.
“I do everything I can to save babies,” Pro-Life explained.
But sticking his nose into women’s reproductive rights is not his sole mission. “I’m not a
one-issue candidate,” Pro-Life said. “I believe that selfishness is really the evil in the world
because when you’re selfish you will murder your baby, you will steal from each other
through the ballot box, you’ll neglect your health and having proper sexual morals.”
He added that changing his name to evoke the “sin of selfishness” would have perhaps
been a better way to define his purpose.
And like the War on Terrorism, the Wyoming born Senatorial candidate also has his own intangible battle.
“Democratic-socialism is collective theft,” he said. “I look at everything morally, every aspect of government.” If people are dying, he added, it’s either homi-
cide or somehow justified. Pro-Life places the deaths caused from the Iraq war under the category of homicide while termination of life via capital punishment
he feels is justified.
Although he was quoted as someone who “enjoys sex” in an Idaho newspaper in July, Pro-Life isn’t quite sure that others should. “If you were my daughter,”
he told this curious reporter, “I would not let you kiss until you were married.”PJH
Wyo. births controversial candidate
IN THE RACE FOR IDAHO SENATE, PRO-LIFE IS MAKING AN APPEARANCE.
The real Mr. Pro-Life and his organic berries.
20. 20 October 29 - Nov. 4, 2008 l Planet Jackson Hole l www.PlanetJH.com updated daily
Female who didn’t want to give her name,
we’ll call her Ann (34) and her friend (29).
How long have you lived here?
I’ve lived here going on five years now.
And how do you feel about how Jackson
is developing?
I follow development here a lot and I def-
initely feel that we have to put a cap on
commercial growth here locally.
What does that mean exactly?
I just feel like whenever we build a new
luxury hotel, we’re bringing in a bunch of
people that need to work there and we can’t
provide housing for people like that and I
feel like what’s happened is that we’ve
grown in a very unsustainable way in this
community and I think what’s also been a
huge problem is that we’ve been pitting con-
servation against affordable housing and
affordable housing gets a really bad rap and
I feel like most of the people who want to
live in affordable housing that I know of,
don’t want their houses to be built in the
middle of a wildlife corridor and what hap-
pens at the community level is this dialogue
that affordable housing is this antithesis to
conservation easements and wildlife corri-
dors.
What do you think about commercial devel-
opment that incorporates affordable housing?
I feel like we have enough commercial
development already in Jackson. I have a
hard time believing we need to build anoth-
er hotel, when we’ve got so many places
already. I really like some of the candidates
who are talking about increasing mitigation
rates and actually saying if you’re gonna
build anything that’s commercial, you need
to house 100 percent of your employees. I
think that Claire Fuller was saying at one of
the forums that if you’re gonna build some-
thing commercial, you need to be able to
accommodate 100 of your employees. You
might want to check that with her but … I
thought that was pretty cool.
The Town Council says they want a lot of
public input but I also read that a majority
of the people that attend those meetings are
special interest groups or public interest
groups or landowners over 45, so people
that are between 20 and 40 aren’t really
attending those meeting, and their voices
aren’t being heard. The perception is that
demographic doesn’t care or that they are in
some ways transient.
We actually do attend those meetings.
Are you in the minority?
Oh definitely. A lot of the comp plan
meetings that I’ve been going to, the vast
majority were 40 to 60, and have lived in
Jackson and Teton County for 20 plus
years, and I was a voice that said young peo-
ple need to get involved.
Greg Miles said that we need to take the
meetings away from Town Hall. What are
your thoughts on getting younger people
involved in the process?
I think it’s awful-
ly hard to get
involved in a com-
munity that, excuse
me for saying so, is
trying to spit you
out on a daily basis
financially. It’s
hard to make it
work here, even
when you are try-
ing to contribute to
the community,
just because it’s
awfully hard to put
down roots and if you can’t put down roots,
its hard to stay motivated to get involved
politically and invested in the community. It
always feels very transient living here, just
because you never know if your rental unit’s
gonna be put up for sale and you can’t afford
it. I worry about that all the time.
Friend : But I think there’s also some
more alternative ways instead of the typical
forum or structured setting in order to get
younger people to listen. I mean I think of
places like Lindsay McCandless
Contemporary Gallery and how she’s made
that space a very big social, political scene
and have something there where there’s like
music and a keg and bring the candidates
together and maybe unfortunately that’s
how young people would come but I think
we have to think outside the box and not
just this formal governmental kind of struc-
tured setting in order to get people’s atten-
tion. PJH
Micheline Auger is a playwright and semi-compulsive eavesdropper.
This is her first column with PJH. Tell us what you think at editor@planetjh.com.
Town Square Oct. 26
Verbatim
CONVERSATIONS IN JACKSON HOLE by MICHELINE AUGERmunicipal code 12.20.020, respon-
sibility for clearing many of these
sidewalks falls to the residents and
businesses that are abutting them
… within six hours after the snow
stops falling.
Another ordinance, passed in
1926 and amended in 1982, practi-
cally makes the modern day
Cowboy Bar unlawful: “Any person
keeping a dance house within the
limits of the Town where lewd or
disorderly persons assemble
together for the purpose of danc-
ing, shall, upon conviction thereof,
be fined in any sum as provided in
Section 1.12.010 of [Municipal
Code 9.28.010].”
Chief of Police Dan Zivkovich ini-
tiated much of the revamping of
Jackson’s municipal code. It’s his
department that must enforce
many of the ordinances. “By and
large, we weren’t in too bad of
shape,” he said. “Most of the out-
dated stuff has been fixed, but
there are still some interesting
older terms that are still appear.”
Zivkovich pointed out the 1973
ordinance making it illegal to take
part in an ‘affray.’ That’s an agree-
ment by two or more persons to
fight in a public place. “I mention
that because most people don’t
know what an ‘affray’ is,” he said.
Occasionally, laws that are never
really enforced are eventually
repealed. One such item makes all
cyclists responsible for registering
their bikes with the town. Zivkovich
admits most don’t and his depart-
ment doesn’t make a big stink
about it. In fact, the town’s newest
ordinance doing away with the law
was passed on Monday. Bikers still
can’t race on any city street or
alley, however – that’s been illegal
since 1965.
The municipal code of Jackson
is a living document. New regula-
tions are constantly added. Two
such laws are the ‘Scoop the
poop’ ordinance, added in 2005,
requiring dog owners to clean up
after their defecating dogs within
town limits, and an entire chapter,
written into the code which made
it unlawful for the “unauthorized
removal of newspapers before
they reach their intended reading
public.” This ordinance was
passed into law in 2006 after
Planet Jackson Hole papers
began disappearing from news-
stands when certain unflattering
news items appeared that week.
According to Devries-
Robinson, the town is about
halfway through their process of
cleaning up the municipal code.
They are on Chapter 8 (Health
and Safety), which includes regu-
lations about street numbers –
minimum three inches high and
visible from the street or a fine of
a dollar a day for every day in
non-compliance.
By the way, it’s against the law to
climb a tree on public property in
Jackson. You’ve been warned. PJH
from Municipal Code page 19
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“I think we
have to think
outside
the box.”
– “Ann”