WTE offers thumbs up and down 8-10-24
Talk of storing spent nuclear fuel waste in Wyo. should be public
DOWN to Rep. Donald Burkhart Jr., R-Rawlins, for again publicly floating the idea of storing spent nuclear fuel waste in Wyoming, but so far failing to provide the public access to a bill draft that would authorize it.
To be clear, we’re not against the idea, as others are, simply because they think one of the country’s largest tourist destinations shouldn’t be sullied by such a thing. While we don’t want to see Wyoming’s wide-open spaces turned into the nation’s dumping ground, this targeted use of a section of “no man’s land” could be done well, if it’s done right.
In order to ensure that’s the case, though, there needs to be a vibrant, open discussion of the facts, not behind-closed-doors meetings that result in bills that few people see before they hit lawmakers’ desks. Wyoming residents need to know what safety measures would be taken well before any offer is made to federal officials who have been looking for such a location for decades.
Also, the need for money to replace lost revenue from declining fossil fuel payments shouldn’t be the main reason to open the state to potential harm. There are other ways to generate income without poisoning the state’s aquifers, adding truck traffic to rural highways and potentially damaging people’s livelihood in currently unforeseen ways.
If such a proposal is to move forward, it must be done with the greatest possible transparency. Without that, it shouldn’t be considered at all.
Institute designed to foster empathy, courage and cooperation
UP to those behind the new Mineta-Simpson Institute at Heart Mountain.
According to the Powell Tribune, the new facility will be a “dedicated retreat space at the center, a home for workshops and programming specifically designed to foster empathy, courage and cooperation in the next generation of leaders.”
The institute’s website lists six main ways it will do that through “relevant and engaging programming”: leadership workshops, educator workshops, a lecture series, an artist series, public programming and private retreats. While a main focus will be on learning from the incarceration of Japanese Americans at Heart Mountain during World War II, the workshops, for example, “will provide participants with practical ways to improve discourse, building alliances across political and ideological lines, and practice ethical leadership in their communities.”
The challenge will be to keep it from becoming political. What gives us hope is that its namesakes, Norman Y. Mineta and Alan K. Simpson, served as a shining example of how two politicians from very different backgrounds and polar opposites politically can work together to find common ground. We look forward to seeing all of the ways this new facility can help contribute to that noble effort.
CFD concessions owner helps Wyoming fight food insecurity
UP to Nate Janousek, the owner of Fun Biz Concessions, for donating leftover food from Cheyenne Frontier Days to local nonprofits and organizations.
The traveling food company’s owner faced food insecurity when he was a child, so he has made it his mission to donate unused fair food whenever possible. The morning after the “Daddy of ’em All” wrapped up its 128th anniversary celebration, people from several groups gathered behind the main grandstands to load up boxes of both perishable and nonperishable goods.
This is the fourth year Mr. Janousek has donated leftover Fun Biz food, and thanks to connecting with first lady Jennie Gordon’s Wyoming Hunger Initiative, these items are seeing widespread use. Among the groups in attendance this year were Element Church, Meals on Wheels, Laramie County Senior Services, Veterans’ Rock, St. Joseph’s Food Pantry and the Laramie County Community College food pantry.
And in addition to donating the leftover food, Mr. Janousek donated $1 to the Wyoming Hunger Initiative for every corndog Fun Biz sold during the last Saturday of CFD. That resulted in an extra $12,500 gift that WHI will use to support local hunger organizations.
All of this is way above and beyond what anyone would expect of a festival food vendor. A tip of the hat to Mr. Janousek for his generosity.
Secretary of state fails to speak out firmly against attack mailers
DOWN to Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray for failing to speak out strongly against the proliferation of attack mailers during the current election season that contain falsehoods and misleading assertions. But UP to state lawmakers on the Legislature’s Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee for discussing the issue and trying to decide how best to address the problem.
Mr. Gray isn’t wrong when he says attack ads and mailers aren’t new to Wyoming. It’s true that they have been a part of the past few election cycles. What is new, though, is the volume of mailers coming from out-of-state groups that contain outright lies, as well as multiple mischaracterizations of the voting records of incumbent state legislators.
He’s also right to say that doing anything to limit someone’s First Amendment rights is a slippery slope and shouldn’t be undertaken lightly. That’s why a legal challenge brought by two Sweetwater County lawmakers up for reelection this year may help shed some light on whether these groups have crossed the line into defamation.
But we believe the state’s top official in charge of election integrity should be out front, condemning all election falsehoods, and encouraging voters to do their homework and to decide for themselves whether any mailers are accurate and worth their attention. Instead, Mr. Gray spent time at a recent Corporations Committee meeting delving into the particulars of this instance, disagreeing with assertions that mailers claiming certain lawmakers voted to keep former President Donald Trump off the ballot were spreading falsehoods.
“That is in the eye of the beholder,” Mr. Gray said. “I’ve talked to both sides of this issue. There are many people that believe that those mailers are an accurate reflection in their opinions. And there’s a venue for this to be debated. And I think many people may very well be called to the witness stand and give their opinions on every one of these mailers.”
Rep. Cody Wylie, R-Rock Springs, who is part of the legal challenge to the mailers attacking him and his record, pressed the secretary on the issue, asking, “Did you ever see anything hit your desk where I voted to remove President Trump from the ballot?” Mr. Gray didn’t answer the question, instead spotlighting a vote against a budget footnote that would have given him $9.5 million to fund legal action in states like Colorado where Mr. Trump’s presence on the ballot was being challenged.
Although the Wyoming Secretary of State is a partisan, elected position, the person chosen to serve in that role should be a champion for encouraging truthfulness in all campaigns and for the integrity of elections for ALL candidates, not just those they agree with. Mr. Gray’s failure to emphasize that in this case is disappointing.