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Richard Raymond Walker, 38, is in the Davis County Jail. He has been charged with repeat felonies of violation of a domestic violence protective order. The repeat violations are the result of complaints by his wife, who has accused Walker of domestic violence. Besides the domestic violence arrests, Walker also faces a first-degree felony charge of aggravated sexual abuse of a child.
Views: 132 | Fri, Jul 3 2009• opinion-editorial headlines
OUR VIEW: Domestic violence charges merit jail
Richard Raymond Walker, 38, is in the Davis County Jail. He has been charged with repeat felonies of violation of a domestic violence protective order. The repeat violations are the result of complaints by his wife, who has accused Walker of domestic violence. Besides the domestic violence arrests, Walker also faces a first-degree felony charge of aggravated sexual abuse of a child.
OUR VIEW: More liquor licenses needed
Utah should not have a mandated limit on restaurants receiving liquor licenses. The market should take care of how many liquor licenses are granted. We urge the Utah Legislature, which sets the number of liquor licenses, to correct this mistake.
OUR VIEW: Madoff's harsh sentence appropriate
So Bernie Madoff, the Ponzi scheme artist who swindled investors out of anywhere from $13 billion to $50 billion, was sentenced to 150 years in the slammer on Monday. Good riddance. The evil Madoff used his reputation as a trusted, respected money manager to live a life of obscene luxury on other people's money with his wife, Ruth. No money was ever invested. "Interest" was paid from new investments. When the market went sour, it all crumbled. Many retirees who trusted Madoff were wiped out financially. Others swindled by Madoff include director Steven Spielberg and Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax.
OUR VIEW: Grandma's savings habit in vogue
When it comes to spending and saving, we're taking grandma's advice. The recession and its hit on our pocketbooks has jolted us into doing what grandma has always told us to do -- put our money away for a rainy day.
OUR VIEW: Tourism money well spent
Tourism is a major economic engine in Utah. But getting many residents to understand that can be a challenge. The Utah Tourism Industry Coalition estimates that last fiscal year the state invested $11 million in tourism marketing. And here's what the coalition estimates was the return on that investment:
OUR VIEW: Uniform Taser policy needed
Listening to the audio recordings of police communications during the June 9 incident in which Brian Cardall died after being Tasered twice by police can be a heart-wrenching experience.Cardall’s wife called 911 seeking help because her husband was suffering from a "serious psychosis" along the side of the highway outside Hurricane. When police arrived, they found Cardall naked and conducting himself in an irrational manner. During the 12-minute call, Anna Cardall can be heard telling the dispatcher her husband was running in and out of traffic.
OUR VIEW: Preserve Davis neighborhoods
Davis County has often been described as "just" a series of bedroom communities between Salt Lake City and Ogden. Well, that’s a description county residents like. It’s important for the county’s 15 city governments to understand that preserving this positive neighborhood lifestyle is something cherished by residents.Some city officials get it, and some don’t, as evidenced by two recent examples.
OUR VIEW: North Legacy route a good start
When it comes to road building, it is best to plan ahead. The further out, the better. So, kudos to the Wasatch Front Regional Council, the Utah Department of Transportation and Top of Utah cities for their efforts in designating a potential transportation corridor if a northern extension of the Legacy Parkway is ever built in Davis and Weber counties.
OUR VIEW: There's no need for a DUI registry
Backers of a DUI registry in Davis County say they aren't ready to discuss their proposal.
OUR VIEW: Powder Town saga continues
Last week Judge Ernie Jones said Weber County Commissioners must appoint a mayor and town council from a list approved by the Powder Mountain Powder Town sponsors.
OUR VIEW: Paratransit fee switch correct
We offer support for the Utah Transit Authority, which listened to the disabled community and ditched paratransit service plans that would have been hard on many commuters' wallets.
OUR VIEW: Sexting a 21st century problem
How big a problem is "sexting?" The practice of teens and adults foolishly texting naked images of themselves via a cell phone has experts debating the long-term implications of the problem, which is a crime.
OUR VIEW: The social media revolution
What is happening in Iran -- an uprising against a truly evil theological dictatorship -- is happening in large part due to social media. We are virtually seeing a revolution in real time. Whether it's Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, immediate online reports from newspaper, or various blogs, the time gap between an event and its reporting has closed to dramatic levels.
OUR VIEW: Grant would help river project
Although it's very unlikely Ogden will get all of $4 million allocated to Utah through stimulus funding for water projects, any money received will be appreciated. Cleaning up the Ogden River has great worth for Junction City and its residents.
OUR VIEW: North Ogden's peacock parade
"If the officers did not see a peacock, they cannot cite." -- North Ogden Police Chief Pollo Afuvai
OUR VIEW: Time catching up with the mullahs
What a weekend in Iran. The misogynistic, bigoted evil mullahs of the Guardian Council that run things tried to put on an election. They ran their trained incumbent sock-puppet, "President" Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and even picked his three opponents. Fake polls were published showing the sock-puppet easily leading.
OUR VIEW: Of orange cones and road mazes
If you are a driver on too many Top of Utah freeways, highways and roads, you must feel like an explorer. Just getting to destinations you used to be able to jaunt to in a few minutes has changed into seemingly impenetrable mazes, blocked off by ubiquitous orange cones -- and more rarely -- workers. Drivers need a personal, constant-changing GPS implanted in their brains to avoid long delays and fender-benders.
OUR VIEW: Background checks crucial for schools
Although it may sting teachers' wallets, we strongly agree with the Utah State Board of Education's decision to require all educators get background checks and have teachers pay the $65 fee for the background check when they renew their teaching licenses
OUR VIEW: Senior power welcome in Utah
Political debate in Utah is about to be improved by a much-needed infusion of senior power.
OUR VIEW: Strike force a good idea
A new law that creates a strike force to investigate and prosecute felony crimes committed by or against illegal aliens can be an effective crime-fighting tool if law enforcement and the illegal immigrant community can trust each other.
OUR VIEW: Fourth seat hope fades away
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., made it pretty clear at a weekly congressional briefing. Hope for a fourth U.S. congressional House of Representative seat for Utah is pretty much dead.
OUR VIEW: North Korea's kidnapping game
If there is any solace to the ludicrous 12 years of hard labor in a prison camp that North Korea has sentenced two American journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, it's that neither of those women will ever experience a North Korean labor camp.
OUR VIEW: A great week for Hill
We congratulate those at Hill Air Force base for making Air Force Week a memorable event at Hill last week. At the week's finale, the famed Air Force Thunderbirds and other planes were grounded for a couple of hours due to rain, but then burst through the clouds and soared through the skies to the delight of the large crowd.
OUR VIEW: Layton council makes right call
Although it was a controversial call, with dozens of residents passionately in opposition, the Layton City Council was correct in approving a zone change that may bring a 303 unit-dwelling development to the city.
OUR VIEW: Thank you, George E. Wahlen
A heroic man ended his earthly existence on Friday, June 5, 2009. Veteran George E. Wahlen, an Ogden native, died at 84 in the hospital named after him, the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City, We cannot have e
OUR VIEW: The end of an automotive era
Frankly, it's painful to watch GM and Chrysler, two great U.S. automobile megacompanies, twitching in the wind, gasping their final breaths of independence. Ford still limps along, sustained by heavy debt it will one day have to pay back.
OUR VIEW: Pool access critical for Ogden
At a Junction City council meeting last Tuesday, the fate of Ogden's Marshall White Center was made a little clearer. The good news is that Ogden-Weber Community Action Partnership plans to take over management of the center on July 1. All existing programs are unaffected, except for the swimming pool, which is only guaranteed until Dec. 31. Ogden will fund the $168,000 needed to keep Marshall White running through 2009.
OUR VIEW: Obama's Cairo speech
Conservatives -- or those wanting to maintain pressure on Islam to help curb terrorism by its extremists, or those who want a U.S foreign policy that is overwhelmingly pro-Israel -- may not be pleased with President Obama's Cairo speech to the Islamic world, but we think the president spoke well in assuring his audience that the United States is its friend and wishes to work together with the rest of the world to curb terrorism.
OUR VIEW: Protect the foothills
The Centerville City Council wants to have more control over the foothill area that sits east of the city. Right now that area is under Davis County control. The council wants to eventually annex the foothills. By the end of the year, there may be a master plan with all the details.
OUR VIEW: Tiller murder an evil act
The murder of abortionist George Tiller in the church where he worshiped was an evil act. Tiller was a controversial figure, who had performed scores of thousands of partial-birth abortions, which involves terminating the pregnancy of a third-trimester fetus. There is a wicked irony that the suspect, Scott Roeder, who has a record of associating with extremist anti-abortion groups, felt he had the right to take Tiller's life.
OUR VIEW: Buffalo Walk an exciting idea
Connecting 309 businesses with urban pathways is an awesome concept. Layton's "Buffalo Walk" would be a $10 million, 7-mile trail system that would provide easy access for pedestrians who want to take time to easily traverse the Davis County city's business district.
OUR VIEW: Use the tap, state employees
Many state employees are working so hard to keep Utah's budgets that they apparently feel they are entitled to a long drink of water at Utah taxpayers' expense.
OUR VIEW: The North Korea crisis
President Obama is discovering that North Korea is a constant crisis to the free world. We hope he understands that a calm, mature and firm response is needed in dealing with that nation’s paranoid leaders.
OUR VIEW: Celebrating Air Force Week 2009
On Monday begins Air Force Week 2009 and there are many events for the public to celebrate the accomplishments and history of our United States Air Force. The theme is "Keeping the Promise ... Your United States Air Force."
OUR VIEW: ATK a big part of Hubble success
It was a tricky mission for seven astronauts on the space shuttle Atlantis to repair and enhance the Hubble Space Telescope. But it was a huge success.
OUR VIEW: A correct ruling in California
The California Supreme Court made the correct decision in ruling to uphold Proposition 8, that bans same-sex marriage in that state. To overturn the decision would have been an insult to voters and likely would have produced a backlash against gay marriage advocates. The California court understood that initiatives -- or direct democracy -- is to be respected by the judicial branch and not trifled with.
OUR VIEW: Obama's high court nominee
Orin Kerr, a professor at law at George Washington University of Law and popular legal issues blogger, describes President Obama's U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Appelate Judge Sonia Sotomayor, as a "liberal Samuel Alito." The Hispanic Sotomayor does fit into the "by the bootstraps" life story. She grew up poor, her father died when she was eight, and she was raised by her mom, a nurse. She attended Princeton and then Yale Law School.
OUR VIEW: Huntsman's China responsibilities
Soon, if he is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman will be ambassador to China. It will thrust our governor into a lead role in what is arguably the biggest economic crisis in the globe.
OUR VIEW: A blowout in 2012?
Although we haven't seen one in a while, we'll take out our political tea leaves and wonder if our nation is perhaps headed for a blow out presidential election in 2012. And yes, we think President Obama would be the winner. Before Republicans object that
OUR VIEW: Thanks for our veterans
Today is Memorial Day. It is a holiday devoted to honoring the sacrifice of all the veterans who have helped this counry stay safe. The men and women who have served our country merit our respect daily, of course. Today, across the Top of Utah, the state
OUR VIEW: The 'duckies' don't need our bread
OK, we know you like to feed the "duckies."
OUR VIEW: Multiple mobile command centers
Davis County, Utah's smallest county by land area, does not need three mobile command centers for use by public safety agencies. The fact that there are now three expensive command centers spread over the north and south of Davis is just another wedge in the north and south division of the county. In our opinion, it's another example of the unwillingness of the Davis government entities to work together.
OUR VIEW: Kilt proves to be a teaching tool
Who would have thought that a traditional Scottish garment, the kilt, would prove to be a catalyst for a learning experience in the Top of Utah?
OUR VIEW: A new tone on abortion
We are cautiously optimistic that our nation may be heading to a calmer consensus on abortion.
OUR VIEW: Surviving Detroit's failures
"We did everything they wanted us to do, and now we wake up and they've canceled all our stores." Those were the words of Homer Cutrubus, who co-owns eight Top of Utah vehicle dealerships along with his brother, Phidia.
OUR VIEW: Gov. Huntsman's new job
There is no doubt that Gov. Jon Huntsman is more than qualified to be the next U.S. ambassador to China. On his resume are previous posts as ambassador to Singapore and deputy U.S. trade ambassador. He speaks fluent Mandarin and has the diplomatic and trade skills to be a successful envoy to the superpower nation of China.
OUR VIEW: More derivatives regulation needed
The Obama administration is doing the right thing by calling for regulatory changes on derivatives. The complex financial instrument has gone unregulated far too long. Because of that laxness hundreds of trillions of dollars are linked to derivatives. One derivative, the credit default swap, which served as a hedge for debtholders against default, currently is estimated to total $38 trillion.
OUR VIEW: Keep Marshall White Center strong
Ogden’s Marshall White Community Center needs to always remain open and continue to at least provide what it offers now.
OUR VIEW: Lots of water flow
It's a good year for water retention in Utah. A wet winter and cool weather in northern Utah through the middle of May have bolstered Utah's water reservoir storage this year, particularly after several years in our state that tended to be dry. According
OUR VIEW: GOP's Steele steps in it again
It's been a rough 100 days for new Republican Party leader Michael Steele.
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