Friday, January 20, 2012

Heads up

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With all the snow coming down and shoveling to be done, it's easy to miss what's going on around us. Here are a few things no one should ignore.

Cheap ski tickets: Tomorrow is the last day to grab a $35 lift ticket to ski Sun Valley on Sunday, Jan. 22. Available at local ski shops and at some locations in Twin Falls and Boise, the proceeds will go to help support commercial air service to Hailey—the service that brings customers to the valley and in turn supports local jobs. With prizes and a party at River Run, it's shaping up to be a lively deep-winter happening that could become a tradition. Skiers and boarders win with a cheap day on the mountain while helping the economy. No one loses. What's not to like?

Second valley power line? It's been in the works a long time, but an area-wide power outage two years ago that left people to deal with the cold and dark for more than 24 hours in some cases focused leaders on the fact that a single power line brings power to the valley. A new backup line that would be strung along state Highway 75 would enhance power delivery, but have aesthetic impacts. Idaho Power Co. will kick off a public information period next week in front of the Ketchum and Sun Valley City Councils at their regular meetings. It's time for residents to focus on the proposal.

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Will Blaine County become marooned in a new legislative district? The Idaho Supreme Court declared a state redistricting plan unconstitutional because it divided too many counties in order to comply with a one-person, one-vote requirement. That sends the bipartisan redistricting commission back to the drawing board with one hand tied behind its back as it tries to balance population, county boundaries and communities of interest. It also endangers Blaine County if the commission decides to revert to a plan that paired the county with others with which it has nothing in common. The district's monstrous size would have discouraged prospective officeholders and made it hard for constituents to work with representatives. Keep an eye on this one.

Stop Online Piracy Act: Google, Wikipedia and other websites had a virtual tantrum Wednesday as they posted blacked-out pages to oppose SOPA and to weaken congressional resolve to stop the theft of copyrighted intellectual works—movies, music and books—by offshore pirates. The act may have erred in trying to do the web equivalent of forcing printing presses to enforce copyright law. But that doesn't mean the U.S. should do nothing to stop the thievery that is eroding American businesses and jobs while lining the pockets of electronic cut-purses. Technology leaders need to join with lawmakers to find a way to correct the growing theft on the web.

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