Letter to the editor

Jeremy Parriott’s idea of having private parks instead of relatively pristine public land for mechanized road-rippers represents a fair solution for tree-huggers and trail-trashers alike (HCN, 8/22/05: His playground pulls fun hogs off the public lands). Such a scheme would help save fragile plants and animals, prevent erosion, and give off-roaders a place to frolic. […]

As a retired Utah history teacher and long-time LDS history buff, I found “The Gangs of Zion” most interesting! Thanks for taking the time to research this material and then presenting it so well. You filled in my knowledge base with material I wouldn’t have even had enough information to ask questions about. I hope […]

As the mother and grandmother of Hawaiian, Tongan and Samoan children, my heart breaks as I read these stories. The Polynesians are loving and giving, and family is important to them. They come here to better their children, and find they have to work too many jobs to spend as much time with the children […]

I am a young Polynesian adult and grew up with many of the same influences (both good and bad). I cried while reading this article. So many of my friends have made terrible choices, bringing pain and suffering to the families of the victims of their crimes, their own families, and themselves, all for the […]

And people ask why I pack heat in Utah. Duh! “Guest”Provo Daily Herald Web site This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Self-defense?.

The article was an unfair generalization of an entire group of people, devoid of any substantial mention of the culture’s many redeeming qualities. Yes, there are gang issues associated with the culture in Utah. No, that is not the “norm” for Polynesian families, here or elsewhere. The truth is, most Polynesian families in Utah live […]

They were savages there, and as a group, they are savages here. “Guest”Provo Daily Herald Web site This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Racism is alive and well….

I am saddened that this event not only affected the gangster’s family, but it is affecting all of us Tongans. Maybe we have not taken enough time with our children, but spent more time working and making money. These are the side effects of living overseas. There is no easy way out, but I hope […]

I am a 25-year-old Tongan living in Australia, and I can sort of relate to this article. Growing up was very hard (financially and emotionally). By the time they were 16, my brothers were selling drugs, and most probably doing drugs as well. My brothers have been stabbed and beaten and who knows what else. […]

I read most of your article on “Gangs of Zion” in the Logan Herald Journal and was very disappointed by the lack of research that went into it. Granted, you did do some historical research on the history of Polynesians and their migration to Utah, but you would think you would have taken the time […]

I was dismayed to read HCN’s profile of John Morgart, the man at least partially responsible for crafting the proposed one-year moratorium on Mexican gray wolf releases in the Blue Range, and other changes to the reintroduction standard operating procedures — because it did not mention the dubious circumstances leading up to the release of […]

D.J. Waldie writes of something which many of us have tried to warn of, that “smart growth” isn’t necessarily smart (HCN, 8/8/05: In the suburbs of Los Angeles, your future awaits). Portland, hailed as the icon of smart growth, will in a generation or so be as high-density as Los Angeles. It will have, in […]

I have subscribed to HCN on and off since I met my husband 20 years ago (he introduced me to the paper) because of its coverage of environmental news. When I read in the notes on the board meeting a month ago that someone from Washington state thinks HCN should cover news other than environmental […]

Good idea, good color, good printing. And it’s about time! I don’t think any of us would be averse to a suitable increase in subscription cost to 1) keep that up and 2) keep the ads down. You have one hell of a good publication. Be very careful with it; change nothing except to make […]

Regarding the HCN article on antler hunting, I was glad to see that something positive has come out of the ludicrous Viagra/Cialis craze that fills up my e-mail spam filter daily (HCN, 8/8/05: Horn hunters face hard times). Now that artificial drugs have supplanted “traditional” remedies, we should see some relief for African rhinoceroses, North […]

In Greg Hanscom’s July 25 editor’s note, he states that Wyoming is riding its current oil and gas boom like a meth-crazed bronc rider. That’s some analogy, Mr. Hanscom. I thought most cowboys were pretty straight. From viewing your picture in the column, you have more of the appearance of most dope-heads that I have […]

The BLM’s new grazing rules are a farce (HCN, 7/25/05: New grazing rules ride on doctored science). Tony Davis’ article says the new rules allow extended rest. The opposite is true; I believe the new rules prohibit more than one year of rest. The people I knew before I retired from BLM were in on […]

Matt Weiser’s profile of Rep. Richard Pombo was a reading experience I will long savor (HCN, 7/25/05: Will the real Mr. Pombo please stand up?). While the content is extremely depressing to anyone who gives a damn about the environment, the depth of research that went into the piece is worthy of high praise, as […]

Just a quick note to say how much I loved the June 27 issue with the three essays on the West. Each of them was fresh, engaging, and disturbing. (Perhaps Jesse Wolf Hardin’s was more triumphant than disturbing.) I was moved. Our West as we have thought of it is really changing. Thanks to all […]

On a recent visit to this year’s U.S. Forest Service display at the Smithsonian’s annual Folklife Festival on the Mall in Washington, D.C., I saw some disturbing gaps in its representation of the Forest Service “culture” — the timber program was nowhere to be found. I asked a few uniformed Forest Service folks at tables […]