“If you don’t have enough evidence to charge someone criminally but you think he’s illegal, we can make him disappear.” Those chilling words were spoken by James Pendergraph, then executive director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Office of State and Local Coordination, at a conference of police and sheriffs in August 2008. Also present was Amnesty International’s Sarnata Reynolds, who wrote about the incident in the 2009 report “Jailed Without Justice” and said in an interview, “It was almost surreal being there, particularly being someone from an organization that has worked on disappearances for decades in other countries. I couldn’t believe he would say it so boldly, as though it weren’t anything wrong.”

Pendergraph knew that ICE could disappear people, because he knew that in addition to the publicly listed field offices and detention sites, ICE is also confining people in 186 unlisted and unmarked subfield offices, many in suburban office parks or commercial spaces revealing no information about their ICE tenants–nary a sign, a marked car or even a US flag. (Presumably there is a flag at the Department of Veterans Affairs Complex in Castle Point, New York, but no one would associate it with the Criminal Alien Program ICE is running out of Building 7.) Designed for confining individuals in transit, with no beds or showers, subfield offices are not subject to ICE Detention Standards. The subfield office network was mentioned in an October report by Dora Schriro, then special adviser to Janet Ann Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, but no locations were provided.

I obtained a partial list of the subfield offices from an ICE officer and shared it with immigrant advocates in major human rights and civil rights organizations, whose reactions ranged from perplexity to outrage. Andrea Black, director of Detention Watch Network (DWN), said she was aware of some of the subfield offices but not that people were held there. ICE never provided DWN a list of their locations. “This points to an overall lack of transparency and even organization on the part of ICE,” said Black. ICE says temporary facilities in field or subfield offices are used for 84 percent of all book-ins. There are twenty-four listed field offices. The 186 unlisted subfield offices tend to be where local police and sheriffs have formally or informally reached out to ICE. For instance, in 2007 North Carolina had 629,947 immigrants and at least six subfield offices, compared with Massachusetts, with 913,957 immigrants and one listed field office. Not surprisingly, before joining ICE Pendergraph, a sheriff, was the Joseph M. “Joe” Arpaio of North Carolina, his official bio stating that he “spearheaded the use of Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act,” legislation that empowers local police to perform immigration law enforcement functions.

A senior attorney at a civil rights organization, speaking on background, saw the list and exclaimed, “You cannot have secret detention! The public has the right to know where detention is happening.”

Alison Parker, deputy director of Human Rights Watch, wrote a December comprehensive report on ICE transit policies, “Locked Up Far Away.” Even she had never heard of the subfield offices and was concerned that the failure to disclose their locations violates the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the United States is a signatory. She explained that the government must provide “an impartial authority to review the lawfulness of custody. Part and parcel is the ability of somebody to find the person and to make their presence known to a court.”

The challenge of being unable to find people in detention centers, documented in the Human Rights Watch report, is worsened when one does not even know where to look. The absence of a real-time database tracking people in ICE custody means ICE has created a network of secret jails. Subfield offices enter the time and date of custody after the fact, a situation ripe for errors, hinted at in the Schriro report, as well as cover-ups.

ICE refused a request for an interview, selectively responded to questions sent by e-mail and refused to identify the person authorizing the reply–another symptom of ICE thwarting transparency and hence accountability. The anonymous official provided no explanation for ICE not posting a list of subfield office locations and phone numbers or for its lack of a real-time locator database.

It is not surprising to find that, with no detention rules and being off the map spatially and otherwise, ICE agents at these locations are acting in ways that are unconscionable and unlawful. According to Ahilan T. Arulanantham, Director of Immigrants’ Rights and National Security at the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, the Los Angeles subfield office called B-18 is a barely converted storage space tucked away in a large downtown federal building. “You actually walk down the sidewalk and into an underground parking lot. Then you turn right, open a big door and voilà, you’re in a detention center,” Arulanantham explained. Without knowing where you were going, he said, “it’s not clear to me how anyone would find it. What this breeds, not surprisingly, is a whole host of problems concerning access to phones, relatives and counsel.”

It’s also not surprising that if you’re putting people in a warehouse, the occupants become inventory. Inventory does not need showers, beds, drinking water, soap, toothbrushes, sanitary napkins, mail, attorneys or legal information, and can withstand the constant blast of cold air. The US residents held in B-18, as many as 100 on any given day, were treated likewise. B-18, it turned out, was not a transfer area from point A to point B but rather an irrationally revolving stockroom that would shuttle the same people briefly to the local jails, sometimes from 1 to 5 AM, and then bring them back, shackled to one another, stooped and crouching in over-packed vans. These transfers made it impossible for anyone to know their location, as there would be no notice to attorneys or relatives when people moved. At times the B-18 occupants were left overnight, the frigid onslaught of forced air and lack of mattresses or bedding defeating sleep. The hours of sitting in packed cells on benches or the concrete floor meant further physical and mental duress.

Alla Suvorova, 26, a Mission Hills, California, resident for almost six years, ended up in B-18 after she was snared in an ICE raid targeting others at a Sherman Oaks apartment building. For her, the worst part was not the dirt, the bugs flying everywhere or the clogged, stinking toilet in their common cell but the panic when ICE agents laughed at her requests to understand how long she would be held. “No one could visit; they couldn’t find me. I was thinking these people are going to put me and the other people in a grinder and make sausages and sell them in the local market.”

Sleep deprivation and extreme cold were among the “enhanced interrogation” techniques promoted by the Bush White House and later set aside by the Department of Justice because of concerns that they amounted to torture. Although without the intent to elicit information, ICE under the Obama administration was holding people charged with a civil infraction in conditions approaching those no longer authorized for accused terrorists.

According to Aaron Tarin, an immigration attorney in Salt Lake City, “Whenever I have a client in a subfield office, it makes me nervous. Their procedures are lax. You’ve got these senior agents who have all the authority in the world because they’re out in the middle of nowhere. You’ve got rogue agents doing whatever they want. Most of the buildings are unmarked; the vehicles they drive are unmarked.” Like other attorneys, Tarin was extremely frustrated by ICE not releasing its phone numbers. He gave as an example a US citizen in Salt Lake City who hired him because her husband, in the process of applying for a green card, was being held at a subfield office in Colorado. By the time Tarin tracked down the location of the facility that was holding the husband when he had called his wife, the man had been moved to another subfield office. “I had to become a little sleuth,” Tarin said, describing the hours he and a paralegal spent on the phone, the numerous false leads, unanswered phones and unreturned messages until the husband, who had been picked up for driving without a license or insurance, was found in Grand Junction, Colorado, held on a $20,000 bond, $10,000 for each infraction. “I argued with the guy, ‘This is absurd! Whose policy is this?’” Tarin said the agent’s response was, “That’s just our policy here.”

Rafael Galvez, an attorney in Maine, explained why he would like ICE to release its entire list of subfield office addresses and phone numbers. “If they’re detaining someone, I will need to contact the people on the list. If I can advocate on a person’s behalf and provide documents, a lot of complications could be avoided.”

Cary, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, has a typical subfield office at the rear of CentreWest Commons, an office park adjacent to gated communities, large artificial ponds and an Oxford University Press production plant. ICE’s low-lying brick building with a bright blue awning has darkened windows, no sign and no US flag. People in shackles and handcuffs are shuffled in from the rear. The office complex has perhaps twenty other businesses, all of which do have signs. The agents, who are armed, might not wear uniforms and drive their passengers in unmarked, often windowless white vans. Even Dani Martinez-Moore, who lives nearby and coordinates the North Carolina Network of Immigrant Advocates, did not know people were being held there until she read about it on my blog.

In late October 2008, Mark Lyttle, then 31, was held in the Cary office for several hours. Lyttle was born in North Carolina, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation file ICE had obtained on him indicated he was a US citizen. Lyttle used his time in the holding tank attempting to persuade the agents who had plucked him out of the medical misdemeanor section of a nearby prison, where he had been held for seventy-three days, not to follow through on the Cary office’s earlier decision to ship him to Mexico. Lyttle is cognitively disabled, has bipolar disorder, speaks no Spanish and has no Mexican relatives. In response to his entreaties, a Cary agent “told me to tell it to the judge,” Lyttle said. But Lyttle’s charging document from the Cary office includes a box checked next to the boilerplate prohibition: “You may not request a review of this determination by an immigration judge.”

Lyttle made enough of a fuss at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, that the agents there arranged for him to appear before a judge. But the checked box in the Cary paperwork meant he never heard from the nonprofit Legal Orientation Program attorneys who might have picked up on his situation. William Cassidy, a former ICE prosecutor working for the Executive Office of Immigration Review, ignored Lyttle’s pleas and in his capacity as immigration judge signed Lyttle’s removal order. According to Lyttle, Cassidy said he had to go by the sworn statements of the ICE officers.

Meanwhile, Lyttle’s mother, Jeanne, and his brothers, including two in the Army, were frantically searching for him, even checking the obituaries. They were trying to find Lyttle in the North Carolina prison system, but the trail went cold after he was transferred to ICE custody. Jeanne said, “David showed me the Manila envelope [he sent to the prison]–’Refused’–and we thought Mark had refused it.” Jeanne was crying. “We kept trying to find out where he was.” It never crossed their minds that Mark might be spending Christmas in a shelter for los deportados on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande.

ICE spokesman Temple Black first told me the list was “not releasable” and that it was “law enforcement sensitive,” but coordinator for community outreach Andrew Lorenzen-Strait e-mailed me a partial list of addresses and no phone numbers. I then obtained a more complete list, including telephone numbers, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. That list, received in November and dated September 2009, is about forty locations shy of the 186 subfield offices mentioned in the Schriro report and omits thirty-nine locations listed in an August ICE job announcement seeking applicants for immigration enforcement agents. These include ICE postings in Champlain, New York; Alamosa, Colorado; Pembroke Pines, Florida; and Livermore, California. The anonymous ICE official neither answered questions about why I was sent an incomplete list nor accounted for the disparity in official explanations of the list’s confidentiality.

ICE obscures its presence in other ways as well. Everyone knows that detention centers are in sparsely populated areas, but according to Amnesty International’s Reynolds, policy director of migrant and refugee rights, “Quite a lot of communities don’t know they’re detaining thousands of people, because the signs say Service Processing Center,” not Detention Center, although the latter designation is used for privately contracted facilities. The ICE e-mail stated that the “service processing” term was first used when the centers were run by the predecessor agency Immigration and Naturalization Service, “because these facilities were used to process aliens for deportation,” ignoring the fact that these structures were and are distinctive for confining people and not the Orwellian “processing.”

Even the largest complexes, which are usually off side roads from small highways, are visible only if you drive right up to the entrance. Unlike federal prisons, detention centers post no road signs to guide travelers. The anonymous ICE official would not provide a reason for this disparity.

ICE agents are also working in hidden offices in one of the grooviest buildings in one of the hottest neighborhoods in Manhattan. Tommy Kilbride, an ICE detention and removal officer and a star of A&E’s reality show Manhunters: Fugitive Task Force, is part of the United States Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, housed on the third floor of the Chelsea Market, above Fat Witch Bakery and alongside Rachael Ray and the Food Network. Across the street are Craftsteak and Del Posto, both fancy venues for two other Food Network stars, Tom Colicchio and Mario Batali. Above their restaurants are agents working for the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Someone who had been working in that building for about a year said he had heard rumors of FBI agents, though he didn’t see one until nine months later when a guy was openly carrying a gun through the lobby. In November, at midday, he saw two men in plain clothes walk a third man in handcuffs through a side-street door behind Craftsteak. “It was weird, creepy,” he said, adding that the whole arrangement made him uncomfortable. “I don’t like it. It makes you wonder, what are they hiding? Is it for good reasons or bad reasons?”

Natalie Jeremijenko, who lives nearby and is a professor of visual arts at New York University, pointed out the “twisted genius” of hiding federal agents in the “worldwide center of visuality and public space,” referring to the galleries and High Line Park among these buildings. Jeremijenko was incensed. “For a participatory democracy to work, you need to have real-time visual evidence of what is going on” and not just knowledge by professors who file a FOIA request or even readers of a Nation article.

In response to a question about the absence of signs at subfield offices, the ICE e-mail stated, “ICE attempts to place signs wherever possible, however there are many variables to consider such as shared buildings, law enforcement activities, zoning laws, etc.” Except for “law enforcement activities,” the reasons did not apply to the facilities listed here, as evidenced by signs on adjacent businesses.

The Obama administration continued to ignore complaints about the LA subfield office known as B-18 until April 1, when Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder, as well as ICE officials, were named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU and the National Immigration Law Center. In September, the parties reached a settlement. The ACLU’s Arulanantham said, “I never understood what [ICE] had to gain. The fact that after we filed the suit they completely fixed it makes it more mysterious” as to why their months of earlier negotiation brought few results. At the time of the lawsuit, he said, the nearby Mira Loma Detention Center had space. When I asked if ICE was trying to punish people by bringing them to B-18, Arulanantham said, “No, no one was targeted,” adding, “If it were punitive, it would be less disturbing.”

Arulanantham’s response is, alas, more than fodder for a law school hypothetical about whether intentional or unintentional rights violations are more egregious. In 2006 ICE punished several Iraqi hunger strikers in Virginia–they were protesting being unlawfully held for more than six months after agreeing to deportation–by shuffling them between a variety of different facilities, ensuring that they would not encounter lawyers or be found by loved ones. This went on from weeks to months, according to Brittney Nystrom, senior legal adviser for the National Immigration Forum. “The message was, We’re going to make you disappear.”

As an alternative to the system of unmarked subfield offices and unaccountable agents, consider the approach of neighborhood police precincts, where dangerous criminals are held every day and police carry out their work in full view of their neighbors. Not only can citizens watch out for strange police actions, and know where to look if a family member is missing; local accountability helps discourage misconduct. ICE agents’ persistent flouting of rules and laws is abetted by their ability to scurry back to secret dens, avoiding the scrutiny and resulting inhibitions that arise when law enforcement officers develop relationships with the communities they serve.

Indeed, the jacket Kilbride wears during arrests says POLICE in large letters. Working out of a heretofore secret location–Manhunters has no exterior shots–one that his supervisor had requested I not reveal, gives their operation the trappings of a secret police. An attorney who had a client held in a subfield office said on background, “The president released in January a memorandum about transparency, but that’s not happening. He says one thing, but we have these clandestine operations, akin to extraordinary renditions within the United States. They’re misguided as to what their true mission is, and they are doing things contrary to the best interests of the country.”

Roni and Tav continue onward to the Mormon capital of Salt Lake City and try to track down Indiana Jones’ old haunts at Arches National Park, outside of Moab.

You need to optimize your computer or optimization of browser is needed in your pc or laptop, you are in need of a renowned computer repair service to do the work smoothly.Just book online Salt Lake City Computer repair 

I made a collection of photos of the new City Creek Center construction in Salt Lake City Utah.  Check them out.

City Creek Center 1

City Creek Center 2

City Creek Center 3

Tower 1

Tower 1

Tower 1

Tower 1

City Creek Center 4

There are many times where I have seen benefits from training breaks (a few weeks to a few months)!  Sometimes not training a behavior for an extended time period can speed up the learning curve in the dog.

I am not exactly sure why this but I remember reading about it years ago and I see it over again.  My dog is a great example his recall (“come”) regressed.  We took a break from working on “come” for about 2 months.  He received much exercise in my yard, from training and during on leash walks.  After the break, his recall was 100% at Tanner and at City Creek Canyon even with birds (birds were a number one distraction for him).  My hypothesis is that the dogs have time to actually think about the material (integration time) instead of being constantly bombarded with learning material.

Sometimes a break results in a regression in training.  So how do you know if a break will be beneficial or not?  I have no clear cut answer to this.  Generally when I have taken breaks away from training it was never conscious.  It was a break due to circumstances that appeared in my life.  Then when I got back into training…wow…..progress….just like that!

My insight would be to follow your impulses and intuition.  If you strongly feel pulled to take a break follow that impulse.  If anything if you back track in training your dog will learn it faster the second time around.  Generally impulses and intuition if clearly felt are rarely wrong.

So throw away the guilt about not working with your dog constantly!  Remember breaks can be good!

Also another tip.  You do not have to train your dog everyday for him to learn a behavior or command.  Consistency is the key and daily boundaries.  So many of my clients feel guilty when I show up and they haven’t worked enough with their dogs daily.  If you are working on a command 2-3 times a week you will see progress. Short training sessions lasting 2-5 minutes are generally best as well.

Take a break around the holidays and be consistent with your dog!  Have a wonderful time and may your season be filled with love and light!

Happy Holidays!

Johanna Teresi, Professional Trainer and Owner of Four Legged Scholars LLC

I love going to Temple Square in Salt Lake City for the Christmas Lights! It is so beautiful, and I love all the people and commotion. I love the Nativity they have with the narration, and I love looking at the Christos.  Pretty much it is an attraction that’ll cause me to travel during a snow storm, pollution air reports, cold, wet, and heavy fog weather. Adam and I took the Frontrunner, because we thought traveling by tracks rather than road was a smart idea, got a cookie from Kodiak Cakes, then saw the lights.

As you can tell from the photo below, Adam didn’t quite enjoy the long train ride as much as me.

My camera wasn’t producing a flash during the photo, but it is still a nice shot of the temple.

The snow looked real cool in the flash photos, and the snow on Adam’s head makes him look like old man winter. A cute old man winter.

The Nativity was just as how I remembered it: gorgeous. I think about how stressed out Joseph must have been not being able to find a nice comfortable place for his pregnant wife. He was in a strange, overcrowded, super busy from the the taxes, city, nearing upon the night his wife would give birth, no family, no friends, and no place to go. I could never understand what he went through. Then they resort to this cave-like stable. The walls made of limestone, which actually absorbs moisture, so all the pee and deficit from the animals tombed in it, along with the absolute dirtiness of the animals, and he must resort to having his wife in there, and soon his new baby son. What a remarkable place for the Son of God to be borned! I liken this to my own life, and is my life too crowded for Christ? He will come, He will be born, and if my world is too crowded for him, then I might force him to lie with the filth of the cattle in the back, in the dark. Christ is my Savior. I hope I can always leave room for him. In my celebration of Christmas, and in every aspect of my life. I love Him, and remember Him.

Gerald Music
Take Part in Group Activities

1. Spooky Action Manual (5:24)
2. Are We Hyphenated? (5:08)
3. Transponder (3:43)
4. Lowtide (8:27)
5. Montecore Down (4:49)
6. And Albatross (5:27)
7. Tekla (6:19)
8. Calm Pablo (5:17)

Totally decent Tortoise-like instrumental rock from Salt Lake City, circa 2004.

zip

Brendan Benson management team is asking for some help,  here is the official message (that I have to admit sounds really interesting):

Brendan is kicking off the new year by hitting the road again. We need street team help in Salt Lake City, UT and all dates on his March UK/European tour. If you hang up posters around town, we’ll give you free tickets to Brendan’s show. We might also have some exclusive, signed things to send your way if you do a really good job. Send an e-mail to info at whitesmithent dot com for more infomation.

January 22: The Urban Lounge – Salt Lake City, UT
March 2: The Button Factory – Dublin, Ireland
March 3: Queen Margaret Union – Glasgow, UK
March 4: Academy 2 – Manchester, UK
March 5: Koko – London, UK
March 6: Nouveau Casino – Paris, France
March 9: Apolo 2 – Barcelona, Spain
March 10: Moby Dick – Madrid, Spain

Last night I joined the Photowalking Utah group at Temple Square for a little low light shooting practice.  After a brief education on the subject we headed over in a large, conspicuous herd to sew our artistic seeds.  Lots of great people doing what they love.  Now that’s what I’m talking about.  Very cool.  Very fun.  I look forward to their next outing in February.  Details will be posted closer to the event.  Some fun techniques were discussed prior to the shooting and I thought I would take a wack at some of them.

Holidays can be easeful with your dog(s) or very stressful.  Here are some tips to create a more easeful holiday.

1.) First and foremost keep your dogs occupied during this busy part of the season.  If you don’t have time to exercise your dogs contact one of the following dog walkers:

Adam 801-828-7200

Kathy 801-503-5256

Portia 801-755-2881

2.)  There are also awesome toys to keep your dog busy that I recommend: http://www.petexpertise.com/jfteresi/

3.) If you need a break put your dog in his crate with a Kong or bully stick for your dog to chew on.

4.) During parties give each guest a small ziploc bag with some kibble or treats.  Your guests are then instructed to give your dog a treat when he sits.  If your dog jumps, the guests are instructed to turn their backs and ignore him until he sits.

5.) Children should only be with your dog under adult supervision.

6.) Exercise your dog BEFORE your guests arrive.  Off leash walk or play is best.

7.) If you are boarding your dog I recommend Animal Medical Clinic in Bountiful.

8.) Give yourself time for just you so that you are not rushing around doing everything for everyone else.  The more relaxed you are the more easeful the holidays will go for you and your dog!

Happy Holidays!

Johanna Teresi, Professional Trainer and Owner of Four Legged Scholars LLC

• Clicker Training
• Teaching “Quiet” when Your Dog Barks for Attention
• Teaching “Quiet” when Your Dog Barks at People, Dogs, etc.

When?
Saturday, January 23rd from 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM

Where?
Liberty Wells Building
On the southeast corner of 700 South and 400 East
Salt Lake City
The class will be held in Gym

RSVP:

Info@FourLeggedScholars.com or 801-463-1668

Payment:

• $10 Per Person.
• Pay cash or check upon arrival.

What Should I Bring?

• You
• Your Dog
• Friends
• Other Dog Lovers
• Soft dog treats (pea to a dime in size; bring a small Ziploc bag full)
• Flat collar. No choker or prong collars please.
• 4-6 cloth/leather leash. No flexi-leashes please.
• Treat bags (attach to your pants) and clickers are recommended. *
• Distractions to be used in class (squeaker toys, balls, bones, treat toys such as kongs, tug toys, etc.)
• Children 12 years and older are invited if they are patient and listen well.
• Money for class and products (clickers and treat bags will be for sale)

* You may purchase a clicker and treat bag from Four Legged Scholars.

* You may also purchase head collars and front hook harnesses from Four Legged Scholars.

* *Note: Friendly Dogs Only Please. If your dog has aggression or fear issues please contact Four Legged Scholars for training.

Want to Hold a Seminar or Party at Your Facility or Home?

Contact Johanna 801-463-1668 or E-mail. She loves educating the public and is open to holding more in other facilities or homes!

Not only did Sarah Palin’s people have the temerity to request that Utah hair stylist Rhonda Halliday not speak to Palin unless Palin spoke to her first, Princess Palin stiffed the stylist by not even paying for her services. On top of all that, Palin did not even pay for Halliday’s valet parking at the hotel. Styling Palin’s hair actually cost Halliday money! Do you think this is what Palin meant by, “going rogue”?

By Paul Rolly of the Salt Lake Tribune:

“Sarah Palin not only annoyed leaders of the Utah Republican Party when she didn’t have time for them during her book signing stop in Salt Lake City last week. She also took off from her hotel after arranging for a last-minute hair appointment without paying the hairdresser and leaving her to cover her own valet parking.

But Rhonda Halliday of Images Hair Studio and Day Spa wants to give Palin the benefit of the doubt. She thinks the lack of payment was unintended, and someone on Palin’s staff just dropped the ball.

Halliday was called by a friend at 8 a.m. last Wednesday and was told Palin needed her hair done that morning. Halliday had planned to take her 3-year-old to the dentist for her first filling that morning, but arranged for her husband to get off work for that chore.

She was told to meet the group at the Monaco Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City and to just leave her car with valet parking.

After being ushered to a room on the 15th floor and given some instructions (don’t talk to Palin unless she talks first) she did Palin’s hair while the former Alaska governor chatted with her family.

Then, the Palin party left to get to the book signing at Costco on time.

Halliday was the last one out of the room because she had to put her equipment away, then watched as they all drove off without anyone mentioning payment or a tip, which is common when the hairdresser travels to the client for the appointment.

When the valet attendant got her car, he said that would be $10. She said she was with the Palin party and assumed they would take care of parking. That was news to him, so she had to fork over the $10.

She says her friend has contacted Palin’s assistant and was told to send them an invoice.

She did get a book and some nice pictures, though”.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14003093

Halliday is also being sent a copy of Malia Litman’s “Rebuttal to the Rogue”.

Craig Harmon launched a new web page today to commemorate the 100th anniversary of murals inside the restored Union Pacific Depot in Salt Lake City. The city, on pionner trails and the Transcontinental Railroad, also hosted the Lincoln Highway. The station, originally just called the Oregon Short Line Depot, is at Third West and South Temple streets.

Artists John McQuarrie & August C. Wocker were commissioned in September 1909 and by December the murals were finished. McQuarrie also made the bronze for the Betsy Ross Memorial Flag Pole at the Lincoln Highway’s western terminus.

In 1979, the paintings were restored by Scott M. Haskins, who also supplied current photos to Harmon such as the above. Learn more at Harmon’s page:
www.lincoln-highway-museum.org/BRMFP/JM/RR-01-SLC-Index.html/.

This will appear in all locations.

I am an avid book reader.  There are books that capture me from the first sentence and are hard to put down.  Joe Dallin’s “Perfect” is one of them. Part of the reason is that I met the author many years ago in Portland through a mutual friend of ours attending our first Affirmation conference.   Also, I have enjoyed Joe’s  email travelogues of his  world travel adventures.  He is an excellent writer and this book is more proof of it.

Joe was born into a heritage of deep Mormon roots and was named after the first Mormon Prophet, Joseph Smith.  He lived in the predominantly Mormon populated Utah.

On the surface, he looked  like your typical born and bred Mormon Utah boy. He even went on a mission for the church  and and had a girl waiting to marry him when he returned home.

Beneath the surface,  he was a young man who struggled with same sex attraction and the jaunting weight of a Church that taught that homosexuality was one of the most vile of sins.

Whether you are Mormon or not, the struggle that Joe goes through, that is described and brought to life in his book, is a story that every human being who has had to deny their true self can relate to at every emotional touch point.

The importance of faith and his feverish attempts through prayer to change is so monumental considering how long and how young he was when he took on his battle.

His love for his family and his honesty about the pain and the eventual growth in their relationship is searingly and refreshingly  honest.  His book is a testament to a family of faith giving in to love to guide them to understanding.

Author Joe Dallin

Joe’s  journey was especially touching to me.  Our coming out process was different in ways. I came out of a marriage. I was a Mormon convert.  However, there were many things that were similar.

The internal, bitter struggles between the desire to change and the struggle with faith as he described it, I could have written with my own hands.

I also broke down in tears when he spoke about the point in his life where ending it seem like the only option.  I have been to that dark place.   I wept because being part of that alumni of hopelessness shows how far this self hate can go when we believe the messages given to us by society.

I also can relate to his discovery and epiphany of  being loved for who he was inside. He was not a mistake. His same sex attraction was a beautiful part of his person and he had every right to his happiness. He was able to find a partner that he loves and is with him today.

The story is a love story about Joe loving who Joe is totally and completely.  It is the  most beautiful kind of love story that every human being can find and experience.

It is a coming out story.  It is a love story.  It is pure inspiration.

Note:  To order Joe’s book, ” Perfect”   Please visit the following link :

http://www.gaymormonstory.com/index.html

So, what’s going on now? We are moving full-steam ahead! Last night was the first night of the Guyz N Dollz Holiday Dance Recitals under the direction of Wendy Smedshammer at the Midvale Main Street Theatre and we had a full house! I am so proud of these young people and the amazing talent and progress we are seeing emerge literally day after day! Tonight is night two, the finale for the recitals. Here is a clip of last night’s Guyz N Dollz event. Want something fun to do? Join us for $1.00 at the door for a night of laughter and share the joy of the holidays! -Tammy Ross

KPBS (San Diego, CA)
Imperial County teens are getting a mixed message. For example, area high schools don’t have comprehensive sex education. But some have daycare programs for teen moms in a county, which ranks 6th highest in California for teen pregnancy.

Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City, UT)
A letter to the editor writer states: “We are a conservative family, and we fully expect that our children will follow our teaching of abstinence, but this does not preclude our desire for their complete health education… The majority of research and medical communities support teaching a comprehensive sex-ed curriculum.”

USA Today (USA)
National Institutes of Health chief Francis Collins approved another 27 human embryonic stem cell lines for federal research funding Monday, but limited support to diabetes-related pancreatic cell experiments.

New York Times (New York, NY)
Rep. Lois Capps, the sponsor of the Capps Amendment, writes: “I agree with Representative Bart Stupak that there is a lot of misinformation about abortion coverage in the health reform bill. Unfortunately, I believe that his article only adds to the confusion.”

Night Castle – Trans Siberian Orchestra

Trans-Siberian Orchestra started in the beginning of November long holiday run across North America with Christmas 2009 concert program. Two groups of TSO are touring simultaneously to visit nearly 80 cities in US, and Canada. In October the orchestra released new album, titled “Night Castle”. The project consists of rock band, symphony orchestra and a large ensemble of vocalists.

Mannheim Steamroller

Mannheim Steamroller already kicked off annual Christmas tour which covers 58 US cities this year. The show includes famous Mannheim Steamroller’s Christmas sounds, and some multimedia effects. Tour itinerary lists Salt Lake City (UT), Indianapolis (IN), Chicago (IL), Denver (CO), Washington (DC), Houston (TX), New York (NY), San Francisco (CA), and many other markets. In addition to the tour the group is releasing album “Mannheim Steamroller Christmas – 25th Anniversary Collection” featuring famous holiday classics of Mannheim Steamroller.

Radio City Christmas Spectacular

Another great news that Radio City Christmas Spectacular, originally New York holiday show, is touring across over 20 North American cities in 2009/2010 season! The project will give concerts in Atlanta (GA), Baltimore (MD), Cincinnati (OH), Columbus (OH), Orlando (FL), Philadelphia (PA), Washington (DC), Toronto (ON), and in many smaller markets. Radio City Christmas Spectacular is wonderful holiday for all family.

Christmas From the Heart- By David Archuleta

Pop singer/songwriter David Archuleta announced fall/winter 2009 tour to support his new album “Christmas From the Heart” released in October.The trek kicks off November 24 in Salt Lake City (UT). Archuleta will visit 17 cities including San Francisco (CA), Anaheim (CA), Kansas City (MO), St. Paul (MN), Cleveland (OH), and Baltimore (MD). David will perform Christmas songs, and his previously recorded material.
Source by: Best Christmas 2009 and 2010 Holiday Concerts and Tours

Recently I had the chance to interview Paul Cardall, an award-winning musician, (His album Sacred Piano recently hit #5 on the Billboard New Age Album charts) Husband, Father, and fellow Heart Warrior. Like me, Paul has Tricuspid Atresia, (along with Transposition of the Great Arteries) and he recently underwent a successful heart transplant.  I’ve kept you updated on Paul and his need for a transplant here on Funky Heart!, but you can read his entire story over at his blog, Living for Eden.

Funky Heart! readers have heard me describe my heart defect many times, but every defect is different – and its effects are different, from one CHDer to another. When I asked Paul to describe his heart defects in his own terms, he wrote “Before my heart transplant, I was born with what my parents and cardiologist called a half heart. Only half of my heart was functioning. The other half was either missing or not being used. As I grew into adulthood I learned the serious nature and depth of my congenital heart defect. I was living primarily on a single ventricle instead of two. In addition the major vessels that carry and deliver blood from my heart were swapped.”

Paul has had six major heart surgeries – his first surgery was the Potts Shunt, when he was 22 hours old – and what Paul describes as  “various minor surgeries involving pacemakers and leads.” All of his procedures were done at Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt lake City, Utah.

People who aren’t familiar with the Cardall family know that Paul’s blog, Living for Eden, is the name of one of his albums. They may miss the double meaning: Eden is Paul and wife Lynnette’s young daughter, and the name reflects Paul’s determination to “live for Eden.” When asked if Eden was old enough to comprehend the meaning of a heart transplant, Paul said “I think so. She prayed her Dad would feel better and get a heart. God answered her prayer. Not all prayers are answered the way we want but for some kind and merciful reason He answered her prayer. Eden is drawing pictures of me with a big red heart on my chest. She understands and what a great lesson it will be for her as she grows older.”

The other member of Paul’s team is his wife, Lynnette. Herself a nurse, Lynnette had no misconceptions about the struggle that her future husband might face: “She understood the burden getting into this. Her own mother died of Cancer, leaving Lynnette’s schoolteacher father with ten children to care for. Lynnette has been through it. She feared it for her own kids but when her Dad asked, `Are you sure you want to marry a guy who might die?’ She replied, `Why not, I love him!’  In my Mormon culture we don’t marry for time – we marry forever. Some of our marriages are cut short in this world because of death but we believe our relationship endures beyond death because Jesus conquered death.”

The call that the Cardall family had been waiting for came a year ago – on Christmas Day 2008, of all days – “We have a heart for you.”

“The first call for a heart came Christmas morning at one AM,” Paul continues. “After putting my 3 yr old daughter Eden to bed Santa Claus visited our home. The phone rang after Santa was finished telling me there was a heart for me. My first thought was, `Wait… I’ve got to enjoy Christmas with my daughter…’ We woke her up in the middle of the night and opened presents. We left her with my sister-in-law and went to the hospital. Retrospective thoughts of nostalgia and hope in the future flooded my mind. My wife and family were not very hopeful and my surgeon said, `There’s a good chance you won’t make it… if you do we’ll need to go back in several times to stop the bleeding.’”

“We were discouraged but had hope. After saying good-bye and lying on the operating table with some sedative I was told the heart was not good enough because of an overlooked aneurysm. Needless to say, I was relieved.  I knew we’d have another opportunity.”

With no heart available after all, Paul was sent home. Waiting there was Eden… with the Fisher Price Medical Kit that Santa had brought her. Like any good doctor-in-training, she checked Paul’s heart and gave him a “shot”.

“I went home with a renewed purpose and found happiness in reaching out to others with a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) via my blog. I knew the call would come. Prior to Christmas I was focused on my self and my situation, [but] after Christmas I lost myself in the lives of other people. When the final call came the day before my transplant everything felt right. I believe timing is everything. It was time and I knew I’d survive. My family was also in the right frame of mind and comforted by God’s love.”

Hello to all our much loved friends. This is Paul’s wife Lynnette posting from Paul’s ICU room. We are deeply grateful and thrilled to share with you that Paul has received his NEW HEART!!!! – Living for Eden blog entry for September 10, 2009

I have seen a Transplant patient up and walking the day after their procedure so I asked Paul how long after the transplant was it before he felt better. (“Better” being a relative term; having your chest sliced open hurts!)

“Immediately!” He said. “Although I had multiple tubes running in and out of me I was alive and felt invigorated. I could feel blood flowing in my body and a sensation in my fingertips. My Protein Losing Enteropathy (PLE) was corrected after a couple of weeks. I was home in two weeks and hiking in three. Needless to say, I feel amazing and highly recommend a transplant for those trying to decide… [Lynnette] is amazed. As a nurse she is a realist and wasn’t confident in my outcome. But, as my wife and the love of my life she believed in my optimism and confidence in my own future. I’m so grateful for her support and friendship. I am a very lucky man.”

With a new heart and energy he’s never had before, Paul’s musical career can now resume. “My first public appearance on February 15 in Salt Lake City will be a concert at prestigious Abravanel Hall with musician friends as we celebrate life. We are giving a scholarship to an adolescent with CHD from a silent auction fund.” Tickets to the concert are available by calling  1-888-451-ARTS (2787) and are also available online.

And after the concert? Paul plans to climb Mount Olympus (the one in Utah, not Greece) on June 9, 2010.

And after that?

“Life,” Paul responds, a simple one word statement that carries so much meaning. “Creating memories.  When you have second chance at life all that matters is each other and making sure we spend enough quality and quantity time together. In the end, your family is all you got.  Also, I’d like to have opportunities of sharing my story with those who need to be uplifted and inspired, as well as educating the general public of the growing concern of Congenital Heart Defects (CHD).”

Is It Time to Have a Website for Your Business?

Related: Salt Lake City Graphic Design Company

If you are a business owner in Utah, chances are you’ve already thought about owning a website for the company.  Today’s climate for running a business online keeps getting better as the Internet and technology continues to grow and expand.   There’s no more need for a brick and mortar establishment.  The Internet has been a boon for entrepreneurs, large and small, profit or non-profit.  The Internet is as effective in selling products and services as it is in delivering straight information.

With the Internet’s capability of reaching millions of people everyday in almost every part of the globe, having a website is a smart investment.  Owning a website is a marketer’s dream…or nightmare.  It is important to hire a Utah web design company that can fulfill your needs and deliver a professional website that is creative and functional.

A Utah web design firm or in other locations are ready to address your needs and create a website that is right for you.  Before hiring a professional web design company, think about a few pointers in hiring a company that is right for your business:

• Ask about a package deal.  There are a number of firms that offer packages with various options to add to the site for enhancements, for business functionality such as a shopping cart and bankcard options.
• Check the company’s portfolio and client list.  Go to the client websites to test navigation and overall design.  Would you purchase the products on the site?  If so, how easy is it to buy a product and check out quickly?
• Is the site search engine friendly?  Is it easy to go through the web site by Google and Yahoo and other search engines?  Can you tell that keywords are strategically placed?
• How timely does the company complete the project?  Do they follow a scheduled timeline and meet each goal?
• Is the website’s content editor easy to use?  The client should be able to edit content without having advanced technical skills.
• Are there unlimited pages?  This gives the business owner the freedom to add as many pages as needed, especially for sites that have extensive catalogs.
• Custom design or template?  No one wants a template that a thousand other companies have.  Every business owner wants a custom designed site with the company’s unique signature or thumbprint on it.
• Price.  What does it cost?  How can the business owner get the biggest bang for the buck?  This goes back to the package deal or the bundle of products and services that you can negotiate with the design company.  Get estimates from different designers with a list of items included in the price.

These are suggestions and tips when looking for a Utah web design company for your website.  The best advice is to do your business while you hire someone to do his or her design business for you.  Free up your time from administrative tasks to focus on revenue generating activities.  And have fun.

There will be an occasion in our lifetime when we will need a wheelchair.  It could be temporary such as after a surgery or an illness that leaves us unable to walk on our own.  If you find yourself in need of a wheelchair, there are a number of options from which to choose.  A regular wheelchair is powered by your own strength by moving the wheels forward.  There are also electric wheelchairs or motorized wheelchairs in Utah and all the states, that use batteries to power the wheelchair or a motorized scooter as you steer it with a joystick.  Some automated wheelchairs are guided by blowing into a straw to move it.  This is an invention for people who are paralyzed or have a severe handicap that inhibits moving the arms and legs.

For those who have a need for speed, a powered wheelchair is the vehicle of choice.  The patient is able to move faster than a manual wheelchair, offering a slightly smoother ride.  The only drawback is the battery which needs regular charges to go long distances or a sustained amount of time is limited which means range is limited.  A power driven wheelchair does mean a pricier mode of transportation but nonetheless, the mobility and speed is probably worth the high price.

A manual wheelchair costs less because the only power driving it is the occupant’s arms.   However, there is not limit in range and technological advances have made the wheelchair lighter and more portable.  The newer wheelchairs are light, easy to handle and will fit in a car trunk.

Wheelchairs have become sports equipment for disabled veterans going as far back as the Korean War and Vietnam War.  Manual wheelchairs are used for basketball, baseball, tennis, golf, swimming, gymnastics, track, skiing, wrestling, marathons and soccer.  Motorized wheelchairs have been introduced in a number of sports games as well.

Today, qualifying for motorized wheelchairs in Utah as well as the rest of the country, through Medicare is easier to obtain for seniors and others with debilitating conditions such as arthritis, stroke, heart and breathing problems, or diabetes.

Once you decide on a motorized wheelchair or motorized scooter, there are a number of features to look for to enhance comfort and convenience:

• Ease of handling and maneuverability,
• Compact and streamlined,
• Smooth rides,
• Faster transportation,
• Batteries that hold more juice for longer range,
• Creates independence,
• Worth the investment

Before making a wheelchair or a scooter purchase, always consult with your healthcare provider to make sure you are making the right decision.  It is important to test the wheelchairs and scooters to see which is the best choice for your needs.  When you begin our search learn about the various accessories that are available for safety and convenience.  Also, check on warranties while comparing prices between manual and motorized wheelchairs in Utah.  Look for safety and stability of the chairs and make sure you are able to safely control and maneuver it.

New Years Eve with Live Performance by Collin Raye

Spend New Year’s Eve at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center and ring in the New Year with a LIVE performance by five time nominee for Country music’s male vocalist of the year – Collin Raye.

Package includes:

• Overnight accommodations at our hotel
• DJ and dancing
• Two tickets to the concert
• Dinner and champagne toast*
• Doors open 7pm, dinner 8pm.Special
• Dec. 31, 2009

For rates, reservations, and information click here