Out in the fresh air

Beware the secondhand consequences of some efforts to fight secondhand smoke.

That was the message of "Smoking in parks," where The Salt Lake Tribune Editorial Board questioned the impact, though not the sincerity, of the proposal to ban smoking in city parks, golf courses and other municipally owned outdoor spaces.

First, the link between outdoor secondhand smoke and disease is not as firm as it is for indoor smoke. Second, there is also the question of whether parents who have already failed to kick the habit for the sake of their children will simply stop taking them to parks, ball diamonds, soccer fields and such if it means they can't light up there.

The editorial concluded:

"Sure, increasing the social stigma about smoking - which is really what this proposed ban is about - may discourage kids from taking up the habit. But the council should consider the trade-off for kids whose parents already smoke."

Tuesday

Don't dig the watershed

It was hard to believe that plans to blast tunnels through the mountains above Salt Lake City - for the benefit of area ski resorts - are even being discussed by state officials when they haven't considered the damage it could do to the valley's water supply.

In the editorial "First things first," the board insisted that the plans for spending up to $550 million for tunnels that would link ski resorts in Park City with those in Little Cottonwood and Big Cottonwood canyons go no further unless talks include those responsible to protecting the supply of water for 400,000 people.

Said the board, "Connecting ski resorts via tunnels may be a fine idea and perhaps it's possible to blast through the mountains without disturbing the hydrology of the streams that are the lifeblood for residents of the east bench. But it seems only logical to find out before any kind of serious talks about such projects."

Wednesday

Regressive rates

OK, the board said in the editorial "Split the baby," the basic read-the-meter-and-send-the-bill rate charged by Rocky Mountain Power hasn't gone up in 21 years, and it's hard to get anything for 98 cents anymore.

But that doesn't justify the whole rate restructuring plan the utility now has before the Utah Public Service Commission. The plan would not only raise the basic access charge all the way to $3.40 in one swoop, it would also rearrange charges so that the first block of power used was cheaper than the higher amounts. Altogether, that would make the burden of paying for electricity fall too heavily on those who use the least and, often, can least afford to pay.

A more progressive structure that would penalize rather than reward heavy users would be better all around.

Thursday

Just say no to Judge Lewis

In a coda to The Tribune's series of endorsement editorials, the board urged voters to vote "no" on the question of keeping Judge Leslie A. Lewis on the bench.

It was relatively old news that Lewis had gone over the edge in her courtroom some months ago when she berated and briefly jailed a spectator who had sighed too loudly in reaction to the judge's statements opposing hunting. And her behavior certainly was no justification for the death threat posted on an Internet comment board.

But Judge Lewis has had her hand slapped by her judicial superiors on more than one previous occasion, and a new complaint that she had improperly reduced the sentence of a convicted child molester without informing the prosecutor has been lodged. This history, combined with low performance ratings given by the attorneys who practice in her court, adds up to an example of a rare instance when the voters should use their power to remove a judge.

The conclusion, "Together, these factors paint the picture of a judge who lacks the temperament - the personal detachment and self-control - to warrant the public's confidence that she should continue serving on the bench."

Friday

Who are those guys?

Quick. Who is the Salt Lake County Surveyor? And, more to the point this election year, who ought to be? Don't have a clue. Join the club.

That's why, in the editorial "Shorten the ballot," the board called for appointing, rather than electing, at least some of the department heads that run a handful of public offices in Utah counties.

In Salt Lake County, particularly, electing so many of these managerial offices is a relic that doesn't fit with the modernized, separation-of-powers model of a council that sets policy and an elected chief executive who carries it out.

In Plato's Cave

Over in the board's Internet blog [http://blogs.sltrib.com/editorial/], editorial writer George Pyle chimed in with the state and county public officials who were urging folks to avoid possible long lines on traditional Election Day and vote early.

In the posting, "Not too late to vote early," Pyle said, "The Diebold touch-screen voting machines are new and will present voters with a learning curve, even those who are accustomed to dealing with computers. And, because they are so expensive, there are a lot less of them available than the old punch-card machines or whatever else was being used in your town."

The last chance for early voting in Salt Lake County is Monday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., only at the County Clerk's Office, 2100 South State. All the regular polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

The Mailbag

The Tribune's Oct. 29 editorial endorsing U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch for re-election brought in a large mail and e-mail response. As of Friday morning, the count was 112 opposing the endorsement and four in support. We value the views of all of our readers, agree or disagree, and encourage your comments, pro or con, on all of our editorials.