UTAH

Iconic arch’s collapse raises questions about others

SALT LAKE CITY — A common line of questions has emerged from visitors to Utah’s Arches National Park in the week since an iconic rock arch at Lake Powell known as the “Toilet Bowl” collapsed.

Are these arches also at risk of falling soon? What are you doing to prevent their collapse?

The answers: They might be, and nothing, said Karen Garthwait, spokesperson for Arches and Canyonlands national parks.

“Our mission is not to freeze time and preserve these structures exactly as they are,” she said. “Our mission is to preserve the natural processes that create these structures, which of course, is the same process that will eventually undo them as well.”

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When the geological formation formally named “Double Arch” crumbled on Aug. 8 at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, it served as a sad reminder to many that arches are not guaranteed to stand forever. All arches have a lifespan, which scientists are trying to avoid shortening — or extending.

While the National Park Service is not physically fortifying arches — it abandoned a plan to coat one in plastic in the 1940s — it has enacted strict policies to limit human impact on the natural structures.

As recently as two decades ago, parkgoers could be seen walking on top of some arches and hanging on them for photos. A climber even scaled Delicate Arch, the most widely recognized of Utah’s more than 6,000 arches, leaving rope grooves in the sandstone that Garthwait said can still be seen today. The ascent led park officials to reword regulations in 2006 to make clear that climbing arches is prohibited.

WYOMING

Permit for massive solar project approved

CHEYENNE — What will soon be the largest solar farm in Wyoming and one of the largest in the country took another step toward realization in Laramie County in August.

The Laramie County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved a land-use plan, site plan and solar energy permit for Cowboy Solar, the $1.2 billion, 771-megawatt project to construct 1.2 million solar panels across 3,845 acres.

Led by Enbridge Inc., a Canadian energy firm, Cowboy Solar projects I and II will be located southeast of Cheyenne.

Enbridge said construction is slated to begin in 2025, and both phases of the project will be fully operational by 2027. The land is split across three property owners leasing land to Enbridge as part of a 25-year agreement.

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Patty Epler, one of the owners of Atchison Ranch, where a portion of Phase I will be located, said that she was initially hesitant about the deal, but after assurances that the land would be restored to grasslands after 25 years, she was happy to enter a deal with Enbridge.

An owner of property adjacent to the project expressed concerns, mainly over the potential of Enbridge transporting 1,700 20-ton lithium ion batteries through Wyoming and to the project site, cited a recent incident where a truck transporting a similar battery fell and started a fire, closing Interstate 15 for more than 40 hours.

According to a project summary from Enbridge, the project will bring over $26 million in paid property taxes to Wyoming, and Dick said there will be between 12 and 15 full-time employees once construction is complete.

NEW MEXICO

Inspectors find violations in most nursing homes

ALBUQUERQUE — Recent unannounced inspections of nursing homes across New Mexico found at least one violation in 88% of them, authorities said on July 31.

State health officials said just 11 of the 91 assisted living facilities received a perfect score, while 55 got a 90% rating.

Four nursing homes — two each in Albuquerque and Gallup — failed their inspections.

“These findings are unacceptable,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said at a news conference in Albuquerque. “Our seniors deserve the highest standard of care and respect.”

Health department staff conducted the inspections over a three-day span in May.

Infractions detailed in a 31-page report ranged from violations of rules and regulations to room uncleanliness.

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“We take the findings of this report very seriously,” Patrick Allen of the state Department of Health said in a statement. “The quality of long-term care in New Mexico falls short of what our seniors deserve. This must change and we are committed to making it happen.”

Nursing homes in New Mexico were once ranked among the worst in the country.

The Albuquerque Journal reported that of 74 Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes located in the state, inspectors reported serious deficiencies in 36 of them between 2015 and 2018.

KANSAS

Rebuilt Jackie Robinson statue returns after theft

WICHITA — With a rebuilt statue of Jackie Robinson in bronze back in Kansas, some of the late baseball icon’s biggest fans are breathing a sigh of relief.

The original sculpture depicting Robinson resting a bat on his shoulder was cut off at its ankles in January, leaving only Robinson’s cleats behind at McAdams Park in Wichita, home of urban youth baseball League 42.

The statue is not only a piece of art or even just a tribute to the first Black player in Major League Baseball, said Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.

“That statue had become a symbol: a symbol of hope, a symbol of inspiration, of the core values that were part of Jackie’s legacy,” Kendrick said.

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He said that made it difficult to explain the statue’s theft to the 600 children who play in League 42, which was named after Robinson’s uniform with the Brooklyn Dodgers, where Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s racial barrier in 1947.

The league was met with an outpouring of support and hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations after news of the stolen statue shocked the community and spread across the country. The donations helped fund the replacement statue, as well as improvements to the plaza where it stands, the nonprofit league’s facilities and its programming, said Bob Lutz, its executive director.

Firefighters found burned remnants of the original statue five days after it disappeared. One man pleaded guilty and will spend about 15 years in prison, although most of that time is related to a burglary that happened a few days after the statue heist.

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