YOUR FREE WEEKDAY AFTERNOON SOURCE FOR NEWS, SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT 03 27 2008 Heavy? You must be crazy Sporting a belly at 40 seriously increases your chances of getting Alzheimer’s later. p.10 Look whom John McCain brought to Utah. p.4 Huge bills freak out Questar customers. p.4 All-you-can-eat seats for sports fan. p.14 SOMETHING TO BUZZ ABOUT Bartender, Another Hemotoxin Please Murder Suspect Not a Flight Risk A Texas rattlesnake rancher found Popplewell said his intent is not A morbidly obese Texas woman Mayra Lizbeth Rosales, who a new way to make money: Stick a to sell an alcoholic beverage but a who authorities originally thought weighs at least 800 pounds and is rattler inside a bottle of vodka and healing tonic. He said he uses the might have crushed her 2-year-old bedridden, was photographed and market the concoction as an “an- cheapest vodka he can find as a nephew to death was arraigned in fingerprinted at her La Joya home cient Asian elixir.” But Bayou Bob preservative for the snakes. The her bedroom Wednesday on a cap- before being released on a per- Popplewell has no liquor license and end result is a super sweet mixed ital murder charge, accused of strik- sonal recognizance bond, Hidalgo faces charges. drink he compared to cough syrup. ing him in the head. County Sheriff Lupe Trevino said. 27mar08 TheWeather Tonight Partly cloudy. 29° theprimer Sunset: 7:47 p.m. Friday 50° Mostly cloudy; 50 INTERNET percent chance of late rain and snow An Educational, Saturday and Fruitful, Site 45° Mostly cloudy; 40 A colorful, new interactive Web site, percent chance of rain designed to educate children ages 2 and snow. through 8 about the importance of fruits and vegetables, is now operating at www. Sunday foodchamps.org. Once on the site, children can play fruit 50° and vegetable math, test their skills in a Partly cloudy. matching game and even print out recipes to cook with an adult, such as Banana in a Blanket and Very Veggie Snack Pizza. They also can print pages to color. TheStaff Editor Scott Sherman 801.257.8766 [email protected] Line Editor What We’ve Learned Today • Way to Grow ... Suzanne Ashe 801.257.8625 [email protected] Designer Ashley Tarr 801.257.8626 [email protected] Copy Editor William Hampton 801.257.8752 “Take me out to Utah’s young St. George: the Questar’s new [email protected] the buffet.” work force earns second-fastest system is blamed Advertising Instead of paying for more — but less. growing city in for growing bills. Brian Allfrey 801.237.2753 a ticket and multiple Utah’s 6.1 percent U.S. While Questar Gas [email protected] trips to the conces- growth in per-capita The metro area, cov- works out the kinks Delivery sion stand, sports income last year was ering Washington in its new billing sys- Kelly Roberts 801.237.2949 fans are snapping the seventh-highest County, added 5.1 tem, many custom- [email protected] up tickets that in- nationally — but at percent or 5,964 ers are being sent Content: Local content is writ- clude all-you-can-eat $31,189, the state’s people from July 1, staggeringly high ten by Buzz staff; wire content is privileges at the ball average income 2006, to last July bills. via The Associated Press. Thursday, March 27, 2008 Thursday, March 27, game. remains the sixth- 1, according to the • Details, p.4 Boilerplate: Afternoon Buzz, a product of The Salt Lake • Details, p.14 lowest. Census Bureau. Tribune, is published Monday • Details, p.6 • Details, p.4 through Friday for free. Copy- right © 2008 The Salt Lake 2 Tribune, All Rights Reserved. Sweet Deal. Unique, Irreplaceable Locations with Award Winning Homesand Pricing So Sweet It Will MakeYou Smile Ivory Homes offers over 50 extraordinary communities along the Wasatch Front with award-winning home designs ranging from spacious and affordable townhomes to luxurious eastside homes—all at amazing values. THERE’S NEVER BEENABETTER TIME TO BUY AN IVORY HOME Thursday, March 27, 2008 Thursday, March 27, 866-GO-IVORY ivoryhomes.com 3 Home Makeover • With the help of hundreds of volunteers and numerous donors, Utah’s Heart2Home Foundation built the Groves family a 3,400-square-foot haven, complete with playroom for & the kids and master suite for Mandalina and husband thecity beyond Kevin, after toxic mold invaded their previous house. POLITICS McCain and Romney Pull Into Town Presumptive Republican pres- idential nominee John McCa- in made an invitation-only fund- raising stop in Salt Lake City today at the Grand America Ho- tel. Former presidential con- tender Mitt Romney will accom- pany McCain to the $1,000-a- person event at the Grand America Hotel. Romney, who dropped out of the race after poor showings in the primaries, received near- ly 90 percent of the Utah GOP vote on Feb. 5, while McCain had just 5 percent. ST. GEORGE THE salt LAKE TRIBUNE City Area Has Robert Slattery opened his gas bill in November and was told he was $370.62 past due. No. 2 Growth in the Nation Gas Gaffe Galls Customers St. George is the second-fast- est growing city in the U.S. The blinded by big bills • While for employees to walk to each meter. guing that because Questar never metro area, covering Wash- Questar Gas works out the kinks in who’s affected • About 500 bothered to test its equipment for ac- ington County, added 5.1 per- its new billing system, many custom- Utah families received a letter stat- curacy, the company should be re- cent or 5,964 people from July ers are being sent staggeringly high ing that the electronic transmitter on sponsible for its own mess and the 1, 2006, to last July 1, according bills. their gas meter was faulty, causing $600,000 or so it claims it is owed. to the Census Bureau. the new system • Radio trans- it to send the wrong information to what to do • If you have made This year’s census numbers mitters on Questar’s natural gas me- Questar. Questar asserts that, on av- a complaint with Questar but still reflect the housing and cred- it crunches’ mitigating influenc- Thursday, March 27, 2008 Thursday, March 27, ters send signals to laptop comput- erage, each family owes $1,200 in are not satisfied, contact the Utah ers inside company trucks as they back gas costs. Division of Public Utilities at (801) es on Sun Belt retiree growth, said University of Utah demog- are driven through neighborhoods, customer complaints • Doz- 530-7622 or (800) 874-0904. A com- rapher Pam Perlich. Those fac- detailing the amount of gas used in ens of customers have filed com- plaint can be filed online at www. tors should slow St. George’s each home and eliminating the need plaints with state utility regulators, ar- publicutilities.utah.gov. 4 growth in coming years. BANK PARK CITY WOLVES Zions Retreats Staff Shakeup New Kind of From Federal Hits Kimball Immigrants Student Loans Art Center Enter Utah Zions Bank is joining other big In a single week, Park City’s The five wolves reportedly sight- banks in getting out of the fed- Kimball Art Center has lost ed last month near the Dutch eral program to make govern- its executive director, its pub- John airport may be part of a ment-guaranteed student loans, lic relations director, and a third Wyoming pack checking out a the consequence of subsidy unnamed staff member in a ne new Utah neighborhood. If so, U cuts that have made lending to shake-up that appears to be a b they have a better chance of I r students unprofitable. prelude to more change: a ma- T survival if they settle here. e The largest Utah-based jor capital campaign intend- Beginning Friday, because the AK bank will stop accepting new ed to fund significant renova- l of a federal decision to take city T loan applications through the tion of the site. This may include l gray wolves off the endan- A Federal Family Education Loans expansion into the adjacent lot gered species list, anyone can e s program Monday and instead and building. Margaret Hunt of TH kill wolves for any reason across will substitute new programs Zi- the Utah Arts Council charac- most of Wyoming. Only a small le • I ons is developing that will be in terizes the Kimball as an anchor f area near Yellowstone National place later this spring. in the Park City arts community. Park will be off-limits. Thursday, March 27, 2008 Thursday, March 27, R 5 ECONOMY The utah Per-capita Blotter A collection of public safety Income Is Up news from The Salt Lake Tribune and wire reports. Utah’s 6.1 percent growth in per-capita income last year was the seventh-highest nationally — but at assault • A Salt Lake City $31,189, the state’s average income is the sixth-lowest. woman reportedly broke her In an annual report, issued by the U.S. Bureau of arm when her husband drove Economic Analysis, Utah has traditionally ranked his car into her during a fight. The 42-year-old man was arrest- low in per-capita income — total personal income di- ed on suspicion of aggravated vided by population. In great part, that can be attrib- assault. Yesterday morning, the city uted to the state’s comparatively youthful population. couple had an argument and the Nearly one-third of Utah’s population is under the the wife stepped behind her age of 18, compared with only one-quarter nationally.