July 8 & 9, 2003 Utah
State in the News
Wednesday, July 9, 2003
KSTU NEWSCAST:
USU STUDY SHOWS HOMEOWNERS AND BUSINESSES ARE USING TOO MUCH
WATER
A new Utah State University study shows homeowners are wasting
hundreds of thousands of gallons of water each year because
of lawn overwatering. Workers with Slow the Flow say overwatering
is common this time of year. Discolored grass is not a sign
of dead grass and experts say residents should check sprinkling
systems regularly. (KSTU newscast, 9 p.m., 07/07/03)
KTVX NEWSCAST:
USU STUDY FINDS FAST-FOOD RESTAURANTS AND HILL-SIDE HOMEOWNERS
TO BE THE BIGGEST WATER WASTERS
A Utah State University professor says some Utahns are giving
their lawns more water than they would get in a rain forest.
A study found that fast-food restaurants and hill-side homeowners
are the biggest water wasters. (KTVX newscast, 5:50 a.m., 5
p.m., 10 p.m., 07/07/03)
KUTV NEWSCAST:
USU STUDY SHOWS HOMEOWNERS AND BUSINESSES ARE USING TOO MUCH
WATER
A recent study by Utah State University shows that some homeowners
and businesses are using too much water. The study also found
that fast-food restaurants were the biggest water wasters. (KUTV
newscast, 5 p.m., 10 p.m., 07/07/03)
USU STUDY: FAST-FOOD
JOINTS AMONG WORST FOR OVERWATERING
A survey of water use in Layton found some homeowners and businesses
are using up to 10 times the water need to keep their grass
green - in some cases, giving their lawns more water than they’d
receive in a rainforest. "There's an emphasis on wanting
to make the desert bloom," said Roger Kjelgren, a Utah
State University horticulture professor who helped with the
five-year federally funded study of residential and business
water use in Layton. "If they're putting on a couple hundred
inches of water, they could grow rice." Kjelgren said lawns
need about 30 inches of water a year. With the help of aerial
infrared photos, Kjelgren and his colleagues Christopher Neale
and Joanna Endter-Wada were able to pinpoint how much water
is being used on every lawn. "We found that 80 percent
of businesses are watering more than they needed," Kjelgren
said. Retail businesses were among the highest users, Kjelgren
said, with fast-food restaurants typically wasting the most
water. (Standard Examiner, 07/08/03) click on: http://www.standard.net/standard/news/print_story.html?sid=00030707211006918103
FUNNY AND UNUSUAL,
'SYLVIA' IS NO DOG
The first hint that "Sylvia" isn't run-of-the-mill
fare for the Old Lyric Repertory Company was the sign at the
ticket window indicating the play contains language that might
be offensive to some audience members. The next clue was when
the lead character was on all fours and did a lot of panting
and, well, barking. (Deseret News, 07/08/03) click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,510038167,00.html
Tuesday, July 8, 2003
FLIGHT CENTENNIAL
TAKES OFF IN WRIGHTS' HOME TOWN; CELEBRATION DRAWS ASTRONAUTS,
FLYER REPLICAS TO DAYTON
Jake Garn, the former U.S. senator and space shuttle astronaut,
strapped himself into a black canvas seat, pulled a helmet onto
his head and taxied down a grassy strip today in a spitting
image of the Wright brothers' 1905 flying machine. With all
the strength in his left hand, he pulled back on the stick as
the contraption lifted, with a wobble, eight feet into the air.
Thirty-two seconds and nearly 2,000 feet later, he was back
on the ground, landing with a thud that briefly knocked out
the brakes. ... The version of the 1905 Flyer that Garn tested
in today’s hot midday sun reflects a different school
of thought. It was designed and built in 10,000 hours as a senior
project at Utah State University, based on a set of after-the-fact
drawings that one of their professors, David Widauf, procured
from archives here in Dayton. He and a colleague assigned their
students to analyze how well it flew at the time (abysmally,
they concluded), then to design a plane that preserved its essence
-- with modern materials and engineering. (The Washington Post,
07/04/03)
UTAHNS OVER WATERING
LAWNS
Some Utahns are substantially OVER WATERING their lawns —
giving them three times more water than an average rain forest,
according to a Utah State University study. "There's an
emphasis on wanting to make the desert bloom," said Roger
Kjelgren, a USU horticulture professor who helped with the five-year
study of residential and business water use in Layton, funded
by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "If they're putting
on a couple hundred inches of water, they could grow rice on
that." Cities along the Wasatch Front get about 15 inches
of rain a year, and Kjelgren says lawns require about twice
that amount. Using a combination of raw data and aerial infrared
photos, Kjelgren and his colleagues Christopher Neale and Joanna
Endter-Wada were able to compile it all into maps that pinpoint
how much water is being used on every lawn in the city. (Deseret
News, 07/07/03) click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,510038131,00.html
SCHOLARS, UNIVERSITY
PREZ LEAD CONSTITUTION SEMINAR
The new Patriot Act has far right and far left activists up
in arms. Conservatives and liberals alike say it violates the
Bill of Rights by allowing the federal government undisclosed
entry into private email accounts, telephone conversations and
financial records. ... Utah State University president and legal
scholar Kermit L. Hall has teamed with two political science
professors and an award-winning high school teacher to create
awareness of constitutional rights as part of a “We the
People: the Citizen and the Constitution “ program. (Herald
Journal, 07/07/03)
UTAH COLLEGE ROLLS
MAY SOAR: ANNUAL INCREASES OF 3,300 PROJECTED OVER 20 YEARS
Utah could create a new college larger than the College of
Eastern Utah (currently 3,200 students) every year for the next
20 years if all the anticipated growth were to occur in one
location — and if projections hold true. ... With numbers
frozen at the U., more students will have to look for spots
in the colleges and universities down the line, all of which
have the same challenges to make room for more students without
adequate state support to fund their education. Salt Lake Community
College is likely to feel the greatest impact, since population
is greatest in Salt Lake and surrounding counties. But Utah
Valley State College will continue to experience the greatest
growth, at 3.8 percent. Dixie State College will be second,
with 3.1 percent, with less impact at Utah State University
and Weber State University. (Deseret News, 07/06/03) click on:
http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,510037892,00.html
KILLING CATS
ISN’T ART — IT’S PURE EVIL
Someday — soon, I hope — we will come face-to-face
with the person (or people) responsible for mutilating cats
in the Salt Lake area. We will be shocked by what we find. There
is no profile of such a person that wouldn't shock us; no way
for us to adequately prepare for it; no way to get a mental
image of the body type or the facial expression. What kind of
mind would derive pleasure from watching a living creature —
a social and interactive pet — suffer? How do we conjure
a mind that derives pleasure from returning the mutilated animal
to the owner's doorstep in a perversion of the way a cat brings
a bird home to curry its owner's approval? ... Frank Ascione,
a Utah State University psychology professor, has done a lot
of research on the link between animal cruelty and human cruelty.
The link isn't always there, he found, but three out of five
times people convicted of animal abuse end up being arrested
for other, more serious crimes. (Deseret News, 07/06/03) click
on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,510037615,00.html
BAD BREATH IN
CATTLE FOUGHT BY RESEARCHERS: IT CAUSES HARM TO EARTH'S OZONE
LAYER
If you think you have bad breath, just be thankful you’re
not a cow — with breath that actually harms Earth's ozone
layer and contributes to global warming. The collective breathing
of cows accounts for nearly 20 percent of the methane gas released
into the atmosphere. To cut down on the 100 to 150 gallons of
the gas that a typical cow accounts for each day, University
of Nebraska researchers are developing an additive for cattle
feed. "The reason we’re focusing on methane is because
it’s a short-lived, highly potent greenhouse gas that
needs to be reduced," said biochemistry professor Stephen
Ragsdale. The methane produced in a cow's rumen — the
first of a cow's four stomachs — gets into the bloodstream
and exits through the lungs, said Ken Olson, a range livestock
nutritionist at Utah State University. Almost all of it comes
from breathing, though a tiny bit does escape when a cow belches,
Olson said. (Standard Examiner, 07/06/03) click on: http://www.standard.net/standard/news/print_story.html?sid=00030705202030885060
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
RULING WON'T HAVE MUCH IMPACT AT USU
The recent decision by the Supreme Court to allow colleges
to use limited race-conscious admissions is expected to have
little if any, impact on the student body at Utah State University,
officials say. (Herald Journal, 07/06/03)
HALL
DISCUSSES COURT’S DECISION ON 'NEWS HOUR WITH JIM LEHRER'
Although the Supreme Court's decision to uphold a limited use
of race in college admissions is not expected to impact Utah
State University, President Kermit Hall had plenty to say about
the topic. A guest commentary authored by Hall was published
in The Chronicle of Higher Education on June 20, days before
the Supreme Court ruled. Hall was featured again on the national
PBS broadcast of "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer" in
the hours following the announcement of the court’s ruling.
(Herald Journal, 07/06/03)
AGGIE SCHOLARSHIP
CAR SHOW DATE SET
Owners of classic cars or trucks who would enjoy showing them
off for a good cause should come to the "4th Annual Aggie
Car Show" to be held July 19 at Liberty Park, 751 21st
Street, in Ogden. (Herald Journal, 07/06/03)
USU DVD RECEIVES
AWARD
Utah State University's K-SAR, a production facility and division
of Utah State's Center for Persons with Disabilities, received
a Telly Award for creating "Research Matters," a DVD
highlighting Utah State’s research efforts. (Herald Journal,
07/06/03)
PRESIDENT PRAISES
FLIERS OF YESTERDAY, TODAY 'I AM PROUD TO BE AT WRIGHT-PAT,
THE BIRTHPLACE, THE HOME AND THE FUTURE OF AEROSPACE.'
President Bush told a large, sun-baked crowd who'd waited hours
to hear from him that he was grateful for the sacrifices of
the military members of Wright- Patterson Air Force Base. In
an Independence Day speech, Bush used soaring language to praise
the members of the military and honor the 100th anniversary
of the Wright brothers' invention of powered flight. ... Bush
spoke in an open-necked shirt while standing before a huge American
flag and dozens of members of the Air Force and other branches
of the military. Six planes flanked his stage: an F-15 Eagle,
A-10 Thunderbolt, F-117 Stealth fighter, F-16 Falcon, B-1-B
bomber and replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer built by students
at Utah State University. (Dayton Daily News, 07/05/03)
FLYER REPLICA
RIGHT WAY TO FLY, EX-SENATOR SAYS
On approach to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base yesterday, Air
Force One flew over Huffman Prairie Flying Field, where Wilbur
and Orville Wright honed their skills in the Wright Flyer 100
years ago. After disembarking from the 231-foot-long, 63-foot-high
Boeing 747, President Bush mused: "I wonder what Wilbur
and Orville would have thought if they’d have seen that
flying machine that I came in on today." Former U.S. Sen.
Jake Garn of Utah, an ex-astronaut, couldn't speak for the Wright
brothers, but he knew what he thought. Bush can have his 747
— he’d take the Wright Flyer any day. "I've
flown a 747, and it’s like flying a big semi truck compared
to a real fun airplane like this one," Garn said, nodding
to a replica of the Wright Flyer. "The bigger the airplane,
the less fun it is to fly." Garn, who was aboard the space
shuttle for its 16th mission in 1985, was with aerospace engineering
students from Utah State University. They brought to Dayton
the Wright Flyer they had built for the 17-day "Inventing
Flight" celebration. (The Columbus Dispatch, 07/05/03)
USU TEAM TESTING
COMPOUNDS ON DEADLY VIRUSES
Scientists around the country — including a team at Utah
State University — are "throwing compounds"
at a virus similar to monkeypox, at SARS, and at West Nile virus
in hopes of finding treatments or cures for the potentially
deadly trio of diseases. The National Institutes of Health’s
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is picking
up the tab for researchers in USU's department of animal, dairy
and veterinary sciences to test thousands of compounds to see
if they can find some that have potential to stop the illnesses,
which have caused grave concern this year. In the case of monkeypox,
the researchers are not using the actual virus. Only researchers
at one Army facility and the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention in Atlanta are believed to have the actual monkeypox
virus, said Donald F. Smee, a research professor in the department
at USU who's heading the university's efforts. "Since the
pox viruses are all closely related, we use a different one
to predict what may happen with monkeypox or smallpox."
(Deseret News, 07/05/03) click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,510037744,00.html
COUNTY LINES;
CACHE COUNTY: FLYER TAKES ITS SHOW ON THE ROAD
Utah State University's Wright Flyer has left home in search
of its ancestry. The modern replica of Wilbur and Orville Wright's
1903 airplane flew Friday from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,
Ohio, over Huffman Prairie, where the brothers practiced their
flights. The flyer will be displayed at Huffman Prairie through
Wednesday, at the Wright Memorial July 10-16 and at the Dayton
Memorial Air Show July 17-20. USU students and faculty, working
with the Space Dynamics Laboratory, finished construction of
the 40-foot-winged flyer in February, after more than 10,000
hours of work. It has since made more than 100 flights. Kevlar
and graphite, which are made in Utah, replace the muslin and
spruce used in the original flyer. More information about the
Wright Flyer can be found at www.usuwrightflyer.org. (Standard
Examiner, 07/05/03) click on: http://www.standard.net/standard/news/print_story.html?sid=00030704231543546735
CAT DEATHS MAY
SPELL HUMAN DANGER
A Utah State University professor said that whoever is responsible
for recent cat mutilations in Denver and Salt Lake City could
present a danger to humans as well. "Very clearly, people
who have this history are much more likely to be coming in contact
with the criminal justice system and are more dangerous to human,
welfare as well," said Frank Ascione, a professor in the
department of psychology and adjunct professor in family and
human development at USU. (Herald Journal, 07/05/03)
USU NOT ALONE
IN DEALING WITH CUTS
A survey by the State Higher Education Executive Officers,
a nonprofit group based in Denver, found that many institutions
have been forced to make big budget cuts for the 2003-04 fiscal
year, which began Tuesday in many states. Programs and personnel
at Utah State University suffered $14.7 million in cuts between
May 2001 and nearly the same time in 2003. (Herald Journal,
07/05/03)
BUSH REQUESTS
FLYER FOR BACKDROP: USU GETS SURPRISE INVITATION TO DISPLAY
REPLICA AT SPEECH
The Utah State University Wright Flyer crew has a full schedule
at the Inventing Flight Celebration in Dayton, Ohio, this weekend,
but students and university officials in attendance agreed to
make an unscheduled stop today to accommodate the nation’s
top official. (Herald Journal, 07/04/03)
SPACE SHUTTLE
ASTRONAUT TAKES HELM OF WRIGHT FLYER REPLICA
Jake Garn flew only a couple hundred feet, but he covered a
century of aviation history. The former U.S. senator from Utah
and space shuttle astronaut was one of two pilots at the controls
of a Wright Flyer replica Thursday at Barnhart Memorial Airport
near New Carlisle. "For me, to fly the Wright Flyer, now
I’ve done the whole spectrum backward, from space flight
to the Wright Flyer and every kind of plane in between,"
Garn said. Utah State University students designed and built
a replica of the 1905 plane to celebrate the centennial of flight.
The replica will be displayed at Inventing Flight festivities.
It and five other re-creations of early Wright brothers' craft
will be part of the New Carlisle Parade of Planes at 3 p.m.
today at the airport. (Dayton Daily News, 07/04/03)
UTAH'S WRIGHT
FLYER REPLICA FLIES IN- UNIVERSITY GROUP RESEARCHED, BUILT 1905
PLANE
A composite replica of the plane that made the Wright brothers
famous 100 years ago will fly over Huffman Prairie at 8:30 a.m.
Saturday. The Composite USU Wright Flyer comes out of the joint
effort of the National Composite Center in Kettering and the
Utah State University Research Foundation. The sleek replica
bridges the past and future, and would probably make the Wright
brothers jealous. From the outside, the flyer looks exactly
like the original Wright brothers’ plane that circled
Huffman Prairie in 1905. The flyer maintains the dimensions
of the original, a 40.5-foot wingspan and 26-foot length, but
the frame is made of a composite plastic that is strong yet
light and flexible. It is powered by an American-made Harley
V88 engine. The flyer was built entirely by aerospace engineering
students at Utah State University. A group of seniors researched
and fashioned it as their senior project. Nick Alley, a doctoral
candidate in aeronautical engineering at USU, served as lead
supervisor for the project. He said it took a lot of long hours
and hard work to get to this point. "I'm like a proud father
because of what my students were able to accomplish," Alley
said. (Dayton Daily News, 07/04/03)
KSL NEWSCAST:
WRIGHT FLYER AT CENTENNIAL OF POWERED FLIGHT CELEBRATION
President Bush commemorated the centennial of powered flight
at Wright Patterson Air Force Base today. A graphite and Kevlar
model of the Wright Brothers plane, created by Utah State University,
is at the 100 year celebration in Ohio. Former Senator Jake
Garn flew the plane over a nearby field. President Bush shook
hands with members of the USU team that built the plane. Grandchildren
of the Wright brothers hope to take short flight in the plane
tomorrow. (KSL newscast, 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 10 p.m., 07/04/03)
USU FLYER GETS
HIGH PRAISE — SPOT BY BUSH: PRESIDENT WANTS THE PLANE
ON DISPLAY FOR HIS JULY 4TH SPEECH
When President Bush delivers a Fourth of July address later
today, chances are good that he will use a made-in-Utah prop
— the Wright Flyer biplane built by faculty and students
at Utah State University in Logan. The president is scheduled
to address the nation at 10 a.m. MDT, speaking from Wright-Patterson
Air Force Base, Ohio. White House staff members asked that the
USU Wright Flyer "be displayed by the podium" for
the president's speech, said Trina Paskett, spokeswoman for
the USU Space Dynamics Laboratory. On Thursday the Flyer, builders,
USU staff and former Sen. Jake Garn, R-Utah, were in New Carlisle,
Ohio, not far from Wright-Patterson AFB and Dayton, Ohio. They
are participating in ceremonies marking the centennial of powered
flight. (Deseret News, 07/04/03) click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,510037451,00.html
SPACE WEATHER
The Friends of the University Libraries Summer Lecture Series
continues Wednesday, July 9, at 4 p.m., at Utah State University.
Charles Swenson, senior scientist at the Space Dynamics Laboratory
and associate professor of electrical engineering at USU, will
present the series' last lecture, "Weather in Space and
its Effects on the International Space Station." (Herald
Journal, 07/04/03)
SHE'S NO LADY,
SHE'S MY DOG
Mid-life crisis. The very phrase conjures up pictures of flashy
red convertibles with a buxom young blond in the passenger's
seat. But in A.R. Gurney's "Sylvia," it is a dog that
may end a 22-year marriage. ... "Sylvia" is the third
show of the Old Lyric Repertory Company's summer season. (Herald
Journal, 07/04/03)
PATRIOTIC ALUMNI
MUSIC
In honor of July 4, Utah State University's Alumni Band presents
a concert of patriotic tunes at the Old Main Hill Amphitheater
on Sunday, July 6 at 7 p.m. (Herald Journal, 07/04/03)
FOLLOW SIMPLE
STEPS TO SOLVE PLANT WOES
With all of the many pleasures of gardening, it is easy to
think we are in charge. But plants are always at the mercy of
Mother Nature, and there is always the potential for problems.
So how do you fix a problem in the garden? Take a quick course
in plant diagnostics. The "art" of diagnosis is not
always easy. Diagnostics is an orderly thinking process proceeding
from recognition of a problem through a solution. Your challenge
is to gather clues, ask good questions and make accurate observations
of your plants and what is happening to them. One excellent
resource to help you with the many problems that affect your
plants is the diagnostic clinics done at Utah State University
Extension Service offices along the Wasatch Front. Extension
agents and master gardeners will examine your plants or the
pests that are bothering your plants and recommend a solution.
(Deseret News, 07/04/03) click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,510037061,00.html
WIND MAY BE ENERGY
SOLUTION
Wind is the world's fastest growing energy source. Wind farms
in Texas and California demonstrate that wind power is a profitable,
year-round harvest, generating "wind royalties" for
landowners and creating opportunities for businesses providing
labor, steel, concrete, roads, wind turbine components, and
electrical and engineering services. Wind is clean and increasingly
cost-competitive with traditional fossil fuel-fired sources,
and Utahns need to encourage wind energy development within
the state. (Deseret News, article authored by Christine Watson,
energy engineer at the Utah Energy Office, Edwin R. Stafford
and Cathy L. Hartman, marketing professors at Utah State University,
07/04/03) click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,510037344,00.html
'POND' IS ADMIRABLE
BUT NOT REMARKABLE
Perhaps the most familiar of the Old Lyric Repertory Company
offerings this summer, "On Golden Pond" quietly presents
a comfortable, pedestrian slice of life. No surprises here;
just a seemingly effortless presentation of a well-written examination
of a family trying to take its own pulse. The OLRC production
features founding director Vosco Call as the keystone character,
Norman Thayer, and playwright Ernest Thompson gives Norman all
the good lines. The pressure is on Call to take the audience
inside this family — and particularly its aging patriarch.
And he does so admirably, though not remarkably. (Deseret News,
07/04/03) click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,510037178,00.html
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