Any Port in a Storm

It's been a week of challenging economic news.  People are losing jobs, homes and retirement savings. There's no question our economy is facing difficult times. It will take time to recover.

Are there any bright spots?  I think so and let me tell you why. I spent time with three distinctly different Salt Lake County entities this week.

First, I toured a newly-built church center-The Episcopal Diocese of Utah-that has stepped up to and is meeting the energy conservation challenge.  The downtown Salt Lake structure uses on-the-shelf technology to save significant amounts of electricity, water and raw materials. Its design and construction allows for heating and cooling 25,450 square feet at a fraction of the cost of regular buildings.

Then I visited Rio Tinto's Kennecott Mine, where company officials showed me an innovative combined heat and power process. The company is investing hundreds of millions of dollars and in return will cut energy costs, bring jobs back here from Mexico and South America and create new jobs.

Finally, I attended the grand re-opening for a local business - Nicholas & Company. This classic American success story features a food distribution firm-started by a Greek immigrant 70 years ago-that found success through hard work, dedicated employees and customer service. It is able to expand, even in the face of a recession.

It gives you hope that hard work, ingenuity and innovation will get us through the economic storm.