October 22, 2003

FOOT-IN-MOUTH SHERIFF

The last time we had occasion to mention Eagle County Sheriff Joseph Hoy was in July, when he called Kobe Bryant, the man he'd arrested for rape, a "fine, upstanding guy" and a "role model." Hoy's penchant for the mystifying remark surfaced again Monday when he said, shortly after Judge Frederick Gannett ordered Bryant to stand trial, that he was "glad that the courts had as much confidence in my staff as I did." In fact, Gannett seemed to have so little confidence in the prosecution's case that he took the unusual step of characterizing it as based "substantially on the use of hearsay evidence."

FEE DEMO PROGRAM

As a general rule, we think people should pay for what they use, which is why we have supported the Recreational Fee Demonstration program that allows federal land-management agencies to charge user fees for facilities on public land and keep part of the money.

The fee demo program, as it is called, has helped popular sites upgrade their facilities and tackle long-deferred maintenance, to visitors' benefit even though of course most people would rather get the benefits free.

The program would work even better if managers knew it was authorized for several years, so they could plan ahead. That's the purpose of HR 3283, a bill that makes the fee program permanent, extends it to the Bureau of Reclamation and establishes the option of a single national pass that would cover basic recreation fees everywhere such a fee is charged.

People who oppose user fees anyway will naturally hate the idea, but to us it seems a sensible option to offer.

- Rocky Mountain News

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