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Where is Fossil Point?
Two Sundays ago Jack, Maria, David Gordon (an Isuzu Trooper) and I went in search of Fossil Point, a Jurassic outcropping to the south. We followed seemingly detailed directions - “just after Horse Bench Reservoir, take a left” “go through the mud wash” “look for the flat parking area to your left”. The first place we parked and explored was not, in fact Fossil Point, but the layer cake (Jack calls it lasagne) of striations was worth the trip. Jack climbed to the highest point while Maria and I meandered among the crumbling boulders. I sat on a wide sloping rock and drew. Jack returned and reported that he found the “flat parking area.” We climbed back in David Gordon and drove around the bend to see some fossils. “Explore the boulders. As a starting point there are some large vertebrae at ground level.” We did this, used some imagination…and we think we may have potentially found one gigantic vertebrae buried in a rock. It’s hard to know because aren’t fossils rocks too? On the drive home we located some more prominent landmarks that we decided should be part of the directions. Like “Take a left at the Monster Toblerone Slice!”
Ali Osborn, Frontier Fellow
One Step Closer To A Nuclear Reactor In Utah
Last Friday, Utah State Engineer Kent Jones approved Blue Castle Holdings’ application to lease and divert 53,600 acre-feet of water from the Green River to the company’s proposed nuclear-power plant near Green River, Utah. This means the proposed nuclear power plant is one step closer to becoming a reality.
Jamey Herman's Artist Residency in Utah
Check it out: Our February Frontier Fellow, Jamey Herman, is funding his Fellowship through Kickstarter!
From the Archives: Lake Powell 2009
Maria, Rand, and Jack at Lake Powell with a few kids from the Community Center. Maria taught the kids to wakeboard. Jack taught the kids to bounce. We all screamed and gasped as we flew through the twists and turns of the flooded canyons that comprise Lake Powell. It was like being in an Indiana Jones movie.
Thanks for reminding us of the great memories, Char!
Photo by Charlotte Graves.
Restructuring Announced
The Board of Directors for The Friends of the Green River Positive Action Community Team (our umbrella non-profit of which Epicenter is a division) met at their regular monthly meeting last night. With thoughtful and deliberate action, the Board began a process of restructuring within the organization.
We are hopeful that this action allows this vital organization to develop into an invigorated, effective, and transparent organization, for which the Epicenter has long advocated.
During this critical time, we will be evaluating our own internal Epicenter processes and strategic goals. With the optimism the Board is now facilitating, we anticipate our reinvestment in the PACT organization as a whole, and a commitment to the PACT to work alongside the rest of the organization to re-unify and move forward.
Lastly, we assure y’all out there the Epicenter is doing fine and just as energetic as before to work alongside the town towards affordable housing and economic development. We seek 2012 to be the year that brings long-term stability and opportunity for our Crew.
Homes available for rent-to-own in Green River
Two CROWN homes are soon to be available in Green River. These are 3 bedroom/2 bathroom homes for $475/month. In time, renters have the opportunity to own the homes with the rental payments invested as equity.
Click here for an image of the subdivision containing the homes.
Income limits and some restrictions do apply.
Please contact Ben Riley at the Housing Authority of Southeastern Utah by calling (435) 259-5891. You may also inquire here at the Epicenter regarding further information.
The World According to Epicenter
We just found this hack that allows you to access Streetview through a trippy panoramic fisheye lens, turning your favorite city street into a microcosmic earth or an immersive urban whirlpool. The photo above is looking north on Broadway (Epicenter, pre-renovation, is on the left).
Give it a go here!
The Boston Public Library’s Print Department is home to more than 350 vintage travel posters, most dating from the 1920s-1940s, the “Golden Age of Travel.”
Railways opened up America and Europe, luxe ocean liners introduced elegance into
overseas voyages, and drivers took to the road in record numbers in their new automobiles. By the mid-1940s, new airlines crisscrossed the globe, winging adventure-seekers to far-flung destinations.
Travel agents and ticket offices during this period were festooned with vivid, eye-catching posters, all designed to capture the beauty, excitement and adventure of travel and to promote a world of enticing destinations and new modes of transportation. Individual artists gained fame for their distinctive graphic styles and iconic imagery, and many posters from this era still remain important works of art long after their original advertising purposes have faded.
above: Rural Studio 20K 9.0 house
Lessons from the Front Lines of Social Design
A fellow Rural Studio participant Will Holman wrote this in-depth evaluation for Design Oberservor’s Places blog of his time with Arcosanti, Rural Studio, and YouthBuild (via HERO).
Look out for the mention of Epicenter along with a rendering for Bear’s House.
Will’s observations based through experience are certainly representative of this certain generation of architects and designers searching for a life working for a greater good while still being able to “make a living and advance professionally.”
We’re honored to be mentioned alongside Rural Studio, Arcosanti, HERO, & Project H. Here’s to “long-term engagement” and “unpaid idealists”!
