Councilman Jim Slanetz, Mayor Nina Jonas and Councilwoman Annie Corrock

All the cup-half-empty folk, who have claimed for years that the city of Ketchum is slowly going downhill, will finally be able to prove their point over the next six weeks on the Warm Springs ski slopes.

Mayor Nina Jonas and City Council Members Annie Corrock, Baird Gourlay and myself will represent City Hall under the team name "The Village Idiots" in the 24th running of the Ketchum Town Series ski races sponsored by the Sun Valley Resort and Watkins Distributing.

With about 30 teams of four people each, and skill levels from Olympic-class gate-basher to first-time racer, this is a fun annual event that is as much a social gathering as it is a race series.

Clearly representing our wide range of constituents, our team will include Annie and Baird on their downhill gear and Nina possibly on telemark skis. Since I haven't raced on skis since high school, I'll stick with my snowboard.

I think it's pretty safe to say that most of our team wouldn't be living here without the ski hill, and I always find the Town Series a great way to get outside and immerse yourself in the mountain culture that runs so deep here. The after-race parties, held at The Cellar, the Mule Shoe, Lefty's, Grumpy's, Mahoney's and Whiskey Jacques, provide a great chance to catch up with friends, meet new folks and celebrate how lucky we all are to live in this valley.

Watch us in the races every Wednesday through March 11, starting at 11 a.m.

Breathing vehicle exhaust is at odds with the enjoyment of Ketchum's natural beauty. Our majestic mountains and lands, clean air and free-flowing, clear rivers and streams are central to what makes our town so special.

Our economy is based upon these natural assets, with so many residents and visitors alike here because of the natural beauty, enjoying it summer and winter. Ketchum's law prohibiting vehicles from idling for more than three minutes is one way we can protect our community's beauty and economy, improving our local air quality, reducing noise pollution, saving money, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and just creating a more pleasant environment for all.

In the United States, idling vehicles waste more than one billion gallons of fuel and about $4 billion per year, over $13 million per day! With current engine technology, once you idle for more than 10 seconds, you're wasting more gas than turning your engine on and off. An idling vehicle releases air toxins, chemicals, gases and particulate matter ("soot") and emits 20 times more pollution than one traveling at 30 miles per hour! Breathing in exhaust can aggravate asthma, allergies and cardiovascular disease, and emissions are still present and harmful even when you can't see the exhaust.  

Idling is also not good for your vehicle, produces various negative effects and puts a strain on the engine. Idling engines do not work at their most efficient mode and just having the cylinders firing and the belts moving is inducing wear on those parts - without racking up any miles! Consider idling a stress test on your car. Whenever the engine is running, you are slowly wearing out some of the components of the vehicle. 

At the Jan. 22 City Council meeting, however, we learned from Police Chief Dave Kassner that our computer system cannot allow for a graduated fine structure, so officers have been limited to issuing warnings to date - a couple thousand of them, in actuality continuing our educational period for over five years. We also learned in those five years that there are many repeat offenders. Click here to read his report. 

At the meeting, the chief recommended a change to a flat fine of $10. After discussion, learning about other communities' idling laws and agreeing that a fine will help change behavior, the City Council voted for a flat fee of $25.

To give a sense of where we stand compared to others, we reviewed a wide range of communities' laws. Burlington, Vt., has a limit of three minutes, with a sliding scale for fines of $10, then $50, and up to $100 thereafter. The state of Hawaii is also three minutes, with fines starting at $25 and going up to $2500! Given that our computer system can't handle a sliding scale, a flat fee of $25 is a smart start. There is always discretion allowed to let our officers decide whether there are extenuating circumstances, such as an elderly person or child in a car when temperatures are very cold. Let's keep our community beautiful, healthy and prosperous!

To learn more and find out other cities' regulations in the U.S., read the articles in the What We're Reading section below.

Dr. Stephen Pauley, sometimes called "Dr. Dark" because of his campaigns to avoid light pollution in the night sky, is indeed a retired ear, nose and throat surgeon.

Although recent research indicates that excessive exposure to light at night is bad for human health, Dr. Pauley's interest in reducing light pollution originally came from his love for the skies.

He and his family sailed to Hawaii in 1979 on a 42-foot boat. "We didn't have GPS then," he said, "so we had to navigate by the stars. One thing led to another."

One of the joys of the Wood River Valley, he realized, was the ability to see the stars overhead "unmarred by the glare and sky glow caused by bad outdoor lighting that shines sideways and upwards."

Dr. Pauley, also an amateur astronomer, wrote an article in the Idaho Mountain Express. It attracted the attention of the late Ketchum City Councilwoman Christina Potters. Then-Mayor Guy Coles and the council invited him to make a presentation. 

As a result, Dr. Pauley and former city planner Tory Canfield drafted the 1999 dark sky ordinance, Idaho's first.

"Light scattered sideways offends the human eye which, if not insulted by bright glary light, can adapt to see in shadows.  Light escaping upwards causes sky glow by reflecting off water vapor and dust.  That blocks views of our magnificent night sky.  Our starry night skies can be just as spectacular as those we saw in the middle of the Pacific," Dr. Pauley said.

"Wasted light is also wasted energy.  By using lower wattage lamps and shielding the light downward, we lower energy costs," he added.

Since that time, medical research has shown the importance of spending part of the night in total darkness. Even minor amounts of light can disrupt sleep patterns and can increase the probability of colorectal and breast cancer.

Light suppresses melatonin, a sleep hormone and a protective anti-cancer hormone, developed over eons of evolution in response to our light-dark circadian rhythms.

The American Medical Association now cautions shift workers, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer lists shift work as a "probable carcinogen."

Sun Valley and Hailey have joined Ketchum in adopting dark sky ordinances. New construction in unincorporated areas of Blaine County also is required to comply. Dr. Pauley is working on Twin Falls.

The bottom line, according to Dr. Pauley: "Sleep in the dark, fully shield all outdoor lighting and enjoy the night sky."

In Ketchum: Outdoor lights must be fully shielded and shine downward. An exception is made from Nov. 1 to April 15 for holiday lights, defined as festoon-type lights, limited to small individual bulbs on a string, where the spacing of bulbs is not closer than three inches and the output per bulb is no greater than 15 lumens. Flashing lights are prohibited on commercial properties and discouraged on residential properties. The city also requests that holiday lights be turned off after businesses close and after bedtime. Click here to read the complete ordinance.