WELCH OFFERS TO LESSEN COMPENSATION IN WAKE OF CRITICISMS

          Former SLOC President Tom Welch offered Friday to forgo
     half of the $2M compensation package Olympic leaders
     proposed for give after he resigned his position, according
     to Mike Gorrell of the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE.  But whether "the
     concession is enough to satisfy the critics of the proposal
     remains to be seen."  Welch offered to relinquish a $1M
     payment "rewarding him for nearly six years of unpaid work"
     to bring the 2002 Olympics to Salt Lake City.  Welch "even
     went so far as to turn in his conspicuous personalized
     license plate -- 'SLOC 2002' -- to the state."  Besides the
     offer, Welch "also said he would prefer to participate in
     SLOC's existing retirement program -- which is based on a
     percentage of an employee's salary multiplied by years of
     service," instead of receiving a lump sum that is part of
     the package.  Gorrell added that the original package still
     must be approved by the full SLOC board of trustees, "hardly
     a certainty considering the groundswell of public and
     political opposition" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 8/9).