BRICK BY BRICK: The DESERET NEWS' Jerry Spangler
reported that the SLOC is selling personalized bricks for
$50 to go in the yet-to-be-built Olympic Legacy Plaza at the
Gateway complex in Salt Lake City. Bricks can be purchased
at U.S. Olympic Spirit Stores, online at
www.saltlake2002.com, and at Games sponsors Home Depot,
McDonald's and Delta Airlines. Spangler notes the "buy a
brick" program is not unique to the Olympics, as Atlanta
sold about 200,000 bricks for the '96 Games at $35 a piece.
SLOC President Mitt Romney: "We don't think we are going to
sell that many" (DESERET NEWS, 7/20).
MORE NOTES: City Council Chair Carlton Christensen
warned Tuesday that Salt Lake City "could be in bad shape
come summer 2002." Christensen said that it "seems that
Salt Lakers have been so vigorously planning for the 2002
Winter Games, they are in danger of forgetting about life
after the Olympics." Christensen, noting "many downtown
Salt Lake construction projects are scheduled to finish by
November 2001": "I see a real downturn in early 2002"
(DESERET NEWS, 7/20)....In Houston, Eric Berger reports that
the Houston 2012 Foundation formally asked city council to
add a November 7 referendum on "whether an Olympic Games
trust fund should be created to cover any potential
shortfall in the Games' budget." Berger writes that Houston
Olympic organizers "regard the public vote as critical
because without approval, their effort would wither.
Moreover, it's their best opportunity to demonstrate to the
selection committee that Houston is gung-ho about hosting
the Games" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 7/21).
