Fear Factory & Gimme Sugar Gourmet Donuts

On October 25, 2011 Utah's newest haunt, FEAR FACTORY, opened for business after struggling to open their gates earlier in the month due to permit issues with Salt Lake City. Fear Factory owner Rob Dunfield who was interviewed by KSL.com said, " It originally began as a dream, but in the last few months it's become a nightmare."

Thank goodness for haunted house geeks like me that Rob's permit nightmare is over because Fear Factory is now my favorite for-profit haunt in Utah.

Fear Factory is located at 666 West 900 South in the old industrial section of Salt Lake City.

From the Fear Factory website: "Deep in the industrial trenches of downtown Salt Lake City, lies an old forsaken factory that was built in the 1900′s. This decrepit concrete factory that crawls across an entire city block was used and abused for decades before being abandoned and left for dead. Since then, many unsolved violent crimes have been committed here by wandering trespassers. The owner still refuses to disclose what was found when the underground tunnel system was excavated earlier this year. During its use, the combination of extreme heights, rock crushing conveyor belts and underground tunnels led to an accident rate that was so high the factory had an on-site infirmary. To this day, those who pass by can still hear the blood curdling screams from the tortured souls of those factory workers who clocked in… but never clocked out. Prepare yourselves for Industrial Grade Fear!"

From City Weekly: "While the old-guard haunted houses remain, they’ll have to keep looking over their shoulder at a new crop of attractions popping up. Fear Factory has taken a decrepit, abandoned cement factory and turned it into one of the most exciting new haunts. The building was already creepy, and Fear Factory has captured that essence—as well as added to it—by utilizing every available area of almost an entire city block in a run-down industrial zone. Fear Factory is also able to move visitors inside and outside, making sure they never get too used to one area; one of its greatest strengths is being able to take advantage of just how tall certain parts of the building are. Be warned, though: If heights aren’t your thing, you might want to consider staying outside in the safety of lurkers from the graveyard—who might just be some of the building’s former employees. 666 W. 900 South, $25 or $35 VIP, FearFactorySLC.com"

Another great reason to visit Fear Factory is the concessions. The atmosphere created by the Fear Factory crew should keep you entertained while you wait in line to pay the piper, but it was the gourmet donuts that kept me happy as I waited to purchase our V.I.P. wristband.

Gimme Sugar Catering has a stand featuring their gourmet donuts.  My suggestion is to ignore the price and try their caramel apple pie gourmet donuts.  At first I purchased three cinnamon and sugar donuts which are made fresh as you order. While waiting for my treat I started a conversation with the owners of Gimme Sugar Catering and told them if their donuts where as good as Boopie's Donuts in Sparks, Nevada, that I would mention them on this blog.  Understanding that word of mouth is worth it's weight in donuts they also handed me a caramel apple pie doughnut (Spelled donut).  Well, their sample worked because minutes later I was back at their stand buying two more caramel apple donuts for my friends.

Here's to Fear Factory and Gimme Sugar Catering!  Halloween is now better and tastier in SLC!

REDISTRICTING: UTAH DEMOCRATS BLAST TODAY'S GOP CLOSED CAUCUS

SALT LAKE CITY: Once again, Utah's Republican legislature has gone behind closed doors to discuss the congressional map. "This is the type of arrogant, pretentious, and disdainful behavior Utahns have come to expect from Utah's Republican leadership," said Utah Democratic Party Chair Jim Dabakis. "The state spent nearly $1 million , sat through dozens of public meetings, and heard hundreds of comments begging for fairness and transparency. Thousands of people signed petitions, hundreds drew maps, dozens wrote letters to the editors. With this move today, Republican leadership has shown that the public process has been, at best, a waste, at worse, a complete and utter sham!"

"Today's closed caucus is an insult to the people of Utah and the Constitution. Utah's Republican power brokers are determined to tear asunder the founding principles of our great country. They've dropped all pretense of bipartisanship and transparency; all in favor of infighting over raw political power,"charged Dabakis.

Dabakis issued a challenge to Utah voters: "Next time you vote, send a message about the secrecy and back room deals. Tell the Republican power brokers that you won?t stand for it, that you won't allow Utah to operate in the dark. The solution is this: elect more Democrats! We?ll open up government. We'll stand for integrity."

Vile - a warning to Utah's public employees

This comment is being circulated by e-mail to Utah residents: "Anyone who works for ANY government agency should receive 60% or less of what a comparable private sector employee would make because of the stability of the source of the income not subject to the vagarities of the "free" market and the fact that they never have to provide any of the capital to the creation of that job which someone in the private sector has to provide." 

Hatch’s Disgrace? A Bankruptcy Two Months After Federal Grant

Salt Lake City — Over the past month Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) has been attacking federal loans to solar energy company Solyndra, going so far as to call it a “disgrace” on national television. What Hatch failed to mention is his shepherding of a $33 million grant to his solar pet project, Raser Technologies, that recently went bust. The company filed for bankruptcy just two months after pocketing the federal cash.

Utah State Democratic Party Chair Jim Dabakis said the real disgrace is the Senator’s glaring hypocrisy. Dabakis asks, "Senator Hatch, is this use of the taxpayers' money due to your influence 'disgraceful', too?" "In order to please the far-right wing Patrick Henry/Tea Party elements, Senator Hatch, seems to be willing to say anything – attacking Obama when he has done the same thing and his flip-flop on the Dream Act are just two examples. The Senator is displaying an abundance of hypocrisy. The Senator’s ‘do as I say, not as I do’ arrogance is duplicitous." The record shows that Hatch has been involved in direct communication with Raser’s leadership for years and championed tax incentives that directly benefited the company.

“Being so heavily involved with a company that secured millions in taxpayer grants while criticizing the current administration for supporting loans for a similar company shows a glaring lack of integrity and consistency,” said Dabakis. Dabakis concluded, “In a time when the federal deficit is soaring, it is maddening that Senator Hatch cares more about currying favor his past donors than he does about stopping the federal money hemorrhaging. We suggest the Senator stop worrying about winning a popularity contest with the far-right wing and instead come to the table offering substantive solutions to create jobs for Utah workers.”

Utah Democrats File GRAMA Request on Behalf of People of Utah

Democrats Charge that Republican Leadership is Taking a 2x4 to the Democratic Process

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah State Democratic Party filed an official GRAMA request today with the Utah State Legislature regarding the closed door, secret conversations leading to the current "fiasco" over Utah’s congressional maps.

“Utah’s Republican leadership is forcing our hand.  The Utah Democratic Party has been compelled to demand transparency and fairness on behalf of all Utah citizens,” said Jim Dabakis, Chair of the Utah Democratic Party.

“The poster children of closed cronyism in government – Representatives Dave Clark and Carl Wimmer – are working backroom deals to support their selfish political ambitions. They're throwing out months of work and hundreds of thousands of dollars of public money," continued Dabakis.  "Someone must speak for the people of Utah.  Someone must smash a battering ram through the closed doors.  Moral and public pressure has not worked so far -- so today -- the Utah Democratic Party is being forced to file a GRAMA request to ensure our government is acting in a fair, open, and transparent manner.”

“This is not a decision we are making lightly. We don’t want to tie up the legislature and drag on an unnecessary process.  BUT THE REPBULICAN PARTY BOSSES ARE TAKING A 2X4 TO THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS AND THEY MUST REPENT!" Dabakis proclaimed. "They must open the doors, come to the table, and develop a compromise.  We are willing to compromise - are they?”

Dabakis concluded: “The GRAMA request is the first step towards preparing a lawsuit on behalf of the people of Utah.   We do not want to go the next step of subpoenas, affidavits, depositions, testifying under oath and official legal claims, but today, we feel we have no choice but to begin moving in this direction and we are reluctantly taking this step to ensure that ALL Utahns are represented.”

UTAH DEMOCRATIC STATE PARTY CONDEMNS PERRY SUPPORTER CALLING THE LDS CHURCH A CULT

SALT LAKE CITY -- LDS Dems Interim Chair Senator Ben McAdams and Interim Vice-chair Crystal Young-Otterstrom issued the following statement in response to Robert Jeffress's comments calling The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a cult. Jeffress is a pastor at the First Baptist Church in Dallas and made the comment to reporters following an event for Governor Rick Perry.

"As Latter-day Saints -- and Democrats -- we are appalled and disappointed by Jeffress' statement that Mormons are not Christian," stated McAdams and Young-Otterstrom. "As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we know that the foundation of our belief is the divinity of Jesus Christ. Members of the LDS Church are compassionate, caring individuals who seek to follow the example of Christ to love our neighbors as ourselves."

Utah State Democratic Party Chair Jim Dabakis added, "On behalf of all Utah Democrats, I heartily condemn Jeffress' insult. Mormon-phobia should have no place in America. Latter-day Saints are good, honest, and hard working people! I love Mormons. The Democratic Party is welcoming to followers of all faiths and creeds and I invite those who feel unwelcome in the Republican Party -- because of their faith -- to join us."