Jeret “Speedy” Peterson will bring an Olympic silver medal home to Park City next week after climbing to second place in the men’s aerial competition last night from sixth going into the finals. After the semis on Monday, Speedy promised NBC broadcasters that he’d try his signature Hurricane, the most difficult maneuver in the sport. (Speedy is the only athlete ever to attempt the jump in competition.) Although he hadn’t stuck the landing during practice, Speedy nailed it under the spotlight, vaulting himself into the lead. Only after Alexei Grishin of Belarus completed the jump of his life was Speedy edged for gold by less than two points.

Speedy’s influence has spread to rising aerial stars on the international scene, including the young Chinese jumpers who have picked up his rallying cry at the top of the hill: “Come on, b***!”

“A lot of the other athletes have started saying it, and they don’t even know what it means,” Speedy told reports after his jump. “It’s kind of flattering.”

China’s Zhongqing Liu took bronze, while Utah’s Ryan St. Onge finished in fourth.

Speedy Wins Silver! Photo by Robert Beck

Arrested? Don’t call Dana Williams.

After bar patrons attempted to sidestep a donation to the Red Cross for Haiti victims during Thursday night’s fundraiser at The Sidecar by saying they knew Dana Williams, the mayor lamented in good humor the number of people who call for his assistance in any number of tight spots, including the back of a police car.

Just don’t count on special attention. Williams has a ready response when cops call in the wee hours with a “good friend of Dana” in their backseat:

“Tase ‘em!” He jokes. “What do they expect?”

The same goes for anyone trying to weasel out of a DUI by having him work some felony-inspiring magic with a judge.

Dana Williams at the Barking Ball

ParkCityVoyeur.com is proud to help Park City LOCALS, Readhead Marketing & PR, and Mountain Town Music present Locals Rock for Haiti, a fundraiser to benefit the American Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti, following the devastating January 12 earthquake. The event will take place on Thursday, Feb. 18 at The Sidecar, 333 Main Street, at 7 p.m. The admission charge is just a $5 donation to the Red Cross, and guests must be 21 and over.

Salt Lake City singer/songwriter Kole will perform a solo acoustic set at 8 p.m. “Rise from the Ashes,” one of her newest songs, was inspired by the earthquake in Haiti. Kole has been donating proceeds of her recent music sales to Haiti relief efforts.

Following Kole’s performance will be the high-energy Motherlode Canyon Band. A long-time staple of the local live music scene, the band features Park City Mayor Dana Williams. Both Kole and Motherlode Canyon Band are donating their time and talent to the event.

The evening will include a silent auction with gift certificates and items donated from area merchants. Bidding begins and 7 p.m. and will continue until 9 p.m.

All proceeds from the admission fee and silent auction, as well as a percentage of The Sidecar’s pizza sales, will be donated to the American Red Cross.

Kole is a singer/songwriter from Salt Lake City who has penned songs for Haiti relief

Bode Miller took bronze in today’s downhill race with a time of 1:54.40. Switzerland’s Didier Defago narrowly won the race in 1:54.31, while Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal took silver with 1:54.38. Although the downhill was considered Miller’s best chance for gold, he will compete in each of the four remaining races.

The Eccles Center will host the Park City Performing Arts’ sixth annual Vagina Monologues on Sunday, Feb. 28. Although the venue has posted no formal announcement, the ticket office confirmed the famous monologues will take place on that date. The lineup is still a surprise, although the event will again feature local female talent. The monologues, one of more than 2,700 V-Day events across the country to educate about violence against women and girls, will benefit the Peace House. Tickets, ranging from $15 to $30, are available through the Eccles Center.

Lindsey Van at the Czech Republic Nordic Worlds (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

With the first Olympic event completed, champion ski jumper Simon Ammann of Switzerland won extra accolades for breaking the record of 105.5 meters with his own 108-meter effort. What many news reports have failed to mention, however, is that the previous record belonged to 25-year-old Park City athlete, Lindsey Van.

Based solely on distance, the 5-foot-3-inch Van would have posted the third-best effort of the Games, behind Ammann and bronze medalist Gregor Schlierenzauer of Austria, who jumped 106 meters. The more consistent Adam Malysz of Poland won silver, but failed to best Van’s record with his own 105-meter jump.

The U.S. Women’s Ski Jumping Team has fought since the Salt Lake City Games for inclusion in the Olympics. The IOC has denied their request despite several appeals and even a lawsuit, claiming the women have failed to meet participation requirements.

“I don’t think there’s any discrimination going on,” Joe Lamb, the U.S. ski team representative for the International Ski Federation’s (FIS) ski jumping committee, told Yahoo Sports. “It may seem like that, but there are hundreds of other issues at play.” Vancouver can accommodate only so many athletes, he pointed out, and whenever a new event is introduced it limits the number of people able to participate in others. Perhaps team USA would have had better luck sending its women to the men’s competition. They would have certainly have fared better on the medal stand.

Park City’s own Anna Bloom, now a graduate student at UC-Berkeley, has brought growing attention to the women’s cause with this documentary on MSNBC:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

by Chelsea Shapard, Park Citizen for 20 years

It’s official, Sundance is here!

Robert Redford and John Cooper officially welcomed Sundance 2010 with the opening press conference at the Egyptian theater saying that they are looking to “go back to our roots.” They want to bring back what Sundance is all about is all about: the filmmaker. The passion of 1,600 volunteers and the combined knowledge of this year’s hundreds of movie makers, many of them first-timers, lifts the hopes for a great Sundance 2010.

With Robert Redford and John Cooper anxious to take questions and highlight this year’s Sundance at the opening press conference Thursday afternoon on Main Street’s Egyptian Theatre, reporters were more than ready with questions for each. Even with many queries geared toward a dwindled economy, the answers reflected the hope and fun that goes into the festival, regardless of the money being made, or not. The two gentlemen emphasized their desire to bring out the documentary more this year and in the years to come, seeing it as a way for people to gain a perspective of the truth from around the world, and Redford ensured the audience that, “as long as we can continue to create opportunities [for filmmakers] we will keep going,” but added that while Sundance has no intention of dying out, they knew this year they needed to “get fresh.”

Cooper added that another key focus of the festival this year was to show, “not only who we are to the world, but who we are to ourselves.”

But what, you may ask, is the main part of the Sundance Film Festival, which year after year brings more and more celebrities to the small town of Park City, Utah? Redford will tell you, “the festival is meant to be fun, it was always meant to be loose and easy and fun – it’s all about the filmmakers.” Move over Hollywood, it’s time for the magic makers to have their 15 minutes of fame!

So take Redford and Coopers’ advice, be a part of social activism, look at what’s here and see what you can.

Sundance is going back to its roots this year, as Redford put it, quoting from “Little Gidding” by T.S. Eliot:

“We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”

So welcome back, find your roots, but most importantly this year, have fun.

The Kimball Art Center will hold its first adult-only “Member Pin-Up Show” this Tuesday to celebrate Park City talent while supporting local member artists.

“It’s not X-rated,” director Robin Rankin promises. Kimball members ages 18 and older are encouraged to “pin up” their unmatted, unframed artwork for display and sale from December 15 to 18. The show will open to the public on December 19 in the Kimball’s Main Gallery.

“It’s a great way to celebrate the extraordinary talent that abounds in Park City while supporting local member artists and the KAC,” Rankin further notes. “With a maximum price limit of $500, even Scrooge and The Grinch will find original artwork that fits their budgets.”

The Kimball Art Center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the week and noon to 5 p.m. on weekends. The Center also encourages the community to join its Art Talk about The Nutcracker on December 17 at 6:30.

Not this kind of pinup!

After a landslide victory, earning more than twice the votes of challenger Brad Olch, mayor Dana Wiliams celebrated his third-term victory with cake and champagne at The Sidecar Wednesday night. Newly elected city councilwoman Cindy Motsumoto joined the community celebration to mark her slightly closer victory, having earned 35 percent of the vote to fellow councilman Alex Butwinski’s 31 percent. Park Citizens filled the bar despite the soiree coinciding with the World Series final, drawing socialites Nancy Nichols, Amy Roberts and Dana’s loyal campaign manager, die-hard Yankee fan HIlary Reiter. The Sidecar kept the game on the screens, however, so Yankees fans throughout the bar could celebrate the double victory.

[Show as slideshow]