Mormon Times briefly

Donation for Prop. 8 results in hold on a theater board appointment

OAKLAND, Calif. — A $26,000 contribution to the initiative that banned same-sex marriage in California appears to have cost 96-year-old former Mormon temple president Lorenzo Hoopes his seat on the board that oversees Oakland's historic Paramount Theatre.

Amid rising criticism from the gay community, Mayor Ron Dellums said Jan. 19 that he was putting on hold the reappointment of Hoopes, most likely signaling an end to Hoopes' 30-plus years on the Paramount board.

Hoopes, a past president of the Mormon temple in Oakland as well as a former Safeway executive, has been on the Paramount board since before the downtown theater was restored in the early 1970s.

Hoopes said his support for the 2008 initiative — and the contribution he made — was a personal matter.

— San Francisco Chronicle

Phoenix temple height to be lowered

PHOENIX — Church officials say the height of the proposed Mormon temple in Phoenix will not exceed residential zoning heights. A spokesman for the church says Mormon officials have decided to lower and redesign the height of the temple.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officials had proposed building a temple that would be 40 feet high, which is 10 feet higher than the land's current zoning. The temple would still have a 78-foot-high steeple and spire.

The Phoenix City Council had approved the additional height Dec. 3 after the city's planning and zoning commission had also given a green light to the project.

Opponents collected 16,000 signatures by Jan. 2 on a petition to put the matter back before the council.

When church officials presented the plans for the temple last summer to build the Phoenix temple, neighbors were upset. They said the temple wasn't a good fit for their neighborhood because the 9,500-square-foot structure would swallow the area, block their views and bring more traffic. Church officials had met with the neighbors since last summer to help resolve their concerns.

— Associated Press

LDS athletes in the Winter Olympics

The world spotlight will be pointed to Vancouver, British Columbia, Feb. 12-28 for the 2010 Winter Olympics as some of the best athletes skate, ski and slide in hopes of winning a medal.