Sevier County to vote on coal power plant

SIGURD, Utah -- Voters will decide if a coal-fired power plant can be built in central Utah's Sevier County.

County commissioners decided Monday they wouldn't try to block the November referendum -- or take a position on it.

In fact, Commission Chairman Gary Mason says the referendum takes a monkey off elected officials' backs.

Many citizens around Sigurd are opposed to dealing with the pollution from coal burning.

Nevco, a Nevada company, has sought permission to build the 270-megawatt power plant for seven years.

The county previously approved a zoning change for the plant between Interstate 70 and Sigurd, 160 miles south of Salt Lake City.

Pending home sales fall 4.7 percent

WASHINGTON -- A measurement of pending home sales fell to the third-lowest reading on record in May as the housing market's recovery continued to prove elusive.

The National Association of Realtors' seasonally adjusted index of pending sales for existing homes fell 4.7 percent to 84.7 from an upwardly revised April reading of 88.9. The index was 14 percent below year-ago levels.

"The overall decline in contract signings suggests we are not out of the woods by any means," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement.

Home sales are considered pending when the seller has accepted an offer, but the deal has not yet closed. Typically there is a one- to two-month lag before a sale is completed.

Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson/IFR had predicted the index would come in at 87. The index, which sunk to a record low of 83 in March, stood at 98.5 in May 2007. A reading of 100 is equal to the average level of sales activity in 2001, when the index started.

Pending sales fell around the U.S., sinking the most -- 7.1 percent -- in the South, and the least -- 1.3 percent -- in the West.