From the sky and from the ground Utah Governor Gary Herbert surveyed damage from a wet Weber County yesterday, visiting with families and farmers already affected by the flooding and looking at thousands more homes that are at risk. KCPW’s Jessica Gail was there and learned how much damage the floods could bring to the region, and how the state plans to help.
Utah is losing money from closing Salt Lake City’s Main Street liquor store in April, according to information presented to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. Senator Ben McAdams is working to re-open the store, and says he ran the numbers to prove that nearby stores are not picking up all the business, like some of his colleagues said would happen.
Salt Lake City Council members were leaning toward a property tax increase for the construction of the Marmalade library branch during a work session Tuesday. The council has already approved funding for a new Glendale branch. The plan would cost $5.50 per year on a $260,000 home.
As AIDS turns 30 years old, infection numbers continue to climb in Utah and throughout the country. June 5th marks the day the Centers for Disease Control first identified what is now known as HIV-AIDS. And as KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, the Utah AIDS Foundation is launching a campaign with the help of Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker and other local officials to get tested and encourage other Utahns to do the same.
A wet holiday weekend mixed with warmer temperatures forecasted for this week is keeping Utah on high alert for flooding. Seven Utah counties are under flood warnings and Joe Dougherty with the Utah Division of Emergency Management says Morgan, Weber and Sevier counties have already made emergency declarations to the state.
Lighter restrictions could be coming to Utah’s airports if one lawmaker gets his way. Republican Representative Carl Wimmer wants to prohibit security pat-downs unless agents have reasonable suspicion to search a passenger. But as KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports, the bill could have a hard time passing. A similar bill just failed in Texas, in part from pressure from the Federal Government.
Utah is becoming more Republican, according to a contributor with the political science analysis forum Utah Data Points, and that means trouble for House Democrats in the redistricting process. Adam Brown, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Brigham Young University, says because Democratic House Districts are growing at a slower rate than GOP districts, Democratic incumbents will have a hard road ahead.
With an agreement being debated by Congress, we discussed free trade with former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, who was in town to speak at the Zions Bank Trade & Business Conference. We also spoke with Undersecretary for Economic Affairs Rebecca Blank with the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The Salt Lake City Library Board is looking to improve transparency and involve the public more in its operations. We talked with board members Mark Alvarez and Ella Olsen about that and new libraries slated for the Glendale and Marmalade neighborhoods.
First elected in 1999, Van Turner has represented much of Salt Lake City’s west side for more than a decade. The longtime businessman says in that time, more resources have been directed toward the area, and crime has gone down. We talked with Turner about his accomplishments and why he’s looking for a fourth term in this year’s election.
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