Scientist-turned-filmmaker Randy Olson delivered the opening lecture of the 2012 Nature of Things Lecture Series at the City Library on Thursday, February 9. Listen to a podcast of the lecture.
Republican Sean Reyes wants to be Utah’s next Attorney General. He counts among his accomplishments becoming one of the first minority attorneys in the state to make partner at a major law firm and co-founding an organization to help Utahns combat fraud. He joined us in the studio to talk about where he stands on the important issues.
Sex and how to teach kids about it was the topic of discussion on Utah’s Capitol Hill yesterday. House Bill 363 initially proposed banning any discussion on contraceptives, premarital sex and homosexuality in Utah schools. As KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports, the bill passed out of committee after a heated debate, but not before significant changes were made.
A bill that bans Utah cities from enforcing anti-idling ordinances advanced in a House Committee Thursday. Last fall, Salt Lake City passed such an ordinance in an effort to improve air quality. And despite the city’s promise to change it, lawmakers passed the bill twelve to two. Salt Lake City resident Ingrid Griffinson told the committee she doesn’t feel the move is very democratic.
Electronic cigarettes and hookah pipes would be banned in public establishments, if a bill that amends the Utah Indoor Clean Air Act becomes law. The legislation cleared the House Government Operations Committee Thursday.
Former Utah Governor and presidential candidate Jon Huntsman has now officially ruled out another political campaign this election year, but his post-primary career will include working in the non-profit sector and now, the auto industry. Every Friday, we talk with Thomas Burr, Washington Correspondent for the Salt Lake Tribune and author of Political Cornflakes, a daily, online round-up of Utah politics.
Utah residents who suffered abusive practices from big banks and lost their homes to foreclosure during the mortgage crisis are getting some relief. As KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, a joint settlement has been made between the nation’s five largest banks and nearly every state over fraudulent and abusive practices that resulted in millions of foreclosures across the nation.
A bill that makes adjustments to Utah’s environmental boards passed through committee yesterday, despite wide concern from opponents who fear the public could lose its voice. Republican Senator Margaret Dayton says her bill is needed to shrink the size of the Department of Environmental Quality boards that control air, water and hazardous waste, which she says have become too large. Her bill would also change the way appeals are heard, bringing in administrative law judges and giving more authority to the department director.
A strike at lifelong employment for college professors failed to pass the House Education Committee Wednesday. Republican Representative Chris Herrod’s second attempt to ban Utah colleges and universities from granting academic tenure failed on a 10-to-4 vote. Opponents of the bill noted the state’s strengthened five-year tenure review, which frustrated Herrod, who says that was a direct result of his attempt to ban tenure last year.
Ten years after Salt Lake City hosted the Olympic Winter Games, Governor Gary Herbert and other Utah leaders are looking to do it again. Wednesday, he joined the mayor of Utah’s capital city to announce an exploratory committee has been formed to look at bidding for another Olympics. KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports on when they’re hoping the games might be coming to Utah.
