Conservationists say an appropriations bill the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on this week would mean massive cuts to programs that benefit the Great Salt Lake and surrounding wetlands. Lynn de Freitas, Executive Director of Friends of Great Salt Lake, says those include the North American Wetlands Conservation Act and the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
A war is raging over whether states can force out-of-state retailers to collect sales taxes on purchases made by their residents. For years, shoppers have been able to buy products out of state, whether through catalog or online merchants like Amazon, without paying sales tax. But as KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, some states and brick-and-mortar businesses are saying that’s not fair, calling on online merchants to pay up.
He’s not the first GOP candidate this has happeed to, and he likely won’t be the last, but former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman lost his campaign manager this week. Does this signal a big shake-up in the election, or is it just one of the many ups and downs of running for President? 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.
Although the bipartisan “Gang of Six” proposal has been getting a lot of attention in Congress, Republican Utah Senator Mike Lee says there is no real plan from the group on the table. Instead, he continues to hope for the passage of “Cut, Cap and Balance,” which the Utah Legislature supported in a resolution earlier this week. KCPW’s Jeff Robinson asked Senator Lee if he would reject any proposal except for “Cut, Cap and Balance.”
Republican Utah Senator Mike Lee says he’s willing to support raising the debt ceiling… under three conditions. The first is mandated cuts in domestic discretionary spending for fiscal year 2012, which includes items like education, healthcare, housing and the environment, spending caps, and a balanced budget amendment. He says the Cut, Cap and Balance Act is a demonstration that Republicans are willing to address the issue.
Climate change. Nearby development. Native plants and animals being driven out. These are just a few of the threats to America’s national parks detailed in a recent report by the National Parks Conservation Association, called The State of America’s National Parks. We spoke with David Nimkin, Southwest Regional Director for the NPCA.
Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz continues to be a rising star in the GOP, getting more and more attention as he moves to closer to announcing a run against Utah Senator Orrin Hatch in 2012. We talked with Chaffetz about his political plans, the debt ceiling debate, Afghanistan and more.
Utah’s congressional delegation is derelict on immigration. That’s the exact message sent by an op-ed from Utah House Speaker Becky Lockhart that was recently published by the Daily Herald in Provo. Her opinion piece mentions all five of Utah’s federal Representatives and Senators by name, taking them to task for what she believes is an abdication of their responsibility to do something about immigration reform.
While the Utah legislature’s redistricting committee has been getting input from residents across the state, one Utahn who’s not hesitant to weigh in on the process is Democratic Congressman Jim Matheson. It’s widely believed the last Congressional redistricting a decade ago was a partisan gerrymander to make sure he couldn’t win re-election, and Matheson says he’s seen nothing that makes him believe this time will be any different.
Compared to recent years, it was a relatively pain free process this time as the Salt Lake City Council passed a new budget for 2012. And once again, property taxes won’t be going up. It’s a different story for fees however, with residents having to chip in a little extra at parking meters or for a business license.
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