Big changes could be in store for one of Utah’s largest employers. Defense cuts and the recommendation of new Base Realignments and Closures have many worried for the future of Hill Air Force Base. KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports on what the state plans to do keep Hill up and running.
It was 61 years ago today that nuclear testing began on the Nevada Test Site, as many residents of Salt Lake Cityand more rural areas like Kane County know too well. That’s why local leaders are marking a National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Nuclear Weapons Testing, which was designated by the U.S. Senate, to commemorate the lives of downwinders, those who were exposed to the radiation. Local resident Mary Dickson is one of them.
President Obama’s State of the Union address last night touched on some themes that could please some of Utah’s elected officials in Washington, like expanding domestic energy access. But do they think he has the track record to get it done? KCPW’s Jeff Robinson talked with one of them, Democratic Congressman Jim Matheson, to get his reaction to the address last night.
The Executive Director of Utah’s Department of Workforce Services says the state and federal governments need to take a closer look at work exemptions for people who receive public assistance because incompatible policies and expectations do more to discourage work than support it. But as KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, one national advocate for government assistance says not so fast.
Conservationists, tourism-dependent businesses and some farmers, ranchers and recreationists are applauding the Interior Department’s decision to adopt a 20-year moratorium on new uranium mining claims on a million acres of public lands near Grand Canyon National Park. But it’s left many Utah lawmakers on the federal and state level furious.
After months of speculation that he would run, former Republican Utah Senator Dan Liljenquist formally announced Wednesday that he will challenge incumbent U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch. KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports on his decision to enter the race and how the Hatch campaign is reacting.
Another state lawmaker is pushing to eliminate daylight saving time in Utah. Republican Representative Jim Nielson of Bountiful has introduced a bill to exempt Utah from the federal government’s time change, where clocks are moved forward an hour in the spring so that afternoons have more daylight, and moved back in the fall. As KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, Nielson says the bi-annual adjustment isn’t right for Utah and one researcher says he might be right.
U.S. Housing and Urban Development announced today it would renew funding for homeless programs across the nation, including more than $5 million for fifty programs in Utah. The funding is intended to keep them operating through 2012 as part of the Obama administrations efforts to prevent and end homelessness.
Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker testified this morning before a congressional subcommittee against a proposal to sell a parcel of national forest land, paving the way for a ski lift between the Canyons and Solitude Mountain Resort. As KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, Becker told the panel it’s the city’s responsibility to make sure the project doesn’t bypass the environmental reviews and public participation that need to take place before the project is solidified.
Internet entrepreneur Pete Ashdown is once again venturing into politics. The founder and CEO of Salt Lake City-based Internet service provider XMission will make another run for the U.S. Senate in 2012, hoping to tackle the influence of money in government.
