Utah Democrats have a new party chairman. Saturday, Jim Dabakis was chosen by delegates at the Democratic state convention, held at the Hilton in downtown Salt Lake City. Dabakis, who co-founded the Utah Pride Center and Equality Utah, is now the first openly gay leader of a statewide political party in Utah, and says he hopes to be more welcoming to LDS Utahns.
Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman was back in the Beehive State Friday, hoping to gather more support for the GOP nomination against his rival, Utah favorite Mitt Romney. KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports on what he had to say about Romney, and why he says he’s not too concerned about his low poll numbers in Utah.
Kyle LaMalfa is known on Salt Lake City’s west side for bringing a weekly farmers market to the community, the Peoples Market. Now, he hopes to be known as the next Salt Lake City councilman representing the neighborhood. We talked with LaMalfa about his background and what ideas he brings to the District 2 race as he competes against two other candidates.
Two years. That’s how long it could be before a single new bar opens anywhere in the entire state of Utah. Despite protests that the state’s strict liquor license quota system is impeding economic development, the Legislature won’t budge. And that’s likely to have an impact here in Utah’s capital city. We spoke with Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker about that, and how the federal debt ceiling crisis will affect our city.
“Stupid” is how Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz describes Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s plan to give President Obama the authority to raise the debt ceiling. But Senator Orrin Hatch isn’t so critical. The strategy would spare Republicans from having to reach a budget compromise with the President while still voicing their disapproval of raising the debt ceiling.
Utah Senator Orrin Hatch convened a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee at the Utah Capitol Thursday, where the message he and others brought was loud and clear. Governor Gary Herbert joined him and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour in declaring that the states could save Medicaid if the federal government would get out of the way. Hatch, the committee’s ranking Republican, plans to take their testimonies back to Washington as he continues to fight the Democrats’ health care reform law.
After years of controversy, Wal-Mart is hoping to get the “okay” to begin construction on a new supercenter this fall. The Salt Lake City Council is set to hear an appeal from the corporation at its meeting next Tuesday, but as KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports, the store says no matter what the outcome, they’re here to stay.
$124,000 is nothing to scoff at, especially in this economic climate. That’s how much Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz raised in campaign funds this past quarter. But when you stack it up against the $1.3 million that Senator Orrin Hatch raked in, it looks more like chump change. 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.
At more than 10,500, a new report from the Brookings Institution and Battelle says the Salt Lake City region ranks 50th out of 100 metropolitan areas for the number of clean jobs. But the sectors mentioned in the study, called “Sizing the Clean Economy,” include much more than green energy; for example, mass transit, waste management, and recycling. KCPW’s Jeff Robinson spoke with Mark Muro, Senior Fellow and Policy Director at the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program.
The attorney handling the case of a polygamous family seeking to decriminalize plural marriage in Utah filed suit Wednesday in federal court in Salt Lake City. As KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, it’s now up to the state to defend the law.
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