Utah lawmakers are spending several hours today in budget meetings as they prepare for the legislative session, which begins Monday. Republicans foresee at least a 7 percent cut across the board, sharply differing from Governor Gary Herbert’s more optimistic budget proposal.
A new study released by the Williams Institute at UCLA quantifies the impact of discrimination on LGBT Utah residents. Using data from an Equality Utah survey, it reports that more than 40 percent of gay Utahns say they’ve been denied a job, not promoted, or fired for their sexual orientation, while two-thirds of transgender Utahns say the same because of their gender identity.
Clean air advocates say Utahns should be able to use public transportation for free on days when the air quality is unhealthy, but transit officials worry about whether it will work and who would cover the cost. KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports.
Small business owners joined Utah Democratic Party leaders yesterday in Salt Lake City to make one last appeal to the lawmakers who are likely to vote to repeal the health care reform law passed last March. KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports.
Intermountain Healthcare says the rising number of premature, elective C-sections is costing the nation billions in medical expenses and putting mothers and their babies at risk. For the past 10 years, the Intermountain Women and Newborns Clinical Program has driven down the number of premature C-sections in Utah by encouraging physicians to reconsider inducing birth before 39 weeks.
Former State Representative Craig Frank made his case to fellow lawmakers this afternoon that he is still a Utah legislator. He was recently disqualified from office when he discovered he doesn’t live inside his own district in Utah County.
A bill likely to be debated during this year’s legislative session could change the way condos and housing co-ops do business in the Beehive State. If passed, it would provide more oversight over homeowners associations and offer government help to resolve disputes. KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports.
Some Utahns say they are being denied the right to live independently. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Utah’s Division of Services for People with Disabilities after a complaint that disabled Utahns are being forced to move into a nursing home in order to receive state services.
Downtown Salt Lake City Councilman Luke Garrott is not afraid to be the lone voice of opposition on the council. When others are willing to say yes to a controversial plan or initiative, he often says no. We asked Garrott what defines his politics and his plans for the future.
The State Board of Education has apparently earned the wrath of some Republican state lawmakers by adopting the Common Core Standards. It’s an initiative developed by several states to ensure students are learning language arts and math at the level they should be.
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