(KCPW News) [Audio after break] West Valley Republican Sen. Daniel Thatcher’s SB103 would allow a judge to enhance the penalties someone faces for committing a crime if they target a victim based on any number of personal attributes including their race, religion, sexual orientation, ancestry, gender identity or ethnicity. Prosecutors say Utah’s current hate crimes…
(KCPW News) One way to reduce air pollution in Utah: get more people riding public transit. One way to get more people on trains and busses: make them free to ride. A measure to pay for 17 days of free transit days over the next 3 years cleared the Utah House of Representatives on Monday.…
Right now, you can’t drive a heavy truck, like a diesel semi, on the Legacy Parkway in Davis County. But the prohibition on heavy trucks for the road expires January 1, 2020. Many residents along the parkway were caught off guard by the news that big rigs could soon be rolling through their neighborhood, so…
Today on the program, two conversations pertaining to climate change. Tim DeChristopher is an activist who was arrested ten years ago for disrupting a BLM oil and gas lease auction. He served 21 months in prison for his act of civil disobedience. Despite years of public awareness campaigns, big strides in renewable energy, and activism…
(KCPW News) [AUDIO AFTER BREAK] If the Great Salt Lake dries up much more than it already has, the consequences could be devastating. To underscore that point, Rep. Timothy Hawkes (R-Centerville) points to other places where terminal lakes – meaning lakes with no natural drainage – have dried up significantly, or altogether. “Around the world…
Last week’s show featured a look at the largest inland port in North America, the CenterPoint Intermodal facility in Elwood, Illinois. This week, we turn our attention to the planned Utah Inland Port, which has been called “the largest economic development opportunity in the history of the state.” Proponents say it will bring jobs, economic…
(KCPW News) The Utah House of Representatives has endorsed a proposal to change the state constitution so that slavery is banned in all instances. House Joint Resolution 8, by Rep. Sandra Hollins (D – Salt Lake), targets a clause in the Utah constitution allowing slavery as a form of criminal punishment. Hollins told her fellow…
A bill to replace voter-approved Medicaid expansion moves forward despite a “no” vote from its House sponsor. After historic changes in San Juan County, freshman Utah Rep. Phil Lyman says it might be time for a portion of the county to split away. And lawmakers endorse deleting language from the Utah constitution allowing slavery as…
(KCPW News) Woods Cross Republican Sen. Todd Weiler’s SB119 meant to extend the ban on large trucks currently in place for the Legacy Parkway in Davis County. The original expiration date for that ban is January 1st of 2020. If the ban expires, it would end fifteen years of Legacy Parkway being a quieter alternative…
A recent article in The New Republic recounts the story of the development of North America’s largest inland port. The small town of Elwood, Illinois (pop. 2,200) expected huge returns when they built the project in the early 2000s – so much so that they offered big tax incentives to the port developer, and to…
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