Utah residents say education should be the state’s number one priority during the 2012 legislative session, according to an annual statewide poll released this morning at the Legislative Policy Summit at Zions Bank. And as KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, the majority of respondents also want to change Utah’s political caucus system.
An overview of Utah’s economic outlook in 2012 shows the state will likely feel the effects of the European debt crisis, but job growth is ahead of schedule and continues to outpace other states. KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports on what Utah’s leading economists are predicting for the coming year.
At the end of this month, any Utah business that offers light touch or stroking of the body as a service without a massage license could be in violation of state law. As KCPW’s Whittney Evans, the new rule enacted by the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing broadens the term “massage,” which some local business owners say goes too far.
The newest lawmaker to join the Utah Senate is no stranger to GOP politics in the state. This week, former Utah Republican Party Vice-Chair Todd Weiler was selected by delegates in Davis County to replace former Senator Dan Liljenquist, who resigned to launch a campaign against Orrin Hatch.
While this winter’s mild weather hasn’t been kind to skiers, it’s definitely helping out Utah’s largest transportation project. Utah Department of Transportation spokeswoman Tania Mashburn says workers on the I-15 CORE Project, which stretches from Lehi to Spanish Fork, have been able to do a lot of construction that otherwise would have to wait until later in the year.
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.
With the 2012 legislative session drawing closer, Utah lawmakers are pushing up their sleeves to tackle the state’s liquor troubles. The Democrat-led Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Review Committee held a Twitter town hall Thursday to solicit public input on what changes should be made to the DABC.
The Utah Democratic party is asking Republicans to prove they’ll put public education at the top of the list this year. The House Republican Caucus met yesterday to outline their priorities for the 2012 legislative session, which included education, reducing state debt and drawing the line on taxes. As KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, Democrats say they hope House Republicans will focus on education this session, but their track record leads them to believe otherwise.
Utah’s 2012 gubernatorial race could soon get its first Democratic candidate. Peter Cooke, a retired army general and businessman, says he is seriously considering taking on the job.
State Senator Ben McAdams has been a rising star in the Utah Democratic Party. The senior adviser to Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker was chosen by his party to fill a vacancy in the Utah Senate starting in 2010, and since then, the young politician has made a name for himself by speaking out in his quiet but humorous style. Now, he’s running for Salt Lake County Mayor, hoping to succeed retiring incumbent Peter Corroon.
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