Today on the show, we talked with State Rep. Kraig Powell of Heber City about his effort’s to open up caucus meetings in the Utah Legislature to the public, and interviewed Democratic Treasurer candidate Christopher Stout.
A closed-door meeting in late March of officials from several counties in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming, along with lobbyists for the oil shale industry, has raised questions about the connections between the industry and public officials. And those connections have been investigated by groups like the Checks and Balances Project, which calls itself a government and industry watchdog.
A new report by a local advocacy group says Medicaid spending is not going to cripple Utah’s budget, despite fears expressed by some state leaders. Allison Rowland is Director of Research and Budget at Voices for Utah Children.
Thousands of outdoor enthusiasts will be visiting Salt Lake City this week. What is expected to be the largest Outdoor Retailer Show in its history begins Wednesday, but as KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports, some visitors will be coming with a message for Utah’s political leaders.
Salt Lake City is seeing a large number of Latino candidates running for seats in state legislative races. A total of eight Latinos are running, and six of them are women. KCPW’s Charlotte Duren finds out what’s behind the push from the Latino community to get involved in local and statewide politics.
Depending on which person you ask, the American Legislative Exchange Council is a useful tool for state lawmakers to learn how to promote limited government and free markets, or a secretive, closed-door group where corporate lobbyists have premium access to politicians and get to write their legislation for them.
The Utah Department of Health is kicking off a dozen outreach meetings to provide help for those impacted by the Medicaid data breach in March, which compromised the Social Security numbers or other sensitive data of up to 780,000 people. Spokesman Tom Hudachko says over the next month, the health department will visit twelve communities, offering free workshops to anyone with questions about the incident.
Hoping to avert further contamination, Salt Lake City wants the federal Environmental Protection Agency to get more involved in investigating groundwater contaminated with the chemical PCE. The contamination at 700 South and 1600 East was first discovered in the 1990s. But a new report links it to more recent contamination found in surface water springs.
Democratic Congressional candidate Jay Seegmiller served one term in the Utah House of Representatives after defeating the House Speaker back in 2008, but fell to his GOP opponent in 2010, tough year for Utah Dems. We talked with him about his job creation plans and strategy for winning Utah’s 2nd congressional district.
Utah Governor Gary Herbert says the state has done everything it can to ban fireworks in the most dangerous places. Now, he says it’s up to individual cities and citizens to take precautions to make sure this year’s fireworks season is a safe one. KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports on what’s different about this year’s regulations.
Additional Programming Provided by
