News Item: Sutherland Institute authored resolution urging Trump to overturn Bears Ears

Whelp...I know I am shocked, shocked I tell you.

Conservative think tank Sutherland Institute authored the resolution urging President Donald Trump to rescind the Bears Ears National Monument. Lawmakers fast-tracked the resolution through the first days of the 2017 Utah Legislature.

Link to full story. 

News Item: Gov. Herbert declares 'Donny and Marie Day' for Utah

This is your tax dollars at work.

Not only is the mid-July day Slurpee Day and Amazon Prime Day, but it’s now, at least for Utah, Donny and Marie Day.

Herbert’s declaration stated that “the Osmond family are respected and admired Utahns who have often exemplified the cultural values of our state on an international stage.”

Link to full story. 

News Item: Utah physicians: 'Safe' pollution levels still pose risk to elderly, unborn

But I thought the Leg wanted cleaner air...Wait...didn't I already say that? Gotta pretend to be family friendly I suppose.

On Wednesday, Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment shared its conclusions and concerns drawn from a pair of recent studies that found persistent health risks even when pollution levels are below EPA recommendations. The group concluded that between 1,000 and 2,000 Utahns may die annually as a result of air quality problems.
"We estimate that maybe 100 extra stillbirths here in Utah have been related to ozone exposure," said Dr. Kirtly Jones, a professor emeritus of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Utah.

Link to full story.

News Item: SLC revises building energy ordinance after legislators, Mormon church complain about public reporting

But I thought the Leg wanted cleaner air...and that the LDS Church stayed out of politics in Utah...

Salt Lake City officials have toned down plans to tune up energy-inefficient buildings after pressure from legislators, business leaders and a real estate arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Both versions of the proposal have had council support, but some members privately felt in January that it wasn't worth risking the ire of influential developers and business owners by debating it during a state legislative session.

Indeed, Sustainability Department Director Vicki Bennett was approached by two legislators — House Majority Leader Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, and Rep. Mike Schultz, R-Hooper — who fit that bill. City Creek said the ordinance shouldn't apply to places of worship and tax-exempt buildings, and it, too, got its wish.

Link to full story.

News Item: National booze group targets Utah governor and other ‘impaired’ older drivers to show ‘how silly’ Utah’s strict DUI law is

I mean, to be fair, I am willing to bet most of these people have never had a drink in their life; they are probably featherweights. The perfect group to make alcohol policy.

A national alcohol lobbying group continues its assault on Utah's strict, new drunken-driving law, this time with a full-page newspaper advertisement suggesting that senior citizens — including Gov. Gary Herbert and some state lawmakers — are a bigger risk than consumers who have had a cocktail before getting behind the wheel.
"Our point is to illustrate how silly the law is," Sarah Longwell, ABI's managing director said in a telephone interview. "It's absurd that you would keep people over 65 from driving and it's absurd that a person who has had one drink and a low level of impairment would be put in jail."
"Our point is to illustrate how silly the law is," Sarah Longwell, ABI's managing director said in a telephone interview. "It's absurd that you would keep people over 65 from driving and it's absurd that a person who has had one drink and a low level of impairment would be put in jail."

Link to full story.

News Item: Rod Decker Calls it a Day

Enough said - a fantastic (and slightly shout-ie) journalist is going to call it a day.

Link to original image.

News Item: Utah’s Mike Lee compares Obamacare to car insurance in online town hall discussing health care bill

The Difference Is, You Won't Die If You Can't Afford Car Insurance

"Imagine if car insurance companies were required to charge everyone the same car insurance rate regardless of how likely they were to get into an accident," [Lee] said. "Those of you who are older and perhaps have good driving records — no tickets, no accidents — would be forced to pay higher insurance premiums. You'd, in effect, be subsidizing younger and riskier drivers while not receiving a reward for your safe driving. This is sort of like what's happening under Obamacare."

With the current health care system, the senator said, healthy, middle-class families are burdened with the costs of covering sicker individuals who need more care. His proposal would instead lump those with pre-existing conditions and specialized needs into a segregated risk pool while freeing up other individuals to select less expensive plans.

Link to Full Story 

Huh, Who Would Have Seen That One Coming? Oh, Right...

News Item: 31 cases reported to Utah Poison Control since Utah Lake bloom returned

The Utah Poison Control Center has reported receiving 31 calls since the algal bloom reappeared on Utah Lake last month, according to an update on the lake’s condition from the Utah Department of Environmental Quality.

About 500 people called poison control last year with concerns about exposure to the algal bloom.

Reminder: Utah Lake still open for boating, but people and pets should beware toxic algae in certain areas

I Am Sure This Will Go Over Really Well...

News Item: Utah seeks to cap costs, sign-ups in limited Medicaid plan

Utah and other Republican states are proposing to cut costs in the state’s Medicaid plan to cover the poor by requiring some participants to have jobs and limiting them to five years of coverage.

The state has also proposed capping the number of people covered by the program at 25,000 and stopping their coverage after five years. Officials also want to require a $25 copay for emergency-room visits that aren’t true emergencies.

Micah Vorwaller, a policy analyst with the Utah Health Policy Project, a nonprofit advocacy group promoting affordable health care, said a lifetime limit can be a problem for the homeless and the poor because it can sometimes take people longer than five years to get back on their feet.

And The Results Were... (Great Reporting Dez News)

News Item: More than 400,000 comment on Bears Ears Monument

About 430,000 comments on the Interior Department's website mention Bears Ears, including submissions compiled by conservation groups that include thousands of individual comments in one submission.