We’re experiencing a case of deja vu at the legislature.** Two years ago, former Uintah County Representative, John Mathis, proposed HB76, a bill that would allow anyone who legally owned a gun in Utah, to carry that weapon concealed. Regardless of whether or not they had a concealed carry permit. The bill was opposed by the
This is Maryann Martindale of the Alliance for a Better UTAH and welcome to this week’s edition of the Better UTAH Beat. Petulant is a word English inherited from the French. The word is used to describe a person who is childish, sulky, or bad-tempered. Lately it’s being tossed around a lot to describe Utah’s
It’s not that we’re attention starved in Utah. In fact, we frequently get kudos for our stunning natural habitat, our gainfully employed workforce, and our attractiveness to technology companies. But for some state legislators it isn’t enough to receive accolades for our varied accomplishments, we need attention for our crazy moments, too. Senator Aaron Osmond’s
Tomorrow the Legislature’s Government Operations Committee will consider a bipartisan proposal that would add much-needed limits to campaign contributions in Utah. Sponsored by Representative Kraig Powell, a Republican from Heber City, and Representative Brian King, a Democrat from Salt Lake City, the bill would provide reform to Utah’s currently broken campaign finance system. In fact,
There’s now no question that Americans–and that includes Utahns–are fast losing confidence in their elected leaders. A poll released last month by Gallup placed Congress at the bottom of a list of 16 public institutions based on how much confidence Americans have in them. Congress came in last with only 10 percent of respondents expressing
Independence Day has been an important American Holiday for hundreds of years. But it didn’t get really interesting as a federal holiday until 1826, the Jubilee year of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. That 50 year celebration was accentuated for the young nation by the deaths, within hours of each other, of two
Civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was fond of saying, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” It’s not clear what side of the marriage equality debates King would be on today. However, when King articulated his thoughts on the moral universe, his own position–that black and
The United States has done well marketing itself as a technological and industrial powerhouse. So well, in fact, that it would probably be surprising for many Americans to learn the U.S. is still the largest producer of much of the world’s food crops. U.S. production of corn accounts for an astounding 32 percent of the
It was hard to read the editorial pages of either of Utah’s two daily papers last week without seeing a glowing reference to a recently released report by the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. The report, titled “Rich States, Poor States,” places Utah at the top of the economic heap. According to its own
The news the last few weeks has been aflutter with talk of scandals: Benghazi, IRS, and AP phone records. Republicans are mad, Democrats are mad, journalists (perhaps rightly so) are mad. But Republicans are especially mad. And the degree to which they will protest is reaching new heights. Benghazi has been called “the most egregious
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