KCYN-KCPX News 21 June 2012  Thursday


>>Utah Lawmakers Add 90 Restaurant Liquor Licenses

(Salt Lake City, UT) -- Lawmakers voted in a special session Wednesday to add 90 new restaurant liquor licenses and strengthen the state's efforts to curb both underage drinking and drunk driving. HB4001 which also delays a law set to take effect July 1 that permits the private sale of liquor licenses, had only minimal opposition in the House and Senate. It now goes to Governor Gary Herbert for his action.

>>Hot Temps, High Fire Danger Bring Restrictions

(Salt Lake City, UT) -- High fire danger, the approach of triple-digit temperatures and the coming Independence Day celebration is prompting Utah County and Salt Lake City to issue fireworks and shooting restrictions this week. Some vendors. including Smith's Food and Drug, are cutting back on the sale of aerial fireworks, though most types will be available through the holiday period. Some areas will also have restrictions on aerial fireworks.

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Utah is assembling a team of legal experts to plan its potential court battle for control of federal lands in the state, the governor’s top public lands adviser told lawmakers Wednesday.
The Herbert administration is assembling a round table of the “best and brightest” to discuss legal strategy and will seek to get other states on board with similar efforts, Public Lands Policy Coordination Office Director Kathleen Clarke told the Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Interim Committee.
The result could be an effort to sway Congress to cede lands before a court battle, and Clarke said some of the state’s team will travel to Washington next week to address the Congressional Western Caucus.
“Ultimately,” she said, “we may find that, rather than a legal solution, we will be seeking a political solution.”
The Legislature previously passed HB148, directing the federal government to hand over most lands, excluding national parks, by the end of 2014 or face a lawsuit.
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San Juan County will be mostly “revenue neutral” for the coming tax year, resulting in a ten percent decrease in property tax rates. Commissioners adopted the rate at their June 18 meeting.
For a homeowner with a house valued at $150,000, the rate change amounts to a $35 decrease in property taxes paid to county entities, from $336 to $301.
The owner of a $150,000 business would see the San Juan County tax bill drop by $64, from $612 to $548.
With the decision, Commissioners absorbed a $100 million increase in county property values into the prior year’s collections. Previously, taxing entities have most often accepted the “certified rate”, which results in increased revenue when property values are growing. The certified rate provides the same amount of tax revenue from the prior year’s properties, plus additional revenue from new growth.
A completely revenue neutral rate would have resulted in a 13.2 percent decrease in the tax rate. However, Commissioner Bruce Adams sought a way to cover increases in employee costs.
Moab City Council action on a big box planning ordinance effecting parking opens the door to a big box store development in a newly annexed area of south Moab. A private development company the owns land adjacent to the proposed new UtahState University Moab Campus west of Mill creek and South highway 191, says it has several box store’s interested. Names tossed about in the rumor mill include Walmart, Target, Kohls and another brand.
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>>Thousands Of Utahns Vote Early For Primary

(Undated) -- More than 55-thousand Utahns have already cast their ballots in this year's primary election, even though it does not officially occur until next Tuesday. And those wishing to vote early may still do so through Friday. State officials report that through Tuesday, three-point-seven percent of the registered voters in the state had cast early ballots. Most early voters cast ballots by mail, but others voted early at designed polling places.

>>Mother Charged In Abduction From West Valley School

(Salt Lake City, UT) -- Criminal charges are filed against a woman who police say abducted her daughter from an elementary school in March. Venus Athena Barker was charged Wednesday in West Valley Justice Court with custodial interference and criminal trespass on school property, both class B misdemeanors. An AMBER Alert was issued March 9th after Aliyah Kay Crowder was taken from Silver Hills Elementary School while she was waiting in the cafeteria line.

>>Apple Valley Vote To Disincorporate Fails

(Apple Valley, UT) -- A vote to disincorporate Apple Valley has failed, preventing a dissolution of the tiny southern Utah town. The vote, held Tuesday for about 370 registered voters, came back with 115 in favor of dissolution and 167 against. Citizens of Apple Valley asked for a disincorporation vote in April, citing a lack of city services, including a reliable water system and a fire department.

>>Man Threatens To Kill Wife Unless She Stopped Divorce

(Salt Lake City, UT) -- A 47-year-old West Valley City man is in jail after police say he held a gun to his wife's head and threatened to kill her unless she stopped divorce proceedings against him. On Saturday, Jose Luis Cruz-Mendoza went into his wife's bedroom and pointed a gun to her head. Police later determined the weapon was an airsoft gun. She called police and he was arrested and charged with aggravated assault. He is in Salt Lake County Jail on 25-thousand-dollars bail.

>>Taylorsville Joins UPD, Salt Lake Valley Fire District

(Taylorsville, UT) -- Taylorsville is joining the Unified Police Department and the Salt Lake Valley Fire District. The city council voted for those public safety moves yesterday when it approved the city's budtet for the coming fiscal year. Joining the Fire District will add at least nine firefighters and medical personnel, along with construction of a new fire station and rebuilding an existing fire house. Taylorsville's contract with the UPD begins July 1st and police officers now working for the city will keep their jobs.

>>Target Shooters Cause 19 Utah Wildfires

(Undated) -- This year is sharping up to be a record-setter for wildfires caused by firearms. Authorities say target shooters have started 19 wildrires so far this year, compared to 20 two years ago and 24 last year. The current wildfire season will last about three more months. State fire marshal Brent Halladay says the big difference, and danger, is how dry this year has been. In most years, firearm-caused fires start showing up in May or June and fade out in late September, but this year wildfires caused by firearms began flaring in February.

>>Intermountain Health Care Shows Off New Helicopters

(Undated) -- Intermountain Healthcare's newest medical equipment will do 190-miles-per-hour. IHC showed off one of its new Life Flight helicopters yesterday, and officials say the new helos are lifesavers. Nurse practioner Bill Duehlmeier told the "Salt Lake Tribune" the aircraft's speed is a real plus. Duehlmeier says, "Seconds count. That first 60 minutes are critical." Trauma specialists say the first 60 minutes after someone is seriously injured are key in saving a patient's life.
>>New U. President Launching State Tour

(Undated) -- University of Utah president David Pershing is following through on a promise he made when he was hired last winter. Next week Pershing will begin a tour of the state so he can get a better idea of how the U. can do better at addressing Utah's needs. Pershing's Great Red Road Trip rolls out Monday with a visit to Dixie State College in St. George, followed by stops in Cedar City on Tuesday, Milford, Beaver and Richfield on Wednesday, and Ephraim and Salina on Thursday. The first week in July Pershing's bus will visit eastern Utah. He plans day trips to northern Utah cities and towns later this summer.

>>West Valley City, Tooele, Taylorsville Celebrate With Festivals

(Undated) -- A pair of west valley cities and one a little farther west kick off celebrations with festivals this week. West Valley City's WestFest begins today and runs through Sunday, marking the city's incorporation on July 1st, 1980. The Tooele Arts Festival returns after a one-year break, getting under way tomorrow and continuing through Sunday. Taylorsville Dayzz runs June 28th through the 30 to commemorate the community's birthday of July 1st, 1996. Admission to all three events is free.