With performers like Flaming Lips, Belle and Sebastian and Grizzly Bear coming to the Twilight Concert series, the Salt Lake City Arts Council expects another banner year for the series. Casey Jarman  is the series director. He says schedule challenges make it rare for him to be able to land the good bands on the first try.

Members of the Boy Scouts Great Salt Lake Council met today to discuss how to vote on a proposal to partially lift a ban on gays in the organization.  A final vote on the plan will take place at a national meeting later this month. 

  Notch Peak is a 9600-foot mountain about 35 miles west of Delta, Utah.  From the top, it’s a two-thousand foot drop straight down – and that’s one reason why it’s become a favorite spot for BASE jumping – jumping off the cliff with wing suits and parachutes.  There have been two fatalities there in the past year, one just ten days ago.

The Salt Lake City Council makes a decision about the Sugar House streetcar route, Senator Orrin Hatch files 24 amendments to the comprehensive immigration bill, and a community group protests a plan to build a freeway in West Davis County.

In a four-to-three decision the Salt Lake City council adopted the Sugar House Streetcar alignment recommended by a consulting firm the city hired to study the project. In other words, the second phase of the streetcar will be routed north on 1100 east despite fierce opposition. But members of the council who favor that route say it’s in the best interest of the city as a whole to move forward.

Sugar House resident Mark Unruh says he doesn’t understand the council’s decision.

  A coalition of community and environmental groups is asking the Utah Department of Transportation to reconsider building a new freeway along the west side of Davis County.  Their so-called "Shared Solution" asks U-DOT to study improving east-west roads and walkable communities as an alternative.

Community activist Lori Kalt wants to avoid a new freeway cutting through her neighborhood on the west side of Farmington.

Senator Orrin Hatch on Tuesday filed 24 amendments to the comprehensive immigration bill put forward by a group of Senators known as the Gang of 8. Hatch’s amendments focus on law enforcement, high-skilled work, health benefits, and back taxes. 

Speaking in Salt Lake City last week, Hatch told KUER the immigration bill would substantially improve border security, but he said there’s more work to be done. 

Federal budget cuts impact medical research at the University of Utah, Governor Herbert appoints a new UDOT director, and last year’s health record data breach will cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars.

The University of Utah expects to lose 19 million dollars of its medical research budget as a result of sequestration. KUER looks at how that loss will impact the research, industry, and health of the state. 

In the Genetics building, on the wall of cardiologist Dean Li’s lab is a map of North and South Korea. He uses it as inspiration for a pair of graduate students. North Korea, in this case, represents cancer. 

A new report shows that last year’s data breach of Utah health records was a costly mistake with far-reaching consequences. An independent analysis by Javelin Strategy & Research predicts that the total amount of fraud perpetrated could approach $406 million in costs. 

After a nationwide search Governor Gary Herbert has appointed Carlos Braceras as the new director of the Utah Department of Transportation.

Braceras has worked for UDOT for almost 27 years and until today’s appointment had spent the past 12 as UDOT’s deputy director working directly under former director, John Njord. Braceras says as the new head of UDOT one of his main focuses will be to create better relationships with local communities.

When Rabbi Joshua Aaronson arrived in Utah eleven years ago, Temple Har Shalom was a small Reform Jewish congregation meeting in rented space in Park City. Today, it’s in a beautiful new building with three times the attendance and a vacancy to fill. Rabbi Aaronson is moving on to Temple Judea in a suburb of Los Angeles – and leaving behind a lot of people who will miss him.

Governor Herbert declares May “Clean Air Month,” Utah hospitals rank high in stroke treatment, and Kennecott Utah Copper begins laying off workers.

"You can sit in your house, and feel like everything goes on around you. Or you can be a part of something bigger and much, much better. Now you're a family."

GiveReceiveFAMILY from KUER 90.1 on Vimeo.

"As you can tell, my voice is quite flat, kind of emotionless. I have Asperger's..."

KUER GIVE/RECEIVE: 'THEORY OF THE MIND' from KUER 90.1 on Vimeo.

Governor Gary Herbert demonstrated three simple things Utahns can do to help lower harmful emissions as he kicked off Clean Air Month at a house across the street from the State Capitol today.

Governor Herbert says Utahns aren’t always aware of the simple ways we can help clean up the air but gave these three tips while declaring May Clean Air Month. One could update older fuel storage containers, use paints with low amounts of volatile organic compounds, and replace gas powered yard equipment with cleaner alternatives.

Senator Orrin Hatch spoke about immigration reform in Salt Lake City Wednesday at a Zions Bank client event. He praised the 844-page comprehensive legislation put forward by the group of Senators known as the Gang of 8, but stopped short of supporting it. 

Senator Mike Lee speaks out against the common core education standards, the opening of Willard Bay state park could be delayed even more, and animal rights activists celebrate a victory in a case dealing with Utah’s so called “ag-gag” law.

  Chevron had a setback this week when its pipeline near Willard Bay State Park failed a pressure test.  Repair work will have to continue before the pipeline can go back into full operation.

More than 20,000 gallons of diesel fuel spilled from the pipeline on March 18th.  Willard Bay’s North Marina has been closed since then.  Fred Hayes, the director of Utah’s Division of State Parks, says it could take longer than planned to re-open the beach and campgrounds.

Police officer’s shoot a man inside the West Valley City Public Safety building, Salt Lake City encourages bicycle commuting, and the search continues for a missing fisherman at the Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

A unique medical technology company relocates to Salt Lake City, Senator Orrin Hatch says he’s ready to reform immigration, and state legislators plan to reintroduce a couple of defeated gun bills.

A pediatric medical device company has relocated from Silicon Valley to Salt Lake City. It’s called Fixes 4 Kids, and it recently launched its first device, designed to improve how elbow fractures are treated in children.

Once upon a time, a broken arm meant a bulky white cast covered in classmates signatures. But in the future, it will be a sleek, black customized orthosis. 

  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is endorsing a proposed policy change by the Boy Scouts of America that would let young gay men participate as members, but would still exclude gay adults from leadership positions. The current policy excludes both gay adults and youth.

  Kennecott Utah Copper is making plans to get the Bingham Canyon mine back in operation after a huge landslide two weeks ago.  Company spokesperson Kyle Bennett says they have a 40-day plan to look at containing costs but also keeping the ore moving to the smelting and refining facilities.

Utah releases its final plan for protecting sage grouse, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker says the budget can be tightened even more, and Provo finalizes the deal to sell its fiber-optic network to Google.

  The state of Utah has released the final version of its plan for protecting the greater sage grouse.  The plan designates 11 Sage Grouse Management Areas stretching from Rich County to Kane County and outlines goals for improving existing habitat and protecting the birds from threats such as energy development, predators and wildfire.

The public turns out in droves to discuss the Sugar House Streetcar, Great Salt Lake Minerals is scaling back their expansion plans, and the Medicaid Community Workgroup meets at the capitol for the first time.

Most Salt Lake City residents and local businesses in Sugar House do not like the streetcar alignment favored by Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker and a number of Salt Lake City council members.  At least that’s the takeaway from last night’s public hearing at city hall, where several hundred people shuffled in hoping to have a say in the project.

The question before the council is this: Should the second phase of the Sugar House Streetcar travel east up 2100 south or north along 1100 east.