Andrea Smardon

The Salt Lake Chamber is trying to help Utah businesses rein in their healthcare costs.  They released their online guide Thursday called an Employer’s Tool Box.

Rich McKeown is chair of the Salt Lake Chamber’s Health Reform task force.   He told KUER the Employer’s Tool Box helps businesses exercise some degree of control over healthcare costs. 

In his concession speech, Governor Mitt Romney prayed that the president will be successful in guiding the nation.  Shortly after that, LDS Church leaders invited Americans  - whatever their political persuasion - to pray for the President and the new Congress.  Now LDS Democrats are calling for a day of prayer.  Caucus chair Steve Olsen told KUER the prayers are directed at leaders on both sides of the aisle. 

Utah’s new air pollution alert system has some health advocacy groups concerned.  Under the new system announced Monday by the Utah Division of Air Quality, there will be fewer days that will trigger a Red Air Action alert.  Red Air days are considered to be unhealthy for everyone.  In the current system, they are triggered when PM2.5 levels are at 35 micrograms per cubic meter.  The new system raises the threshold to 55. 

The Utah Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a Florida father who did not want his daughter put up for adoption here.  The Court found that Utah’s adoption law was "constitutionally defective" in this case.  

City Creek Center is hosting its first ever Black Friday.  No one is quite sure how much money the Salt Lake City shopping center will bring in this holiday, but expectations are high.

Linda Wardell is General Manager of City Creek Center.  When asked about expectations for the holidays, she laughed. 

“It’s a great question,” said Wardell, “We still have a lot of first-time visitors to City Creek Center.  That does make it unique for us, and a bit daunting for us when we start thinking about our first time holiday season.”

Governor Gary Herbert sent a letter Monday morning to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.  The letter declares the Governor’s intentions to continue to pursue Utah’s state-based health insurance exchange – known as Avenue H, rather than a federally-designed exchange.  But the letter also says that this decision could change as the state receives more information. 

Enclosed with Governor Gary Herbert’s letter is a list of top ten unanswered questions about federal exchanges. 

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar is expected to make an appearance just south of Utah’s border at Glen Canyon Dam Monday.  Salazar will be there to trigger a controlled flood from Utah’s Lake Powell into Arizona’s Glen and Grand Canyons, the first high-flow release conducted at that dam since 2008. 

Governor Gary Herbert plans to send a letter to the US Department of Health and Human Services Friday declaring the state’s intentions on its health insurance exchange. Up until now, the Governor’s Office has not said whether the state will update its existing exchange, Avenue H, to meet requirements of the Affordable Care Act - or let the feds create their own exchange in the state. But Utah’s Health Reform Implementation Coordinator Norman Thurston says the letter doesn’t commit the state to anything.

Circling the Wagons held its 2nd annual conference over the weekend for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Mormons in Salt Lake City.  The event is intended to be a supportive place for LGBT Mormons and their families, but some were offended by some of the invited speakers, and chose not to attend.

The controversy centered around speaker Josh Weed, a family therapist from Seattle.  He’s an out gay man, and devout Mormon, who says he is happily married to his wife.   Circling the Wagons organizer Anne Peffer said she knew inviting Weed to speak would upset some. 

Cardiology researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute have found that 75 percent of patients taking two common blood-thinning drugs may be receiving the wrong dosage levels.  The Utah researchers presented their findings today (TUES) at an American Heart Association conference in Los Angeles. 

Utah Governor

Republican Gary Herbert secured his second term in office last night, breezing past Democrat Peter Cooke by more than 36,000 votes.

Just before 11 pm, General Peter Cooke arrived unexpectedly at GOP headquarters to congratulate Governor Gary Herbert on his win. Cooke said he tried calling the governor first but he didn’t pick up. Cooke later returned to the Democratic headquarters to concede, saying Utahns need to continue fighting for education.

Thanks to early voting and absentee ballots, 169,000 people have already cast ballots in Utah - or about 13 percent of registered voters. Those are the latest numbers on Friday afternoon from Justin Lee, Elections Specialist for the Lieutenant Governor’s office.  At this rate, Lee said, early voting may make up half of all ballots in the state.

Utah has three independent candidates running for Congress this election.  But most voters haven’t seen a single ad or billboard about their campaigns.  For a candidate with no funds or party support, it’s an uphill battle to get a message out.  This story looks at what it means to be an independent candidate in Utah.

Utah businesses interested in expanding their global sales got some help Monday at an International Trade Summit at the Marriott in downtown Salt Lake City.  The conference  - hosted by the Governors Office of Economic Development - gave local business people a chance to meet the state’s Foreign Trade Representatives.  Ariel Briggs is Coordinator for the State Trade and Export Promotion Program.  

A new national survey reveals the most important issues to small business owners in this year’s election.  Utah is in line with national trends - rating the economy as the most important issue.  But the Beehive state parts ways with the rest of the country on which Presidential candidate is a better supporter of small businesses. 

George Washington University and Thumbtack.com surveyed more than 6000 small businesses across the country. 

Democrat Jay Seegmiller came out with an attack Thursday on his Republican opponent for the 2nd Congressional District Chris Stewart.  Seegmiller called Stewart a hypocrite for accepting federal stimulus dollars and for refusing an invitation to debate. 

Seegmiller squinted into the sun as he stood in front the State Capitol building, where he once served as Representative.  He told reporters that it was here he learned that if you say something, you better mean it, or someone will call you out on it.  

The YWCA kicked off their Week Without Violence Monday by announcing a $900,000 grant from the US Department of Justice to expand domestic violence services in the Salt Lake area. 

The Salt Lake Area Family Justice Center moved into its new home at the downtown YWCA in June this year.  At that time, the city police department started housing six detectives there. 

“We’re just getting started in terms of the center,” said Director Asha Parekh, “There’s so much more work to do in this area.  I think we’re just scratching the surface of things that we can do as a community.”

A new study shows that efficiency programs could save Utah residents and businesses 1.7 billion dollars by 2020.  A group of energy experts gathered at the state Capitol last week to present their findings to state officials and representatives from the clean energy community. 

The long drawn out legal challenge over Utah’s immigration enforcement law House Bill 497 is nearing its end.  US District Court Judge Clark Waddoups could rule on the so-called “show me your papers law” any day now.  Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff gave an update at a meeting of the state’s Commission on Immigration and Migration Wednesday.

Utah lawmakers will be tackling the issue of child poverty in the next legislative session.  Republican Senator Stuart Reid of Ogden announced Tuesday the formation of a council which plans to come up with ideas for legislation that will help pull children out of a cycle of dependence on government assistance.   Reid made the announcement at a conference organized by the nonprofit advocacy organization Voices for Utah Children. 

Rocky Mountain Power plans to offer 50 million dollars of incentives for consumers and businesses who install solar power panels over the next five years.  The Public Service Commission of Utah has approved the utility company’s request for a program that will support 60 Megawatts of new solar energy. 

Glenn Ricart first came to Utah to be Chief Technology Officer for Novell.  Today he holds the same title for US Ignite, a federal initiative designed to promote the development of applications and services for ultra-fast networks.  Ricart is now spreading the word about the Mozilla Ignite Challenge, which has $485,000 available to support winning proposals.

Republican candidate for Utah’s 2nd Congressional District Chris Stewart was endorsed Friday by the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). 

Stewart staged his press conference at Utah Metal Works – a small business that repurposes scrap materials.  Behind him, a mini excavator fed a pile of insulated wires into a machine that chops them into small pieces, so the valuable copper can be separated.  Stewart told KUER that as a small business owner, he understands what businesses like Utah Metal Works need to thrive. 

Utah’s Health Exchange has a new name, along with a new website.  State leaders say they want to distance themselves from the Affordable Care Act.  Starting Thursday, the program which connects small businesses with health insurance carriers will be called Avenue H. 

The number of whooping cough cases in Utah has reached a level not seen for more than 60 years.  The State Department of Health says there have been 851 cases of pertussis reported so far this year.  The number of people with the bacterial disease already exceeds the total in 2006 when the last notable outbreak occurred.  Health experts don’t know why Utah and the nation are seeing the worst outbreak of the disease in decades.