Access Utah

The grid is everywhere, sending power to the light switch on the wall and water to the faucet in the kitchen. But is it essential? Must we depend on it and the corporate and government infrastructure behind it? Wednesday’s AU we’ll revisit our conversation, from August, with Nick Rosen, who has traveled the United States, spending time with all kinds of individuals and families striving to live their lives free from dependence on municipal power and amenities, and free from dependence on the government and its far-reaching tentacles.

The firing squad, discontinued in Utah in 2004, would return as a method of execution under a bill (HB11) which has passed Utah's House of Representatives. The sponsor, Rep. Paul Ray R-Clearfield, says (according to the Associated Press) that "a team of trained marksmen is faster and more humane than the drawn-out deaths that have occurred in botched lethal injections." NPR reports that manufacturers of the drugs used in lethal injection executions, under increasing pressure from critics of the practice, have ceased making the toxic chemicals. James Clark writing on Amnesty International USA's "Human Rights Now" blog says this bill makes Utah appear willing to do just about anything to continue executions.

As wildlife populations increase, so does the potential for human-wildlife conflicts, which can be seen in in economic losses, regulatory conflicts, and sometimes, physical encounters. Terry Messmer, Director of the Berryman Institute at USU, says that wildlife managers may need to change their traditional emphasis from sustaining or increasing wildlife populations to mitigating conflicts. On Monday's AU we'll talk about potential effects of listing the Sage-grouse as an endangered species and of delisting the wolf. We'll also consider the phenomenon of urban deer and the management of wild horses and burros. We'll ask you what you think about these issues and we'd also like to know if you've had an encounter with, say, a mountain lion or a bear. Joining the discussion today is Terry Messmer and Michael Wolfe, Emeritus professor of Wildlife Ecology and Management at Utah State University.

State Department of Corrections Executive Director Rollin Cook said Utah's "tough on crime approach" has been costly and has led to mass incarceration, overcrowded prisons and unacceptable recidivism rates. Rep. Eric Hutchings, R-Kearns, said his criminal justice reform bill (HB 348) will result in an "epic shift" in how the state treats offenders.

Every year about this time "Evening in Brazil" presents concerts in Salt Lake City and Logan; this year's concerts are on Thursday and Friday. And each year, we gather members of the musical group in UPR's studio C to enjoy some great Bossa Nova and Samba on Access Utah. Linda Ferreira Linford, Christopher Neale, Mike Christiansen & Eric Nelson will join us for Wednesday's AU and we hope you will too, beginning at 9:00 a.m.

This is an Encore Presentation of Access Utah,which originally aired in September 2014.

The Deseret News reports that opposing bills on Medicaid expansion have passed a state Senate committee. Sen. Allen Christensen says that his SB 153 would cover Utahns who earn up to 100% of the federal poverty level and who are medically frail. He says his plan would leave money available for other needy groups. Sen. Brian Shiozawa’ SB 164 would implement many elements of Governor Herbert’s Healthy Utah plan, which would help provide coverage for those who earn up to 138% of the federal poverty level. Sen. Shiozawa says that Sen. Christensen’s plan would not return enough Utah tax dollars from the federal government to the state.

Oil prices across the nation have dropped dramatically over the past few months. Economists have described the money that consumers are saving as a kind of tax break, but not everyone is seeing green. In a series of reports this month titled “The Costs of Oil,” UPR reporters Elaine Taylor, Justin Prather and Evan Hall have looked into how falling prices are affecting places like eastern Utah, where oil is a major industry.

Amity Shlaes is author of four New York Times bestsellers, The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression; The Forgotten Man: Graphic, an illustrated version of the same book drawn by Paul Rivoche; Coolidge, a biography of the thirtieth president; and The Greedy Hand: How Taxes Drive Americas Crazy. Shlaes chairs the board of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation.

Our guest for the hour on Wednesday's Access Utah is Jennifer Jacquet, author of the new book "Is Shame Necessary? New Uses for an Old Tool." Robert Sapolsky (author of Monkeyluv) says: "In the age of Anthony Weiner and Miley Cyrus, shame seems an antiquated concept-a quaint tool of conformity-obsessed collectivist societies, replete with scarlet letters and loss of face ..." Jacquet says that in recent years, we as consumers have sought to assuage our guilt about flawed social and environmental practices and policies by, for example, buying organic foods or fair-trade products. Unless nearly everyone participates, however, the impact of individual consumer consciousness is ineffective.