Access Utah

HB 147, sponsored by Rep. Lowry Snow, R-St. George, which would have repealed the death penalty in Utah and replaced it with a possible sentence of 45 years to life, was defeated in committee. The debate will go on, however, today on Access Utah.

Since U. S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement last month, speculation about his replacement has ramped up.

Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, is sponsoring HB98 which would create a third-degree felony offense of sexual conduct without affirmative consent. Current Utah law defines sexual abuse as when “the victim expresses lack of consent through words or conduct.”

Many people have not returned to the workforce following the height of the Covid pandemic. Higher-than-usual numbers of employees have quit in some areas.

The New York Times reports that “Russian troops are encircling Ukraine from three sides. In Washington and Brussels, there are warnings of crushing sanctions if Vladimir V. Putin orders an invasion. Embassy families — both American and Russian — are being evacuated from Kyiv.” We will be talking with Anna Pechenkina, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Utah State University.

Cache County Executive David Zook joins us to talk about public health, transportation, homelessness, mental health, the economy, immigration, COVID and other issues.

The Times reports that mink farms (some of them in Utah) threaten to become a source of new coronavirus variants — and an object lesson in how ‘spillback’ can make deadly diseases even deadlier. Today we’ll talk with David Quammen about spillover, spillback, Coronavirus and future viruses.

How do we heal from the traumas of the past, without forgetting the events that happened? Today on Access Utah we explore the Hyrum City Museum's newest exhibit and ongoing events commemorating the 159th anniversary of the US Army’s massacre of Shoshone at Boa Ogoi.

Every ten years, following the United States’ release of the Census report, we take to the drawing board and redefine district lines in order to more appropriately represent U.S. citizens in the House of Representatives. On this episode, we discuss what the new maps mean for Utah.