POSTED // Jan 28,2009 - The Legislature is in session—which means it’s time storm the Capitol. Take your pick of issues this week, starting with Utah’s homeless. Hell, it doesn’t hurt to bank a little karma by educating yourself about the life and times of those less fortunate. nHope for the HomelessnThursday, Jan. 29nSchool vouchers and bribery scandals may come and go, but a few issues will ne...

POSTED // Jan 28,2009 - If you drink, do high liquor taxes discourage you from drinking? If you smoke, will high cigarette taxes do likewise? nLia Pretorius: I can’t curb my drinking just because of high taxes. I have two kids in school. I’m drinking my way to Utah having the second-to-last per-pupil spending in the nation! n nChristopher Westergard: Uh, that is a tough question. No, and no. I do those things...

POSTED // Jan 28,2009 - If state judges were measured by BCS standards, Christine Durham would have no problem busting her way into the big leagues. Like Florida, or Michigan, Utah’s Supreme Court Chief Justice would have her ranking secured. nAmong top legal minds, Durham is what Urban Meyer is to championship football: Bright and dead-set on moving the ball downfield. She’s confident in her game, and others...

POSTED // Jan 28,2009 - Worst AirnCongratulations, Utah, you’ve finally done it. National maps of pollution put together by the federal Environmental Protection Agency showed portions of the Wasatch Front with the worst air in the country in recent weeks. Hopefully, the Sundance visitors stayed in Park City and didn’t have to experience what wintertime means in the Salt Lake Valley. nA Tell-All PleanFormer st...

POSTED // Jan 28,2009 - The gowns from the inaugural balls are not even back from the dry cleaners, but the 2012 presidential campaign has already started. The pundits and soothsayers have already anointed Utah’s favorite son, Mitt Romney, as the presumptive Republican nominee. n“I don’t care what the talking heads say,” says Milt Fogler, senior fellow at Idaho State University’s Institute o...

POSTED // Jan 28,2009 - Things have been looking a little brighter ever since the Big O moved into the White House. According to Newsweek, the “o-conomy” may be looking up. There’s a new sense of openness and people are overjoyed that the country’s finally getting back on track. nSo when is this spirit of optimism going to hit the CityWeekly.net comment boards? Online commenters are more oversensi...

POSTED // Jan 28,2009 - nEight pros and cons of legalizing home beer and wine breweries (as per House Bill 51): n8. Pro: Utah home brewers would no longer be “outlaws.” n7. Con: Utah home brewers could no longer brag about being “outlaws.” n6. Pro: Bill allows households to brew up to 200 gallons per year. n5. Con: Some of us go through that in a weekend. n4. Pro: Law may inspire home brewers to m...

POSTED // Jan 28,2009 - nMeg Griggs, center, and friends (L-R: Tim Thompson, Mary McClaugherty, Kali Mellus and Sonja Evans) are hosting the first-ever Craft Sabbath on Sunday, Feb. 1, noon to 6 p.m. at NoBrow Coffee & Tea Company (315 E. 300 South, 801-364-3448), with pastries by Cake Walk Baking and music by Cub Country.n nWhat’s a Craft Sabbath?nCraft Sabbath is a local group of crafters who convene on ...

POSTED // Jan 21,2009 - nLate June at the South Temple offices of David Irvine, lawyer and former four-term Republican member of the Utah Legislature, a group of current state lawmakers—two moderate Republicans and three Democrats—debated whether to pull the trigger on a formal complaint they had prepared accusing a powerful legislator of offering a bribe. nIt meant forcing a meeting of the Legislature&rsquo...

POSTED // Jan 21,2009 - A Kettle of HawksnRage. It’s about damned time, isn’t it? Honestly, people, if you’re not pissed off nowadays, you’re really not paying attention. So let’s do something about that, shall we? Yeah, we all know it’s a dirty system: politics, law and government. But face it, folks, you’re not fixing it unless you get your hands dirty, real dirty—up to y...