POSTED // Dec 17,2008 - nSalt Lake school officials are concerned about energy drink distributors such as Red Bull appearing on school grounds and at high school sporting events where they pass out free energy drinks. School officials say the presence is unwanted and violates school district rules on advertising and promoting health and wellness. City Weekly asked Helge Seljaas of Arendal Kitchen Design in Sugar House if...

POSTED // Dec 17,2008 - nOdyssey Dance’s Company’s IRS debt has made some headlines lately. We asked artistic director Derryl Yeager what it all means.n n nDoes this recent spate of negative publicity spell the end of Odyssey Dance?nNot at all. The article emphasizes what we owe but doesn’t emphasize the fact we’ve filed an Offer and Compromise that will greatly reduce the debt and make it possibl...

POSTED // Dec 16,2008 - nAs a child growing up in Queensland, Australia, Rob Joseph loved Serpico, the classic 1973 true-crime thriller featuring Al Pacino as “an honest cop” who turns state’s evidence about corruption in the NYPD. Serpico made Joseph want to be a policeman. n“I thought that being a cop suited my desire to help people,” Joseph says. In retrospect, he adds, “That was g...

POSTED // Dec 10,2008 -  nCaitlin never had enough money to cover even basic repairs on her old beater car. She took the bus to work, often showing up late and armed with excuses for her boss and co-workers. “I didn’t know what to tell them,” the 27-year-old West Valley City woman says. “I probably said that my car broke down and it would take a week or two before I got it fixed, and that&rsq...

POSTED // Dec 10,2008 - What Christmas gift, or wish, would you send to your favorite Salt Lake Tribune or Deseret News employee?n n nJamie Gadette: To the Trib’s Heather May and Rosemary Winters: “Good for one martini night with Jamie and Brandon” certificates. n nHolly Mullen: I wish every employee at every newspaper a nice Christmas bonus (though I know that’s a pipe dream) because they help ke...

POSTED // Dec 10,2008 - Last week, I was driving through a Salt Lake City neighborhood, trying to wrap my brain around the reality of being relatively new to this country, of knowing only a short string of English words, of trying to feed and clothe a family of nine on $900 a month and of desperately needing a box of diapers for a baby and two toddlers. nMy stepdaughter was on the cell phone, giving directions to the hom...

POSTED // Dec 10,2008 - Bad PRnAs if gays launching an international boycott of our pretty, great, elevated state weren’t enough of a headache, Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, picked now to launch himself from our own little dirty secret to the international sneering face of the Beehive State. Buttars’ roundly ridiculed plan to force stores to say “Merry Christmas” landed him on national TV as ...

POSTED // Dec 10,2008 - Local creative genius Richard Paul Evans, who for many years has cornered the market on heartwarming Christmas books (The Christmas Box, The Christmas Casserole, The Christmas Sofa, et cetera), is now being challenged by another author with Utah connections—talk-show host and Mormon convert Glenn Beck. Everyone surely knows by now that Mr. Beck has penned an instant Christmas classic entitle...

POSTED // Dec 10,2008 - nA Dec. 9 Doug Robinson piece in the Deseret News tells the story of how a group of teenagers, working together, were able to create change in their Utah County community. nThe group got the Utah County Board of Health to ban smoking from all county parks, starting next month. nIt’s an inspiring story of community activism—that is, if you’re not a smoker. And the teens came up w...

POSTED // Dec 10,2008 - nnnEight arguments for abolishing the controversial college football Bowl Championship Series selection system:n8. The top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners and Florida Gators are actually bowling leagues. n7. BYU’s prayers and positive thoughts aren’t factored by BCS computers. n6. The Chick-fil-A Bowl could be replaced with something more dignified, like the El Pollo Loco Bowl. n5. More fans s...