http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/articles.sec-8441-1-news-columns.html By Austen Diamond

Shar Lewis, the executive director of Utah Commission on Volunteers, has helped craft the Lieutenant Governor's Conference on Service, April 8-10 at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center (Volunteers.Utah.gov). Lt. Gov. Greg Bell and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, will speak, in addition to numerous breakout sessions and a service project on the final day.]]> By Ted McDonough

nEighteen months ago, Rocky Anderson stood on the steps of Salt Lake’s City & County Building calling for the impeachment of the president. Protesters, some wearing rubber Dick Cheney masks, surrounded him, along with papier-mâché tableaus of Bush cabinet members chained together in black-and-white prison stripes. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, famously dismissed the protesters a...]]> By Holly Mullen

By most measures of small-business success in Utah, Tony Chlepas would be in the Hall of Fame. nHis mother, the late Helen Chlepas, was widowed with her four children still in grade school. In the early ’70s, Helen secured a small loan to buy a ramshackle little tavern near the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon. Tony and his siblings grew up helping their mom, including in the bar’s tiny ...]]> By Ted McDonough

nLegislative LiarsnIt was only a few years ago that conservatives pressing to mar Utah’s Constitution with a gay-marriage ban promised they weren’t going to take legal protections from homosexuals. Nowadays, it’s crystal clear that the 2004 line was a lie. Gay activists are presenting this year’s Utah Legislature with a list of bills to give elementary legal protections to...]]> By D.P. Sorensen

Here at the Church Information Office, we have been swamped with inquiries about an article that appeared in the Jan. 30 Deseret News. Under the headline, “Pres.Monson makes time for ‘promptings,’” the article revealed that the current Prophet, Seer and Revelator “always acts on promptings, whether it is to make a telephone call or call on someone in person.” nP...]]> By Brandon Burt

Maybe it was the sound scolding Rant Control administered last week—or, more likely, the spate of unseasonably glorious weather we had around Groundhog Day—but recently, the comments on CityWeekly.net have been more constructive and less rude than usual. nKatharine Biele’s cover story about the impact of a planned Rocky Mountain Power substation on a University neighborhood (&ldq...]]> By Bill Frost

nEight commercial scanners being considered by the Utah Legislature should driver license info be voted to replace private club memberships: n8. Drunky Spotter 5000® n7. The Lil' Violater (a division of Diebold) n6. Ronco Privacy Parrot™n5. Microsoft Totalitarian® for Windows n4. DataSucker 2.0 (a division of WaddoupsCo) n3. Homeland Security Junior Officer Kit© n2. RectalSpy&re...]]> By Eric S. Peterson

January’s gone but we’re still enjoying an extra-hearty dose of inversion gravy whenever we step outside. Seriously, how long until we start sporting those SARS face masks around town? Lucky for us we’ve got some good forums coming up on how to green up this city/state/world.n n nBuilding a Green EconomynThursday, Feb. 5nThe University of Utah will be capping off its second annua...]]> By None

City Weekly’s first downtown office was in the Shubrick building, along with Port O’ Call. Now that she’s gone, what’s your favorite Port memory? n nVictor Serrano: My last and only Port memory was City Weekly’s 2006 Christmas Party! It was a blast! nJamie Gadette: Pretty much every City Weekly function, especially the Wells Fargo bomb-threat cocktail hour. nNick Clar...]]> By Katharine Biele

nPatti Harrington wasn’t talking. The state superintendent of education was in duck-and-cover mode as she swatted at yet another trial balloon floating through Utah’s educational community. nAnother day, another initiative. Another governor. If she keeps quiet, maybe there won’t be another superintendent. nHarrington told City Weekly late last year that she didn’t want to...]]> By Eric S. Peterson

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...]]> By None

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...]]> By Holly Mullen

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...]]> By Ted McDonough

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...]]> By D.P. Sorensen

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...]]> By Brandon Burt

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...]]> By None

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...]]> By Jerre Wroble

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 ...]]> By Ted McDonough

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...]]> By Eric S. Peterson

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...]]>