Photo by Boyce Duprey. Think globally, act locally—local garbage has Global implications Think globally, act locally, presses people to take into account the health and well-being of the entire planet and for each to do their part in their own communities and cities. Recycling reusable waste is good for the planet, right? It’s something we can all do as a … [Read more...]
Salt Lake City Housing Crisis, Escalating Real Estate Prices and What is Being Done about It
A conversation with Salt Lake City Planning Director Nick Norris Utah's population growth Salt Lake City is one of the fastest growing cities in the country and Utah’s population is quickly growing. For the first time since the Mormon Pioneers settled in Salt Lake City, there are thousands of people who want to live, work and play in downtown Salt Lake City and they are … [Read more...]
Help Wanted: Utah’s Labor Shortage
Is America running out of workers? According to a December 13, 2018 report by The Conference Board—a nonprofit organization dedicated to researching and addressing looming business issues—2019 may be a historically tight year in the labor market. This will be especially true in blue-collar industries like mining, manufacturing, maintenance, agriculture, and others … [Read more...]
Love Letter to Panguitch: One of Utah’s Hidden Gems
Panguitch and I go way back. When I was a kid, my mom, grandma, and great-grandmother would throw my brothers and me in the car and we'd drive from Idaho Falls to Panguitch to visit my great-great aunt who lived in a restored house across from an abandoned LDS church house. On our first night in town, a truck with what seemed like every kid in town piled in the bed, … [Read more...]
Can We Learn From Happy Rats?
A famous experiment: isolate a rat in a cage and give him a choice between water and water laced with cocaine; eventually the rat will stop drinking healthy water and overdose on cocaine water. This experiment was repeated in the 1950s and it developed our modern theory of addiction proving that cocaine and other narcotics are irresistibly addictive. This experiment made … [Read more...]
Human-Scale Design, Native Plants and Paths are the Norm in Moab’s New Suburb
Juxtaposed against Moab’s red rock landscape, the paved path down the urban section of the Mill Creek riparian corridor can feel like Alice’s Wonderland. Following a perennial stream, the verdant parkway meanders across bridges and through underpasses past gems like the Youth Garden Project, the city dog park, Utah State University Moab, and a well-maintained community bike … [Read more...]
Open Space and Mental Health
It’s an accepted fact that physical activity and eating a nutritious and varied diet can improve our health and well-being. But when it comes to our mental health, what we eat and how much we move around is often only part of the equation. Mental health issues like depression and anxiety disorders have traditionally been the purview of health care professionals. But a … [Read more...]
Empty Boxes—How Utah Communities Adapt When Amazon Washes Away Brick-and-Mortar Retail
The following story was researched and written by The Utah Investigative Journalism Project in partnership with Utah Stories. On January 2, 2018, Amazon announced it had shipped 5-billion items through its Prime services alone in 2017. That year also saw many traditional retail stores washed away by the swift waters of change brought by online commerce. Macy’s had to … [Read more...]
History of the Suburbs in the United States How the Utopian Dream Never Materialized
The suburbs are a uniquely American invention. But how did they come about? Back in the late 1930s, after America suffered the worst ravages of the Great Depression, most agreed that big cities with congestion, poverty, industrial pollution and blight, must be drastically redesigned. Lewis Mumford’s The City, was a propaganda film offering an alternative vision to cities for … [Read more...]
Asphalt in the Wilderness? Sandy Residents Say No Thank You
Tempers flared earlier this year when some residents learned about so-called improvements to the scenic Dimple Dell Regional Park in southeastern Salt Lake County. When they voted in November for a bond that included $4 million in upgrades for the 650-acre park, the last thing they expected was to hear that the plans included asphalt paving of a 3-mile portion of a trail in the … [Read more...]