May 31, 2018

Lawmakers concerned about Medicaid expansion ballot plan

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah lawmakers expressed concern this week about the possibility that voters could expand Medicaid after years of debate at the Legislature.

The initiative poised to make the November ballot would eventually cost the state about $47 million more than a smaller expansion passed by lawmakers that still needs federal approval, according to a legislative analysis.

The ballot-initiative plan would also bring back $535 million more in federal subsidies than the bill approved by lawmakers, the analysis found.

Still, the larger cost to the state was concerning for several lawmakers who met Thursday to discuss the issue the week before it's expected to be certified to get on the ballot.

Read more: https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900019733/lawmakers-concerned-about-medicaid-expansion-ballot-plan.html

May 31, 2018

Rep. Mike Kennedy portrays Mitt Romney as flip-flopper and carpetbagger

Rep. Mike Kennedy portrays Mitt Romney as flip-flopper and carpetbagger while Romney renews his ‘bigot’ criticism of pastor who received an apology from Kennedy


Provo • U.S. Senate candidates Mitt Romney and Mike Kennedy were in near-lockstep on issues like health care, gun control, medical marijuana and immigration during a Tuesday debate that highlighted differences in the men’s personality more than their ideology.

Kennedy, a Republican state representative from Alpine, made frequent attempts to ding Romney as flip-flopping carpetbagger, criticizing the former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate for his “inconsistent” policy positions and using his first answer of the evening to “welcome” Romney to the Beehive State.

And Romney leaned on his status as a national-level political figure, suggesting he’d be positioned to work with veteran lawmakers in Washington, D.C., to enact compromise legislation.

“I believe I’ll be able to help Utah continue to punch above its weight,” Romney said.

Read more: https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2018/05/30/watch-live-mitt-romney-debates-mike-kennedy-in-republican-primary-for-orrin-hatchs-senate-seat/

May 31, 2018

Facebook to build a massive data center in Eagle Mountain, gets a $150 million tax incentive

Eagle Mountain • Social media giant Facebook is set to bring its next data center here. Utah government leaders revealed the company’s identity Wednesday after months of closed-door negotiations.

The project, publicly known only as “Steeplechase” before Thursday’s announcement, includes roughly $150 million in property tax incentives for Facebook, which in turn will invest $100 million in road and utility enhancements for Utah County’s west side.

Facebook will also benefit from a sales tax exemption approved by lawmakers in 2016 and intended to lure data-center development to the state.

“As the newest members of the community, we are so happy to get to celebrate Eagle Mountain’s history as well as its future,” said Rachel Peterson, Facebook’s vice president of data center strategy.

Read more: https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2018/05/30/facebook-to-bring-data-center-to-eagle-mountain/

May 31, 2018

Third former Daggett County jail inmate files lawsuit over abuse, torture

A third former inmate at the Daggett County jail filed suit in federal court Wednesday claiming that he was repeatedly shocked with stun guns and subjected to dog attacks by a guard at the remote facility in the state’s least populated county.

Joshua Asay, 27, joined former inmates Dustin Law Porter, 37, and Steven Drollette, 48, in an ACLU civil-rights lawsuit against Daggett County, the Utah Department of Corrections, and former supervisors and guards at the jail. The 80-inmate facility was closed by state officials in February 2017 after an initial investigation showed widespread violations and abuses by jail staff.

A fourth inmate, Joshua Reed Olsen, 29, also said he was tortured at the jail by former guard Joshua Cox but has retained separate counsel.

Cox, 28, is now on probation after serving a four-month sentence on his guilty plea to three felonies, including aggravated assault. Four other men accused by Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes of criminal misconduct in the case, including former Daggett County Sheriff Jerry Jorgensen, received lesser sentences.

Read more: https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/05/31/third-former-daggett-county-jail-inmate-files-lawsuit-over-abuse-torture/

May 31, 2018

Utah wants to put bighorn sheep in more southern Utah mountains, but woolgrowers fear they'll be the

Utah wants to put bighorn sheep in more southern Utah mountains, but woolgrowers fear they’ll be the losers


Utah wildlife officials are eager to restore bighorn sheep, the West’s most coveted big game species for sport hunting, to native ranges that are not used by domestic sheep.

But a proposal to relocate wild sheep into Beaver County’s Mineral Mountains has woolgrowers on high alert with concerns that such projects could displace their operations.

The fear isn’t about competition for forage but rather about disease transmission and how a bighorn die-off could be used to push sheep ranchers off their grazing allotments.

“There are a lot of unknowns out there, and the [domestic] sheep are getting blamed for [other] die-offs,” said grower Matt Mickel, who has sheep about 10 miles west of the Mineral range. ”I don’t see any advantage to putting [bighorns] there. I don’t see a scenario I would be comfortable with.”

Read more: https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2018/05/31/utah-wants-to-put-bighorn-sheep-in-more-southern-utah-mountains-but-woolgrowers-fear-theyll-be-the-losers/

May 31, 2018

Retired Idaho doctor and Mormon temple president denies fraud in insemination lawsuit

Boise, Idaho • An eastern Idaho fertility doctor accused in a lawsuit of secretly using his own sperm to inseminate a patient nearly four decades ago says he did nothing wrong and doesn’t remember using his own sperm for the procedure.

Dr. Gerald Mortimer, a retired obstetrician and gynecologist from Idaho Falls who once served as president of an LDS Church temple and a church mission in the Philippines, filed his response to the lawsuit in Idaho’s U.S. District Court on Wednesday. In it, he contends his patient agreed to let him select the “anonymous donor sperm” as long as he judged it to be appropriate and safe.

Kelli Rowlette and her parents Sally Ashby and Howard Fowler filed the lawsuit against Mortimer in March, contending that the doctor committed medical malpractice, breach of contract and fraud when he carried out the artificial insemination procedures on Ashby over several months in 1980.

At the time, the couple was told Ashby had a tipped uterus and Fowler had a low sperm count. They say Mortimer told them he could attempt to inseminate Ashby using a mixture of genetic material, with 85 percent of the sperm coming from Fowler and 15 percent coming from an anonymous donor. Ashby and Fowler maintain that they agreed to the process, as long as the donor sperm came from a college student who resembled Fowler: more than 6 feet tall with brown hair and blue eyes.

Read more: https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/05/30/retired-idaho-doctor-and-mormon-temple-president-denies-fraud-in-insemination-lawsuit/

May 31, 2018

CSU says former professor who alleged retaliation after sexual harassment was already on thin ice

Colorado State University hopes to avoid going to court over a sexual harassment retaliation lawsuit filed by a former assistant professor.

CSU is asking a judge to rule the suit has no merit, filing a 43-page motion for summary judgment Monday in Larimer County District Court. That means the judge could essentially toss it out before it goes to a scheduled jury trial Aug. 20.

Christina Boucher, a former assistant professor at CSU in the computer science department, sued the university last year, saying she was denied tenure and forced to resign after accusing a co-worker of sexual harassment.

CSU has denied any wrongdoing in the case and has taken no action against any of the three professors identified by Boucher in her lawsuit.

Read more: https://www.coloradoan.com/story/money/2018/05/30/csu-asks-judge-rule-retaliation-suit-lacks-merit/652236002/

May 31, 2018

Governor to sign major transportation bill

Gov. John Hickenlooper plans to sign several measures this week, but none more significant than a measure to boost funding for transportation.

On Thursday, the governor will travel to Loveland to sign SB1.

The measure was introduced by Republicans in the GOP-led Colorado Senate as a massive bonding bill. As it was, however, it had little chance of passing the Democratic-controlled House because, according to the governor, it called on the state to dedicate too much money to paying off the bonds — which would have cost about $5 billion — risking cutting into other needed programs such as education.

But after some last-minute negotiations on both sides of the political aisle, the bill was changed. It now calls for putting millions of dollars into roads and multimodal transportation projects over the next 20 years, including issuing some bonds.

Read more: https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/western_colorado/governor-to-sign-major-transportation-bill/article_ad86e0cc-623b-11e8-8e4d-10604b9f6eda.html

May 31, 2018

Union: Strike would cost top Vegas casinos over $10M a day

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The two largest resort operators in Las Vegas would lose more than $10 million a day combined if housekeepers, cooks and others go on strike, a possibility starting Friday, the union representing thousands of casino workers said Wednesday.

The Culinary Union detailed how it thinks a one-month strike would impact MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment, which operate more than half the properties that would be affected if 50,000 workers walk off the job. Workers last week voted to authorize a strike as disputes over workplace training, wages and other issues have kept the union and casino operators from agreeing on new contracts.

The union conceded that it is difficult to estimate how the strike at more than 30 casino-hotels would affect Las Vegas overall because the last citywide strike took place in 1984, when the city had 90,000 fewer hotel rooms and only about 12.8 million annual visitors. Last year, more than 42.2 million people visited.

But it says MGM and Caesars would see a 10 percent reduction in revenue because of the loss of group and independent travelers. A strike also could happen as fans head to Las Vegas for the Stanley Cup Final.

Read more: https://apnews.com/8ef1146d504e4d43a3c9979ba2af9785/Union:-Strike-would-cost-top-Vegas-casinos-over-$10M-a-day

May 31, 2018

Abbott's school safety plan includes few gun restrictions

DALLAS (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday called for schools to have more armed personnel and said they should put greater focus on spotting student mental health problems but he proposed only a few small restrictions on guns following a shooting at a high school near Houston that left 10 people dead.

The Republican and staunch gun-rights supporter released a 43-page report following three days of mostly closed-door meetings last week organized with school district officials, shooting survivors and groups on both sides of the gun-control debate, among others.

The recommendations are voluntary and some would require changes to state laws that would need approval from the Legislature, which doesn’t come back into session until 2019. School districts wishing to make some of the changes could begin doing so, such as sending staff for free gun training this summer.

The lack of major gun control measures is not surprising in a state that embraces its gun-friendly reputation and has more than 1.2 million people licensed to carry handguns.

Read more: https://apnews.com/1d76b5af359e4ed197fe5bccb8701bd2/Abbott's-school-safety-plan-includes-few-gun-restrictions