There are nearly 250 cities and towns stretching across the state of Utah varying in size and structure. Although all unique, they are all also represented by an organization that seeks to represent their interests.

Rachel Otto is the director of government relations with the Utah League of Cities and Towns. She explains what the organization does.

With the partial government shutdown into the fourth week, the Utah Department of Workforce Services is juggling two important programs to help people get through the financial hardship. They include unemployment pay for eligible, furloughed workers and administering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP. Carolyn Murray has this:

Utah Department of Workforce Services, Public Information Officer, Wendy Hyatt said about 200,000 people in Utah rely on the SNAP benefits for assistance. Well over a thousand live in Summit and Wasatch Counties.

 The Park City Traffic Control Center has been up and running since the end of December. How does it work, and will it make getting around town easier during peak traffic times? KPCW’s Emily Means has this. 

A wall of monitors shows video of a car backing into an intersection on state route 224, after turning into the wrong lane in the snow. On the next wall over, a “flow map” illustrates in red where traffic has slowed down on Interstate-80, interpreting information tracked by speed sensors along major highways.

The Park City Council Tuesday postponed approving amendments to the design guidelines in the historic residential code, saying the public should understand what’s in them before the council signs off on them. KPCW’s Emily Means has more.

Former Utah Transit Authority CEO and President Jerry Benson has been brought on as a consultant for the Park City transit system. KPCW’s Emily Means has more.

Transportation Planning Manager Alfred Knotts introduced Benson at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Knotts said Benson will provide the city with “industry standard review” and will advise on items such as customer service and community involvement.

KPCW’s third and final report on District 3 Representative John Curtis highlights legislation he has sponsored in his first year in Washington. Wasatch County is part of District 3. Curtis is on the Natural Resources Committee, the Small Business Committee and the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Carolyn Murray has this.

With a new Congress in place, the Central Wasatch Commission will pursue legislation to get a federal designation for the mountain are overlooking the Salt Lake Valley.

KPCW got an update from Chris Robinson, the Summit County representative on the commission.

Robinson said it is a high priority for the group to get approval for a Central Wasatch Conservation and Recreation Area.

The late author James Baldwin would applaud this adaptation of his novel, from the director behind the Best Picture Oscar winner of 2016.