Bike+Ped Open House Facebook Event
Zero Waste Awards & Trashed Film Screening
Hosted by the Utah Recycling Alliance (URA)
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Brewvies Cinema Pub (677 South 200 West)
$5 admission includes one free drink ticket, two raffle tickets and an evening of entertainment! RSVP to the Facebook event.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UM73CEvwMY&w=560&h=315]
Extra ‘Leaves Only’ Bins Now Available
Crisp air, bright colors and falling leaves — fall is in full swing in Salt Lake City!
But what should you do with all of those extra leaves?
- Place them in your curbside compost bin (i.e. tan can) for weekly pick up. Raking weekly should keep your leaves from piling up.
- Try composting your leaves at home with a backyard compost bin, or by mulching them into your grass, flower beds or gardens. Gotta love free soil amendment!
- Request an extra ‘leaves only’ bin.
Starting today, Salt Lake City is offering special ‘leaves only’ bins by request. Here are some quick facts about the program:
- Bins will be provided on a first come, first served basis.
- ‘Leaves only’ bins are provided free of charge and are intended to supplement resident’s curbside compost bin in the event of excess leaves.
- Bins will be collected weekly on your curbside collection day throughout the fall.
To request your ‘leaves only’ bin, call (801) 535-6999 or email SLCgreen@slcgov.com. Please provide your name, address and phone number.
Questions? Let us know!
Gold Fever Film Screening this Thursday
Westminster College, 1840 S. 1300 E., Malouf 201
Thursday, October 17 @ 8:00 p.m.
Tragic and inspiring, Gold Fever witnesses the arrival of Goldcorp Inc to a remote Guatemalan village. 500 years after the conquistadors invaded, and still reeling from decades of US-backed repression, the Mayans of San Miguel Ixtahuacán find themselves on the front lines of an increasingly globalized world. Together with members of their divided community, and in the face of grave consequences, Diodora, Crisanta and Gregoria resist the threat to their ancestral lands.
Meanwhile, in the North, fearful investors flock to gold and some call for the return of the gold standard. Commentators Noam Chomsky, Magalí Rey Rosa, and “economic hitman” John Perkins draw connections between the stratospheric power of Wall Street and San Miguel’s struggle, asking “what is the value of the one place we have to live?”
Winner of the Rigoberta Menchú Grand Prix at the 2013 Montreal First Peoples Festival, Gold Fever is a hard-hitting documentary about the destructive and exploitative impacts of transnational mining.
Weigh in on Proposed Upgrades in Liberty Park
Liberty Park & Tracy Aviary Site Design Workshop
Thursday October 24 from 5:30-7:00 p.m.
Tracy Aviary Education Center inside Liberty Park (589 East 1300 South)
Salt Lake City and The Friends of Tracy Aviary are partnering to re-purpose the land in Liberty Park surrounding the concession stand, including the vacant land adjacent to the Aviary and the amusement park ride area of the Park.
Tracy Aviary will build a Tropical Rain Forest building/exhibit on approximately 50% of the vacant space adjacent to the Aviary, and the City would like to facilitate community input for ideas about how to enhance this west entrance to the park and utilize the remaining space in the future.
A Site Planning Workshop to explore these issues is scheduled for Thursday October 24 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at Tracy Aviary’s Education Center.
Community Gardens are Sprouting!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHysILCIYX0&w=640&h=480]
Do you dream of growing your own vegetables? Salt Lake City has some exciting news for you!
Eight City-owned or managed parcels of land have been identified for the development of community gardens.
Interested? Then head over to SLCgreen.com to review the eight available parcels, located in key areas throughout Salt Lake City. There you will also find the Green City Growers Application Packet, with information on the six step application process.
Applications are due by December 15, 2013. So get moving!
[10-18-2013] A special thank you to the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News for covering our October 17 event at Cannon Greens Community Garden!
It’s Time to Celebrate Local Food!
It’s time to celebrate local food!
Food Day is a nationwide celebration of healthy, affordable, and sustainably produced food and a grassroots campaign for better food policies.
Salt Lake City is marking Food Day 2013 with a series of exciting local events.
SLC Proposes Discount UTA Pass Program
Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker gathered with community leaders late last week to unveil a new proposed program geared towards clearing the air. The program would offer discounted UTA passes to Salt Lake City residents for just $30 a month — a 63% discount!
We all know that vehicle emissions are a key factor in the poor air quality that plagues our valley during the winter months. The good news is that getting people out of their cars and on to public transportation can go a long way to help reduce emissions and clear the air. This exciting program – the first of its kind in Utah – could make it possible for most city residents to have a UTA pass in their pocket!
Here are the details on the proposed program.
Purpose: Offer an annual transit pass to Salt Lake City residents to incentivize transit use and make riding transit more affordable.
Basic Structure: Salt Lake City residents will be eligible to purchase a one year transit pass for $360. The passes will be available for purchase from Salt Lake City upon providing proof of residency. Residents may pay all at once, or pay in 12 installments of $30 via a monthly bill.
The pass will be issued with the resident’s photo on it, and is non-transferable. There is no limit per household. The pass will be good on local and express bus, TRAX, and FrontRunner. Ski bus, Park City Connect and paratransit services will be excluded from the pass.
The program is a unique partnership between UTA and Salt Lake City. While modeled after other bulk pass programs offered by UTA for employees of eligible organizations, it’s the first pass of its kind to be designed for residents.
Benefits: In just 12 local trips per month (6 round-trips), residents who opt in to the pass will have broken even on their investment. Having a ‘pass in pocket’, residents are more likely to use transit.
Timeframe: The program will launch in early 2014. This pass is being implemented as a one-year pilot program. If successful, UTA and SLC may choose to continue the program. The program will be refined as needed and made available to other communities.
Basis: UTA completed a random sample telephone survey to assess interest in purchasing this pass. Based on results of the survey, up to 6,000 passes could be sold.
Media Coverage:
- Becker plans to offer cheap train, bus passes to Salt Lakers – Salt Lake Tribune
- Clean air proposal would let Salt Lake residents ride UTA for $30 a month – Deseret News
- $30 Monthly UTA Transit Pass for Salt Lake City Residents Proposed as Air Quality Initiative – KUER
Next Steps: To make this program a reality, work to be completed over the next few months includes:
- Funding allocated from Salt Lake City Council (Pending decision)
- Set join goals between UTA/SLC to define goals and positive outcomes
- Set up administrative systems
- Determine tracking mechanisms
- Marketing and public information
- Materials preparation (passes, etc..)
- Back-office functions for both UTA and SLC accounting procedures
Air Quality Grants Available
The Utah Clean Air Partnership (more commonly known as UCAIR) is now accepting proposals for their new grants program.
The purpose of the program is to provide incentives to the private sector, government entities, and individuals to reduce emissions of criteria pollutants that cause Utah’s poor air quality.
Grants will be used to promote investment by the private and public sector in emission-reducing technology, lower emission vehicles, energy efficiency and other proven methodologies for reducing or eliminating emissions, including education of the public.
The program will also encourage creative thinking and promote the development of new technology, but will be based on solid metrics and performance standards that demonstrate actual emissions reductions. A loan program will be announced at a later date.
Visit the UCAIR website for more information, and to download the application form.
Are you up for a challenge?
October 5-12, 2013 is Eat Local Week in Salt Lake City, and there are many events taking place to celebrate our community of local-foodists.
Eat Local Week aims to increase awareness of our foodshed, provide information and resources for eating locally, and build a community hungry for local food–making Utah a more nourishing place.
Eat Local Week also introduces the Eat Local Challenge! The Challenge is simple, eat as local as you can. The standard challenge is only eating food that comes from within a 250 mile radius. Not ready for that? Come up with a challenge that works for you! Choose a couple of food groups to get locally and stay true to them. Be creative, challenge yourself, and have fun!