Local Utah News Headlines – Friday Night, November 19, 2021

Friday evening, November 19, 2021

State

Utah unemployment rate at lowest on record

Utah continues to outperform the country when it comes to its unemployment rate. That’s according to data released Friday by the state’s Department of Workforce Services. For the month of October, Utah’s rate was only 2.2%. This is the lowest unemployment rate on record here. For the United States, it was 4.6%. Over the past two years, employment in Utah has actually increased by almost 4%. That’s an increase of over 58,000 jobs. – Ross Terrell

North / Central Utah

Coping with methane leaks in the Uinta basin

Oil and gas production has declined in Utah’s Uinta Basin over the past five years, but new research shows methane leaks have remained stable and high. Usually, when oil and gas production decreases, methane leakage increases, but in the Uinta basin it has remained constant. Researchers said having high methane leaks is not a good thing, but because they have remained constant, it may mean that companies are doing a better job of controlling emissions. Still, there is a lot of work to be done to tackle gas leaks. Read the full story. – Lexi Peery

BYU students push back on Provo’s paid parking proposal

Provo city council held a public meeting Thursday evening to seek comments on the city’s paid parking proposal. Provo plans to create paid parking zones in the Joaquin neighborhood, an area where many BYU students live. Gavin Thornberg goes to BYU and asks council why the plan is continuing since 80% of the area’s residents have said no. Still, a handful of people at the meeting were in favor of the proposal. City council members said they still needed more information. – Martha harris

Utah Transit Authority received federal grant

The US Department of Transportation announced on Friday that it was providing the Utah Transit Authority with a grant of $ 950,000. UTA will use the funding to study transit between the University of Utah Research Park and the west side of Salt Lake City’s central business district. He will also look at the alternative options. The money comes from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity program, or RAISE. – Caroline ballard

Region / Nation

Home Secretary lobbies to eradicate derogatory names

There is a new federal effort to rename natural areas that carry racist and offensive titles. Home Secretary Deb Haaland is creating a task force to review and rename areas on federal lands. Efforts have already been made to achieve this, but the process often goes slowly and sometimes gets stuck when local authorities push back. Haaland’s announcement reflects a new concerted direction intended to accelerate the process. – Robyn Vincent, Mountain West Press Office