Salt City Sinner

posted on 10/4/2013 by the Salt City Sinner Good news, everyone! And in this case, it IS good news: Utah WIC, which as of the beginning of the budget burlesque in D.C. was in serious danger, is (temporarily) saved! From the same fishwrapper that I recently teed off on about their coverage of this very issue, the Trib : Utah’s Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program received $2.5 million in emergency funding Thursday from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, enabling local health department clinics to reopen and begin issuing food vouchers to new and existing clients. Clinic staff will begin issuing new food vouchers immediately.   In Salt Lake and Summit counties, which kept their clinics open with emergency local funding, vouchers may be distributed as early as Thursday afternoon, he added. "This is welcome news for the 66,000 moms, babies and children we serve, especially those who didn’t have food vouchers for October," [WIC Head Chris] Furner said.  Given...

posted on 10/2/2013 by the Salt City Sinner Usually, when I want low-quality local news, I watch Biff and Becky Chucklehead and the Morning Yuk-Yuk Crew (coloquially known as KUTV's "2News This Morning”). I'll gnaw on the grey and fleshless bones of the Salt Lake Tribune if I feel like reading a newspaper, but I generally get that inclination about as often as I feel like indulging in a bit of falconry or maybe some hurdy-gurdy music. After following local coverage of the impact of the Federal clown orgy's decision to shut down the U.S. Government on WIC, however, I may have to add the Trib to my hate-read list. The barest minimum of background: due to two political parties' inability to cut a deal in Washington, the federal government has temporarily “suspended operations” (read: they will still spy on you and blow things up, but good luck visiting Yellowstone or, if this keeps up long, getting your food stamps). Incidentally, C-SPAN covered the negotia...