There are many Utahan’s that look forward to Pioneer Day all year. The Days of ’47 parade on Pioneer Day is one of the biggest in the nation, only behind the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Over 46 floats and 16 marching bands along with several dignitaries, paraded from State Street, to 200 East and 900 South, to Liberty Park. Utahan’s get so excited the night before Pioneer Day, they can hardly sleep, especially the young children.
The day began great with the marathon runners taking off at 5:30am. The second event of the day was the 10K run at 6:00am. Then the parade came to make everyone’s day. The day ended with Fireworks at Liberty Park. But the fun isn’t over yet. This is not just a one day celebration. Friday and Saturday there will still be celebrating at This Is The Place Heritage Park, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir will entertain everyone with an awesome concert.
So don’t miss the rest of the celebration. I hope to see you all there.
Some Salt Lake City residents believe that higher gas prices can actually benefit us. Gas prices are at an all time high right now. Prices are up over a dollar from what they were last year at this same time. Utah is on the higher end of those prices, but still not the highest in the nation. So, how can higher gas prices benefit us?
Some positive benefits are:
Fewer cars on our roads – Because of the high gas prices, more people are finding it cheaper to car pool or use public transportation. Traffic has already gone down by 2% this past year.
Health benefits – Fewer cars on the road means less pollution.
Safety – Drivers are driving less aggressively to extend their gas mileage.
Economic – Large corporations are finding it cheaper to keep their jobs in the US instead of other countries over seas. Many jobs that moved overseas are on their way back to the United States because of high shipping costs. Find more information about what companies are bringing their work back to the United States.
Family time – Because it costs so much to get in the car and go, many families are staying at home and having much needed family-time together.
Shorter work weeks – Some companies are switching to four-day work weeks to cut the cost of operations down. State workers in the Utah government have already adopted this idea.
Wow, who would have ever thought that high gas prices could benefit anyone?
Mayor Becker’s first six months in office was such a success that he now has a greater plan for the City of Salt Lake City, Utah. The plan is called the 180-day plan. The plan is to improve the city in several different ways. These include education, environment, equality, engaging the community, and excitement.
Education will include:
- Appointing an education partnership coordinator, which Joanne Milner was appointed to in January.
- Creating the Mayor’s school summit, which has already been scheduled for August 22nd.
- Working with the local colleges and universities scholarship programs. The scholarship has been approved and will be formally announced soon.
Environment will include:
- Accelerating the funding for bike paths. The city council recently approved this funding by ten fold.
- Initiating the completion of the Jordan River Parkway . More funding was recently added with more to come soon.
- Revising Salt Lake City ’s building codes. The new building codes will use the LEED standards in the future.
- Requiring departmental carbon footprints. Departments have already begun constructing plans to measure and reduce their carbon footprints.
There is much more to the 180-plan that can be found here. I hope to see this plan complete with nothing getting in the way or delaying it.
This 4th of July come and celebrate with family and friends in Salt Lake City , Utah . Begin your day with a trip to downtown Salt Lake City for live music, free food and drinks, arts and crafts and much more. This is an all day celebration for Salt Lake City residents to come mingle amongst one another and have a great time.
The fireworks display will begin at 9:30pm and can be seen from just about anywhere downtown. This year is supposed to be the biggest display of fireworks ever in Utah .
Come on out and join me as I celebrate Independence Day the Utah way.
