Utah Cultural Alliance is the statewide advocate for the humanities and arts. We amplify culture’s contributions to Utah's economic, family, and community life. Lear more: www.utculture.org
Dear James,
There is so much happening in the political arena right now that impacts not only the humanities and arts but YOUR wallet as a taxpayer. Please take a minute to review.
In this weeks newsletter
1. State of Utah Culture Report now published!
2. Legislative Grades are in!
3. Sales Tax
4. Online Marketing Course
5. West Valley City Survey
6. Looking for interns?
7. Connect with U of U Art Students
State of Utah Culture Report
Legislative Grades are Here!
Tax Reform & Member Survey
The legislature is reforming the state tax code and it WILL impact all tax payers, creative industry for-profits, and cultural nonprofits.
The legislative tax reform special task force embarks on a statewide tour Monday. We invite all to attend these hearings and talk about how possible tax changes impact YOU.
IMMEDIATE RESPONSE NEEDED: As the advocate for Utah's humanities and arts sector, I need to know what members prioritize when it comes to tax reform. There are some COMPETING NEEDS when it comes to our nonprofit and for-profit members. To help prioritize please take this quick 10 minute survey. It is imperative that I hear from members NOW because tax reform will conclude by the end of this summer.
Tax Survey (must be member to see)
8 Week Online Marketing Course
Not too late to learn from one of Utah's leading online marketers who is also a professor at BYU: William Arnett, CEO of Theatrisoft!
This online webinar for UCA members will feature instruction in the following:
Week 1 - Google Grant + Adwords
Week 2 - Google Analytics + Conversion Tracking
Week 3 - Facebook + Remarketing
Week 4 - Email Marketing
Week 5 - Influencer Marketing (Instagram and Facebook)
Week 6 - Website Construction / Hotjar / A/B Testing
Week 7 - Display Network + Youtube
Week 8 - Search Engine Optimization
The webinar will be available on a computer near you at 2pm on the following dates: May 22, June 5, June 19, July 10, July 17, August 7, August 21.
Each webinar is recorded and available for UCA members to reference if they cannot make any of the dates. You may also register at any time within the 8 week course and can review the prior classes on the members-only section of the UCA page.
Those who are NOT members of UCA may pay $250 to take the course.
Join Membership===========================
ASSE International Student Exchange Programs, in cooperation with your community high school, is now looking for local families to host students between the ages of 15 to 18 from a variety of countries: Japan, Germany, Italy, Thailand, and Spain, to name a few.
ASSE students are enthusiastic and are excited to experience American culture while they practice their English. They also share their own culture and language with their host families. Host families welcome these students into their family, not as a guest, but as a family member, giving everyone involved a rich cultural experience.
The exchange students have pocket money for personal expenses and full health, accident and liability insurance. ASSE students are selected based on academics and personality and host families can choose their student from a wide variety of backgrounds, countries and personal interests.
If you are interested in opening your home and sharing your family life with a young person from abroad, please contact us today for more information, call (800) 733-2773, go online at www.ASSEhosts.com or email asseusawest@asse.com
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USDA Radio Newsline
Tuesday, July 2nd Stories:
Salt Lake City, UT - Consumers are telling the Better Business Bureau (BBB) about the questionable business practices of Parking Solutions Utah, LLC (Parking Solutions), a company that has been booting cars in Salt Lake and Utah counties. BBB has received complaints, reviews, and BBB Scam Tracker reports describing unethical behavior by Parking Solutions.
Jenn Davis, a Salt Lake City resident, told BBB how Parking Solutions put a boot on each tire of her car—four boots total—while her 18-year-old son sat in the passenger seat. The two were coming from the hospital and decided to stop for drinks at the Jamba Juice on 4th South in Salt Lake City. Unable to walk, her son stayed in the car with his smoothie while Davis walked across the parking lot to get him a Jimmy John’s sandwich.
Jared Law, a Parking Solutions employee, pulled up next to Davis in an unmarked Toyota Corolla as she walked back to her car. He asked where she parked. Davis assumed he wanted to grab her space in the crowded lot, but Law instead drove up to her car, parked horizontally behind it, and got out to boot her. Her son was still inside.
Davis reports that Parking Solutions refused to take a credit card, asking her to get a cash advance from a local payday loan place around the corner when she told him she didn’t have any other method of payment.
In a 90-second video recording Davis sent to BBB, Law states at least 10 separate times that Parking Solutions does not accept credit cards.
“Debit or cash. Debit or cash. Debit or cash. Ma’am, I’ve made it clear we only accept debit or cash,” Law says in one section of the video. He then said he would tow her for refusing to pay immediately.
“Can you tow a car with someone in it?” Davis asks in the video. Law doesn’t explicitly answer, instead rolling up his window while a clearly upset Davis repeatedly asks him not to call the tow truck.
Utah Code 41-6a-1409 Subsection (4)(e) states that “a vehicle immobilizer shall accept payment by cash and debit or credit card for the removal of a vehicle immobilization device or any service rendered, performed, or supplied in connection with the removal of the immobilization device.”
Davis called over a nearby police officer, an action she says caused Law to admit he could get “special permission” to accept a credit card after all. Even so, he made her sign her name on the receipt eight times until he was satisfied that her signature on the tablet matched the one on her card. He charged her $75 to remove the boots.
Davis, who researched the company on BBB and other websites after her experience, said that while she feels what she went through was appalling, she came to realize her experience is “not that crazy of a story. This kind of thing happens all the time.”
Jimmy John’s confirmed Davis’s statement. Travis Taylor, the HR Manager, hired employees specifically to sit in the lot and caution consumers. He told BBB that the 4th South location has someone from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., warning drivers about Parking Solutions’ unethical behavior. By Taylor’s report, these efforts have stopped over 400 consumers from getting towed in the last two months.
“I think I shook for two days,” says 81-year-old Violet Wilson to BBB. She reports that a Parking Solutions employee called her a criminal before demanding cash or debit to remove a boot in the same lot earlier this month. She was warned by a Jimmy John’s spotter, but Parking Solutions still booted her faster than she could move her car. Wilson did not get the name of the Parking Solutions employee, but his description did not match the one given by Davis. “He kept repeating that I was a criminal and criminals deserve to pay.”
BBB has attempted to contact Parking Solutions about the complaints and reviews we have received. The company has yet to respond.
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ABOUT BBB: For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands, and charities they can trust. In 2018, people turned to BBB more than 173 million times for BBB Business Profiles on nearly 5.4 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at BBB.org. Today, BBB serving Northern Nevada and Utah is supported by just over 4,500 Accredited Businesses that have voluntarily committed to adhere to BBB’s Standards of Trust.
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With unprofitable coal and nuclear plants continuing to shut down amidst current administration support, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2019's Most & Least Energy-Expensive States as well as accompanying videos.
For a better understanding of Americans’ energy costs relative to their location and consumption habits, WalletHub compared the average monthly energy bills in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia using a special formula that accounts for the following residential energy types: electricity, natural gas, motor fuel and home heating oil.
Most Energy-Expensive States
Least Energy-Expensive States
1
Connecticut ($373)
42
Iowa ($286)
2
Wyoming ($363)
43
New York ($284)
3
Alaska ($359)
44
Tennessee ($283)
4
Georgia ($344)
45
Illinois ($281)
5
Massachusetts ($336)
46
Hawaii ($279)
6
Indiana ($333)
47
Arkansas ($275)
7
Alabama ($333)
48
Louisiana ($271)
8
Maine ($332)
49
Washington ($265)
9
Oklahoma ($331)
50
Colorado ($251)
10
New Hampshire ($329)
51
District of Columbia ($204)
Note: The dollar amount listed beside each state above reflects its average monthly energy bill.
Best vs. Worst
To view the full report and your state or the District’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/energy-costs-by-state/4833/
