Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
VAPING-LUNG DAMAGE-UTAH
Utah's vaping illness count hits 83 amid national outbreak
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah health officials say the number of cases of lung damage linked to vaping is up to 83, with 11 more potential cases being investigated.
The state Department of Health announced the new tally Tuesday, a rise in the 76 cases reported earlier. Most patients are in their 20s or 30s.
Last week Utah reported the first vaping-related death in the state. Health officials said the person died from a vaping-related injury and that they recently vaped THC before they died.
Officials said unregulated vaping products containing marijuana's high-inducing ingredient, THC, are likely driving the outbreak.
U.S. government health officials have identified about 1,300 cases of vaping-related illnesses and at least 26 deaths. All reported cases have a history of e-cigarette product use or vaping.
Symptoms of the disease include coughing, nausea and vomiting.
ARIZONA OFFICIAL-ADOPTION FRAUD
Lawyer says Arizona official miscast as human smuggler
PHOENIX (AP) — A lawyer for an Arizona elected official charged in three states with facilitating an illegal international adoption scheme says prosecutors have miscast his client as a human smuggler.
Attorney Matt Long said Tuesday Maricopa County Assessor Paul Petersen cares deeply for the birth mothers from the Marshall Islands whom he connected with adoptive parents in the United States.
Long says prosecutors cherry picked facts to support their narrative, but he's confident Petersen will be vindicated. He says Petersen has been unfairly ping-ponged between state and federal custody and has been largely denied access to his lawyer. Long says that's made it hard for him to defend his client.
A judge in Phoenix delayed Petersen's arraignment Tuesday until after an Oct. 29 hearing in Arkansas, where he faces federal charges.
FIRST GROCERY STORE
City in rural Utah gets its first-ever grocery store
SANTAQUIN, Utah (AP) — A rural Utah city is opening its first-ever grocery store.
The Daily Herald reports construction began Monday on the first grocery store in Santaquin, a city of about 14,000 residents in northern Utah.
The Santaquin Market is the first step in the city's plan to build a commercial district. City officials expect the store to add more than 100 jobs and increase Santaquin's tax revenue.
Santaquin city manager Ben Reeves said the community is growing rapidly and they are hoping to eventually build a local high school.
Reeves said Santaquin has prioritized development in recent years, adding a signal light downtown and expanding Main Street.
NUCLEAR TESTING-COMPENSATION
Western governors want nuclear testing compensation expanded
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Western governors say atmospheric nuclear weapons testing exposed more states and more people to radiation fallout and resulting cancers and other diseases than the federal government recognizes.
The Western Governors' Association on Friday sent letters to the U.S. Senate and U.S. House urging passage of proposed changes to a law involving "downwinders."
The changes would add all of Nevada, Arizona and Utah, and include for the first time downwinders in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico and the island territory of Guam.
The changes to the 1990 Radiation Exposure Compensation Act would also include increasing the maximum payment to $150,000 for someone filing a claim.
The U.S. between 1945 and 1992 conducted more than 1,000 nuclear weapons tests, nearly 200 in the atmosphere.
UTAH COUNTY COMMISSION-NAVAJOS
Utah county to vote on possibly changing form of government
(Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com)
BLANDING, Utah (AP) — A southeastern Utah county has announced residents are expected to vote on the first step in possibly changing to a new form of government.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported Monday that San Juan County voters would decide whether a one-year study should be launched potentially expanding a three-member county commission that Native Americans took majority of last year.
Democratic Navajo James Adakai says the intent is to undermine the county's first Native American-majority commission and is a blatant ploy by white Republicans to take back control.
Blanding Mayor Joe Lyman says he has supported expanding the size of the commission for decades arguing a five-member commission would spread the workload and provide a more represented voice to residents by creating smaller districts.
___
ESCAPED INMATE
Inmate flees drug treatment program in Salt Lake City
(Information from: The Daily Herald, http://www.heraldextra.com)
PROVO, Utah (AP) — Authorities say a Utah County Jail inmate enrolled in a residential drug treatment program has gone missing in Salt Lake City.
The Daily Herald in Provo reported Monday that 26-year-old Ryan Thomas Miller, of Orem, was last seen at the Odyssey House of Utah.
Authorities say the Utah County Jail inmate recently enrolled in the substance abuse treatment program.
He was able to remove a GPS ankle monitor.
Miller was only permitted to leave a jail in Spanish Fork to participate in the court-ordered program.
He has been in custody for charges of possession of a controlled substance as well as several counts of theft, attempted possession of credit card and forgery.
He now faces an additional charge of escape.
___
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
