From reading these updates you know, of course, that last year then-President George Bush signed an executive order requiring that procurement federal contractors must use the federal E-Verify system when staffing work for new contracts.  However, implementation of the new requirement has been delayed several times.

The United States Department of Defense recently announced that the effective date of the new rule is being delayed once again, this time until June 30, 2009.  The government will start to include the E-Verify clause in new contracts after that date...or not.  The date could be delayed...
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The federal procurement contractor deadline requiring that contractors begin to use the E-Verify employment verification system has been postponed again to September 8, 2009.  The House is now considering the Employee Verification Amendment Act of 2009 (H.R. 2679), which would extend E-Verify through September of 2014 and require the General Accounting Office (GAO) to study ways to improve its accuracy. 

Congress is also considering bills that would replace E-Verify with another verification system.  Finally, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) department has announced proposed new rules to track and enforce employer compliance with the ...
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The Utah Legislature has passed a bill that would require all Utah private employers with 15 or more employees to use the federal E-Verify employment verification system, or a comparable system, when hiring new employees beginning on or after July 1, 2010. 

The bill, S.B. 251 (see full text of bill at: http://le.utah.gov/~2010/bills/sbillint/sb0251.htm) was...
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OK, I know, this story has changed a lot during the last several updates…what the heck is going on here?  The Utah Legislature passed a bill that would require all Utah private employers with 15 or more employees to use the federal E-Verify employment verification system, or a comparable system, when hiring new employees beginning on or after July 1, 2010. 

The bill,...
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ST.GEORGE - The Washington County Economic Development Council (WCEDC) has announced the organization of an ad hoc committee charged with supporting an enhanced affiliation between Dixie State College and the University of Utah.

"We understand work for the affiliation progressed over the summer as representatives from Dixie visited other campuses with similar affiliations," said V. Lowry Snow, WCEDC chair. "We support Dixie State in this key educational advancement."

Snow holds a seat on the ad hoc committee, which is co-chaired by David Clove and Randy Wilkinson. Other members are...
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CEDAR CITY- Home prices may have to drop by 20 percent to jumpstart Utah's sagging construction industry and spur development of affordable housing, says the chief economist for Wells Fargo Bank.

The current mortgage crisis will likely be exacerbated by a projected 3 percent population growth in the second half of 2008, Kelly Matthews, Wells Fargo executive vice president and chief economist told the 21st Annual Utah Rural Summit last week.

"It's not that we're building too many homes," Matthews said. "It's that we're not building enough affordable homes."

Matthews' keynote concluded the two-day summit hosted by...
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Arizona Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign is touting a new survey of economists who predict he would have a more positive impact on stock markets than Democrat Barack Obama.

The Reuters news service asked 29 economic firms which presidential candidate would be better for stock markets, which have been hit by inflation, high energy prices, the housing collapse and financial sector troubles.

Twenty-one of those economists said McCain's economic agenda would have a more positive impact on stocks, six cited Obama's policies and two gave no response.

McCain wants to...
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As Americans move into the second half of 2008, it appears an economic turnaround this year is unlikely.

The National Association for Business Economics reports that 45 percent of economists believe the economy won't log any growth or will clock in at a small 1 percent pace in the final six months of this year. And, 10 percent think economic activity could contract during the period.

Thirty-two percent, meanwhile, think the economy's growth...
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NEW YORK CITY -- Editor & Publisher, the only independent news organization reporting on all aspects of the transforming newspaper business,  will resume publication in print and online following its sale Thursday from The Nielsen Company to Duncan McIntosh Co. Inc., the Irvine, Calif.-based magazine and newspaper publisher.

The announcement came exactly two weeks after the closing of E&P, the acknowledged "bible of the newspaper industry," which can trace its...
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January 2009 - Professional Education at The University of Utah is proud to offer three distance education classes for the first time at the Graduate Center in St. George. Using state-of-the-art Internet video technology, these interactive, one-day courses are designed for working professionals looking to hone skills, move in a new direction, or develop strategies for weathering uncertain economic times.

Grant Writing, offered on Feb. 17, 2009, will explore various ways to identify and cultivate partnerships between nonprofit organizations and potential donors. Participants will learn how to...
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The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission  reports that employment discrimination claims based on pregnancy have increased significantly from 1992 to 2007.  Pregnancy claims increased  sixty-five percent during the last fifteen years and hit a record high in 2007. 
Interestingly, a large part of the increase came from filings by women of color - black women pregnancy claims were up 45%; claims by Hispanic women up 135%; claims by Asian women up by 90%; and by Native American women up 109%.  The Pregnancy Discrimination expands the gender protected class by prohibiting employment discrimination against women based on pregnancy and related issue...
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WASHINGTON -- In the first legislative expansion of its jurisdiction since passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on Saturday [11/21/09] will assume responsibility for enforcing Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).

GINA, signed into law in May 2008, prohibits discrimination by health insurers and employers based on individuals' genetic information. Genetic information includes the results of genetic tests to determine whether someone is at increased risk of acquiring a condition (such as some forms of breast cancer) in the future, as well as an individual's...
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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") recently issued new guidance for employers using settlement agreements and waivers to have current and former employees release discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims.

Among the points explained or clarified by the EEOC:

employees who sign valid waivers can still file EEOC charges because the agency has the independent statutory mandate to enforce the laws, so employer waivers should not prohibit the...
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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has voted to amend its regulations to include a list of physical and mental impairments which are presumed to be disabilities protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  The ADA requires the determination of whether someone is disabled to be made on a case-by-case basis, so this list would not be definitive.  However, as you can imagine, it would carry a lot of weight. 

The proposed list of presumed disabilities includes:  blindness, deafness, intellectual and developmental disabilities, partially or completely missing limbs, mobility impairments, autism, cancer, cerebral palsy, diabetes, epilepsy, HIV-AIDS, multiple sclerosis and muscular dystrophy, major depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic syndrome, schizophrenia, asthma, high-blood pressure, coronary artery disease, learning disabilities, back and leg impairments, carpal tunnel syndrome, hyperthyroidism and other psychiatric...
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The Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has proposed a new rule that would redefine an important defense to certain age discrimination claims.  The defense at issue applies to what are called “disparate impact” claims, or claims that certain employer actions have an adverse impact on older workers.

 Under current law, an employer can defend an adverse impact claim by proof that the policy at issue was based on a reasonable factor other than age (“RFOA”).  The proposed EEOC regulations seek to flesh out the RFOA defense with defining factors such as:  (1) whether the employer took steps to assess any adverse impact on older workers; (2) the extent older workers are harmed; and (3) what other options were considered or...
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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has weighed in on the national discussion about what an employer can and cannot do in responding to the swine flu outbreak and on health risk assessments generally. The EEOC concludes that employers can offer voluntary assessments and programs but cannot mandate disclosure of disability or genetic-related information.

For more information, see:  http://moss07.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/benefits/Articles/Pages/EEOCwellness.aspx

The EEOC also reminds employers that the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) allows...
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I read something recently that fascinated me.  It helped me understand the difference between being effective vs. being efficient.  I thought you might find it as helpful as I did:

"Effectiveness is doing the things that get you closer to your goals. Efficiency is performing a given task (whether important or not) in the most economical manner possible.

Being efficient without regard to effectiveness is the default mode of the universe. I would consider the best door-to-door salesperson efficient-that is, refined and excellent at selling door-to-door without wasting time-but utterly...
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SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - Between 65 and 99 million years ago, winding rivers laid down layers of sand that over geologic time accumulated concentrations of oil and natural gas.

As drillers will tell you, these complex remnants of river channels that occur in the strata called the Dakota Formation are hard to pinpoint. Think about locating a snaky, 50-foot-thick vein of...
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SALT LAKE CITY - The Consul General of Egypt is very interested in establishing a sister city relationship between a city in Utah and one in his country.
 
"We are ready to do business," said Hesham Elnakib, Consul General of Egypt to the western United States. "I believe that visiting Egypt will change the general opinion of how business is done in my country."
 
The World Trade Center Utah and the Governor's Office of Economic Development hosted His Excellency at a luncheon this week at the Salt Lake Chamber. The meeting gave Utah businesses an opportunity to explore potential business in Egypt.
 
In his first ever visit to Utah, the ...
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St. George, Utah -Jones Waldo Holbrook & McDonough PC, one of Utah's largest and oldest law firms, recently announced that three attorneys have been elected shareholder: Brett Ekins in the St. George office, and Troy J. Aramburu, and Jacob Redd in Salt Lake City. The firm is also pleased to announce the election of Lori Nelson, also in Salt Lake City, to the firm's board of directors.

"We congratulate our new shareholders on their accomplishments," said Keven Rowe president of Jones Waldo. "These 4 extraordinary individuals have worked hard and are excellent representatives of the high-standards of service and quality legal work our firm strives to achieve."

Aramburu practices in ...
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BEAVER, UTAH - The LFC Group of Companies recently announced a new campaign on their commercial property auction website LFC.com: the former Elk Meadows Ski Resort in Utah's Beaver County. The property, comprising more than 1,100 acres of beautiful recreational land, is surrounded by a half-dozen of Utah's most renowned national parks, including Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Dixie National Forest and Fishlake National Forest.

Elk Meadows is secluded yet accessible. The mountain is less than three hours from several of Utah's major metropolitan areas, including...
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Last week I told you every publication or broadcast station likes to receive press releases according to their own guidelines. So the key is, always review the publication or the media outlet's Web site for submission guidelines before you send your news release.

If you can't find guidelines, call the publication/station and ask an editorial assistant. When you get the guidelines, ALWAYS foll...
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Two recent court cases involve interesting issues regarding employee electronic privacy.  In one case, the DC federal court ruled that an employee (this time, a federal prosecutor) has a privacy right in emails sent to his private lawyer even if the emails were sent over the employer’s email system. 

Although most employers have policies in place to...
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As a small business owner you may hire people as independent contractors or as employees. There are rules that will help you determine how to classify the people you hire. This will affect how much you pay in taxes, whether you need to withhold from your workers paychecks and what tax documents you need to...
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The Legislature approved a bill imposing employee selection rules, prohibiting employers with 15 or more employees from collecting a date of birth or Social Security number before hiring.

Specifically, the bill prohibits an employer from collecting an applicant's date of birth, Social Security number or driver license number before either a job offer or before the time when an employer normally does, with the applicant's consent, a background check, driving history or criminal background check on applicants for employment.

The bill also restricts the use of such information to hiring purposes and prohibits distribution of...
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If you are a small business owner, whether you hire people as independent contractors or as employees will impact how much taxes you pay and the amount of taxes you withhold from their paychecks. Additionally, it will affect how much additional cost your business must bear, what documents and information they must provide to you, and what tax documents you must give to them.

Here are the top ten things every business owner should know about hiring people as independent contractors versus hiring them as employees.

1. Three characteristics are used by the IRS to determine the relationship between businesses and workers: Behavioral Control, Financial Control, and the Type of Relationship.

2. Behavioral Control covers facts that show whether the business has a right to direct or control how the work is done through instructions, training or other means.

3. Financial Control covers facts that show whether the business has a right to direct or control the financial and business aspects of...
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As we all know, there is lots of litigation over Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) classifications and we all worry about overtime pay and minimum wage requirements.  But FLSA also has record keeping requirements that employers sometimes neglect to remember.  One employer in Florida now has almost two hundred thousand more reasons to remember these requirements. 

That employer recently was hit with a $179,000 verdict for overtime pay and one of the main reasons the employer lost the case is that it did not have hardly any records of its employee wages and hours.  Even if you do not owe anyone any overtime, you...
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A reader's recent email reminded me it may be time to again circulate a summary of general employment law rules - actually, best practices is probably a better phrase - on reductions in force. Here are five helpful tips.

1. Have and document a reason for the overall RIF (e.g. business downturn, lost contract, etc. 

2. Be able to articulate (and maybe do so in a spreadsheet comparing affected employees) legitimate...
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By Michael Patrick O'Brien
Utah SHRM legal director

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the federal law outlining when an employer must provide a minimum wage and pay overtime. A recent employment law publication provides a timely reminder of the most common mistakes made by employers under the FLSA.

1. Assume everyone who works for you is a professional and thus exempt from FLSA;

2. Deduct missing equipment from an exempt employee's pay;

3. making employees work, without pay, during what is supposed to be a lunch break;

4. not paying non-exempt employees who...
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The past few weeks we've been discussing recent major revisions to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). We'll continue with that topic.

The changes are designed to make it easier for someone with a physical or mental impairment to fit within the definition of disabled under the ADA. Unlike most of the other protected employment classes - such as race, gender and age - it is not always clear whether or not a person falls within the protected class of disabled.

During the fifteen-plus years since passage of the ADA, many courts, including the United States Supreme Court, have foreclosed ...
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Lately, just reading the newspaper will tell you the latest HR Law trends and threats for employers.  Within the past few weeks, I have read articles about employee layoff angst, claims of discrimination against military veterans, stepped-up efforts to reduce alleged employer abuse of the independent contractor classification, and a rise in the perception of age bias at work. 

The independent contractor abuse article was particularly interesting because it explained that enforcement efforts are being spearheaded not by the Federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS), but by state unemployment compensation agencies trying to make sure all true employees are reported.  Be cautious in...
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It is always a challenge to be listed on the first page of the search results for any keyword term, let alone a competitive term. Competing with large corporations for the same keyword is almost impossible with a limited budget or limited time, especially if your web site is...
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There are several ways to use a keyword, you and use them in the title, in the header tags, in the body of the page, or as a word on another web site that links to the web site of interest.

Do not overuse the keyword; use it in the title, the header tags, meta tags only once. When using the keyword on the page, use it more than once, but never over and over again for no reason. The text must make logical sense and must be giving out good...
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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently announced that a record number of males filed employment bias charges with the agency in 2007.

Men filed almost one out of every five (16%) of EEOC claims last year, up from the previous record of one out of every ten (9 percent) set in the 1990s.

In fact, the EEOC recently publicized its latest lawsuit representing a class of male restaurant employees who alleged they were subjected to sexual harassment by their male co-workers.

Employment lawyers have also noticed an increase in claims filed by men alleging...
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(1) As part of a defense spending measure, Congress has passed, and the President has signed into law, a six month extension of the sixty five percent (65%) COBRA subsidies enacted last year as part of the economic stimulus package. 

(2) The same defense spending bill also includes a...
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A recent report by a national jury verdict research institute says that the median jury award for employment law claims in the United States rose sixty percent (60%) in 2008, from about $204,000 to $326,000.  The median employment claim settlement amount (for reported settlements) rose to the highest level in the past decade at $90,000.

The report notes that retaliation awards were the highest during the...
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A state audit of the Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division (UALD) has noted some serious delays in employment discrimination charge processing.  The audit has recommended that all such charges be addressed and resolved within 180 days of filing. 

In response to the audit, the UALD is working to efficiently resolve its oldest cases first.  Congress is again considering how/when to reform the nation’s immigration laws.  Clerical leaders have called for a path for citizenship for undocumented workers already here.  Other political leaders support plans that do not include such...
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Here are some quick news briefs from the employment law world.  First, the COBRA subsidy ended as of May 31, 2010.  Congress has suggested it might extend it again, but has not yet done so. 

Second, national SHRM reports that “On May 1, 2010, revisions to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs take effect, including reduced cutoff levels for amphetamine and cocaine. Although the Guidelines apply to federal employer drug testing, many private-sector employers opt to follow the Guidelines' procedures for how testing is conducted and for the cutoff levels. The revised Guidelines also change other administrative aspects of...
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Some recent news stories are good indicators of legal trends to which employers should pay some attention.  First, the Illinois Legislature just approved a new law restricting employers from using credit information in employment decisions.  Several other states (Hawaii, Oregon, Washington) have adopted similar laws, all intended to minimize the impact of the Great Recession on an applicant’s ability to get a job. 

Second, nationally, claims brought before state wage agencies are...
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Kodak has agreed to pay $21 million to settle claims of race discrimination brought by African-American workers who alleged they did not get raises or promotions due to job bias.  T-Mobile is being sued by sales associates who allege they were not paid for performing duties "off the clock" such as logging into computer systems and responding to text and email messages when off duty.

A Texas employee has been hit with a verdict for improperly accessing employees' MySpace pages.  The employer used another employee's password to access the by-invitation-only site and then fired employees who posted negative comments about the company. The Court found these actions violated...
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ST. GEORGE, UTAH - Local endodontists Dan Bethers, D.D.S., and Clay Williams, D.D.S., have announced the relocation of their practice, Desert Endodontics, from East Tabernacle St. to a new state-of-the-art facility at 1224 S. River Road. 

Endodontists are specialists in...
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CEDAR CITY - Kit Wareham has served as Cedar City's engineer for the past 15 years. He was born in Price, Utah and grew up in the town of Ferron in Emery County. His father was a cattleman so his family lived on a cattle ranch in the area.
     Wareham has always liked building things or seeing them built and proved "That's the heart of engineering. That's probably what I like most about it," he said.
      Wareham enjoys being able to help improve the city through his involvement with the design and construction of some of its more important projects, including road, water and sewage. Knowing that those projects will eventually benef...
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I'm writing to try to enlist your help for this years 6th Sub 4 Santa Project.  We provide very essential items to one of the nations most impoverished areas.  Your help would be greatly appreciated.  These children in some instances are victims of abuse and neglect.  The one constant is the poverty that surrounds the area.  Last year we found our selves without sponsors for 20 of our children.  We managed to buy the needed items using credit.  However, this year we expect things to be more difficult.  Please help us provide a Christmas to these children that without us would have no Christmas atall.  We are expecting...
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The Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) announced Monday that its enrollment numbers for fall 2008 increased by 11,896 total students, an increase of 8.48%.

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“The recent change in the nation’s economic climate is certainly a factor contributing to these increases,” said Commissioner of Higher Education William Sederburg. “When job opportunities lessen, people often return to college for more education or training.  Higher education plays a critical role in the economi...
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ENTERPRISE, Utah; March, 2009 - Getting good marks in school means money in the bank for Enterprise High School student Darian Bowler.  She won the St. George-area drawing for a $100 scholarship savings account from Zions Bank's Pays for A's program.  Bowler received the surprise news about the scholarship from Zions Bank's Enterprise branch manager Bart Merrill and customer service manager DeLaun Humphries along with Principal Holmes on March. 16.  

Open to all Utah and Idaho students ages 13 through 18, Zions Pays for A's offers cash incentives for good grades.  Teen students simply take their most recent term-end report cards from the...
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November 17-23 the state of Utah joins more than 100 countries and organizations representing millions of entrepreneurs to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week.

"Unleashing Ideas: Igniting High-Growth Entrepreneurship in Utah" is a daylong concurrent entrepreneur and angel investor conference highlighting Utah's role in Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Thursday, Nov. 20, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. entrepreneurs, angel investors, venture capitalists, and experts in numerous core service industries will attend the conference, to be held at Sandy's South Towne Exposition Center.

The conference features ...
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Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and Member of the Finance Committee, and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Senior Member of HELP and Finance Committees, said they were disappointed that Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), has failed to provide timely, written technical assistance on the Kennedy-Dodd bill.  Enzi and Hatch again said that the HELP Committee needs official, technical feedback from HHS before it considers the bill.

"We have made a commitment to the people of this country to work in a bipartisan way to enact a health care reform bill this year that makes affordable, quality health insurance available for all ...
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WASHINGTON – Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, today joined the fight against the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to regulate greenhouse gases, which he called a “power grab” that will cost American jobs, bankrupt the economy and hurt the nation’s global...
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MARIETTA, GA-The EPI Companies, which ranked 112th on the 2008Printing Impressions 400 list with sales of $51 million, has gone out of business. A vendor of EPI Companies, speaking on the condition that he not be identified, told Printing Impressions that the general commercial and direct mail printer had closed its doors recently.

EPI Companies was featured on the cover of Printing Impressions in May of 2007. The firm was listed as having 120 employees....
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ST. GEORGE - ERA Franchise Systems LLC, one of the world's largest residential real estate franchisors, honored its most successful sales associates and selling brokers at its annual invitation only "Beyond Excellence" conference, held July 20 - 23 at the Atlantis Resort, Paradise Island, Bahamas.

Denny Orton of ERA Brokers Consolidated in Panguitch was among the top producers recognized for their excellence in real estate.

At the conference, educational seminars and best-practices discussions provided an opportunity for attendees to share strategies for growing their real estate business and ...
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SAINT GEORGE - ERA Brokers Consolidated is proud to welcome Tamara Foster to their St. George Blvd. office. 

Tamara has been a licensed Real Estate Agent since 2003, and obtained her Broker's license in 2007.  In Salt Lake City, she began her real estate career in the new homes sales division for Richmond American Homes.  After relocating to Saint George, she became the Principal Broker for Almega Homes in the Saint George area.

Tamara recently joined ERA Brokers Consolidated as the newest member of their management team.  She will support the recruiting and training efforts company wide in addition to ...
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ST. GEORGE - Seven sales associates from ERA Brokers Consolidated recently completed the ERA AccelERAtion training course offered by ERA Franchise Systems LLC.

The course was taught by Diane Allen and graduates included Jim Boatright, Kaden Feller, Tamara Sherman, Lisa Cleaveland, Peggy Roundy, Maggie Ireland and Torres Ramey.

AccelERAtion's five-day facilitated training program educates ERA sales associates on how to better assist buyers and sellers, pricing and preparing a home to sell, prospecting, hosting open houses, and negotiating.

Other topics include ...
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St. George, UT - April 2009 - Local real estate company ERA Brokers Consolidated recently celebrated a milestone 30 year anniversary with global real estate network ERA Franchise Systems LLC.  The company was honored at a special anniversary reception at the 2009 ERA International Business Conference, held March 6th thru 9th in San Antonio, TX.

Affiliation with the ERA Franchise in St. George began in 1978. In 1982, 5 of the area’s leading real estate brokerages; ERA, C-21 Realty World, Walter & Assoc., and Houston Realty, sensed that growth was skyrocketing.  So having a desire to positively shape the change that was inevitable and a thorough knowledge of...
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ST. GEORGE - ERA Brokers Consolidated St. George office has received national recognition from global real estate leader ERA Franchise Systems LLC and ERA Mortgage for "High Capture Rate" achievement during 2007 in its division.

Capture Rate is defined by ERA Mortgage closings per buyer controlled sales. With the highest capture rate in the state of Utah last year, Brokers Consolidated ranked in the top three in the nation in this category among companies of comparable size.

The prestigious award was announced at...
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ST. GEORGE - Thayne Houston and Mark Walter of ERA Brokers Consolidated, joined other leading ERA brokers from across the United States at the annual ERA Top Affiliate Recognition Trip.

Each year, ERA Franchise Systems rewards the outstanding accomplishments of its affiliates with a recognition trip. This year's event was held at the Encantado Resort & Spa in Santa Fe, N.M.

Each year, brokers of the leading ERA companies, based on sales performance from the previous year, are invited to attend the recognition trip. The winner and finalists of the Gene Francis Memorial Award for Top All-Around Company - honori...
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St. George, Utah - February, 2009 - Leading local agents from ERA Brokers Consolidated have been recognized for their outstanding sales performance during January 2009. With ever changing market conditions, these Agents have demonstrated that the combination of putting the needs of the client foremost in the transaction and being knowledgeable about the market, are the keys to creating a positive Real Estate experience.

The Top Listing Agent for the St.George office was John Houston; for the `the Lemmon Team` for the Hurricane office.

Closing agent achievers were Bill Hobson in St. George and Stephany Llewellyn in the...
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ST. GEORGE - Leading local REALTORS from ERA Brokers Consolidated have been recognized for their outstanding sales performance during May 2008.

With ever changing market conditions, these agents have proven that the combination of putting the needs of the client foremost in the transaction and being knowledgeable about the market are the keys to creating a positive real Estate experience.

Top Listing Agents for the month are Cox/Magnesen Team, St. George Blvd. Office, and April Gates, Hurricane Office.

Top Closing Agents for May are Bi...
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ST. GEORGE - Leading local realtors from ERA Brokers Consolidated have been recognized for their outstanding sales performance during June 2008.

Top Listing Agents for the month are Dave Weeks, St. George Blvd. Office and Sariah Mortensen, Hurricane Office.

Top Closing Agents are Cox/Magnesen Team, St. George Blvd. Office and Porter Team, Hurricane Office.

"This outstanding achievement is really a testimony to the quality of our team at ERA Brokers Consolidated", said H. Thayne Houston, Principal Broker. "With a commitment to client satisfaction, cutting-edge technology tools a...
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ST. GEORGE - Leading local realtors from ERA Brokers Consolidated have been recognized for their outstanding sales performance during June 2008.

Top Listing Agents for the month are Dave Weeks, St. George Blvd. Office and Sariah Mortensen, Hurricane Office.

Top Closing Agents are Cox/Magnesen Team, St. George Blvd. Office and Porter Team, Hurricane Office.

"This outstanding achievement is really a testimony to the quality of our team at ERA Brokers Consolidated", said H. Thayne Houston, Principal Broker. "With a commitment to cl...
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ST. GEORGE - Leading local realtors from ERA Brokers Consolidated have been recognized for their outstanding sales performance during July 2008.

With ever changing market conditions, these agents have proven that the combination of putting the needs of the client foremost in the transaction and being knowledgeable about the market, are the keys to creating a positive Real Estate experience.

The Top Listing Agents of the month are Ron Lemmon of the St. George Boulevard office and Lemmon Team of the Hurricane office.

The Top Closing Agents are Ry...
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ST. GEORGE - - Leading local realtors from ERA Brokers Consolidated have been recognized for their outstanding sales performance during Sept. 2008.  With ever changing market conditions, these Agents have proven that the combination of putting the needs of the client foremost in the transaction and being knowledgeable about the market, are the keys to creating a positive Real Estate experience.

Top Listing Agents: John Houston - St. George Blvd. Office and Lemmon Team - Hurricane Office.    

Top Closing Agents: Nate Shaw - St. George Blvd. Office and Sariah Mortensen - Hurricane Office.          &nb...
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St. George, UT, March, 2009 - Leading local Realtors from ERA Brokers Consolidated have been recognized for their outstanding sales performance during January 2009.  With ever changing market conditions, these Agents have proven that the combination of putting the needs of the client foremost in the transaction and being knowledgeable about the market, are the keys to creating a positive Real Estate experience.
Top Listing Agents: Cox/Magnesen Team - St. George Blvd. Office and...
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ST. GEORGE, UTAH - local agents from ERA Brokers Consolidated have been recognized for their outstanding sales performance during September 2009.  With the ever changing market conditions, these Agents have proven that the combination of putting the needs of the client foremost in the transaction and being knowledgeable about the market, are the keys to creating a positive Real Estate experience.

Top Listing Agents: John Houston in the St. George Blvd. Office and April Gates in the Hurricane Office.

Top Closing Agents: John Houston in the St. George Blvd. Office and Sariah Mortensen in the Hurricane Office.

"This outstanding achievement is really a...
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ST. GEORGE, UTAH - ERA Brokers Consolidated is excited to welcome Don Leavitt to their St. George Blvd. office. 

Don has spent the majority of his working life in real estate. He was first licensed in 1972 and has experience in residential and commercial sales, leases, and exchanges, and is ABR and GRI accredited. 

Don left real estate sales for about 11 years and worked with the State of Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (Sitla) as a Land Planner and Project Manager learning how to plan and develop large acre parcels.  Most recently Don was the Land Planner and Project Manager for the...
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St. George, UT - June, 2009 -- ERA Brokers Consolidated is recently welcomed Sherry Watkins back to their St. George Blvd. office. 

Sherry says feels like she grew up in Real Estate.  Her grandma was a real estate Broker, her dad a builder/developer and her mom is currently a Broker.  In 2004 she decided to get her license and go to work in the field she grew up around.  Sherry hung her license at ERA Brokers fresh out of school and spent 2 1/2 years here before she ventured away for about 15 months.   We are so thrilled to have her back at ERA!

She has five children, seven step-children and too many grandchildren to count.  Wait a minute; can you ever really have too many ...
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ST. GEORGE, UTAH - ERA Brokers Consolidated recently welcomed Tim Scott to their Hurricane office. Tim grew up in Toquerville, Utah and attended Hurricane High School. He enjoys designing custom homes, playing the trumpet, four wheeling, camping, hunting and gardening.  Tim and his wife, Andrea, have 2 daughters, ages 7 & 5, and a 2 year old son. 

Since he has worked for...
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ST. GEORGE, UTAH - ERA Brokers Consolidated recently hosted several corporate visitors from ERA Franchise Systems over the past couple of weeks.  Last week Charlie Faure, ERA Field Services Representative, and Christy Torian, newly appointed Business Consultant, visited the ERA Brokers office on St. George Blvd.  

The focus of their visit was to introduce Christy Torian to H. Thayne Houston, Principal Broker, and to establish and implement a business plan for ERA Brokers for 2010.  They also reviewed the vast array of ERA products and services that are available to clients as well as ERA Agents, and discussed ways to promote the ERA "difference" to the public and to...
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ST. GEORGE - After analyzing the facts about text messaging, ERA Franchise Systems has responded with TXT ERA, a high-tech solution to keep consumers better informed.

Consumers are text messaging more than ever. In the United States alone, 12 million text messages were sent in June 2000, the first year that text messaging became generally available here.

By June 2007, the number of text messages sent had jumped 2,000-fold, to 24 billion. Eight months later, communications giant Verizon reported handling a record 20 billion text messages in one month. Text messaging by people age 45-54 grew...
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Top listing agents: Ryan Andersen, St. George Blvd. office; and Sariah Mortensen, Hurricane office.

Top closing agents: John Houston, St. George Blvd. office; and The Lemmon Team, Hurricane office.

"This outstanding achievement is really a testimony to the quality of our team at ERA Brokers Consolidated", said H. Thayne Houston, principal broker. "Through a commitment to customer satisfaction and cutting-edge products and services, these top agents strive to meet the specific needs of both home buyers and sellers."

ERA Brokers Consolidated is a full-service brokerage, with six office locations in St. George, Hurricane, Panguitch, Beaver, Richfield and Mesquite. Call 628-1606 or visit them on the Web at www.ERABrokers.net.

St. George, UT.  Leading local REALTORS from ERA Brokers Consolidated have been recognized for their outstanding sales performance during Dec. 2008.  "With ever changing market conditions, these Agents have proven that the combination of putting the needs of the client foremost in the transaction and being knowledgeable about the market, are the keys to creating a...
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ST. GEORGE - Realtors from ERA Brokers Consolidated have been recognized for their outstanding sales performance during June 2009. With the ever changing market conditions, these Agents have proven that "the combination of putting the needs of the client foremost in the transaction and being knowledgeable about the market, are the keys to creating a positive Real Estate experience" said said H. Thayne Houston, Principal Broker. Top Listing Agents: John Houston - St. George Blvd. Office and Lemmon Team - Hurricane Office. Top Closing Agents: Ryan Andersen - St. George Blvd. Office and Lemmon - Hurricane Office.

"This outstanding achievement is really a testimony to the quality of our...
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ST. GEORGE, UTAH - Local agents from ERA Brokers Consolidated have been recognized for their outstanding sales performance during October 2009.  

"With the ever changing market conditions, these Agents have proven that the combination of putting the needs of the client foremost in the transaction and being knowledgeable about the market, are the keys to creating a positive...
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ST. GEORGE, UTAH - Leading local real estate agents from ERA Brokers Consolidated have been recognized for their outstanding sales performance during October 2009.  H. Thayne Houston, Principal Broker, says “With the ever changing market conditions, these Agents have proven that the combination of putting the needs of the client foremost in the transaction and being knowledgeable about the market, are the keys to creating a positive Real Estate experience.”

Top Listing Agents:...
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ST. GEORGE -- ERA Brokers Consolidated recently welcomed Kim Burningham to their St. George Blvd. office. 
 
Kim has lived in St. George for the past 3 years, but has been a real estate Agent for the past 20 years, with various companies, dealing mostly with new construction.  Kim and her husband, Bruce, also have a construction company that has allowed them to build and sell both spec and custom homes in Northern Utah.  Kim and Bruce, built a home in Entrada and are hoping to build more custom homes as the economy improves.
 
Kim is looking forward to using her Real Estate skills to help clients find the...
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ST. GEORGE, UTAH -- ERA Brokers Consolidated recently welcomed the Abbie/Dick Team to their St. George Boulevard office. 
 
The team is composed of John R. Dick and Abbie Olsen Dick, a professional Real Estate Team as well as a married couple.  Together the Abbie/Dick Team bring over many years of real estate experience. 
 
John traveled the world for 30 years as a Sr. VP of Marketing & Sales for a Fortune 200 Company before starting his real estate career. He is an Associate Broker holding designations of GRI & CRS.  For 20 years, John has enjoyed cattle ranching in northern Utah, hunting and camping with his grandchildren and investing in...
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ST GEORGE - ERA Brokers Consolidated in St. George has received national recognition from global real estate leader ERA Franchise Systems LLC and ERA Mortgage for “High Capture Rate” achievement in 2007 in its respective division. Capture Rate is defined by...
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ROCHESTER, NY—Xerox Corp.'s digital printing engine technology is being tapped to help produce books on demand with the Espresso Book Machine. This Espresso, sold by On Demand Books, produces millions of copyrighted, public domain, out-of-print, or rare texts for consumers, with each taking only a matter of minutes to be produced.

Xerox and On Demand Books will...
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ST. GEORGE - SouthWest Federal Credit Union will sponsor an estate planning seminar titled "Estate Planning Myths: Why Estate Plans Fail and What to Do About It."

The seminar is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 8, at 6:30 p.m. at SouthWest Federal, 162 N. 400 East in Training Room A101. The general public is invited to attend this free seminar.

Estate and legacy wealth planning expert Randall J. Holmgren, attorney with the St. George office of law firm Jones Waldo, will cover the best (and newest) methods for designing ...
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ST. GEORGE, UTAH - Dixie State College of Utah’s Udvar-Hazy School of Business continues its bi-monthly noontime Business and Ethics Forum series for the 2010 spring semester on Thursday, Feb. 18, featuring a presentation local antique dealer Bert Walker.

The Business and Ethics Forum, presented every other Thursday throughout DSC’s spring semester, will be held in the Boeing Auditorium (Room 121) of the DSC Udvar-Hazy School of Business Building. DSC students, faculty and staff, the entire Washington County business community, and the general public are all invited to attend. Admission is...
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ST. GEORGE, Utah - The Business and Ethics Forum will be held in the Boeing Auditorium (Room 121) of the DSC Udvar-Hazy Business Building. DSC students, faculty and staff, the entire Washington County business community, and the general public are all invited to attend. Admission is free.

The Forum, in its bi-monthly noontime Business and Ethics Forum this Thursday, Feb. 4, is featuring a presentation by Scott Vest, the Director of Human Resources for the Shift4 Corporation. Vest's presentation, entitled "To Fire or Not to Fire," discusses how important ethics and policies are in today's workplace when faced with making difficult personnel decisions. Vest is a graduate of ...
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ST. GEORGE, UTAH - Dixie State College of Utah’s Udvar-Hazy School of Business continues its bi-monthly noontime Business and Ethics Forum series for the 2010 spring semester on Thursday, Feb. 4, featuring a presentation by Lori Chaplan, who serves as president of the Utah Association of Realtors.

The Business and Ethics Forum, presented every other Thursday throughout DSC’s spring semester, will be held in the Boeing Auditorium (Room 121) of the DSC Udvar-Hazy School of Business Building. DSC students, faculty and staff, the entire Washington County business community, and the general public are all invited to attend. Admission is...
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Sometimes you get investigated or sued, even when you don't deserve it. Want examples?  In the last year fully analyzed (2008 I think), almost 100,000 Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC) claims were filed, a record year.  Age claims were up 29%; retaliation up 23%.  Race/sex discrimination claims are still very common. 

The EEOC recovered almost $400 million in verdicts and settlements. Million dollar verdicts are common in the news. That stinks!  Remember that you cannot stop someone from suing you. What you can do is minimize your risk of losing that lawsuit.  And you can put yourself in the best position to get rid of...
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Each week I have business owners come to me asking about writing ads for their products or services. When I tell them that I never write an ad for less than $1,000 and as much as $7,500 - they about have a heart attack.

The reason for that price is because of the results and that there's a lot of legwork and research that goes into the process of writing an ad. There are a lot of things you've got to understand and take into consideration before you can...
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Time to face the facts. Given nothing to prove them wrong, here's what your prospect believes - one business is just like another. Any accountant can complete my tax return, any electrician can install a ceiling fan, and any restaurant can fill me up.

Now, I didn't say it was true. In fact, you know it's not true, but there you sit doing nothing about it.

If you can't find a way to differentiate your business from every other business that says it does what you do, and, if you can't communicate that difference in a way that really matters to a narrow target market, then you're basically ...
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After that particular column appeared I got a nice email from a professional colleague, Sharon May of the Dixie Weekly News. Sharon discussed some of her preferences in receiving press releases and suggested a few tips that I hadn't considered.

Sharon's email reminded me that not all editors/news directors share exactly the same preferences when it comes to receiving press releases. The bottom line is, everyone likes to do things ...
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The Cedar City Area Chamber of Commerce is still looking for a new executive director to replace former director Donna Brown who left recently to start a business.

The job description is available online at http://www.cedarcitychamber.org/getPage.php?page=highlights. Interested parties should email resumes to Steve Mickey at chamberprez@infowest.com.

The May 2005 issue of HR Magazine has an interesting article focusing on current issues concerning executive compensation. Three events are driving this focus. Possibly due to the Enron scandal, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is auditing more and more companies regarding their executive pay plans.
Executive pay is also more scrutinized today because of the Sarbanes-Oxley law (post-Enron reform legislation) and the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, which made significant changes to the tax treatment of deferred compensation plans.
The IRS is particularly examining the following seven typical aspects of executive pay: (1) nonqualified deferred compensation; (2) stock-based...
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U.S. companies likely will keep pay raises steady in 2009, according to a survey by Washington consulting firm Watson Wyatt.

The survey, which will be published later this year, shows U.S. employers plan to give workers merit increases that will average 3.5 percent in 2009. That's the same average percentage increase given in 2008 and just slightly lower than the 3.6 percent average increase in 2007.

Companies also plan to award bigger raises to better-performing employees. Employees whose performance ratings exceed expectations will receive an average merit increase of 4.2 percent, while those who far exceed expectations will receive ...
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CEDAR CITY - Due to the success and popularity of its 2008 excursion, the Cedar City Area Chamber of Commerce will explore China again in 2009.

The nine-day package includes airfare, hotel accommodations, three meals per day, an English-speaking tour guide and all taxes and fuel surcharges, plus entrance to all tourism sites for $1,850.

Departure dates are March 13 and 14 to accommodate Southern Utah University's spring break. For an extra $450 you can take a domestic flight with us to Xi'an to see the famous Terra Cotta Warriors.

Those interested in receiving a registration packet ...
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CEDAR CITY - Due to the success and popularity of its 2008 excursion, the Cedar City Area Chamber of Commerce will explore China again in 2009.

The nine-day package includes airfare, hotel accommodations, three meals per day, an English-speaking tour guide and all taxes and fuel surcharges, plus entrance to all tourism sites for $1,850.

Departure dates are March 13 and 14 to accommodate Southern Utah University's spring break. For an extra $450 you can take a domestic flight with us to Xi'an to see the famous Terra Cotta Warriors.

Those interested in receiving a registration packet should e-mail...
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CEDAR CITY - Due to the success and popularity of its 2008 excursion, the Cedar City Area Chamber of Commerce will explore China again in 2009.

The nine-day package includes airfare, hotel accommodations, three meals per day, an English-speaking tour guide and all taxes and fuel surcharges, plus entrance to all tourism sites for $1,850.

Departure dates are March 13 and 14 to accommodate Southern Utah University's spring break. For an extra $450 you can take a domestic flight with us to Xi'an to see the famous Terra Cotta Warriors.

Those interested in receiving a registration packet should e-mail...
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ST. GEORGE, UTAH - Do you use local, state and or federal roads in Washington County? Do you walk or ride a bike? Do you use or would you like to use public transit? Do you have any concerns or ideas regarding the future transportation needs in southwestern Utah? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions please join us at the Dixie Transportation Expo on Tuesday, February 2, between 11:30 am to 7:00 pm at the Dixie Center (1835 so. Convention Center Dr.) in St. George. 

This is a perfect opportunity for...
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