"They have physically threatened my family," said Yvette Diaz, Huntsman's director of Community and Arts. Raz/Pac President Robert Gallegos says that's not true.
Diaz agreed to meet with Latino leaders to discuss several issues, including the recently passed bill that replaces driver licenses with a special I.D. card for undocumented workers. But she banned specific individuals from attending the meeting, including Gallegos, former Hispanic Democratic Caucus Chairman James Yapias and his brother Tony Yapias, the former director of the State Office of Hispanic Affairs.
Diaz complained that if those people were allowed into the meeting, they would be disruptive and stifle any meaningful dialogue.
But Gallegos called that a "lie." He said Raz/Pac folks have been critical of the way the Establishment has treated Latinos and the government is uncomfortable with them because of their advocacy and court actions on behalf of individuals and groups that have been discriminated against.
The shunning of Raz/Pac demonstrates a long-standing feud between Diaz and her husband Marco, a Republican Latino leader and aide to Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, and certain members of the Latino community.
"You want people to be civil, but you also want the meetings to be inclusive," said Robert Archuleta, president of the Utah Coalition of La Raza. Archuleta was disappointed at the banishments, but said the meeting went well.
Jack Jews? The Utah State Prison provides special meals to inmates for religious or special dietary needs, including kosher meals for the Jewish population inside the prison.
The prison has the inmates sign an agreement that if they are given kosher meal trays, they cannot supplement their diets with non-kosher food.
Originally, 15 inmates were provided with the Kosher servings. That is down to one, because the other 14 were caught eating from non-Kosher trays and buying non-Kosher junk food from the commissary.
Public funding? Democratic delegates in Senate District 12 who will meet Saturday to select a replacement for Sen. Ron Allen, who resigned after he was appointed to the Utah Public Service Commission, received a letter from West Valley City Mayor Dennis Nordfelt endorsing Rep. Brent Goodfellow. The endorsement came on official West Valley City stationery.
