Text of Rocky Anderson's State of the City Address

Kaye Huntsman and South Salt Lake Mayor Robert Gray. The Coalition also held a press conference and sent a letter to the parents of every high school student in the Salt Lake City warning of the risks of underage drinking at graduation parties. We are urging the School District to implement proven drug prevention and harm-reduction strategies and will continue to advocate for better, more effective education about all forms of substance abuse, including the abuse of alcohol, illicit drugs, subscription drugs, and tobacco. As we continue this work, we keep in mind that this can be a matter of life and death�and that an honest, proven approach to prevention, harm-reduction, and treatment can make an enormous positive difference in the lives of many people, their families, and our entire community.

In collaboration with the Salt Lake Valley Health Department, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, Teen Advocates against Tobacco, and the City Council, we recently developed an ordinance to ban smoking in City parks and at mass gatherings. Because of our efforts, visitors to Salt Lake City parks, and participants at mass gatherings like the Utah Arts Festival, the Living Traditions Festival, and the Salt Lake City International Jazz Festival need no longer fear exposure to dangerous secondhand smoke�or going home with smelly clothes and hair from the smoke of others.

This year, in partnership with many community stakeholders, the Coalition plans to undertake a comprehensive campaign against underage drinking. This effort is vital to the health and safety of our community, since underage drinking can severely impact brain development. We will also work with pharmacies to give customers the information they need to prevent prescription drug abuse among their friends and loved ones.

With the spirited, committed leadership of Luann Clark, the City�s Division of Housing and Neighborhood Development (HAND) has aided thousands of Salt Lake City residents in obtaining proper housing. In the past seven years, HAND has utilized nearly $30 million from a variety of local and federal sources to make available nearly 2000 units of affordable housing and over 350 units of market-rate housing. The projects HAND has completed include a unique project at our Veterans Hospital that provides transitional housing for homeless veterans; the remarkable Bridge Project on the west side, which provides affordable living and office spaces for artists and cultural organizations; the Jefferson Apartments, which provide low-income housing one block from a TRAX line; and Sunrise Apartments, a 100-unit housing development for chronically homeless people.