Suazo Business Center opens doors

The Pete Suazo Business Center officially opened its doors Tuesday with the announcement of a new minority workplace safety coalition.

Founded in 2003, the Pete Suazo Business Center opened its permanent facility Tuesday, at 730 Pacific Ave. In the past two years, the center has helped create more than 40 new businesses in Utah and has had more than 1,000 people attend its seminars.

Tuesday's grand opening event included the announcement of a new public-private coalition led by the center, dedicated to improving workplace safety for minority workers and employers.

"Recent data, both quanti- tative and anecdotal, has shown there is a greater need than ever to educate our minority employers and work force on the importance of workplace safety," said Louis Silva, consultation program manager with the Utah Labor Commission's OSHA Consultation Services, in a prepared statement.

"We are seeing a high number nationwide of serious and sometimes fatal workplace accidents among Hispanic and Latino workers especially, and we want to do everything we can to keep these workers safe and healthy."