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2 days ago
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‘We desperately need to do more': Utah Gov. Cox convenes mayors to urge more action on housing
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaks during a news conference after a housing summit hosted at the Governor's Mansion in Salt Lake City on May 29, 2025. (Katie McKellar/Utah News Dispatch) In the spirit of 'collaboration' rather than preemption — a dynamic that for several years now has undergirded policy discussions over what should be done to address Utah's affordable housing crisis — Gov. Spencer Cox invited mayors from across the state to the Governor's Mansion in Salt Lake City on Thursday to talk. Utah has more than 250 cities and towns, but mayors from about 40 cities came to the governor's 'Built Here Housing Summit' to trade ideas in a closed-door meeting. In a news conference held outside the governor's mansion immediately after, Cox said they came together to work toward a 'shared goal' that he described as 'very simple, but urgent.' Utah governor doubles down on goal to build 35K homes in 5 years 'How can we work together — state and local — to make housing more attainable for Utah families?' Cox said. At the end of 2023, Cox set an ambitious 'moonshot' goal for the state and its home builders: build 35,000 new starter homes by 2028. Since then, Cox said 5,100 have been built or are in process across the state. 'We know that's not enough,' Cox said. 'We're on our way, but we desperately need to do more. With Utah's growing population, we need to do more, and we need to move faster.' The biggest challenge facing city and state officials when it comes to housing policy? Cox said it's the constant 'tension' between state and local government when it comes to local control over zoning and land use and whether state leaders should use preemption powers to force local governments to allow more housing types. Though some lawmakers have wanted the state to take more aggressive actions, in recent years the Utah Legislature has taken a gentler, 'collaborative approach,' focusing on providing a variety of planning tools to incentivize cities and developers to build more owner-occupied 'starter homes.' Meanwhile, other states including Colorado, California and Massachusetts have passed housing policy changes that have prompted lawsuits from cities resisting state mandates. The Utah Legislature hasn't flexed that muscle — at least not yet. Time will tell whether the toolbox the Utah Legislature has so far built to incentivize housing development will make a difference. But to gain momentum, Cox said state leaders must work with — not against — mayors and other city leaders to find solutions for affordable housing. 'The American dream of home ownership is slowly but surely slipping away from far too many, out of reach of our children and grandchildren,' he said. 'Reversing that trend requires collaboration, requires courage, and action from all levels of government.' About a dozen mayors who attended Cox's summit also joined Thursday's news conference, including Clearfield Mayor Mark Shepherd, Herriman Mayor Lorin Palmer and Spanish Fork Mayor Mike Mendenhall — all from cities that have utilized some of the zoning tools, like transit-oriented development, to build housing projects. Cox didn't name names, but he said there are still some 'bad actors' or a 'few cities here and there that aren't approving plans, that are taking years to get things done, that are very purposely driving up costs to make it so development can't happen.' Utah's new housing experiment 'And yet,' the governor added, 'we have dozens and dozens and dozens of cities who are doing this the right way.' He said 'we want to learn from each other,' but across 250 jurisdictions, 'oftentimes we don't share the wins, the things that are happening.' 'So,' Cox said, 'here's what's next.' He announced that the state is launching a 'statewide housing dashboard so that everyone from residents to city planners can track progress, identify gaps and learn from their successes.' 'We're committed to ensuring Utah doesn't fall behind on housing reform,' Cox said. The dashboard, circulated later Thursday afternoon by the governor's office, includes a heat map of where deed restricted units, deeply affordable units, and other forms of more affordable housing have been built. It also includes data on where the 5,100 'starter homes' have so far been planned or built. Most – 2,489 — are in Utah County. Salt Lake County has 706, and Tooele County has 432, according to the dashboard. As of Thursday, however, the site was still a work in progress, with some pages saying 'data under development.' Cox: There are 'broken incentive structures' worsening Utah's housing crisis Steve Waldrip, Cox's senior housing adviser, told reporters that the dashboard is being built using data from the University of Utah's Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, as well as data from a variety of real estate sources. If everyone can see what communities are making progress on providing housing options — and which cities aren't — Waldrip said the dashboard may act as a 'carrot-shaped stick' to push cities to do more for housing. 'You can take it either way,' he said. 'It will highlight those who are succeeding. And that's not a bad thing.' Cox — who once served as mayor of his rural hometown of Fairview — said he knows local officials face challenges when it comes to housing. 'I have a tremendous amount of empathy for what they're going through,' he said, adding that he knows some have opted not to run for office again because of controversy over higher density housing projects. 'They'll do the right thing and improve a development that will benefit future generations, and then there's a referendum, and the project gets denied,' Cox said. 'They get voted out of office, because a small, very vocal group of neighbors … can (get) very angry about any type of new housing going in.' So Cox said he 'appreciated' their willingness to engage with state leaders to be part of the solution. The mayors who spoke during Thursday's news conference framed Utah's housing issue as a personal one that threatens quality of life for their kids and grandkids. Clearfield Mayor Mark Shepherd said all but one of his seven kids have homes of their own because they bought during the time when they could.' But he said he has one daughter he can't afford to buy amid today's higher housing prices, and 'the ironic thing is, she's married to a developer.' 'She's married to a home builder, and can't afford to build a house,' Shepherd said. 'The cost of everything has skyrocketed. We need a place to put our kids. We need a place to put those who want to come to the state, and that's every level of housing.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Though 40 mayors engaged with the governor on Thursday, Waldrip acknowledged there are still others that remain resistant to allowing more housing. 'I would definitely say no, not all mayors are on board with it. Some mayors have been elected in different cities on a platform of no growth. Mayors have been kicked out of office because they approved growth,' Waldrip said. 'So those mayors feel an obligation to stick to their campaign promise.' However, Waldrip said he's also talked to some of those mayors who now have changed their tune, realizing it's a 'real problem' and the lack of housing is leading some to give up on the American dream. To Spanish Fork Mayor Mike Mendenhall, Utah's housing problem shouldn't be political — and it can be fixed if leaders focus on the need for solutions rather than the barriers. 'If we can find a way for this problem not to be political, but be practical,' Mendenhall said, 'I'm confident that we can solve these problems for home ownership in our state.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
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2 days ago
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Is Utah always best, or maybe just a little arrogant sometimes?
The Capitol in Salt Lake City is pictured on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) Businessman and Utah Senate President Stuart Adams recently reminded America's other 49 states that 'Utah is the greatest state in the nation' due to its high ratings in 'management, the economy, and happiness.' Not only that, but the 'Rising Utah' project plans to grow Utah economically from being the current 'Crossroads of the West' (the title of which was already claimed by Indiana) to being the 'Crossroads of the World' just in time for the 2034 Winter Olympics games here. In his annual State of the State speech in 2024, Gov. Spencer Cox adopted a modernist Tower of Babel orientation. He said, 'Now is a time for building,' and 'We're not done doing big things. And we're not done building.' The key to Utah success is not education, apparently, but building: 'For 180 years and counting, Utahns have been building our way out of problems, even when things looked impossible.' In another nod to Utah's greatness, he said, 'Our home has become the envy of the earth.' However, Utah's young people, like elsewhere in the country, don't know much about how to work, having never seen or experienced a family farm in their lives. Nor do many high school graduates even want to work. Many are depressed and anxious and addicted to screen time. Wages are low; banks charge incredibly high interest rates on the working poor; corporations act like robotic authoritarian managers of worker lives; and many young people are afflicted with mental health issues keeping them from being productive workers. Too many lack college degrees and technology skills. The Salt Lake Chamber adds a lack of sophisticated workforce training, out of control housing prices, transportation shortfalls, and expensive energy to that list of challenges. How great is it to be a little bit better than one's neighbors at rowing a lifeboat if one is on the sinking American Titanic? Utah's state motto, 'Industry,' seems well tailored to its current boasting about being the best economy now and forevermore. On the other hand, we would be wise to learn from the state mottos of other jurisdictions across the country. Missouri has one particularly well suited for Utah to learn from: 'The welfare of the people is the highest law.' Utah has an aggravated problem of homelessness, poor historical commitment to civics education, and progress-blocking monopolies in its communications industries and political parties all harming the general welfare. North Carolina's motto could be put to good use in Utah: 'To be, rather than to seem.' In other words, let your actions do the talking, rather than constantly boasting of greatness. How about a little humility, Utah, rather than constantly publishing political administration mottos like 'Life Elevated,' and 'Keep Utah Great.' How about Oregon's motto, 'She flies with her own wings.' Wouldn't it be nice if Utah made it easier for women to get involved in leadership in corporate, government, and church affairs? Women have wings to fly if we just give them a runway to take off from. Instead, Utahns subscribe to the idea that 'childless cat ladies' are the bane of American life. They must be barefoot and chained to the refrigerator to be effective women. It might be a source of pride to point out as our local media does that Utah leads the nation in Halloween decorations, but is that the best way for women to be spending their time? Maryland's motto would be a good look for Utah if we could ever climb off our high horses: 'Strong deeds, gentle words.' A lot less bragging, more humility, and a lot more results would go a long way toward getting things done. Wouldn't it be nice to see not nearly so many Republican party advertisements of election candidates pointing rifles, firing them off into the blue, and reloading. 'Gentle words' people, not fireworks displays and visions of Second Amendment grandiosity. My grandmother has some advice for Utah's political leaders today. As a young woman at the turn of the 20th century over a hundred years ago, she sang in the Tabernacle Choir in Salt Lake City. She married an Idaho college graduate and moved back east where the couple got involved in worldly national corporate economic affairs on Wall Street in New York City. She often would say, 'If I could buy him for what he's worth, and sell him for what he thinks he's worth . . .' There are plenty of social issues to bring Utah down to earth, if it ever realizes its current value is not as great as it thinks: teen suicide; high divorce rates; a focus on luxury housing rather than affordable housing; what to do about gun control; a civically underinformed higher education system; plunging Medicaid availability; a dearth of union collective bargaining; how to humanely handle people in the country without documentation who commit crimes; whether to be banning books or tolerating them; how to deal with the current philosophy of making vaccines voluntary rather than mandatory; and how to build back trust in all three branches of government. Folks, 'The welfare of the people is the highest law.'
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3 days ago
- Politics
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Utah man accused of buying child porn used cryptocurrency. Authorities say it's the first known case
The office of the Utah Attorney General at the Capitol in Salt Lake City is pictured on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) A Utah man has been arrested in what the attorney general's office says is the state's first known case where cryptocurrency was used to purchase child sex abuse material. Christopher Merritt, 39, was charged in Salt Lake County's 3rd District Court last week with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, all felonies. The case was investigated by the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, stemming from a tip from the electronic trading platform Robinhood. According to Robinhood, cryptocurrency — specifically Bitcoin and Ethereum — had been transferred to a wallet linked to child sexual abuse material, commonly known as child pornography. A wallet is how cryptocurrency investors store their keys, which are essentially passwords giving the owner access to their investments, and allowing them to send and receive cryptocurrency. The attorney general's office said the transaction took place on the dark web, a corner of the internet that is not indexed by search engines, like Chrome or Safari, and can be accessed through specialized software. Though not illegal, the dark web is often associated with criminal activities, since it's easier to remain anonymous. An agent with the task force traced Merritt's cryptocurrency transactions and found that his cryptocurrency wallet had sent funds to another wallet that the Internet Watch Foundation had associated with child pornography, according to court documents. According to a probable cause statement, Merritt sent $321 to sites associated with child pornography. When officers served a warrant on Merritt's home, they searched his phone and found 'hundreds of videos and images of children' being sexually assaulted, according to court documents. Officers also found a Tor browser on his phone and computer, which is used to access the dark web. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
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3 days ago
- Business
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Gov. Cox seeks to unite state agencies, organizations to strategize on Utah growth
New homes are under construction in Spanish Fork on Tuesday, July 16, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed an executive order on Wednesday bringing a handful of state agencies together to try and better manage the state's growth. The order creates the BUILD (Blueprint for Utah's Infrastructure, Land, and Development) Coordinating Council, tasked with streamlining efforts and long-term planning related to housing, transportation, water, energy, open space, recreation, air quality and quality of life. Utah routinely ranks among the country's fastest growing states, and the executive order is the latest example of elected officials trying to wrangle the population boom. 'As Utah evolves, everything from water use to transportation is affected,' Cox said in a statement on Wednesday. 'This council will help us combine efforts and make better decisions to maintain the quality of life that makes Utah exceptional.' According to the executive order, the council has five main responsibilities — creating a shared vision for Utah's future; making sure state agencies are aligned in their long-term plans; identifying ways to 'leverage state investments for greater impact'; and collaborating across state agencies to address growth. The council is also required to produce an annual report to the governor, lieutenant governor and Legislature. The order builds on a resolution passed by the Legislature earlier this year. Sponsored by Rep. Bridger Bolinder, R-Grantsville, HCR11 encourages state and local governments, as well as the private sector, to consider 'cross-issue growth impacts in decision-making processes.' 'A growing population means an increased demand for housing, transportation, water, energy, and open space and recreation,' Bolinder said earlier this year. 'Growth issues are interrelated and decisions on one issue often affect other growth-related issues.' The council will be made up of the following: The senior adviser for long-range planning, who also serves as the Utah planning coordinator and will act as the chair of the committee The senior adviser for housing strategy and innovation The Utah energy adviser The state homeless coordinator The executive director of the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget The executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity The executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources The executive director of the Utah Department of Transportation The executive director of the Utah Department of Public Safety The executive director of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality The executive director the Utah Department of Heath and Human Services The commissioner of the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food The commission will also include a number of representatives from higher education and local governments, like: The University of Utah's Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute Utah State University's Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water and Air Southern Utah University's Utah Center for Rural Life Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Salt Lake City 2034 The Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce The Utah League of Cities and Towns The Utah Association of Counties Envision Utah A rural region Association of Governments An urban region Association of Governments SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
23-05-2025
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Analysis: Upwards of 80K Utahns could lose health insurance under ‘big, beautiful' bill'
A supporter wears an "I love Medicaid" button during a news conference held at Pioneer Park in Salt Lake City on May 6, 2025. (Katie McKellar/Utah News Dispatch) Though the full ramifications of the 'big, beautiful' tax and spending bill that narrowly passed the U.S. House this week are still murky — especially since the bill is likely to change as it makes its way through the Senate — the bill as currently written could jeopardize health insurance for tens of thousands of Utahns. Plus, states including Utah would need to grapple with an estimated $625 billion in cumulative Medicaid cuts over 10 years from work requirements, stricter eligibility rules and a pause on provider taxes — changes that would likely lead millions of Americans losing Medicaid coverage. On Friday, officials from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services told Utah News Dispatch they did not have state-specific estimates available detailing the potential impacts of the still-evolving federal budget reconciliation package on Utah's Medicaid program because it's still a 'moving target.' U.S. House Republicans push through massive tax and spending bill slashing Medicaid However, according to the health policy outlet KFF, the bill could result in an estimated $381 million loss in federal Medicaid dollars for Utah. The outlet used Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates to unpack the potential state-by-state impacts of a $625 billion federal cut to Medicaid in an analysis posted last week. 'Cuts of $625 billion will force states to make tough choices: maintain current spending on Medicaid by raising taxes or reducing spending on other programs; or cut Medicaid spending by covering fewer people, offering fewer benefits, or paying providers less,' KFF reported. The vast majority of the cut would come from three sources: work requirements mandating that adults who are eligible for Medicaid expansion must meet work and reporting requirements (estimated to save $300.8 billion as people become ineligible), repealing the Biden administration's rule simplifying eligibility and renewal process (estimated to save $162.7 billion) and setting a moratorium on new or increased provider taxes (estimated to save $86.8 billion), accordion to KFF. It depends on what states decide to do to respond to the cuts, but in another analysis posted Tuesday based on CBO estimates, KFF estimated the changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act Marketplaces could increase the number of people without health insurance across the nation by 8.6 million. Additionally, when combined with the effect of the expected expiration of the Affordable Care Act's enhanced premium tax credits, the CBO expects 13.7 million more people will be uninsured in 2034, according to KFF. 'Anticipating how states will respond to changes in Medicaid policy is a major source of uncertainty in CBO's cost estimates. Instead of making state-by-state predictions about policy responses, CBO estimates the percentage of the affected population that lives in states with different types of policy responses,' KFF noted, adding that states may choose to implement work requirements that are easier or harder to comply with, which would impact enrollment. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX So KFF's analysis included a range of enrollment impacts varying by plus or minus 25% from a midpoint estimate. Based on the budget reconciliation bill's changes to Medicaid, Utah is projected to see its uninsured population increase by a mid-range estimate of roughly 65,000 — somewhere between 49,000 on the low end and up to 81,000 on the high end, according to the analysis. When combined with the expected expiration of the Affordable Care Act's enhanced premium tax credits, KFF estimated that Utah's uninsured population could increase by even more — roughly 150,000, or a 4% increase. That estimate could vary between 110,000 on the low end or up to 190,000 on the high end, according to KFF. Other states would see bigger impacts than Utah, where about 350,000 total Utahns enroll in Medicaid. About half of the 13.7 million more people who would be uninsured under both policy changes live in Florida (1.8 million), Texas, (1.6 million), California (1.5 million), New York (800,000), and Georgia (610,000). Utah health advocates who have been watching the budget reconciliation bill's progress expressed deep disappointment in its passage out of the House. 'I've yet to meet any Utahn who said that when they voted in November, they were looking for which candidate was most focused on kicking as many people off Medicaid,' said Stephanie Burdick, an advocate with the newly-formed Protect Medicaid Utah Coalition. 'Yet here we are,' Burdick said. 'The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that could force almost 80,000 Utahns off their health insurance.' The proposed federal cuts also come as Utah state officials — anticipating the Republican-controlled White House and Congress' appetite to implement work requirements on Medicaid — are considering a waiver to impose work requirements on Utah's adult Medicaid adult expansion population. About 75,000 Utahns have enrolled in Utah's Medicaid expansion program, an estimated 7,500 (10%), would not qualify for an exemption and be subject to the work requirements. That means that if they don't start working or submit documents showing they're applying for at least 48 jobs during a three-month period, they could lose their medical coverage. Between Utah's proposed work requirements and the proposed federal Medicaid cuts, Burdick said state officials and federal politicians in D.C. are 'both deadset on one thing: increasing the number of uninsured Utahns and squeezing more time and more money out of working families.' 'How is this aligned with Utah values?' Burdick said, urging Congress to 'go back to the drawing board and find ways to increase access and affordability to health care for all Americans and this is the opposite.' Advocates sound alarm as Utah looks to impose work requirements on Medicaid expansion Nate Crippes with the Disability Law Center, also a member of the Protect Medicaid Utah Coalition, issued a statement saying health advocates 'remain concerned about the devastating impact of the billions of dollars in Medicaid cuts on Utahns with disabilities.' 'Numerous provisions in this bill would be harmful to the disability community, including a work requirement that penalizes Medicaid beneficiaries for losing a job, and will strip health coverage from millions nation-wide, including many Utahns,' Crippes said. He added that given the focus on people enrolled in Medicaid expansion, 'we are particularly concerned with the impact on those with mental illness and substance use disorder, who make up nearly 60% of the expansion population.' 'We see no beauty in a bill that denies healthcare to millions, shifts costs to the states and the middle class, and weakens our entire healthcare system,' he said. 'So we urge our senators to support the disability community, protect Medicaid, and stop this bill from passing.' President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have lauded the bill as needed to curb government spending, cut taxes and provide resources to execute Trump's agenda around immigration, energy production and increased military investment. Democrats criticized the bill as a tax cut that would largely benefit the billionaire class and lead the U.S. to raise its debt limit by $4 trillion. Utah's Medicaid Director Jennifer Strohecker briefed Utah lawmakers this week on the status of Utah's Medicaid program, proposed changes including the state's version of work requirements, and possible impacts from the budget reconciliation bill if it receives final passage. 'Utah has the lowest Medicaid enrollment of every state, but for the 350,000 Utahns that do receive their health benefits through this program, it is a lifeline for preventive care, institutional care when it's needed, physical health, behavioral health,' she told the state Health and Human Services Interim Committee on Wednesday. An estimated 1 in 10 Utahns are enrolled in Medicaid, she said. One in 6 babies are born with Medicaid as their health coverage. In total, Utah's Medicaid program costs about $5.3 billion per year. More than 64% of it is funded with federal dollars, equaling $3.4 billion. About $1.7 in state dollars pay for the rest. 'Counterproductive and cruel': Advocates form coalition to protect Medicaid from federal cuts Lawmakers including Rep. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo, and Rep. Ray Ward, R-Bountiful, asked Strohecker about Utah's proposed work requirement waiver and questioned whether it will lead to Utahns losing coverage due to administrative burdens. 'This was not meant to be an administrative hurdle or a barrier. This was not meant to take people off of the Medicaid program,' she said of Utah's proposal. While Strohecker noted the federal proposal has a 'pretty big dollar figure tied to work requirements as it's proposed, Utah's design did not have that intent.' 'So it is our commitment to look at what are those administrative hurdles, what are those barriers, as it's designed today, and thoughtfully work through those with you all and with our partners at DWS,' she said, noting that Utah's proposal is still being drafted using feedback from public comment. Though the original public comment period for Utah's proposed work requirements waiver was initially scheduled to end Thursday, state officials told Utah News Dispatch they decided to extend it through June 2, with one more public hearing scheduled for Tuesday. 'We have received a lot of helpful feedback and will consider those recommendations before submitting the request to (the federal government) within a month or two of closing the public comment period,' a Utah Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said in an email. However, Strohecker noted that Utah's waiver and the federal mandates included in the budget reconciliation package are two different proposals. The proposed federal mandated work requirements would require Americans to 'complete work requirements before you ever get Medicaid.' The federal proposal has the potential to risk loss of health coverage for tens of thousands more Utahns than the state's work requirement waiver, as currently drafted. Additionally, if Congress approves the bill as currently drafted, it included a provision that would penalize states that expanded coverage for immigrants by reducing the federal Medicaid matching rate for the Medicaid expansion program from 90% to 80% for states that either provide health coverage or financial assistance to purchase health coverage to certain groups of immigrants. 'I have a hard enough time': Utahns urge state not to impose work requirements on Medicaid Last year, Utah started offering health insurance to noncitizen children through its State Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP. As of last week, 1,317 children were enrolled in that program, which has the capacity to cover up to 2,000 kids, according to the state's website. Strohecker said that if the federal government penalizes Utah for its CHIP program and reduces its state match from 90% to 80%, that would trigger a law to 'terminate' Utah's adult Medicaid expansion program. She said lawmakers may need to consider what to do about that. That may include repealing the state's CHIP program for 2,000 kids in order to save Utah's Medicaid expansion program, which covers 75,000 adults. Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, acknowledged the federal bill is 'constantly evolving,' so state leaders will need to watch what happens, but he said 'assuming this bill passes, if this provision is left in there,' lawmakers may need to repeal CHIP. 'I think it's a really simple policy call, myself, that we need to sunset the (CHIP) program that would trigger the 10% penalty as well as our trigger law, because that would be a domino effect,' Eliason said. 'This is not making a policy comment on the underlying legislation, it's just that our hands would be tied, and it would be, I think, the greatest good for the greatest number.' Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, also acknowledged that the federal budget package is a 'moving target, so who knows what it's going to look like in the next week.' But she asked whether the Utah Legislature would need to convene in a special session to deal with fallout if the bill receives final passage before lawmakers' next general session in January. Strohecker said that's a possibility. 'We've been keeping a very close eye on this legislation,' she said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
