Erika Edberg's Blog

Going green-friendly

eedberg — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:11:00 GMT

I wanted to give you a heads-up on a story you'll see this afternoon on ABC4 News. We'll feature a brand new shop in downtown Salt Lake City with a very important mission behind the tasty treat they sell.

It's called "Spoon Me." They sell a special-blend frozen yogurt unlike any you've tried before -- it has much less sugar and will only run you 80 calories for a 4-oz. serving.

So it's healthy, but that's not where the story ends. The founder of the store, Ryan Combe, is originally from Ogden, and after several years living in California, he wanted to come back to Utah to make a real difference in the community. After creating a product that was healthy for people's bodies, he didn't want the aftermath -- the cups and spoons you throw into the garbage -- to be unhealthy for the environment. So he is using all eco-friendly products -- all the way down to the garbage bags. Everything will biodegrade within 90-180 days!

They also used bamboo to make the floors since bamboo grows incredibly fast and is easily renewable. They have low-flow toilets, low-emission lights, and offer discounts to people who use public transportation to get to the store.

They realize they will lose out on profits since it is more expensive to buy green products, but it's worth it to them. They hope to set an example. To read more on their mission, watch our story on ABC4 News or see it here later on www.abc4.com.

And I hope you'll stop by their shop at 532 E. 400 S. (right next to Cafe Rio) to see what they're all about, and to support a company that is trying to do the right thing. I can tell you from personal experience ... the yogurt is GOOD!

-Erika Edberg

Hands on the wheel!

eedberg — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:34:00 GMT

Interesting story in our morning show today ... California is the latest state banning teenagers under the age of 18 from using any electronic devices while driving. Lawmakers cite widespread text-messaging as the reason. (Can you imagine actually TYPING a message while you're driving down the road? Even talking is a challenge for most people.)

I know teenagers around the country will groan as I write this, but I think the ban is a good idea. It's already tough for teenagers -- new drivers -- to maneuver all the other challenges out there like distracting friends in the car and difficult road conditions (especially here in Utah in the winter). The last thing they need is a cell phone in their hands. I probably would have protested the restriction when I was a teenager, but if it can save someone's life, it's kind of a no-brainer.

Adults often cite work as a reason they use their cell phones in the car -- fielding calls related to office work. But teenagers don't have that excuse. Talking to their friends is something that can wait until later.

I think California has the right idea, and so do the fourteen other states and the District of Columbia, which also restrict the use of cell phones by teenage drivers.

Now if we could just get them to turn down that music a tad ...

Till next time...

Erika Edberg

Worth an ovation

eedberg — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 14:12:00 GMT

Have you noticed how the standing ovation is abused these days? It seems every performance I've been to in the last few years ended with the audience jumping to their feet at the end. I remember how the ovation used to be reserved for a truly great event, one that essentially moves you so much or astounds you with its technical mastery to such a degree you HAVE to stand. Now you see them at preschoolers' dance recitals! Does anyone agree that an ovation starts to mean less the more you do it?

However ... I saw a performance that truly deserved the ovation it got this last weekend. I saw the play "Coriolanus" performed at the Utah Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City. If you want to see riveting theater, go see this. If you don't like Shakespeare or think the language is too flowery to understand, go see this. The actors are brilliant in getting the point across. They perform amazing athletic feats (sword fighting) and expend tremendous energy in spitting out those words that are hundreds of years old and foreign to our ears. Every costume, lighting detail and staging decision was given such attention ... and came out beautifully. Add to that a beautiful evening in the open-air theater much like the original Globe Theater, and you have a winning performance.

I gladly got to my feet at the end, and can't wait to get to another performance there. Way to go, Cedar City! You definitely have a treasure in your backyard.

-Erika Edberg

Rafting Rocks!

eedberg — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 13:29:00 GMT

After an amazing weekend in Moab and Arches National Park, I have to update my last blog about "Raft for the Cure." What a success it was, not to mention fun!!!

"Raft for the Cure," like it's sister event "Race for the Cure," raises money for *** cancer research. Kudos to the Moab Adventure Center for coming up with the idea to take the effort to the river. The MAC leads rafting tours along the Colorado River, and they approached the Susan G. Komen Foundation with the idea to donate half of their proceeds on a busy summer Saturday to the cause.

For the first year, they did an amazing job, selling out every spot on their full-day and half-day trips. My husband and I joined the afternoon half-day excursion. (Fortunately I had called a few days early and reserved two spots or we would have been too late!) Having never rafted before, we were very excited but not sure just what it would entail. We hopped a bus and drove along the river for about a half an hour to Rocky Rapids, where we waited for our boats to arrive. They offered 2-person kayaks, 10-person paddle boats or larger oar boats that are powered by the guides. We ended up in an oar boat with a guide named Ryan, who was great fun and provided plenty of stories about the history and geology of the river along the way.

With temps above 100 degrees, we were delighted when at several points along the route he told us we could jump in and swim if we wanted. "Swim" meant jump in the water, hang onto your life vest, lay back and let the current carry you along. It was so refreshing on a hot day.

We met some great people on our boat ... several of whom had also driven down from Salt Lake City for the event. We also met Betty, a 16-year *** cancer survivor, who knew better than any of us how important the foundation is.

The guides thought of everything ... from all the food and supplies for a tasty lunch on a beach along the route ... to life vests and plenty of cool water... to popsicles for all the hot and exhausted rafters on the bus ride back into Moab.

Back at the Moab Adventure Center parking lot, there were raffles of items donated by local businesses and sale prices on some great outdoor equipment and apparel. In the evening, a barbecue and concert featuring local bands rounded out a perfect day.

Congratulations to the Moab Adventure Center for a wonderful event for the community. I'm glad I was able to take part, and I hope you do it again next year. I'll do my best to be there, and we'll hope for some great rapids!

Raft for the Cure

eedberg — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 13:15:00 GMT

No, that's not a typo. I know most of you are familiar with the popular "Race for the Cure" that happens every Mother's Day weekend in Salt Lake. It raises money for *** cancer research and supports those who have survived the disease.

Some folks in southeastern Utah had a great idea to take the fundraising campaign to the water. They're doing the "Raft for the Cure" tomorrow, June 30th, on the Colorado River. Guides from the Moab Adventure Center will take people along the rapids in either inflatable kayaks or larger rafts for about four hours (or all day, if you choose) and half the proceeds from their normal price will go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation to help with *** cancer research.

I'm planning to be there. River rafting is one of the things I've wanted to do since I came to Utah, and now it's even better because the money goes to a cause I support wholeheartedly.

If you'd like to do it, too, you can register for the event online on the new website www.raftforthecure.com or contact the Moab Adventure Center (www.moabadventurecenter.com) at 866-904-1163.

Even better ... they're also having a benefit BBQ dinner that evening and live music by local Utah bands.

Now ... if only it wasn't going to be so hot. Todd, is there anything you can do about the heat???

That's super!

eedberg — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 13:47:00 GMT

I just returned from a short trip to the Midwest that involved plenty of driving across the gorgeous, green, farm field country of Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois. Driving with my brother- and sister-in-law and two little nieces from Wisconsin across the Mississippi and into Iowa, there was one noticeable change, and it wasn't the landscape. It was the price of gas. In Iowa, they're paying $2.85 a gallon for SUPER unleaded!

That's a good 40 cents less than we're paying here for the same thing ... only it's not quite the same thing. Iowa is further ahead than all the other states when it comes to adding ethanol to fuel, probably because they grow the most corn of any state in the U.S.

I'm conflicted about ethanol. I grew up thinking it was a great thing, because it meant good business for corn growers (and my dad was one.) I still think the push toward using biofuels are a great idea, but now that it's starting to affect the price of our groceries, I'm not entirely sure. Corn and corn syrup are found in so many of our food products that it's bound to raise prices if we're diverting corn to ethanol production. And E-85, which is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline) also costs a lot to produce in and of itself.

I've been doing some reading on it to try to decide what I think about ethanol. I found an interesting article from Loren Steffy, columnist with the Houston Chronicle, who also points to problems getting ethanol where it needs to go. He writes, "It can't be transported through conventional pipelines, and its cost benefits are based on government subsidies that do more for the farm lobby than the average driver."

Steffy agrees with me in questioning the rise in food prices due to ethanol use. He goes on to say "While it may be contributing to inflation, ethanol isn't doing much to address our oil dependency. It accounted for less than 4 percent of the U.S. gasoline supply last year, and the current domestic corn crop, in its entirety, couldn't produce enough ethanol to match our gasoline demand, according to a March report by the Congressional Research Service. "

Steffy points out that only 17 percent of the U.S. corn crop goes to making ethanol. But when it's already making such a big difference on our prices besides what we pay at the pump, it's clear it's not the final answer.

I think ethanol certainly serves a purpose. It's saving Iowa drivers a lot of money in gas right now, and I think it will only encourage other, more efficient alternative fuels. People can see the potential in ethanol, but they don't like all the problems associated with it. But this is America, and that's usually what prompts innovators to come up with the next best thing. I, for one, can't wait for it to get here.

Go Local!

eedberg — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 13:13:00 GMT

Happy Friday ... and I hope you have a great weekend planned (Todd says the weather will be great).

If you're like me, you've been waiting all winter for the Downtown Farmer's Market to start up again at Pioneer Park in Salt Lake City. Tomorrow is the day! It's the 16th year for the big event, every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

It's a great place to find great arts and crafts, fresh food and beverages to buy or just taste, and lots of locally grown fruits and veggies. I don't know about you, but food just seems to taste better knowing it was grown right here in Utah, or at least nearby. There's something about buying food from the person who actually grew it ... you feel like you can trust it more than just hitting the stands of food shipped in from across the country in your typical grocery store. Even though the quality of the food is much better at the Farmer's Market, and it's certainly much fresher, they didn't have to spend money trucking it across the U.S., so you're getting more, better-quality produce for the money you spend.

Maybe I love Farmer's Markets so much because I spent years at them as a teenager. I grew up on a farm (my dad grew corn and soybeans) and when I was in 9th grade he thought it would be a great idea for my two sisters and me to grow our own food, then take it to a couple of Farmer's Markets in the area to sell the veggies and make a profit. It was our summer job -- invaluable in terms of learning how to garden and how to essentially run ouw own business. I credit the experience with instilling me with a lifelong love of gardening.

Oh, it wasn't easy. The first year we went overboard and planted 1400 tomato plants. Even though my aunt and uncle were helping us with our business, that was WAY too many. (The next year we only planted 100.) We'd wake up at 4 a.m. and make sure all the tomatoes and peppers were packed safely for the hour-long drive to the market. I remember cold mornings when the fields were full of dew, and we'd slog through the fields picking dozens and dozens of ears of sweet corn, filling the back of the pickup. Some days we'd sit in the rain once we got there, waiting on very few customers. Other times we'd be swamped as people even tried to buy a farmer's dozen through the window of the pickup cab as one of us sweltered in the 100 degree heat inside bagging it up for them.

I think about those days when I visit the Farmer's Market now ... how we worked so hard but really didn't make a lot of money. We were just happy to come out with a little profit! But I'm sure my whole family benefited even more, because we got to eat everything we didn't sell.

Maybe this is why I'm a vegetarian today. Despite growing up on a pig farm (and believe me, I worked plenty in the hog barn, too) I truly appreciate a tasty, home-grown tomato (completely organic at my house.) There's a lot of history in it for me. And now I'm spoiled and I have a hard time eating those mealy tomatoes in the grocery store in the middle of January.

So take advantage of the Farmer's Market --either the one downtown or the one in your local community -- and support your local growers. They work really hard and don't make a lot of money, so don't give them a hard time about their prices. When you think about it, isn't it worth it to know your tomato didn't spend half its life in the trailer of a semi truck?

Big Names

eedberg — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 13:34:00 GMT

Happy Monday, everybody! See any good shows this weekend?

I'm always amazed by the big names Utah reels in, whether it's music, Broadway shows, comedians ... you name it. For instance, in our local entertainment report this morning on Good Morning Utah, we discussed how this week alone you can see Harry Connick, Junior live in concert at Abravanel Hall on Wednesday night at 7:30 (despite the expensive tickets -- 90 bucks apiece) and on Saturday you can see Cyndi Lauper at the Usana Amphitheater in Salt Lake starting at 6:30 (even pricier -- 130-200 bucks apiece!) She's performing with Erasure, Deborah Harry, the Dresden Dolls and comedian Margaret Cho.

Granted, Harry and Cyndi aren't the hottest and newest acts around, but they're pretty big names nonetheless. Harry especially got a lot of attention when he did special concerts and fundraisers for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. And Cyndi ... well, if you grew up in the 80s, I don't need to explain that one.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir recently welcomed opera star Bryn Terfel, one of the premier singers on the world stage. For you country fans, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are coming a week from today. Ricky Skaggs is coming in early July for all those who can't get enough of him (Mike McKay) and Monty Python's Spamalot is making a stop here (Mike McKay's also getting tickets to that). Poison, Def Leppard, Josh Groban, Keith Urban ... they're all coming this summer. I could go on and on...

Maybe this strikes me because I grew up in a little town and have lived in fairly small cities ever since. We usually had to travel to see big names because the small towns weren't worth their time. Some people consider Salt Lake City a smallish city, but all it takes is one look at a list of the upcoming concerts to realize what an entity we've become. A stop in Utah is not JUST a convenient stopover on the way from Denver to California. It's a place where artists know they will fill seats and sell out concerts to appreciative audiences. And that's something to be proud of.

Let's all keep buying those tickets and supporting the arts, so we can keep growing on the national stage.

Light Bulbs

eedberg — Tue, 29 May 2007 17:06:00 GMT

I hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend! I know you'll remember the fun times you had in the last few days more than how much the gas cost you for the whole weekend, but if you added it up and would like to share your total travel bill, please post a comment here and tell us the damage. (We're all here to commiserate.)

Here's something that might make you feel better. Your Utah legislature is thinking of helping save a little on energy costs -- and it's you who would get to keep the money in the long run. They want to give Utahns tax cuts to buy longer-lasting light bulbs.

You may have heard how they're doing this in Australia to save on energy costs -- only the government REQUIRED it there. At least our legislators are trying to save us some cash in the process of replacing our old bulbs.

Here's how it would work. House Representatives are proposing a $30 voucher for each Utah household to purchase those twirly-looking fluorescent gas bulbs. They use less energy (as much as 75% less) and last longer (one fluorescent bulb can outlast 10 of the regular light bulbs.)

Lawmakers claim the average family would save $285 a year -- the $30 in savings on the bulbs, plus $255 a year in energy savings with the new bulbs. That's not too shabby. (I wonder how many gallons of gas that would buy...)

Now, you can't take your voucher and go to Lowe's to buy flowers or a ceiling fan. This voucher would have to be used on the bulbs.

I've always joked that I'm allergic to fluorescent light. I spend so much of my day in fluorescence in the newsroom, and I MUCH prefer the warmer light of a normal bulb. (Ask my husband how annoying I can be on this matter.) But even I am planning to make the switch -- at least in a few places in my house -- to try to do my part. The legislature takes up this bill in the next session, which begins in January. Maybe you want to tell your representative what you think about it. And if it passes, I hope we can all at least give it a try.

Staying Home from Work

eedberg — Fri, 25 May 2007 16:11:00 GMT

Haven't you all had those mornings when you just wanted to stay home from work? Wouldn't it be nice to keep your jammies on and save the time and cost (and headache) of driving to work? You could spend that extra half hour in the morning watching Mike McKay chair dance ... or something ... and you could totally ignore his traffic report. (Really, it must be tremendous to see him dance if you believe everything he writes on HIS blog.)

Well, I found something for you in my effort to bring you ideas to conserve. Maybe your Memorial Day trip will convince you that it's just insane to keep spending so much on gas. If you want to work from home, check out a new system called StreetSmart. It's a computer software system that allows you -- through the web -- to access ALL your workplace tools (email, calendars, shared calendars, workflow, intranet, portal, blogs, CRM, etc..) from ANYWHERE simply by logging onto the internet at home. It's just like you're really at the office.

Sound too good to be true? I wondered myself, so I emailed the guy who sent the newsroom a press release about it this week. (Unfortunately, they're based in L.A., so I couldn't see a demonstration of it.)

I find the concept itself pretty impressive. It's commonplace these days to send work-related emails from home, but now that you can even access your office software, you won't feel like you're missing as much if you decide not to drive into work. It might even be something bosses could promote -- work from home every Friday.

Just to clarify, I don't know the makers of this product at all -- they're complete strangers. It's just something that sounded like a good idea, and I wanted to pass it on to you. I leave you to investigate whether it works for you. Here's a link if you'd like to check it out: http://www.centralmediaserver.com/KTVX/streetsmart.pdf

Now if I could just figure out how to convince ABC 4 to bring the Good Morning Utah set to my backyard, I could work from home, too. I'm not holding my breath on that one.

Till next time...

Steinbeck Like You've Never Seen Him...

eedberg — Mon, 21 May 2007 16:27:00 GMT

I was excited to post this morning because I got to see a great production in downtown Salt Lake City over the weekend, and since I promised to keep an eye on the music and arts scene for you, I thought I'd share some thoughts on it with all of you.

It was the Utah Opera's performance of "Grapes of Wrath." If you haven't heard of it before, it's because it's brand new. In fact, Salt Lake City was only the second performance venue in the short life of this opera. It was co-commissioned by the Utah Opera and the Minnesota Opera, and its premiere happened in St. Paul just a couple of months ago.

Most people don't pick up "Grapes of Wrath" for an inspirational, feel-good story. This is down and dirty (dusty) stuff. The opera version is no different. As a listener, you really feel this family's pain, and the arias and instrumentation can be downright gritty in and of themselves. But the sound is quintessentially American -- even some flapper tunes thrown in for good measure. At times, it felt like we were at a Broadway musical instead of an opera because it's not how most people imagine opera to be.

The music was composed by Ricky Ian Gordon,who even showed up at the curtain call to the delight of the Capitol Theater audience. The singers (several of them local) all did fine interpretations, but the standouts were Roger Honeywell, who sang the role of Preacher Jim Casy, and Jennifer Aylmer, who played Rosasharn.

Production-wise, they did a great job of keeping things moving -- even though it was a 3 1/2 hour-long performance. I was afraid I'd be asleep by the second act since we went on Friday night and I'd gotten up at 2:15 that morning for work. But even if I did let a yawn or two sneak out in the intermissions, I was captivated throughout the whole show.

I won't go into all the particulars in case you didn't get to see the production, but suffice it to say that Utah was extremely fortunate to be literally on the world stage with a brand new opera, world-class performers, and a highly-acclaimed composer sharing their talents here for several weeks. Thanks to all those local performers in the orchestra, on the stage and behind the stage, because they did all of us Utahns proud.

What You Don't See on TV

eedberg — Fri, 18 May 2007 15:07:00 GMT

Many of you may be reading this blog hoping for the dirt on my buddies Mike McKay and Todd Gross, my co-anchors of Good Morning Utah. Their blogs seem to be a bit of tennis match so far ... both looking to dish the dirt on each other and, unfortunately, me. Don't worry ... we'll fit some of that in. Being the only female, I need to defend myself. And of course, they KNOW I have more dirt on either of them than they'd care to acknowledge. (Yes, guys, that's a warning.)

But I'm hoping you'll check out this blog for a couple of other reasons. In the ABC4 newsroom, we receive hundreds of emails a day from people in our community who want coverage of a specific event. A good number of them we get to and we are then able to inform you, our viewers. But the typical newscast is only a half hour long, so we can't fit everything into our time on a daily basis. That's why I'd like to share some of those worthy community events with you here. Feel free to share any you want to publicize.

I'll have to narrow it down a bit, focusing on two things near and dear to my heart. First of all, I'd like to highlight music and theatre events happening in Utah. I am a musician myself ... and I'm married to someone who makes it his full-time career ... and love to get to as many performances as I can, as long as they don't interfere with my dismally early bedtime. I'll review some of the ones I see, and try to tell you ahead of time when something great or unique is coming up. I hope you'll check back often to see what's happening near you.

The other is conservation. We're all worried about this right now because gas prices keep going sky high, but I'm also talking about water conservation (pretty important to us Utahns) and other ways to save yourself some money and the planet some stress. We are getting word of so many local initiatives here at ABC4, and while we are able to tell you about some of them, we often don't have as much time as we'd like to delve into it. So ... if I hear of a way to save you some money on gas or help with your power or heating bill, I'll let you know about it.

Maybe we'll get to some other things, too -- we'll see what comes into the inbox. Meanwhile, I hope you'll tune into Good Morning Utah Monday through Friday. By the way, we'll be starting at 5:00 a.m. starting June 4th, a whole half hour earlier. Now you get two solid hours of fun and information to wake you up in the morning. This also means I have to keep the guys in line for 30 more minutes (you know, the clown on the left of me ... joker to the right.) Wish me luck!

Till next time...