The Arizona Department of Transportation will lift some of the traffic restrictions on Interstate 15 through the Virgin River Gorge prior to the Independence Day holiday weekend, but is advising motorists to expect heavy traffic through the weekend.

Considerable progress has been made to date on ADOT’s multiple bridge projects along Arizona’s I-15 corridor. The highway is currently narrowed to one lane in each direction through the gorge until the project is completed in 2016.

ADOT spokesman Dustin Krugal:

Utah Governor Gary Herbert was in Cache Valley this week to hand deliver a check to the owner of Logan’s Caffe Ibis Coffee Roasting Company. The money will partially cover the cost of a piece of equipment that reduces the roaster’s emissions by 95 percent. Despite a tragic setback, the company’s efforts to clean up the air are proceeding at full speed.

When we think of things that produce air pollution, we think of things like cars and oil refineries. We don’t necessarily think of the giant oven that bakes goldfish-shaped crackers or the small cabinet shop on the edge of town or the local organic coffee roaster. But anything that burns creates particulate pollution -- so any effort to reduce air pollution in a community has to address individual contributions from our homes and our vehicles and the contributions of factories big and small.

Nut lovers may have a hard time getting ahold of their favorite ice cream flavors at Aggie Ice Cream this summer. The Logan based creamery announced some flavors may be in limited supply due to the ongoing drought in California that has been hurting nut growers in parts of the state.

Utah wildlife officials have captured images of an animal thought nonexistent in the state, a wolverine.

The images come from trail cameras on the northern face of the Uinta Mountains, which the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources had set up to observe elusive animals in their natural habitat.

Though the bait in the area where the wolverine was sighted had already been devoured, the creature was drawn to the region by the scent.

Severe fire restrictions in southwest Utah have Independence Day celebrations on hold. Officials are banning certain areas from firework shows in hopes of reducing fires in the southwest.

Because of dry conditions and increased fire danger in southwest Utah, officials expanded fire restrictions yesterday and will continue to uphold them until further notice. These restraints prohibit the use of fireworks in several southern counties.

While the new precautions directly precede July Fourth celebrations, St. George Fire Chief Kevin Taylor says they are an attempt to help unnecessary fires from igniting.

Justin Hocking, author of a new memoir, “The Great Floodgates of the Wonderworld,” writes: “Fifteen years ago, I first dove into the immense, dark waters of Melville's masterpiece...I became obsessed with a book about obsession.

The corporate owners of The Salt Lake Tribune and CEO of the Deseret News say in new court filings that changes to terms of a joint operating agreement aren't intended to put the Tribune out of business.

Digital First Media is a New York hedge fund that owns the Tribune. The CEO John Paton says there are no plans to stop publishing the Tribune and that the agreement is designed to save the paper. Deseret News CEO Clark Gilbert says the new terms preserve both papers.

The poverty rate in Utah has risen from 10.5 percent in 2000 to 16.5 percent in 2010, according to a study by the American Community Survey Reports. The study was released in June, but uses statistics from 2010.

Of Utah’s 29 counties, 10 have a poverty rate greater than 10 percent and five counties including Cache, San Juan, Beaver, Iron and Piute counties have a poverty rate of more than 25 percent. 

San Juan County’s poverty rate has decreased from greater than 50 percent to less than 25 percent in the last 14 years.

Though it’s not the traditional season of giving, food banks across the state are in need, and local gardeners could be part of the answer. According to the Utah Food Bank’s Heidi Cannella, demand for food is actually at its highest in the summer.

“We have our summer business food drive in the summer because kids are out of school without access to school meal programs, but donations are at their lowest,” said Cannella. “It’s actually a very critical time for us.”