New data released in the United Health Foundation’s 20th annual America’s Health Rankings rate the Beehive State second only to Vermont in a broad measure of health and overall physical well-being. Utah ranked fifth last year, so the newest rating is a significant boost, health officials said.

In 1969 Robert Redford played the leading roles of the Sundance Kid in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Ritchie in Downhill Racer. That same year he combined both personas off camera in his own version of Sundance.

Utah’s gasoline prices continued to increase over the last month. Utah’s average price is now the 12th highest in the country. This is the typical pricing position for Utah during the last weeks of summer.

Utah.gov, the State of Utah’s web portal, has once again been recognized as the top government site in the nation.

The site received first place in the 2009 Best of the Web competition, sponsored by the National Center for Digital Government.

There is some good real estate news for Salt Lake County. The number of homes sold has now increased for four straight months, which could be a sign that at least as far as the actual number of homes sold the market has seen the bottom.

Delta Air Lines says it will suspend it’s new nonstop Salt Lake City-to-Tokyo flights because of diminished demand and fallout from the swine flu.
Delta spokesman Anthony Black says the airline will suspend the route from Oct. …

The Salt Lake Board of REALTORS reported home and condominium sales in Salt Lake County during the month of June increased 5 percent compared to home sales in June 2008. During the month, 1,203 homes and condominiums were sold, up from 1,150 sales in June 2008. Home sales in June were up 20 percent compared to 1,002 sales in May.

Utah ranks No. 5 in CNBC’s “America’s Top States for Business,” released last Thursday morning. In this comprehensive study, Utah earned 1,393 out of a possible 2,500 points. Rankings are based on publicly available data that includes 40 different measures of competitiveness.

During the next five years, more than $1.5 billion will be invested in a 10-block area of downtown Salt Lake City, making it one of the most significant periods of investment since the pioneers first arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.

The following information is taken from Commerce CRG’s mid-year report on the current state of Utah’s commercial real estate market. As you will see, even though we are in a tough economy and many commercial real estate indicators are down, we are still far better off here in Salt Lake City than most cities in America.

Did you know that Salt Lake City was recently selected as the “Fittest City in America for 2009″ in the exclusive 11th annual “Fittest and Fattest Survey” conducted by Mens Fitness Magazine?

Salt Lake City is one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country. But unlike other booming locales, Salt Lake has a largely homegrown citizenry — locals account for 88% of population growth. “Salt Lake City has a high rate of natural increases,” says Robert E. Lang, director of urban affairs and planning at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. “It’s a big family-friendly kind of place.”