If you have questions about Medicare coverage or would like to learn more about health insurance programs that may be available to you, contact one of the agencies who participate in the Utah Medicare Outreach Coalition or visit the health insurance programs page at the Utah Division of Aging and Adult Services' website.

The state of Utah has a variety of resources for caregivers, including:

• Ucare, developed by the Utah Department of Human Services
• The Utah Coalition for Caregiver Support, an advocacy organization for both caregivers and seniors.

The Utah State Courts website has information about guardianship and conservatorship in Utah. You can complete court forms for a minor guardianship using the Online Court Assistance Program. The courts' YouTube channel has videos about Guardianship of an Adult and Guardianship of a Minor available to watch at any time.

In a real emergency, the president has the power through Executive Order 13407 to use this emergency alert system and it can be used "in situations of war, terrorist attack, natural disaster, or other hazards to public safety and well-being..."

For more information about the emergency alert system test, visit the FAQ section of FEMA's website.

Find a Utah Forest Service office by visiting the Forest Service's website.

For more information about the history of Daylight Saving Time, see the U.S. Naval Observatory's page on Daylight Time, which includes future Daylight Saving dates. In addition, the Daylight Saving Time online exhibit through WebExhibits, an interactive museum, has articles and links to full-text historic documents related to Daylight Savings, including a link to Benjamin Franklin's 1784 essay on Daylight Saving.

Until September 30, you can contribute your ideas online at the National Dialogue on Improving Federal Websites page. This website is part of the .gov Reform Initiative to help cut costs and improve services to the general public.

You can comment on any aspect of federal websites, including search features, navigation, privacy and security, or accessibility. In addition to submitting your own ideas, you can also vote to agree or disagree with other users' comments.

Anyone can comment on improving federal websites, but you have to sign up for an account before you can submit your ideas.

• The Federal Bureau of Investigation has an online page called Ten Years After: The FBI Since 9/11. Here, you can watch videos of agents talking about their memories of responding to those events. You can also learn what types of changes the FBI has made since 9/11.
  
• The National Archives has a guide to 9/11 Commission Records. Some of these records have been digitized, like the Memoranda for the Record, a collection of interview summaries the Commission had with federal employees, citizens, and scholars.
  
• The Center for History and New Media and American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning have put together a September 11 Digital Archive. You can browse the site's collection of stories and memories shared by people, including stories recorded by visitors to the Smithsonian's Bearing Witness exhibition and emails sent to the Department of Justice.

In Utah, volunteer organizations around the state are commemorating 9/11 with a Day of Service and Rememberance. You can find ideas for volunteering and see a list of organizations looking for project volunteers and donations.

The Federa Trade Commission (FTC) is seeking public comments about its regulations on Care Labeling of Textile Wearing Apparel (16 CFR Part 423).

Current regulations detail when care label instructions need to be included, such as the criteria for including a water temperature or bleaching warning. The FTC wants public opinion on the benefits, costs, and necessity of these regulations, and welcomes suggestions for modifying these regulations.

The request for public comments appeared in the July 13, 2011 issue of the Federal Register. Comments will be accepted until September 6, and can be made by mail or using the FTC's online comment form.

• A sunscreen must protect against both UVA and UVB rays in order to call itself "broad spectrum"
  
• A sunscreen can't claim it's waterproof. At best, it can claim to be water resistant. A sunscreen can state the number of minutes it is water resistant.
  
• The FDA also proposed a rule limiting the maxiumum SPF claim to 50+.

For a summary of information about legislative acts related to smoking and tobacco, see the U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention and Control's website on Smoking and Tobacco Legislation.

Parks across the country are also holding special events during this week. Choose a state and date range to see what events are happening at national parks near you.

National Park Week isn't the only time when national parks are free to visit. Other fee-free days this year are June 21st (First Day of Summer), September 24 (Public Lands Day), and November 11-13 (Veterans Day weekend).

If you want to learn more about Utah's National Parks, check out resources available from Utah Government Publications Online.

The tax filing deadline is fast approaching. This year, tax season is three days longer. Federal taxes are due by April 18th, 2011, because April 15th is Emancipation Day in Washington, D.C.

Here are a few resources we've blogged about in the past to help you file your taxes:

• Utah residents who make less than $49,000 per year qualify for tax preparation assistance from Utah's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. Search for a site near you online or call 211 to schedule an appointment.
  
• Those 60 and over can use AARP's Tax-Aide program, which is available at libraries and senior centers throughout the state.

The IRS has several online resources for individuals and businesses who are preparing their own taxes. One of these is an Interactive Tax Assistant tool, which features frequently asked questions about tax preparation topics like credits and deductions. When you choose a question, the program interviews you for a short time (5 to 15 minutes), and then provides an answer.

The IRS has a video portal featuring presentations on a variety of topics for individuals and businesses, such as home office deductions or earned income tax credits. Written transcripts are below the video presentations.

These resources trace the history of offshore drilling exploration in the United States as well as its legislative history, starting with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953. The books also introduce the science behind the Gulf Oil disaster and provide detailed documentation of the response to the disaster.

If you're interested in learning more, check out these resources:

• The University of South Florida Library's Gulf Oil Spill Information Center.
  
• Data released by the U.S. Department of Energy.
  
• Health resources from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Governor recently announced he is requesting the White House officially declare southern Utah a major disaster area, enabling Utah to qualify for Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) funds to help the area recover.

The process for a state governor to ask that an area be considered a disaster area is governed by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.). The request is made to a regional FEMA office. FEMA and state officials then usually conduct a Preliminary Damage Assessment. The criteria for evaluating a state's request can be found in 44 CFR §206.48. FEMA can make recommendations whether a state receives aid, but it is ultimately the President's decision whether a disaster is declared and whether federal funds will be distributed to the state.

To see where else FEMA has declared disaster areas (with historical declarations back to 1953), check out FEMA's Federal Disaster Declarations page.

The first day held by both the Senate and House of Representative are fairly routine. It includes the swearing-in of new members and the selection of officers and leaders. The Oath of Office used for swearing-in Congressional members appears at 5 U.S.C. §3331.

The Congressional Research Service has written excellent guides to first day proceedings of both the Senate and House of Representatives.