Deseret News
- Caregiver stories show love, duty and the need for some help – Experts says caregiving is especially hard for those juggling work with need to care for ill or disabled loved ones
- Woman launches project to tell the stories of Black life in the Beehive State – The goal of Danielle Rowe’s project is to highlight the faces of people who make the Beehive State their home and to learn about their experiences being a small but strong minority in a place of increasing diversity.
- The changes, the losses and the silver linings of a pandemic turning 1 year old (Deseret News) – Utah’s top health official, a school principal, a funeral home owner, a restaurant owner and a pastor find hope.
- Mayor Jenny Wilson: The Biden administration is taking the right steps on immigrant inclusion – Today, more than 44 million newcomers contribute daily to the prosperity and diversity of our country, and more than 12% of Salt Lake County’s population is foreign-born.
- State’s first COVID-19 patient reflects on 1 year since he landed in Utah hospital – Mark Jorgensen and his wife contracted the virus while on a cruise ship in Asia, along with dozens of others — before the now-rampant disease made it to the states.
- Utah lawmakers mostly behind a passel of personal privacy bills, but time’s running short – With only 5 days left in the legislative session, it is unlikely that all of them will make it through the process.
- Enthusiasts raising funds to keep picking at 9-ton Utah rock chock full of dinosaur bones – Geologists have concluded that the slab full of bones was originally a puddle of quicksand 136 million years ago. It appears that some unlucky plant-eating dinosaur got stuck in the quicksand and a pack of Utahraptors moved in on him for dinner.
- Is merging Department of Health with Department of Human Services wise in pandemic? – Supporters say it will streamline services for those most in need while some worry about how this merger will actually improve efficiency, and the potential for unintended consequences.
- Can pollution regulations help an industry’s bottom line? – Utah study shows it’s possible.
- Ronald Reagan spoke at the first CPAC gathering in 1974. Here’s what he said – Before he was a twice-elected president, then-California Gov. Ronald Regan spoke to the inaugural Conservative Political Action Conference about unity and American’s divine charge.
- 370K Utahns have some college, no degree; this proposal aims to help some finish what they started – Rep. Lowry Snow is sponsoring legislation that would create a state-funded grant program for adult learners to make it easier for them to complete those college degrees and certificate programs.
Salt Lake Tribune
- Navajo Nation teachers doing homework with students through car windows, over phone during pandemic – Poor internet access has made at-home schooling on the reservation difficult, but kids seem to be adapting.
- How a tiny Utah community fought off an LDS Church housing project and lost a temple – Erda residents balked at plans for a high-density development, and the faith ended up relocating and renaming a planned temple to neighboring Tooele.
- Robert Gehrke: In a mind-boggling vote to allow DIY rape kits, Utah’s Republican legislators condoned exploiting victims – In nearly two decades of covering the Utah Legislature, not much shocks me, but Wednesday’s vote to kill Rep. Angela Romero’s bill banning these pseudo-rape kits was simply jaw-dropping.
- One year later, Utah’s first COVID-19 patient recalls ‘surreal’ experience – Mark Jorgensen says he may have some long-term effects from the disease, but doesn’t regret going on the cruise where he likely caught the coronavirus.
- The left is out to ‘devalue’ womanhood and manhood and destroy kids, Utah Rep. Burgess Owens says – The freshman Republican blasts Democrats and Black Lives Matter, while lamenting the loss of God and Limbaugh.
- Will Utahns wait their turn in line once vaccines open up for those with underlying conditions? – The state will rely on the honor system for coronavirus protection, with no proof required that someone meets the new requirements for underlying conditions.
- Robert Gehrke: Utah lawmakers opted for a tax break for the well-off instead of helping the working-class – More than 70% of the tax relief on the Social Security piece would go to households making more than $91,000 a year.
- BYU released a report saying its students of color feel ‘isolated and unsafe’ due to racism on campus – A committee recommends that school leaders take immediate action to address the concerns.
- Utah’s minority communities disproportionately affected by food insecurity – A proposed state task force would aim to resolve the current barriers of food accessibility.
- Chris Stewart reintroduces bill he says will protect both LGBTQ and religious rights – Civil rights groups say it will permit discrimination in the name of religion against gays.
Other
- J&J COVID-19 vaccine to arrive in Utah Wednesday; Health care providers call it a ‘game changer’ for rural areas (FOX 13) – The newly approved vaccine only requires one dose and does not require special storage, which is a game changer for rural areas.
- Protest planned to keep Dixie State name ahead of critical hearing (FOX 13) – The protest will take place at 11:30 at the clock tower on the Dixie State campus in St. George just hours before a key Utah State Senate committee hearing on the issue.
- Utah Senate poised to pass bill to block ‘party raiding’ ahead of elections (KSL) – HB197 co-sponsor Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, noted that over 79,000 Utahns switched their party affiliation to vote in the 2020 Republican primary. (The data shows that they were mostly unaffiliated voters, not Democrats.)
- Officials apologize for vaccination registration error Saturday (ABC 4) – Approximately 7,200 people who do not meet eligibility requirements were able to make appointments. These appointments will be canceled over the next 24 hours.”
- 2 Utah teachers selected as NASA ambassadors Sunday (ABC 4) – The SETI Institute has selected 30 teachers from 10 states as 2021 NASA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors (AAA), Sunday and two of the thirty teachers are from Utah.
COVID Corner
- Utah coronavirus cases continue to fall, but deaths on the rise (Salt Lake Tribune) – There has been an increase of more than 20 deaths due to COVID-19 in the past week.
- CDC signs off on Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine (Fox Business) – The initial supply of 3.9 million doses is expected to be delivered as early as Tuesday
- More than 20 million in Britain get first COVID-19 vaccine dose (Reuters) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the milestone represented “a huge national achievement and he paid testament to the country’s health, workers, volunteers and armed forces.
- Yes, there are big shows in Utah this year (for now), even with COVID-19. Here’s a look (Deseret News) – Big concerts this year include Marie Osmond, Kristin Chenoweth, Celine Dion, Justin Bieber, Backstreet Boys, Colbie Caillat, Maroon 5 and more.
- This May Be Most Dangerous COVID-19 Variant, Experts Say (MSN.com) – Recently, a new variant emerged in California. There is much worry that it is extremely deadly.
- If you get vaccinated, can you hang with your vaccinated friends? (Deseret News) – “You can start getting together as individual people, even though the risk is not zero, the risk becomes extremely low when you have both parties vaccinated,” Dr. Fauci said.
- There’s some real world data about the Pfizer vaccine, and the results look good (Deseret News) – Data from Israel — which vaccinated its elderly population — has found that mass vaccinations have helped stop severe COVID-19.
- What COVID-19 has revealed about the nursing profession (Deseret News) – During the past three months, we talked with 35 Utah nurses from the four major health care systems in Utah and across 15 hospitals, about working in a pandemic.
