Deseret News
- The benefits of having more women in politics – From Susan Madsen, PhD. “I want to challenge the narrative that men are better suited to seek office and enter politics.”
- If we want unity, we must start with understanding – Stories matter. So does the way we tell them, even to ourselves.
- The culture war compromise – In the battle over LGBTQ rights and religious freedom, can both sides win?
- Julie Boyé: Why I teach my biracial children about Black history – After all, like my husband, Alex sings in his universal song, ‘We all bleed the same’ — no matter your color
- Legislative roundup: Emergency powers, transgender athletes, teaching sex consent top issues in week 5 – Rioters, mascots, guns, stones, election fraud, movies filmed in Utah among other topics during busy week at Utah Legislature
- Utahns rate Biden’s first month in office about the same as Trump’s last month in new poll – 45% of Utah voters approve of the job Biden is doing, while 51% disapprove.
- New poll shows fewer Utahns saying ‘no’ to getting vaccinated – Just 12% of Utahns insist they’re never getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and an overwhelming majority believe the state’s vaccine distribution system is fair.
- Prosecutors defend Utah bail reform as lawmakers eye repeal – The reform has moved Utah away from a rigid cash bail system toward an approach that keeps suspects in jail based on the risk they pose, rather than their ability to pay. It directs judges to release people accused of low-level crimes using the least restrictive conditions needed, like ankle monitors or bail in some cases.
- Selling homemade food to make ends meet in pandemic? Utah eyes permits, inspections – Rep. Christine Watkins, R-Price, is sponsoring HB94 to help correct “the lack of inspections of home kitchens.” The bill passed the House Friday morning with a unanimous vote and will move on to the Senate for consideration.
- Hundreds of snowmen make a case in Utah for climate change – hundreds of little snowmen made their way to the grounds at the state Capitol. It was all part of a plea to save the “endangered species” — the snow.
- San Francisco dropping names of Washington and Lincoln from schools. Will it happen in Utah? – Not likely, at least not anytime soon.
- Utahns believe that Black lives matter. Here’s how we can show it – A key way to support these lives is advancing equitable opportunities.
- If you think cancel culture isn’t a problem, you might be a Democrat – New poll shows deep partisan divide in views about shunning people for their controversial beliefs.
Salt Lake Tribune
- Black Utah ballerinas help shape new policies to welcome dancers of color into the ‘white ballet world’ – Racism and exclusion are woven into the traditions of the art form, acknowledges Ballet West artistic director Adam Sklute.
- Why all that snow we’re shoveling may not rescue Utah from a bad water year – Empty streams and dry farms are being mentioned as data from “Snotel” monitoring sites keeps piling up.
- We’re wasting too much water in Utah. Here are simple steps you can take to help. – From shorter showers to longer lawns (or no grass at all), we can conserve.
- Robert Gehrke: Utah’s predatory rental practices need a fresh look – A deep dive into rental practices found paints a grim picture of a system that is stacked overwhelmingly in favor of landlords with penalties and fees and interest rates charged to renters that can only be described as predatory and abusive.
- Utah House passes bill to create high school gun safety class, two other gun safety bills – Speaking in favor of the bill, Rep. Brady Brammer compared gun safety education to sex education.
- Lee says Romney shouldn’t be punished for impeachment vote – “While Senator Romney and I sometimes reach different conclusions, there is enough room in the Republican tent for both of us.”
- Hotly contested Utah gubernatorial race sparks legislation on conflict of interest, residency requirements – The bills seek to address issues that played out in real time during the race between now Gov. Spencer Cox and former Gov. Jon Huntsman.
- Utah Senate committee passes bill that would require rioter to appear before judge, pay restitution – Community members worry HB58 will stifle peaceful voices and could be used to target minorities.
Other
- Sunday earthquake one of thousands of aftershocks from 2020 Magna earthquake (Fox 13) – A 2.3 magnitude earthquake was felt by many across the Salt Lake Valley Sunday morning.
- Family faces unexpected eviction as housing market seems to bubble during COVID-19 pandemic (ABC 4) – COVID-19 has seemed to have caused a seller’s market and property owners are taking advantage of that.
COVID Corner
- U.S. reaches 500,000 deaths from the coronavirus (NBC News) – The number of dead rivals the populations of Atlanta or Sacramento, California.
- Coronavirus cases drop, but Utah remains among states with highest infection rates (Salt Lake Tribune) – It ranks fourth with 11,417 infections per 100,000 people.
- As US death toll nears 500K, Dr. Anthony Fauci says Americans could be wearing masks in 2022 (USA Today) – Marty Makary, who teaches at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health, doesn’t see it that way. “At the current trajectory, I expect Covid will be mostly gone by April, allowing Americans to resume normal life,”
- Covid: Scotland ‘in line’ with UK’s July vaccine target (BBC News) – All adults in Scotland could receive the first dose of the vaccine by the end of July if supply is available, the Scottish government has confirmed.
- COVID-19 immunity now 20-25% in Salt Lake County residents, data shows (FOX 13) – Experts project that 70 percent is the magic number to reach herd immunity and quash COVID.
- Gottlieb says downward trend in virus infections “likely to continue” (Yahoo! News) – Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former head of the Food and Drug Administration during the Trump administration, predicted Sunday that declining COVID-19 infection rates are “likely to continue” due to more Americans receiving their vaccines and the amount of people who have already contracted the coronavirus.
- South African COVID-19 variant found on Long Island (New York Post) – The strain, originally identified in South Africa, was first discovered in the US last month — and scientists believe it can spread more easily than other virus variants.
- Israel to Receive Last Shipments of Pfizer COVID Vaccines in Next Two Weeks (Haaretz) – The 1.5 million doses will provide enough for Israel to meet its target of five million people vaccinated against the coronavirus.
- Rare, sometimes fatal COVID-related illness is affecting children (WANE) – Called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, the illness appears to crop up weeks after a COVID infection or exposure — even if the case was asymptomatic or mild. About 2000 cases have been seen so far.
- What’s safe after COVID-19 vaccination? Don’t shed masks yet (Click Orlando) – The vaccines are highly effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19, especially severe illness and death — but no one yet knows how well they block spread of the coronavirus.
- Thousands of COVID-19 long-haulers have been crippled by months of physical pain and mental anguish, but recovery clinics are springing up, offering hope (Business Insider) – Post-COVID care centers aim to bring together a team of experts from a broad range of specialties to address all the wide-ranging issues long-haulers face, based on the disease’s latest understanding.
- Top virologist warns Italy virus cases rising again (Medical Xpress) – The resurgence in infections is due in large part to the English variant.
