Deseret News
- The forever family – How the new science of genealogy (DNA testing) is helping the lost become found.
- Our election system needs reform, and most Americans agree – Just 1 out of 4 voters (26%) are confident that the right person was declared the winner in each of the last two presidential elections.
- Tech winners in Utah’s 2021 legislative session: Cellphone porn filters, new rules for social media platforms and personal privacy protections – Utahns are set to see some new protections of their personal digital data and how it is gathered, stored and shared by online companies and government agencies thanks to a handful of bills passed in the 2021 Utah legislative session.
- This International Women’s Day, #ChooseToChallenge – #ChooseToChallenge — challenge inequities, challenge bias, challenge assumptions, challenge stereotypes, challenge the status quo, challenge the gender pay gap and challenge sexism, both hostile and benevolent.
- Salt Lake’s homeless have hard time getting to court, so court’s coming to them – Initiative is part of broader push to bring services to encampments before sweeps take place.
- They’re finally making electric school buses and some are on their way to Utah – “It’s such new technology for the school bus industry. We’re gonna be the first to have one, even in Utah,” said Ken Martinez of the Salt Lake City School District.
- Utah Legislature made sweeping changes to homeless system, record investment in housing – Tara Rollins, executive director of the Utah Housing Coalition, described the $35 million investment into affordable housing as a record in the state that’s critically needed as many who work in industries like tourism and hospitality are unable to find affordable living situations.
- Pandemic created optimal conditions for Utah organ transplant patients – Intermountain Healthcare experiences record number of transplants in 2020
- The ‘unbelievable’ story of forgiveness Netflix doesn’t tell in ‘Murder Among the Mormons’ – Mark Hofmann’s ex-wife, Dorie Olds, tells the true story of how a well-known Utah family of one of his victims stepped up to help her son
Salt Lake Tribune
- The legislative session is over. Here’s what lawmakers did for you — and to you — before going home. – From diminishing some voting rights to investing big in homeless services, the Legislature had a busy last week.
- Scott D. Pierce: Teens in ‘Genera+ion’ swear, drink and have sex. So do some Utah high schoolers, despite what some parents think. – I’m absolutely certain that, as much as other parents and I wish our kids weren’t like the characters in this TV show, some of them are. Or they know kids who are. And it doesn’t do us any good to close our eyes to reality.
- Trump-mandated exams are making it hard to hire seasonal workers for national parks in Utah and across the U.S. – Critics say the tests – complex logic and reading comprehension problems on a timed, online multiple-choice test – are eliminating qualified candidates to help care for public lands.
- Utahns protest George Floyd’s death with car caravan – Activists rallied in Salt Lake City on Saturday to protest George Floyd’s death ahead of the trial of the police officer who killed him.
- Democrat’s report hits Utah’s Burgess Owens, Chris Stewart for pushing falsehood that the election was stolen – Report focuses on the social media posts from Republicans voted to overturn the election results.
- Legislative session ends as governor praises many ‘good bills’ that passed and many ‘terrible bills’ that didn’t – Lawmakers passed more than 500 bills and allocated more than $21 billion.
Other
- Gov. Herbert reflects on anniversary of COVID-19 in Utah (FOX 13) – One year ago Saturday, former Governor Gary Herbert issued a state of emergency for the novel coronavirus in Utah. This year as he looks back, he said “It’s across the board the most dramatic thing I think that has happened in all of our lifetimes… short of war.”
- Weirdest. Session. Ever. Here’s what the 2021 Utah legislature did to your life. (FOX 13) – In spite of pandemic-related changes, lawmakers got quite a bit done. They passed a $23.5 billion budget. There were 1,216 bills requested. Of those, 767 were numbered and 502 passed that may become laws with the signature of the governor.
- ‘Individual choice’: Statewide mask mandate could expire April 10th (ABC 4) – The bill says it will be up to individual business whether or not to require masks once the statewide mandate is up.
COVID Corner
- Utah reports fewest COVID-19 deaths since October (Salt Lake Tribune) – The state health department tallies 412 new cases, one more death, and 12,631 more vaccinations.
- Local blood drive also tests for COVID-19 antibodies (FOX 13) – The test results will let donors know if they may have had the virus but were asymptomatic.
- U.S. sees Pfizer’s and other Western COVID-19 vaccines becoming latest target of Russian disinformation (MarketWatch) – One false Russian claim: that the U.S. rushed the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine through the regulatory process.
- Fauci predicts high schoolers will receive coronavirus vaccinations this fall (The Hill) – The nation’s leading infectious disease expert also predicted that younger students in elementary schools will “likely be able to get vaccinated by the very first quarter of 2022.”
- ‘Hassle Factor’ and Distrust Shadow Wide U.S. Vaccine Hesitancy (Bloomberg) – Willingness to be vaccinated is lower in the U.S than in many countries. Hesitancy is especially prevalent in minority communities.
- The CDC just warned of 3 new coronavirus vaccine side effects (BGR) – Redness at the injection site, muscle pain and nausea bring the list of common side effects to 9.
- Spring Breakers Take Over Florida amid COVID Pandemic: ‘We’re Very Concerned,’ Miami Beach Mayor Says (People magazine) – “I’m not opposed to college kids having fun — just not in the middle of a pandemic,” Broward County Mayor Steve Geller said.
- More than a quarter of Utahns have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine (Deseret News) – About 10% of Utahns are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with two doses of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines. Nearly 12% of the population has had confirmed diagnoses of COVID-19.
- Senate passes the COVID-19 relief bill. So how much money do you get? (Deseret News) – The bill will provide direct payments of up to $1,400 for most Americans. People who make $80,000 and couples making $160,000 will not receive a stimulus payment.
- World on brink of fourth wave of coronavirus (The Hill) – Total reported cases rose across the globe in the last week of February after six weeks of decline, driven in part by new, more virulent variants.
