Speak for the Trees
It's hard to know just how serious Utah legislators are about saving the Great Salt Lake. It's not for lack of talking about it. They have lots of fun ideas, from the now-shelved plan to pump water from the Pacific Ocean to the latest notion that trees should go because they suck too much water. Let's hope they don't take that concept further to human beings. First, forest thinning—not to be confused with the former president's call to sweep the forests. Rural lawmakers are backing a major logging initiative as a way to save the lake, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Admittedly, some trees should go—the non-native and noxious trees that line the lake, for instance. But this "initiative" is less about saving the lake than saving the alfalfa fields. And it's more complicated than just thinning the forests. If they really want to attack the problem, they'd need to recognize climate change and take some steps to solve it long-term. A bill on idling would be good to pass, and recognizing that Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing would be wise.
Can't Vouch for It
Talking about education in Utah is always steeped in politics and culture wars. This year is a case in point as conservative lawmakers try again to pass private school vouchers, which they hope are more popular now that parents have experienced COVID. How that makes sense is debatable, but it's a talking point. Just to be sure they can pass it, they've tied teacher raises to vouchers, The Salt Lake Tribune reports. After all, it has been a continuing embarrassment to the state that our teacher pay is always near the bottom and our class sizes near the top. Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers are passing around a map that shows the large number of ZIP codes without private schools. And in a hopeful and perhaps quixotic move, Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, has opened a bill file to increase teacher pay by $10,200—without the voucher hook.
Any Means Necessary
There's nothing like abortion to get the far right riled up. But far be it from them to actually use the word or, in this case, be up front about squelching Planned Parenthood's lawsuit holding up their trigger ban. Enter Rep. Brady Brammer, R-Pleasant Grove, with a clever yet opaque bill to, uh, do what? Called the Joint Resolution Amending Rules of Civil Procedure on Injunctions, this piece of work is a feeble attempt to kill an injunction "unless the case has a substantial likelihood of success," The Salt Lake Tribune wrote. In other words, a judge would have to determine if a case could be won and, if it looks good, then an injunction couldn't hold it up—or vice versa. There's a lot of legalese in this bill, and it's one that not even lawyers and legal experts seem to like. The unintended consequences are many. Speaking of many, there will be lots more anti-abortion bills coming this session because they care so much about the pre-born. Women and babies are on their own.
About The Author
Katharine Biele
A City Weekly contributor since 1992, Katharine Biele is the informed voice behind our Hits & Misses column. When not writing, you can catch her working to empower voters and defend democracy alongside the League of Women Voters.
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