SALT LAKE CITY Two Utah legislators are promoting looser restrictions on teen drivers learner s permits due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
HB18 will allow the learner s permit to be extended from 12 months to 18 months to allow more time for teens to meet their observation hours and other requirements.
The Senate Business and Labor Committee recommended the bill for approval Thursday, moving it to the full Senate. The House passed the bill Tuesday 45-28.
Bill sponsor Rep. Melissa Ballard, R-North Salt Lake, has had personal experience with the original 12-month restriction with her 15-year-old daughter during the pandemic. She drove all year. She worked really hard. Her birthday came right as COVID was hitting, so she could not get her driver s license the day, or even before, before her permit expired. So she had to reapply for another permit, and the school district was not able to finish giving her any of her driving instruction, Ballard said.
SALT LAKE CITY It s been nearly seven months since George Floyd died in Minneapolis police custody, resulting in a murder charge being filed against the officer who knelt on Floyd s neck for some eight minutes.
Floyd s death ignited protests across the globe about racial equality, social justice and discrimination, including multiple demonstrations in Utah.
As many public bodies in Utah have pondered the best path forward, Shawn Newell says addressing issues of racial inequality, discrimination and social justice in the public square requires difficult and honest conversations.
Newell, who is Black, was bused to school as part of California s school desegregation efforts in the late 1960s. He is a graduate of the University of Utah, where he played football. He was later under contract with the Chicago Bears but didn t play due to injuries.
Some will send kids back for in-person learning in 2021, others are sticking to distance learning
and last updated 2020-12-16 19:42:15-05
SALT LAKE CITY â It has been nine months since Utah students, teachers, education leaders, health experts and parents began navigating learning during a pandemic.
Things have gotten much easier since March, as educators continue to work to make distance learning work.
âThe primary things that are most important are providing a limited amount of resources that parents can navigate and keeping things as simple as possible and as consistent as possible for everyone involved,â Granite School District Spokesperson Ben Horsley, said.
Governor s Award presented to St. Thomas More parishioner for outstanding service
Friday, Dec. 18, 2020
Susan Thomas, a St. Thomas More parishioner, received the Governor?s Award of Excellence for Outstanding Public Service.
By Linda Petersen
Intermountain Catholic
SALT LAKE CITY Using her gifts to bless others has always been important to Susan Thomas, a St. Thomas More parishioner. Those efforts were recently recognized in her professional life by Governor Gary Herbert, who awarded Thomas the Governor’s Award of Excellence for Outstanding Public Service.
Thomas, who has had an extensive career in journalism and public relations, has worked for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and for the Blind for almost three years as communications director.