Utah Governor Spencer Cox is asking residents to limit their water usage while also banning fireworks on state and unincorporated lands with a new executive order.
Effective on Tuesday, Executive Order 2021-10 will reduce lawn watering at some state facilities to only two days per week, lowering the number from a previous order, according to ABC4 News.
Cox also said it s a bad year for fireworks because “‘were coming out of one disaster and into another,” referring to the COVID-19 pandemic and the extreme drought conditions.
With Cox’s remarks, it’s likely there will be no city-run firework shows this year. A statewide ban on festive explosives is also expected.
The Logan-based Malouf Foundation, which aims at fighting child sexual exploitation, announced Tuesday it is working to help survivors by opening an aftercare facility for victims. The announcement was made in Park City, where the foundation held a golf fundraiser event, which raised over $200,000. Every dollar will go directly toward the development of the new facility, according to a press release.
Malouf Foundation board chair Kacie Malouf said the center will primarily be for girls who are between the ages of 11 and 18. She explained the survivors will “receive all encompassing healing in one place, typically for 18 months.” Services will include housing, medical care, clinical therapy, education, life skills training, faith support groups and legal assistance.
On Thursday, the Utah Department announced Dr. Leisha Nolen as its newest state epidemiologist. According to a press release , Nolen will become Utah’s top
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox posted a video to his Twitter Thursday, inviting all Utahns regardless of religious affiliation to join in a collective prayer for rain as the state’s extreme drought persists.
Cox said the few spring rains Utah’s experienced this year have not been enough to fill the state’s reservoirs or offset the low levels of moisture in the soil. Cox said, if the extremely dry conditions continue, so does the potential for deadly fires. In addition, the lack of water threatens “our crops, our livestock and wildlife, our food supply chains and, really, our way of life.”
According to FOX 13, for the first time in Utah’s history, Utah state employees are required to work from home Thursday due to poor air quality across the state.
The Surge Remote Work Day is the first declared since the Utah legislature passed a law allowing state employees to work from home on poor air days. The state is also encouraging private companies to enact similar policies when the air quality is bad.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said this is a very effective way of keeping Utah’s air somewhat clean because “even just one day of remote work saves pounds of pollutants from being released to the atmosphere.”