Anti-DEI push, school closures and more on Behind the Headlines

By Tom Williams

Published January 12, 2024 at 10:46 AM MST

Three people sit behind tables while a person in the foreground appears to read something into a microphone. — Members of the Salt Lake City School Board listen to public comment Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, as they prepare to vote on closing four elementary schools.

At least three Republican state lawmakers are working on proposals for Utah’s upcoming legislative session that could target college diversity offices and hiring efforts. Four Salt Lake City elementary schools will permanently shut down, taking effect at the start of the next academic year. And you can almost eat Salt Lake City’s bad air — what hosting the Olympics would do about it.

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Tom Williams

Tom Williams worked as a part-time UPR announcer for a few years and joined Utah Public Radio full-time in 1996. He is a proud graduate of Uintah High School in Vernal and Utah State University (B. A. in Liberal Arts and Master of Business Administration.) He grew up in a family that regularly discussed everything from opera to religion to politics. He is interested in just about everything and loves to engage people in conversation, so you could say he has found the perfect job as host “Access Utah.” He and his wife Becky, live in Logan.

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