This is your daily news rundown for Friday, August 16. In this edition:
- Former state Sen. Karen Mayne died on Thursday at age 78
- Funding issues have halted a bill meant to help Utah's childcare shortage
- More Utahns experienced homelessness in 2023, but fewer of them were unsheltered
- The Allen and Alice Stokes Nature Center is working on a second location in Nibley
- Junipers are being removed on over 1,600 acres in Logan Canyon to reduce wildfire risk
Former senator Karen Mayne dies at 78
The Utah State Senate announced the death of former state Sen. Karen Mayne on Thursday night.
A Democrat and Salt Lake City native, Mayne served as Utah’s District 5 Senator for 15 years, first appointed to the seat in 2007 after the death of her husband, former state Sen. Ed Mayne.
During her time, she served as the Assistant Minority Whip and Senate Minority Whip, as well as a member of several committees and task forces.
Mayne resigned from the Utah State Legislature in January 2023, a few months after she was diagnosed with cancer. She passed away at age 78.
Funding issues halt a bill meant to improve Utah’s childcare shortage
A bill passed earlier this year to improve Utah’s childcare shortage hasn't been implemented because of funding issues.
H.B. 461 was designed to give subsidies to early childhood and daycare teachers who can’t afford daycare for their own kids, with the money coming from federal dollars Utah receives for childcare programs.
However, according to Rebecca Banner, Deputy Director for the Utah Department of Workforce Services, the state didn’t get additional funds to implement the bill, which means funding would be pulled from some of the 9,679 families who get subsidies for childcare.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Ashlee Matthews (D-Salt Lake), says the federal dollars should cover at least some teacher subsidies, but that she’d seek more clarification from the Department of Workforce Services.
More Utahns experienced homelessness last year, but fewer were unsheltered
A report by the Utah Office of Homeless Services found more people were sleeping on the streets or in shelters in 2023 compared to 2022, with Utah’s rapid growth possibly worsening the issue.
The report, released Friday, found a number of metrics around homelessness increased, including the number of people who became homeless for the first time (up by 9%) and the number of people who experienced homelessness multiple times (up by 4%).
The unsheltered population, however, went down from 2022 to 2023 as shelters roughly doubled the number of available beds, and 93% of people placed in long-term housing projects either remained there or found permanent housing elsewhere.
The report claimed Utah’s rapid economic and population growth has worsened homelessness by straining resources like affordable housing and behavioral health systems.
Northern Utah nature center to work on second location
A northern Utah nature center has raised the funds to begin work on a second location.
The Allen and Alice Stokes Nature Center opened in 1997 in Logan Canyon, with a new location in Nibley in the works for more than 20 years according to Executive Director Kendra Penry.
The new location will include an outdoor classroom, a nature trail system, an accessible pollinator and food garden, and a nature park facility. It will also provide new field trip and research options to the community.
Nature Center staff will provide tours of the proposed site plan and be on hand to answer questions about the vision for the new location during a groundbreaking event on Wednesday, August 28 at 9 a.m. at 99 W 2600 S in Nibley.
Juniper thinning project in Logan Canyon aims to reduce wildfire risk
The United States Forest Service and Logan Ranger District are working to remove junipers on 1,664 acres in Logan Canyon.
The project is partially funded by the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative as part of the Logan River Watershed Restoration to help reduce wildfire risk.
Project manager and Forest Service fuel specialist Milena Rockwood said juniper removal will also support foliage growth and let water go to restoring the natural wildlife habitat. At the peak of summer, a mature juniper uses an average of 38 gallons of water per tree per day.
The project will involve removing junipers in identified areas from the mouth of Logan Canyon to the turnoff to Beaver Mountain.
Rockwood said the whole project will take about two years.
