This is your daily news rundown for Monday Dec 2. In this edition:
- A Salt Lake City School District board member is being accused of bribing another candidate.
- Utah Avalanche Center is offering avalanche safety tips and trainings for Utah Avalanche Awareness Week.
- Utah legislators are considering increasing their say in Utah's air quality standards.
- A Utah lawmaker is looking to increase Utah's supermarket taxes.
SLC School Board member accused of bribing another candidate
2:16 p.m.
A member of the Salt Lake City School Board has been accused of trying to bribe another candidate in the recent election.
Mohamed Baayd, a Salt Lake City resident, beat opponent Russell Askren to retain his seat on the school board. He was charged on Monday in 3rd District Court with committing bribery in elections, a third-degree felony.
According to court documents, Baayd asked Askren in March to withdraw from the election, allegedly offering in exchange to involve him in the work of the board and advocate him as the next replacement in two years.
The indictment says Askren declined Baayd’s offer.
Charges are allegations only, and all arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Utah Avalanche Awareness Week offers tips and trainings to stay safe
2:16 p.m.
It’s Utah Avalanche Awareness Week, and officials are offering tips and warnings on how to stay safe during the snowy season.
According to Be Ready Utah, there are five basic tips to prevent most avalanche accidents— having safety gear, getting training on avalanche safety, looking up forecasts beforehand, paying attention to signs when recreating, and getting out of harm's way.
Areas to avoid include slopes steeper than thirty degrees or areas downhill of steep slopes and anywhere that’s had a recent avalanche.
As part of Utah Avalanche Awareness Week, the Utah Avalanche Center has educational events throughout the state, including free avalanche awareness programs. For more information, visit their website.
Utah legislators consider increasing say in the states air quality standards
7:18 a.m.
Utah’s air quality is being impacted by a current inversion, forcing those with health conditions to stay inside. Meanwhile, some Utah legislators are considering having more say over the rules dictating state air quality standards and expressed hope that the incoming Trump administration will be friendlier to the Beehive State when it comes to environmental regulations.
Federal law sets some guidelines for air quality, but statewide rules are enacted by the Utah Air Quality Board, which is part of the state's Department of Environmental Quality. Bryce Bird, the director of the state's Division of Air Quality, addressed the Legislature's Federalism Commission Tuesday, when at least one top lawmaker expressed support for lawmakers to have more oversight in the rules that set clean air standards in Utah.
Representative Casey Snider, a Republican from Paradise, says Utah lawmakers should review rulemaking authority given to the agency.
While he declined to cast judgment on the actions of the agency, Snider — who serves as the majority assistant whip in House Republican leadership — said bringing that authority back to the Legislature would make environmental rules more subject to accountability from voters.
Utah lawmaker looks to increase Utah's supermarket taxes
7:18 a.m.
That supermarket ice cream cone you consume while shopping for food could cost you more if a South Jordan lawmaker has his way. Utah state Sen. Lincoln Fillmore argues that deli and other supermarket eateries should be required to collect the same tax charged on food and beverage sales at restaurants. Fillmore says changing the state law would give county governments an opportunity to impose a tax that could bring in as much as $1 million dollars.
Fellow Republican lawmaker Norm Thurston argues that rather than changing the food tax law the state should get rid of the restaurant tax altogether.
Fillmore’s bill is being backed by the Utah Restaurant Association and opposed by the Utah Retail Merchants Association as well as the Utah Food Industry Association.
