The Green Party of Utah has completed its ballot access petition drive.
The final batch of petitions has been submitted to the Elections Office. The GPUT has submitted well over the required 2,000 signatures and is awaiting final confirmation by the State of Utah Director of Elections on confirmation of certification of the completed petition drive.
I’ll be posting an update on this once that confirmation is received and what this will mean for Utah voters.
Last week I wrote here about my disabled friend getting hit by a car in a pedestrian crosswalk, ironically on the same day the Utah House voted down a measure that would have made it law for cars to stop (currently they only have to yield) for pedestrians.
I wrote a letter to the editor that was published in today’s Deseret News:
Put people ahead of vehicles
It was ironic to hear of the Utah House vote against implementing extra safeguards at pedestrian crosswalks for the disabled. The reason given was “traffic would be tied up.” The same day as the vote, my disabled friend was hit by a car that failed to yield for her as she approached the middle of such a crosswalk with an orange flag. Two other cars had stopped. The car that hit her did not even slow down. As a result, my friend now has two broken legs, a totaled wheelchair and weeks of recuperating from surgery.
Put people ahead of automobiles. I urge our lawmakers to reconsider this bill.
Deanna Taylor
West Jordan
Articles in published in today’s Utah newspapers about the Yesterday’s Utah Legislature news:
Salt Lake Tribune
Legislature 2006: Today’s agenda
Big push remains midway on Hill: Utah Legislature: Tax, budget issues are pending
Utah’s homeland money under ax–Bush plan: The president wants to cut $2 million from the state’s security funds
Deseret News
Legislative tally
Nuclear power is safe and clean – opinion
Utahns want more for education – opinion
House to clear logjam
Stadium at heart of hotel-tax battle
Yesterday’s Utah Legislative Report Summary
Articles in published in today’s Utah newspapers about the Yesterday’s Utah Legislature news:
Salt Lake Tribune
Big push remains midway on Hil–Utah Legislature: Tax, budget issues are pending
Ruzicka grooming a nest full of eaglets
Following Mama Bird: They oppose a hate-crimes bill but back restrictions on abortion and gay rights
Deseret News
Huntsman threatens vetoes: Governor says ‘extreme’ bills ‘weaken’ his office
Would HB7 create a Catch-22?
Board of Education split on HB7 Measure would deny in-state tuition to illegal immigrants
Mom hopes to see nurse in every school: Measure in House Rules would fund study of issue
A man for whom I have very high respect is leaving Utah. Dan Webster, Communications Director of the Episocpal Diocese of Utah, is headed for New York City. He will become the media-relations director for the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA.
I found out from friend who called me today and then found the article in today’s Salt Lake Tribune.
Dan has been a stalwart presence in the peace community here. He has participated in many peace rallies in Salt Lake at which he has been a featured speaker. Recently Father Dan flattered me by telling me, as he lovingly pointed his finger to me, that I am one of the reasons things happen in our peace community here. (Of course I blushed and denined that I singlely do this – what happens here is a concerted effort by many people in our community. I just facilitate getting the word out).
I will miss Father Dan immensely. I am glad to see him take such a position, though. Now his influence will be felt at a higher level. His shoes will be hard to fill, for sure.
There are a couple of radio programs I thought I’d post about from the past week.
First is the (“Rocky Day”)February 7th Midday Metro from a Salt Lake public radio station, KCPW. Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson was this day’s host (my husband, Tom King, called in and talked to him). The program’s topic for this day was the Utah Legislature. Discussion topics on this program include the “Intelligent Design” and “Gay-Straight Alliance” Bills, with guests in the studio and caller comments.
Rocky also takes Rep. Hansen to task for accepting gifts from lobbyists.
Listen here. (mp3 file)
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Second is the February 9th Midday Utah from the same station, in which Jason Groenwald, from HEAL Utah talks about the nuclear waste transportation issue in Utah.
Listen here. (mp3 file)
Yesterday’s Utah Legislative Report Summary
Articles in published in today’s Utah newspapers about the Yesterday’s Utah Legislature news:
Salt Lake Tribune
More Legislative Briefs
SHORT SESSIONS
‘Lost Boys’ measure advances
Plan to slash tax rate debuts in Legislature–Income: Supporters say three-quarters of Utahns would profit if the bill passed
All back Bramble on RDA: Redevelopment agencies: Bill creates 3 categories with their own uses, rules
Bill on teen abortion goes to Senate: Legislators wrangle over parental consent, notification
Deseret News
‘Flatter’ tax OK’d despite protest
Panel tables IHC bill after a testy debate: Lawmaker concedes his measure targets the health-care giant
Panel OKs health bill for small businesses
Measure to expand child-data registry
Committee unanimous in passing RDA overhaul: Bramble confident the bill will end abuses of power
Tuition bill ready for Huntsman’s pen: Out-of-staters, troops to get leg up on school funds
Senate panel approves parental-consent bill
Ban on lobbyists’ gifts passes in House panel
Measure would mitigate some sex convictions
An ironic twist:
Yesterday a good friend of ours who is wheelchair bound, due to complications from Multiple Sclerosis, was hit in the middle of a pedestrian crosswalk by a car whose driver failed to stop for her, despite the fact that she was carrying a bright orange flag and that other cars had stopped.
Yesterday afternoon the Utah House voted down a measure that would have provided extra safeguards for the disabled in such crosswalks.
Our friend is one of the most faithful vigilers at our weekly sidewalk vigil (now in its 5th year), always arriving on time and holding a sign. She comes to other peace and justice events as well. We were arriving to our vigil place when we saw a horde of emergency equipment and as we approached our parking spot saw our friend’s empty wheelchair. Needless to say, I was opening the car door before Tom stopped it to jump out and find out what was going on. The ambulance was just pulling away with our friend. The police officer told me that she was “o.k.” but had a fractured leg.
Long story short, in the midst of emergency equpipment, reporters and tv crews, we helped provide some information about her, got her wheelchair out of the intersection and had a friend with a truck come get the parts after Tom disassembled it. The wheelchair is no longer operable. We then went to the hospital where another friend had arrived and was able to be with our injured friend (she has no family in the area). In summary, our friend has two fractured legs and is facing surgery (probably today) and at least a week at a rehabilitation center. Tom is going to attend to getting her a replacement chair today.
The driver of the car that hit our friend (Tom is quoted in the D-News article below) did not slow down or stop for her. The impact sent her flying out of her chair, along with her dinner she had had in her lap, about 30 feet from her chair. Our friend does not remember being hit but does remember being on the ground with people around her.
It is highly ironic that this happened on the heels of the Utah House decision to vote down extra safety measures for the disabled at crosswalks. Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson was instrumental in having canisters of orange flags for pedestrian’s safety which has helped pedestrians tremendously, but obviously more is needed. I also find it twisted that lawmakers would put automobiles’ interests ahead of pedestrians (see article below – reasons why the measure was voted down).
That was a bad move, Utah lawmakers.
I have submitted a letter to the Deseret News for publication in the opinion section.
From today’s Salt Lake Tribune:
Crosswalk users such as this one – seen on South Rio Grande Street in The Gateway on Thursday – will get no extra protection after a vote in the Utah House of Representatives. Representatives decided not to give disabled Utahns in crosswalks new safeguards. HB96, by Rep. Brad Daw, R-Orem, would have required drivers to stop while a person in a wheelchair or using a cane or walker made their way through a crosswalk. Current law only requires drivers to yield. But amid complaints about such restrictions tying up traffic, the bill died in the House on a tie vote.
Pedestrians use the cross walk on South Rio Grande Street in The Gateway. HB 96 modifies the Motor Vehicles Code by amending provisions related to certain pedestrians’ right-of-way in a crosswalk. (Chris Detrick/Salt Lake Tribune)
From today’s Deseret News:
Woman in wheelchair is struck in crosswalk
A peace activist on her way to an anti-war vigil in downtown Salt Lake City was hit by a car Thursday night.
The 59-year-old woman was in her motorized wheelchair in the crosswalk about 150 S. Main when she was struck. Salt Lake City police said she was carrying one of the orange pedestrian flags, but the driver of the car did not see her.
How could people not see a woman in a wheelchair? asked Tom King with People for Peace and Justice, who was headed to the vigil when he came upon the accident involving his friend. The group has been leading a weekly vigil against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan outside the federal building.
The woman was taken by ambulance to the University Hospital where she was reported to be in good condition.
Chris Buttars, the Utah Senator sponsor of the evolution and anti-gay club bills in this years legislative session, has been reported as “gravely ill”.
Buttars has been replaced on the Senate Judiciary Committee, due to illness.
Buttars…. has told his colleagues that the legislation he sponsored this year is part of his legacy, a life’s work of promoting conservative morals.
There is some speculation as to whether or not senators will vote on his bills out of sympathy.
Senate President John Valentine acknowledged a wave of sentiment for Buttars among lawmakers. Voting for his legislation may be another matter.
“I’ve seen a lot of sympathy to move his bills forward. But I haven’t seen sympathy as far as actual votes cast,” Valentine said.
And Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, who regularly has visited Buttars in the hospital
and has taken on his less flashy legislation, said, “Certainly there has been sympathy to keep his bills alive. Would we pass legislation because of that? No.”
Word has it that another senator is going to be bringing an anti-gay club bill to the floor next week.
Hit
House OKs limits on records access
At least there is some hope for Utahns’ private information not being released.
House members approved legislation Thursday that would limit public access to Utahns’ addresses and phone numbers. HB28 would protect personal information required on government documents – unless the record is classified as public, such as voter registration forms.
Miss
Casting wide anti-terror net: Massive computer system to scan e-mail and blogs
While this is being billed as a safety measure for Americans, it’s yet another step toward the invasiveness of the government into our personal lives.
The U.S. government is developing a massive computer system that can collect huge amounts of data and, by linking far-flung information from blogs and e-mail to government records and intelligence reports, search for patterns of terrorist activity.
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 