Hits & Misses | No-Sex Sex Ed, Badly Timed Traffic Lights & Same-Sex Marriage

Scarlet “T”
A middle-school teacher who dared answer questions about sex posed by seventh- and eighth-grade students in a sex-ed class has been placed on paid leave in Herriman until authorities can get to the bottom of the scandal. Topics which the 30-year veteran teacher apparently broached included masturbation and homosexuality. Students put up signs supporting the teacher at school only to have the signs taken down by administrators. Parents in an uproar have enlisted the aid of Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, to work on a law that would create a state registry of teachers who violate Utah’s no-sex sex-education laws. Wimmer also wants a criminal statute to punish misbehaving teachers. There is no word yet on the penalty. But burning at the stake seems appropriate.

Green Lights
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker and county Mayor Peter Corroon recently met in a summit to solve one of Salt Lake City’s great problems: badly timed traffic lights. It’s a small initiative but could earn big points with voters. Getting around downtown—whether by car or on foot—can be maddening. Both pedestrians and motorists frequently find themselves stuck on the wrong side of the street and held there by interminable red lights as tumbleweeds roll down the wide streets. The solution isn’t obvious. Traffic engineers told the elected officials Salt Lake City’s famous wide streets are a major stumbling block to smoother traffic flow. But getting state, county and city engineers to work together on the problem is a good start.

California Dreamin’
The state has no business getting all hot and bothered by marriages between consenting adults. So says Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff about Utah polygamists “spiritually” married to two or more women. But when it comes to gays wanting to marry, in California, Utah won’t stand for it. Utah’s AG—with nine other attorneys general—is arguing to delay a recent California’s Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage. The AG says a pause would forestall lawsuits from couples seeking Utah recognition for their California marriages and give California voters the chance to stop gay marriages altogether by changing their constitution. Utah’s Constitution, of course, already bans gay marriage. Maybe some fake marriages are just more spiritual than others.