Hoax reports from Utah's anti-trans laws are keeping the state's bathroom monitor busy.
Hits & Misses
By Katharine Biele @kathybiele
Bathroom Break
Welcome to Pride Month and the beginning of bathroom monitoring, if not threats to the community. Oh, and then there's politics. Election year posturing also played a part in the celebrations. First, we'll deal with John "Frugal" Dougall, Utah's bedeviled state auditor who's been combing through 12,000 hoax reports since the misguided bathroom monitoring bill passed the Legislature. To the delight of sponsor Rep. Kera Birkeland, R-Morgan, Dougall has now found five that just maybe show some government entity hasn't appropriately labeled bathrooms to keep transgender folks at bay. Secondly, Gov. Spencer Cox continues his effort to show the MAGA base he's just bad enough. After his primary opponent, Blanding Republican Rep. Phil Lyman, claimed Cox is too damned friendly to the LGBTQ+ community, Cox issued a watered-down declaration calling for "bridge building" in June, rather than a Pride month salute. Finally, Salt Lake police were on high alert after a worldwide security notice that there could be terrorist attacks on LGBTQ+ communities, leaving Utah with a Pride in Hatred month.
School's Out
It's like the Salt Lake City School District Board has just rolled over and given up. Let's see what they're so determined not to do. Students from East High School recently marched the 5 miles to Glendale Middle School to show how far they have to travel each day just to get to school. Sure, they get bused, but that doesn't help with after-school activities and other things. Simply put, they want a west side high school. Enter the number crunchers, who point out that student populations in Salt Lake are falling and, gee, there's just no place to put a high school over there. Let's just say there's area enough for sports complexes and golf courses, but that's another story. There is a history of bad decisions, including the closing of South High, while the school-age population on the west side grows. The school board needs to focus on the well-being of all students, and not just the bottom line.
Bloom Towns
We hear a lot about how toxic the water in Utah Lake is. That's because of the massive algae bloom that has killed dogs and keeps people from the water. Now there's hope, and it's all because of—wait for it—science. A company called BlueGreen Water Technologies has come up with an environmentally friendly algicide that already cleared the Mantua Reservoir at no cost, according to the Good News Network. The no-cost solution was a result of selling carbon credits to companies that want to offset the effects of their greenhouse gas emissions. We'd like to say that's a positive sign but in Utah—carbon credits have been used, but the idea of any carbon tax has been roundly dismissed. That doesn't mean it won't happen. A 2023 citizen-led initiative is still trying to make the ballot—although it's going to court to try and make it happen.
About The Author
Katharine Biele
A City Weekly contributor since 1992, Katharine Biele is the informed voice behind our Hits & Misses column. When not writing, you can catch her working to empower voters and defend democracy alongside the League of Women Voters.
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