Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

AM Brief: Utah oil railway opposition, snowstorm outages & Palacios-Carbajal lawsuit rejected

A line of oil tanker cars headed to North Dakota, Jan. 5, 2013.
Roy Luck
/
Flickr, CC BY 2.0
A line of oil tanker cars headed to North Dakota, Jan. 5, 2013.

Monday, Mar. 7, 2022

State

Gov. Cox promises to veto transgender sports bill

The Utah Legislature voted to ban transgender girl athletes from playing school sports in a last-minute proposal just hours before the legislative session ended. Gov. Spencer Cox said he will veto it. The bill, HB 11, replaced the legislation that set up a commission to evaluate if individual transgender athletes should be allowed to play. It would have required that committee to come up with its own requirements, but suggested that they use physical characteristics like height, weight or “the extent of physical characteristics affected by puberty.” However, the legislation that was passed says if the ban is struck down or paused by a lawsuit, the commission system would go into effect. Read the full story. — Sonja Hutson

Northern Utah

Snowstorm left thousands without power

In the wake of the weekend snow, Rocky Mountain Power said roughly 30,000 customers were left in the dark — with many outages remaining Monday morning. The National Weather Service said their monitor near the University of Utah recorded over 8 inches of snow. Salt Lake City police were also busy Sunday responding to downed power lines and other storm-related hazards. The Utah Highway Patrol urges caution as snow and ice stick around well into the week. Skiers were out in numbers, with sizable traffic jams in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon. The snow has also led to considerable avalanche danger in the mountains Monday morning. — Leah Treidler & Pamela McCall

Federal judge rejects fatal force lawsuit against SLCPD officers

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the police officers who killed Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal in 2020. Salt Lake City officers Neil Iversen and Kevin Fortuna fired at the 22-year-old more than 30 times just two days before the death of George Floyd. Palacios-Carbajal’s family filed the civil suit against the officers and Police Chief Mike Brown in September 2020, alleging the officers engaged in “gratuitous violence” by repeatedly shooting at him after he was already on the ground and incapacitated. But the Salt Lake Tribune reported Judge David Barlow ruled Palacios-Carbajal’s civil rights were not violated. — Associated Press

Region/Nation

Colorado cities protest Utah-based oil railway

Dozens of Colorado counties and cities are opposing a Utah-based railroad that would transport oil through the Uinta Basin, quadrupling fossil fuel production in the area. It would also bring as many as 10 two-mile oil trains through Denver each day. The proposed 85-mile line has federal approval, but opponents say there is no clear picture of the environmental damage it might cause. Colorado’s Eagle County and several conservation groups sued in February to require a deeper environmental investigation of the project. Cities and counties have also asked their senators to intervene. Work on the line could begin next year. — Associated Press

KUER is listener-supported public radio. Support this work by making a donation today.