Thursday afternoon, December 24, 2020
State
State Nears 15,000 Coronavirus Vaccine Doses
Utah reported 2,892 new cases of COVID-19 across the state Thursday, with 24% of people tested over the last week having positive results. The state also reported that nine more people have died due to the disease in Salt Lake, Utah, Davis and Weber counties. Utahns have also received around 14,822 doses of COVID-19 vaccines. — Elaine Clark
Follow KUER’s coverage of the coronavirus in Utah.
Vaccines Reach Utah’s Rural Hospitals
Hospital employees in Heber City and Park City became the first rural healthcare workers in Utah to be vaccinated against COVID-19. As of this week, doses of the vaccine have now been delivered to every local health department in the state, according to the Utah Department of Health. Read the full story. — David Fuchs
Governor-elect Names His Picks For Public Lands And Environmental Quality
Governor-elect Spencer Cox announced two more appointments to his cabinet on Thursday. The incoming governor appointed Kim Shelley to be the director of the state’s Department of Environmental Quality. Shelley is currently the deputy director there. Cox also picked Redge Johnson to head up the Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office. In the past, Johnson has worked for the Utah Department of Agriculture and the Nature Conservancy. The two appointments will go to the state Senate for confirmation. — Emily Means
Region/Nation
Hill AFB Removes EEO Officer
The Director of the Equal Employment Opportunity Office at Hill Air Force Base has been removed from her position. Letters sent to the president and congress earlier this week from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel said an inspector general investigation found the manager — whose name was redacted from the publicly released version of the investigation — had acted improperly and unlawfully. The investigation found she had discouraged employees from filing sexual harassment claims, illegally modified complaints and allegations and failed to identify conflicts of interest. The investigation was triggered after three whistleblowers stepped forward to report the director’s misconduct. — David Fuchs