Monday morning, Aug. 23, 2021
Northern Utah
BYU Requires Masks
Brigham Young University will be requiring masks on its Provo campus starting Monday. Students and faculty will have to wear them indoors and in places where social distancing isn’t possible — whether or not they’ve been vaccinated. The Church-run school is one of the first colleges in Utah to implement a mandate. Utah’s state-run schools are banned from setting mask requirements thanks to legislation passed earlier this year, but that’s now being challenged by local leaders. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is encouraging all of its members to mask up and get the vaccine as well. — Ivana Martinez
Show Your Vaccine Card
Some Utah art venues are requiring proof of vaccination to enter showings. Places like Salt Lake Acting Company, the State Room and the Commonwealth Room are some of the few that mandate vaccination cards or a negative COVID-19 test to attend. Other venues including the Urban Lounge and Metro Music Hall will require them depending on the artists’ requests. The requirements will be in place for attendees, staff and artists. — Ivana Martinez
Evacuating A Mountain Town
The Parleys Canyon Fire has some Summit County officials taking a closer look at emergency evacuation preparedness. Mike McComb, Park City’s Emergency Manager, said evacuations can be tricky, especially in mountain towns. Last year his department created a subcommittee to focus on a citywide evacuation plan. One thing they have to plan for is potential traffic jams and how to avoid them. “That could mean evacuating them vertically,” McComb said, “so down the mountain, for example, if the threat were higher up or away [then] horizontally out of town. We want to try and minimize the number of people that we evacuate at any given time and minimize the amount of distance that they have to travel.” Read the full story. — Ivana Martinez
Region/Nation
Immigration Reentry Law Found Unconstitutional
A federal judge in Nevada has ruled that a law that further penalizes those who re-enter the U.S. after deportation is unconstitutional. Section 1326 says if you were denied entry to the U.S. or were deported at some point, re-entering the country becomes a felony. The Nevada judge said it violates the Constitution because of it’s racist, anti-Mexican origins. People can still be deported without this law. The U.S. Department of Justice is appealing the decision. — Madelyn Beck, Mountain West News Bureau