Thursday morning, Feb. 6, 2020
State
Safehaven For Infants
An amendment to Utah's Newborn Safe Haven law would allow someone to drop-off an unwanted, newborn baby at a hospital for up to 30 days after its birth without question. The proposal passed unanimously out of committee Wednesday. The law currently offers women a three-day window to turn-in infants. The Division of Child and Family Services estimates four additional children will be brought to hospitals a year under Democratic Rep. Patrice Arent’s bill. — Jessica Lowell
Northern Utah
Even More Snow
Heavy snow is expected under a winter storm warning through Friday afternoon. Up to 10 inches could fall in Ogden Valley, and twice that in the Wasatch Mountains, Western Uintas, the Wasatch Plateau and the Book Cliffs, with winds gusting to 55 mph and low visibility. The National Weather Service warning also applies to Cache, Salt Lake and Tooele valleys, with up to half a foot on the benches. The Great Salt Lake Desert and Mountains, and southwest Wyoming also will be impacted. — Diane Maggipinto
Train Delays
The Frontrunner was running off the back this morning, with speed restrictions between Murray and South Jordan. Southbound trains were delayed 25-30 minutes from Ogden to Murray, 40-50 minutes from Murray to Lehi, and 50-60 minutes from Lehi to Provo. Northbound Frontrunner cars were delayed 50-60 minutes from South Jordan to Ogden. The Trax Red Line running south between the Medical Center station and Daybreak were running 20-25 minutes late. For the most up-to-date information visit rideuta.com or the UTA Twitter feed. — Diane Maggipinto
Nation
Removing Public Land Environmental Requirements
The Trump Administration may remove environmental review requirements from public land-use plans. The possible changes by the Bureau of Land Management was one of several suggestions in a document obtained by Bloomberg News. Environmentalists argue that land-use planning is the critical moment to do environmental review because of the impacts on wildlife, habitat, recreation and hunting access. In January, the Trump Administration proposed the largest changes in 40 years to the same environmental review process. The BLM said there is not yet a timeline to start the rulemaking process, but that, if the proposal moves forward, the agency will notify the public. — Cooper McKim, Mountain West News Bureau