- The Utah House minority leadership opposes the Utah Fits All voucher program and wants more funding for public education.
- The Democratic House Caucus is concerned over the majority’s proposed funding cuts to higher education.
- The lawmakers will also work on improving housing conditions and addressing the safety of unhoused people in Utah.
Utah
5 issues Utah’s House Democrats will focus on this session
As the Utah Legislature’s 2025 general session begins, Utah House Democrats plan to oppose the Utah Fits All education voucher program, as well as making sure students in higher education are getting what they need and standing up for the safety and rights of everyone in Utah.
On Tuesday’s first day of Utah’s legislative session, the House minority leadership held a press conference to announce their priorities for the session.
The minority caucus has divided their priorities into five issue areas: sustainability, health and well-being, education, good governance, and inclusion and representation. They said they will oppose funding private school scholarships,
The House Minority Caucus opposes the Utah Fits All voucher program
Rep. Sahara Hayes, D-Salt Lake City, emphasized opposing the Utah Fits All voucher program as one of the caucus’ top focuses for education during this session.
“We do not believe that public dollars should be ever used to fund private businesses, particularly when it’s a lot of money,” Hayes said. We’ve put $80 million into that program so far, and there’s no accountability metrics built in.”
She said this is especially a problem when that money could go to bolstering public education. The representative shared that she sat with a group of teachers earlier this month who were pleading for better resources.
“They do not have the tools that they need right now to support their students, and it is hard for them, and it is hard for the students, and they need an increased (weighted pupil unit) in order to do the job that they are given,” Hayes said.
The House Democrats concerns over cutting higher education funding
The legislators shared their concerns with the majority party’s plan for 10% across the board cuts to higher education funding.
Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost, D-Salt Lake City, said there is value in looking into programs at universities to see what can be changed. But, she said, it is most important to keep students’ needs at the center.
“At the end of the day, we need to focus on what’s best for students, and the fact that higher education is a critical place for students to learn critical thinking skills to make them ready, not just for the workforce, but to take on the world in general,” Dailey-Provost said.
House Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, added that while we do need to open additional seats in programs like nursing and mental health, it is important that the state still allows students to have their own academic freedom to study whatever they want for however long they want.
“So I’m just really, really, really concerned about what is the true agenda?” Romero said.
House Democrats will work on LGBTQ+ issues in Utah
When asked about the caucus’ strategy to approaching proposed restrictions to the LGBTQ+ community, Hayes said they are focused on stopping bills as they come up, but that often does not work. The next step is to talk “with the speaker, with the sponsors, trying to convey why there are problems with the bill or problematic language.”
Romero emphasized that the caucus is going to stand up and fight for the rights and protections of everyone in Utah.
“We’re not going to discriminate against somebody because of who they are,” Romero said.
House Democrats are concerned about the tone used when talking about immigration
Romero said she is concerned because from a national level and on a state level as well, immigration is being equated with public safety.
The caucus is concerned about public safety and believes in holding criminals accountable for the crimes they commit. But, Romero said, they don’t care what their immigration status is, if they’re committing crimes they need to be held accountable no matter what.
Concerns about public safety should not justify criminalizing an entire community, Romero said.
“There is a tenor to the conversation that seems to insinuate that immigration and criminal behavior is the same thing, and they are not,” Dailey-Provost said.
As a part of the caucus’ focus on health and well-being they will work in improve housing in Utah
“One of the critical ways that health and safety manifests is being safely housed and having a home,” Dailey-Provost said.
The caucus wants to make sure that all individuals and families in the state have access to housing.
To do this and to address the state’s growing homelessness crisis the caucus is working with partners to decrease building costs, increase housing supply, implementing common sense density policies and address issues with institutional investors which contribute to increasing home prices.
The representatives will also work to protect unsheltered people from being targeted by organized crime.
“By providing safe housing, mental health support and addiction services, we can reduce their vulnerability and improve their safety,” Dailey-Provost said.
Utah
Nina Dobrev Wears a Bathrobe While in Utah for Sundance Film Festival
Nina Dobrev‘s bathrobe photo has fans checking in from Park City, Utah, during Sundance weekend. She posted it 18 hours ago, tagged Park City, and wrote, “Final Sundance in Park City, Utah? bittersweet doesn’t begin to describe it…” Nina’s carousel from the Sundance Film Festival reads like downtime between screenings. The post shows about 480.8K likes and 888 comments.
Nina Dobrev shares a bathrobe photo from Utah during Sundance Film Festival
Have a look at Nina Dobrev in a bathrobe:
The “Vampire Diaries” alum wears a plush white hotel robe, loosely cinched at the waist. It falls open at the neckline. Her hair looks half-done, pinned up at the crown, with loose lengths down.
The warm bathroom lighting highlights marble counters and polished wood doors. The photos also landed after she discussed recovering from a dirt bike injury. Fans replied fast, with one writing, “Such a cutie,” another said, “Gorgeous,” and a third added, “THE DIVA”.
Originally reported by Santanu Das on Reality Tea
Utah
State officials killed three wolves in northern Utah. Here’s why.
The killings took place in a region exempt from federal gray wolf protections.
(Dawn Villella |AP) A gray wolf is pictured in 2004 in Minnesota. Utah officials recently killed three wolves after they were seen near livestock in Cache County.
In a rural stretch of southwestern Cache County, state officials killed three wolves earlier this month after the animals were spotted near livestock, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources confirmed Tuesday.
The wolves were shot Jan. 9 by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, said DWR spokesperson Faith Jolley, a move allowed because the animals were found in a small corner of northeastern Utah exempt from federal gray wolf protections.
The region, which lies mostly east of Interstate 15 and extends roughly as far south as Ogden, is considered part of the greater Yellowstone region, where the predator is in recovery. It is the only part of Utah where the state is allowed to manage wolves.
(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)
Across the rest of the state, the animal is considered an endangered species. It’s illegal to hunt, harass, trap, shoot or harm them without permission from the federal government.
Jolley said state law directs DWR to prevent wolves from breeding in the delisted area. While the animals were not considered a pack, she said they were believed to be traveling together.
“Lethal removals ensure they don’t establish breeding populations in Utah,” Jolley wrote in a text message.
Caroline Hargraves, a spokesperson for the state agriculture department, said the wolves were found near Avon, a small census-designated community in Cache County of about 500 residents, surrounded mostly by farmland.
Utah leaders have long been hostile to wolves for preying on livestock and thwarting hunters. The state has doled out millions in taxpayer dollars in an effort to get gray wolves removed from the federal endangered species list.
Most confirmed wolf sightings in Utah have involved lone wolves, Jolley said, though small groups have been documented on a few occasions since the first confirmed sighting in 2002.
During the past year, she said, a handful of lone wolves have migrated into Utah from Wyoming and Colorado.
Wolves from Wyoming and Idaho have made their way into Utah at least 21 times since 2004, according to DWR. In September, the agency said it was aware of at least one lone male wolf present in the state.
Utah
Utah family fights to bring children home after mother reportedly arrested in Croatia
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Family members of four Utah children who disappeared with their mother in November are speaking out after the children were located in Croatia.
Now, the family is working through international legal channels to bring the children back home.
The children were last seen on surveillance video at Salt Lake City International Airport boarding a flight with their mother, 35-year-old Elleshia Seymour. Authorities say Seymour took the children without the permission of their fathers after posting what family members describe as “doomsday” claims on social media.
MORE | Missing Children
Seymour was arrested in Dubrovnik on January 15 after the family says news articles alerted people she was talking to in Croatia about the accused kidnapping. She now faces four felony counts of custodial interference. Since her arrest, the four children have been placed in a government-run children’s center in Croatia.
Jill Seymour, the children’s aunt, has been in Croatia for nine days with her brother Kendall Seymour, who is three of the children’s fathers. They are trying to secure their release.
“We’re just kind of in limbo waiting to get them out,” Seymour said. “These are our kids, and we can’t get custody of them.”
She says the family is only allowed to see the children for two hours a day. Despite providing the requested documentation, the family has not yet been given a clear timeline for when the children can return home.
“They are most definitely trapped there, and they feel trapped,” Seymour said. “We don’t have a clear-cut answer. We’ve provided all the documents we’ve been asked to provide.”
The family has hired Croatian attorneys and is working with the U.S. Embassy to navigate the legal process. Utah-based attorney Skye Lazaro, who has experience with international custody cases, says Croatia’s participation in the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction could ultimately help the family.
“In this case, it’s a good thing and a benefit that they are part of this Hague Convention,” Lazaro said.
However, Lazaro explained that the process can be slow due to translation requirements and court procedures in the foreign country.
“It requires retaining an attorney in that country who can translate the documents into Croatian and provide all the necessary information to a court,” Lazaro said. “That stuff just takes time.”
If local legal efforts stall, the family can formally petition under the Hague Convention, which may speed up the process, though it could still take several weeks.
“To have to continually say goodbye every day is very hard,” Seymour said. “It’s an emotional rollercoaster.”
As the legal battle continues, the family is also facing mounting expenses, including short-term housing in Croatia and international legal fees. A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover costs and pay for the children’s flight home.
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