Utah
Utah asks for UEA voucher lawsuit to be dismissed
SALT LAKE CITY — Attorneys for Governor Spencer Cox and Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes have asked a judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by the state’s largest teachers union.
The Utah Education Association sued the state, alleging that its “Utah Fits All Scholarship” is a voucher program that is taking money from the public education system.
In a new court filing, lawyers for the state insisted the program only applies to a handful of students and is not taking an excessive amount of funding.
“The Legislature has allocated funds for the UFA Scholarship Program amounting to less than 1% of the overall budget provided for the public education system. Nothing in the statute that creates the UFA Scholarship Program states or implies that funding for the Program will be taken from funds that would otherwise be appropriated to fund the public education system,” assistant Utah Attorney General Scott Ryther wrote.
The state also argues the legislature is within its authority to do it.
“Accordingly, if the Legislature chooses, as it did here, to create a program to support children in their efforts to seek an educational alternative outside the public education system, the Legislature may do so. The UFA Scholarship Program stands as a separately funded program to support the needs of children who wish to opt out of the public education system,” Ryther wrote.
So far, Utah lawmakers have spent $82.5 million in taxpayer funds on the program. The scholarship offers families up to $8,000 to move their student to private or pay for other school expenses. But the Utah Education Association alleges the Utah Fits All program diverts away money from public schools, in violation of the state’s constitution. The union is asking a judge to block the law from being enforced.
The state of Utah’s court filing also seeks to have Utah State Board of Education member Carol Lear removed as a plaintiff, saying she lacks standing to sue.
Utah
Keller wins it in OT, Mammoth recover from Jets’ late rally | NHL.com
The goal was Connor’s 300th in the NHL. He is the third player in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history to hit the mark, behind Scheifele (353) and Ilya Kovalchuk (328).
“Just a pretty cool milestone,” Connor said. “Once you look back on your career, that’s kind of the stuff you’ll remember. But right now it’s focusing on winning, trying to be the best player I can, and helping out.”
Connor scored his second goal at 15:23 of the third period, beating Vejmelka blocker side with a one-timer to cut the lead to 3-2.
“I think we just knew that we needed to be better,” Connor said of the comeback. “I think we were on our toes more, jumping and making plays and hemming them in.”
Barron scored just 25 seconds later, beating Vejmelka glove side with a snap shot tie it 3-3.
“That first period was ugly. It was really ugly,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “We got better in the second, certainly dominated in the third, but at the end of the day, you can’t play two periods in this league and look to have success.”
Crouse gave the Mammoth a 1-0 lead at 5:20 of the first period. Guenther skated in from the blue line and shot through the legs of Jets defenseman Logan Stanley to put the puck on Hellebuyck. The rebound of his shot then found Crouse in front, where he scored blocker side with a slap shot.
“We made it interesting on ourselves,” Crouse said. “Definitely not the way we wanted the third period to go, but credit to our group, that’s not easy. They scored two right away and then we went right into OT pretty much, so credit to the group for having the right mindset and being able to get the win.”
Utah
Utah man with autism found after 10-day search
SALT LAKE CITY — August Beckwith, a 29-year-old Utah man with autism, has been found safe after disappearing for a second time in a matter of weeks.
“We are overjoyed and deeply grateful,” Lori Beckwith, August Beckwith’s mother, said in a post on Facebook Sunday. “Thank you to the many remarkable people who helped with compassion and kindness throughout. Wishing everyone a loving and peaceful Christmas.”
Beckwith had been missing for 24 days after disappearing from the University of Utah campus on Nov. 17. Lori Beckwith, August’s mother, had taken to Facebook to report when he had first been found.
The Beckwith family wishes for privacy at this time.
This story may be updated.
Utah
UDOT celebrates early opening of Mountain View Corridor connection to Utah County
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — The Mountain View Corridor project connecting Salt Lake and Utah Counties was completed early, opening just in time for holiday travel.
The Utah Department of Transportation celebrated the early completion of the years-long project in a Friday event, with attendees able to walk the new road and take photos with Santa. The road and trails were opened to traffic after the event.
UDOT officials posted a video of the celebration, with the caption reading, in part, “This road and these trails are now yours.”
Commenters praised their work on the project—and the video itself—with some saying they’ve already driven on the new road.
“I almost cried when I went on the corridor today! It was done sooner than I thought so thank you!” one commenter wrote.
Another user called it the “best Christmas gift EVER!”
MORE | Mountain View Corridor:
Some Utahns were less pleased, bringing up concerns about the lights not operating correctly on the north end or complaints about future construction.
However, the video itself addressed the negative comments UDOT receives, specifically complaints about constant construction.
“The truth is, if you want a DOT that never does anything and therefore never inconveniences you…Well, that just ain’t us,” the post read. “We don’t do construction to you, we do it FOR you, because we ARE you. We all live here too.”
The Mountain View Corridor project, also known as the 2100 North Freeway Project, was designed to improve east-to-west traffic flow between I-15 and Redwood Road in Lehi. It also included “shared-use-paths” for pedestrians and cyclists.
UDOT officials said Redwood Road is one of the most congested roads in Utah County, following Interstate 15 and Pioneer Crossing.
Officials expect this could reduce Redwood Road delays by 75% and also help alleviate I-15 traffic in the area.
The project began in Spring 2024, with construction expected to finish in Spring 2026. UDOT officials said the project was completed four months ahead of schedule.
In order to complete the road and trails, crews moved 1.5 million tons of dirt and paved more than 350,000 square yards of concrete and asphalt.
“This new stretch of Mountain View Corridor provides meaningful relief for drivers in fast-growing Utah County,” said Carlos Braceras, UDOT Executive Director. “Opening this stretch ahead of schedule improves regional connectivity and provides drivers with safer, more dependable travel options as the area continues to grow.”
While the new extension is complete, UDOT officials plan to continue to extend the Mountain View Corridor in the future. They said the goal is for it to be a 35-mile freeway connecting Interstate 80 in Salt Lake County to State Route 73 in Utah County.
The next phase of the project is planned to begin in 2027 and will address the stretch from Porter Rockwell Boulevard in Herriman to Old Bingham Highway in West Jordan.
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