This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

We said:

"A strong argument can be made that it is a bad idea to put a job applicant's gender, race, sexual orientation or other such factor ahead of that person's qualifications for the position. But it is a much worse idea to deny that, in many walks of life, bringing diversity to an otherwise homogenized workplace is a qualification, and an important one at that.

"And nowhere is that more true than in government, in the criminal justice system, particularly among a state's judges.

"So it is really too bad that the Utah House has approved a bill designed to bar the state's Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice from considering — as it now does — a candidate's gender, race, etc., as a factor when nominating people to become district or appellate judges or justices of the Utah Supreme Court.

"The Senate would be well advised to kill this measure. ..."

They did:

Panel kills proposed ban on considering race, sex to increase diversity on bench — Lee Davidson | The Salt Lake Tribune, Feb. 27

"After weeks of opposition and controversy, senators on Monday voted down a proposal to stop the current practice of sometimes considering the race or gender of potential judicial nominees to help increase diversity on the bench.

"The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 2-3 to kill HB93 — even after its sponsor, Rep. Merrill Nelson, R-Grantsville, had the bill amended to remove its most controversial portions. The bill had earlier passed the House, 47-25.

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We have a problem:

A painful process, but shelter plan is best yet — Tribune Editorial, Feb. 27

"Calling this process sausage making is an insult to sausage, but give politicians at the state, county and city credit for getting in the meat grinder together.

"Legislative leaders from both houses joined Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski and Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams to announce the latest plan for addressing the homeless problem and its devastating toll on both homeless people and the Rio Grande community where they gather.

"Gone is the contentious plan to put a shelter in Sugar House. Gone, too, is the plan to put one not far from the current Road Home shelter. Instead we'll go ahead with two Salt Lake City shelters and a third one elsewhere in the county at a still-to-be-chosen site. The shelters will grow to 200 clients apiece instead of 150. ..."

They have bigger problem:

De Blasio Unveils Plan to Confront Homelessness — Nikita Stewart and William Neuman | The New York Times

" ... Addressing a crowd of nonprofit leaders who operate shelters on behalf of the city on Tuesday afternoon, Mr. de Blasio mapped out his plan to open 90 shelters, many of which could open in the Bronx and Queens, and to expand 30 existing shelters. The build-out of what his administration is calling "high-quality" shelters would eliminate the use of costly, impractical hotel rooms and so-called cluster housing by 2023. ..."

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Praising DeVos:

Americans voted for disruption, so let's cut federal education power — Christine Cooke | The Sutherland Institute | For The Salt Lake Tribune

"This month we saw Vice President Mike Pence cast a historic tie-breaking vote to confirm perhaps the most controversial secretary of education our nation has seen. Critics of Betsy DeVos are afraid of disrupting the status quo. ...

" ... After all, who are faraway bureaucrats to tell committed parents and educators what will and won't work for a specific child whom bureaucrats have never met? The controversy over DeVos underscores that no one — left or right — likes federal power over education when they fundamentally disagree with an administration's policy ideas. ..."

Fact-checking DeVos:

AP Fact Check: Black Colleges Hardly School Choice Pioneers — The Associated Press, Feb. 28

"Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is praising the country's historically black colleges and universities as pioneers on school choice. She said in a speech Monday that African-Americans 'took it upon themselves to provide the solution' when they were blocked from attending predominantly white institutions of higher education.

"But DeVos' comparison is off base. The goal of those schools was not to expand choices, but to provide black students with their only choice when confronted with segregation. ..."