This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

We said affordable housing was needed in Salt Lake City, even though it will be difficult and expensive.

— Utah must find new ways to encourage affordable housing — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial, Tuesday

" ... City, county and private sector leaders, aided by some state money, are floating ideas on what to do to ease the homeless problem. But the dearth of affordable housing, which intensifies the homeless problem even as it is partly obscured by it, will require even more commitment from higher levels of government. ..."

Now the city has arranged for some. And it's pricey.

— New apartments, including affordable units, to spring up next to Jazz arena, thanks to land swap — Tony Semerad | The Salt Lake Tribune, Today

"Salt Lake City leaders took a second stab at a deal to add affordable housing downtown, endorsing a land-for-dwellings swap worth at least $3.2 million in free property to developers. ..."

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We didn't like the efforts made by some members of the Utah State Board of Education to tell the Utah High School Activities Association how to handle the issue of students transferring between schools to play on a different sports team.

— Utah school board should leave high school transfer rules alone — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial, Sept. 9

"The ruling on the field is, and long has been, that high school student-athletes in Utah ought not be allowed to jump from one school to another just to improve their chances of getting more playing time or to join, or build, a winning team.

"But, pushed by a member who also serves on the board of a charter school that has had its run-ins with the state's athletic overlords, the Utah Board of Education is looking to overturn that call with one of its own. Its Friday agenda includes consideration of an edict that all public schools must abandon their membership in the Utah High School Activities Association unless that alliance ends its practice of reviewing transfers of athletes from one school to another.

"Upon further review, it seems clear that the current system is workable enough and the existing rules should stand. ..."

And they will stand. For now.

— School board drops challenge to athlete transfer rules, tells UHSAA to fix problems — Benjamin Wood | The Salt Lake Tribune, Sept. 9

"Utah High school athletes won't be allowed to transfer teams at will.

"Nor will the state school board have final say on athletic conference classifications.

"But while those controversial demands were removed from a school board policy that received preliminary approval on Friday, board members put the Utah High School Activities Association on notice to address their concerns in the next 30 days. ..."

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We weren't sure the huge tax breaks West Jordan wanted to offer Facebook for it to build a server farm were a good deal and that the project was likely to go to the bigger give-away offered in New Mexico.

— Google Fiber didn't need Facebook-sized tax breaks — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial, Aug. 26

"West Jordan city officials haven't completely given up on luring the largest of the social media giants to their city, but it is very difficult to imagine a new deal that would be big enough to beat the offer Facebook has from a city in New Mexico but modest enough to satisfy local officials who have a say in the process. ..."

So, Facebook is going to New Mexico.

— Facebook rejects West Jordan, picks New Mexico in competition for new data center — Robert Gehrke | The Salt Lake Tribune

"Facebook has chosen New Mexico over West Jordan as the home for what will eventually be a massive $2.5 billion data center, the New Mexico congressional delegation announced Wednesday. ...

" ... Utah offered a generous package of tax breaks approaching $200 million to try to lure the company to the state, but drew criticism from Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams and others who called the incentive 'corporate welfare.' They argued it was far too rich considering the center, at its peak, would create 130 jobs. ...

" ... New Mexico has agreed to not charge Facebook any taxes on the project for 30 years in exchange for annual payments from the company that start at $50,000 per year and increase to $100,000 in the later phases of the project. Los Lunas also recently added $10 million in tax rebates. ..."