This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated.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.

If you are looking for evidence that the people's voices and right to know still matter, Monday was a good day:

— 'We raised our voices here': Massive women's march headlines Utah Legislature's opening day — Benjamin Wood | The Salt Lake Tribune

"Thousands of Utahns filled the Capitol on Monday in a demonstration calling for equal rights for women, racial and religious minorities, and the LGBT community.

"The Utah Women's March on the State Capitol followed a weekend of similar marches throughout the country in response to the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

"Monday's event also coincided with the first day of business for Utah's part-time Legislature, with protesters frequently criticizing a perceived lack of representation by the majority-male membership of Utah's legislative chambers...."

— Utah lawmakers should heed remarkable women's march as call to action — Robert Gehrke | The Salt Lake Tribune

" ... Today women, half the state's population, hold roughly 1 in 7 legislative seats, one of the worst ratios in the country.

"Which raises one more important form of activism — one Young would fully support but one less than 47 percent of Utah women do, again among the lowest in the nation: voting."

Public action like that is the best cure for junk like this:

— Only 3% of Utah campaign money came from constituents, 92% from special interests — Lee Davidson | The Salt Lake Tribune

" ... 'If that isn't an indictment of our current system, I don't know what is,' says Kim Burningham, a former member of the Legislature and past chairman of Utahns for Ethical Government. 'It says clearly that there's a lot of allegiance owed to special interests, and we need to change that.'..."

When money talks, it might just be to cover an awkward silence. More noise from the public, less influence from private money.

Also:

— Body-cam footage shows 2016 police shooting of Abdi Mohamed outside SLC homeless shelter — Jessica Miller | The Salt Lake Tribune

"Nearly a year after then-17-year-old Abdullahi 'Abdi' Mohamed was shot by police, body-camera footage of the violent encounter was seen publicly for the first time Monday.

"On Monday morning, the videos — which had sparked a fight between prosecutors and the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah over their release — ­were shown inside a 3rd District juvenile courtroom, where a preliminary hearing was held for Mohamed.

"Mohamed, now 18, was charged with first-degree felony aggravated robbery and second-degree felony possession with intent to distribute. He is accused of assaulting a man with a hollow metal rod after a dispute about a drug purchase the night of Feb. 27, outside a downtown Salt Lake City homeless shelter. ...

" ... after the footage was shown in court Monday, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said in a news release that he felt it was the right time to release it. Previously, he had said it was critical for the evidence to remain private because releasing it could affect Mohamed's right to a fair trial.

" 'My position on public release of videos relating to the Rio Grande officer-involved shooting has never been if, but when,' he said...."

— Judge's ruling suggests BYU police are subject to Utah's record laws — Nate Carlisle | The Salt Lake Tribune

"A state court judge on Friday denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by The Salt Lake Tribune that seeks to force the police at Brigham Young University to hand over emails. BYU has argued the police force is not a government agency for the purposes of Utah's records law.

"The issue involves how BYU has treated students who claim they were victims of sexual assault. The Tribune is seeking to force a hearing with the State Records Committee over records held by BYU police. ...

" ... Tribune attorney Michael O'Brien called Scott's opinion thoughtful.

" 'The judge is right,' O'Brien said in a statement, 'It makes no sense to allow BYUPD to exercise police power and yet not be subject to one of the primary methods of ensuring accountability to those exercising a public function — GRAMA. This is an important decision for transparency and open government.'..."

Elsewhere:

— Independence a must for a public-records ombudsman — Oregonian Editorial

"One moment, Gov. Kate Brown wants to put a "public-records ombudsman" in the office of the independently-elected secretary of state, which oversees state records and archives. The next moment, Brown decides that the proposed new position is best housed in an agency under her control. ..."

— Keep public records in public hands — Helena (Mont.) Independent-Record Editorial

"... State policy does not require employees or elected leaders to use their government email accounts for government business, which means officials are allowed to create and store public documents where nobody can find them. Not even Montana's official record-keepers can access these public records without permission, making it impossible for them to comply with open records requests even if they wanted to. ..."

— Public records changes? Only if they adhere to act's intent — Yakima (Wash.) Herald-Republic Editorial

" ... This legislative session could see three bills regarding the Public Records Act. By and large, the measures appear to be narrowly defined and in some cases are reasonable updates to reflect record-keeping in the digital age. But as always, the devil resides in the details, and the Legislature needs to proceed with good faith and with an eye toward the intent of the act. ..."

— NM Senate leader attacks government accountability — Albuquerque Journal Editorial

"It's a brand new year, with a brand new 60-day state legislative session. Yet as some talk about trying to move the state forward, one powerful New Mexico lawmaker would take it back, quite literally, to the dark ages of government accountability and transparency. ..."

— State court got it wrong; public has right to videos — Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Editorial

" ... The motive of those seeking to open government records is never the question; the only question is whether the records legitimately belong to the public. ..."

— Don't conduct climate planning in secret — Bend (Ore.) Bulletin Editorial

"Ever heard of the city of Bend's Climate Action Advisory Group? Know what it's doing?

"If not, don't be surprised. Its secret nature is just what the city wants. ..."

— City was right to reject new fee on records — Las Cruces (N.M.) Sun-News Editorial

"Access to government records must be open to all, regardless of the wealth or income levels of those requesting the information.

"The Las Cruces City Council upheld that basic principle Tuesday when it voted 5-2 to reject a proposal to increases charges up to as much as $100 per request for residents making open-records request to keep tabs on government. ..."

On the other hand:

— Trump admin orders media blackout at EPA — The Associated Press