This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Gov. Gary Herbert has met with legislative leaders and local government officials about tweaking the law to better regulate fireworks usage in dangerous weather situations. But when the subject of firearms regulation came up, lawmakers balked.
If local governments want authority to ban target shooting in areas that could light up like a Roman candle, they'll have to take that power from legislators' cold, dead hands.
Current law allows the state forester to ban fireworks on public lands and in unincorporated areas of counties, but the forester cannot ban those activities inside incorporated cities or towns and neither can the local officials. They can restrict where fireworks can be used, but not ban them.
Some discussions centered on whether the governor could use his authority under the Disaster Response and Recovery Act to issue an emergency executive order to suspend enforcement of the laws restricting local governments' discretion of fireworks use. But it was agreed the Legislature will tweak current laws governing fireworks in its general session in January.
State law also prohibits local governments from restricting target shooting, which caused one of the early fires this season in Utah County. When it came to tweaking that law, however, it became an argument about public safety versus Second Amendment rights. And you know where the Legislature always comes down on that.
—
Get over it • Someone should tell Dan Liljenquist he lost the election last month.
Sen. Orrin Hatch soundly beat Liljenquist in the Republican primary, but his campaign website remains active.
Liljenquist's latest post on his Dan Liljenquist for U.S. Senate 2012 site was Thursday. It talked about Stockton, Calif.'s bankruptcy declaration.
The post pointed out that Stockton got itself in trouble with its retirement benefit guarantees to public employees. When Liljenquist was running for the Senate, he touted the law he passed in the Legislature that reformed the state pension plan.
The site also allows you to sign up for campaign updates, donate or volunteer.
—
Still getting the bugs out? • Anders Kierulf parked in downtown Salt Lake City Thursday and inserted his money into one of those new solar meters that cover several parking spaces. His receipt showed he parked in space 3815 at 64 E. South Temple and his parking time expired at 12:55 p.m.
When he returned to his car, he had a parking ticket for an expired meter. The ticket indicated it was for space 3815. The time the ticket was 11:36 a.m.
At the bottom of his receipt was the message: "Have a Nice Day!"
—
It's a deer, it's a moose, it's … • Walk through the new City Creek Center and you will notice tracks in the pavers coming from the creek inside the center toward Macy's. There is a sign by the creek where the tracks start. On the sign is a plaque with the engraved image of what clearly is an elk.
The label underneath the image says: "Mule Deer."