Happy Saturday, and welcome to Inside Voices, a weekly newsletter that features a collection of ideas, perspectives and solutions from across Utah — without any of the vitriol or yelling that’s become all too common on other platforms. Subscribe here.

It’s springtime in Utah, and that means one thing: The Callery pear trees are in bloom.

These beautiful, stinky trees are ‘loved and vilified in ways few plants seem to have achieved,” says Mike Lorenc, a lead horticulturist at Conservation Garden Park.

In a widely-shared op-ed for The Tribune, Lorenc explains how the chronic overplanting of this divisive tree impacts more than Utahns’ sense of smell.

“Its rapid growth leaves its wood weak. Combine that with branches that attach at narrow angles and you have a large, brittle tree that breaks easily — even in moderate wind or snow loads. And while this plant was once thought to be sterile, it now produces fruit, the seeds of which are easily passed through birds and grow readily in spots that are not suitable for large trees. And that amazing spring floral show is paired with a smell that many people describe as similar to vomit or rotting fish.”

Worst of all, he writes, “it is wildly overplanted, meaning it has pushed out better adapted or native trees in our landscapes causing the diversity of our urban forests to dwindle.”

Read more about how Utah can phase out the Callery pear for safer — less offensive — alternatives.

Have an idea, perspective or solution that helps your fellow Utahns? Here’s how you can share it.

(Need some inspo? Keep scrolling for this week’s prompt.)

Utah Voices

Take a look at these op-eds and letters to the editor recently published in The Tribune:

Without timed entry at Arches, Moab’s economic health is at risk.

Celeste Maloy’s bill is a profound deprivation of the tribal rights.

LDS policy places families in an impossible position.

Utah’s constitutional court is unconstitutional.

Salt Lake County’s smarter system for mental health and public safety.

Women’s empowerment didn’t end with suffrage. We’re onto the next frontier.

Share Your Perspective

How are you being impacted by the child care crisis? Tell me about your experiences, concerns and potential solutions.

I’m always looking for unique perspectives, ideas and solutions that move our state forward. Learn more about our guidelines for an op-ed, guest essay, letter to the editor and more here, and drop me a note at voices@sltrib.com.