THUMBS UP: It’s not publicly known why, but Smith’s Food and Drug (a subsidiary of Kroger) reversed a decision this week that it made earlier in 2019 to accept VISA credit cards in its stores across the region. In April, Kroger officials said it would no longer accept the form of payment from customers due to “unfair” fees. Since then, somehow those fees are magically no longer an issue and customers can forgo the inconvenience and use the credit card in stores and at its gas pumps. It’s unfortunate when customers get caught in the cross hairs of petty large-scale business deals.

THUMBS UP: Utah received its annual ACT scores on Wednesday, and the state’s 2019 graduating class had a composite score of 20.3, with 100% estimated graduates taking the test. This is up only about 0.1% since the last time 100% of a graduating class took the ACT in 2015. Across the nation only 52% of students take the test, leaving Utah’s testing far beyond average test taking numbers. While it is wonderful Utah students are thinking about college, the quantity of test takers doesn’t necessarily equate with quality test scores — 38% of students didn’t meet a single subject benchmark.

THUMBS DOWN: Setting cold weather records in Utah in October? Yeah, we’re not a fan and it made the Halloween holiday significantly more difficult and dangerous with the below freezing temperatures.

THUMBS DOWN: Public records recently obtained by the Standard-Examiner revealed that former Weber State football player Trevyn Smith died by suicide in the Salt Lake County Jail on July 4. The cause of his death was previously unknown. Suicide plagues Utah jails and continues to as corrections grapple with how to adequately fund and address mental health treatment while inmates are in their facilities. There is much more that has yet to be done to begin to better prevent these unfortunate deaths.

THUMBS UP: In case you’ve missed the fanfare, Wednesday funeral parade in Salt Lake City and the clydesdales marching along 25th Street in Ogden on Thursday … Utah’s new law allowing heavier brews for sale in grocery store shelves went into effect Friday. The change allows beer with 5% ABV to be sold in retail stores, while beer that is higher than 5% will still only be available in state-run liquor stores.

THUMBS UP: It’s likely a step in the right direction for Ogden City as it works to retain and attract more public safety personnel, as competitive wages battle out across the state to retain necessary minimum staff. The Ogden Fire Department recently moved to a new model where firefighters work two days, and have four consecutive days off immediately following — mirroring schedules of nearly all cities across the state except St. George. It’s a difficult job, and one our community must have, and the city’s actions show it is willing to make changes now and hopefully more in the future, to retain the local talent we need to keep residents safe.

THUMBS UP: Utah has been fortunate in 2019 that wildfires didn’t flare out of control and endanger more homes and lives than previous years. Fortunately, our fire departments are helping those in California facing blackouts and fires burning homes and endangering even more. When fires take place in our own backyard it can be incredibly terrifying; it requires significant manpower to try and contain them and that includes help from firefighters across the west.

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