Standard-Examiner Editorial Board

It’s disappointing to hear the news that the new state prison being constructed is significantly behind schedule and — with rising construction costs in Utah — above the budget for a smaller facility. Somewhere along the process to make this positive change, it seems like it lost momentum and is settling for whatever can be done.

Another update from the Project Safe Neighborhoods appears to continue the trend of success it’s seen in reducing violent crime and removing guns and drugs from our local streets. As reported in the Standard-Examiner today, “Since the federal initiative began in 2018, 74 people have been federally indicted in connection with PSN. As of Friday, 21 of those people were convicted and sentenced, according to officials. The average time for those convicted to spend in federal prison is around four years, according to officials.

“During that time, 115 weapons were confiscated and over 34,000 grams of illegal drugs were taken off the streets, with the bulk of those narcotics, over 29,000 grams, being methamphetamine.” The removal of guns from Ogden neighborhoods increases the safety and security of many families; residents should be and are grateful for the deputies and officers involved in tackling these problems for the public.

At least two Utahns were announced to have contracted and subsequently become hospitalized due to the West Nile virus in the last two weeks. In Weber County, that included a young man in his 30s who is fighting for a long road of recovery. If Utahns can learn anything from these situations, it is that as a population we need to exert greater protections when we go outside when it’s warm, including wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants and using DEET.

More resources are being developed for survivors of sexual assault. In Northern Utah, that includes the opening of another outreach resource center, Safe Harbor Crisis Center, in Farmington. For many decades Utah has neglected the survivors of assault in assessing their needs, and also prosecuting their offenders. The road of increasing and improving services for them continues. Likewise, the Standard-Examiner reported on the occurrence of new do-it-yourself rape kits marketed to buyers as an alternative to collecting evidence. Sadly, these methods are not approved and always accepted in court due to the home kit not having a chain of evidence, like those carried out in outreach centers or hospitals. While these companies might mean well, it ultimately puts a survivor’s evidence in jeopardy if it is not admissible.

This week, President Donald Trump weighed in on the e-cigarette concerns sweeping the continent by committing his administration to propose banning thousands of nicotine flavors used in vaping, in an effort to combat underage use. This is one thing we can get behind the executive leadership in supporting. We also agree that parents should be aware of the dangers of vaping so that they can better prevent its use by their children. Meanwhile, the FDA will need to create guidelines in order to remove e-cigarette products from the market, according to The Associated Press. From there, the FDA can regulate nicotine vaping products; though, individual devices or ingredients have not yet been identified as the cause of illnesses popping up in states across the U.S.

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