National emergencies have a way of uniting us. They also have a way of highlighting those things that go unnoticed during everyday life but are essential to maintaining the standard of living we expect. The COVID-19 pandemic is certainly doing that now.
Life as we have known it has gotten weird. Pandemics, earthquakes, social chaos — what comes next? Most of us assume this time will pass and life will soon return to normal. What if it takes longer than we expect? What good can possibly come from the current panic that has spread throughout …
I recently sorted through a shelf of three-ring binders filled with four years of college work, tossing most of those papers into a large black garbage bag. Assignments from double majors of communications and English produced hundreds of papers that were once so critical, and now ... just t…
Every season of Raptors baseball since 1995, head groundskeeper Ken Kopinski works hard to make sure the playing field at Lindquist Field is the best it can be. I think you can all agree it is the best! His right-hand man, Bob Richardson, joined Kenny in 2002 and has doubled that passion.
In 1817 David Ricardo, in “Principles of Political Economy and Taxation,” proposed his theory of comparative advantage where he argued that trade policies in England were protectionist. Comparative advantage proposed that beneficial trade, between two countries and two products, for example,…
Since time immemorial native wildlife, including grizzly bears, lynx and wolverines have inhabited and traveled the higher elevation connections between the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the Uinta Mountains, linking the Northern and Southern Rocky Mountains. Over a decade ago the Forest …
When I was 19, I voted for Bill Clinton for president. I knew he was well-liked internationally, and I believed this would keep us out of war. In my painting class at a local university, I was the only one who voted Democrat. When I was 7 or 8, my father had brought me back a toy donkey from…
The power of will is a free gift that is given to every person born into the world. This will can be either strong or weak depending on the desires and attitudes of the owner. Unfortunately, will is often diminished by our subject-driven school system. On the other hand, free will can be inc…
I once drove past a billboard for a gym that boldly proclaimed:
Within hours of learning that Iranian General Qasem Soleimani had been killed by a U.S. missile strike, I issued a statement calling Soleimani’s death “a big victory for the safety of the American people.”
Politicians’ rhetoric suggests that they are interested in fairness and efficiency in economic policies that are good for the society as a whole. However, they end up implementing economic policies that might please a selective group of voters or sectors. The book “Advice and Dissent” by Pro…
My parents were experts at saving money. Not having much of something does that to you. Their frugality was so skilled that, growing up, I didn’t realize how limited their income was. Dad’s earnings as a TV repairman stretched to support a family of nine.
Bloomberg should consider running as a Republican. Currently the Republican Party has no candidate for 2020 that has both money and minimal integrity. William Weld has integrity, but no money and Donald Trump has money but zero integrity. He was recently found to have taken money he claimed …
In a matter of weeks, the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) new global shipping regulations, commonly referred to as “IMO 2020,” will go into effect. The new lower sulfur emission standards not only will reduce air pollution worldwide, but also will strengthen Utah’s economy and re…
We believe that a rigorous study is essential to evaluate the current need to allow large trucks and higher speeds and to disclose the impacts if large trucks and higher speeds are introduced on Legacy Parkway in Davis County. Such a study is critical to understand the impacts of the propose…
You are cordially invited to help save the earth by standing up and speaking out at an Ogden City Council meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, in the Municipal Bldg., 2549 Washington Blvd. The Community Renewable Energy Act (HB 411) enables cities to opt-in for 100% renewable energy sources by…
In recent years, there have been many efforts to bring awareness to issues surrounding mental health in the state of Utah and yet many people continue to struggle with obtaining readily accessible resources. One such group are the largely underrepresented Hispanic and Latino populations. His…
I never set out to specialize in the concept of “work-life balance,” or what we now call “work-life integration.” But when I was a doctoral student at the University of Minnesota, I was asked to teach a semester-long course on work and family relationships. Did I mention that I had four smal…
By Courtney Bullard
A few years back, I took up obstacle racing. Typical races are 8-13 miles long with 15-25 military style obstacles. It always intrigues me after every race to hear people talk about how it was the hardest thing they have ever done. Sure the races are difficult, but I wouldn’t consider them t…
Weber County citizens have a rare opportunity to cast their votes on the question of whether or not a study of the current Weber County form of government should be undertaken. Other counties in Utah have recently engaged in similar studies as populations, budgets, staff and citizen demands …
“A man without a vote is a man without protection.” — Lyndon B. Johnson
Last year, the world’s leading climate scientists warned that we had 12 years to limit global CO2 emissions, or our planet faces a bleak future. Meanwhile, closer to home, emissions cloud our air and produce a haze over our beloved Wasatch Front.
Two and a half years ago, my late husband, Major Brent Taylor, co-authored a letter to the editor quite similar to the one I now write.
On Oct. 4, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney spoke out about the president’s unusual request for China to assist in opposition research against Joe Biden, the leading Democratic candidate for the 2020 election. As of this writing, Romney is one of only four Republican senators to express his concern abo…
In 2017, according to the U.S. Census American Community Survey, one in every six U.S. homes did not have a conventional home broadband connection (cable, DSL or fiber), or a satellite Internet link, or even a mobile data account for a smartphone or tablet. The numbers in Utah are similar wi…
Beginning October 2019, engaged couples in Utah will be eligible to receive a $20 discount on their marriage license, as well as additional discounts on a variety of wedding products and services, when they complete approved premarital education or counseling. It’s money that could both save…
With National Women’s Equality Day barely a month behind us, it seems fitting that it coincided with WalletHub releasing its report on 2019’s Best & Worst States for Women’s Equality. As the founding director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project at UVU’s Woodbury School of Business…
The Utah Foundation recently released a study titled “Making the Grade? K-12 Outcomes and Spending in Utah” that tries to make sense of why Utah, which spends less on K-12 education than any other state (at $7,179 per pupil, $5,000 below the national average), still does well in most areas m…
As a public servant and the chairman of the Utah Legislature Social Services Appropriations Committee, I’ve been focused over the past two years on finding ways to reduce the costs of health care.
It was quite a communion of saints that tried to take down the Rev. Erik Richtsteig, Catholic priest and longtime Ogden pastor, for the alleged sin of “hate speech.”
High drug prices in the U.S. significantly contribute to the high cost of health care and health insurance. Rand Corporation found that in 2016 Americans spent $10,300 per person on health care, and 17% of that was on drugs. The U.S. has 5% of the world’s population but spends half of the to…
One year ago today, I rolled over in bed and thought, “Why does it feel uncomfortable to lay like this?” A quick inspection yielded a large lump and a sinking feeling. I immediately called my primary care doctor who saw me that same day. He assured me that I had no risk factors for cancer, b…
South Weber is a city rich in heritage and tradition. For the last 43 years (since 1976), South Weber has celebrated its heritage by holding Country Fair Days, a weeklong celebration packed with fireworks and festivities. In 1976, activities included balloon dart games, fish ponds, food nook…
An impressive collection of stories about the Apollo program became available through the media in the last few months. The 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the moon brought out the locally relevant to the bizarre. Of course, I have my own perspective. The most b…
We don’t usually think of a city as a living thing, but I look at Ogden as a place to experience the five senses. I may not be up to date on Ogden’s program of senses improvement, but here is a list of ideas that any mayor of Ogden should consider.
Recent research on Americans’ well-being and happiness is finding that the American dream is fading. These findings are at odds with some in the media parroting the current administration’s and its sympathizers’ announcements that the economy is very healthy with plentiful jobs, better than …
Despite the rather obvious origins of my name, I often dreaded answering the question, “Are you Irish?” Growing up Catholic in Ogden, far from extended family, and in the land of the Utah Latter-day Saints, seemed to leave me unprepared to discuss what it means to be Irish-American.
Weber County’s many outdoor spaces and activities are the foundation for generations of beautiful memories. Nights remembered of thoughtful conversations over beautiful campfires, rising in the early mornings to ski the glass like water, and afternoons hiking in a city named after one of God…
Occasionally, you run across valuable legislation that requires some public engagement to be fully realized. Such is the case with Utah House Bill 411, the Community Renewable Energy Act, which was passed with overwhelming bi-partisan support by the Utah State Legislature and signed by Gover…
Imagine you’re a well-funded company from out of state and you purchase what you think will be a profitable multimillion-dollar business in Utah — a 2,000-acre piece of ground permitted for a landfill. You develop a business plan, invest lots of money and start construction. But as it turns …
The Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation recently weighed in on Utah’s ongoing dialogue about tax reform. Their headline conclusion is that Utah should impose a sales tax on more of the services performed in the state. But, we should recognize that the report is, at least in part, the found…
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness … we had everything before us, we had nothing before us.” — “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens.
A recent opinion article, “The Myth of Wage Stagnation” by Phil Gramm and John Early (GE), in The Wall Street Journal on May 18-19, caught my attention. Contrary to my understanding of the economic status of most Americans in the newly structured economy, they paint a very rosy picture of th…
As many homeowners dust off their grills for Memorial Day BBQs, this year there may be a new offering on the party menu: Fake meat.
In America today, approximately 45-47 million, or 1 out of 5 Americans, is suffering with a mental health issue; and approximately 1 in 25 adults is currently experiencing a serious mental illness that substantially interferes with one or more major life activities. Sadly, the rate of suicid…
On the precipice of the American Civil War, Utah’s delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, William Henry Hooper, recognized that “A great band of Union throughout the family of man is a common interest.” Hooper petitioned Congress in his belief that “a Central Road would unite that in…
When I first saw the original print of Andrew J. Russell’s “East and West Shaking Hands at Laying of the Last Rail” from the Union Pacific’s Historical Collection at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, I found it surprisingly ... small. I had always imagined this iconic photograph, also known as t…
Workers at Coleman Knitting Mills, an Ogden company that usually manufactures cheerleading uniforms, lettermen’s jackets, and school sweaters, has shifted gears to make surgical masks and medical gowns to answer huge demands for the supplies amid the coronavirus pandemic.
