All school districts in the country are supposed to report when teachers and staff physically restrain students, but some districts don't always follow through on the reporting.
Top of the Alty World
“Los Angeles and New York Pin Down School Kids and Then Say It Never Happened”—
ProPublica
The Texas Board of Pardons and Parole has voted against clemency for a mentally-ill inmate who will now likely face execution this week.—
Mother Jones
The United States Supreme Court quoted extensively from an Eminem song as they continue to debate over the context of threatening rap lyrics.—
Rolling Stone
Chevrolet has made a major purchase of wetlands as a carbon credit incentive, a new carbon market that could make a difference to wildlife conservationists.—
High Country News
Top of Alty Utah
The newly announced Count My Vote lawsuit will pit different Republican factions against one another.—
Utah Political Capitol
Over the weekend, protesters blocked traffic in Salt Lake City in protest against police brutality and the decision not to indict the Ferguson police officer who shot and killed unarmed teen Michael Brown (Photos).—
Utah Politico Hub
Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker seeks a third term in office while a Salt Lake City Councilman becomes his first official challenger.—
Salt Lake City Weekly
LGBT-friendly churches give sanctuary to those who may have been rejected by the faiths they grew up in.—
Salt Lake City Weekly
Rantosphere
Radio host and immigration specialist Mark Alvarez talks about the recent executive action taken on immigration by President Obama:
Immigration reform and executive actions will never be fair to all people, but policymakers should be mindful of human stories. Mothers and fathers who have raised foreign-born children here for 15 years or more will not qualify under this immigration action, yet they will be happy for their children who do qualify. Why should these parents be excluded? The average undocumented immigrant has lived here for 13 years. Childless undocumented immigrants often do strenuous, thankless jobs, yet mostly will remain in immigration limbo regardless of their contributions and effort. Why should they be excluded?—
Salt Lake City Weekly
The Long View
A lawmaker wants to take action to prevent outlaw biker gangs from setting up shop in Utah, but some worry it will result in profiling for Utah's existing motorcycle charters:
In July, during a meeting of the state legislature's Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice Interim Committee, lawmakers fielded a nearly hour-long presentation from Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Lane Critser, who told them that outlaw motorcycle gangs are on the rise in Utah. He also related a string of titillating stories about violent outlaw motorcycle gangs, known as OMGs. But none of the shootouts, sweeping drug-trafficking arrests and gun-running stories happened in the Beehive State.
Critser acknowledged as much early on during the hearing, saying that the only large case he's ever heard of in the state of Utah involving motorcycle gangs came in 1999 when several Sundowners were indicted on various federal charges.
But Critser went on to detail multiple harrowing episodes across California and Nevada that he has been involved with. Many of these large arrests involved national motorcycle clubs like the Bandidos, Mongols, Vagos and Hell's Angels—all of which have chapters in Utah, with the exception of the Hell's Angels.It is this migration into Utah in recent years by national clubs that has law enforcement on its toes. Critser said at the July meeting that these clubs are making a play for dominance in Utah.
"It's like a gold rush," Critser says. "Everybody's trying to get here and establish domination over the state so they can run a variety of criminal activities and make the money in the state." Comments like this from Critser, however, aren't anchored by statistics.——
Salt Lake City Weekly