The holiday season brings out best and worst
Christmas brings out the needy, greedy, seedy, and unheedy. It is the best of times. It is the worst of times.
The needy. This is the time of year for giving to those who are less fortunate. The charities in this country are phenomenal, both national and local. Top charities include: Toys for Tots, Make a Wish Foundation, Operation Christmas Child, Angel Tree, Salvation Army. And myriad local nonprofit organizations that reach out with warm food, warm blankets, and warm hearts. Churches prepare meals for the homeless population and others in need of a celebratory dinner.
The greedy. Has Santa become the patron saint of greed? Gimme more—echoes in decorated homes and buy more—echoes in Tinseltown stores. “Hence Saint Nicholas slipped his Christian moorings and took on a life of his own, with his first appearance in a sledge being in the American literature of the early 19th century. Now Santa Claus was ready to become the unofficial patron saint of the pre-Christmas period, the seedy saint who hangs around in shopping centre grottoes, blessing our over-indulgence as generosity and bouncing poor innocent children up and down on his knee. As well as being a corporate stooge, this Santa is a creep,” declares a 2017 article in Gulf News.
Has consumer and corporate greed stolen Christmas? Yes! Yes! Yes! Deck the halls with a mountain of toys and debt.
Ho! Ho! No! Stop the frantic and frenzy shopping race and store stampedes caused by greedy shoppers fighting for gismos and gadgets on sale. Parents place children on Santa’s knee so they can ask for toys. Why not encourage kids to take a gift to Santa for girls and boys in poverty.
What kind of Christmas gift would Santa ask God for?
“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!” ― Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas
The seedy. ‘Tis the season for crime and holiday hustlers. Nativity scene vandalism, stolen Christmas gifts, purse-snatchers. “Scams are very common during the holidays, when unsuspecting shoppers give money to a phony charity or enter a bogus sweepstakes. Scammers will tug at your heart strings and take advantage of your giving mood. They also prey on naïve and desperate people who are easily lured by deals that seem too good to be true,” according to an article at www.criminaljusticedegreesguide.com.
The unheedy. Bah! Humbug! Grinch, Scrooge, and the holiday naysayer crowd fit into this contentious category. Grumblers that bemoan the annual holiday festivities instead of acknowledging fun with family and friends. Is there a grouchy green grinch at your gatherings?
What is the worst of times? Lonely people over the holidays due to death of a loved one, living away from relatives, or social isolation due to anxiety or depression. Individuals in the military. Individuals in prison. Individuals in hospitals.
What is the best of times? “Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ – the most important event in human history (along with the rest of Jesus’ life). Even if people fail to acknowledge its meaning, that doesn’t change its significance.” www.billygraham.org.
Memories of Christmas past with my mother and grandmothers dance in my head like visions of sugar plums from the well-loved story, The Night Before Christmas. That was the best of times. Making memories of Christmas present with my daughter puts new pictures in the photo album of time. That is the best of times.
“And when we give each other Christmas gifts in His name, let us remember that He has given us the sun and the moon and the stars, and the earth with its forests and mountains and oceans--and all that lives and move upon them. He has given us all green things and everything that blossoms and bears fruit and all that we quarrel about and all that we have misused--and to save us from our foolishness, from all our sins, He came down to earth and gave us Himself.” ―Sigrid Undset
Melissa Martin, Ph.D., is an author, columnist, educator, and therapist. She lives in Ohio. Contact her at melissamcolumnist@gmail.com.
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You may have heard that Bears Ears National Monument in southeast Utah was recently named to the 2020 World Monuments Watch, a biennial list of cultural heritage sites that are in urgent need of conservation. You've likely followed the story of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, of the monument designation in 2016, and its shrinking last year. You know that this place—deep sandstone canyons and meadow mountaintops, rock art and cliff dwellings—matters. This fall, Torrey House Press will publish Behind the Bears Ears: The Natural and Cultural Histories of a Sacred Landscape by archaeologist R. E. Burrillo. Burrillo examines how the natural and human histories of southeast Utah have shaped each other for over 12,000 years, and the modern battle over protection for Bears Ears.
The Torrey House Press 2020 season brings new voices for the land, writers like Burillo who have spent countless hours out in these wondrous places we all read about in the news and may also know and love. Please consider making a gift in support of the THP 2020 season, books that bring you deep into the landscape, behind the headlines, and into the power of story.
THP is a quarter of the way toward the year-end goal of $25,000. A gift in any amount helps make these books possible. You can even become a member of Torrey House Press and receive new books all year round!
For Wild Words and Wild Places,
Anne Terashima
Director of Marketing, Publicity & Development
Editor
Torrey House Press
A conversation with R. E. Burrillo, author of Behind the Bears Ears.
Tell us about your favorite place.
Grand Gulch . . . it’s the first place in Bears Ears I ever visited (back in 2006) and it’s where I spent the most time healing when I was sick for four years. It’s also ground zero for looking at the antagonistic virtues of protection versus visitation in Bears Ears as a whole.
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Happy Veterans Day! On this day where we honor those who have and who continue to serve our country, I’d like to share some positive news with you. Walmart has hired more than 2,200 veterans in Utah and over 243,000 veterans nationwide since launching the Veterans Welcome Home Commitment in 2013.
More information is below about all the ways Walmart is giving back to those who gave everything for us.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Appreciate your consideration in running this story.
Thank you,
Whitney
Media Contact:
Whitney Neumann on behalf of Walmart
801-519-8880
Walmart Announces Hiring Numbers for Utah Veterans; Hires More Than 14,000 Military Spouses in First Year
Company celebrates Veterans Day with announcements around veteran and spouse hiring numbers
SALT LAKE, UT—November 11, 2019 – During the annual Veterans Day celebration at its Home Office today, Walmart announced it has hired more than 243,000 veterans nationwide since launching the Veterans Welcome Home Commitment in 2013. The Company also reported more than 39,000 veteran associates have earned promotions since joining the Walmart and Sam’s Club teams.
In Utah, Walmart has hired more than 2,200 veterans since the Commitment was made six years ago. In Salt Lake City, more than 100 veterans have been hired.
On Memorial Day 2013, Walmart introduced the Veterans Welcome Home Commitment with an initial goal of hiring 100,000 veterans. Two years later, the company expanded the original projection with the goal of hiring 250,000 veterans by the end of 2020 and remains ahead of schedule to meet that goal.
“It’s our honor to support veterans and military families,” said Retired Brig. Gen. Gary Profit, Walmart senior director of military programs. “These men and women are assets to our workforce, bringing the type of experience and work ethic we value here at Walmart. We’re proud to continue providing quality career opportunities when they return home.”
Walmart recognized veterans, their spouses and families across the country with dozens of in-store
ceremonies and events. Nationally, Walmart associates and local stores shared Facebook
“thank you” messages to veterans and their families.
More Than 14,000 Military Spouses Hired in First Year
On Veterans Day 2018, Walmart announced an additional focus related to its commitment to veterans and their families with the Military Spouse Career Connection (MSCC). Through the MSCC, Walmart provides hiring preference to military spouses, becoming the largest U.S. company to make such a commitment, and offers a program complementing its pledge to hiring returning veterans.
The first military spouse associates were officially hired within weeks of the company committing to MSCC, and since that time, Walmart has hired more than 14,000 nationally.
“This company has a long history of supporting members of the military and their families,” said Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner. “Last year, we decided to address the high unemployment rate among military spouses, by launching the Military Spouse Career Connection. Military spouses are capable and qualified for a variety of jobs offered by Walmart and Sam’s Club, and we wanted many more of them to join our family.”
According to the Department of Defense (DoD) Military Spouse Employment Partnership, 77 percent of military spouses want or need work, yet they face barriers to finding and maintaining employment due to the frequent relocation of their active duty spouses.
The DoD Military Spouse Employment Partnership also reports that more than 36 percent of military spouses relocated within the last 12 months, and this more than doubled their odds for being unemployed.
“Our military spouses make daily sacrifices on behalf of their uniformed spouses and their families,” said Regional General Manager, Brad Hodsden. “We have tremendous respect for all they do and want to help them find work and possibly grow an amazing career. They will always have a home with us at Walmart and Sam’s Club”
For more information about Walmart’s Veterans Welcome Home Commitment and the Military Spouse Career Connection, visit walmartcareerswithamission.com.
*Editor’s Note
These projections and reported hires/promotions include veterans hired under Walmart’s original and expanded Veterans Welcome Home Commitment as well as other veterans hired by Walmart in this time frame. While Walmart thinks it is particularly important to support veterans as they make the transition to civilian life, Walmart believes all of them deserve respect and support, no matter when they left active duty.
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About Walmart in Utah
In Utah, Walmart serves customers at 59 retail units and online through Walmart Grocery Pickup, Walmart.com and Jet.com. We are proud to employ over 18,000 associates in Utah. Walmart supports local businesses, spending $1.6 billion with Utah suppliers in FY19, which supported over 31,000 supplier jobs. Learn more at the Walmart Today blog, and our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram channels.
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Nominees announced for 7th District Court vacancy
SALT LAKE CITY – The 7th District Judicial Nominating Commission has selected nominees for a vacancy on the 7th District Court. The vacancy results from the retirement of Judge Douglas B. Thomas, January 1, 2020. The 7th Judicial District includes Carbon, Emery, Grand, and San Juan counties.
The nominees for the vacancy are: Jon Carpenter, judge, Carbon County Justice Court, Wellington City Justice Court, East Carbon City Justice Court; Alex Goble, deputy county attorney, San Juan County Attorney’s Office; Jeremiah Humes, county attorney, Carbon County Attorney’s Office; John Schindler, deputy county attorney, Carbon County Attorney’s Office; Rachelle Shumway, deputy county attorney, Washington County Attorney’s Office.
Written comments can be submitted to the 7th District Judicial Nominating Commission at judicialvacancies@utah.gov or Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, P.O. Box 142330, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-2330. The deadline for written comments is noon Nov. 21, 2019. The Nominating Commission may request further information or conduct an investigation of the nominees after reviewing public comments. After the public comment period, the names will be sent to Gov. Gary R. Herbert, who will have 30 days to make an appointment. Gov. Herbert’s appointee is subject to confirmation by the Utah Senate
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FOR RELEASE
November 12, 2019
A Utah-based technology company has agreed to implement a comprehensive data security program to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that the company failed to put in place reasonable security safeguards, which allowed a hacker to access the personal information of a million consumers.
InfoTrax Systems, L.C., provides back-end operation services to multi-level marketers. This includes such services as compensation, inventory, orders, accounting, training, and data security, as well as operating its clients’ website portals.
In its complaint, the FTC alleges that InfoTrax and its former CEO Mark Rawlins failed to use reasonable, low-cost, and readily available security protections to safeguard the personal information it maintained on behalf of its clients. This includes failing to:
In addition, the FTC alleged that InfoTrax stored consumers’ personal information—such as Social Security numbers, payment card information, bank account information, and user names and passwords—in clear, readable text on its network.
“Service providers like InfoTrax don’t get a pass on protecting sensitive data they handle just because their clients are other businesses rather than individual consumers,” said Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “As this case shows, it’s every company’s responsibility to protect customers’ personal information, especially sensitive data like Social Security numbers.”
As a result of the company’s security failures, a hacker infiltrated InfoTrax’s server, along with websites maintained by the company on behalf of clients, more than 20 times from May 2014 until March 2016. In March 2016, the intruder accessed about one million consumers’ sensitive personal information, according to the complaint.
InfoTrax did not detect these intrusions until March 2016, when it was alerted that its servers had reached maximum capacity. This alert was due to a data archive file created by the hacker who had infiltrated its network. InfoTrax’s security failures not only affected its network but also the websites of its clients, the FTC alleges.
The personal information that the intruder obtained can be used to commit identity theft and fraud. The FTC alleges that InfoTrax’s failure to provide reasonable security for personal data in its care violated the FTC’s prohibition against unfair practices.
As part of the proposed settlement with the FTC, InfoTrax and Rawlins are prohibited from collecting, selling, sharing, or storing personal information unless they implement an information security program that would address the security failures identified in the complaint. This includes assessing and documenting internal and external security risks; implementing safeguards to protect personal information from cybersecurity risks; and testing and monitoring the effectiveness of those safeguards.
In addition, the proposed settlement requires the company to obtain third-party assessments of its information security program every two years. Under the order, the assessor must specify the evidence that supports its conclusions and conduct independent sampling, employee interviews, and document review. Finally, the order grants the Commission the authority to approve the assessor for each two-year assessment period.
The Commission vote to issue the administrative complaint and to accept the proposed consent agreement with InfoTrax and Rawlins was 5-0. Commissioner Christine S. Wilson released a concurring statement.
The FTC will publish a description of the consent agreement package in the Federal Register soon. The agreement will be subject to public comment for 30 days after publication in the Federal Register after which the Commission will decide whether to make the proposed consent order final. Once processed, comments will be posted on Regulations.gov.
NOTE: The Commission issues an administrative complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. When the Commission issues a consent order on a final basis, it carries the force of law with respect to future actions. Each violation of such an order may result in a civil penalty of up to $42,530.
The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.
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Good morning,
Today, People’s Intermountain Bank changes its name to Altabank! Formerly operating under names of Bank of American Fork, Lewiston State Bank and People’s Town and Country Bank, this rebrand unifies the different operating units into a single name, clarifying the banks mission.
For more information about this change and what it means for customers, see below.
We appreciate your consideration in running this story.
Thank you,
Whitney
For Immediate Release
People’s Intermountain Bank Changes Name to Altabank™
Rebrand Unifies Operating Units, Clarifies Mission and Market Position
AMERICAN FORK, UT – Nov. 12, 2019 – People’s Intermountain Bank, which has been operating as Bank of American Fork, Lewiston State Bank and People’s Town and Country Bank, today announced that it is updating its brand and changing its name to Altabank. The rebranding unifies the different operating units into a single name, clarifying the bank’s mission and market position.
“We are the largest community bank headquartered in Utah but having different names for each operating unit gave our customers a different impression and often led to confusion,” said Len Williams, CEO of People’s Utah Bancorp (NASDAQ: PUB), the parent company of Altabank. “Bringing our operating units together under a single name makes it clear to customers that they will receive the same personalized service from Preston, Idaho to St. George, Utah, and that we have the size and scale to handle the full range of their business banking needs.”
The Altabank name also better represents the bank’s mission to be the best bank for your business. The bank will continue to offer customized financial solutions and unmatched responsiveness to business clients as well as direct access to decision makers. It is also investing in technology solutions that continue to improve the experience for consumers.
While the name is changing, the people are not. Businesses and individuals will work with the same experienced banking professionals they always have. In addition, customers are assured that there will be no changes to their current accounts, loans or mortgages.
Customers will see the new Altabank website today, while print and e-statements will have the new name and logo beginning in December. Branches in Utah and Idaho will have new exterior signs by the end of the year. Customers holding debit and credit cards will receive cards with the Altabank name when their existing cards come due for replacement.
“We hope all of our customers will join us in celebrating the rollout of the Altabank brand by coming to an open house at their local branch in mid-November,” said Williams.
For more information on open house dates and general info about the new name change, visit www.altabank.com.
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About Altabank
Formerly known as People’s Intermountain Bank, with operating units Bank of American Fork, Lewiston State Bank and People’s Town and Country Bank, Altabank’s substantial growth has led it to become the largest community bank in Utah. A subsidiary of People’s Utah Bancorp (NASDAQ: PUB) with 26 retail banking locations from Preston, Idaho to St. George, Utah, Altabank is a full-service bank, providing loans, deposit and cash management services to businesses and individuals. Altabank’s clients have direct access to bankers and decision makers who will work to understand their specific needs and offer customized solutions designed specifically to meet them.
