State officials to present information on new prison
What:
Representatives from the Governor’s Office, the Legislature, the Department of Administrative Services and the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget will provide information regarding the budgetary estimates for the new prison.
When:
Thurs., Feb. 1, 2018
1:10 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Where:
Utah State Capitol
Governor’s Conference Room
Suite 200
Notes:
There will be a brief Q&A period.
# # #
Cortez Masto, Lee Call for Oversight Hearing on Systemic Sexual Abuse Under the Watch of U.S. Olympic Committee
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) sent a bipartisan letter to U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) and Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), urging them to hold an oversight hearing on the reports of systemic sexual abuse of youth and amateur Olympic-sport athletes, under the governance of the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC). The issue was most recently brought to light by several members of USA Gymnastics who came forward, detailing stories of surviving sexual abuse from Dr. Larry Nassar and USOC’s part in perpetuating it.
“Although Nassar will be held accountable for his crimes, the American public is still grappling with unanswered questions about the degree to which these organizations were complicit in protecting a predator by creating a culture that prioritized winning over the well-being of athletes,” wrote the senators. “We continue to hear reports that indicate that the organization repeatedly ignored credible complaints from the athletes and even attempted to silence victims who spoke out to expose this criminal activity.
The senators continued, “We believe an oversight hearing is necessary to examine the extent to which the institutional culture of amateur sports has facilitated, tolerated, and ignored the sexual abuse of vulnerable young athletes, and to ensure that the national governing bodies of these sports implement appropriate measures to address and prevent such abuse.”
A full copy of the letter can be found HERE and below.
Dear Chairman Thune and Ranking Member Nelson:
We write to you today to request that the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation hold an oversight hearing on the topic of sexual abuse in youth and amateur sports, specific to the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Over the past week, the American public has been awed and inspired by the exceptional courage of over 150 young women who gave victim impact statements at the sentencing hearing of Dr. Larry Nassar. Last week, he was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing scores of young athletes over the course of decades of practice in association with USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University.
Although Nassar will be held accountable for his crimes, the American public is still grappling with unanswered questions about the degree to which these organizations were complicit in protecting a predator by creating a culture that prioritized winning over the well-being of athletes. We continue to hear reports that indicate that the organization repeatedly ignored credible complaints from the athletes and even attempted to silence victims who spoke out to expose this criminal activity.
The United States Olympic Committee has demonstrated its intent to require a total leadership overhaul and cultural reforms at USA Gymnastics. While we applaud this action, there have been similar reports of scandals involving USA Swimming and USA Taekwondo that demonstrate that these problems are not isolated to gymnastics. We believe an oversight hearing is necessary to examine the extent to which the institutional culture of amateur sports has facilitated, tolerated, and ignored the sexual abuse of vulnerable young athletes, and to ensure that the national governing bodies of these sports implement appropriate measures to address and prevent such abuse.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
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Follow Senator Cortez Masto online
Twitter: @SenCortezMasto
Facebook: Senator Catherine Cortez Masto
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THE VIEW FROM
T O R R E Y H O U S E
January 2018
by Mishka Banuri,
17-year-old junior at West High in SLC, emcee for the 2017 Utah People's Climate March, co-founder of Utah Youth Environmental Solutions, and facilitator at iMatterYouth
“Young folk embody hope and resiliency. Only the strong can grow up in a world that seems to get worse every day. Only the strong can grow up to still see hope and fight for the light at the end of the tunnel. In contrast to the older people in my life who tell me that the problems I face are too big to handle, young folk push back and demand to be heard.”
With a new piece every month, Voices Rising elevates millennial voices through a digital platform to publish diverse forms of storytelling. From poetry and creative nonfiction to song and visual art, we hear from young people grappling with the greatest challenges society faces.
Subscribers get books all year!
There's still time to subscribe to Torrey House Press! Subscribers will get signed copies of 2018 books right to their doors, a week before release. Plus, each subscription includes a tax-deductible donation that directly supports the work of Torrey House Press.
We're thrilled about this year's line-up: Jonathan P. Thompson's nonfiction River of Lost Souls (March), Scott Graham's Yosemite Fall (National Park Mystery Series #4, June), Alison Hart's multi-generational novel Mostly White (October), Jacqueline Keeler's nonfiction Standoff: Standing Rock, the Bundy Movement, and the American Story of Occupation, Sovereignty, and the Fight for Sacred Lands (November), and Eli Knapp's nonfiction collection The Delightful Horror of Family Birding: And Other Essays on Sharing Nature with the Next Generation (November).
Learn more about the perks of each subscription level, and prepare for great reads:
February 1: Breathing Stories chapbook will be distributed to the Utah State Legislature
February 3, 10:00 a.m.: Air Our Voices press conference, public gathering, and Breathing Stories reading at the Utah State Capitol Rotunda
See the Facebook event details here
March 8, 12:15 to 1:15 p.m.: Lunch and lecture with Stony Mesa Sagas author Chip Ward at the University of Utah's Wallace Stegner Center (S.J. Quinney College of Law)
See the Facebook event details here
February 5, 6:00 p.m.: Panel discussion with Four Corners crime authors Scott Graham (THP National Park Mystery Series), Chuck Greaves, and Paul Berkowitz at the Cortez Public Library (Cortez, CO)
March 11, 7:00 p.m.: “Oh, Give Me a Home!” Inhabited event with Charlie Quimby at St. Joseph Catholic High School (Ogden, UT)
See the Facebook event details here
JANUARY'S NEWS AND EVENTS
Torrey House Press was honored to be part of BookBar's Give Back Day on January 3. Thank you, BookBar, for all you do for readers in Denver!
Jacqueline Keeler, editor of Edge of Morning: Native Voices Speak for the Bears Ears, continued a strong string of events and powerful conversations this month. On January 21, Keeler appeared at a fundraiser for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. On January 24, she spoke at the Think & Drink on Social Organizing Around Oregon, hosted by the Oregon Humanities.
Torrey House Press is happy to welcome Jessica Sandrock as our spring intern!
Jessica is a native Utahn who grew up hiking in the mountains and camping in the national parks. Her relationship with the land has changed over the years. Utah’s parks seemed like inviolable, never ending expanses of pristine land. Years later, with the help of brilliant voices like Aldo Leopold and Rachel Carson, she’s become more aware of the fragile nature of the ecosystem and how our shared impact can encroach upon both human and non-human life everywhere. Jessica is on track to receive her B.A. in English Literature from the University of Utah in Spring 2018. After graduating, she hopes to continue learning, travel, and contribute to the strong voices speaking for environmental justice. In her spare time, Jessica loves to make art and sing along to classic soul music.
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