Good afternoon.

 

You may have seen this story on December 23 on Get Gephardt on CBS News KUTV Salt Lake City. https://kutv.com/news/get-gephardt/out-of-control-federal-policy-blamed-for-wildfires-growing-out-of-control

 

There are now four families living along N. Highway 89 near Spanish Fork who are filing tort claims against the United States Forest Service for damages from the 2018 Pole Creek Fire. More claims are coming. One claim is for $3.6 million.

 

The tort claims are based on two core facts: 1. The Forest Supervisor decided to let the Pole Creek Fire to burn on the afternoon of September 6, 2018, after firefighters arrived at the fire, found it burning in a 40’ log in the rain, and abandoned it rather than putting it out (to use “unplanned fire in the right place at the right time” to meet natural resource management objectives), and 2. The Pole Creek Fire subsequently burned over 100,000 acres including State and private property that was burned on purpose by firefighters to stop the main fire.

 

We held a public meeting in Spanish Fork November 26, 2019 attended by 28 property owners and their representatives. Claims from the combined tort filings are expected to exceed $20 million dollars and must be filed within the next 8 months.

 

This is a big story from several perspectives. 1. These property owners were harmed by federal action and are taking action afforded them by the Federal Tort Claims Act. 2. The Forest Service has never acknowledged the harm they caused, saying instead that what they did was for the greater good - the final fire bill will include the suppression costs of $30 million, the flood mitigation costs already in excess of $10 million, and the incoming claims expected to be over $20 million for a total of more than $60 million. 

 

At this point, these claims are moving forward through official channels as soon as they are filed and the Forest Service no longer has any say in their disposition. USDA will handle them.

  

I have attached my opinion editorial for your information and consideration. Please review it and let me know if you have questions.

 

Thanks,

 

Frank

 

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Column

On the afternoon of September 6, 2018, the US Forest Service made a fateful decision to allow a wildfire to burn on Mount Nebo near Spanish Fork, Utah. A week later, the Pole Creek Fire and its sister fire on Bald Mountain escaped and caused millions of dollars in damage to private property and State lands and resources. The fires cost the public more than $30 million dollars to fight, not including $10 million additional dollars the State of Utah spent to mitigate fire-related flooding on US Highway 89.

Forest officers made the decision to allow a 40’ log to smolder and burn because they felt conditions were right to implement the Forest Service Chief’s policy of allowing “unplanned fire to burn in the right place at the right time” to meet natural resource management objectives of reintroducing fire to “fire depleted ecosystems.”

The Forest Supervisor would later say he owed it to future generations to allow the fire to burn. He didn’t mention what good could have been accomplished by spending the estimated $60 million dollars spent on fire suppression and flood mitigation, and pending millions the government will pay out in federal tort claims, to do thoughtful forest management, minus all the property damage and widespread loss of public forests.

The alarming new policy of using “catch and release” wildfires to manage public forests is coming under increasing scrutiny West-wide in federal courts, resulting in escalating settlements with damaged landowners. Whatever the Forest Service’s intent in allowing these fires to burn, the outcome is increasingly familiar around the West: The new federal wildfire policy is burning our national forests to destruction and harming private lands.

Private property owners and local and state governments are paying the price with little recourse to affect wildfire policy decisions. The Utah State forester was firmly opposed to letting the Pole Creek fire burn and said so. State officials could do little to change the federal decision. Private landowners could do even less. Ordered off their property as the fire approached, landowners returned weeks later to find that federal firefighters had used their lands for anchor points, lighting private ground on fire on purpose to stop the federal fire.

Knowing that federal officers will make mistakes and cause damage, Congress passed the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) allowing harmed parties to make claims for damages and to receive compensation. Property owners whose land was damaged by the fire or by the flooding following the fire are now making claims for compensation. One recent claim is for more than $3 million dollars.

Unfortunately, the scenario played out in Pole Creek will repeat itself across the West in coming years. The Forest Service has not produced the required environmental impact statement or record of decision that would allow the public and other government partners to weigh in on the unplanned fire use policy. Congress has not authorized the use of appropriated wildfire fighting funds to pay for aspirational resource management not related to direct fire suppression.

Challenged in federal court and by multiple tort claims since 2012, the Forest Service settles rather than have the broader discussion about wildfire policy run amok that may change their current unfettered prerogatives. Management by wildfire is the last policy that Forest Service land managers can apply at will with no oversight from anyone.

The fate of our federal forests and decisions to cause increasingly widespread damage to private, local, and state government property should not be left to a handful of federal bureaucrats making decisions in dark smoke-filled rooms.  Utah, and the West, deserve to be heard.

_________

Frank Carroll is managing partner of Professional Forest Management, LLC specializing in wildfire damage claims around the West. He can be reached at Frank@WildfirePros.com  

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RMS President Sharlene Wells Hawkes joins Sutherland’s Board of Directors

SALT LAKE CITY—Today Sutherland Institute President and CEO Rick Larsen announced that Sharlene Wells Hawkes is joining the organization’s Board of Directors. 

“Sharlene Wells Hawkes’ career includes diverse and ground-breaking work – in so many areas,” Larsen said. “Her life on the public stage has been lived with a commitment to principles, and Sutherland is proud to be associated with those principles. Her background and understanding of communications and media, her commitment to serving those who serve in the military and to her family, are truly aligned with Sutherland’s mission.”

“As policymaking has become increasingly divided in recent years, I have become less interested in partisan objectives and more interested in sound policy direction in the areas that affect our entire American way of life,” Hawkes said. “Sutherland Institute’s nonpartisan attention to education, healthcare and religious liberty brings exactly the kind of academic rigor and public awareness to critical, generation-altering issues that lawmakers must consider before submitting a vote that affects society’s future. I’m looking forward to engaging with this board as we encourage respectful, informed discussion in shaping policy that improves the lives of our changing population while preserving what makes us uniquely American.”

BIO:
Sharlene Wells Hawkes is president/founder of Remember My Service (RMS) Military Productions, a division of StoryRock Inc. RMS Productions is the only full-service video production and book publishing provider working specifically with the military and veterans organizations. Hawkes holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from BYU and a master’s in integrated marketing communication from the University of Utah. After college, she signed with ESPN and spent 16 years as an award-winning sportscaster, covering such world-class events as World Cup Soccer, World Cup Skiing, the Kentucky Derby 1995-2004, the French Open, and Big 10 College Football 1990-1995. Hawkes has four children and two grandchildren.

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http://adestra.arborday.org/q/13Vdlt1nssOzm5pcsIY35/wv Get 10 free trees from the Arbor Day Foundation

Celebrate the New Year With 10 Free Flowering Trees or 5 Free Crapemyrtles from the Arbor Day Foundation

 

Local residents can ring in the New Year with 10 free flowering trees by joining the Arbor Day Foundation any time during January.  

By becoming a part of the nonprofit Arbor Day Foundation, new members will receive 10 free flowering trees or five crapemyrtles. The flowering trees include: two Sargent crabapples, three American redbuds, two Washington hawthorns and three white flowering dogwoods.

“These stunning trees will beautify your home with lovely flowers of pink, yellow and white colors,” said Matt Harris, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “These trees are perfect for large and small spaces.”

The free trees are part of the Foundation’s Trees for America campaign.

The trees will be shipped postpaid at the right time for planting, between February 1 and May 31, with enclosed planting instructions. The 6- to 12-inch tall trees are guaranteed to grow or they will be replaced free of charge. 

Members will also receive a subscription to the Foundation’s bimonthly publication, Arbor Day, and The Tree Book, which includes information about tree planting and care.

To become a member of the Foundation and to receive the free trees, send a $10 contribution by January 31st to:

Ten Flowering Trees
Arbor Day Foundation
100 Arbor Avenue
Nebraska City, NE 68410
Local residents can also join online at arborday.org/January. 

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Note to Editors:
If you would like to use a photo of a white dogwood or redbud tree with the content of this release, go to arborday.org/media/offer.

Sponsored by CER, the leading authority and advocate in the U.S. for education innovation and transformation, in partnership with and hosted by Stoà*, one of the top 10 Business Schools in Italy

 

CER is proud to present with Stoà, the most important and historic management school in the South of Italy, The U.S.–Italia Education Innovation Festival, April 27–29, 2020, in Ercolano, Italy, steps from Pompeii and overlooking the Bay of Naples.

The U.S.–Italia Education Innovation Festival will be the first global Ed Tech event in Italy, with a concentration on innovations and technologies that amplify, engage and educate the world’s students in the arts and sciences.  Our focus will be on exploring, uncovering and connecting with technologies and innovative practices already being increasingly applied across the globe to learning, teaching, and in the workforce, bringing us each day more quickly than the last into the 21st Century. Together, we will move from early education, through K–12 and Higher Ed and across the Workforce, breaking up the silos to build continuum of education models that cut through all levels of education, preparing us for work, life and explosive change–across the globe. 

Gather with the experts, investors, entrepreneurs and start-ups from one of the world’s most beautiful, culturally rich, scientifically pioneering countries in the world. Our host region, Campania, and its most famous city, Naples, home to the first Greek settlements, is widely considered the epicenter of world history and scientific invention, beauty and culture. 

Join us to build the new education renaissance worldwide. 

 ======================

 

Secretary Perdue: China Phase I Deal is a Bonanza for American Agriculture

 

(Washington, D.C., January 15, 2020) – U.S. Secretary Perdue issued the following statement after President Donald J. Trump signed the historic Phase One Trade Agreement between the United States and China:

 

“This agreement is proof President Trump’s negotiating strategy is working. While it took China a long time to realize President Trump was serious, this China Phase I Deal is a huge success for the entire economy. This agreement finally levels the playing field for U.S. agriculture and will be a bonanza for America’s farmers, ranchers, and producers,” said Secretary Perdue. “China has not played by the rules for too long, and I thank President Trump for standing up to their unfair trading practices and for putting America first. We look forward to exporting to Chinese customers hungry for American products.”

 

*NOTE: You may click HERE for audio of Secretary Perdue’s statement.

 

Background:

The United States and China have reached an historic and enforceable agreement on a Phase One trade deal that requires structural reforms and other changes to China’s economic and trade regime in the areas of intellectual property, technology transfer, agriculture, financial services, and currency and foreign exchange. The Phase One agreement also includes a commitment by China that it will make substantial additional purchases of U.S. goods and services in the coming years. Importantly, the agreement establishes a strong dispute resolution system that ensures prompt and effective implementation and enforcement. The United States has agreed to modify its Section 301 tariff actions in a significant way.

 

Information on specific chapters of the Phase One agreement is provided below:

 

• Agriculture: The Agriculture Chapter addresses structural barriers to trade and will support a dramatic expansion of U.S. food, agriculture and seafood product exports, increasing American farm and fishery income, generating more rural economic activity, and promoting job growth. A multitude of non-tariff barriers to U.S. agriculture and seafood products are addressed, including for meat, poultry, seafood, rice, dairy, infant formula, horticultural products, animal feed and feed additives, pet food, and products of agriculture biotechnology.

 

• Intellectual Property: The Intellectual Property (IP) chapter addresses numerous longstanding concerns in the areas of trade secrets, pharmaceutical-related intellectual property, geographical indications, trademarks, and enforcement against pirated and counterfeit goods.

 

• Technology Transfer: The Technology Transfer chapter sets out binding and enforceable obligations to address several of the unfair technology transfer practices of China that were identified in USTR’s Section 301 investigation. For the first time in any trade agreement, China has agreed to end its long-standing practice of forcing or pressuring foreign companies to transfer their technology to Chinese companies as a condition for obtaining market access, administrative approvals, or receiving advantages from the government. China also commits to provide transparency, fairness, and due process in administrative proceedings and to have technology transfer and licensing take place on market terms. Separately, China further commits to refrain from directing or supporting outbound investments aimed at acquiring foreign technology pursuant to industrial plans that create distortion.

 

• Financial Services: The Financial Services chapter addresses a number of longstanding trade and investment barriers to U.S. providers of a wide range of financial services, including banking, insurance, securities, and credit rating services, among others. These barriers include foreign equity limitations and discriminatory regulatory requirements. Removal of these barriers should allow U.S. financial service providers to compete on a more level playing field and expand their services export offerings in the Chinese market.

 

• Currency: The chapter on Macroeconomic Policies and Exchange Rate Matters includes policy and transparency commitments related to currency issues. The chapter addresses unfair currency practices by requiring high-standard commitments to refrain from competitive devaluations and targeting of exchange rates, while promoting transparency and providing mechanisms for accountability and enforcement. This approach will help reinforce macroeconomic and exchange rate stability and help ensure that China cannot use currency practices to unfairly compete against U.S. exporters.

 

• Expanding Trade: The Expanding Trade chapter includes commitments from China to import various U.S. goods and services over the next two years in a total amount that exceeds China’s annual level of imports for those goods and services in 2017 by no less than $200 billion. China’s commitments cover a variety of U.S. manufactured goods, food, agricultural and seafood products, energy products, and services. China’s increased imports of U.S. goods and services are expected to continue on this same trajectory for several years after 2021 and should contribute significantly to the rebalancing of the U.S.-China trade relationship.

 

• Dispute Resolution: The Dispute Resolution chapter sets forth an arrangement to ensure the effective implementation of the agreement and to allow the parties to resolve disputes in a fair and expeditious manner. This arrangement creates regular bilateral consultations at both the principal level and the working level. It also establishes strong procedures for addressing disputes related to the agreement and allows each party to take proportionate responsive actions that it deems appropriate.

 

 

SALT LAKE CITY – The 1st District Judicial Nominating Commission has selected nominees for a vacancy on the 1st District Court.  The vacancy results from the retirement of Judge Thomas L. Willmore, February 16, 2020. The 1st Judicial District includes Box Elder, Cache, and Rich counties.  

The nominees for the vacancy are: Shawn Bailey, partner, Peck Hadfield & Moore, LLC; Christian Hansen, attorney, Hillyard, Anderson & Olsen, P.C.; Robert Lund, assistant attorney, United States Attorney’s Office; Laura Thompson, assistant attorney general, Office of the Utah Attorney General; Spencer Walsh, chief prosecutor, Cache County Attorney’s Office.

Written comments can be submitted to the 1st 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 January 27, 2020. 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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With the economic and societal costs of smoking totaling more than $300 billion a year and rising, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on The Real Cost of Smoking by State as well as accompanying videos.

To encourage the estimated 34.2 million tobacco users in the U.S. to kick the dangerous habit, WalletHub calculated the potential monetary losses — including the lifetime and annual costs of a cigarette pack per day, health care expenditures, income losses and other costs — brought on by smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke.
 

States with the Lowest Smoking Costs

 

States with the Highest Smoking Costs

1. North Carolina

 

42. Washington

2. Georgia

 

43. Vermont

3. Missouri

 

44. Minnesota

4. Mississippi

 

45. Hawaii

5. South Carolina

 

46. Alaska

6. Tennessee

 

47. Rhode Island

7. Alabama

 

48. Massachusetts

8. North Dakota

 

49. District of Columbia

9. Wyoming

 

50. Connecticut

10. Idaho

 

51. New York

Key Stats

• The estimated financial cost of smoking over a lifetime is just above $1.6 million per smoker.
   
• The out-of-pocket cost per smoker is $124,023 over a lifetime. Smokers in New York will pay the highest cost, $194,899, which is 2.3 times higher than in Missouri, where smokers will pay the lowest cost at $86,001.
   
• Each smoker will incur an average of $253,013 in income loss over a lifetime. Smokers in the District of Columbia will lose the highest amount, $347,628, which is 1.9 times higher than in West Virginia, where smokers will lose the lowest amount at $179,916.
   
• Each smoker will incur an average of $170,991 in smoking-related health-care costs over a lifetime. Smokers in Connecticut will pay the highest amount, $290,896, which is 2.6 times higher than in Arkansas, where smokers will pay the lowest amount at $113,392.

To view the full report and your state or the District’s rank, please visit: 
https://wallethub.com/edu/the-financial-cost-of-smoking-by-state/9520/

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**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

EDITORS: For review copies or interview requests, contact:

Marketing Services

Tel: 866-928-1240

Fax: 812-961-3133

Email: pressreleases@westbowpress.com

(When requesting a review copy, please provide a street address.) ­­

 

New novel follows a couple as they struggle on faith, fidelity and forgiveness

K. F. Johnson announces publication of ‘Life with Brody’

 

WINCHESTER, Idaho – After seven years of marriage, it appears that April and Steve’s love has grown cold. Ever since April accepted Christ, their relationship hasn’t been the same. Now she’s worried that Steve is having an affair. Tired of being in a loveless marriage, April makes a decision that could lead to real trouble and, even worse yet, end her marriage in the new book “Life with Brody” (published by WestBow Press) by K. F. Johnson.

 

In an effort to satisfy her curiosity and find out the truth once and for all, April creates a profile on the dating website. Three months earlier, Steve had mentioned the site while contemplating aloud if he and April would still match, especially after his wife’s commitment to God. But when April receives a message from Bob357, she is propelled down an uncertain path where, with help from a rescue dog and God, she discovers the truth about herself and her husband, forever changing the course of their lives and marriage.

 

In this inspirational tale, a Christian wife desperate to learn whether her husband still loves her creates a dating site profile that leads her to make amazing discoveries about herself, her husband, and her marriage.

 

“Life with Brody”

By K. F. Johnson

Hardcover | 5.5 x 8.5in | 188 pages | ISBN 9781973673682

Softcover | 5.5 x 8.5in | 188 pages | ISBN 9781973673675

E-Book | 188 pages | ISBN 9781973673668

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

 

About the Author

K. F. Johnson and her husband Greg have been married over 20 years. Her husband says they “have half a herd of kids and a herd of grandkids.” They have several pets, all rescues. Johnson shares they love their community in the mountains of Idaho.

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A weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else — from the nation’s leading voice on education innovation and opportunity.

 

In brief, what you need to know about Mrs. Robinson’s "candidate debate" tonight in Des Moines, the latest candidate positions, the upcoming US Supreme Court case and teacher ed… all in your favorite weekly report from CER - Newswire! 

EYE ON IOWA. The remaining Democratic candidates gather tonight in Des Moines, Iowa for the last debate before the caucuses in the Hawkeye State. Look for talk of “free money,” for college and debt relief, with Senator Elizabeth Warren announcing she will bypass Congress to cancel 95% of student debt if elected. (Darn why the heck did we pay ourselves??!) And just in time for tonight’s cattle call, Senator Bernie Sanders can moo about his big union endorsement by the Clark County (Las Vegas) Education Association, which with 19,000 members is the 800 lb gorilla of Nevada politics.

NO FLIP FLOP GOES UNPUNISHED. Many once hopeful education reformers thought Cory Booker would boldly defend his long term support for educational freedom, excellence and other attempts to unfurl students from the status quo. But before the cock could crow in Iowa, Booker instead denied three times his support, then tried to walk it back, and despite it all, he never had a chance at the union endorsement. So yesterday he ended his presidential campaign. His story is a pity. As Mayor of Newark and Senator he was a consistent supporter of charter schools, and the children of Newark are better off because of his willingness to put quality education ahead of teacher union rhetoric, until recently, which cost him dearly with rank and file voters. You might say no flip-flop goes unpunished. Or as Hamlet almost said, “Alas, poor Cory, we knew him well”. Fingers crossed that he now feels free to return to his support of real education reform.

THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL TREATMENT. One would think that the candidates might attempt to focus on the most important domestic policy issue of our time. But amidst the 6 debates, 15 hours, and 900 minutes, the total time spent discussing education was 21 minutes, or two and a half percent. Jeanne Allen’s new column in Forbes goes into detail as to why for education, silence is not golden — it’s deadly. 

ENTER MAYOR MIKE. Bloomberg, that is. Could he shake up the field with his unencumbered support for charter schools, teacher quality efforts, and more? With his new promise to “absolutely promote charter schools,” the 2020 race could at least stand to benefit from more focus on education issues.

 

A UNIQUE NBA SCORE. From the basketball court to the battle for opportunity and choice in education, meet a true superstar in former NBA basketball great and ESPN talk show host Jalen Rose, (@JalenRose), this week’s guest on Reality Check podcast. Rose is a star for kids too. The Founder and Chairman of the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy charter high school in his hometown of Detroit, MI has one hundred percent of graduates going onto college and post-secondary educational opportunities. Jalen Rose is full of hope, and optimism, and passion (and a few choice words of advice for policymakers). His enthusiasm is infectious, and you will catch it when you listen in on this conversation.

 

 

 “MASTER'S OF NONE. Teachers across the country earn grad degrees to get raises. Turns out those degrees don’t improve student learning—they just fatten universities’ bottom lines.”

If the title and the subtitle weren’t enough, you’ll want to read this expose — which validates the sense of so many — about masters of education programs and calls for rerouting the millions spent annually to teachers' salaries instead. Reminiscent of Rita Kramer’s Ed School Follies: The Miseducation of America’s Teachers — which was actually endorsed by none other than Diane Ravitch!—this article could help finally bring a boost to teacher professionalism.

BLAINE ON TRIAL. Nearly a week away on January 22, the Supreme Court will hear the Espinoza v. Montana case that would overturn the bigoted “Blaine Amendments” which are currently the law in 37 states. Follow the countdown here and get caught up on what’s at stake with our Attorney, Paul Clement, a partner at Kirkland and Ellis, former clerk to the late Justice Antonin Scalia and former U.S. Solicitor General who authored our unique Amicus Brief. This special reprise edition of Reality Check breaks down what you need to know to be informed about the most important education case in over 50 years. Watch for more next week.