I hope everyone is doing well. As we mentioned last week, Covid cases are on a dramatic rise in Utah. We are now averaging in excess of 7,000 cases per day, with more than 24,000 since Friday and positivity rates of more than 30%. Long lines at testing locations are proof of the demand. I hope you are taking precautions and being safe, and that you are helping keep others around you safe.
I'm sure you saw the Mayor's email this morning with some general direction for what we should do if we are exposed or test positive for the virus. At the risk of being a little too transparent, I thought I might share my personal approach to the Covid-19 pandemic. My wife and I both have what might be seen as underlying conditions, and in addition we both find ourselves caring for aging parents for whom Covid might be fatal. So we have been very careful, and have both been vaccinated and boosted. Last week, I was exposed to Covid-19 by being in close proximity to people who subsequently tested positive for the virus. So, since Thursday when I became aware of the exposure, I have been living in our home's basement in an effort to make sure my wife is not exposed. While I have gratefully not been symptomatic, I am still getting a Covid test tomorrow. If I test negative, I will follow the guidelines and return to work (and to the main level of our home) with some extra precautions. Between now and then, I am working from home. If I test positive, I will stay home and work from home where possible until I get a subsequent negative test.
So - that's a long way of saying that I hope you will use your best judgment and do what you need to do to stay safe and healthy. That is the most important thing you can do right now. I know not everyone can work from home, and some who test positive won't be well enough to work from home even if their jobs allow it. But if we work together, follow competent medical advice and take precautions, we will weather the storm.
UPCOMING CITY EVENTS
Animal Symbolism | January 7
A Path To Wholeness by Lifehouse I January 8 2:00 pm
COPA Pop Concert I January 10 7:30 pm
Artistic Dance Winter Concert I January 11 7:00 pm
Film Lecture Series - Sci-Fi: Under the Radar | January 11 at 7
Cinderella by The Dance Conservatory I January 14 - January 15
Library Book Sale | January 21
Family Movie Night - Kung Fu Panda | January 24 at 7:00 p.m.
YOUR VOICE
New year, new fun! Post your content on the right and upload photos below!
NEWS YOU CAN USE
- Today is National Clean of Your Desk Day. Sounds like a perfect way to start the new year off right (and get ready for our "Declutter 2022" on the 20th). Let's do this!
- We had a few celebrity deaths over the weekend. Sidney Poitier passed away on Friday at age 94 and "Full House" legend Bob Saget died unexpectedly on Sunday at age 65. Poitier was a groundbreaking actor who became the first Black actor to win an Academy Award for best lead performance. Bob Saget played the beloved single dad on "Full House" and hosted "America's Funniest Home Videos." He was on a stand-up comedy tour when he passed away. Detectives found “no signs of foul play or drug use in this case.”
- Here are the grocery items in short supply during the COVID-19 surge, according to Utahns. It looks like milk, bagged salads, ramen noodles, cold medicine and cat litter are among the items shoppers can’t get.
PROVO SOCIAL MEDIA
HOT-BUTTON ITEMS IN PROVO
I don't think we have talked much about the future of Utah Lake in the daily update, but as you may have read there are some widely differing views of what needs to happen with Utah Lake. I'd like to highlight just a few items that are in the mix currently.
First, one of the key challenges in Utah Lake is the amount of nutrients, including phosphorus which is in the lake. Some of these nutrients are naturally occurring and some are deposited there from agricultural production and from wastewater effluent. The City has begun an ambitious project to modernize our 60 year old wastewater treatment plant and process to remove more phosphorus and nutrients from our effluent before it ends up in the lake, and we are seeing other cities begin to take our lead. These efforts will have a significant impact on the quality of the water in the lake.
For about 15 years now, the City has been a member of the Utah Lake Commission, which was formed to bring stakeholders to the table to take a strategic approach to addressing many of the Lake's issues. The Commission has done some remarkable work including harvesting non-native carp from the Lake, removing invasive plants in the Lake, and in general working to enhance the Lake's ecosystem. There are now legislative efforts to create a new Utah Lake Authority, which would be a governmental entity charged with doing many of these same things, but with the availability of additional funding sources. Isaac Paxman, Dave Decker and others in the city team have been working with multiple entities to try make sure that a future Utah Lake Authority will work well for the residents of Provo and Utah County.
Our Mayor and City Council recently approved a resolution establishing some guiding principles for the future of the Lake, including the use of scientifically supported ideas to preserve and enhance the Lake. This was done in response to various proposals over the years to develop the Lake area in some fashion. Ideas have surfaced about building one or more roads or causeways across the Lake and, more recently, to dredge the Lake and use the soil taken from the bottom to create islands in the Lake to allow development of the islands. One of the key objectives of the elected officials' effort has been to encourage the use of competent and respected science in making decisions about the future of the Lake.
There is clearly a lot that should happen to enhance Utah Lake for our community, and those efforts need to have a lot of scrutiny and be based on established science and protection of the Lake's ecosystem.
FUN STUFF
From time to time, I have posted music videos from some of my favorite artists and groups. I like country music just fine - just not as much as two of my sons - and I like some artists more than others. One of my favorite country groups is Rascal Flatts. And I also really like the One Voice Children's Choir, so when I heard this cover by the choir of the Rascal Flatts' hit My Wish, I was just kind of blown away. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Take care, stay safe and watch out for one another. It is the Provo Way.
Wayne
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