St. George • Zion National Park is planning to overhaul its main entrance to help ease long lines of cars that can stretch back for miles.

The Spectrum newspaper reports the National Park Service is proposing changes that include increasing the number of visitor-entry lanes and creating a short-term visitor pull-out area.

The National Park Service would also replace aging drainage systems that can be easily overwhelmed in the area sometimes prone to flooding.

The 1930s-era entry signs would also be replaced. Construction is expected to take about eight months.

The plan is open for public comment through Sept. 3.

Visitation at Zion has spiked by 60 percent over the past decade. During the worst day of overcrowding last summer, the line of cars waiting to enter was 3 miles long.

Honolulu • Hurricane Lane soaked Hawaii’s Big Island on Thursday, dumping 12 inches of rain in as many hours as residents stocked up on supplies and tried to protect their homes ahead of the state’s first hurricane since 1992.

The National Weather Service warned that some areas could see up to 30 inches (76 centimeters) before the system passes. Bands of rain extended 350 miles (566 kilometers) from the hurricane's center.

"Even though the eye is south of the Big Island, we are seeing excessive rainfall already affecting the islands," weather service meteorologist Gavin Shigesato said from Honolulu.

Tropical storm conditions, with winds of 73 mph (118 kph), were expected to reach the Big Island, Hawaii's easternmost major island, later Thursday morning, with hurricane conditions possible later in the day.

As of 2 a.m., the hurricane was 335 miles (540 kilometers) south of Honolulu and moving northwest. Maximum winds had weakened slightly to 130 mph, Shigesato said.

The storm was expected to turn to the north later Thursday and into Friday, with little change expected in forward speed. The center could move close to or over portions of the main islands on Thursday or Friday. Then the storm will likely turn to the west Saturday and Sunday and pick up speed, forecasters said.

On Wednesday, the hurricane's speed slowed from 9 mph to 7 mph (15 kph to 11 kph), Shigesato said. A slower hurricane increases the threat of flash floods and landslides because of prolonged rainfall.

The arrival of the storm's outer bands made the threat seem more real.

"Everyone is starting to buckle down at this point," said Christyl Nagao of Kauai. "Our families are here. We have businesses and this and that. You just have to man your fort and hold on tight."

Shelters opened Wednesday on the Big Island and on the islands of Maui, Molokai and Lanai. Officials urged those needing the Molokai shelter to get there soon because of concerns that the main highway on the island's south coast could become impassable.

On the island of Oahu, which was put on a hurricane warning late Wednesday, shelters were scheduled to open Thursday. Officials were also working to help Hawaii's sizeable homeless population, many of whom live near beaches and streams that could flood.

Hawaii Emergency Management Agency Administrator Tom Travis said there's not enough shelter space statewide and advised people who were not in flood zones to stay home.

Authorities also warned that the shelters are not designed to withstand winds greater than about 40 mph (64 kph) and that for most people they should be a "last resort."

"Whenever possible, the public should plan to shelter in place or stay with family or friends in homes outside of these hazard areas that were designed, built or renovated to withstand anticipated conditions," the city and county of Honolulu said in a statement.

Hurricanes are ranked 1 to 5 according to what is known as the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Lane is at Category 4, with winds from 130 to 156 mph (209 to 251 kph).

Melanie Davis, who lives in a Honolulu suburb, said she was gathering canned food and baby formula.

"We're getting some bags of rice and, of course, some Spam," she said of the canned lunch meat that's popular in Hawaii.

She was organizing important documents into a folder — birth and marriage certificates, Social Security cards, insurance paperwork — and making sure her three children, all under 4, have flotation devices such as swimming vests "just in case."

Public schools were closed for the rest of the week, and local government workers were told to stay home unless they are essential employees.

Meteorologist Chevy Chevalier said Lane may weaken to a Category 3 by Thursday afternoon but that would still be a major hurricane.

The central Pacific gets fewer hurricanes than other regions, with about only four or five named storms a year. Hawaii rarely gets hit. The last major storm to hit was Iniki in 1992. Others have come close in recent years.

"We're planning on boarding up all our windows and sliding doors," Napua Puaoi of Wailuku, Maui, said after buying plywood from Home Depot. "As soon as my husband comes home — he has all the power tools."

Puaoi was 12 at the time of Hurricane Iniki.

"When it did happen, I just remember pandemonium. It was all-out craziness," she said.

Unlike Florida or Texas, where residents can get in their cars and drive hundreds of miles to safety, people in Hawaii are confined to the islands and must stay put. They have to make sure they have enough supplies to outlast prolonged power outages and other potential emergencies.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has several barges with food, water and supplies that it moved into the region ahead of Hurricane Hector, which skirted past the islands more than a week ago, according to FEMA Administrator Brock Long.

The U.S. Navy was moving ships and submarines out of Hawaii. All vessels not currently undergoing maintenance were being positioned to help respond after the storm, if needed.

President Donald J. Trump issued a disaster declaration Wednesday, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate disaster-relief efforts with the state.

___

Associated Press writers Mark Thiessen and Dan Joling in Anchorage, Alaska, and Seth Borenstein in Washington contributed to this report.

Keith Squires, the commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, is retiring, and Gov. Gary Herbert plans to nominate Utah Highway Patrol Maj. Jess Anderson to replace him, the governor’s office confirmed Thursday.

Squires had served for more than 31 years in various law enforcement agencies, most recently heading up DPS, which includes the UHP.

“Commissioner Squires has not only been a trusted and well-respected member of our Cabinet and leader in our law enforcement community, but he is also viewed as a national expert in public safety and is often called on for his expertise,” Herbert said in a statement. “We will miss his contributions in state government.”

Herbert and staffers staged a small ceremony Thursday for Squires and Anderson in the Utah Capitol’s Gold Room, where the outgoing DPS boss was hailed for his work in public safety.

“There's no one better than Keith Squires,” said Herbert's chief of staff, Justin Harding. “He's above reproach.”

Outgoing House Speaker Greg Hughes, who had worked with Squires to tackle homelessness issues in downtown Salt Lake City’s Rio Grande area, praised the retiring commissioner and noted how he’d been instrumental not only in that effort but also in finding a lost Boy Scout and helping bring home a fallen firefighter, Draper Battalion Chief Matt Burchett.

“I have nothing but deep respect for him,” the Draper Republican said in an interview. “With a year left in Operation Rio Grande, I’m sure public safety has the resources to continue there, but I hate to see him go.”

Anderson, whose nomination is subject to Utah Senate approval, currently serves as the UHP’s assistant superintendent, overseeing 475 troopers across the state.

He has spent 18 years with the UHP, starting with patrol duties and later on an emergency response team and DUI squad. He was also on Herbert’s security detail.

“This is a great honor, and I look forward to working alongside the men and women of our Department of Public Safety to protect the residents of our state,” Anderson said in a statement. “I have so much trust in these brave officers, and together we will continue to improve safety in our communities.”

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints formally joined the opposition to Utah’s medical marijuana initiative Thursday, adding a powerful voice to a list of opponents that also included dozens of other groups and public figures.

But Elder Jack N. Gerard, a general authority Seventy, said the Utah-based faith isn’t opposed to medical marijuana if administered under supervision of a physician.

The announcement came at an event put on by Drug Safe Utah, the name of the campaign opposing the initiative. The group held a Capitol Hill news conference to unveil an expansion of opponents to the measure that’s known as Proposition 2.

“The church does not object to the medical use of marijuana,” Gerard said, “if doctor prescribed in dosage form through a licensed pharmacy."

Previously, the LDS Church had taken no official stance on medical marijuana, which is legal in more than two dozen states, although it’s still listed on the highest rung of the federal Controlled Substances Act.

It’s unclear whether the statement will affect the standing of Latter-day Saints in states where medical marijuana is legal under state law but not dispensed through a pharmacy. Most states with medical marijuana laws have private dispensaries, rather than pharmacies, that distribute cannabis products containing the psychoactive ingredient THC.

Doctors also aren’t allowed to prescribe marijuana. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June approved the first medication that’s derived from cannabis, a federally illegal plant that 31 states have legalized for medicinal use.

After issuing a statement alongside dozens of fellow opponents, Gerard said he was speaking specifically to Utah’s initiative, without suggesting the statement represented guidance to Mormons in all states.

“We’re focused on Utah today and talking about Proposition 2," Gerard said. “It goes too far.”

The wider group of opponents, which now also includes wealthy, politically active donors, said it was committed to working with the Legislature on alternative legislation that legalizes marijuana for patients.

Nathan Frodsham, who previously supported Proposition 2, announced Thursday he was joining the broader coalition against the initiative as the best practical way to legalize cannabis for a wide group of patients in Utah.

“If we get everybody on board, this goes to another level,” Frodsham said. “This is a higher probability of helping patients, in my opinion.”

Frodsham, an active Latter-day Saint who was featured in a Salt Lake Tribune article in June for his support and past use of marijuana, said he didn’t take the church’s position as a directive to followers that they would fall out of good standing with the faith if they don’t obtain marijuana through a pharmacy.

“I don’t think they’re going to, like, punish people for using it medicinally,” he said. “It’s not a moral question, in my mind. It’s more of what’s coming into Utah, helping protect the community from an industry that could have long-term effects down the road.”

Gerard also offered a terse response when asked about a lawsuit filed last week by a leader of Drug Safe Utah that argues Prop 2 violates Mormons' religious freedoms.

“The church is not part of that lawsuit,” he said.

Initiative supporters, some of whom stood with their backs turned while opponents announced their expanded team, said they expected Utah’s predominant faith to become involved at some point in the campaign.

“They’ve been against us behind closed doors for four years,” said DJ Schanz, director of the Utah Patients Coalition, which organized Prop 2. “This isn’t anything new.”

Still, the church’s followers represent more than half of Utah voters. And a poll taken in June, after two statements that indicated church leadership had concerns about the initiative, showed some active members were persuaded to not support the initiative after criticism from the church.

The initiative, if passed, would allow for at least one private medical marijuana dispensary in every county. Salt Lake County could have up to eight under the population-based formula, which allows for one dispensary per 150,000 residents, rounded up.

Patients with a qualifying medical condition and recommendation from a physician would be issued a card from the Department of Agriculture that would allow them to possess and consume marijuana products, which would be tested before sold through the dispensaries.

Thirty other states have similar laws. Utah lawmakers voted in March to allow physicians to recommend marijuana to a patient who is expected to die within six months. Under that limited new law, the marijuana would come from a state-run dispensary.

Michelle McOmber, chief executive officer of the Utah Medical Association, which until Thursday represented the bulk of the campaign against Prop 2, said the ballot initiative does not provide strict enough controls for the use of marijuana as a medical treatment.

Physicians who recommend marijuana would have no idea what type of product their patients took, or what dosage, she said. Instead, patients would simply take whatever a distributor persuades them to buy.

“That’s not medicine,” she said. “It could be cookies, brownies, all sorts of different products.”

The formal opposition of the LDS Church, which claims membership of more than 60 percent of Utahns, follows months of work behind the scenes, at first to avoid the initiative and, more recently, to help bolster support for the fight against it.

Public opinion polls have shown majority support for the initiative.

The Salt Lake Tribune will update this story.

BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe told an Education Week crowd Wednesday that he can’t go anywhere — church, the barber shop, the grocery store — without fans asking him about the starting quarterback race and the prospects for a football turnaround in 2018.

I’ve experienced the same queries, albeit to a much lesser extent than the Cougars’ AD. Tanner Mangum or Zach Wilson? Bowl-bound, or another bust? The season opener Sept. 1 at Arizona can’t come soon enough.

For more on what Holmoe had to say in his annual Q&A at the Kimball Building on campus — a lot more — scroll to the end of your friendly weekly newsletter.

We introduced this Eye on the Y last week, but it is probably worth repeating: We plan to deliver this to subscribers via email every Thursday. If you’ve got questions, concerns, suggestions or advice on how to make it better, send an email to drew@sltrib.com. Like what you see? To receive Eye on the Y, subscribe here.

Last week we told you the Cougars will be better in 2018, but that might not translate to more wins. Coach Kalani Sitake faces a more difficult schedule in 2018; Everybody knows Wisconsin, Washington, Arizona, Utah and Boise State are going to be tough, but some folks don’t realize that Utah State, Northern Illinois and even New Mexico State are on the rise and won’t be gimmes for the rebuilding Cougars either.

As far as the quarterback race, my guess is that coaches already know who the starter is going to be. Thursday’s midday scrimmage, the final scrimmage of camp, will simply confirm that. I’ve got a hunch that they will announce it Monday during Sitake’s first news conference of game week.

Having gone back and forth on Mangum and Wilson several times the past two weeks since it became apparent they were the finalists, I’m leaning towards Mangum.

As Sitake said Wednesday: Stay tuned.

ARod to the rescue

New quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Aaron Roderick is proving to be one of those go-to guys on the coaching staff for the media, a coach who will give it to you straight without playing a lot of mind games. Roderick has been around a long time, and knows what the media wants, even if he has to apologize at times for not being able to deliver.

Asked Wednesday if anything is keeping him up at night, the former University of Utah assistant coach shook his head.

“Nothing. I am not scared or nervous,” he said. “It is part of the job, right? We got a tough schedule. Every week feels like life or death. It is just part of the deal. It’s fun.”

Roderick said there’s not more pressure on the staff just because the early part of the schedule is extremely difficult.

“Every game is huge. We got to be in midseason form in Week 1. We have taken that approach through camp that we have to be ready to play right from the start. There are no gimmes,” he said.

Roderick surprised reporters a bit Wednesday when he said Wilson and Mangum aren’t the only capable quarterbacks in camp. He said Joe Critchlow, Jaren Hall and even Baylor Romney, a freshman walk-on, are solid players.

"Jaren came home in great shape. You rarely see a return missionary that is in that good of physical condition right away. He was ready to play right when he got home, physically, anyway. He is a smart guy. He’s got a fast release and he is accurate. He is fighting to be in the mix out here and he’s got a bright future,” Roderick said. “This is going to sound crazy, but Baylor Romney is a good player, too. He’s right there. You have to make tough decisions. There are not enough reps to give everybody reps every day. But the gap from our top guy to maybe a little more down the list, the margin is pretty narrow. These guys are good players and it is fun to coach them.”

The Weekly Roundup

• Holmoe was candid, entertaining, humorous and affable Wednesday in his annual State of BYU Athletics discussion at Education Week. Tribune

• To no one’s surprise, BYU coaches said they are really close to naming a starting quarterback. Tribune

• BYU shuttled through a lot of quarterbacks last year, but also had a hard time finding a reliable, every-down running back. Ula Tolutau’s fumbling problems and suspension due to off-field legal issues didn’t help. Coach Kalani Sitake said he would really like to find one this year. Who are the candidates? Tribune

• My colleague Kurt Kragthorpe attended the news conference promoting the Beehive Classic, that college basketball event at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City that didn’t quite draw the crowd last year that organizers had anticipated. They’ve lowered some ticket prices this year (for students), and BYU will meet Utah in a noon matinee. Expect larger crowds. Tribune

• Moving defensive stars Dayan Ghanwoloku and Troy Warner from cornerback to safety last spring seemed like a good idea. But suddenly, due to injuries, the Cougars look a bit thin at cornerback. Time to re-think the moves? Tribune

• BYU running back Squally Canada was kind enough to share his parents’ contact information with me so I could write about the senior’s upbringing in Milpitas, Calif. His mother is a star in her own right, having raised more than a dozen at-risk children in her home. Tribune

• Finally, Tribune columnist Gordon Monson weighed in on BYU’s slipping national profile, caused by last season’s slide. Will it continue, or get turned around in Sitake’s third season? Tribune

Views from elsewhere

• Sean Walker of KSL.com reports that BYU’s defense is forming its own identity in 2018. KSL

• Local sports talk radio personality Patrick Kinahan also writes an opinion piece for KSL.com and says that the Cougars can’t afford to lose more legacy players like Britain Covey to the Utes. KSL

Quotable

Here’s what Holmoe said when he was asked at Education Week if he believes BYU is discriminated against because of its affiliation with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

“I have thought about this a lot. No, I don’t. The reason is, we are members of [the church]. We have learned that we need to stand up. We chose this. This is what we are. You can’t just pick out the good fruit. We do the very best we can, and people take shots sometimes. It’s OK. We’re strong. And because of that, we get stronger.

"When we weren’t accepted into the Big 12, it was because they decided in the end they weren’t going to add anybody. That’s why. Some people said it was because of certain activist groups and stuff. And so, like I said before, we listened to the feedback, and we got better, and we improved. We are definitely stronger in those areas as a school. And that’s a beautiful thing.

"I don’t want anybody [from BYU] thinking, ‘woe is me. We are just being picked on.’ We are blessed beyond belief. When we crush people, people don’t feel sorry for us. We are just competing with everybody else, and you know what? Players on the field, they never think about that stuff, ever. Competitors just love to compete.”

Looking ahead

The Salt Lake Tribune’s annual College Football Preview Section will be published in Sunday’s newspaper. It will include a BYU season preview article, a closer look at all 12 games on the Cougars’ schedule, my stab at the two-deep chart, and more. If you’re not a print subscriber, grab a copy at the usual outlets. Of course, everything will be online at sltrib.com as well.

Holmoe speaks from the heart

As mentioned above, BYU AD Tom Holmoe spent about 55 minutes on Wednesday answering questions from an Education Week audience at the Spencer W. Kimball Tower on campus. It was impossible to squeeze everything Holmoe said into my article for the printed version of the newspaper. Thank goodness for the web.

Here’s more from the 30 or so questions asked of Holmoe in the annual Q&A:

On the prospects for the 2018-19 sports year at BYU:

“I am super-excited for this year, for the whole entire year. … I am excited for this year because last year some of our teams did very well. … But some of our really good teams, including, and especially, football, were down. And it is kind of uncharted waters for BYU football. … I think you bleed like I bleed, blue. And it hurts.”

On the football team’s hoped-for turnaround:

“If you went to football practice today, for those of you who watched last year, I don’t think there is one person in this room that wouldn’t say this team is better. I know they are better. But that doesn’t mean they will come right out and play great. It is all about chemistry and trust and love. … If you have been on a great team, the best teams, they really love each other. … These kids need to learn to trust each other, and play for each other, and not play for themselves.”

On why BYU doesn’t recruit more international athletes:

He started by saying BYU should go after the best LDS athletes in the country and make them a priority.

“Some of our teams that are not as competitive as they used to be are losing church members to other schools across the country. And one of them is football. There are great members of the church who have gone to other schools. There used to be a day that we nailed it. We never lost them. So that’s where we start. We gotta get back to that.

I don’t begrudge those kids for going to other schools. They are going to great schools with incredible teams. But we would love to have them here. And I tell the coaches, we have to earn that back.”

Holmoe said BYU needs to supplement the members of the church with some great young kids that are not members of the faith.

“And the history of our programs are so great when we bring those kids in, it is magic how they work together. A part of that is international kids. .. But it is harder and harder to get international students accepted into BYU. It is very difficult. The admissions requirements have been raised, and that raises for everything. Now athletics still has an opportunity to get admission exceptions. Not all of our [athletes] are Phi Beta Kappas. You understand that. There are exceptions. but it is difficult.”

When people ask why BYU doesn’t recruit more internationals, Holmoe says: “There aren’t as many as you might think” who are great fits.

"It is a huge risk for them. It would be wrong of us to bring those in that don’t fit.”

On his own thoughts about the quarterback competition:

“It is important for you to know, I never, never go to any of our coaches in any of our sports and say one thing about who should play, what position, how long, ever. Ever. … They are going to put the best quarterback out there, and I am going to be comfortable with whoever it is. I really am. .. Whichever one they choose will be a really good choice. And I feel really good about that.”

On if it is wise to stack the schedule with so many good, Power 5 teams:

“You lose some stuff not being in a conference. There are some cons to it, for sure. And those are hard. … I am the one making those decisions, with our administration. We are really solid about that. There may come a time down the road where we go, you know what, things are rough. We need to make a change. But for right now, I love playing [tough games]. If you asked the players, they feel the same way.”

On how he responds to the media, especially after negative articles on BYU:

“We should, as athletic administrators and coaches and student-athletes at BYU, trust the media. And I have great relationships with the media. … That’s their job. Their job is to cover BYU and give angles about it. And people you don’t like, you [still] read their articles. You love reading their articles. They fire you up. It all works.

"I read the paper. Coaches say, I never read the paper. I read it. Why would I not read the paper? I want to see what people are saying. I want to feel it. And then I make a decision.

"But they are going to cover us, and there are going to be good things said about us, and bad things. I am a believer that when our teams are really good, they build them up bigger than they should. And when our teams are not good, they crack them down pretty good. That goes for individual players, too. … The writers seem to [focus] on the outliers. That’s their job. They got to sell papers and get … likes? They don’t sell many papers these days. I think our responsibility to the media is to work with them. They are going to be there tomorrow. So if I say something crazy today, I am going to pay for it tomorrow. I try not to say crazy things.”

On what his one wish would be for football program:

“The thing we are pursuing is to be able to compete with the Power 5 conferences on a regular basis. The reason I say that now, is I see our student athletes, and you have heard me say that. That’s why 170 employees down there [in athletic department] have jobs. Is for the student athletes. And our kids can compete with anybody. They can compete with Notre Dame, and Alabama, and USC, and the University of Utah. We can compete with any of them, person to person.

"But the conferences have been aligned where they don’t get to do that. I just yearn to see our kids compete against the best. And it is hard to do that when you can’t get into a conference like that, or you are not allowed to compete in a conference like that. I would like to see our players compete against the best. I can probably think of five other things, but that’s my first thought.”

On his level of confidence that BYU will go to a bowl game this year:

“If we qualify, we will go to a bowl game. We don’t have a game scheduled. When we first became independent, ESPN gave us a list of nine games we could potentially play in.”

Then he talked about fears that ESPN will dump BYU: “People, BYU has a great reputation, still, to this day. Last year, with a 4-9 team, our numbers were still good on TV. People watched. People watch the games. The tribe [watches]. A lot of people in the tribe. They like BYU. … Now, we can’t be messing around too long. If we bounce back and play well again, we will be back on top. I don’t like being mediocre.”

On his expectations for BYU playing Utah moving forward:

“My expectation is that we play them in every sport that we can, every year. That’s what I would like to do. That’s what we are trying to do. That’s what we are doing. For the most part, we have home and home. We go there. They come here. Contracts that go only two years. We have a contract in football with Boise — it has a few years left — that went for 10 years, five years here and five years there.

"Utah does not want to do a longterm contract in any of their sports. Most of their [coaches] are saying, ‘yeah, we want to play BYU.’ You have to understand, the reason they want to play us and we want to play them in the Olympic sports is because both teams are good. You need to play good teams in order to get good power rankings and get seeded in the tournaments.

"Anything that gets in the way of that is nonsense. The coaches know it, the players know it. But some of the fans don’t understand that. That’s the way it goes.

"Their new athletic director [Mark Harlan] is a really good guy. I know him and we have talked a little bit and we have a [plan].

"Football has a little bit different feel, though, because they only have those three or four [non-conference] games depending on how the Pac 12 does it in the future, and it makes it hard for Utah to play teams like BYU every year.

"But teams like Florida, Florida State, Miami, that are in different conferences that play each other all the time. They don’t dream about not playing each other in those games. And when that happens, it is chaos. So everybody wants it to happen. Every once in a while something bizarre happens and it doesn’t happen. But the expectation is to always play each other.”

On what they are doing to improve the baseball team:

After talking about the improved facilities, he said: “We need to win games. The year before, we were in NCAA tournament for first time in 12 years. That’s a big thing. But we struggled and slipped a little bit. We got to get back. In this era, baseball is super hard at BYU. Why? You have pitchers that have to play. Now, you have kids who come out of high school that you sign, and they get drafted, and you don’t get them. You sign a kid that is a great pitcher. Then guess what? He’s going on a mission for two years. And so the baseball team is a little more complicated because of the Major League draft. It is hard. And you have to time out when people are coming in and out, particularly the pitchers.

"But we have to get our act together. We did not play well with good players last year, kind of like football. We should be better. So we want to get better each year.”

On whether they have plans to add future sports, including wrestling:

He quickly shot down the wrestling idea and said BYU probably won’t add any sports in the near future.

“I will say this: If I had to start from scratch, with no sports. With a clear deck. And if we started over right now, we would have a different profile of sports. You would have to pull it out of me, burn it out of me to tell you which way we would go. So my successor, and maybe their successor, might be looking at sports such as lacrosse and men’s soccer, that didn’t used to be that big of a thing. But at some point in time, the time will come with the demographics and it will be better for the church to go into those areas.”

Football coaches talk a lot about creating a family atmosphere in their programs.

They walk into the homes of teenagers and tell the loved ones of each recruit: We’ll make him not only a better player, but a better person.

College football media guides are filled with coaching staff bios accompanied by photos with smiling wives and children. Players call the team a brotherhood. Coaches’ wives bond over the shared experience of an unorthodox and transient life. They become team moms.

All of this makes sense. As seriously as we take college football — too seriously, clearly — we’re talking about unpaid 18-22 year olds playing a game. This business doesn’t need to be all business. But what has transpired over the last three weeks at Ohio State is a lesson to all coaches. Your football program is not a family.

Urban Meyer treating Zach Smith like family almost cost one of the most accomplished coaches in college football his job. A case can be made that it should have. Instead, Meyer is suspended for the first three games this season.

It’s OK to run your football program as a family right up until the point when it gets dysfunctional. When families are confronted with a troubled or troublesome relative, they tend to close ranks. They search for solutions within and often look to mom and dad to clean up the mess.

Meyer thought he knew best how to handle Smith, a former player for him and the grandson of his mentor, the late Ohio State coach Earle Bruce.

Instead of acting like the vice president in charge of football for THE Ohio State University, and protecting the employer that pays him millions to be the face of a $7 billion institution, Meyer’s instinct was to shield his family.

“As I reflect, my loyalty to his grandfather likely impacted the way I treated Zach Smith,” Meyer said Wednesday night, part of a dispassionate reading of a statement. “I should have demanded more from him and recognized red flags.”

The red flags started in 2009 when Zach Smith was arrested in Gainesville, Florida, where he was working for Meyer and the Gators. Smith allegedly picked up his pregnant wife, Courtney, and threw her against a wall. He denies that.

The family closed ranks. Courtney decided not to press charges. Meyer and his wife sent the couple for counseling and came away doubtful of her allegations, according to the report delivered by independent investigators into Meyer’s handling of domestic violence allegations against Zach Smith.

After Meyer hired Smith at Ohio State in 2011, one thing after another could have led to Smith being fired for simply being bad at his job. The investigation called it a “pattern of troubling behavior.”

Smith brought a high school coach to a strip club while on a recruiting trip. Meyer warned him to not do it again.

Smith had credit cards declined when setting up recruiting trips and was delinquent in paying for other expenses. Meyer said he vaguely remembered those issues.

While Smith’s marriage was falling apart, his performance at work suffered. He was late and no-showed on some responsibilities, the report said. Meyer’s boss, athletic director Gene Smith, recommended Smith be fired. He wasn’t.

In 2016, Meyer directed Zach Smith into a drug treatment facility. Meyer did not tell Gene Smith about this — or that 2009 arrest in Florida.

So it should be no surprise when confronted with allegations Zach Smith physically assaulted his wife in 2015, Meyer merely scolded Smith and threatened to fire him if Meyer found out he hit Courtney Smith. Charges were never filed.

Last month, Meyer finally fired Zach Smith after Courtney Smith received a protective order against her ex-husband. According to investigators, Meyer texted his agent that his plan for Big Ten media day was to keep the reasons in-house. “I will not tell media,” Meyer wrote.

The text Meyer got back from his agent: only “a matter of time before he did something that did substantial harm to you or the program.”

Too late.

“While we do not doubt that Coach Meyer respects women and is dedicated to fostering an environment of respect for women in his program,” the report said, “his apparent blind spot for Zach Smith seems to have impaired his judgment and his management of the behavior of at least one of his assistants.”

That blind spot now leaves a permanent mark on Meyer’s legacy.

The federal government hasn’t done enough to address immigration issues, including the growing backlog of U.S. citizenship applications, said Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams.

So the county is taking the issue into its own hands, with the launch of a new program Thursday called United for Citizenship that will work to naturalize the more than 22,000 eligible residents in Salt Lake County.

“The ultimate solution is we need Congress to take action and they have failed to do so,” McAdams told The Salt Lake Tribune. “In the meantime and in the absence of Congress taking action, we are doing what we can at the local level.”

The program, announced at a news conference at the State Capitol on Thursday, looks to address several obstacles for eligible residents in navigating the citizenship process: lack of information, language barriers, difficulties with the civic exam and high costs.

That will take the form of a two-pronged approach, McAdams said, one of which is making information about legal and language help more easily accessible. The county will place 150 blue resource boxes, paid for by American Express, around the community with information aimed to help legal, permanent residents get started on the process. The boxes will include checklists, exam flashcards and information about where to apply for fee waivers that can also be found at a new web page online.

Yasaman Keshavarz, an immigrant from Iran, first came to the United States as a refugee in 2011 and was eligible to apply for citizenship five years later. She completed the process last April.

“One of the reasons I chose to be a citizen was because I wanted to feel I belonged,” she said at the event. “This is my home now. This is my country now.”

Keshavarz has a master’s degree and is fluent in English — but she said she still found the citizenship process, and particularly the exam, difficult to navigate. She hopes that with the additional resources from the county’s new initiative, others in her position will have an easier time.

There are a number of benefits to becoming a citizen, she said: better educational and travel opportunities, as well as access to better jobs. That access, in turn, can increase the earning potential immigrants have and help grow the economy, McAdams said.

But it’s been difficult under the Trump administration for the state to reap the benefits that its immigrant population could bring. Last year, Utah’s backlog of legal residents who are awaiting approval of U.S. citizenship applications grew faster than in any other state, prompting McAdams and Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski to join a group of 45 mayors and county executives nationally to ask federal officials Monday to “take aggressive steps to reduce the waiting time.”

The second prong of the county’s United for Citizenship approach in addressing immigration issues at the local level is enlisting the help of the community, including business owners, churches, schools and local and state leaders, some of whom spoke at the event.

Sen. Jani Iwamoto, D-Holladay, sponsored the legislation that appropriated $100,000 toward the new citizenship initiative, which she called one of the “best investments” the Legislature could make in the state’s future.

“Welcoming is the Utah way,” she said at the event. “This land has welcomed generations of new Americans who now call Utah home — from the pioneers, to the Chinese, to the Japanese immigrants to the refugees of today, this state has provided so many the opportunity to succeed and pay back. With Utah’s thriving economy, it is more important than ever to build on this tradition.”

Eagle Mountain • During a visit to Utah, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai called Thursday for Congress, not his agency, to write “net neutrality” rules regulating businesses that connect consumers to the internet.

That comes after the FCC earlier this year created controversy by dismantling Obama-era rules that had banned broadband providers from blocking websites or charging for higher quality service or certain content. It also stopped regulating high-speed internet delivery as if it were a utility.

“We need Congress to set the rules of the digital road,” Pai said, standing with Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah, who made a similar call. Their public comments came after the pair met privately with Utah rural internet providers as part of an FCC outreach on how to extend and improve their services.

“It has been 22 years since Congress spoke on the issue of how the internet should be construed,” he told reporters. “Twenty-two years is a long time, especially in an area as dynamic as the internet.”

Pai said if Congress would give some permanency to rules, it would provide “the certainty we need to move forward with some of the bipartisan initiatives that we all agree on: [improving] rural broadband and promoting digital opportunities” where they now do not exist.

Love, who is in a tight race against Democratic Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, said deciding rules for net neutrality “should not be in the hands of just bureaucrats” as she smiled and grabbed Pai’s arm. “Anything that is going to be permanent and is going to work for us should be done legislatively.”

She said, “I do oppose blocking, throttling of internet [access]…. We should make sure people have as much access as possible.”

But she was a bit murky about how to get to that point, whether the country should return to Obama-era tight regulation of broadband to ensure all content providers are treated the same, or continuing to remove regulation that Pai says will handle problems through innovation, increased competition and consumer choice.

Love declined to say what she thought of FCC actions this year, saying it really didn’t matter because Congress should be the one to make permanent decisions. “I care more about what the legislation looks like. We should be driving what the FCC is doing, not the other way around.”

Love said she supports “net neutraility legislatively through Congress,” but said she isn’t yet ready to talk about the specifics that such legislation should include.

“I am less specific until I get the information that I need from the people who have a vested interest here in Utah, and what the legislation should look like,” and said the roundtable she and Pai held Thursday with internet providers helps that effort.

Pai, meanwhile, defended his agency’s actions, after he was appointed by President Donald Trump, to remove regulation of internet providers.

“I think we’re freeing up the internet. Freeing up the internet is what we had from 1996 with the commercialization of the internet and starting with President Clinton’s historic decision to make sure we had a light-touch market-based approach to the internet all the way through 2015,” when the FCC started to more tightly regulate it.

“Going forward, we continue to favor a free and open internet with this light-touch approach,” with few rules that include requiring internet providers to disclose business practices, and allowing the Federal Trade Commission to target firms that “behave in an uncompetitive way.”

Pai came to Utah after being chided in a U.S. Senate hearing last week for misleading lawmakers and the public when he had first reported that his agency’s website had crashed recently because of a cyberattack, when it actually was caused by heavy traffic from people complaining about its actions on net neutrality.

He told the Senate Commerce Committee he initially relied on information from the agency’s then-chief information officer, even though he suspected it was incorrect. Pai said he did not update the public because he was asked by the agency’s inspector general not to make any comments as that office investigated.

The inspector general released a report this month saying the problem was caused by a rush of incoming web traffic after comedian John Oliver urged his audience of the HBO show “Last Week Tonight” to complain to the FCC about its net neutrality actions.

Pai will also spend Friday in Utah, when he and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, plan to hold a private roundtable with Utah broadcasters.

Ranked this week by ESPN”s Kirk Herbstreit as one of the top five student sections in the country, Utah's MUSS is known for executing the “3rd Down Jump” to intimidate opposing offenses in advance of key plays.

The MUSS may need a tradition that helps the Utes' own offense in those situations.

Utah ranked No. 99 nationally in third-down conversions last season, even while moving the ball reasonably well. As offensive coordinator Troy Taylor said, “We were really good on first and second down.”

That's true. The Utes were No. 18 in offensive efficiency, according to advanced statistics compiled by SB Nation. The criteria include gaining 5 or more yards on the first play, 7-plus yards on two plays and the necessary 10 yards for a first down on three plays.

The Utes' overall efficiency rate was 45.7 percent; their third-down conversion rate was 35.2 percent. Basically, they either recorded a first down in one or two plays or not at all. Utah converted only 62 third-down plays in 13 games, fewer than five per game.

No wonder that's something the Utes have practiced extensively in August, in addition to possessions inside the 20-yard line.

Asked this week if the offense is better in those areas, coach Kyle Whittingham chuckled a bit nervously and said, “I hope so. We’ll find out. That’s been a topic of conversation around here for a couple years, so we’ll see. If we haven’t [improved], we’re in trouble. … We absolutely have practiced it a ton.”

The Utes ranked No. 79 in finishing drives, averaging 4.4 points for each trip inside the opponents' 40-yard line. Matt Gay is a great kicker, but he can produce only three points at a time, and Whittingham would like him to attempt fewer than 34 field goals this season.

Utah’s failure to deliver touchdowns is the reason Taylor is here. Whittingham fired offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick after the 2016 season. The apparent breaking point was the regular-season finale at Colorado, where three second-half trips inside the 5-yard line ended with field goals. Even a bowl victory over Indiana required Andy Phillips' four field goals. Taylor was hired the following week.

Taylor’s 2017 offense produced a slightly higher rate of touchdowns on trips inside the 20, reaching the end zone 33 of 63 times — compared with Utah’s 27-of-54 success rate in 2016. But his third-down conversions were lower than Roderick’s 38.3-percent mark.

Utah's red-zone package will be different, Whittingham said: “You tweak a little, because what you were doing obviously didn't work well. You add a few things.”

He also said the plays themselves were less of an issue than the way they were executed.

The communications director of the Salt Lake County Republican Party has come under fire from members of his own party after telling The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board that suicide rates in the LGBTQ community may be associated with a high number of sex partners.

Dave Robinson had joined Salt Lake County Republican Party Chair Scott Miller for a wide-ranging, one-hour meeting with the paper’s editorial board on Monday about where they see the party headed on a number of issues. During that meeting, Robinson said that while many people attribute the high suicide rates in Utah to the culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or to the state’s high altitude, that may not capture the full story.

“I actually think it has more to do with the lifestyle that the gays are leading that they refuse to have any scrutiny with,” said Robinson, who is gay, stating that he knows people in the community who have had “over 2,000 sex partners.” That, he said, could be at the root of “some of the self-loathing to the point of suicide.”

His comments, published in a Tribune news article on Tuesday, sparked backlash from a number of leaders in his party, including Salt Lake County Council Chairwoman Aimee Winder Newton, who quickly denounced his comments on Twitter.

Um... as a Republican who cares deeply about the suicide epidemic in Utah... this guy does NOT speak for me. #utpol https://t.co/p1hMh0BBpk

— Aimee Winder Newton (@AimeeNewton) August 21, 2018

“I am angry that someone who purports to speak for Republicans has made such inappropriate, inaccurate and hurtful comments,” she told The Tribune on Thursday. “This has caused our LGBTQ friends heartache and has been counterproductive in our fight against suicide.”

Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City, also weighed in on the issue online.

He tweeted from a dinner with family celebrating President Donald Trump’s signing into law last week an order to work toward creating a national three-digit number for a suicide hotline, similar to 911. Thatcher and state Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, had pushed unsuccessfully to create such a three-digit line in Utah for years before two of the state’s congressmen picked up and passed the idea on a nationwide scale.

“Mr. Robinson, you do NOT speak for me,” Thatcher wrote. “Bigotry in any form is unacceptable. Disappointing is not a strong enough word.”

Instead of enjoying a celebratory dinner with family recognizing the passage of Historic National Legislation for suicide prevention, I have to react to this.

Mr. Robinson, you do NOT speak for me. Bigotry in any form is unacceptable. Disappointing is not a strong enough word. https://t.co/qqsLN1OwcH

— Daniel W. Thatcher (@SenThatcher) August 22, 2018

The Utah Log Cabin Republican caucus, which acts as the voice of the LGBTQ community within the party, also released a statement on Robinson’s comments about suicide and STD rates.

“Both of these issues deserve to be discussed by as many people as possible, especially policymakers, in order to find real solutions and combat these challenges,” the email reads. “This becomes extremely difficult when comments like these are made on these subjects and reported in a way that suggests any of us believe that under age young men are out at group sex parties, contracting diseases and then committing suicide over that situation.”

In the meeting with The Tribune, Robinson also made statements about the PrEP pill — a daily preventive strategy for those at risk of contracting HIV — that the Salt Lake County Health Department called “wildly inaccurate.”

He insinuated that the county was giving out the pill for free and then treating members of the LGBTQ community for free after they had unprotected sex like “bunny rabbits” at monthly “sex parties” and contracted STDs because they were unaware that the pill did not prevent them. Later, Robinson said he had relayed the information from the health department as he understood it and that there may have been some mischaracterization in his conversation with the county.

Robinson told The Tribune on Thursday that the response after his comments were published, “both pro and con, show that there is a tremendous need [for dialogue] on these issues within not only the gay community but the straight community and the county as a whole.” He said he will continue to engage with the party and hopes in the future for a more thoughtful conversation about this issue, which he feels the Tribune’s article did not provide.

Miller, the party chairman, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon. But in an email statement obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune, he said that Robinson’s comments were based on the communication director’s conversations with members of the LGBTQ community “and were not necessarily his own views and were not presented as the position of the Salt Lake County Republican Party.”

But in an email Robinson sent to The Tribune on Tuesday morning, after he was notified the paper would be running a story based on his comments, he reaffirmed his stance and included links to studies and facts on STDs, mental health and suicide in support of it.

“I stand by my position that multiple sexual partners leads to increased risk of STD and HIV, which affects one’s mental, physical and financial health, which leads to a higher risk of depression which leads to a higher risk of thoughts of suicide which leads to higher suicide rates,” he said in the email.

Miller said in his statement that members of the party don’t agree that there is “only one cause or solution” to the issue of suicide.

“I apologize on behalf of the Salt Lake County Republican Party for any hurt or discomfort that this mischaracterization has caused,” he said. “The tremendous outcry of both anger and support shows that these conversations are sorely needed.”

The Salt Lake County Republican Party was expected to discuss Robinson’s comments further at its Central Committee meeting Thursday evening at Jordan High School.

The Tribune will update this story.

Washington • What President Trump and his cadre have done is very bad.

What Republican leaders are doing is unforgivable.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stood on the Senate floor Wednesday morning for his first public remarks since the seismic events of the day before: The president's former personal lawyer pleaded guilty to fraud and breaking campaign finance laws, implicating the president in a crime; the president's former campaign chairman was convicted on eight counts of financial crimes, making him one of five members of Trump's team who have been convicted or have admitted guilt; and a Republican congressman was indicted, the second of Trump's earliest congressional supporters to be charged this month.

It was time for leadership. McConnell ducked.

Instead, he hailed Trump’s campaign rally in West Virginia the night before. He disparaged President Barack Obama’s record. He spoke about low unemployment “under this united Republican government.” He went on about coal, taxes, apprenticeship programs, health research, prisoner rehabilitation and more — and not a peep about the corruption swirling around the president. When reporters pressed McConnell in the hallway for comment, he brushed them off.

McConnell's counterpart in the House, Speaker Paul D. Ryan, was equally cowardly. "We are aware of Mr. [Michael] Cohen's guilty plea to these serious charges" was his office's official statement. "We will need more information than is currently available at this point."

What more do you need, Mr. Speaker? What more will it take, Republicans? It seems nothing can bring them to state what is manifestly true: The president is unfit to serve, surrounded by hooligans and doing incalculable harm.

A scroll through Republican lawmakers' tweets since the Cohen-Manafort combination punch late Tuesday found shameful silence. GOP House leaders Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise tweeted about a murder allegedly committed by an illegal immigrant.

It briefly appeared that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley was doing the right thing. He tweeted a suggestion to read Gerald Seib's Wednesday Wall Street Journal column proclaiming the "darkest day of the Trump presidency." Fourteen minutes later came a corrective tweet from Grassley: He meant a previous Seib column, on another subject.

Among the few Republican lawmakers demonstrating dignity: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, ex-FBI agent, commended his former colleagues for "upholding the rule of law."

This intolerable silence of the Republicans — through “Access Hollywood,” racist outbursts, diplomatic mayhem and endless scandal — is what allows Trump and his Fox News-viewing supporters to dock their spaceship in a parallel universe where truth isn’t truth. At Tuesday night’s rally in West Virginia, Trump’s irony-challenged audience could be heard chanting “Drain the Swamp!” and “Lock her up!” (Hillary Clinton, that is), just a few hours after Paul Manafort’s conviction and Cohen’s guilty plea.

Republican lawmakers fear that with 87 percent of Republican voters backing Trump, crossing him is political suicide. But this is circular. Support among the Republican base remains high because Republican officeholders validate him.

It took a year from the Watergate break-in to Republican Sen. Howard Baker's immortal 1973 question about a Republican president: "What did the president know and when did he know it?"

Instead of Baker, today we have Texas' John Cornyn, the No. 2 Senate Republican, saying: "I would note that none of this has anything to do with the Russian collusion or meddling in the election."

And Grassley: "I don't think I should be speculating."

But there doesn't have to be collusion, or even speculation, to recognize that something is terribly wrong. There is no good answer to the question Cohen lawyer Lanny Davis posed after his client said under oath that Trump directed him to pay off two women to influence the election: "If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldn't they be a crime for Donald Trump?"

A few Republican senators (Jeff Flake, Bob Corker, Ben Sasse, Susan Collins, Richard Burr) have rhetorically distanced themselves from Trump. But their modest efforts don't sufficiently protect the party, or the country, from Trump's sleaze and self-dealing.

The moral rot is spreading. Two weeks ago, Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., was arrested on charges related to insider trading — from the White House lawn. On Tuesday, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and his wife were charged with using campaign funds for travel, golf, skiing, tuition, tickets, clothing, makeup, dental work and more, often while claiming the funds were being used on charities.

His office's Trumpian response: "This action is purely politically motivated."

If Republicans don't put some moral distance between themselves and Trump, there will soon be nothing left to salvage.

Follow Dana Milbank on Twitter: @Milbank

Plans are taking shape for an eight-story, 225-room hotel at the site of the Union Pacific Depot in Salt Lake City’s Gateway mall.

If approved by city leaders, construction will begin on the Union Pacific Hotel in summer 2019, with an opening in 2021, according to Jenny Cushing, vice president of leasing for Vestar, the Gateway’s owner.

“The addition of an upscale full-service hotel is an effective reuse of the Union Pacific Depot,” Cushing said. “Ultimately, we want to provide a community gathering and entertainment venue.”

Plans submitted to Salt Lake City include the renovation of the depot and its Grand Train Hall to house the hotel’s reception areas and main entrance. The ground floor structure will also include a bar, restaurant and retail space, with the addition of a coffee shop and exterior courtyard between the depot and a to-be-built curved tower located at the top of the steps leading the The Gateway’s Olympic Legacy Plaza.

Cushing said the hotel is part of Vestar’s strategy to transform The Gateway into an entertainment and lifestyle destination. Since acquiring the property, The Gateway has added a Wiseguys Comedy Club location and opened the state’s first Dave & Buster’s franchise.

She said The Depot, a music and performance venue currently located in the north wing of the Union Pacific Depot, will remain and be incorporated into the design and operations of the hotel.

“We’re very optimistic that both the administration and the residents of Salt Lake City are going to embrace the caliber of product that we’re planning to deliver to the market,” Cushing said.

Because the hotel exceeds current height restrictions for the area and alters a historic structure, the project requires approval from both the Salt Lake City Planning Commission and the city’s Historic Landmark Commission.

Molly Robinson, a planning manager with the city, said public input on the proposal will be sought by the city commissions next month ahead of initial consideration.

“We will very likely have this project presented at an open house in September,” Robinson said. “That will be at City Hall.”

If both panels sign on, Robinson said, Vestar will then be able to develop its plans and apply for a building permit to begin construction.

St. George • Utah wants the federal government to resume its work permitting the Lake Powell Pipeline project.

The Spectrum reports Utah water officials in January asked to halt the project, worried over jurisdictional questions about whether the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission would continue to act as the permitting agency.

The state still hasn't received any answers, and attorneys for the Utah Board of Water Resources and the Washington County Water Conservancy District filed a letter Wednesday with the commission asking it to proceed.

State water officials have spent more than $30 million over the past decade readying its proposals for the pipeline, which would carry water some 140 miles (225 kilometers) out of Lake Powell and across parts of Utah and Arizona to communities in Washington and Kane counties.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opposes Utah’s medical marijuana ballot initiative, but not the use of the drug under all circumstances. Sen. Orrin Hatch and Rep. Chris Stewart respond to news about former Donald Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and longtime Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. And, though legal, private meetings held by subcommittees of the Inland Port Authority draw more criticism from the public over a lack of transparency.

At 9 a.m. Friday, Salt Lake Tribune reporter Taylor W. Anderson, Washington bureau chief Thomas Burr and Editor Jennifer Napier-Pearce join KCPW’s Roger McDonough to talk about the week’s top stories. Every Friday at 9 a.m., stream “Behind the Headlines” at kcpw.org, or tune in to KCPW 88.3 FM or Utah Public Radio for the broadcast.

This Pat Bagley cartoon appears in The Salt Lake Tribune on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018. You can check out the past 10 Bagley editorial cartoons below:

• <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/bagley/2018/08/22/bagley-cartoon-tell-truth/" target=_blank>To Tell the Truth</a>
• <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/bagley/2018/08/21/bagley-cartoon-sexist/">Sexist Beasts</a>
• <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/bagley/2018/08/20/bagley-cartoon-reefer/">Reefer Madness</a>
• <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/bagley/2018/08/17/bagley-cartoon-this-land/">This Land Is Trump’s Land</a>
• <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/bagley/2018/08/11/bagley-cartoon-take-me-2/">The Mormon Rebrand</a>
• <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/bagley/2018/08/11/bagley-cartoon-take-me/">Take Me to Your Leader?</a>
• <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/bagley/2018/08/09/bagley-cartoon-misinfo/">Misinfo Wars</a>
• <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/bagley/2018/08/08/bagley-cartoon-good-old/">The Good Old Days</a>
• <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/bagley/2018/08/07/bagley-cartoon-insurance/">Insurance Magic Trick</a>
• <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/bagley/2018/08/06/bagley-cartoon-air-we">The Air We Breathe</a>

Want more Bagley? Become a fan on Facebook.

Provo • Attorneys on both sides have made their final arguments, and the decision has been turned over to the judge and jury.

A self-described aficionado of late-night crime documentaries, senior Tanner Mangum described BYU’s quarterback competition using legal metaphors as preseason camp closed Thursday afternoon with the final scrimmage at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

“It’s the coaches’ decision now,” said the starter in eight games last year. “They are the judges in this courtroom. We are just called to the stand and we are trying to do our best to make a good argument. Let the facts fall were they may and the jury can [render] its verdict or the judge will decide.”

After the scrimmage, which was closed to the media, offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes said no decision has been made and no candidate is in the lead. That came after head coach Kalani Sitake and quarterbacks coach Aaron Roderick said Wednesday that coaches are “really close” to naming a starter.

The cat-and-mouse games continues.

“Overall, I think it was a smooth day [for the quarterbacks],” Grimes said. “The biggest challenge for our entire team today was we wanted to come as close as possible to a game day. … We tried to simulate as many [game situations] as we could today. Backed up, red zone, goal line, short yardage, four-minute, two-minute [drills]. I thought overall both of them handled the situations well.”

If the coaches do name a starter — and the possibility still exists that they may not — it will likely come Monday in Sitake’s noon news conference that traditionally kicks off game week.

“I was really pleased with the work today,” Sitake said. “We pulled back on the live stuff, because I think we’ve seen enough of it. But it was competitive and we put ourselves in a lot different situations that we haven’t had enough work at in camp, and so it was good. It was a good run for our team.”

Both Grimes and defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki said there was too much situational stuff to declare a winner — offense or defense — but Tuiaki mentioned the defense forced a couple turnovers and Grimes lamented just one series when the offense had some formation issues and killed its own momentum.

Grimes said the offense won’t change to fit whichever quarterback emerges as the starter.

“I think they both have very similar skillsets,” he said. “I don’t see that making very much of a difference, if any.”

Wilson, still a teenager, said he can deliver a victory Sept. 1 against Arizona if he gets the starting nod.

“Yeah, I do,” he said. “I think any quarterback in the situation can as well. I think we are all well-prepared. I think any of us in the right situation will be able to make plays on this team.”

Wilson said he doesn’t feel like a freshman because he participated in spring camp and has earned the respect of his older teammates.

“As a freshman, it just kind OF gives you that swagger to go out and attempt things and try things,” he said. “I just look at it like it is just a football game. Anyone can go out there and make plays no matter how old they are.”

Mangum’s final argument, as it were, was similar when asked the same question.

“Oh yeah, we both can [deliver],” he said. “Absolutely. We have both played well this camp. We have both shown that we can run the offense and lead the team and make plays. Regardless of who is in, we are confident that we can go out there and execute and get the job done. … We are both confident players. Regardless of who is in, we are looking forward to the challenge.”

Columbus, Ohio • Urban Meyer may have weathered scandal at Ohio State, but not without a lasting stain as an exhaustive report detailed behavior that could easily have taken down a coach of lesser stature.

The investigation released soon after Meyer answered questions from reporters about his suspension Wednesday night showed that he tolerated bad behavior for years from assistant coach Zach Smith, including domestic-violence accusations, drug addiction, lies and other acts that directly clash with the values Meyer touts publicly.

The findings represent a new turn in the saga , showing how the superstar coach — who preaches “core values” like honesty, treating women with respect and not using drugs or stealing — failed to live up to those ideals when handling several issues squarely within his control while dealing with the grandson of legendary Ohio State coach Earle Bruce.

Ohio State issued Meyer a relatively light, three game suspension — granting enough leeway to still let him prep the Buckeyes for two games they’re unlikely to lose. He will also lose six weeks of salary in a year he’s slated to earn $7.6 million under a deal that runs through 2022.

Meanwhile, his football team was back at practice without him on Thursday, preparing for the opener against Oregon State on Sept. 1. Co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Ryan Day will continue to coach the team during Meyer’s absence.

An Ohio State spokesman on Thursday declined to expand on the contents of investigative report, referring The Associated Press back to comments made by Meyer and others at the news conference Wednesday night.

Smith has denied being aggressive with his ex-wife. His attorney said Wednesday that Meyer and athletic director Gene Smith were “collateral damage” from Courtney Smith’s desire to hurt her ex-husband. Courtney Smith’s attorney did not comment on Thursday as Ohio State’s decision reverberated through the sports world.

“I knew (firing) wasn’t going to happen because it’s too big of a program, and he’s too much of a high-profile coach,” Ohio State student Justin Johnson said Thursday. “So I knew he wasn’t going to get fired and I knew that they weren’t going to keep him off the field for too long.”

For some, the punishment won’t be enough.

“He is so influential and so many people listen and adore him, and for the fact that he’s just like sliding it off and focusing on the football team and his career is kind of selfish,” Ohio State student Natalie Sanchez-Carrillo said.

Meyer, 54, kept his job through the bizarre chapter but likely will never be the same — or be considered in the same way.

Ohio State’s report found Meyer “went too far” in allowing Smith to remain on the staff for so long, without explicitly covering up or condoning any of Smith’s misconduct.

The report details some of the missteps:

— Meyer and his wife Shelley clearly didn’t believe Zach Smith had committed domestic abuse against his now-ex-wife Courtney. Despite an incident in 2009 that resulted in Zach Smith’s arrest, and another accusation in October 2015 and a recurring investigation by police, Meyer gave his protege the benefit of the doubt. The report suggests Shelley Meyer, who swapped text messages with Courtney Smith after the 2015 accusation, “had doubts about the veracity of Courtney Smith’s allegations” and for that reason didn’t share it with her husband. Courtney Smith said Zach Smith put his hands around her neck and shoved her against a wall, which he denies. He was never charged.

— Because Smith wasn’t arrested for domestic violence in 2015, neither Meyer nor athletic director Gene Smith believed they were obligated to report it to university officials. Gene Smith was suspended for two weeks for his role in the handling of Zach Smith. Meyer said he regrets it and insisted he’s “a different person now.”

“My awareness of domestic violence and how serious it is whenever you hear that kind of accusation, absolutely has grown,” he said during the Wednesday night press conference to announce his suspension. “I will be very cautious.”

— Meyer became aware that Zach Smith had visited a Miami strip club with at least one other Ohio State football coach and high school coach during a recruiting trip in May 2014, spending $600 of his own money. Meyer reprimanded and warned Smith not to do it again. It also led to the addition of the morality clause in the Ohio State coaching manual. But Smith kept his job.

— Meyer knew Smith was regularly late to practice and workouts during his divorce proceedings and failed to appear for scheduled recruiting visits. Meyer issued a warning. Gene Smith suggested replacing the young receivers coach, but Meyer refused. In June 2016, Meyer urged Zach Smith to get treatment for an addiction to a prescription stimulant but didn’t tell the athletic director about it.

— While the report stops short of saying Meyer lied when asked about his knowledge of the 2015 domestic abuse allegations against Zach Smith, the report found that he intentionally misled reporters about what he knew, and talked to a staff member about possibly deleting some text messages from his phone. He told investigators he had no memory of being told about the 2015 events, even though Gene Smith sent him a text about how to handle questions about it.

“Although it is a close question and we cannot rule out that Coach Meyer was intentionally misleading in his answers, we do not ultimately find that he was,” the report concluded. “He clearly misspoke and made misstatements, but the reasons that happened are complex.”

Those reasons, according to the report, included “significant memory issues in other situations where he had prior extensive knowledge of events. He has also periodically taken medicine that can negatively impair his memory, concentration and focus.”

Albany, N.Y. • John Lennon’s killer has been denied parole for a 10th time and will remain behind bars for at least two more years.

Mark David Chapman appeared before New York's parole board on Wednesday. In a denial decision obtained by The Associated Press Thursday, the board said it had determined Chapman's release "would be incompatible with the welfare and safety of society and would so deprecate the serious nature of the crime as to undermine respect for the law."

Chapman, 63, shot and killed the former Beatle outside Lennon's Manhattan apartment on Dec. 8, 1980. He is serving 20-years-to-life in the Wende Correctional Facility in western New York.

"You admittedly carefully planned and executed the murder of a world-famous person for no reason other than to gain notoriety," the parole panel wrote in its denial decision. "While no one person's life is any more valuable than another's life, the fact that you chose someone who was not only a world renown person and beloved by millions, regardless of the pain and suffering you would cause to his family, friends and so many others, you demonstrated a callous disregard for the sanctity of human life and the pain and suffering of others."

It said releasing Chapman would not only "tend to mitigate the seriousness of your crime," but also would endanger public safety because someone might try to harm him out of anger or revenge or to gain similar notoriety.

As Chapman faced the parole panel Wednesday, politicians and fans called for his release to be denied during a rally at Strawberry Fields, Lennon's memorial in Central Park across from his former home.

A transcript of the parole hearing wasn't immediately released. At previous hearings, Chapman has said he still gets letters about the pain he caused and was sorry for choosing the wrong path to fame.

Chapman will be up for parole again in August 2020.

Representatives of the LDS Church, Utah Episcopal Diocese, Utah Medical Association, Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, Utah Sheriff’s Association and Utah Parent Teacher Association stood side-by-side on Thursday to voice their opposition to a ballot initiative that could legalize medical marijuana in the state.

They were also joined in proxy by 18 organizations and 65 individuals who had signed onto a statement encouraging collaboration and further research into the medical benefits of cannabis and marijuana derivatives.

“The marijuana initiative appearing as Proposition 2 on the ballot this November does not strike the appropriate balance in ensuring safe and reasonable access for patients while also protecting youth and preventing other societal harms,” the statement read.

But as notable as the faces on stage and the names on the list were, so too were the names and faces absent from Thursday’s event.

Jean Hill, spokeswoman for the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, said Catholic leaders were approached within the last three weeks about signing the statement. They declined, she said, as the issue of medical marijuana is complicated and the diocese is not ready to take a position — positive or negative — on the ballot initiative.

“There’re moral issues on both sides of it,” Hill said. “We’re just — along with everyone I think — trying to figure out how medical marijuana is really going to work.”

Among Utah’s political leaders, Congressmen Rob Bishop and Chris Stewart both signed onto the statement. But they were not joined by their colleagues in Utah’s federal delegation, Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee or Reps. Mia Love and John Curtis.

“Senator Lee does not weigh in on state ballot initiatives,” Lee’s spokesman Conn Carroll said. “It’s up to the people of Utah to make the decision on this medical marijuana initiative.”

In a prepared statement, Love said there are many Utahns who suffer needlessly from legitimate medical conditions who could benefit from medical marijuana. She said she’s happy LDS Church leaders clarified their position on the issue, and hopes that voters will be encouraged to study the initiative and inform themselves.

“I believe we have an opportunity,” she said, " to create policies that help relieve that suffering and give people options that are both prescribed and monitored by their physician."

Stewart’s inclusion on the list was something of a surprise, as he told The Tribune on Tuesday that he was unaware of any requests by Drug Safe Utah — the coalition opposing the ballot initiative — to participate in a statement or press event this week.

“Congressman Stewart had numerous discussions over the last few days with many individuals and made his decision after those conversations,” said Daryn Frischknecht, Stewart’s spokeswoman.

Mitt Romney, who is running for Hatch’s U.S. Senate seat, signed onto the coalition statement. His Democratic opponent, Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson, told The Tribune that she was not approached by Drug Safe Utah, and that she supports the medical marijuana initiative.

“I would question all of us as leaders and people in our society,” she said, “if we’re going to say ‘no’ to medical marijuana, but we’re not going to do more to solve the opioid crisis.”

The Drug Safe Utah list also included a number of individuals who reversed their positions after initially supporting the medical marijuana initiative. Among those is Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera who told The Tribune on May 31 that her support for the initiative was partly based on the experience of personal friends who suffered from cancer.

On Thursday, Rivera said she supports the question going before voters in November, but that she will vote against it.

“There are not enough safeguards in place for me to support the proposition as it is written,” she said.

A total of 37 Republican state lawmakers joined the statement, including Utah’s House speaker, Senate president, and both the House and Senate majority leaders.

The list did not include a single Democratic member of the state Legislature. And after the press conference, the House Democratic Caucus released a statement supporting the right of Utahns to weigh in on the topic in November.

“It is clear that a significant portion of the public thinks the Utah Legislature has moved too slowly on the question of medical marijuana and they want their voices heard," the Democratic caucus said. “We appreciate concerns that it is not perfect, but if Proposition 2 passes, then the Legislature will still have the ability to modify and improve the legislation in the months and years afterward.”

Three of the five physicians in the Legislature were not on the list.

Other individuals and organizations who signed on to oppose the initiative include the Islamic Society of Greater Salt Lake, Latinos in Action, Utah Eagle Forum, Zions Bank President and CEO Scott Anderson, Larry H. Miller Group of Companies owner and Chairwoman Gail Miller, former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, developer Kem Gardner, Salt Lake County Council Chairwoman Aimee Winder Newton, philanthropist Karen Huntsman and son, David, president of the Huntsman Foundation, the Utah Hospital Association and Sutherland Institute.

TRUCE — a patient and medical marijuana advocacy group — issued its own statement on Thursday in response to Drug Safe Utah, saying the coalition’s arguments were disappointing, factually incorrect and harmful to the welfare of patients.

“No answers were given today and no alternative was offered to the ballot initiative,” the group said. “What was offered was more talk, more negotiations and more falsehoods.”

Karen Huntsman is the mother of Paul Huntsman, owner and publisher of The Salt Lake Tribune. David Huntsman is Paul Huntsman’s brother.

Thomas Burr, The Tribune’s Washington Bureau chief, contributed to this report.

A plan on how to spend $4 billion on highway and transit projects over the next six years was adopted Thursday by the Wasatch Front Regional Council.

Projects newly added to that list, which is updated annually, range from the new West Davis Corridor freeway in Davis and Weber counties to a new bus rapid transit route from downtown Ogden to Weber State University.

Approval by the mayors, county commissioners and transportation agency officials serving on that regional planning agency’s board is a step needed for projects to qualify for federal funding in Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, Tooele, Morgan and Box Elder counties.

Approval of the new 2019-24 Transportation Improvement Program came after the council accepted public comment for a month — and received 400 comments.

One group — Utahns for Better Transportation, which has sought to reduce sprawl and congestion — complained that 83 percent of the money was going to highway expansion, and just 12 percent to transit and the rest for such things as bike paths.

“Utahns for Better Transportation would like to see more attention, priority, support and investment given to transit and other alternative modes of transportation as we plan the next six years,” it said.

A complete list of projects approved is available online at wfrc.org/tip.

Some of the projects newly added to those previously approved include:

• Beginning the West Davis Corridor, a 19-mile freeway heading northwest from Legacy Parkway through Davis and Weber counties. Construction of the first $610 million phase from Farmington to Antelope Drive is expected to begin in 2020 and open by 2022.

The Utah Department of Transportation approved the project last year, after years of delay and protest from groups that said it would encourage too much urban sprawl, or destroy too many Great Salt Lake wetlands. UDOT made several changes to its plan seeking to minimize those concerns.

• Spending $75 million on a Utah Transit Authority bus rapid transit route from downtown Ogden to Weber State University. The line will be sort of a TRAX on rubber wheels where buses often have their own lanes. UTA just opened a similar line operating in Orem and Provo.

• Spending more than $4 million to rebuild Utah Transit Authority train engines to reduce emissions and better comply with clean-air standards.

• Spending $637,000 to expand the GREENbike-share program in Salt Lake City by adding more stations and bicycles.

• Spending $4.3 million to reconstruct 1300 East in Salt Lake City from 2100 South to the southern city border.

• Rebuilding and widening 3900 South, including a center turn lane, in Millcreek from 2300 East to Wasatch Boulevard at a cost of $8.7 million.

• Improving congested intersections including State Street and 5300 South in Murray, Highland Drive and 4500 South in Holladay, and 9000 South and Monroe Street in Sandy.