WashCo Web Page Provides Transparency, Accountability In Felony Release Process

Washington County Sheriff Nate Brooksby is tired of having to explain why the bad guys are getting away.

Brooksby, the sheriff of the county, said he gets asked all the time why one prisoner or another has been released from jail.

"I get asked a lot about jail releases," he said in a social media post. "Short of emergencies in the jail, I do not have say about who is released, that is up to the courts."

Brooksby, like many law enforcement officers, expresses frustration over the often early release of people his department worked so hard to put behind bars.

"Fundamentally, the system has changed to protect criminals and ignore the victims," he said. "Law enforcement is doing its job to keep our community safe, but the justice system has created an ever-revolving door to release serious criminals back on the streets to commit more crimes (creating more victims)."

So Brooksby has decided to at least try to make amends from some of these early releases. He has created a web page to "look at all felony releases including the suspect's name, crimes committed, whether released on bail or no bail attached to their release, the time they spent in jail, and the name of the judge who released them on those conditions."

The website can be found here.

Brooksby continued: "You will be able to see when someone was released, their felony charge, how they were released, and the judge who set the bail or made the order."

Comments to the post were almost exclusively positive, with fans posting "Thank you for creating this site!" and "This is great."

Law abiding citizens may find the site a little infuriating as it highlights the relative ease at which some serious criminals get out of prison. For instance, one recent person was charged with 2nd degree felony homicide after causing a crash that killed a person last summer in Hurricane (allegedly while driving under the influence).

That person's case hasn't gone to trial yet, but until it does that person is currently walking free while out on a $10,000 bail.

Another case has a person charged with 1st degree and 2nd degree felony sexual assault. That individual is currently free on $30,000 bail.

Brooksby wrote: "We hope this may answer some of your questions or concerns."

Or perhaps, raise a whole bunch more concerns.

Here's the link again: Felony Release Report , WCSO

We reiterate, all persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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Exploring The Most Expensive Neighborhoods In America and Utah - A Closer Look

A half-dozen years ago or so, my wife and I bought a house at the staggering price of $100 per square foot.

We never thought we'd pay that much. We never thought the price to buy a home would reach into triple-digits.

After all, our previous homes were $50- or $60-per square foot. Paying $100 seemed to be just too much.

Little did we know back then that most of America would kill to get a house for that cheap now.

The average price per home by square foot in America right now is $244.

The folks at vividmaps.com did the leg work and found that the housing prices are through the roof in most parts of the United States, with some areas (California, Florida, New York) being especially bad.

The ratings are based on neighborhoods and the most expensive neighborhood in America is the "South of Market" neighborhood in the San Francisco area where houses sell for a whopping $5,415-per square foot.

A modest home (I doubt there are any there) of 1,000-square feet would cost you $5.5-million in that neighborhood.

Predominantly, the top 20 most expensive neighborhoods in the country are located in California, Florida, and New York, although Vividmaps points out that there are expensive neighborhoods all over the country.

For instance, "The Seaport" neighborhood in Massachusetts (near Boston) is selling houses for $1,725-per square foot and even Utah has its super pricey hotspots. One neighborhood in Park City is going at $1,169-per square foot.

As far as St. George's neighborhoods, well we're pricey, but nowhere near Park City. The average PPSF in Washington County is just above the national average. We're at $250-per square foot.

The cheapest neighborhood in Utah is the Hillcrest neighborhood in Cache County (Logan area), where houses are selling for $183-per square foot.

But if you're looking for a real bargain, you're going to want to head to Homewood North in Pennsylvania, which secures the position of the least expensive neighborhood. The average property is priced at $29 per square foot.

And for what it's worth, that house we previously had bought at about $100-per square foot is now selling at about $250-per square foot. Guess we should have kept it.

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The Curious Case Of Utah's Pet Bans: What You Need To Know

America! Land of the free. Home of the brave. The greatest defender of freedom in the world.

And Utah, a mini-America. Freedom, free agency rules in the Beehive State. We value being able to do what we like.

Within reason, of course.

So where does reason end, when it comes to personal property. You can own a home, but can only build it so high. You can own a car, but only drive it so fast. You can start a fire, but only in certain places and at certain times.

And you can own a pet, but not THAT pet.

I went down a rabbit-hole the other day, tempted by the headline: "That's Wild: See the Pets Banned In Each State" and it got me wondering about Utah's pet laws. I am not a pet owner as a family member has some severe allergies, but I'd like to think if I wanted to pick up a pet monkey (haven't you always wanted a monkey?), that would be OK.

Uh, nope!

In Utah, you can't have a monkey, ape or gorilla as a pet. I can see banning an ape or gorilla, which are very large animals and could pose a public threat, but a monkey?

I mean, you can own a pet alligator (with the proper license), a pet chicken, a pet boa constrictor, but not a monkey!

By the way, you can forget that pet lemur, cheetah or kangaroo, too. Those are outlawed.as well.

Guess I'll have to settle for an ocelot (Yep, those are legal).

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Addressing Sleep Deprivation: The Debate Over High School Start Time Change

I came across this story on the news wire today

"Las Vegas' high school students could be getting some extra time to sleep in. Tomorrow, the Nevada State Board of Education will meet to discuss the possibility of changing high school start times in the valley. Some schools sent a survey to parents about the issue earlier this week. Some Clark County School District schools changed their start and dismissal times at the beginning of this school year. The CCSD cited a bus driver shortage for the later start times."

This is in Vegas, but it brings up a topic that has been simmering below the surface for some time now, the topic of sleep.

I don't know about you, but when I was in high school I didn't sleep enough. In fact, it wasn't even close.

I would regularly stay up until after midnight or 1 a.m. and then have to be at the school before 8 a.m. My clock (I thought I was unique) was wired for late nights and getting up for first period at school was a frightful experience. I had a buddy my junior and senior years in high school that would take turns driving with me.

We each would take a week at a time, with the understanding that after a couple of honks in the morning, if one of us didn't come stumbling out, the other would go on to school and assume sleep won that morning.

Mel was heroic in getting me up sometimes. He'd throw things at the window. If the door was unlocked, he'd come in and holler at me. And occasionally, as per our agreement, he would just go on to school without me.

But one thing was clear: I wasn't getting enough sleep. And even sleeping in on the weekends wasn't making up for it.

From the Johns Hopkins pediatrician Michael Crocetti, M.D., M.P.H.  "Teens need 9 to 9½ hours of sleep per night -- that’s an hour or so more than they needed at age 10. Why? “Teenagers are going through a second developmental stage of cognitive maturation. Additional sleep supports their developing brain, as well as physical growth spurts. It also helps protect them from serious consequences like depression or drug use."

One reason for teens' needs to stay up late, according to Johns Hopkins sleep expert Laura Sterni, M.D., is that, "Teens experience a natural shift in circadian rhythm. This makes it more difficult for them to fall asleep before 11 p.m. Add in early school start times and an increase in homework, extracurricular activities and sometimes a part-time job, and sleep deprivation in teens becomes common."

So maybe the state of Nevada has the right idea when it talks about moving the start time back an hour or two.

I queried Washington County School District spokesman Steve Dunham and WCSD board member LaRene Cox about this. It doesn't seem likely in Washington County.

"I'm not going to say it's impossible. Never say never," Dunham said. "But because we transport so many students every day (via school bus), our transportation logistics become our biggest challenge. Plus, when we look at later start times, then that interferes with extracurricular things, work opportunities, and family opportunities and activities."

Cox added that it also makes for major problems in the family dynamic.

"I know many parents that work at 8 a.m. and knowing that their child is safe in school, in their seat, and they can go to work and be comfortable that their child is taken care of until after school when they can get them home -- that says a lot," Cox said.

Another study, from the Sleep Foundation website, "Sleep benefits the brain and promotes attention, memory, and analytical thought. It makes  thinking sharper, recognizing the most important information to consolidate learning. Sleep also facilitates expansive thinking that can spur creativity . Whether it’s studying for a test, learning an instrument, or acquiring job skills, sleep is essential for teens.

So local officials aren't yet convinced that the trade-off morning sleep benefits vs. infringement on early evening activities is worth it. At least not yet.

But it's always helpful to remember that we are all different. I was never good at Algebra, but excelled in writing. One of my sons was a great theoretical learner, another was a hands-on kind of guy.

Some kids would learn better at 10 a.m. than they ever would at 8 a.m.