With only 43 days to go until the 2023 General Session, here's what Utah legislators are prioritizing next year, according to the Senate Majority Caucus.

Boosting teacher salaries

Senate leaders say they plan "to directly raise teacher salaries."

Why it matters: Nationally, teacher wages have remained stagnant over the past 25 years, contributing to many leaving the profession.

By the numbers: The average starting salary for a teacher in the state is about $48,000 a year.

• Flashback: In February, Gov. Spencer Cox said he wouldn't sign a $36 million school voucher bill until teachers' starting salaries reached $60,000 per year.

Solving Utah's water crisis

Utah lawmakers want to continue their water-saving efforts next year.

Why it matters: The Great Salt Lake's demise has been exacerbated by drought and diversion, which will likely result in health and environmental consequences if nothing is done to save it.

Flashback: This year, lawmakers passed a series of water laws, including a $40 million bill to save the Great Salt Lake.

Cutting taxes

State Rep. Judy Weeks-Rohner, R-West Valley City, is reintroducing a bill that would eliminate the state portion of sales tax on groceries, FOX 13 reported.

• Lawmakers have cut taxes in the last two sessions.

Why it matters: High gas costs and rising inflation have heavily impacted Utah families this year.

Flashback: During the 2022 session, the Legislature passed a bill lowering the state's income tax rate from 4.95% to 4.85% for residents and corporations.

• Cox also championed a proposed grocery tax credit to provide relief for Utah families, but it didn't amount to anything.

Go deeper

The University of Utah is headed back to the Rose Bowl for the second year in a row.

• They will take on the Penn State Nittany Lions in the "Grandaddy of Them All" on Jan. 2 at 3pm.

• The Utes and Penn State have never faced each other.

Catch up fast: Utah defended its Pac-12 title in dominating fashion by beating USC 47-24 in the conference championship Friday in Las Vegas.

• It was the second time this season that the Utes beat the Trojans.

Get smart: Utah's season started off with a road loss against the Florida Gators.

• They won four straight before losing to UCLA. They won four straight again after that loss before suffering a defeat at the hands of Oregon.
• Now, the Utes can come back from their loss to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl last year.

Of note: BYU will face SMU in the New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 17.

• That game will be played in Albuquerque. Kickoff is at 12:15pm.

🏀 The Utah Jazz wants to hear from fans on future uniform designs for the 2024-25 season. (The Salt Lake Tribune)

📊 A new poll shows Utahns are split on whether Sen. Mitt Romney should run for reelection in 2024. (Deseret News)

🧳 A couple of new homes in Draper, built by Edge Homes, have been deemed uninhabitable due to sliding soil and sinking, leaving residents without a home to live in. (KSL.com)

We recently asked you to draw the boundaries of several Salt Lake City neighborhoods, and it turns out we tend to agree on where we all live!

• The map above represents the average boundaries drawn by readers.

The intrigue: Neighborhood borders are subjective.

• Even our community council jurisdictions overlap, and official city descriptions do not always match what Google comes up with.

Flashback: The reasons for considering an area a coherent neighborhood can change dramatically over time.

• Sugar House got its name from sugar beet processing, which hasn't happened there for about 150 years.
• Calling Sugar House one neighborhood probably made a lot more sense when city blocks were contiguous along 1300 East from the Avenues down to city limits — back before a freeway cut the whole area in half.

Details: No one knows where Central City ends and Liberty Wells begins — including, apparently, the city government, which recognizes community council boundaries that overlap by a half-mile north to south.

• You left Brickyard out of Sugar House, which is reasonable since it basically looks like a satellite territory on the map.

Yes but: Two neighborhoods were more mercurial.

• Liberty Heights is not represented by its own community council, so the most "official" map is from the realtors at Re/Max. Your map covers about triple the area.
• Marmalade appears to be a "you know it when you see it" situation, with the city, the tourism bureau and readers all identifying different borders.

What's next: You can keep playing our interactive game!

📬 Tell us: What Salt Lake neighborhoods do you think have disputed boundaries?

💼 Check out who's hiring around the city.

1. General Manager at DHL Ecommerce Solutions.
2. Senior Director Development at Evarsana Intouch.
3. Senior Director, Program Management at IMVT Corporation.

Want more opportunities? Check out our Job Board.

Hiring? Post a job.

Last week's "Where in Salt Lake?" is a fun historical landmark of Sugar House:

• It's the Stark Automotive Sign at 1075 E. Hollywood Ave.!

The big picture: The sign is one of several preserved vintage signs in Sugar House.

• If you see cool old signs around town, you can submit them to be considered for preservation on the Salt Lake City mobile app.

🎉 Congratulations to Rachel D.H., who guessed the location correctly!