There are walls, and then there are WALLS. The ‘wall’ we hear the most about these days is the one between the southern border of the U.S. and the northern border of Mexico. The wall I remember learning about as a child was the Great Wall of China, which is about 5,500 miles from beginning to end and is an international UNESCO protected historical site which can be seen by the Space Shuttle. I grew up hearing about the German wall that separated east and west Berlin after WWII and the Cold War (built in 1961) and then watched in 1991 when people from both sides of the wall tore it down when the Germanies decided to let people be free to travel to either side. There’s the Korean Wall blocking north and south Koreans from traveling to either country, walls to stop people in India, Bangladesh, Israel’s West Bank, and a myriad of defensive walls in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Vatican City. Art walls, like the Bondi Sea Wall in Australia are all over the world consensually or non-consensually, with beautiful local graphics by taggers, street artists and professionals.

What’s the most famous wall in Utah?  Methinks it’s the one surrounding Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City!  I’ve always been impressed that the wall around the entire block has not been regularly tagged because it’s one large canvas for artists and those with evil intent. Plus, they have always kept all the church property there in uber clean shape and decorated nicely for the Christmas holiday. I’ve also hated the wall there because it makes the place look foreboding and off limits and keeps the views of the gothic architecture of the Temple itself hidden from tourists and folk passing by.

Well the wall is about to change (finally) as the Church of Jesus Christ has announced a massive upgrade of Temple Square.  This multi-year project will include the renovation of portions of the wall that will be opened and modified to allow more inviting views and better access to temple grounds. The existing South Visitors’ Center will be demolished and replaced with two new guest and visitor pavilions. Following the renovation, temple patrons and guests will enter the temple through the new entry pavilions to the north and proceed down to a grand hall. The formal temple entry point (recommend desk) will sit underneath large skylights that will provide natural light and generous views of the temple above. Patrons will then proceed down the grand hall to the historic temple.  For temple patrons who enter from the Conference Center parking area, a new guest access tunnel will be built under North Temple Street that will allow for direct underground entry to the grand hall from the parking structure.

Other renovations will include upgrades in mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems on the property and a significant seismic upgrade to the temple itself. The Church reports that anywhere between 3-5 million people visit Temple Square every year-almost as many folks who visit Utah’s national parks!

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/plans-unveiled-salt-lake-temple-renovation

Sure, you know me from writing this column, but for 28 years I had a radio program dedicated to women’s music, women’s history and women’s news. It was the longest running program of its kind in the country. I write this because I still pay close attention to women in the news and women’s music. Utah’s women have been getting a great deal of recognition as of late, to wit:          

• The Utah Women and Leadership Project just released a study that Utah women are voting now more than any election since 2006. This makes female voters in Utah rank now 11th in the nation as women who vote, which is up from 35th in the nation in 2006. This is terrific news but the report states that there are 316,000 women in Utah who have not registered to vote.  Whether you’re male or female, it is so simple to register on-line to vote in local and national elections online by going to: vote.utah.gov.
• The flip side of more women voting is the report out that Utah has been found to be the worst state for women’s equality, this time by WalletHub.com in their findings in “2019’s Best & Worst States for Women’s Equality.”  How did they determine this? By looking at women’s health and doctor visit affordability, education, number of women in the legislature, income disparity and workplace environment. They also ranked the Beehive State 49th for the largest gap in wages and women holding elected positions. The best state for women’s equality? Maine.
• Another study paid for by Utah’s Young Women’s Christian Association, the Status of Women in the States and the Institute for Women’s Policy Research released a report last month that finds Utah women make 69.8% of what Utah men make which is about 10% lower than the national average. Women who work full time are making $36,300 annually, and white women are making more than Hispanic women. Also, it’s interesting to note that Utah has the highest percentage of women who work part time but these women make less than a third of what their full time female counterparts make.  Other findings from this particular report: 1) 90% of Utah women live above the national poverty rate and 2) almost 89% of Utah women have health insurance. 
• None of this can change if women don’t get involved in making change happen. Voting is one of the best ways to help make change and improve our state for both sexes. Women’s suffrage was granted here in 1870 years before we became a state. According to Wikipedia, “Among all U.S states, only Wyoming granted suffrage to women earlier than Utah, yet because Utah held two elections before Wyoming, Utah women were the first women in the country to cast ballots in the United States.” Lucky Salt Lakers, two women are running for Mayor of the capitol city.