BYU
Brigham Young University this week will give an honorary doctorate to the former owner of the Seattle Seahawks.
Kenneth E. Behring, who also started a foundation that gives wheelchairs to disabled people in poor countries, will receive the honor at BYU's summer commencement exercises Thursday at 4 p.m. in the Marriott Center.
Robert H. Garff, a Utah businessman who headed the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Games, will receive a Presidential Citation.
The academic processional will leave the Abraham Smoot Building parking lots at 3:30 p.m. Most campus offices will close Thursday at 2:30 p.m. for the event.
Each college will hold separate convocation ceremonies Friday at various locations on campus.
Nebo schools
J. Lynn Jones, Mapleton Elementary School principal, was among the 250 principals who lobbied Congress in Washington, D.C., last month on behalf of public education.
Jones, president-elect of the Utah Association of Elementary School Principals and the 2000 National Distinguished Principal, met with Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, and Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah.
Jones and other Utah principals also met with the education aides for Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.
Among other topics, the principals' group asked Congress to reject funding plans that would allow parents to use tax money to send their children to private schools.
Orem
"The Mikado" as a rock opera will hit the stage at the SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre Thursday, Aug. 15, and play through Aug. 26.
Performances begin each evening at 8 p.m., and tickets are available from the box office: $9 for adults and $5 for children. Mindy B. Young is the director, with Jeremy Showgren in charge of musical direction.
The production will also be presented in Murray at the Murray Park Amphitheater on Aug. 29, 30 and 31.
Provo
Intermountain Health Care is hosting its annual community conference on heart health Friday, Aug. 23, at the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center.
Cost to attend is $20 per person or $35 per couple and includes cholesterol, body fat and blood pressure screenings as well as complimentary massages, a continental breakfast and lunch.
Speakers include exercise guru Garth Fisher, cardiologist Dr. Ron Asay and author Mary Ellen Edmunds.
For more information, contact Christi at 357-7332.
Provo
North and southbound traffic on University Avenue in Provo between 500 South and 920 South will be restricted to a single lane Monday through Friday, 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. for paving work.
During daylight hours, traffic will be restricted to two lanes.
Motorists should expect moderate delays from Aug. 12 through Aug. 25.
Provo schools
Provo's school board is proposing a whopping 14.6 percent tax increase to help pay for the city's schools.
Want to voice disapproval? Or do you want to voice support for paying more because you think schools need the funds?
Here's your chance. A public hearing on the tax-increase plan will be Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. at district headquarters, 280 W. 940 North.
If the tax increase is approved by Provo's Board of Education, annual taxes on a $100,000 home would rise by $45.60. Owners of businesses with a similar assessed value would pay $82.89 more each year.
Salem
A new ordinance will allow folks who live outside city boundaries to tap into municipal water, but only on an emergency basis.
Residents who hook up have to pay all the costs and will be the first disconnected if a serious water shortage occurs, officials said. Hookups will be on a case-by-case basis, City Attorney Junior Baker said.