That whole area stinks - I try not to even go there!

I must admit, though, it's for political reasons. It's not a slum or anything, it's just that the Orem/Provo area of Utah is extremely conservative. Someone recently told me about a "liberal professor at BYU" (a university in Provo), and I said "so that means they don't want to kill all the homosexuals, they just want them to move away, right?" (Yeah, it's a bit of an unfair exaggeration, but that area is REALLY conservative.)

I believe this law stems from a Mormon church command. A decade ago, the Mormon church demanded that its members paint up and fix up their houses.

Whitewashed sepulchres?

Instead of a state run religion, it appears we have a church run state!!

Umm... no, I don't think so. There are a lot of cities in many states who have similar laws since they want to make their cities "look good" to attract businesses to move in.

Orem is especially notorious for this. A few years back, they bulldozed a bunch of perfectly decent homes near a business area. After a few months, when the nearby mall decided not to buy it, they just planted some grass and left it that way.

Also, assuming that anything that happens in Utah is dictated by the "Mormon church" is quite inaccurate, and can come across as being rather bigoted. I know that it's rather popular to mock Mormons, so I imagine I'll probably get down-voted for this, I just get annoyed that every article which mentions Utah always draws derisive comments about members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the actual name of the church) even when it has nothing to do with the article.

Gotta ditto iceburg here. That doesn't have anything to do with the church. Just local laws that most cities around the country have.

I've been LDS (aka Mormon) my whole life, and can honestly say I can't ever remember the church even suggesting (let alone commanding) that people paint sepulchers.

They do say that you should take care of your stuff, but it's just like a common sense thing, not a "commandment" or something they talk about at church. Ask any homeowner if it's a good idea to take care of your house, Mormon or not, and I guarantee they'll say yes.

Hmmm, maybe I'm just viewing this as throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Here in drought stricken LA, as well as drought stricken Las Vegas, unwatered lawns are not an arrestable offense. Yes, if neighbors complain enough, a lawn of 3 foot high weeds may warrant a visit by the health department, but a brown lawn, who cares except the homeowners' associations.

In Vegas,a lawn that is TOO green is a ticketable offense, as they are very strict about watering times and days, etc.

A brown lawn doesn't hurt a house, it's only an eyesore.

In LA, people are finally turning to native plants as a great and beautiful alternative to the patch o green suburban nightmare.

If I ever get a house, I'm pulling out the lawn and planting food plants or native plants or artificial turf. Save the water for drinking and flushing!