Short takes on the news | The Salt Lake Tribune

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Credit where due • Utah's Department of Workforce Services has launched a program to help military veterans get credit for training and work they did in the service when they seek state licenses or higher education. If, for instance, vets drove trucks or served as medics, they can put that experience toward licensing requirements for truck drivers or emergency medical technicians. In addition, admissions offices at colleges will help vets get their military training records so that institutions can grant them academic credit or allow them to test out of certain requirements. Nearly every Workforce Services employment center has a veterans representative who can help with these programs. Utah Valley University is the first institution to launch this Accelerated Credentialing Program for Veterans (ACE). It's a great way to recognize the work experience of veterans and help smooth the transition to civilian employment and higher education.

Women's tees • We're don't know whether diplomacy had anything to do with it, but Condoleeza Rice was one of the first two women to be admitted to membership at Augusta National Golf Club, the holy of holies in American golf and home of the Masters Tournament in Georgia. The former secretary of state was quietly invited to join. So was Darla Moore, a financier from South Carolina. Both have accepted, the club announced this week. The formerly all-male club became a lightning rod for the women's movement when its then-president said a decade ago that it would not admit women even "at the point of a bayonet." Apparently, the membership reconsidered. First the vote, then the Alta Club, now Augusta National. Another antiquated male bastion has fallen without even a 5-iron, let alone a bayonet, raised in anger. The Earth, at last report, is still spinning.

But does it kill gophers? • Speaking of Augusta National, will that course someday be mowed by robots? It could happen. Honda Motor Co. has announced that it will market a robotic lawn mower in Europe next year. Think of a Roomba vacuum cleaner that continually shaves 3 millimeters off the grass as it roams your yard. Honda says that its Miimo robotic mower will maneuver itself on slopes, won't break potted plants, will go to recharge itself and won't wander off. Well, maybe. American men have been making the same claims for years, and they don't always prove true. But there is this advantage to the Miimo: It reportedly does not require beer to operate happily.