S AP
BOX
“Tesla Terrorism,”
March 27 Hits & Misses
I had to re-read Katharine Biele’s “Tesla Terrorism” bit to make sure I wasn’t seeing things.
Just when I thought liberals—and I used to be one, when they were sane— couldn’t get more frightening, here they are openly cheering on violence.
Smashing Tesla dealerships? “Activism.” Walking through the Capitol? “Domestic terrorism.” You can’t make this up.
January 6 was a psyop, crafted by the media precisely so that the Bieles of the
world can justify any and all behavior against President Donald Trump and his supporters. No one was injured except the Trump supporter who died—Ashli Babbitt, gunned down in cold blood.
But now the same brainwashed NPCs who clutched their pearls over a glorified tour of the Capitol are celebrating real destruction. And for what? Because Elon Musk, at great personal expense, is taking on the bloated, corrupt government siphoning this country dry?
This state-approved hypocrisy is a bit much, even for Biele.
MARIO RUIZ Salt Lake City
Signs of Dissent
A couple things surprised me about the “Hands Off” rally at the Utah State Capital on April 5. First, the size of the crowd. It grew from large, to very large, to huge. The rally crowd was possibly bigger than the crowd at the first day of April Conference jamming into the LDS Conference Center a few blocks away.
Second, the mainstream nature of the crowd. I expected to find a mix of longhair leftwing anarchists, college students, hippy-druggies, minorities, Arabs, college professors, LGTBQIA+ activists. The actual mixture was more housewives with girlfriends, families, old folks, working professionals, small business owners, church-going people, union members, most as white as the snow still hugging the mountains.
If I wasn’t such an ignorant and misguided human being, I might even venture to say this rally was a political party shift in the making in Utah. Are some MAGA Republicans actually finding some other faith to believe in?
One cute sign carried around by a large, churchy young family said, “It’s so bad, even the Latter-Day Saints are here today.” Others read, “El Salvador is the new Auschwitz,” “Orange lies matter,” “I’m tariff-ied,” “The only fraud at SSA is Elon” and “Not a paid protester.”
Also, “No kings, dictators, Russian assets,” “The power of the people is greater than the people in power,” “I could be ille-
gal” (carried by a white businessman-type guy), “This is not a drill, it’s a coup,” “TRUMP MUSK GO,” “Lincoln never said, ‘Of the billionaires, by the billionaires, for the billionaires’” and “Delete DOGE.”
Still others, “Evil wins when good people remain silent,” “Save democracy from broligarchs,” “My ebooks have more spine than the GOP,” “Foxtrot, Delta, Tango,” “Red Don,” “Stop looking left and right, start looking up,” “Trump deserves an extra term … in prison,” “Our future is not for sale” (held by a teenager protesting alone), “Congress, do something,” “Tax wealth, not work.”
In other words, this was a homemade, grassroots demonstration of displeasure with the current administration. It didn’t hurt that American investors had just lost $6.6 trillion in the stock market the previous week.
KIMBALL SHINKOSKEY
Woods Cross
Care to sound off on our content or a local concern? Write to comments@cityweekly.net or post your thoughts on our social media.
THE WATER COOLER
In what country would you love to have dual citizenship ?
Eleni Saltas
Greece. Is this any surprise coming from a Saltas?
Benjamin Wood
Canada. It would be nice to know that I could just pull a rip cord and abscond to a reasonable, democratically-run nation with universal health care.
Katharine Biele
If I say China, will I be tariffed?
Scott Renshaw
At this point? Not sure there are many wrong answers.
Eric Granato Sweden.
Megan Dixon
Thailand. After watching White Lotus, I am intrigued with the culture. Low cost of living, the food looks delicious, beautiful scenery—maybe the monkeys would freak me out though.
Bill Frost
My birthplace, the People’s Republic of California.
Wes Long Australia, I think.
PRIVATE EYE Something Happening Here
TBY JOHN SALTAS
he first time I saw a mass protest was certainly during one of the many miners’ strikes that occurred in Bingham Canyon when I was growing up.
It seemed like the strikers always gathered near our home in Lead Mine, site of the precipitation plant (“PPlant”) that never shut down and where—due to the high profitability of the plant—non-striking “company men” kept it operating. That one of Bingham Canyon’s most well-known taverns, the Moonlight Gardens, was also in Lead Mine was just a bonus.
The most onerous strike I remember started in July of 1967 and lasted until March of 1968. That’s a long time for a fellow to be out of work and make no mistake, nearly all homes in Bingham Canyon had just one breadwinner.
I don’t know the particulars, but among the unions that were strong in that era were the Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers (later merged into the United Steelworkers Union), plus Machinist, Locomotive and Electrician Unions, all walking out. When one did, they all did. Brotherhood meant brotherhood.
Lots of kids had a pretty sparse Christmas in December of 1967. With their fathers out of work and getting by on union dividends, it was tough on everyone, including me.
My first job—noted here plenty of times—was as a kid cleaning the Moonlight Gardens every Saturday. I’d oil mop the wooden floor, water and soap mop the bar area, and chemical mop the restrooms with some kind of sanitizer that I can smell plain as day as I type this. To say
that miners are tough as piss is an understatement, but lo, their aim was terrible. Blue gloves give me the creeps to this day.
My dad was a company man, a salaried boss at Kennecott, along with three uncles. Other relatives were union guys. During the strikes, while half my family stood on one side of the fence, others continued to work. They repaired machinery and organized things, mostly, without doing much actual mining. But many of them slogged right across from the picket line at the PPlant—where raw copper was extracted from acid waters that were pumped up onto the mine dumps, which then leached out low grade particles of copper.
Faster than you can say aqueous cupris ions, the end result is piles and piles of nearly pure copper (plus toxic water in Salt Lake Valley aquifers, but whatever). Anyway, the P-Plant never shut down.
One day, my dad made me quit the bar. Lord knows that as good as they were to me—paying me $5 each Saturday to do God’s work keeping the treasured “Mooner” clean— I had to let Gene Johnson and Bill Hennings know that they’d need to find another person to do the toilet scrubbing. My old man said that so long as he was working, he didn’t want me working at a job some other miner’s kid could do—or another striking miner for that matter—because it was not fair. And it wasn’t.
The fathers of my friends were growing vegetables in their hardscrabble dirt gardens, eating lots of beans and rice and sometimes sharing the venison they shed out of the hills outside of hunting season. Many took odd jobs or seasonal jobs, especially when the vegetable crops or fruit trees were in harvest.
It wasn’t right that I had the extra five bucks and they didn’t, so my dad laid it out there: You don’t need it— someone else does.
It was a lesson that’s never been lost on me.
That’s part of the reason why this past weekend, I attended the “Hands Off” rally at the Utah State Capitol— people need to help people. I was there from before noon
until after 2:00 p.m., basically wandering around and running into all kinds of folks sharing the care gene.
KSL radio (you know who owns it) lazily reported there were 6,000 people in attendance and KUTV (Sinclairowned) broadcasted that there were “hundreds” gathered. In the language of 1967, both those shameless media are full of skata
At nearly any point for two solid hours, the crowd was 10,000 to 15,000 strong or more, considering how many people came and went. It was no small matter.
What I saw on Saturday was no different than what I saw in 1967—scared and brave people concerned for their livelihoods, for their future, for their well-being and for the well-being of their entire community, willing to stand up and cause a giant mega corporation to stand down. It hurt them badly, but they didn’t waver.
Saturday’s crowd was equally brave, strong and, yes, patriotic. Among attendees were union members, teachers, combat veterans, disabled kids, social and ethnic minorities, lefties, conservatives, faith-based people and, yes, even a small group representing DOGE (because they have that right and why not?).
I laugh when MAGA claims everyone there (and nationally, JFC!) was lazy, midless sheep paid to attend by some sorcerer named Soros who bused everyone in. Even Trump claimed that—perhaps because his blame Hillary, Obama and Biden loop was wearing thin—but it’s a lie. Trump lying to his base is no longer an aberration, it’s what they want.
In 1967, I wanted a baseball mitt for Christmas. I never got what I wanted. My older brother’s hand-me-down Billy Martin mitt became the only glove I ever owned.
Here’s what I want for Christmas this year: For MAGA to wake up, smell the roses and take the bold step of tuning out FOX and tuning into your own eyes and ears.
Take that For What It’s Worth (google those words, MAGA, and give a listen). There really is something happening here. CW
Send comments to john@cityweekly.net
HITS & MISSES
BY KATHARINE
MISS: Freedom of Assembly
In Utah, it’s a matter of church and state—and the dichotomy was evident last weekend. The semiannual LDS General Conference saw throngs of modest followers converge on the Salt Lake Temple, while thousands of sign-toting protesters marched to the Capitol. While the Mormons called for charity and even “reverence for sacred things in an irreverent world,” protesters were showing irreverence to call attention to the Trump administration’s scorched-earth policies. It was a moment of truth for two ends of the same equation. Both were calling for action in the face of evildoers. A Salt Lake Tribune letter writer brought it together, quoting apocryphal tradition: “I heard the prophet say, ‘The time will come when the Government of these United States will be so nearly overthrown through its own corruption, that the Constitution will hang, as it were, by a single hair, and the Latter-day Saints … will step forward to its rescue and save it.’” So far—nothing.
MISS: Local Control
Washington, D.C. has long sought statehood, but alas, Congress just can’t make itself do it. And now Sen. Mike Lee wants to take away D.C.’s self-governing “home rule,” which it has had since 1973, because of crime and corruption. He’s proposing the Bowser Act, because who wouldn’t want to take power over the people of D.C.? Maybe he wants to handle potholes and rats. With 700,000 inhabitants, D.C. is bigger than Vermont and Wyoming. But here’s the thing, the District is predominantly Black and Democratic. “The District’s lack of representation is a wider oppression and disenfranchisement of Black Americans,” the D.C. Statehood page notes. Statehood is not a constitutional issue, because Congress could carve out a swath of land surrounding the federal district, leaving the rest for the 51st state. Canada might appreciate a focus on statehood there.
HIT: Class Clowns
You probably know how our white overlords really, really hate diversity—or at least the word. That’s why Affirmative Action died a legal death and why Republicans decry D.E.I. as somehow unfair. Women and minorities, apparently, are taking over high positions and jobs and are trying to “replace” our Caucasian Christians. Some in the State Board of Education were having none of it, proposing a resolution that says diversity programming aims “to achieve the Soviet Communist goal of actual equality, or equity ... by implementing a political favoritism program in the name of identity politics … (and is a) 1920s Soviet Union policy for using ethnic minorities to advance the installation of Communism.” If that seems ridiculous, the Board agreed and in a testament to public pressure, voted the resolution down. CW
Tread on Lee
Oh, Trevor Lee. Sweet, clueless Trevor Lee. In his quest to erase LGBTQ visibility from schools with his Pride flag ban, HB77, he seems to have forgotten one very important fact—teenagers in 2025 are not to be messed with. They are smart. They are organized. And they have memes sharper than Lee’s legislative skills.
The moment HB77 passed, the teens didn’t cry, they didn’t back down— they strategized. While Lee was busy celebrating his “victory” against flags (because, you know, that’s the biggest issue facing Utah schools, right?), students were already 10 steps ahead.
They met that same day, brainstorming ways to expose the absurdity of Lee’s anti-flag bill. And let’s be honest, it’s not hard.
For starters, they’ve dubbed Lee “Swiss Cheese Man,” because HB77 has more holes than an overused biology lab sieve. The bill bans non-governmental flags, but does that mean no more Utah Jazz flags? No “Don’t Tread on Me” flags? No Back the Blue flags? Lee’s legislative masterpiece is so riddled with contradictions that even a high school debate team could tear it apart before lunch period.
And then there’s the rectangle problem. One particularly savage group of students wants to know if Trevor is aware that other shapes exist. Because if the rule is about banning flags, what happens if students start displaying Pride-themed triangles? Or hexagons? Or, I don’t know, a well-placed circle? Lee may think he’s wiped away LGBTQ visibility, but these kids? They see loopholes the way he sees an opportunity to grandstand.
But wait, there’s more. Lee didn’t just threaten teachers with consequences for non-compliance, he underestimated an entire generation that grew up watching adults fumble their rights away. These kids know how to organize, how to mobilize and how to hold power accountable. The same students who have navigated online activism, climate strikes and gun-violence walkouts are not about to let one mediocre politician dictate how they express themselves.
And just to make things even clearer, Salt Lake City officials wasted no time responding. Within days of the bill’s passage, they raised the Pride flag high over the City and County Building. It was an unmistakable statement: Utah’s queer community is here to stay, and no flimsy piece of legislation is going to change that. If Lee thought his bill would quietly pass without resistance, he was sorely mistaken.
HB77 might as well have been a bat signal for Utah teens to come together and outwit a lawmaker who clearly didn’t anticipate the level of resistance he’d awaken. So, grab your popcorn. Watch as the students drag Lee through the court of public opinion, one viral post at a time.
If he thought this was going to be an easy win, he’s in for a rude awakening. Never pick a fight with the youth of 2025. You will lose. CW
Battle Fields
Wars of words, weapons and ideas drive three new theatrical releases.
BY SCOTT RENSHAW scottr@cityweekly.net @scottrenshaw
The Ballad of Wallis Island BBB1/2
You can feel nearly every beat of this quirky British comedy coming from a mile away, but it’s still one of those charming crowd-pleasers that squeezes every drop of potential out of its premise and its cast. Adapting their 2007 short film, director James Griffiths and co-writers Tom Basden & Tim Key set up a terrific idea: Eccentric millionaire Charles Heath (Key) hires fading folk-music star Herb McGwyer (Basden) for a private concert on the remote island where he lives, unaware that it’s also going to be a reunion with his one-time professional (and personal) partner Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan). The bulk of the humor is built on the awkward interactions between Charles and Herb—and between Charles and literally everybody else, as it turns out, as though he needs to use every syllable he’s had bottled up with nobody else around, usually to make absurdly strained attempts at wordplay. It’s a delightful performance, one that Basden generously allows to take center stage as McGwyer’s own post-“McGwyer Mortimer” artistic floundering doesn’t hit quite as hard, despite a solid connection with Mulligan. Yes, it’s another gentle tale about making peace with the past and finding a way to move on; it also happens to be one that finds a wildly entertaining intersection between Plains, Trains & Automobiles and Inside Llewyn Davis Available April 11 in theaters. (PG-13)
Warfare BB1/2
If verisimilitude were an inherent virtue, Warfare would be a masterpiece. But it isn’t, and it isn’t. Co-directors Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza—the latter a military veteran and technical advisor for Garland on 2024’s Civil War—recreate a 2006 Navy SEAL operation in Iraq, when a company occupying a house in Ramadi comes under attack. The events portrayed are undeniably harrowing, with graphic wartime violence, bone-rattling sound design and a sense of the chaos that can ensue when a mission goes side-
ways, and your ability to think rationally about what comes next starts to evaporate. That, however, is where Warfare begins and ends, as it never bothers to give any of the American soldiers, and certainly not any of the enemy insurgents, discernible personalities; if not for the familiarity of certain actors like Will Poulter, Charles Melton and Michael Gandolfini, it would be difficult to tell many of them apart. It’s almost more off-putting that the film opens with the group of soldiers pre-mission getting their horndog on to a circa-1990s exercise video, as though we should care for them more not because they’re individual actual humans, but because they’re a generic cluster of red-blooded American boys. You may very well come away with a greater sense of what it’s like to be in the middle of combat, but let’s not behave like no other film had ever done so before, or better. Available April 11 in theaters. (R)
The King of Kings BB
The concept dates back more than 150 years, so you can’t exactly blame it on writer/director Seong-ho Jang, but it’s still hard for this attempt at making the life of Jesus seem hip and exciting not to feel like a feature-length animated version of the “[youth pastor voice]” meme. Based on an 1840s kid-friendly version of “The Life of Our Lord” created by Charles Dickens, it finds the celebrated author (voiced by Kenneth Branagh) attempting to re-direct the energies of his rambunctious young son Walter (Roman Griffin Davis) by recounting the story of Jesus (Oscar Isaac) from the Nativity right through the Resurrection. Jang drops Walter and his pet cat directly into the action at various points, attempting to insert some slapstick energy and the idea of the Incarnation as a personal event rather than simply a historical abstraction. But this is still fundamentally a straightforward re-telling of the Gospel of Luke (mostly), and the familiar names in the English-language voice cast—also including Forest Whitaker, Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman and Ben Kingsley—play things far too earnestly to make it truly engaging for young folks. Plus, even a PG-rated, tamed-down version of the Passion is still rough stuff. While artistically, this is still several steps above the cheaply-made Bible story kid-vids of a generation ago, it can’t move past the self-seriousness even when the youth pastor is telling it to you while straddling a backwards chair. Available April 11 in theaters. (PG) CW
The Ballad of Wallis Island
Hair can be such a tricky thing to get right, so it’s such a joy to find a place that satisfies one’s requirements. The criteria will of course vary; whether it’s the expert touch of a stylist or the inviting atmosphere that has been fostered, you never know what a difference such qualities make until you experience them. Give these salons a try and see if you don’t have that epiphany yourself.
BEST CANNABIS PHARMACY
It’s one thing to have access to cannabis; it’s quite another to have a place that provides support and advice so that the drug is at its most effective for the user’s needs. As judged by our readers, these pharmacies have shown themselves to be particularly skilled in navigating such a vast field so as to address whatever ailments or conditions their patients experience.
Each week, City Weekly will publish, email to our Best of Utah list and post on our socials an expanded version of our beloved Best of Utah issue. With over 400 categories to choose from, we selected our favorites to post from now til the Best of Utah issue in November.
BUMP, SET, SPIKE!
LOVB BRINGS PROFESSIONAL VOLLEYBALL TO SALT LAKE.
BY CONNOR SANDERS COMMENTS@CITYWEEKLY.NET
When professional volleyball player Roni Jones-Perry was growing up in West Jordan, her options for watching high-level volleyball were slim.
She could watch collegiate matches at either the University of Utah or Brigham Young University, or wait for the Olympics. Watching professional players regularly, either in person or online, was entirely out of the question.
Jones-Perry said she didn’t know that playing professionally was “really even a thing” until her freshman season at BYU. It was a shared challenge for volleyball enthusiasts across the country.
League One Volleyball, a professional women’s league founded in 2020 and playing its first season in 2025, set out to change that.
“Now you have 14- and 15-year-old girls who are watching us do this and seeing volleyball at a level they wouldn’t be seeing,” Jones-Perry said in an interview with City Weekly. “I think it expands their vision about the sport, which is really exciting.”
Jones-Perry is an outside hitter on LOVB’s (pronounced “love”) Salt Lake franchise. She’s joined by a score of players who had previously applied their trade across the world, including United States Olympic gold and silver medalists Jordyn Poulter and Haleigh Washington.
LOVB Salt Lake is one of six franchises that make up the LOVB Pro league, with other teams in Atlanta, Austin, Houston, Madison and Omaha.
“It’s fun seeing this idea that was presented to me five years ago become this tangible thing with courts and nets
and a locker room,” Washington said. “It sounds so small, but so many details had to be looked at.”
The organization is not only working to make volleyball the next major sport in the United States, but to expand the game at a grassroots level.
LOVB houses 58 club teams in 24 states for girls between the ages of 12 and 18, as well as classes for 5- to 12-year-olds.
There are also camps in each of the six host cities with pro teams, which are led by the athletes and coaches.
Each team is built around one or two former Olympians as “founding athletes,” with Washington and Poulter being chosen for Salt Lake.
First Serve
LOVB was founded by a trio of investors: Katlyn Gao, former general manager of Lululemon and Sephora; Peter Hirschmann, founder and CEO of Honolulu-based consulting firm Loom; and Kevin Wong, a former Olympic beach volleyball player.
There’s a star-studded pool of investors funding the league, including Olympic skiing gold medalist Lindsey Vonn, five-time NBA All-Star Jayson Tatum, Fenway Sports Group partner Linda Henry, comedian Amy Schumer and two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker, according to reporting by the Associated Press.
LOVB Salt Lake plays the majority of its home games at Salt Lake Community College’s Bruin Arena in Taylorsville,
but played back-to-back matches for a special “Weekend with LOVB” at the Maverik Center in early February. Team officials reported a sellout for the inaugural match on Jan. 22 at Bruin Arena.
The team is coached by Tamari Maiyashiro, who took home silver for the United States as a player in 2012, and gold in 2020 as an assistant coach.
Heading into the playoffs, LOVB Salt Lake sits in fifth place with a 5-8 record. While all six teams make the playoffs in Louisville starting April 10, the top two teams get a bye to the semifinals. LOVB Salt Lake wrapped its regular season with matches on April 4 and April 5 at Bruin Arena.
Beyond Poulter and Washington, LOVB Salt Lake’s roster features worldclass talent, including Japanese libero Manami Kojima, up-and-coming opposite hitter Skylar Fields and University of Utah beach and indoor standout Dani Drews.
Washington noted that the LOVB league features Olympic-level competition from all across the world, including Italy (which took home the gold in Paris), Brazil, France, Turkey, Argentina, Canada and more.
Jones-Perry could feel the quality of the squad in her first practice with the team. Putting so many high-level pros on the same squad is a “rarity” on overseas teams, she said.
Because teams only have a certain budget to use on starters, they typically fill out the roster with youngsters they’re hoping to develop.
“[Overseas] the practice level isn’t always super high,” Jones-Perry explained. “Whereas here, I am competing and grinding against really high-level players every single day. It’s a place where I know I’m getting better every day at practice. Every match we play, it’s a scrap.”
Many of the American players have competed abroad for years. But the opportunity to play before their friends and family, sometimes for the first time as professionals, was a major selling point to joining LOVB.
Washington, who competed in Italy from 2017 to 2024, said anytime her family wanted to come see her play, they’d have to take on a 30-hour travel day. But now, playing close to where she grew up in Colorado has been “awesome,” she reports.
For Poulter, having friends and family in the stands has been special because, “it’s not just bringing me joy, but for them to get to share in another piece of my career and my journey in this way has been really cool,” she said.
Facing off against players who were her teammates on the national team, or who she faced in college, has been “a treat” for Poulter, who said that Salt Lake has been her first home as an adult in America.
“It’s really cool to be a part of something where you can see that everyone is so dedicated and cares, and it makes you want to pull the best out of each other and also be each other’s biggest cheerleaders,” Poulter said.
LOVB Salt Lake is headed to the playoffs after finishing 4th in the league during its inaugural season
Spreading the LOVB
Jordyn Poulter, a former Olympic medalist and one of LOVB Salt Lake’s “founding athletes” sets her teammates up for a spike during a match at Bruin Arena.
”It’s fun seeing this idea that was presented me five years ago become this tangible thing with courts and nets and a locker room.”—Haleigh
While 2025 marked the inaugural season for the LOVB Pro League, this isn’t the first time there’s been an effort to start a women’s volleyball league in the United States.
The Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) started in 2024 and follows a more traditional model where its eight franchises are owned by individual operators (Jason Derulo is a part-owner of the Omaha Supernovas). PVF also holds a draft for graduating college players each season.
LOVB franchises, on the other hand, are owned by the league itself, so player salaries for all teams are paid by the league. Many of the future roster composition questions—like how player trades, drafting players from college and adding pros from other leagues will work—are still up in the air.
PVF’s focus is less on star power compared to LOVB (one of the cofounders, Gao, says that they’re building LOVB to be “akin to the NBA of volleyball”). Instead, the goal is to provide a path to professional competition for the scores of high-level college players in the United States.
In that same Associated Press interview, Gao said there’s room for the two leagues to operate simultaneously.
“There’s a lot of baseball in different leagues. There’s a lot of basketball,” she said. “I don’t think (NBA commission-
Washington
er) Adam Silver ever gets questioned, ‘What do you think about you butting up against the three-on-threes and all the other start-up leagues?’ I think the reality is when it’s an extremely popular sport, the more people who watch it and the more people who consume it and participate in it, it’s a rising tide.”
There’s also Athletes Unlimited, the longest standing league of the bunch, which launched in 2021 and operates women’s basketball and softball leagues in addition to volleyball. The leagues feature player executive committees that oversee the rules and are in charge of recruiting new players each season.
The league runs for five weeks in one location and the teams are redrafted each week. Athletes Unlimited primarily runs in October, so players can compete in LOVB or PVF in the spring (LOVB Salt Lakers Dani Drews and Tori Dixon are on Athletes Unlimited’s 2025 player executive committee).
LOVB is trying to “ride the wave” of growing popularity in women’s sports over the last few years, Washington said, pointing to the success of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), the National Women’s Soccer League and the Professional Women’s Hockey League as examples that volleyball can emulate.
Part of LOVB’s founding athletes’ responsibilities is to be ambassadors for the game, Washington stressed.
“I feel very honored and privileged
that I get to carry this torch and this baton,” she said. “But it’s also been a struggle, because volleyball doesn’t quite have the popularity that it has overseas here in the States.”
Washington and her fellow founding athletes have led the charge to “bridge the gap of confusion” for fans who think all of this pro volleyball is happening in one big league.
“It wasn’t my idea to have three volleyball leagues, okay? I’m sorry,” she says with a laugh.
Laying Roots
While having multiple leagues may be a lot to take in for fans, it speaks to the growing popularity of the sport in the United States. With the Utah High School Athletics Association sanctioning boys’ volleyball beginning in 2023 and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles on the horizon, it stands to reason that trajectory will continue both in Utah and across the country.
As far as the future of LOVB is concerned, the league will take a look at giving the franchises their own specific branding and has aspirations to find a permanent home for the team beyond the Bruin Arena.
Jones-Perry admitted when she first heard about the effort to get LOVB off the ground, she was hesitant. “There’s been tries in the past,” she pointed out.
But seeing the quality of the play-
ers and facilities and the turnout at matches, and her conversations with the league have made her feel like LOVB was something she could really believe in. She said she has to remind herself to pause and take in what an incredible opportunity it is to be able to have dinner with her sisters every Sunday while playing the sport she loves at the highest level.
“There are a lot of moments of being overseas and having one of those long weeks where I was like, ‘Imagine if I was just waking up in my house every day and going and grinding at volleyball but I had more of that life balance,’” Jones-Perry said. “It was really exciting to know that could be a potential reality, and now here I am in the middle of it. It’s been amazing.”
For Jones-Perry, Poulter, Washington and the entire team, perhaps the most important thing has been creating a legacy for the sport among the next generation of players. Washington admonished fans to not let the wave pass them by.
“You have an opportunity to be a part of history,” Washington observed. “Volleyball is going to be the next big thing. People want it. It’s here. So come be a part of history.”
The LOVB playoffs are scheduled to be held April 10 to 13 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, with the matches available for streaming on ESPN+ and ESPN2. CW
Taste of Tijuana
Tacos 1905 livens up South Jordan’s taco scene.
BY ALEX SPRINGER comments@cityweekly.net @captainspringer
Idon’t want to speak too soon, but I’m pretty sure winter has finally bid our state adieu for the season. That said, it’s time to shift our culinary palates into spring and summer mode—and that means tacos.
As it’s near my own home base, I’ve been paying close attention to South Jordan’s up-and-coming Latin restaurants. SoJo has welcomed some great places in the past few years, and this positive trend includes a new spot called Tacos 1905. Its background is that of the Tijuana-style taco, and as I spent the spring breaks of my youth playing Nintendo in my parents’ basement, I never quite made it south of the California border.
So what exactly is a Tijuana-style taco? For starters, they’re all about the way their protein of choice is cooked. These are typically cooked over a flame grill to produce a good char on the edges of the thinly-sliced protein. They’re usually served with traditional taco-cart toppings like onion, cilantro and salsa, along with fresh guacamole that is naught but smashed avocado. Tacos 1905 pays homage to Tijuana with its proteins—all the classic taco-cart options are present, including lengua (tongue) and tripa (tripe). One of the things I like about Tacos 1905 is that it’s bringing an excellent taco-cart vibe to a fast-casual space; the restaurant moved into the spot that used to belong to the SoJo location of Zulu Grille. In addition
to tacos and quesadillas, Tacos 1905 offers a few interesting variations on the taco formula that are worth mentioning. But first, let’s dig into the restaurant’s taco game.
During my first visit, I went simple with the carne asada and pollo asado (both $3.25). Though these are smaller street tacos, the portions are decently-sized. They’re served with a complement of onions, cilantro and plenty of guacamole, but you’re not truly taco-ing unless you visit the condiment bar and load up on your faves. Tacos 1905 has around a halfdozen different salsas, each marked with a number of flame stickers to tell you how spicy they are.
Both tacos were great. They really lean into the flame-grilled preparation, and both proteins are possessed of a tasty, fire-kissed char. I liked the carne asada a bit more than the pollo asado, but that’s usually how it goes for me. I will say that the grilled chicken was a lot better than most taco spots that I’ve tried; Tacos 1905 has a solid seasoning game plan before the protein hits the grill.
The restaurant’s pescado tacos ($3.49) are excellent—plenty of succulent fried fish, shredded cabbage and a tangy orange sauce are all hanging out in this tortilla. Nothing quite screams summer like fish tacos with either beer or a bottle of Jarritos, which is a good time to mention the solid beverage game on display at Tacos 1905. Bottled soft drinks like Coke, sangria and Topo Chico are all on ice, along with a few Coronas and Modelos for good measure.
On top of the bottled drinks are the restaurant’s selection of house-brewed aguas frescas ($4.99). I usually don’t truck with these specialty soft drinks when tacos are to be had, but I had to try the strawberry horchata. I was expecting to like it, because it’s hard not to love
horchata, but this was a next-level beverage. It’s not overly harsh on the cinnamon, and the strawberry is incredibly refreshing. Good stuff for all the Utah soft drink nerds, that’s for sure.
There’s nothing wrong with sticking to the taco side of the menu, but it’s fun to check out the mulitas ($6.49) and the vampiros ($6.25). The former is a taco served in a softer corn tortilla, and the latter is more like a crispy tortilla sandwich served with a layer of melted mozzarella cheese. The mulitas are great, but since they’re pretty similar to the tacos, I’d recommend the vampiros. The flavors are going to depend on your favorite protein, but that extra layer of cheese and the two crunchy tortillas make it easy to add this dish to your rotation.
The quesadillas ($10.99) at Tacos 1905 are also tasty, since they pull from the same protein menu—those after a bit more cheese than the vampiro will dig these guys. One unique item on the Tacos 1905 menu is known as the papa loka ($10.99), which is a freshly-baked potato topped with your protein of choice along with the usual contingent of onion, cilantro and guacamole. I’ve never had a baked potato dressed up as a street taco, but it’s definitely a lovely fusion. The potato interior soaks up all the gorgeous meat juices and makes for a truly simple but satisfying experience.
I think tacos are a bit like pizza in that they’re always good even when they’re bad, but there’s enough nuance at Tacos 1905 to make it worth a spot on your radar. Taco fans—and people who have never been to Tijuana—will want to check this place out. CW
BEER NERD
Big in Ogden
A pair of O-Town ales that are not for the timid.
BY MIKE RIEDEL comments@cityweekly.net @utahbeer
UTOG - Anniversary Ale VI: Happy 6th anniversary to UTOG! This week’s first Ogden-made beer is a barrel-aged version of their Redeye Imperial Red Ale. I was pleasantly surprised to have this 10.3 percent ABV beer come in a 12 ounce can; I’ve long been an advocate of “big alcohol” beers in smaller packaging.
It pours an unfiltered dark amber color with a foamy, relatively sticky onefinger tan head, with average retention that leaves some nice sheets of lace. Citrusy, fruity hop scent emerges, along with a pungent whiskey aroma from the Outlaw Whiskey barrel. Some rye is found presiding over a roasted, bready backbone with some residual caramelized sugars. It’s interesting and distinct.
The first swig reveals bread, citrus, spice—largely nice. The relatively dry, caramelly, biscuity backbone defines this one, with hints of marshmallows and bread, though it’s accompanied by a relatively subtle hop quotient adding a grassy, prickly, back-of-the-throatspicy note to everything. It’s on par with the decidedly orange-zest-tasting hop notes that come later, resulting in an interesting combination. Medium-bodied, it brings enough carbonation to become full, puffy and thoroughly pillowy. You get plenty of spice from the rye, as well.
Verdict: A solid beer, and one I’m glad to have tried. Alcohol level is manageable and relatively well-hidden for its strength. While this is definitely not a barleywine in terms of flavor, it is so in terms of alcohol. It is an Imperial Red Ale with a barrel treatment, and should be enjoyed as such.
Ogden Beer - Shadow Empress: This is the first Imperial Stout to come out of Ogden Beer Company, and to start,
it’s poured from an attractive 16-ounce can. The stout is dark brown but with red hues in direct light; while the color is a bit thin, the head is two inches thick, mocha-colored and the “eye” of the head is bubbly and active. It smells of rich, sweet caramel malt, along with smoky oak scents. Some very soft baking chocolate and cream style malt also come through in the nose, with graham cracker and light roast coffee under that. Alcohol content is mildly detectible. The first hit is a hoppy malt flavor with moderate green bitterness. It’s not as sweet-tasting as it smells; there are some subtle chocolate notes as well. This is a very hoppy Russian Imperial Stout—perhaps not as hoppy as some that I’ve had, but the hops are quite prominent. The grassy tone that rides under the chocolate and cream comes off as complementary. The higher alpha acids and grassy, earthy hops add a nice bite. Red grapes and fruity sweetness deliver a mellow vibe in the middle of the taste, with a flowing current of wild berries peeking out from the density of malt complexity.
The malt base is a bit on the lighter side for the style, but has a very drinkable nature. As the 9.5 percent ABV would suggest, it feels a bit light for the style in that way as well. The lively, bubbly head gives it a smooth feel, though. Mediumbodied with the light, fruity current riding through; medium to full mouthfeel overall, certainly lighter and easier than most Russian Imperial Stouts.
Verdict: The feel is thin, but the ABV makes it a bit more drinkable than some of the heavy RIS. If you add up all of the fun aspects—like the ghostly fruitiness, the hoppy/woody tinged roast and the easy, loose finish—it equals a nice ride.
These may find their way into Salt Lake City, but you should do yourselves a favor and head up to Ogden and check out these and other O-Town beers for yourself. Ogden’s beer scene is blowing up, and is an excellent complement to the one in Salt Lake City.
As always, cheers! CW
BACK BURNER
BY ALEX SPRINGER | @captainspringer
Water Witch Heads to James Beard Awards
We were thrilled when we had so many James Beard Award nominees in the semi-final phase of the prestigious restaurant organization’s annual event. Among those nominees was Water Witch (waterwitchbar.com), and we’re beyond thrilled to announce that this local bar has earned a spot in the finals for the Outstanding Bar Program category. Anyone who’s visited a bar in Salt Lake City knows how difficult it is for bars to even stay afloat, let alone make nationally-recognized waves, so this is a huge deal for Water Witch and all of our local bars and restaurants. It’s always great to see our local talent thrive, and we’ll be eagerly awaiting the results of the James Beard Awards this June.
GoFundMe for Mazza
Chef Ali Sabbah—another James Beard Award semfinalist—is organizing efforts to help get Mazza (mazzacafe.com) out of the debt that it has accumulated while remaining operational during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chef Sabbah has operated Mazza for nearly 25 years, and now is a great time for the local community to rally around this fantastic local restaurant. Per the GoFundMe that Chef Sabbah and Ashley Creek have created, the funds are intended to help pay off some existing loan debt, allow restaurant repairs and provide additional compensation for the restaurant’s workforce. Local restaurants like Mazza have always been important to Utah’s community, and helping it out of a bind is a great cause to support.
New State Liquor Store Opens on Foothill
The new state liquor store at 1615 S. Foothill Drive recently opened, and it’s now the second twostory liquor store in the state. A lot of the Foothill liquor store’s design was informed by the recent downtown liquor store, including two floors, refrigerated options and a “Proudly Utah” section that showcases local breweries and distilleries. The new liquor store will replace the previous store, which was located at 1414 S. Foothill Drive. Folks on the East Bench can look forward to the snappy interior design, two-story capacity and refrigerated brews that are starting to become more commonplace along the Wasatch Front.
Quote of the Week: “I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me.” —Winston Churchill
“This is a genuine rare find. The food is excellent. The atmosphere is perfect for a small group or date night. The wait staff are friendly and attentive in the style of a community family. Many people there are clearly regular customers who interact with the wait staff like they’re old friends. This place is on my very short list for Salt Lake City!” - Spencer
“Wow! I’m well traveled in the Middle East, and Mazza was perfectly designed to give you the experience of going abroad to the Levant. The restaurant has a traditional vibe, appropriate decorations, and a family owned feel. The professionalism and cleanliness and flavors were noteworthy. Extremely pleased. “ -Mariyah
THURSDAY, APRIL 10
FRIDAY, APRIL 11
SATURDAY, APRIL 12
Management Consultant to be responsible for data collection, collaborating w/ personnel to implement more efficient systems/ procedures. Analyze data, conduct studies to ensure efficiency & review reports to identify problems.
Mon-Fri/40Hrs/Wk. Req:
Bachelor’s in Data Eng., Data Sci., Sci., Mgmt., Data Analysis, or Business. Mail Resume: Big Daddy’s 5600 LLC, 5620 W 4100 S, West Valley City, UT 84128.
MUSIC PICK S
Folk Hogan, The Pickpockets @ Metro Music Hall 4/12
I always love a good play on words. Especially when it’s something to do with music or an awesome band—and “awesome” is definitely a word you’d use to describe SLC folk/ punk band Folk Hogan, named in part as a jokey homage to a certain pro wrestling legend. Mixing folk and punk might not be an idea in the forefront of your mind, but the more you think about it, the more you’ll probably come to the conclusion of, “why the fuck not?” That was my thought process, anyway. Folk Hogan brings mandolin, bass, banjo, guitar and drums together to create a highly energetic, complex sound that will give you an instant burst of energy. They’re well-known for shredding at their shows, and there’s no way you’ll be able to stand still while they’re onstage. The first song on their 2024 EP V is titled “Play Fast Drink Whiskey,” and need I say more? Folk Hogan is paired with The Pickpockets on this bill, which is a match made in heaven. This group has a more “traditional” sound, fitting nicely into bluegrass, but the band continues to evolve and incorporate elements from different genres nicely. This show is going to have flying fingers and the best sounds to dance to. Come hang out on Saturday, April 12 at 9 p.m.; doors at 8 p.m. Tickets for the 21+ show are $20 at metromusichall.com. (Emilee Atkinson)
MUSIC PICK S
Larkin Poe @ The Depot 4/12
Rebecca and Megan Lovell—the sisters who refer to themselves as Larkin Poe, in honor of their great-great-great-grandfather—have tallied up significant success over the course of their career. Their third album, Peach, received a nomination for the Blues Foundation’s Best Emerging Artist Album award, while its follow-up, Venom & Faith, not only reached number one on Billboard ’s Blues Chart, but also garnered a nod as a 2020 Grammy nominee for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Likewise, their latest effort—Bloom, released earlier this year—reaped further critical kudos and helped steer them into the musical mainstream. With Rebecca handling lead vocals, guitars, mandolin, banjo, violin, piano, drum programming, bass and arrangements, and Megan on lap steel, dobro and harmony vocals, the two women have become a self-contained incendiary outfit. They’ve also accompanied other noteworthy artists, including Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne and Keith Urban. That speaks to not only their dexterity, but also an obvious affinity for bending boundaries. It’s also a major reason why Larkin Poe has become an audience favorite worldwide, having attracted a devoted fan following that revels in their many festival appearances and follows them on their frequent tours. The Lovell sisters possess a confidence and credibility that underscores their charm. They’re also an excellent example of how a sisterly bond can be extended to embrace others as well. Larkin Poe’s “The Bloom Tour 2025” with special guest Parker Millsap comes to The Depot on Saturday, April 12 at 7 p.m. GA tickets cost $39 - $67 at livenation.com. (Lee Zimmerman)
Kneecap @ The Depot 4/15
The 2024 film Kneecap has a serious backstory. In this riotous semi-biographical tale, the members of the eponymous rap group become larger-than-life figures. Their mission: to revive the once-repressed native Irish language, only recently acknowledged by the United Kingdom as an official language in Northern Ireland. While hip-hop derives much of its energy from the artists’ instinct to create their own legends, the rap group Kneecap carries on tradition. “If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’re
always going to get what you’ve always got. You’re not going to get anything new,” group member DJ Próvaí said on BandCamp. “So there has to be changes, and there has to be the space to bring in people with different opinions, and people who aren’t going to be the clean-cut ambassadors. People who are going to fucking push the line and challenge people.” Their latest LP, Fine Art, unfolds as a cohesive narrative. Even with the linguistic differences across the tracks (blending English and Gaelic), each song remains deeply focused on its message. The lads certainly know how to use humor to look at serious issues and take the piss out of the establishment at the same time. As the antiimmigration riots jumped the Irish Sea from England to Northern Ireland, then perhaps Kneecap can do the same in reverse. Catch these acts at The Depot on Tuesday, Apr 15. Doors at 7 p.m. Tickets for the all-ages show are $42-$139 and can be found at livenation. com or through vividseats.com. (Mark Dago)
Kraftwerk @ Union Event Center 4/16
When Kraftwerk formed in Düssledorf, West Germany in 1970, the group was a deeply experimental outfit. The group’s earliest releases, 1970’s Kraftwerk and 1972’s Kraftwerk 2, both made use of conventional instrumentation, but the sounds on those records were anything but conventional, exploring musique concrète and ambient textures largely alien to rock and pop. Beginning with their fourth album, 1974’s Autobahn, Kraftwerk moved in a largely electronic direction, employing synthesizers. That breakthrough work and the albums that would follow set the template for electronic music to come. Kraftwerk went on to become the most influential group in the so-called “krautrock” movement, inspiring countless artists who would follow in their wake. 1980s synthpop owes a massive debt to Kraftwerk, but so too do The Orb, Björk, Joy Division, David Bowie, U2 and scores of other innovative artists. While today only Ralf Hütter remains from the group’s original lineup, and while the group hasn’t released new music in more than two decades, the pioneering spirit of the band from Düsseldorf remains very much alive. Kraftwerk’s “Multimedia Tour 2025: 50 Years of Autobahn” comes to the Union Event Center on Wednesday, April 16 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $69.50 and available from ticketmaster.com. (Bill Kopp)
Kneecap
free will ASTROLOGY
BY ROB BREZSNY
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
Life is asking you to be a source of generosity and strength for the people and animals in your sphere. I hope you will exude maximum amounts of your natural charisma as you bestow maximum blessings. Soak up the admiration and affection you deserve, too, as you convey admiration and affection to others. Here’s a secret: The more you share your resources, help and intelligence, the more of that good stuff will flow back your way.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
Ceramicist Jun Hamada says that trying to force harmony into her art leads to sterile work. “The most beautiful pieces come from the moments I stop trying to make them beautiful,” she notes. “They emerge from embracing the clay’s natural tendencies, even when they seem to fight against my intentions.” I recommend her approach to you in the coming weeks. Your best results may emerge as you allow supposed flaws and glitches to play an unexpected part in the process. Alliances might benefit, even deepen, through honest friction rather than imposed peace. What will happen when you loosen your attachment to enforced harmony and let life’s natural tensions gyrate?
GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
Gemini-born Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) was a prolific architect who orchestrated many daring designs. Among his most audacious experiments was a project to build a house over a waterfall in Pennsylvania. “It can’t be done!” experts said. But he did it. Before he was ready to accomplish the impossible, though, he had to spend months studying the site’s natural patterns. I bring this to your attention, Gemini, because I believe you are ready to consider your own equivalent of constructing a house over a waterfall. Prepare well! Do your homework!
CANCER (June 21-July 22)
In the early phase of his illustrious career as a photographer, Edward Weston (1886–1958) cultivated a softfocus, romantic style. But he ultimately converted to stark, uncompromising realism. “The camera,” he said, “should be used for recording life, for rendering the very substance and quintessence of the thing itself.” If there is anything about you that prefers warm, fuzzy illusions over objective, detailed truth, I suggest you switch emphasis for a while. If you like, you can return to the soft-focus approach in June. But for now, a gritty, unsentimental attitude will be essential to your well-being.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)å
Here’s my mini-manifesto about change, just in time for a phase when change is most necessary and possible for you. 1. Real change is often a slow and subtle process. There may be rare dramatic shifts, but mostly the process is gradual and incremental. 2. Instead of pushing hard for a short time, you’re more likely to change things by persistently pushing with modest strength for a sustained time. 3. Rather than trying to confront and wrestle with a big problem exactly as it is, it’s often more effective to break the seemingly insurmountable challenge into small, manageable pieces that can be solved one at a time through simple efforts.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
Textile artist Mei Zhang wondered if the synthetic dyes she used on her fabrics were limited. Might there be a wider variety of colors she could use in her creations? She discovered that her grandmother, using age-old techniques, had produced hues that modern dyes couldn’t replicate. “The most sustainable path forward,” Zhang concluded, “often involves rediscovering what we’ve forgotten rather than inventing something entirely new.” I recommend that counsel to you, Virgo. The solution to a current challenge might come from looking back instead of pushing forward. Consider what old approaches or traditional wisdom you might call on to generate novelty. Weave together fresh applications with timeless principles.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
The moon rises about 50 minutes later every day, and always at a slightly different place on the horizon. The amount of light it shows us is also constantly in flux. And yet where and how it will appear tomorrow or ten years from today is completely predictable. Its ever-changing nature follows a rhythmic pattern. I believe the same is true about our emotions and feelings, which in astrology are ruled by the moon. They are forever shifting, and yet if we survey the big picture of how they arise, we will see their overall flow has distinct patterns. Now would be a good time for you to get to know your flow better. See if you can detect recurring motifs. Try to develop more objectivity about how your precious emotions and feelings really work. If you do this correctly, you will deepen and enhance the guiding power of your precious emotions and feelings.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
Research reveals that interludes of productive uncertainty may strengthen our brain’s neural pathways—even more so than if we consistently leap to immediate comprehension. The key modifier to this fortifying uncertainty is “productive.” We must be willing to dwell with poise in our puzzlement, even welcome and enjoy the fertile mystery it invokes in us. Neurobiologist Aiden Chen says, “Confusion, when properly supported, isn’t an obstacle to learning but a catalyst for understanding.” These ideas will be good medicine in the coming weeks, dear Scorpio.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
Persian American author Haleh Liza Gafori translates the poetry of 13th-century Sufi mystic Rumi. One of their joint books is titled Gold She writes, “Rumi’s gold is not the precious metal, but a feeling-state arrived at through the alchemical process of burning through layers of self, greed, pettiness, calculation, doctrine—all of it. The prayer of Sufism is ‘teach me to love more deeply.’ Gold is the deepest love.” That’s the gold I hope you aspire to embody in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. You are in a resplendently golden phase when you have more power than usual to create, find, and commune with Rumi’s type of gold.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
The coming weeks will be a time to reframe the meaning of “emptiness” in your life. To launch your quest, I remind you that quiet interludes and gaps in your schedule can be rejuvenating. Sitting still and doing nothing in particular may be a good way to recharge your spiritual batteries. Relieving yourself of the pressure to be endlessly active could be just what you need to open up space for fresh possibilities.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
There was a time, years ago, when I consulted a divinatory oracle every day. Sometimes it was the Tarot or the I Ching. I threw Norse runes, did automatic writing, used a pendulum, or tried bibliomancy. Astrology was always in the mix, too, of course. Looking back on those days, I am amused at my obsession with scrying the future and uncovering subconscious currents. But employing these aids had a wonderful result: It helped me develop and fine-tune my intuition and psychic powers—which, after all, are the ultimate divination strategy. I bring this to your attention, Aquarius, because I believe you now have an enhanced power to cultivate and strengthen your intuition and psychic powers.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
The fovea is the part of the eye that enables sharp vision. Humans have just one kind of fovea, which gives them the ability to see clearly straight ahead. Eagles have both a central and peripheral fovea. The latter gives them an amazing visual acuity for things at a distance. This extra asset also attunes them to accurately detect very slow movements. I suspect you will have a metaphorical semblance of the eagle’s perceptual capacity in the coming weeks, Pisces. You will be able to see things you wouldn’t normally see and things that other people can’t see. Take full advantage of this superpower! Find what you didn’t even know you were looking for.
Senior Analytics Engineer (South Jordan, UT.; Health Catalyst, Inc.): Leverage s/w to guide & perform varied analyses to support client outcomes improvement initiatives across clinical, ops, & financial domains. Telecommute permit. Min reqs: Bach or equiv in IT, math, statistics, or rel quant field + 5 yrs exp in tech or tech-related field + add’l skills. Alt reqs: Mast or equiv in same + 1 yr exp in tech or tech-related field + add’l skills. Send resume to Cali Parker at cali.parker@healthcatalyst. com. Ref: 00065628. An EOE.
SelectHealth, Inc. seeks a Business Systems AnalystSenior-Tactical Initiatives in Murray, UT. Position may telecommute from any state in the US except CA, HI, IL, PA, RI, and WA. Apply at https:// imh.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/ IntermountainCareers or email resume to mary.hansen@ imail.org . Salary: $108,618 to $114,048/yr.
urban LIVING
Fire Smarts
It’s officially spring in the Rocky Mountains, which means many of us find our garden tools in the shed and start poking around the yard doing cleanup and planting on days when it’s sunny and dry—in between the freaky wet snow storms that Mother Nature throws at us.
Although fire season in Utah is July through October, this is a great time to look around your property and see if you need to clear or trim bushes that might be fire hazards.
As we have heard in the past year, insurance companies are canceling homeowners’ policies left and right, citing high-risk locations for wildfires or if there are property conditions that increase the risk of fire damage, such as thick underbrush, vegetation or if the property is poorly maintained. Some policies have been canceled due to insurers determining that the roof on a home is outdated or not fire resistant by doing a simple drive-by or even flying drones in a neighborhood to review the homes of their clients.
You can call your local fire department to do a home assessment on your property at no charge. They’d love to tell you what to cut down and get rid of—especially if your property is overgrown or backs onto Forest Service land along the higher bench areas. The recommendation is to clear combustible materials and dry or dead foliage at least five feet away from your property and to ask your neighbors to do the same.
Salt Lake City has a terrific resource booklet online called “Ready, Set, Go!” to create your personal fire protection plan. As we saw recently from the California fires, a home within one mile of a natural area is considered to be in the “Ember Zone,” where winddriven embers can attack your home. The booklet also contains information on what is combustible and how to protect things like attic vents and windows. And it gives a checklist on how to evacuate and create “Go Bags.”
There’s a great checklist in case fire is near, such as shutting windows and doors, removing flammable window shades and curtains, moving flammable furniture to the center of the room away from windows, shutting off your gas meter, pilot lights and air conditioning, and leaving on lights so firefighters can see inside your home in smoky conditions. There are also several stickers you can get on the web to place on a window or near a door telling rescuers how many animals you have in case they are trapped inside and you’re not home.
The Avenues Community Council recently sent neighbors info about fire protection, noting that more than 1,500 Avenues residents are highly vulnerable due to their proximity to the wildland urban interface. It’s a great time of the year to talk to your neighbors about fire hazards and evacuation plans. Pray we don’t ever get a Palisades or Altadena-like disaster in our state! n
CROSSWORD PUZZLE
Across
1. Thai coins
6. Not so many
9. Gen Z term of endearment
12. Dark area in an eclipse
13. Neighbor of Hispaniola
14. Be furious
15. Adjective for college sophomores
17. Subject of adoration
18. In an apt way
19. ___ 3000 (“New Blue Sun” artist)
20. Red tag events
21. Moved back and forth
22. ___ points (really low Eurovision score)
25. Word used a lot by Grover when pestering the “blue guy”
26. It might be blue or gray
27. Onetime ruler of Iran
29. Barbecue servings
32. IRS investigation
34. Aussie students’ school
35. “The Only Way is ___” (long-running UK reality show)
37. Put one name after another, maybe?
40. Send a message
41. Kindle material
42. ___ Bo (Billy Blanks workout)
44. JFK serves it
45. Parts of some emoticons
47. Wild
49. “Fresh Off the Boat: A Memoir” author
Eddie
50. Selectively un-hears
53. End in ___
54. Just me, really?
56. Fish parts
57. Muscat’s country
58. Up and about
59. Added charge
60. German article
61. Sound, for one
Down
1. Vehicle with a route
2. Iowa State locale
3. Morehouse or Howard, for short
4. Three, to Marie
5. December mall employees
6. Energizes
7. Web bidding site
8. “Avengers: Infinity ___”
9. Portrayer of Jed Clampett
10. Love, to Lorenzo
11. Went looking for lampreys
13. William Gibson genre
14. Runner-up, usually
16. Some surrealist paintings
19. Mindful
21. “And ___ Was” (Talking Heads hit)
22. Code-breaking org.
23. “Nope”
24. Museum-GoRound proprietor on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”
26. Used, like a notepad
28. Pelvis parts
30. Actress de Armas
31. Hot
33. Beachwear item
36. “Making Plans For Nigel” band
38. “Rosy-fingered” goddess
39. Lop-___ rabbit
43. Chill classes
45. Grain husks
46. “Severance” persona, partially
___ Bator
Last week’s answers
Complete the grid so that each row, column, diagonal and 3x3 square contain all of the numbers
47. Terrible, acronymically
48. “My Fair Lady” composer 50. Overwhelming volume
NEWS of the WEIRD
BY THE EDITORS AT ANDREWS MCMEEL
Americans Abroad
Ukrainian American national Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, was arrested March 30 after he visited a remote island in the Indian Ocean, the New York Post reported. North Sentinel Island is home to a hostile, isolated tribe called the Sentinelese, and traveling there is banned. Polyakov was seen taking off in a small boat around midnight March 29, with only a coconut and a Coke, which he intended to present as “offerings for the Sentinelese.” HS Dhaliwal, director general of police on the Andaman Islands, said officials were trying to find out more about Polyakov. He did make it to the island but appeared to be ignored by the natives. He left his offerings on the beach and collected sand, then returned to South Andaman. Police say in January, Polyakov filmed another remote tribe, the Jarawa, while visiting the Baratang Islands. An American missionary, John Allen Chau, was killed by the Sentinelese in 2018.
Surprise!
When a babysitter in Great Bend, Kansas, helpfully looked under the bed to check for “monsters” on March 24, she actually found one, NBC News reported. The Barton County Sheriff’s Office was called to the home, where the babysitter had come face-to-face with a man hiding under the child’s bed, around 10:30 p.m. After a short altercation with the babysitter, the man fled the home. The suspect, who was captured the next morning, was Martin Villalobos Jr., 27, who once lived in the house. Villalobos was under a protection order and had been warned to stay away from the home. He was arrested on charges of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated burglary, aggravated battery, child endangerment and other offenses and held on $500,000 bond.
Awwwww!
Pat DeReamer of Louisville, Kentucky, and Mary Wheaton go waaaaay back—all the way to 1944 in Indianapolis, when Wheaton gave DeReamer a birthday card for her 14th birthday on April 1. When Wheaton’s birthday came around a month later, DeReamer added her own message to the same card and gave it back to Wheaton. For the last 81 years, they’ve been sending the card back and forth, WLKY-TV reported. “We never said, ‘We’re going to do this,’” DeReamer said. “It just happened.” Now in their 90s, the old friends don’t get together as much, but they remain “really good friends.”
Animal Antics
Mail carrier Wayne White was on his route in Hyannis, Massachusetts, on March 28 when he ran into a flock of troublemakers, WHDH-TV reported. As he got in and out of his truck and delivered mail, three wild turkeys followed and harassed him while he tried to fend them off with a box. “Every time I moved the truck, the turkeys followed,” White said. One encounter with the birds was caught on a home’s surveillance video and showed White trying to do his job as they gobbled at him. “I do a lot of stuff on Nantucket, so I see deer all the time, but this is my first time with turkey,” he said.
A Cautionary Tale
Minot, North Dakota, mayor Tom Ross resigned on April 1, which some might find a fitting date for his ignominious downfall. KMOT-TV reported that Ross was the subject of a complaint made in late January by the city attorney, Stefanie Stalheim, who said she had received a sexually explicit text from Ross. Ross admitted he had made a video of himself masturbating during his lunch break, intending to send it to his romantic partner. “I do take responsibility for this mistake,” Ross said. “I tried to immediately correct it and was unable.”
Least Competent Criminal
Crush Comics in California’s Castro Valley was burglarized on March 22, CBS News reported. The thief took a display of the store’s most valuable comic books, said owner Josh Hunter. He figured they were gone for good, but then, just 12 hours later, one of his employees stumbled upon an eBay listing for a very specific comic book from the store. “I’m just going to buy that and see what happens,” Hunter said. When he got the seller’s name and address, he searched on Instagram and saw the burglar’s offer to buy, sell or trade Lego sets. Next, Hunter called another comic shop and a toy store that had also been broken into and shared his findings. When the sleuths turned their results over to police, Alameda County Sheriff’s officers served a search warrant at the home of Noorullah Amiri, 29, of Livermore, where they found tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of comic books, collectibles and Lego sets. Amiri was taken into custody on March 27.
Recent Alarming Headline
Felipe Hoyos-Foronda, 38, of Queens, New York, was taken into custody at John F. Kennedy International Airport on March 28 after a medical procedure at his home went south, CBS News reported. According to police, a 31-year-old woman went to Hoyos-Foronda’s home seeking to have her butt implants removed. When the woman suffered complications, Hoyos-Foronda called EMS and then took off, intending to flee to Colombia. First responders found the woman unresponsive. The criminal complaint said Hoyos-Foronda admitted to performing the procedure without a license and administering lidocaine, “causing her to go into cardiac arrest.” Officials say the victim is still hospitalized with no brain activity, and she shows signs of lidocaine toxicity.
The Passing Parade
■ Delhi, India’s “Potty Badmash,” a 27-year-old pickpocket named Deepak, was finally arrested on March 24, The Times of India reported. Deepak is famous for committing thefts and knife-related crimes, then soiling his pants, creating a stench so terrible that it kept officers away from him. This time, however, they armed themselves with gloves and masks. “Team gave him chase and pinned him down,” said an officer. “As expected, Deepak deployed his famous ‘filth plan’ but the officers ... thwarted his last-ditch effort and took him in custody.” When they searched him, they found a knife, which Deepak described as his “lucky charm.” During questioning he admitted to multiple mobile phone thefts and other crimes.
■ A 56-year-old Warsaw, Poland, cleaner is facing up to 20 years behind bars after she was caught putting cleaning fluid in a co-worker’s drinks, Oddity Central reported on March 28. The 51-year-old victim visited the doctor with stomach pains and was told her internal injuries were consistent with poisoning. She couldn’t think of anything that might be causing her discomfort, but then remembered that her morning cup of tea had tasted odd in recent weeks. She installed a hidden camera and saw that her co-worker was spraying corrosive substances in her tea and on her soda bottle. The perpetrator had been talking with another woman while poisoning the drinks; both of them said they just didn’t like the victim. The accomplice could get three years in prison.
Notice and Public
in a
To: All interested Agencies, Groups, and Individuals
This is to give notice that HUD under 24 CFR Part 50 has determined that the following proposed action for Federal Housing Authority (FHA) mortgage insurance financing under an FHA 221(d)(4) new construction loan (FHA 105-35336) is located in the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS) floodplain, and HUD will be identifying and evaluating practicable alternatives to locating the action within the floodplain and the potential impacts on the floodplain the proposed action, as required by Executive Order 11988, as amended by Executive Order 13690, in accordance with HUD regulations at 24 CFR 55.20 in Subpart C Procedures for Making Determinations on Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands. The proposed project location is 470 W 600 S in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah.
The approximate 3.75-acre subject property consists of vacant unimproved land with railroad tracks and two (2) warehouse/commercial buildings (Miller Building and Casket Building). Development plans for the HUD Collateral (Silos Apartments), which is located within the 1.5-acre northwest portion of the subject property, include one (1) eight-story building (Floors 1 through 3 parking and floors 4 through 8 residential) housing a total of 275 apartment units.
Based on a review of FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) Community Panel Number 49035C0144H, dated August 2, 2012, the subject property is primarily located in Zone X (unshaded), areas of minimal flood hazard outside of the 100- and 500-year floodplains. Additionally, the southern portion of the subject property is located within Zone X (shaded). Zone X (shaded) includes areas within the 500-year floodplain with either a 0.2% Annual Chance Flood Hazard or a 1% annual chance flood with average depths of less than one foot or drainage areas of less than one square mile. No preliminary or pending FIRM panels were identified for the project area. Additionally, the subject property is located in the City of Salt Lake City, Community #490105D, which is a participating community in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Climate-informed science approach (CISA) data is not available for the subject property area. In addition, the 0.2% annual chance floodplain (the 500-year floodplain) is not included within the Flood Insurance Study 49035CV0001D revised November 19, 2021; therefore, the closest Base Flood Elevation associated with the 1-percent chance annual flood event from the property is a Zone AH Special Flood Hazard Area, with an elevation of 4230 feet. The Freeboard Value approach was used to identify the FFRMS elevation of 4232 feet. A total of 0.006 acres of FFRMS floodplain occur within the property boundary, all of which would be impacted to construct tenant parking for the multifamily community.
An additional 0.110 acres of offsite FFRMS floodplain would be impacted to grade the site, install utilities, and plant urban vegetation.
The subject property is currently located in a highly urbanized area and is already partially improved with two (2) buildings and paved parking areas; as such, the FFRMS floodplain functions minimally to store floodwater and control erosion at the subject property. There is no critical habitat in the project area for any listed species. No unique recreational, educational, scientific, historic, or cultural resource values are known to occur on the property.
There are three primary purposes for this notice. First, people who may be affected by activities in floodplain and those who have an interest in the protection of the natural environment should be given an opportunity to express their concerns and provide information about these areas. Commenters are encouraged to offer alternative sites outside of the floodplain, alternative methods to serve the same project purpose, and methods to minimize and mitigate project impacts on the floodplain. Second, an adequate public notice program can be an important public educational tool. The dissemination of information and request for public comment about floodplains can facilitate and enhance Federal efforts to reduce the risks and impacts associated with the occupancy and modification of these special areas. Third, as a matter of fairness, when the Federal government determines it will participate in actions taking place in floodplain, it must inform those who may be put at greater or continued risk.
Written comments must be received by HUD at the following address no later than 15 days from the date of this notice: Comments should be addressed to Chris Bellegante, Technical Branch Chief, U.S. Department of HUD, 1670 Broadway, Denver, CO 80202. A full description of the project may also be reviewed from 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the address listed above. Comments may also be submitted via email at Christopher.L.Bellegante@HUD.gov.
Date: April 10, 2025
Flood Elevation associated with the 1-percent chance annual flood event from the property is a Zone AH Special Flood Hazard Area, with an elevation of 4230 feet. The Freeboard Value approach was used to identify the FFRMS elevation of 4232 feet. A total of 0.006 acres of FFRMS floodplain occur within the property boundary, all of which would be impacted to construct tenant parking for the multifamily community. An additional 0.110 acres of offsite FFRMS floodplain would be impacted to grade the site, install utilities, and plant urban vegetation. The subject property is currently located in a highly urbanized area and is already partially improved with two (2) buildings and paved parking areas; as such, the FFRMS floodplain functions minimally to store floodwater and control erosion at the subject property. There is no critical habitat in the project area for any listed species. No unique recreational, educational, scientific, historic, or cultural resource values are known to occur on the property. There are three primary purposes for this notice. First, people who may be affected by activities in floodplain and those who have an interest in the protection of the natural environment should be given an opportunity to express their concerns and provide information about these areas. Commenters are encouraged to offer alternative sites outside of the floodplain, alternative methods to serve the same project purpose, and methods to minimize and mitigate project impacts on the floodplain. Second, an adequate public notice program can be an important public educational tool. The dissemination of information and request for public comment about floodplains can facilitate and enhance Federal efforts to reduce the risks and impacts associated with the occupancy and modification of these special areas. Third, as a matter of fairness, when the Federal government determines it will participate in actions taking place
those
put at
or continued risk.
