City Weekly January 21, 2021

CITYWEEKLY.NET JANUARY 21, 2021 | VOL. 37 N0. 34

What members of the media are watching out for in the 2021 session of the Utah Legislature.

All Eyes on the Lege Guys

By Benjamin Wood

CONTENTS COVER STORY

ALL EYES ON THE LEGE GUYS What members of the media are watching out for in the 2021 session of the Utah Legislature.

By Benjamin Wood

13

Cover art by Derek Carlisle

5 PRIVATE EYE 8 OPINION 10 A&E 17 DINE 22 MUSIC 28 CINEMA 29 COMMUNITY

2 | JANUARY 21, 2021

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OPINION

Check out weekly columns Smart Bomb and Taking a Gander at cityweekly.net. facebook.com/slcweekly

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STAFF Publisher PETE SALTAS Executive Editor JOHN SALTAS News Editor JERRE WROBLE Arts & Entertainment Editor SCOTT RENSHAW Music Editor ERIN MOORE Listings Desk KARA RHODES

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SOAP BOX “Lies ... and Big Lies,” Jan. 14 cover story

@SLCWEEKLY

@CITYWEEKLY

Utah, I will boycott them for not doing so. There must be consequences.

All good conservatives are going home and calling for peace, so we can find out who actually does want an insurrection. All good liberals are also playing nice and telling everyone to stay home, so they do not get caught up in the sweep. If anyone has a problem with this, talk to the U.S. military.

MIKE SCHMAUCH

Via Facebook

Clearly, Project Censored (Dec. 31) is just one more uber-leftist outfit complaining that an already hopelessly leftist press is not yet leftist enough. This reminds us of Noam Chomsky’s long-standing demonizing of the press (and of America) and of Amy Goodman’s (of Democracy Now) deploring a lack of immediate mainstream coverage of the Standing Rock protests (the arsonist is always first on the scene). Let’s take just one

JUSTIN WHITNEY

Thank you for fact-based reporting. Feel really sorry about those lost in the world of conspiracy that led to the death of Americans.

DEBBIE EGBERT Via Facebook

“Election Consequences,” Jan. 14 Private Eye column

If big tech do not take a pass on

Via Facebook

Those data centers take lots of water that we don’t have. Nothing to see here, carry on elsewhere .

DAN FZ

Via Facebook

Censoring Skeptics

@SLCWEEKLY example from Rosenberg: “As to the second major conflict, ‘Members of the U.S. Senate are heavily invested in the fossil fuel companies that drive the current climate crisis, creating a conflict between those senators’ financial interests as investors and their responsibilities as elected representatives,’ Project Censored wrote.”

Significance of this charge depends on quite a few assumptions, chief of which are that fossil fuels are dangerous and oil companies are evil. Consumers, the hapless idiots who drive cars and heat their homes, are no more guilty than drug addicts who couldn’t use if not for their capitalist suppliers.

And these complaints depend in turn on the assumption that climate change is a serious problem caused by investors in the evil industry when the real tragedy is that skeptics of CO2

warming are given no voice whatever in scientific publications, let alone in the press. William Happer, who holds a chair in physics at Princeton, could not get a skeptical paper published recently in any legacy science publication, and hardly a paper in the country reported that fact.

Few paragraphs of Rosenberg’s report are undeserving of ridicule; Project Censored is one more propaganda machine looking for useful idiots. Welcome to City Weekly.

ARTHUR GLENN FOSTER JR. Taylorsville

If You Love Your Neighbor

Trump says take the vaccine.

Biden says take the vaccine. Scientists say take the vaccine. God says take the vaccine. The devil says take the vaccine. Yet many of those who work with sick people

won’t take the vaccine because their friend Dumbo the flying elephant says don’t take the vaccine.

This is a massive failure of the churches whose job it is to teach people how to love their neighbors. This is a massive failure of schools and universities to teach us how vaccines have saved the planet many times in the past.

This is a massive failure of government to inspire trust in our institutions. This is a massive failure of the American people who have the greatest technology in the universe at their fingertips and won’t use it.

Don’t tell me you are pro-life or pro-abortion and won’t take the vaccine. Don’t tell me you are pro-America, pro-union, probusiness, pro-women, pro-environment. Or that you’re anti-tax or anti-bullying and won’t take the vaccine. You are a part of the problem, not the solution.

KIMBALL SHINKOSKEY Woods Cross

THE BOX

What’s your favorite TV show?

Benjamin Wood

There’s too many to pick a favorite—Seinfeld, The Americans, Community, The Wire, Hannibal, Deadwood, etc.— but most recently, I devoured all four seasons of The Crown and am champing at the bit for more.

Katharine Biele

Right now, it’s The Rookie, but I fear it could be canceled because it’s up against some reality garbage. Nathan Fillion is great to watch as an older, ethical rookie in a diverse department facing issues police and the public face today.

Kelly Boyce

Current: Rick and Morty. Past: Community

Paula Saltas

Curb Your Enthusiasm, hands down. That it’s non-scripted makes it even more clever. Plus, great guest appearances.

Doug Kruithof

Rocky & Bullwinkle: that Natasha ... she’s fatal!

Scott Renshaw

Right now, it’s Chopped. It has everything: interpersonal drama, ticking-clock tension, food porn and chefs who, after more than a decade of this show being on the air, haven’t figured out that you *never* try to make risotto.

Carolyn Campbell

Breaking Bad is my favorite TV show of all time. Right now, I am watching a lot of Investigation Discovery.

Jerre Wroble The Expanse: gorgeous sci-fi with a Mormon spaceship.

Kara Rhodes That ’70s Show

B Y J O H N S A LTA S

PRIVATE EY

Devils Tower W

hunting companion, removing the burnish from the myth of Wyoming men being comprised of gold medal-caliber gun handlers. Cheney also bulldozed us into Iraq. His daughter Liz famously disavowed gay marriage in order to help cement her rise to the U.S. House of Representatives, a huge slap to her openly gay sister, Mary. The scent of power is strong in those Cheneys. Fast forward, though, and it was Dick Cheney who rallied the nine other living, former secretaries of defense in constructing a document supporting Joe Biden as fairly winning the U.S. presidency. Plus, it was Liz, Dick’s conservative Republican daughter, who championed the second impeachment of Donald Trump in the U.S. House this past week.

That has some Wyomingites pulling their whiskers. The GOP leadership of Carbon County, Wyoming—home to 15,885 residents in such map grabbers as Baggs, Medicine Bow and Muddy Gap—voted to censure Liz for speaking words like these taken from the Casper Star-Tribune, “… when it came down to it, the president of the United States incited a mob to attack and interrupt the democratic process. And then, while the violence played out, the president refused to take steps to stop it. In my mind, those are absolutely high crimes and misdemeanors. There is just simply no question. This was a vote that could not have anything to do with party or politics.”

They should have censured Liz for her stance on gay marriage, but this? This time she was telling the truth, not expressing a tactical feeling. It is what it is: Wyoming men and women celebrate individualism until it conflicts with theirs and were simply tolerant of Liz till she spoke up.

Wyoming is being a spoiled brat right now, still licking its wounded image because their vagabond medicine man, Donald Trump didn’t win. Wyoming officials have talked of succession before Trump’s defeat, so that’s not it entirely. What it is, actually, is that men in Wyoming today still think wearing a too-big hat, too-tall boots and too-tight

jeans makes a man a man. Nope. It just makes it awkward at the urinal and that’s about it.

I grew up a big fan of Wyoming, with one of my earliest memories being a wrangler chuck wagon breakfast in Evanston. I bought loads of firecrackers there and even more beer (if they do secede, will the beer I buy there be considered an import?). I had wild times during Cowboy Days in Evanston (is that still held?) and also made trips to Wyoming Downs. One of my favorite running backs of all time is Jim Kiick who wowed the nation in the late 1960s at the University of Wyoming. Who doesn’t love Yellowstone, the Tetons, Fontanelle and the Wind River Range?

For several years, we published Planet Jackson Hole, one of the smallest but most spunky alternative newspapers anywhere, thank you very much, Ms. Robyn Vincent! I love Jackson even though we failed at keeping the paper alive.

There are 582,328 people living in Wyoming—one third the population of Salt Lake County (and only 182,000 more than have died nationwide of the coronavirus they courageously deny—we’ve nearly lost a state to COVID-19). They have two Senators and one House rep in Cheney. Wyoming ranks No. 1 for state government dependency on the federal government. Cowpokes get paid with my tax dollars to ride their ponies. In the last election, 193,559 Wyoming residents voted for Trump.

I live in Salt Lake County where 289,906 people voted for Joe Biden. We coulda carried Wyoming! But, Salt Lake County is gerrymandered, cheating Democrats out of a House rep. We aren’t crying about leaving the United States. We bitch like crazy, but it’s what a democracy is (except for the aforementioned cheating). Wyoming has nothing to bitch about, A shame, then, that the modern Wyoming cowboy is more Sugarfoot than tenderfoot. Let ’em go. CW Send comments to john@cityweekly.net.

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yoming can toss rocks. Talk about a bunch of ingrates! What’s going on up there, anyway? I’ve read recently that some people in The Equality State are talking about Wyoming seceding from the United States. They want to be an independent sovereignty. In their imaginations, they see Wyoming joining with likeminded states (if there really are any) in forming a new alignment of states that lack common borders but which share the common gripe that the federal government is the devil in disguise. They ironically believe their only way to be free is not to reward strength in unity, but to admire strength of isolation. It’s the kind of thinking that got such temporary Wyoming outlaws as Butch Cassidy and Jesse James killed. Sure, they were on the same page philosophically, but they weren’t a team.

Such romanticized, century-old thinking percolates all through Wyoming and much of the Mountain West. I grew up enthralled by the actions and brave deeds of good guys versus bad guys in nearly every Saturday matinee movie that played in my youth. At that time, Westerns were huge at theaters, and TV of the time was full of memorable shows like Maverick, Have Gun Will Travel and Gunsmoke, but I also remember the programs Laramie and Cheyenne.

I mean, who doesn’t fondly remember Cheyenne Bodie?

Those two programs put the Wyoming brand in full view, so all Americans were introduced to the lark that Wyoming was full of good guys trying to keep the bad guys away. Let me be the first to say that it’s largely true about Wyoming, that its residents are mostly good people, but don’t forget that Wyoming is also home to the Cheney family.

I’ve no bone to pick with the Cheneys today. But as vice president, Dick Cheney did nearly take the head off a bird-

@johnsaltas

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HITS&MISSES

BY KATHARINE BIELE @kathybiele

MISS: Impeachment Dodge

Oh, the hand wringing as representatives try to remember what mother told them about consequences. Gee whiz, they’re just not sure that Donald Trump actually sat down in a room with the insurrectionists to plot the end of democracy. Maybe he was, as he always is, just blathering on in his unhinged and narcissistic “presidential” manner. It was harder yet to hear Rep. John Curtis twisting his rationale like a pretzel because “we don’t have any chance to think this through,” he told NPR. Same for Blake Moore, the new kid on the block. Have they not heard the president calling for insurrection over the past year?

Then, in his most patriarchal voice, the Deseret News’ Jay Evensen calls on Joe Biden to pardon Donald Trump.

No, Jay, we weren’t “angered” by the president; we were terrified of his call and continued influence to end this country. Now is not the time for unity; it’s the time for accountability.

MISS: A Parliament of Saints

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There were two stories that stuck out this week about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: One noted the declining church membership in the state—except in Utah County, the state’s Brighamville. But the LDS still sit at a hefty 60 percent of the state’s population. The second report noted that, unsurprisingly, the Legislature continues to be dominated and overrepresented by Mormons—and that’s an understatement. Former state Rep. Patrice Arent, D-Millcreek, was way too euphemistic. saying “People who are looking at running sometimes have this idea that they have to be part of the predominant culture or they’re not going to win.” Sometimes? There are 89 Mormons and 14 non-LDS members of the Legislature. Just try to get a job outside of the “network.”

Numbers count.

6 | JANUARY 21, 2021

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HIT: Homeless Solutions

is investigational.

Taylor Stevens of The Salt Lake Tribune did something legislators are loath to do—she actually went to a homeless encampment and interviewed “100 unsheltered residents.” Camp Last Hope, growing along the railway lines, is a loosely organized attempt at gathering those who might otherwise stake their tents in neighborhoods.

It’s far from perfect, and advocates still want them to seek help, something many are unwilling or unable to do. And plans to replace what the Road Home offered have been lacking.

The idea here is promising—to create a “tiny home village.” That, however, would require funds, land and a more visionary commitment from government and landowners. And it needs to happen before the health department “cleans up” the area and pushes out the campers.

CITIZEN REV LT IN A WEEK, YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD

Roe and Race

As we approach the 48th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision called Roe v. Wade, there is more than choice to unpack. Reframing Roe Through a Race Equity Lens “will dive into the intersection of abortion and racial justice to highlight the disparities that exist today and the historical context that got us here,” organizers say. A panel of experts—a medical provider, law practitioner, health policy researcher and community organizer and advocate—will offer a perspective on the complex decisions patients make and the influence of systemic racism in clinical care and policy. Virtual, Thursday, Jan. 21, 7 p.m., free. Register: http://bit.ly/3oYqkuV

Women Should Run

While almost half of Utah’s population is female, a mere 16 percent of Utah state legislators is. Of course, some of the disparity comes from the male-centric culture in the state, but a lot comes from a lack of support and encouragement. Interested in Politics? Real Women Run Winter Webinar Series presents Logan Mayor Holly Daines, who will give an overview of elections coming up in 2021, things to consider before filing for office, and why women should run in 2021. Virtual, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 12 p.m., free. Register: http:// bit.ly/3nPl2QF

MLK’s Good Trouble

MLK Week is devoted to the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., featuring events about contemporary civil rights issues and race in America. The University of Utah is hosting “Good Trouble,” which features a book review of Jon Meacham’s His Truth Is Marching On, a keynote address by documentary filmmaker Dawn Porter, and wrapping up with Saturday service projects in MLK’s memory.

Book review: Virtual, Thursday, Jan. 21, 8 a.m., free. http://bit.ly/38H3UIK Keynote: Friday, Jan. 22, 12 p.m., free. http://bit.ly/3bI03Ns Service: Both in-person and virtual, Saturday, Jan. 23, 9 a.m., free. http://bit.ly/39Dfggh

Housing in Utah

If you’ve read the book Evicted, you may understand some of the challenges of affordable housing and home ownership for many of the low- and middle-income people in the community. The COVID-19 pandemic has made the problem even more dire, as many face homelessness through no fault of their own. PBS Utah and the County library are hosting Housing in Utah: PBS Utah Book Film and Book Discussion and will screen A Home of Their Own—a 30-minute documentary following families in Utah working toward finding housing. Virtual, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 7 p.m., free. Register at: http://bit.ly/38IVfp6

—KATHARINE BIELE

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OPINION

B Y K AT H A R I N E B I E L E

Women’s Choice Under Seige

In its most recent attack on personal rights, the U.S. Supreme Court struck out at a small but significant ruling to nip away at abortion access. This on the 48th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision and Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s much-anticipated entrance as a defender of fetal rights.

While it was disappointing to pro-choice advocates, it was hardly unexpected. And certainly, there will be more to come. The strategy seems to be to take these decisions back to the states where a hodgepodge of laws will confuse, if not endanger, women seeking an abortion.

On the heels of the high court’s lukewarm decision, the Utah Legislature is beginning its annual 45-day session—virtually, of course, because they care so dearly for the lives of their constituents. If that sounds sarcastic, it’s because it is.

The League of Women Voters of Utah has just released an in-depth study of abortion laws in Utah. While I participated in the study, you will find none of the anger and frustration of this article therein because the League is a nonpartisan and unbiased arbiter of facts. I am not.

What you will see in the study is a picture of legislators with an almost spiritual dependence on personal testimony from the pro-life cabal while ignoring statements of women like Meredith Reed, a League member who testified about her heart-breaking decision to abort.

“Since the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v.

Wade, the Utah Legislature has considered 95 bills relating to abortion and has passed 43,” the study says. “In the 2020 legislative session alone, Utah lawmakers considered 11 bills to add restrictions to or prohibit abortion with certain exceptions.”

Many of those laws are contradictory and defy the

bounds of health care. While doctors testify about wild inaccuracies of understanding, legislators tune out the facts for emotion. They were deeply touched by the erroneous testimony of Rep. Steve Christiansen, R-West Jordan, who said there are “significant health risks to woman if she chooses abortion,” and who “characterized the fetus as a tiny little baby with arms and legs … and a tiny beating heart,” the study notes.

The goal of these anti-reproductive rights activists to vest personhood on zygotes, embryos and fetuses, somehow separating them from their “host” mother. Such laws would criminalize abortion and certain types of birth control that prevent sperm from fertilizing an egg. “Opponents of abortion rights have even used proposed measures to prevent doctors from treating complicated and potentially dangerous pregnancies,” the study says.

Leading the legislative charge against abortion are Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo; and Reps. Karianne Lisonbee, RClearfield; Cheryl K. Acton, R-West Jordan; and Christiansen. But behind them are conservative groups Utah Eagle Forum, Pro-life Utah and Abortion Free Utah, all armed with their talking points and testimonials. Planned Parenthood of Utah valiantly presents counterpoint and has been successful in multiple lawsuits—the ones that depend on facts.

Meanwhile in other states, women are being forced to comply with burdensome laws because lawmakers assume they are too frail, stupid or immoral to make decisions for themselves.

In the most recent ruling of FDA v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the court was mostly silent but ruled it is A-OK to force women to pick up abortion-inducing medication in-person from their providers rather than by retail or mail-order pharmacies. While the law has been around for 20 years, the pandemic has not, and apparently a fast-spreading virus is no excuse to protect pregnant women from exposure.

The League study mentions The Turnaway Study by Diana Greene Foster, Ph.D. If you think pro-life testimony is heart-breaking, you should read this book. For instance, there is the case of Ohio Rep. Jim Buchy who co-sponsored

a bill to ban abortion at the first detection of cardiac activity. At that time, many women are still unaware they are pregnant and have no symptoms.

In an interview, he was asked why a woman would seek an abortion. It was a question he had never considered because, as a man, he didn’t need to. Indeed, finances are a major reason and something that governments are not prepared to deal with. Health concerns, emotional maturity, partner-related issues are others.

One Utah law, Senate Bill 67, requires notifying the woman that she has a right to decide how to dispose of fetal remains and requires the provider to provide for that disposition. The law hinges on the antiquated female diagnosis of “hysteria,” perhaps the first mental disorder attributed to women. In other words, women don’t have the brains to make important decisions during emotionally difficult times.

This law was not in code when I had to “abort” a dead fetus at 32 weeks. And yet the providers offered options and support and understood that I could make that decision for myself. After multiple miscarriages and that fetal demise, I am confident that no one else can or should try to shield me from the pain.

Some state laws actually attempt to impose more pain on pregnant women by watching ultrasounds and listening for heartbeats. Others just build as many barriers as possible to what is a difficult journey.

As we approach the 2021 session of the Utah Legislature, citizens will witness the decennial exercise called redistricting, and because this state is so highly conservative, it is likely that we will see more abortion bills coming.

“The U.S. League of Women Voters notes that gerrymandered districts helped anti-abortion legislators to pass 479 state laws 26 between 2011 and 2019.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, states have passed more than 1,000 abortion restrictions,” the League study says. “A woman’s right to health care and privacy continues to be at risk in Utah and the nation.” CW Send comments to editor@cityweekly.net.

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cial remuneration and a formal apology.

While the broadcast premiere of Downwinders and the Radioactive West will be on KUED January 27, 7 p.m., viewers are invited to a virtual meet-and-greet with Howe ahead of that premiere. Join panelists Mary Dickson and Dr. Heidi Hanson on Thursday, Jan. 21 at 6 p.m. for a discussion about the fallout—literal, psychological and otherwise—of nuclear testing in Utah, sharing stories about those affected by it and of the government’s responsibilities to its citizens. Visit pbsutah. org/event for information about how to receive a Zoom link to this event. (Scott Renshaw)

Versatile performers are like the elephant in the proverb about the blind men: the way you perceive them depends a lot on where you know him from.

Dan Soder, for example, might be most familiar to American audiences for his role as the sometimes-hapless securities trader Mafee on the Showtime series Billions, which might lead you to think of him primarily as a dramatic actor. On the other hand, those who listen to the long-running The Bonfire on Comedy Central’s Sirius FM station, co-hosted with Big Jay Oakerson, know a little more about his comedy bona fides.

In fact, his stand-up career traces back almost 20 years, to his time as an undergraduate at the University of Arizona. Since moving to New York to pursue his career, he’s landed multiple TV and radio gigs, including his 2019 solo hour-long HBO spe-

fiction, Pushcart Prize nominations in prose and poetry, and residencies at Hedgebrook, PLAYA, and The Island Institute.

Join Lawton for a virtual author event offered via Swaner Nature Preserve, in conjunction with the Utah Humanities Council, on Thursday, Jan. 21, 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are available on a pay-what-you-can basis, with donation encouraged up to $10.

Registration is required to receive the event link; visit swanerecocenter.org/calendar for additional information. (SR)

James and John Rees: Born Out of This

cial, Son of a Gary. It’s there where you can see his embrace of his Everyguy persona, including the reality that he is “20 percent white trash.”

As he puts it, “Twenty percent white trash isn’t enough to hurt you. It just means I like multiple flavors of Mountain Dew, and I have bet and lost money on the X Games.”

Soder visits Wiseguys Comedy Club’s downtown SLC location (194 S. 400 West, wiseguyscomedy.com) for five shows, Thursday, Jan. 21 through Saturday, Jan. 23, $25 per ticket. As is now usual for Wiseguys shows, limited seating availability and other COVID-19 protocols are in effect; visit the website to purchase tickets or for other information. (SR)

A lot of weight is placed on biography when trying to understand an artist’s work. So what are we to make of two artists who grew up in the same house, but ended up approaching visual art in such very different ways?

Utah Valley University’s Woodbury Art Museum offers a virtual exhibition of work by Utah Valley brothers James and John Rees in Born Out of This, now through March 5.

John, a UVU faculty member in the Art & Design Department, offers new work that explores temporality by applying paint to surfaces, and then capturing a moment in the fluid interaction of paint and surface photographically. He describes the pieces as influenced by chaos theory, as well as by “chance music” from the likes of John Cage. James, for his part, contributes paintings with themes that include the struggle and growth involved in carrying burdens (“Binding Weight” is pictured), as well as emotions inspired by processing the death of James and John’s mother. “I see myself as on a journey where I am very vulnerable,” James says in an artist statement, “and constantly am seeking for means of renewal.”

In addition to the pieces by the Rees

WOODBURY ART MUSEUM

Dan Soder @ Wiseguys

Water is essential to life, and a precious, rare resource in the arid American West. It drives complex political decision-making, and is part of fears about the long-term impacts of climate change. Yet there’s also a spiritual component to our relationship with water that deepens our relationship with it beyond mere survival.

In her 2019 book The Oasis This Time: Living and Dying With Water in the West, writer, geologist and former Colorado River guide Rebecca Lawton explores water in our part of the world through multiple lenses.

The 15 essays that make up The Oasis This Time take readers on a journey from Sitka, Alaska to Twentynine Palms, California, to examine human attitudes towards water, the impact of its absence or over-abundance on a wide range of ecosystems, and many more topics calling us to find a sustainable relationship with water. The Oregon-based Lawton’s writing on water, climate, and wild and human nature has been honored with a Fulbright Visiting Research Chair, the Ellen Meloy Award for Desert Writers, the Waterston Desert Writing Prize, a WILLA for original softcover

TORREY HOUSE PRESS

PBS UTAH

In the 1950s, after several years of nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands, the United States government moved its above-ground testing program to the Nevada Test Site in the desert west of St. George. The small town was informed that the testing was taking place, and schoolchildren were even brought outside to watch the mushroom clouds appear in the distance. But beginning with apparent impacts on the local livestock, it soon became clear that the testing was not completely safe, despite denials by the Atomic Energy Commission that there was any cause for concern.

In his new documentary film Downwinders and the Radioactive West, director James Howe explores the consequences that followed for those living downwind of the Nevada Test Site, including increased rates of cancer. The film tracks the story of the fight for justice, through the 1979 landmark court case that acknowledged the downwinders’ claims, and the 1990 Radiation Exposure Compensation Act providing finan-

Complete listings online at cityweekly.net

Rebecca Lawton: The Oasis This Time

PBS Utah: Downwinders and the Radioactive West

SCOTT MCDERMOTT SLASH HBO

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ESSENTIALS

the

ENTERTAINMENT PICKS, JANUARY 21-27, 2021

brothers, the exhibition also provides a look at works created by their former students: Camilla Taylor and Danielle Hatch, who were high school students of James; Weston Colton, who studied under John at then-UVCC; and Chris Lindsay, who was a student of both.

Visit uvu.edu/museum to visit the online exhibition, and experience an ongoing artistic legacy of creation and education. (SR)

BY SCOTT RENSHAW scottr@cityweekly.net @scottrenshaw

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a) “Conspicuous Fraud Series #1 (Eminence)” by Kehinde Wiley; b) “Echoes of Harlem” by Faith Ringgold noticed a man she eventually learned was named Kevin outside her studio window.

She went to speak with him, and asked if she could paint his portrait, subsequently building a friendship with him.

“That whole body of work she did during her residency was inspired by people she was coming across while on her way from her apartment to the studio,” Choi says. “That’s a theme you see: this idea of community. … We’re not only supporting emerging, living artists, but embedding them within an institution, and by extension, within a community.” CW

BLACK REFRACTIONS: HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE STUDIO MUSEUM IN HARLEM

Utah Museum of Fine Arts 410 Campus Center Dr. Jan. 23 – April 10 Reservations required at umfa.utah.edu

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member for the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, the process for bringing this exhibit to Utah began several years ago, as The Studio Museum was initially developing the idea for the tour. Yet as George notes, “Two or three years ago, what was on our minds was perhaps not as salient, looking at questions of race and inclusion in America. There is perhaps a particular urgency in being exposed to the experience of others. To understand what is happening, and to reach for something new, is what the humanities and arts do.”

Black Refractions might offer an illuminating perspective on how artists of African descent across time have processed the Black experience, but for Choi, it’s also significant that the exhibition conveys the history and role of The Studio Museum in Harlem itself—something that they might be thinking about even more at the moment with that physical location closed.

She relates an anecdote about how one artist-in-residence, painter Jordan Casteel,

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t the moment, The Studio Museum in Harlem remains closed to the public as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But the institution’s history and cultural significance is available to visitors in Utah thanks to a traveling exhibition.

Black Refractions: Highlights from the Studio Museum in Harlem opens this week at the University of Utah’s Utah Museum of Fine Arts to showcase work from The Studio Museum’s permanent collection.

Founded in 1968, The Studio Museum has become a repository of great works by artists of African descent, as well as a location for artist-in-residence fellowships and nurturing up-and-coming artists.

For Connie Choi of The Studio Museum, who served as curator for the touring exhibition, a variety of factors went into selecting the works that would be included. While the museum’s collection includes works that date back to the early 1800s, the decision was made to begin with works from the 1920s. “It was important to really think about the Harlem Renaissance, celebrating it as a site of longstanding Black artistic output, and ground the exhibit in that time,” Choi says. “The other reason is, it’s a nice

THE STUDIO MUSEUM IN HARLEM

Black Refractions explores the collection, and the legacy, of The Studio Museum in Harlem

way to kind of bracket the exhibition, with almost 100 years of output represented.”

Choi adds that Black Refractions is also designed not to suggest that there is one monolithic way to distill art by artists of African descent. The exhibition includes figurative works that are clearly identifiable as addressing African-American experience—including a piece by Kehinde Wiley, best known for being commissioned for the official presidential portrait of Barack Obama—but also abstract work, video and interactive work. “One of the things we were deliberate to emphasize through the planning of the exhibition was, the show is not some grand overarching narrative of quote-unquote Black art, because there is no one narrative,” she says.

Black Refractions is divided into several thematic sections, including works by The Studio Museum in Harlem’s institutional founders, including artist Tom Lloyd; “Framing Blackness,” which explores the shifting notion of Blackness over time; and “Their Own Harlems,” inspired by a quote from artist Jacob Lawrence about Harlem not just as a geographical place, but as an idea of community. Yet while the pieces of the exhibition are consistent from one tour stop to the next, Choi notes that one of the challenges for a curator of a touring exhibition is understanding that the physical places in which the show will take up temporary residence are all unique. “We provided venues with two tracks of organizing the show that they could use if they wanted,” Choi says. “It’s a way to provide structure rather than say, ‘Here you go, you’re on your own.’”

And beyond the physical limitations of any given exhibition space, there’s the recognition of different audiences in each city.

“That’s why each of the venues could organize in a way that made the most sense, to create an exhibition that would speak to audiences at UMFA, which would be very different from, say, San Francisco,” Choi says.

According to Erika George, a board

THE STUDIO MUSEUM IN HARLEM

Community Art

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By Benjamin Wood

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their House caucus by one seat, it’s unlikely to impact the machinations of their Republican counterparts, who maintain a supermajority in both legislative chambers and control of the executive branch.

Perennial topics of debate will inevitably return—such as which taxes to cut, which taxes to raise and how to pay for the state’s lowest-funded-in-the-nation public education system. And after a tumultuous year of protests, lockdowns, disease, widespread unemployment and the most divisive presidential election of modern times, lawmakers will be called on to confront an array of challenges faced by their constituents throughout the state.

And standing on the periphery of the action will be Utah’s underpaid and overworked press corps, attempting to make some sense of the madness. Here, in their own words, are the questions and issues on their minds as they make their way up Capitol Hill—or more likely, as they boot up their laptops for long days of virtual politics.

—Benjamin Wood

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ssuming that insurrectionists have not overthrown the government—at press time, American democracy was ostensibly intact—Utah lawmakers will have come together this week to launch the 2021 legislative session, a 45-day marathon of parley, pontificating and posturing on laws that will impact every man, woman and child in The Beehive State.

Much has changed since the Legislature convened in 2020.

For starters, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and potential for violent demonstrations have motivated state leaders to indefinitely seal the Capitol. Members of the public who wish to follow the proceedings must do so remotely, and online. Here’s hoping the frequently temperamental live streams will be able to handle the weight.

The august chambers of the House and Senate are welcoming roughly a dozen fresh faces after 2020’s election. And whatever legislation is passed will ultimately find itself on the desk and under the pen of a new governor, Spencer Cox. But much remains the same. While Democrats expanded

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What members of the media are watching out for in this session of the Utah Legislature.

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All Eyes on the Lege Guys

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NIKI CHAN

Glen Mills

Glen Mills: Following the news of the day ABC4 News is dedicated to keeping our viewers informed on what is happening daily at the state Capitol during the 2021 legislative session.

We will be keeping a close eye on how state lawmakers respond to the coronavirus pandemic, how they will fund education, health care, victim services and more.

This will also be a big year for redistricting that will extend beyond the general session. You can catch the latest every weeknight at 4, 5, 6 and 10 p.m.

Glen Mills is an anchor for ABC4. Find coverage on social media @abc4utah

Bob Bernick

Katie McKellar: Cops, guns and money Among the top issues I’ll be paying attention to this year is police reform. There are already plenty of bills out there, like one sponsored by Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, that requires law enforcement agencies to keep track of their use of force in a federal database. Rep. Mark Wheatley, DSalt Lake City, is behind a bill to allow cities to create police oversight boards in certain circumstances. And Rep. Andrew Stoddard, D-Sandy, has sponsored bill to expand reasons why a police officer’s certification could be suspended or revoked. There’s also a bill by Sen. Daniel Thatcher, RWest Valley City, requiring training and annual certification for law enforcement K-9s and their handlers. And one by Sen. Jani Iwamoto, D-Salt Lake City, designed to make sure police officers can’t skirt an internal affairs investigation by bouncing to a different agency. The list goes on.

Also, guns. Guns will be a hot issue on Capitol Hill this year, starting with a bill from Rep. Walt Brooks, R-St. George, to do away with Utah’s requirement for a conceal carry permit for legal gun owners over the age of 21. Plus, Rep. Cory Maloy, R-Lehi, is returning with his preemption firearm bill, which would declare the state has the final say on gun regulation, trumping cities and counties (Looking at you, Salt Lake County).

And, of course, I’ll be watching all the other issues. Changes to the budget, what the Legislature decides to do with $80 million set aside for some sort of tax cut, whether they’ll make any ground on the hefty topic of property tax equalization, pandemic response and if lawmakers make any changes that limit executive emergency powers, and whatever else gets heat.

As always, it’s going to be a busy session. Are you as stressed out as I am yet?

Katie McKellar covers state government for the Deseret News. Follow her on Twitter @KatieMcKellar1

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Bryan Schott: Mirage money and voting maps Lawmakers like to joke the only thing they need to do every year is pass the budget, and they could go home after that.

There might be more truth to that this year. There’s a real fear that a COVID outbreak might prompt them to stop the session early. That’s the reason legislative leaders are putting so much money into the base budgets, which must pass in the first 10 days.

Lawmakers head into the session flush with cash, anticipating about $1 billion of new revenue. There’s a fear that some of that money is a mirage, a “sugar high” effect from the coronavirus stimulus money pouring into the state. If Congress passes President-elect Joe Biden’s stimulus package, which includes another round of direct payments, that will goose Utah’s economy even further. Once the vaccine begins to take effect, Utah’s economy is ready to roar.

This is a redistricting year. The seven members of the independent commission must be selected by Feb. 1. Gov. Spencer Cox gets to pick the chair of the commission. MaBryan Schott jority leaders in the House and Senate get to pick two members, while the minority leaders also get to pick two. The remaining pair will be selected jointly by the majority and minority leaders. Later in the session, pay attention to which members of the Legislature are picked to sit on their committee to draw maps. The independent body and the legislative committee will work in parallel, but lawmakers don’t have to follow their recommendations.

Bryan Schott is a political correspondent with The Salt Lake Tribune and host of the Tribune’s Utah Politics with Bryan Schott podcast and The Rundown newsletter. Follow him on social media @SchottHappens and on Reddit at u/schottslc.

Bob Bernick: Double standards on coronavirus protocols The GOP legislative majorities in the Utah House and Senate love to talk about “local control,” meaning let the governments closest to the people make the decisions. That is unless it happens to be governments in Democraticleaning Salt Lake City and County.

Watch for the GOP Capitol Hill bosses to deny $1,500 teacher bonuses to Salt Lake City School District teachers because the duly elected school board is sticking with the COVID-19 much-safer remote, virtual teaching. Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, and House Speaker Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, both say SLC teachers shouldn’t get the bonuses unless inclass teaching starts now. What is good for the goose is not always good for the gander.

Bob Bernick is a longtime journalist and editor covering politics in Utah.

Katie McKellar

Ben Winslow

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Rod Decker

Rod Decker: How will Gov. Spencer Cox stand up to the Republican Legislature?

Starting with Gov. Henry Blood in the Great Depression, Utah governors mostly got their way, but that began to change with Gov. Mike Leavitt (1993-2003). Legislators became more powerful because Republicans held permanent control, and lawmakers became careerists instead of amateurs. Almost every year now sees power shift from the governor to the Legislature.

Spencer Cox hopes to get his way by being nice. He says he will consult more with lawmakers and accede to their views early.

When Republicans cut Salt Lake City teachers out of a statewide bonus last month, Spencer Cox met privately with House Speaker Brad Wilson and worked out a deal so Salt Lake teachers shared the bonus after all.

Will Cox be able to talk similar sense to the Republicans on other issues during the session?

Rod Decker retired as a reporter from KUTV 2 in 2017. His latest book is Utah Politics: The Elephant in the Room.

Ben Winslow: Never-ending 2020 A lot of the 2021 legislative session I expect will react to the events of 2020. I’ll be watching bills dealing with COVID-19, the limits of executive branch power and the reach of health orders, policing and equity issues, etc.

There’s also the annual bills dealing with Utah’s medical marijuana program and alcohol policy that I’ll be keeping tabs on.

Ben Winslow covers Utah Government for Fox 13. Follow him on Twitter @benwinslow

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Katharine Biele

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People have showing up with their honkin’ big guns at the Utah Capitol, and it’s nothing if not impressive. It’s also intimidating as hell. Sen. Derek Kitchen, D-Salt Lake, wonders why, after the attempted insurrection in D.C., Utah would allow gun-toting constituents inside the building. “This isn’t about responsible gun ownership, this is about making sure our officials aren’t killed,” he said. Now, just try convincing the rural conservatives. Rep. Cory Maloy, RLehi, is not about to let Kitchen trample his God-given Second Amendment right. No sir. He’s pretty darned sure most gun owners are responsible. Never mind the few who want to maim and kill people they don’t like. Watch for a bill from Kitchen. And don’t get sidetracked with the targeted message that it’s not the right time because we all have to heal and unite.

Katharine Biele is a longtime City Weekly columnist/reporter. Follow on Twitter at @kathybiele

The State Board of Education is a strange animal—few people understand it or have any idea who their representative is. And the way we elect this uber-board seems to change in head-spinning fashion. There was a time when the voters just up and elected their representatives. Then the selection went to the governor, who chose finalists to go back to the voters.

Most recently, the predominately GOP state decided to make the election partisan. Now, Rep. Melissa Garff Ballard, R-North Salt Lake, may be bringing back a bill she pulled for voters to approve a constitutional amendment allowing the governor to appoint the board. The board itself doesn’t like the idea. However, partisan elections have been controversial at best. Watch for Ballard’s bill to come back: https://le.utah.gov/~2020/bills/static/HJR013.html

Benjamin Wood: Is third time the charm for a new state flag?

Benjamin Utah has a bad state flag. You Wood could take my word for it, or you could judge it based on the generally accepted guidelines for good flag design, virtually all of which are violated by the overly cluttered banner that waves atop state buildings (and effectively nowhere else). In truth, the Beehive State doesn’t really have a flag. It has a state seal, and at some point a decision was made to stamp that seal on a blue background, run it up a flag pole and call it a day.

That’s regrettable, as good flags are community symbols that can inspire and unite. For proof of that, look no further than our neighboring states, most of which have exemplary flags that are proudly hung from homes and businesses and incorporated onto hats, shirts and other dayto-day areas of civic life.

Our Legislature has come achingly close to launching the search for a new, better design. In 2019, a bill to create a flag commission cleared the House but fell dead in the Senate. A similar bill fared worse in 2020, failing to make it out of an evenly split House committee.

Rep. Stephen Handy, R-Layton, and Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, have brought back their bill for a third try. And while higher-priority legislation may very well suck up all the oxygen on the hill, our lawmakers should follow the lead of Provo and Salt Lake City and give us a flag we can be proud of.

Benjamin Wood is a freelance journalist covering the Legislature in partnership with City Weekly. Follow him on Twitter @bjaminwood.

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Katharine Biele: Voting, Board of Ed and gun rights The country is jumping on the ranked-choice voting bandwagon. It looks like Utah is ready to make the leap, both because it’s such an intuitive choice and also because the Republicans appear to be behind it. Voters, who like the idea, would just rank the candidates first choice to last. How hard is that? Under a pilot project, Vineyard and Payson both used RCV in the last election, and 83 percent of Utah County voters gave it a thumbs up.

RCV has been used in primaries, too, most recently by the Democrats to elect Dr. Rosemary Lesser to fill the late Ogden Rep. LaWanna Shurtliff’s spot in the Legislature. The present system allows a candidate to win with a plurality. In fact, our new U.S. Rep. Blake Moore won with only 31 percent of the vote. RCV gives candidates a majority mandate. Watch for Rep. Mike Winder’s bill: https://le.utah.gov/~2021/bills/static/HB0127.html

Emily Means

Robert Gehrke: Online public participation in committee hearings There’s one thing we’ll see this session that we’ve never really seen before, and that is online public participation in committee meetings, thanks to that nagging little virus. How that works out is something I’ll be watching closely. Conceptually, it could be good, making it easier for more people to participate in the process without having to take a whole afternoon to visit the Capitol. And with two of the big issues I’m watching—homelessness and police reform, topics so many groups have been invested in for months—there will be no shortage of constituents wanting to offer their input. That’s healthy.

The concern, however, is that so little of the lawmaking process happens in the public committee meetings. It’s done in the hallways and chambers, usually face to face. The connected lobbyists will still have their say, as always. But what about the ordinary constituent? And that limited public access in the early days is one thing. What happens if we’re still in this mostly virtual format at the end, when things are happening at a breakneck pace? Online participation gets a lot trickier.

Moral of the story:The public has an unprecedented opportunity to be involved in the committee hearings. That’s good. But, as is the case in any session, it’s going to take initiative and persistence if the public wants to help shape policy.

Robert Gehrke is a columnist and reporter covering government and politics for The Salt Lake Tribune.

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Emily Means: Homelessness and police reform I try to report on political issues through a social justice lens.

With that in mind, this session I’m watching for bills on police and criminal justice reform. After this summer’s protests against police brutality/racial injustice, I think there will be some legislative momentum around those issues.

Housing and homelessness are also on my radar. Unsheltered people have been more visible this past year (probably because congregate shelters aren’t an ideal living situation, especially during a pandemic), and people have struggled to pay rent because of COVID’s economic impacts. I’m watching for eviction policies and changes to the way the state handles homelessness.

KUER has restarted its politics podcast, 45 Days. We’ll be doing a deep dive on some legislative topic every week. You can subscribe at 45days.org.

Emily Means reports on state politics for KUER. Follow her on Twitter @Em_ Means13.

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these companies another gift?

Taylor W. Anderson is the editor of the Building Salt Lake website and co-founder of Sweet Streets SLC. Follow him on Twitter @TaylorWAnderson

Robert Gehrke

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Taylor Anderson: Another gift to billboard companies We’ve become so numb to a blight that clutters our beautiful city that the Legislature is intent on making the problem worse. Sen. Scott Sandall, R-Tremonton, wants to let the billboard companies change their massive advertisements from static images to digitally lit ones, stripping cities from all power to stop this added visual pollution.

As if the Legislature hadn’t already done enough for these companies, SB61 would allow them to convert any billboard from static to digital and light the massive advertisements— which are often the size of small houses—around the clock except in certain cases. (Even then, cities could impose a curfew only from midnight to 6 a.m.)

Billboard companies have already received so much power from the Legislature, their products block new housing from being built and huge amounts of land from being used to the highest and best use of the public without giving taxpayers any say in the matter. Throughout our capital city, there are vacant corners next to transit, in established neighborhoods, even among new housing being constructed. That land could generate so much more for residents and city coffers. Why give

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Taylor Anderson

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think it’s safe to say that if you’re reading this right now, you need a pastry.

Something light, fluffy and stuffed with a luxurious cream filling—or maybe something warm, cheesy and bedazzled with bacon.

Whatever pastry craving that little voice inside is telling you to indulge, chances are you’ll find it inside Comcom Kitchen (67 W. 1700 South, comcomkitchen.com).

Owned and operated by Danny Cheng and Dan Homer, this communal commissary— hence, comcom—kitchen is the home base of Streusel SLC (streuselslc.com) and Mad Dough (maddoughslc.com), two local bakeries that have been making all kinds of waves on social media.

Both bakeries have leaned on the flexibility that Comcom Kitchen affords local chefs and bakers, which is a powerful ally in the midst of this industry-throttling pandemic.

Andrew Corrao, owner of Streusel SLC, sees the versatility of Comcom Kitchen not only as a boon during the pandemic, but as a way to show some love and respect to his employees. “If I have to use a commissary so I can pay my employees a living wage, then so be it,” Corrao says during a phone interview. “Opening my own business was my way of building something that prioritizes people over arbitrary growth.”

Consideration and a warm welcome are part and parcel of Streusel SLC, a self-

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BY ALEX SPRINGER comments@cityweekly.net @captainspringer

to check out Comcom Kitchen for her own growing business.

Perhaps the most fascinating thing about Mad Dough’s pastries is how you’re expecting them to give you roughly the same experience as a doughnut, only to get something else entirely. As much as I love a good doughnut, biting into this sinfully soft dough as a shot of vanilla or chocolate pastry cream explodes in your mouth is so much more than your average Bismarck.

Once it’s gone, you’re left with cinnamon sugar or powdered strawberries to lick off your fingers, reminding you to indulge in another one as soon as possible.

Madsen’s signature move is to incorporate the nostalgia of childhood treats—I’m a big fan of the Post Fruity Pebble garnish—into her work, making the whole experience into a blissful form of escapism.

In my case, it was the chocolate banana doughnie. I grew up on chocolate banana milkshakes from Arctic Circle, and this was a celebration of that flavor combo with the addition of ground espresso and chocolatey sugar mixture on the outside. The chocolate banana cream in the center was excellent, and the espresso was just present enough to enhance the chocolate flavor.

As Madsen and her team constantly have the creative juices flowing, we can expect to see some savory options popping up on the menu sometime soon; I could see them cranking out the world’s finest pierogi, but I trust their judgement implicitly. It’s also a good idea to place your order ahead every Monday, keeping in mind that Mad Dough does both in-store pickup and delivery.

My trip to Comcom kitchen was filled with a variety of expertly made baked goods, which equals success in my book. I’m glad that these talented bakers have the flexibility to make something amazing while managing to keep afloat during this terrible pandemic. If you’re a fan of baked goods in any shape or flavor, Streusel SLC and Mad Dough will take good care of you. CW

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On the Rise

described “judgement-free bakery,” all of which come through in their selection of sweet and savory pastries. The foundation of Streusel SLC’s menu comes from the Danish—spiraled rounds of dough with fillings like raspberry compote and cream cheese ($5) or hash browns and baked egg ($5). Others—like the pecan sticky bun ($5) and the triple cheese bacon roll ($5)—opt for total coverage with thick caramel or cheddar cheese. They all look endearing enough, but it’s not until you take your first bite that you realize Carrao is an expert at using the dough’s canvas to blend some truly remarkable flavors, the most surprising of which is the sticky bun; the caramel gives way to hints of orange and cardamom that blend beautifully on the tongue.

Carrao’s skill for developing flavors isn’t limited to the sweet side of the menu, either. The triple cheese bacon roll packs an initial bang of sharp cheddar and thick bacon, but the dough itself is spiked with an herbaceous cream cheese schmear that highlights the bolder flavors with some more subtle notes. If you’re after something a bit more snack-sized, the huckleberry scone ($5) is a breezy, buttery pastry filled with dried berries and topped with a thin layer of vanilla berry icing.

On the other side of Comcom kitchen, Mandy Madsen and her team operate Mad Dough where they whip up their signature doughnuts—or doughnies ($4.50), if you’re hip to their lingo. The doughnie is a creamfilled dream of pillowy texture dusted with extras like freeze-dried strawberry powder and toasted coconut. Madsen, a graduate from the culinary arts program at Utah Valley University, gained her experience in bakeries all over the Wasatch Front. She started Mad Dough in Comcom kitchen as a result of a pandemic-related layoff in mid-August. “I immediately hired some baker friends, and we’re growing steadily,” Madsen says. She met Carrao when she was in culinary school, and he invited her

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Silver Reef 4391 S. Enterprise Drive, St. George StGeorgeBev.com

Bewilder Brewing 445 S. 400 West, SLC BewilderBrewing.com On Tap:

Mountain West Cider 425 N. 400 West, SLC MountainWestCider.com On Tap: GULB 2020

Squatters 147 W. Broadway, SLC Squatters.com

Bohemian Brewery 94 E. Fort Union Blvd, Midvale BohemianBrewery.com

Ogden River Brewing 358 Park Blvd, Ogden OgdenRiverBrewing.com

Bonneville Brewery 1641 N. Main, Tooele BonnevilleBrewery.com On Tap: Peaches and Cream Ale

Policy Kings Brewery 223 N. 100 West, Cedar City PolicyKingsBrewery.com

Desert Edge Brewery 273 Trolley Square, SLC DesertEdgeBrewery.com On Tap: Fresh Brewed UPA

2496 S. WEST TEMPLE, SLC LEVELCROSSINGBREWING.COM @LEVELCROSSINGBREWING

A list of what local craft breweries and cider houses have on tap this week

Proper Brewing 857 S. Main, SLC ProperBrewingCo.com On Tap:

Epic Brewing Co. 825 S. State, SLC EpicBrewing.com On Tap: Big Bad Baptist

Red Rock Brewing Multiple Locations RedRockBrewing.com On Tap: Secale

Fisher Brewing Co. 320 W. 800 South, SLC FisherBeer.com On Tap:

RoHa Brewing Project 30 Kensington Ave, SLC RoHaBrewing.com On Tap:

Grid City Beer Works 333 W. 2100 South, SLC GridCityBeerWorks.com On Tap: Extra Pale Ale

Roosters Brewing Multiple Locations RoostersBrewingCo.com On Tap: Cosmic Autumn Rebellion

Hopkins Brewing Co. 1048 E. 2100 South, SLC HopkinsBrewingCompany.com On Tap: Hoppers Grill and Brewing 890 E. Fort Union Blvd, Midvale HoppersBrewPub.com Kiitos Brewing 608 W. 700 South, SLC KiitosBrewing.com Level Crossing Brewing Co. 2496 S. West Temple, South Salt Lake LevelCrossingBrewing.com On Tap:

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SaltFire Brewing 2199 S. West Temple, South Salt Lake SaltFireBrewing.com On Tap: Salt Flats Brewing 2020 Industrial Circle, SLC SaltFlatsBeer.com On Tap: Shades Brewing 154 W. Utopia Ave, South Salt Lake ShadesBrewing.beer On Tap: Peach Cobbler

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Strap Tank Brewery Multiple Locations StrapTankBrewery.com Springville On Tap: PB Rider, Peanut Butter Stout Lehi On Tap: 2-Stroke, Vanilla Mocha Porter TF Brewing 936 S. 300 West, SLC TFBrewing.com On Tap: Talisman Brewing Co. 1258 Gibson Ave, Ogden TalismanBrewingCo.com On Tap: Toasted Barrel Brewery 412 W. 600 North, SLC ToastedBarrelBrewery.com Uinta Brewing 1722 S. Fremont Drive, SLC UintaBrewing.com On Tap: Was Angeles Craft Beer UTOG 2331 Grant Ave, Ogden UTOGBrewing.com On Tap: Vernal Brewing 55 S. 500 East, Vernal VernalBrewing.com Wasatch 2110 S. Highland Drive, SLC WasatchBeers.com Zion Brewery 95 Zion Park Blvd, Springdale ZionBrewery.com Zolupez 205 W. 29th Street #2, Ogden Zolupez.com

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medium/full with a nicely carbonated, creamy touch of alcohol on the finish.

Overall: Pastry stouts can be quite a lot to handle. This one isn’t too chewy and inyour-face; the marshmallow aspects can, however, add some candy-like qualities. At the end of the day, this really isn’t trying to mimic anything confection-wise. It’s just a little bit of peanut butter and chocolate that’ll kick you in the ass if you’re not careful.

Toasted Barrel - Untoasted Non-Alcoholic Stout: Pours a deep coffee brown with about a half-inch of tan head that has fair retention and leaves a nice lacing on the glass, with healthy visible carbonation at the edges where the light strikes through.

Very nice aroma on this one; roasted malts and coffee are the most prominent notes.

There’s also some nice dark chocolate and vanilla coming through, followed by a bit of earthiness and no boozy aroma in the mix.

Roasted malts are big up front. They’re accompanied by a rich coffee flavor, as well as some of that dark chocolate from the nose. In the middle, the vanilla emerges, along with a bit of tartness and earthiness.

The back end features more of the coffee and chocolate notes, with the tartness developing into a more overt bitterness which works quite well with the dark chocolate flavor. Yet even though there is bitterness, there isn’t much of a lingering aftertaste; it’s really more of an astringent sensation.

Light-bodied and quite creamy, thanks in part to a nice level of carbonation, this one isn’t syrupy, but it does have just a bit of stick.

Overall: I don’t drink a lot of no-alcohol beers, but the next time I need to stay sober while still looking like one of the cool kids, I’m definitely reaching for one of these. It’s the best “near beer” I’ve ever had.

You’d think that Fluffier Nuts would walk away as the clear taste winner, and you might be right. But there’s something about a flavorful non-alcoholic beer that excites me and gives me hope that this woefully underrepresented segment of the craft beer market might actually have some decent options. As always, cheers! CW

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his week, I came across two stouts that couldn’t be more different while coming from the same family. One is a boozy, in your face pastry stout, and the other is a locally-made no-alcohol oatmeal stout. This should be fun!

TF Brewing - Fluffier Nuts: This is the much bigger brother to Fluffy Nuts, a pastry stout released earlier this year at 5.0 percent ABV. It poured a nice dark brown, almost black, with a fat two finger mocha head that faded relatively slowly, leaving some spotty lacing and a thin creamy blanket. Aromas of creamy lactose, powdered sugar, chocolate syrup and chocolate chips emerge, with a little bit of hot fudge as well. Peanut butter is pleasant in the background, too, which adds a faint wisp of cookie elements. It’s quite the inviting base milk stout; considering the number of peanut butter sandwiches I’ve eaten over the years, eyes closed, there really is no difference.

Taste is similar to the nose with creamy lactose, though the peanut butter seems lighter than I expected. Similarly, the chocolate flavor isn’t quite as chocolaty as it was on the nose; it’s there, but definitely with more of a fudge-like thing going on.

Flavor-wise, this doesn’t deviate too much from the 5 percent version, except everything is turned up to 11. Burnt coffee-like flavor from the roast becomes complimentary to the marshmallow and lactose, and the mouthfeel for this 12.2 percent ale is

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Green Urban Lunch Box (thegreenurbanlunchbox.com) and Mountain West Hard Cider (mountainwestcider. com) will be hosting an online community huddle about food upcycling on Jan. 21. Upcycling is a practice of reducing waste by creating ways to turn imperfect ingredients into something high-quality and usable, and this event will offer ideas on how people and business owners can do that. Green Urban Lunch Box will discuss their longtime collaboration with Mountain West that makes B-grade apples harvested by their FruitShare program into A-grade ciders. Reducing food waste is a crucial step in building a more sustainable agricultural system, so local players in the hospitality biz could stop by and take notes. The event is free to the public and takes place via Zoom at 7 p.m.

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Long Life Vegi House (2561 S. State Street, 801-4671111, longlifevegihouseut.com), a pioneering restaurant in Utah’s vegetarian food scene, has reopened after closing its doors during the pandemic. Their lengthy vegetarian menu features several Chinese classics, many of which feature plant-based meat—the vegetarian General Tso chicken and the tofu in spicy garlic sauce are two menu standouts. Though Utah’s vegetarian options have become more diverse in recent years, Long Life’s consistent use of fresh ingredients and wide variety of vegetarian—and non-vegetarian—entrees have made it an important part of our local food scene. Here’s to a long life for Long Life.

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Writing about food is one of the most entertaining and rewarding ways to celebrate one’s love of eating, but it can be a daunting task. Luckily, the SLCC Community Writing Center (slcc.edu/cwc) will be hosting a workshop all about food writing on Jan. 23. The workshop is designed for those who are interested in sharpening their writing skills when it comes to expressing their innermost feelings about the food they eat. Attendees will learn how to apply several different writing genres to food writing, so those looking to compile a recipe book or compose a lengthy essay about your favorite local burger will be equally enlightened. The event will take place online and free registration can be completed via the Community Writing Center’s website.

Quote of the Week: “I realized very early the power of food to evoke memory and I wanted to be a part of that.” –José Andrés

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It’s a Wonderwild Life

Fawn Goodman

Mindy Gledhill

A new local label looks to incubate new local musical talent.

BY ERIN MOORE music@cityweekly.net @errrands_

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hat a time it must be to be a young artist—or indeed, a young label.

Besides figuring out how to make one’s own music, newbies and industry vets alike have been forced to navigate a pandemic for nearly a year. That’s certainly been the reality at the brand-new Utahbased record label Wonderwild Records, a project which found Mindy Gledhill and Fawn Goodman teaming up to create opportunities for fresh-faced artists … right before the pandemic hit.

The two met through a professional music relationship of their own in 2015, when Gledhill was part of the Provo synth duo Hive Riot. Goodman was managing her own booking agency at the time, and reached out to book with the band, which led to Goodman managing them for a time.

Even after then—with Gledhill moving forward with a solo career that had taken off in 2007 with her album Feather in the Wind—the two maintained a friendship, floating the idea over the years of starting a label. “It’s something that I had thought about for a really long time, even from the very beginning part of my career,” Gledhill says. “I just had always felt like mentoring other people and incorporating business aspects of music in what I do are things that I enjoy.”

And in 2019, the topic came up again, this time while the two were visiting a fashion exhibit in Dallas. Goodman, too, had long felt an affinity for fostering young talent, though for her it was through a program at Warner Music finding and mentoring college students in all things music industry—many of whom are still execs there or elsewhere. “It felt like Mindy and I both knew specific talented people that we knew wouldn’t be able to realize their potential without the help of a label,” says Goodman.

Though DIY artists do sometimes make it on their own, the fact stands that unless an artist is already well-connected and in a hot-spot city, it can be almost impossible to stake a claim in the music world. “The industry is very much looking at analytics, so they really want artists that have already arrived before they take a chance on them,” says Goodman. “And what Mindy and I noticed is that particularly for certain genres—pop music or indie pop—it’s really hard for a young artist who isn’t in say, New York or L.A., to find their community through networking without people who have the experience to help guide them.”

So, enter Wonderwild, a label that seeks out and centers young up-and-comers and gives them the help they need. They’ve already snagged two young artists for the label: Sophie Blair, whose first EP Arteries was released towards the end of 2020; and Bad Heather, who has two singles hot off the press.

Blair, their first signee, was a kid neighbor to the older Gledhill, and played for years primarily in indie folk bands before reconnecting with Gledhill, becoming her studio assistant, em-

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barking on tour with her and eventually opening shows for her as a soloist. Goodman recalls Blair’s immediate, rare power over the audiences as part of the reason they decided to invest in her as Wonderwild’s first artist. The result was a powerful EP with a surprising and striking pop bent. “We helped her find the producer that we thought at the time would be best for her, but she’s very hands on in making those choices,” Gledhill says of Blair’s pivot to pop.

After snagging the two artists, and securing last-minute funding (they got their contract signed that chaotic week in March 2020 right before the pandemic settled in) from Sony Music offshoot The Orchard, they then addressed the challenge of the pandemic. “In a year where there’s no touring, it’s really great in a lot of aspects, because we can focus on letting them grow their numbers without putting a lot of money into touring—because at first, touring is expensive when you don’t have a fan base,” explains Gledhill. “I think in a way we’ve had this ideal situation where our artist can be incubated, as they develop their brands and as they start to build up their fan base on the digital platforms before we invest a lot of money in touring.”

It also gives the artists more time to make music—Blair has a new EP already on the way on Feb. 5. And since Wonderwild hopes to gather more talent from beyond Utah’s borders when they can, it’s also good that everyone has more time to make music now, specifically the kind of DIY, bedroom pop that Gledhill sees as the changing face of pop.

Goodman and Gledhill also hope Wonderwild disrupts the industry in other ways. “I’m proud that we’re a female-run independent label, because there aren’t that many of us, and I want to inspire more women to be at the helm of the music industry instead of in supporting roles,” Goodman says. “That’s something that Mindy and I are going to continue to be proud of, and hope we get some recognition for that so that other women want to do what we do.”

They’re off to a good start, with their artists and their ambition. Keep up with Wonderwild @wonderwildrecords on Instagram. CW

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Igama

Igama Slow Releases Cycles EP

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It seems that many artists this year have taken up the “slow release” model for their music.

And it makes sense, because what’s the rush?

With a pandemic that’s still keeping most of us inside, especially musicians and performers, a leisurely release pace naturally follows.

And while it’s normal to release a single or two (or four) for an album or EP, releasing an entire EP or album song by song seems to be the way we’re doing things now. SLC artist Igama is also on the slow release train, starting the release for his EP Cycles at the end of 2020 with the aptly titled track “Begin,” which dropped Dec. 22. The track, like the rest of the four-piece electronic EP, bobs between gentle, warm synth parts that evoke splattering rain on water, Ghibli-style, before deeper, wilder drum beats ricochet through the landscape.

New Agey atmospherics are glued to earth by watery House aesthetics, and on the second track “Expand” (released in 2021 on Jan. 8), dub-ish beats help the song bounce off the walls built by “Begin.” Igama’s inspiration for the series of songs was the cycle of the seasons, and with these two tracks, the promise of spring and the riot of summer are both implied. It follows that Cycles was mastered

by Christopher Willits, a well-known ambient artist who also finds inspiration in nature for his own work and whose fingerprints definitely lend a lusher result to Cycles in comparison with Igama’s past singles. This Friday, Jan. 22, Igama releases the third track, titled “Return,” where repetitious beats and persistent, whirring synths clatter, building and falling over and over with mini drops that feel like loping down a smooth hill. After journeying through these three songs and their very different personalities, the listener is met with the calm of “Cycle,” which releases on Feb. 5. The song invokes pure calm, balancing stimulating beats and star-like, blinking synths with the soft, unintelligible murmurs of a tiny voice sample. To listen to or buy these seasonallyinspired Cycles—or what’s been released so far—visit igama.bandcamp.com, or follow on Instagram for more news and listening links @igamasounds.

Musor Plays Urban Lounge With 4th Dimension, Red Bennies

Though Red Bennies are the elder band on this lineup, Musor are the rarest of treats to catch live—and this was true even before the pandemic. That might be because Musor shares frontman Alan Orellana with the psych trio powerhouse Lord Vox, a band which played shows constantly before the pandemic, and has even had a few under their belt during it. Musor, however, feels like it must be a still somewhat young project—though they did put out a single in 2018 with some compellingly crunchy guitar parts on a lengthy, mainly instrumental track.

Musor walks the same psychedelic lines as Lord Vox to an extent, but the band has a more measured presence, a slow burn pace that is in no hurry to rush its tension; think a few heavier, lengthier Spacemen 3 songs, and you’re headed in the right direction. The band has plans to release new music soon, which means that this upcoming show on Friday, Jan. 22 is the perfect chance to get a sneak peek at it before the release. They’ll be playing with the 4th Dimension, another enigmatic band whose music sways from big rock drama (“Persuacion”) to sticky, slow sweetness (“Disco”) on their own singles from 2018 and 2019. 4th Dimension also shares a band member with Lord Vox in Fernando Garcia, who drums for both bands. The only band on the roster who has anything besides a friendship with the boys of Lord Vox, 4th Dimension and Musor is Red Bennies—though their frontman David Payne did host Musor on his COVID-safe virtual online Doom Lounge stream on Twitch in late 2020. As for the Bennies themselves, their wily rock ‘n’ roll, avant garde and heavy, will pair nicely with the other bands for the night. If you want a night of pure rock ‘n’ roll, here are your weekend plans. Tickets are $10 and the show starts at 8 p.m. As always, masks are required, social distancing is required between groups, and tickets must be bought in groups between two and four people. Visit sartainandsaunders.com for more info.

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The Vitals

Local Alicia Stockman Launches Kickstarter for Debut

Drusky

The Vitals Family Band’s Hard Working Salt City Man

Drusky Plays Kilby Court with Kathleen Frewin

For the soft ‘n’ sweet indie kids, Provo’s Drusky has got the goods for you. The band released a slew of singles through 2019, the kind of heart-wrenching, introspective emo that’s dominated the scene both locally and nationally over the past decade. “Hesitations,” from their (Hush Hush Secret Stuff) EP is full of mathy, emo guitars and plucky vocals delivered by Mia Hicken, whose voice stretches out easily into more tumultuous territory on singles like “Break Things,” which shows the band’s heavier side nicely.

“Succulents” is a track that balances both of these impulses perfectly. Fans of Madeline Kenney, Pllush or Remember Sports will dig the melodics and Hicken’s memorable vocals, but they’ll stay for a band that’s surely a riveting one to see live. Pandemic aside, this is the kind of local band that would probably find a lot of success touring, which means catching them at Kilby Court before the pandemic lifts and they take off is a decent idea. And also, maybe, thank God for what the pandemic’s done to shows, because if you’re paying $15 for a two-act show, you’d better be getting there for the opener. In this case, it’s Kathleen Frewin, who is … something of an enigma. Frewin appears on a 2017 compilation Lindenfield Presents Emily’s Frown, which features a who’swho of Provo music scene company, including Quiet House, Sen Wisher, Officer Jenny (now playing as Bly Wallentine) and Lindenfield to name a few. There, Frewin covers the exlocal Emily Brown song “The Worst Weekend Ever,” sounding a helluva lot like Phoebe Bridgers, albeit with a bit more grit. The Kathleen Frewin SoundCloud is a mix of more of those emotive acoustic covers mixed with totally wild tracks backed by fuller instrumentation, like “Bone Apple Teeth,” where Frewin’s voice swings between self-assured softness and yell-singing accompanied by electric riffs. So, it’s anybody’s guess which version of Frewin you’ll get at the show, but rest-assured—both Drusky and Frewin are sure things to spend your night on. Doors to this all-ages show are at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 6:30 p.m. Visit sartainandsaunders.com for ticket info and COVID protocol.

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Though it’s easy to equate country with right-wing conservatism and rural intolerance, that reputation couldn’t be further from the true roots of country music, which was born from Depression-era poverty, class inequality and just plain old hard times. That’s something local family band The Vitals is all too aware of, and the music on their Jan. 1-released EP Salt City Man is fueled by the kind of working class-minded themes that sparked country music’s initial popularity decades ago.

The multi-generational band—made up of vocalists and cousins Vito and Jay Perry, Vito’s father Anthony Perry on drums and their adoptive uncle Tom Krug on bass—are explicitly prounion, pro-laborer and generally ornery about exploitation.

There is one lovely little ballad, a gently rolling, bluesy track called “Sail My Ship,” but otherwise the songs on the EP— which range from the rollicking, cheeky folk of “Working on the Weekend” to the outlaw Americana of the title track—are songs about hard work and class ire. “Mean Things” opens up the EP with bouncing basslines and quick-plucked guitars, and the simple statement that “there is mean things happen’ in this land” where “the rich man boasts and brags while the poor man goes in rags.” The center track “U.N.I.O.N” builds on those injustices with themes of old-fashioned labor struggle (“my will as is as strong / as the steel I make here”), and seeks to remind listeners that “our labor creates all the wealth in this land / so brothers and sisters and friends, lend a hand / in the U-N-I-O-N / and you and I both win”—a sentiment about which this union-busted country could use some reminding. On the title track, The Vitals ruminate on maybeancestors who came out West with the “American Dream,” settling and raising generations around the landmarks of the Salt Lake Valley. There’s something to be said for the family band itself, who cross generations to make music together about family, but also about another cross-generational issue that’s been seeing a resurgence in new work sectors the last few years—the goddamn labor movement. Listen to this spirit-lifting, fire-inspiring EP on Spotify, or buy it at thevitals1. bandcamp.com.

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Many local artists have kept busy during the pandemic simply by turning to their dreams and addressing them. That’s been the case for local soloist Alicia Stockman, who, after spending a few years in the band Bonanza Town and releasing an EP with them, has since been forging her own path in the folk singer/ songwriter world. While the pandemic ended opportunities like shows and touring, Stockman had laid the groundwork in 2019 for the recording of her first full-length album. Besides releasing her own EP Singles throughout 2018 and 2019, Stockman was lucky to make the acquaintance of Nashville-based recording artist and producer Mary Bragg (who’s also worked with St. George’s Red Dirt Girls) back in 2019 at a songwriting contest in Austin, Texas. The two reconnected months later in early 2020, when they were paired up as mentor and mentee at the Folk Alliance International Conference in New Orleans. “She attended my showcase at the conference, and she gave me lots of sage advice,” Stockman says. But come spring, the pandemic hit, and come May, Stockman realized it wasn’t going away anytime soon. So, she decided to get out of her comfort zone and go for an album. “I knew that once I emailed Mary and asked her to help me with songs, that I’d be accountable to someone else, which gave me a reason not to be idle,” she continues. “It’s also hard to keep the creative well full. To feel inspired is tough—not that there isn’t plenty of content to write about these days—but keeping the creative spark fed is hard to do these days.” The help from Bragg is also opening doors in the sparkly world of Nashville music and its players, which is a far cry from where Stockman has recorded in the past—like the basement of Positively Fourth Street, dodging the noise from neighboring metal bands. She adds, “This is something that would be impossible for me to do on my own. For me, this feels like the next step in my professional music career.” Listen to what Stockman’s got wherever you stream, and envision what she will get done when she can get to Nashville—and maybe help her get there by searching for “Alicia Stockman’s Debut Studio Album” on Kickstarter and pitching in.

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CINEMA Sundance Cheat Sheet

A few hints as you fill out your viewing plans ahead of the virtual festival.

N

ext week, the 2021 Sundance Film Festival begins—but not in any way we’ve ever experienced it before.

The annual independent film showcase has gone almost entirely virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a smaller slate of films, and people around the world will have a chance to experience the programming from their own homes.

One thing that remains the same, however, is the question of what to watch with the time (and tickets) you have. Sundance has always been a place for discovery, including many first-time filmmakers, meaning that some of the best work only emerges once the festival has begun. So how can you get a sense for what you might be interested in?

With the caveat in mind that I’ve seen none of the films in question, here are some possible guidelines to consider when planning this year’s festival viewing. Even these few hints might steer you in the direction that’s right for you.

Familiar Faces: Premieres with bigname actors will be in much shorter supply this year, but you can still see folks you’ve seen in other movies. Actor Robin Wright stars in her own feature directing debut, as a woman heading into the wilderness to deal

SUNDANCE INSTITUTE

BY SCOTT RENSHAW scottr@cityweekly.net @scottrenshaw

with a tragedy in Land. Mona Fastvold, who brought her psychological thriller The Sleepwalker to Sundance 2014, returns with the period piece drama The World to Come starring Katherine Waterston, Vanessa Kirby and Casey Affleck. Nicolas Cage plays a criminal sent on a rescue mission into a frightening alternate universe in Prisoners of the Ghostland, by celebrated Japanese director Sion Sono. Michael Cera, Zoe Kazan and Lake Bell are among the cast for the kooky-sounding Cryptozoo, about employees at a zoo displaying mythical creatures questioning whether the beasts should remain hidden. The Office’s Ed Helms plays a man who develops an unexpected relationship with the woman hired to be the surrogate for his baby in Together Together. Tessa Thompson and Loving’s Ruth Negga play light-skinned African-American women deciding in 1920s New York whether or not to try to “pass” as white in Passing.

Familiar Filmmakers: Yes, rookie directors are out in force at Sundance, but there are some with a little experience under their belt, and whose work might be familiar to those who are festival regulars (or even just moviegoing regulars). Among the more high-

a) Nicolas Cage in Prisoners of the Ghostland; b) Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson in Passing; c) Rita Moreno in Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It profile names is director Edgar Wright, although he is moving out of his comfort zone of genre pleasures like Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Baby Driver. Instead, he’s taking on a documentary, profiling Ron and Russell Mael of the cult-favorite band Sparks in The Sparks Brothers. Also on the documentary side, director Rodney Ascher has been at Sundance previously with Room 237, about the wild theories surrounding the 1980 film version of The Shining; here, he continues looking at strange beliefs with A Glitch in the Matrix, about people convinced we’re living inside a simulation. Director Nanfu Wang, who explored a controversial aspect of Chinese political history in 2019’s One Child Nation, now turns to the cover-up of the coronavirus epidemic with In the Same Breath.

Intriguing Subjects: Sundance documentaries often provide a chance to dig deeper into subjects that are already of likely interest to you. The perils of the technological world are at the center of a pair of films in the

U.S. Documentary Competition: Users, contemplating a generation of children growing up with devices always around them; and All Light, Everywhere, which explores the intersection of cameras, surveillance, policing and the justice system. On the lighter side, the history behind one of the most beloved shows in television history is at the center of Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street.

Among other biographical profiles: pioneering diver, cinematographer and conservationist Valerie Taylor—who filmed the real sharks for Jaws—is the subject for director Sally Aitken’s Playing With Sharks; beloved multi-award-winning actor Rita Moreno takes center stage for Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It; and groundbreaking African-American choreographer Alvin Ailey is the subject of Ailey. And in a story that might feel too relevant in January 2021, the documentary President looks at an election in Zimbabwe where the principles of democracy are tested. So much for escapism! CW

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY B Y R O B

B R E Z S N Y

Go to realastrology.com for Rob Brezsny’s expanded weekly audio horoscopes and daily text-message horoscopes.

Audio horoscopes also available by phone at 877-873-4888 or 900-950-7700.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) On May 4, 2019, my Aries friend Leah woke up in a state of amazement. During the night, she felt she had miraculously become completely enlightened. Over the next 16 hours, she understood her life perfectly. Everything made sense to her. She was in love with every person and animal she knew. But by the next morning, the exalted serenity had faded, and she realized that her enlightenment had been temporary. She wasn’t mad or sad, however. The experience shook her up so delightfully that she vowed to forevermore seek to re-create the condition she had enjoyed.

Recently, she told me that on virtually every day since May 4, 2019, she has spent at least a few minutes, and sometimes much longer, exulting in the same ecstatic peace that visited her back then. That’s the Aries way: turning a surprise, spontaneous blessing into a permanent breakthrough. I trust you will do that soon.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) You’re entering the potentially most playful and frisky and whimsical phase of your astrological cycle. To honor and encourage a full invocation of gleeful fun, I offer you the following thoughts from Tumblr blogger Sparkledog. “I am so tired of being told that I am too old for the things I like. No cartoons. No toys. No fantasy animals. No bright colors. Are adults supposed to live monotonous, bleak lives ? I can be an adult and still love childish things. I can be intelligent and educated and informed and I can love stuffed animals and unicorns. Please stop making me feel bad for loving the things that make me happy.”

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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) “Nature cannot be ordered about, except by obeying her,” wrote philosopher Francis Bacon (1561–1626). That paradoxical observation could prove to be highly useful for you in the coming weeks. Here are some other variants on the theme: TAURUS (April 20-May 20) One morning, famous French army general Hubert Lyautey Surrendering will lead to power. Expressing vulnerability will (1854–1934) instructed his gardener to spend the next day generate strength. A willingness to transform yourself will planting a row of saplings on his property. The gardener agreed transform the world around you. The more you’re willing to but advised Lyautey that this particular species of tree required acknowledge that you have a lot to learn, the smarter you’ll be.

100 years to fully mature. “In that case,” Lyautey said, “plant them now.” I recommend that you, too, expedite your long- SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) term plans, Taurus. Astrologically speaking, the time is ripe for In his book The Lover’s Dictionary, David Levithan advises lovers and would-be lovers to tell each other their very best stories. you to take crisp action to fulfill your big dreams.

“Not the day’s petty injustices,” he writes. “Not the glimmer of a seven-eighths-forgotten moment from your past. Not GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Someone asked poet e.e. cummings what home was for him. He something that somebody said to somebody, who then told it to responded poetically, talking about his lover. Home was “the you.” No, to foster the vibrant health of a love relationship—or stars on the tip of your tongue, the flowers sprouting from your any close alliance for that matter—you should consistently mouth, the roots entwined in the gaps between your fingers, the exchange your deepest, richest tales. This is always true, of ocean echoing inside your rib cage.” What about you, Gemini? If course, but it’s especially true for you right now. you were asked to give a description of what makes you feel glad to be alive and helps give you the strength to be yourself, what CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) would you say? Now would be a good time to identify and honor On Oct. 18, 1867, the U.S. government completed its purchase the influences that inspire you to create your inner sense of home. of Alaska from Russia. How much did this 586,000-acre kingdom cost? Two cents per acre, which in today’s money would be about 37 cents. It was a tremendous bargain! I propose that we CANCER (June 21-July 22) “Be sweet to me, world,” pleads Cancerian poet Stephen Dunn regard this transaction as a metaphor for what’s possible for in one of his poems. In the coming weeks, I invite you to address you in 2021: the addition of a valuable resource at a reasonthe world in a similar way. And since I expect the world will be able price. (P.S.: American public opinion about the Alaskan unusually receptive and responsive to your requests, I’ll encour- purchase was mostly favorable back then, but a few influential age you to add even more entreaties. For example, you could newspapers described it as foolish. Don’t let naysayers like them say, “Be revelatory and educational with me, world,” or “Help dissuade you from your smart action.) me deepen my sense that life is meaningful, world,” or “Feed my soul with experiences that will make me smarter and wilder and AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) kinder, world.” Can you think of other appeals and supplications “My business is circumference,” wrote poet Emily Dickinson in a letter to her mentor. What did she mean by that? “Circumference” you’d like to express to the world? was an important word for her. It appeared in 17 of her poems. Critic Rochelle Cecil writes that for Dickinson, circumference referred to a LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Throughout his many rough travels in the deserts of the Middle East, sense of boundlessness radiating out from a center—a place where the Leo diplomat and army officer known as Lawrence of Arabia “one feels completely free, where one can express anything and (1888–1935) didn’t give up his love of reading. While riding on the everything.” According to critic Donna M. Campbell, circumference backs of camels, he managed to study numerous tomes, including was Dickinson’s metaphor for ecstasy. When she said, “My business the works of ancient Greek writers Aeschylus and Aristophanes. is circumference,” she meant that her calling was to be eternally in I’d love to see you perform comparable balancing acts in the com- quest of awe and sublimity. I propose that you make good use of ing weeks, Leo. The astrological omens suggest you’ll be skilled at Dickinson’s circumference in the coming weeks, Aquarius. It’s time to coordinating seemingly uncoordinatable projects and tasks—and get your mind and heart and soul thoroughly expanded and elevated. that you’ll thrive by doing so. (PS: Your efforts may be more metaPISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) phorical and less literal than Lawrence’s.)

Should I quote the wisdom of people who have engaged in behavior I consider unethical or immoral? Should I draw inspiration from VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Sculptor Stefan Saal testifies that one of his central questions teachers who at some times in their lives treated others badly? For as a creator of art is to know when a piece is done. “When mak- instance, Pisces-born Ted Geisel, better known as beloved author ing a thing, I need to decide when is it thoroughly made, when is Dr. Seuss, cheated on his wife while she was sick, ultimately leadit dare-we-say ‘perfected.’” He has tried to become a master of ing to her suicide. Should I therefore banish him from my memory knowing where and when to stop. I recommend this practice to and never mention the good he did in the world? Or should I forgive you in the next two weeks, Virgo. You’ve been doing good work, him of his sins and continue to appreciate him? I don’t have a fixed and will continue to do good work, but it’s crucial that you don’t set of rules about how to decide questions like these. How about get overly fussy and fastidious as you refine and perhaps even you? The coming weeks will be a good time to redefine your relationship with complicated people. finish your project.

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© 2021

STRING QUARTET

BY DAVID LEVINSON WILK

ACROSS

1. Part of a stable diet?

2. From ____ Z 3. Night that “Friends” aired: Abbr.

4. The Blue Jays, on scoreboards 5. “Er ... well ... um ...”

6. June birthstone 7. Thomas featured in the documentary “The Last Dance” 8. Course number 9. Prints, e.g.

10. Handyperson’s inits.

11. Brand with a lonely repairman 12. ____ borealis 13. Free (from) 18. Susan of “L.A. Law”

G

The One for You? I

19. “Well, ____-di-dah!”

22. Online exchange, in brief 23. Some partners in lesbian couples 24. “What am ____ getting?”

25. Closing section of music 26. Tennis score after deuce 27. Common first word 28. Australia’s ____ Rock 33. Down for a pillow 34. Shoelace tip 35. Hwy. whose name includes two of NYC’s boroughs 36. Pilfer 38. Small salamander 39. Decorative sewing case 40. Conflicted 43. Rapper Lil ____ X 44. Fed (on) 45. He landed in Florida in 1539 46. Per se 50. “Nice one!”

51. “SNL” alum Cheri 52. By way of 53. Bisected 54. Muppet whose tweets often end with “Scram!”

58. Like the name Mitt for a catcher 59. Conk out 60. The big eau 61. Biblical woman with a palindromic name 62. It’s a sign 63. Thai neighbor 64. NBA tiebreakers

Last week’s answers

No math is involved. The grid has numbers, but nothing has to add up to anything else. Solve the puzzle with reasoning and logic. Solving time is typically 10 to 30 minutes, depending on your skill and experience.

DOWN

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Complete the grid so that each row, column, diagonal and 3x3 square contain all of the numbers 1 to 9.

1. Metaphoric acknowledgment 7. Jobs creation 11. Astronaut Jemison 14. In 15. Dress in Delhi 16. “La Cage ____ Folles” 17. Directive to an instrument in need of cleaning?

20. Math measurement 21. Physics 101 subject 22. Wistful feeling about possessing an instrument?

29. Clickable list 30. It breaks in the morning 31. Gangster’s gun 32. Struck down, biblically 34. Some are humble 37. This puzzle’s theme 41. Short poetic tribute 42. Determined to achieve 44. “Get a room!” elicitor, for short 47. Ma that might baa 48. Vibe 49. Settle on certain instruments when no others are available?

55. ExxonMobil brand 56. Metal food containers 57. Succinct reaction when given a list of instruments to choose from?

65. “... you know the rest”: Abbr.

66. Berth place 67. Greet from a distance 68. “How could I be so silly?!”

69. Garr of “Tootsie” 70. Chocolaty Post cereal

SUDOKU

| COMMUNITY | | CITYWEEKLY.NET |

30 | JANUARY 21, 2021

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

f you haven’t seen the thread on social media, go search for “The One Bel Air.” You’ll find photos and details on California’s most expensive home for sale—a 105,000-square-foot property that someone will call home in the future. Kept secret until now, its all-new construction has been going on for about eight years. But trust me, it’s long been the talk of the town for high-end Realtors, investors and developers in the Los Angeles area.

Picture this estate floating above the city of Los Angeles atop its own hill, surrounded on three sides by a moat and a 400-foot-long jogging track. Going through the main entry, you pass a water enclosure, a bridge and a large sculpture mounted on the floor that rotates under a custom glass Murano chandelier. Even getting a tour is challenging because where would you start?

There’s 42 bathrooms, 21 bedrooms and a 5,500-square-foot master suite. Amenities include a 30-seat movie theater, a four-lane bowling alley, a 30-car garage with two display turntables, and five swimming pools.

Of course, there’s a full-service spa with a hair and beauty salon that surely the Housewives of Salt Lake City would fight over to use before attending a gala in the intentional philanthropy wing that can hold 200 guests.

Around 600 workers were needed to build this mansion of mansions, and it will not be topped in size by any other LA projects, thanks to newly approved city ordinances that regulate the size of homes. The asking price is $340 million and that includes the art and designer furniture in the home.

Back in Utah, the highest price for a home sold in 2020 was $19,250,000, for a home at the Colony at White Pine in Park City. The two-story new construction featured 13,510 square feet, six bedrooms, nine baths and a five-car garage. Located in a cul-de-sac, the home’s mountain contemporary style fit in well for the area. Views from 16-foot walls of glass looked out across a small lake and wooded property over 3 acres of prime Utah forest. The architects made sure that every room of the house had views of the mountain range. California may have ocean views, but this Utah home offers ski-in/ski-out access to the Canyons Village ski area. Amenities inside the home included a “bento” room, which was a bunkroom with six bento-style beds and a large communal-style bath. The upper level of the home features a massive game room.

Currently, the highest-priced home for sale in Utah can be found in Springville. The asking price of $48 million includes 17,493 square feet, seven bedrooms, 10 bathrooms and four family rooms—all on 3,400 acres on the Left Fork of Hobble Creek Canyon on land that varies in elevation from 5,700 feet to over 9,100 feet. Hmm … mountain or ocean view? n Content is prepared expressly for Community and is not endorsed by City Weekly staff.

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Questionable Judgment Cam Faust and Kevin Joiner weren’t sure at first how to react when, during a fishing trip on Jan. 3 near Darwin, Australia, they “heard this faint like ‘ahhh ahhh,’” Faust told 9News, and found a naked man clinging to branches in the mangrove forest, filthy and covered with bug bites. Luke Voskresensky, 40, told them he’d gotten lost on his way to a New Year’s Eve party a few days earlier and had been eating snails to stay alive. Faust and Joiner offered him a cold beer and a ride back to town where they found out the real reason Voskresensky was stranded in the croc-infested waters: He had been arrested for armed robbery and fitted with an ankle monitor, which he had broken before escaping bail. “I was going to go visit him in hospital,” Faust said, but a paramedic said “’he’s in hospital with handcuffs on, two cops babysitting him’ so ... maybe we’ll leave it.”

Creme de la Weird Ending a dispute that began in 2014, Judge Luo Shengli of the Beijing Xicheng District People’s Court ruled in late December that a man identified only as Tian and his family must leave the hospital room they had been squatting in for six years. Tian had undergone a medical procedure at the hospital and spent a few days recovering there, accompanied by his family, but at discharge, Tian disputed the hospital’s bill and refused to leave, Oddity Central reported.

Tian’s parents settled in with him, bringing pots and pans, groceries and other personal items from home. Over the years, the hospital took the family to court on multiple occasions and in 2019 even waived its fees in an effort to expel them, but the family countersued. In his ruling, the judge found the family was entitled to compensation of about $73,000, which they accepted, and they were taken home in a hospital ambulance.

Bright Idea Thomas Dodd, 30, of Tamworth, Staffordshire, England, got into his cups over the Christmas holiday and was watching Celine Dion concerts on YouTube when he had a brainstorm: He would pay the 89 pounds to officially change his name to Celine Dion.

Dodd forgot all about it until the papers arrived in the mail on Dec. 30, Metro News reported. “I wish I knew what happened, but it was a hazy night,” Dodd/Dion said. He admits being concerned about the reaction he’ll get at work, and says his mother isn’t too pleased, but “if it gives people a laugh this year, then I don’t care. I think we could all do with a laugh after the year we’ve just had.”

Ironies Twitter users were quick to point out the irony after a picture was posted of an unidentified man arrested in Peshawar, Pakistan, on New Year’s Eve for wearing a mask during the pandemic. The man had been terrorizing people by riding through the city on his motorcycle while wearing a werewolf mask and roaring, The Independent reported. At least one commenter saw the silver lining: “People get scared of the dude and don’t come out on new year during COVID times, everyone stays safe. Isn’t this a good thing?”

Send your weird news items to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.

| CITYWEEKLY.NET |

Home of Your Dreams The house for sale at 43 Courthouse Drive in Guildhall, Vermont, has four bedrooms, two bathrooms, an updated kitchen and seven jail cells, complete with barred windows, toilets and cots.

United Press International reported that the property, listed for $149,000, used to serve as the Essex County jail, with the jailer’s quarters attached to the back of the house. Out of use since 1969, the cells are now covered in dust and, according to the listing, just waiting for a creative buyer to “bring ... ideas on what this 28-foot-by-40-foot wing could be!”

Names in the News When the car Jethro Geneus, 30, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, was riding in was pulled over by police in the early morning of Jan. 4, he told the officer the bags of brown and white substances found in his backpack were baking supplies—“sugar and a bag of cornstarch to bake a cake,” according to police. Geneus, who had an outstanding warrant, was taken into custody, WPEC reported, and the contents of both bags tested positive for molly or ecstasy. At the jail, Geneus dropped another bag of white powder, which tested positive for meth. He was charged with trafficking phenethylamines.

Unsocial Media Caleb Burczyk, 29, of Williston, North Dakota, was arrested and charged with burglary and terrorizing on Dec. 26 for kicking in the front door of a former co-worker’s home after the man apparently failed to answer Burczyk’s Facebook friend requests, according to court documents. “Accept my friend request or I’m going to murder you,” read one message, according to the affidavit, and another message said Burczyk would “come at” Thomas if he didn’t accept. The Smoking Gun reported Burczyk pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for an April appearance in District Court.

Compelling Explanations Holly Venderley, 20, of Bloomington, Indiana, told park rangers that she knew Mount Rushmore National Memorial was closed, and she knew she wasn’t allowed to climb the South Dakota monument—which is why she did it at night. The Rapid City Journal reported that a ranger monitoring security cameras saw a flashlight’s beam moving along the slope of broken rocks just beneath George Washington on Jan. 3 and ran to the area, where he saw Venderley climbing to the base of Washington’s lapel, about 200 feet up. The ranger demanded she get down, which she did. Venderley was sober and cooperative, and the next day she was fined $1,250 after pleading guilty to climbing the monument in federal court.

Government in Action Massachusetts already has an official fossil, reported NECN-TV, and now state Rep. Jack Lewis, of Framingham, is proposing the selection of a state dinosaur as well. “With so much uncertainty in our world today, can you think of a better way to help kids (and those young at heart) learn about the legislative process than (by) naming an official Massachusetts State Dinosaur?” he wrote on Twitter on Jan. 4. Lewis posted links to an online survey where citizens can choose the species they’d like to represent them and said it got 150 votes in the first two hours.

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32 | JANUARY 21, 2021

bring this ad in for

SLC 652 S. REDWOOD 801-886-2345

$0 DOWN BANKRUPTCY

WE PAY CASH

WE’LL EVEN PICK IT UP TEARAPART.COM

Your dog’s home

OGDEN 763 W. 12TH ST 801-564-6960

away from home

Free Consulations Emergency Filings

1-844-393-EZBK GatVannovaBK.com Hablamos Español

Locations in Sandy, Ogden & Provo

• Overnight dog boarding • Cageless dog daycare • Dog washing stations

801-683-3647 • WWW.UTAHDOGPARK.COM Woods Cross: 596 W 1500 S (Woods Cross) | Airport Location: 1977 W. North Temple

• We Make “House Calls” • Simple and Hassle Free • Paid For or Not • Quickly Sell Your Car, Truck or Van • Have a Check About 15 Minutes After We Arrive

“It’s Worth Your Time To Call”

Call or Text 24/6

801-560-9933 WWW.CARSOLDFORCASH.COM