City Weekly December 23, 2021

C I T Y W E E K LY. N E T D E C E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 — V O L . 3 8

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CITY WEEKLY

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SALT LAKE

Old media patterns alive and well in the year’s most suppressed news stories.

BY PAUL ROSENBERG

CONTENTS COVER STORY

PROJECT CENSORED, PART 1 Old media patterns alive and well in the year’s most suppressed news stories.

By Paul Rosenberg

19

Cover design by Anson Stevens-Bollen

6 OPINION 10 A&E 25 DINE 29 CINEMA 30 MUSIC 37 COMMUNITY

2 | DECEMBER 23, 2021

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Check out online-only columns Go to cityweekly.net for local Smart Bomb and Taking a restaurants serving you.

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STAY INFORMED! Want to know the latest on coronavirus? Get off Facebook and check out these three online resources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov World Health Organization: who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019 State of Utah Coronavirus Updates: coronavirus.utah.gov

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SOAP BOX “Walking the Talk,” Dec. 16 Cover Story

Why is seemingly every rights issue being tied to the sexual oritentation movement?

Is race a sexual identity? Workers rights?

Environmentalism?

They are all worthy goals, but not prerequisites long since fighting for its own future. Rather than building something better, some seem intent on destroying the Utah Pride Center for personal grievance.

ANDY DALRYMPLE

via Facebook Just guessing here, but nonprofits generally can’t afford to pay large wages. Many people like to work for them regardless, but unfortunately the cost of living in Utah is skyrocketing to unprecedented levels.

Sometimes survival is the priority.

AVENEUESSLC

via Instagram

Speed Trap

Is Helper City operating a speed trap? I have noticed that case after case coming before the Carbon County Justice Court are all citations written by Helper City Police. They evidently are very busy writing citations in the city and to travelers passing by on Highway 6.

I think citations from Helper are way out of proportion to the rest of the county. If anyone reading this feels that they were unjustly cited by Helper Police, I would like to hear from them. Let’s put a stop to speed traps!

LYNN THOMAS

Helper

“Madam Mayor,” Nov. 25 Cover Story

I realize this letter is a month late. However, it is prompted by the deplorable condition of the sidewalks along major streets

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that remain impassible due to negligent snow removal by businesses and construction companies or due to street snow piled on top of them by snowplow drivers, whose only objective appears to be cleaning every inch of snow from major streets, pedestrians be damned.

Of course, some of the problem may be UDOT-related. However, considering the long-time Utah dodge of passing the buck, one never knows who is to blame since both the city and Utah Department of Transportation are completely secretive as to who might be responsible for any given task or project.

So how does this relate to Mayor Erin Mendenhall? Well, one thing I discovered about Mendenhall in the article is that she tries to please every particular constituency of this one-party city (analogous to the one-party state, but a different party).

Mayor Mendenhall’s real problem is barely competent to mediocre management of

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day-to-day issues, like snow removal, which of course seems to negate her professed interest in pedestrians, not to mention residents with disabilities.

This is just one glaring example of inadequate enforcement of any number of quality-of-life statues. Of course, this may relate to her cronies at the Mayor’s Office. However, the buck stops with Mayor Mendenhall, as the saying goes.

So I would give Madam Mayor Mendenhall a “C” as an administrator and an “A” for juggling issues such that they never land in any particularly useful place.

STEVE IFSHIN

Salt Lake City Care to sound off ? Write to comments@cityweekly.net or post your thoughts on our social media.

THE BOX

What is your favorite holiday treat?

Mikey Saltas

Nothing beats a soft ginger bread cookie.

Larry Carter

Homemade red velvet cake.

Cody Winget

Peanut brittle

Katharine Biele

We always make Yorkshire pudding for Christmas dinner. It’s not a “treat” per se, but close enough— butter!

Carolyn Campbell

I love candy canes and all of the treats that are a combination of chocolate and peppermint.

Benjamin Wood

Bacon-wrapped water chestnuts and all the pies. All of them

Sofia Cifuentes

Wine and cookies

Eric Granato

Peppermint fudge.

Scott Renshaw

As someone who’s never really had a sweet tooth, I like making for others more than having them for myself.

Baking is therapeutic, especially during [gestures to the entire world].

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OPINION

Break Free

Remembering the revolutionary legacy of bell hooks.

G

loria Jean Watkins—known better as bell hooks—was America’s most influential feminist, educator and modern writer. She passed away last week, and you wouldn’t even know it happened. The mass media—which she explicitly cast down in her work—does not care to honor a woman who dedicated her entire life to feminism, education and love. It is in their best interest to forget people who are examples of integrity, because when we are miserable— or better yet, broken—we are that much easier to profit from.

Substance abuse is beginning to take forms beyond the traditional senses, and one could argue that mass media is an effective and far-reaching “drug,” one that hides in plain sight. Why is this the case? Why does every single one of us have an increasing need to stay connected, to admire others, to experience the un-experienced and to fill our lives with things that make us feel happy? Well, the thing is, if you were to read such powerful literature as that which is written by bell hooks—if you were to experience the writer’s thoughts as your own, allowing you to change the way you think and speak—you would be one less customer.

Mass media preys on the fact that, as a society, we are bleeding internally. We have wounds that reach far and deep to the core of the very fabric of our first flags. When wounds do not heal, infections flare and creep into our stream of thought. To heal these wounds, we distract ourselves from pain and carry on. We are taught to “carry on.” To do anything different, to move outside of our comfort zone, is forbidden. And so, we carry on through patriarchal methods.

Mass media prays that we stay ignorant and divided.

BY CHANDLER PETERSON Still, the question remains: Why do we need to have some much—in order to be? From childhood, we are melted down through a patriarchal education, then hammered down through corporate wage-slavery. We are taught to treat knowledge from authorities with the utmost respect and that creativity should be met with resistance.

This drudgery of education, which exhausts most—and many will say, after graduating, is barely worth it—constantly reinforces the patriarchy. The values of our education system are timeliness, accuracy, obedience and “within-the-lines” thinking. Students are treated as objects and do nothing but absorb the predetermined “deposits” from their professors. They then do their best to withdraw this education, during stressful “tests,” to prove their worth.

It is an education that, quite honestly, is not worth preserving. Maybe there’s a place for it in a future museum, to be provided as an example of compartmentalization and militarism, which students can gasp at in horror. Only then can it serve a worthy purpose.

Next to this monument of the “old ways” should be a statue of bell hooks, the powerful figure I write about, to exemplify the beginnings of praxis—one of a unique pedagogy that loves, liberates, inspires and transgresses far from the current patriarchy. When we see nothing but an onslaught of those who are ahead of us—more educated than us, more paid than us, more positioned than us—then we start to idolize them and alienate ourselves.

That is where we are in our current society. Everyone is alienated. Some alienate with others, to varying degrees, but it is nonetheless digressive. We fixate on how we become a better version of our current selves—one with less responsibility, less chores, less to-dos—and it leaves us with a society that cannot truly transform the world.

We treat work as a safe place to “disconnect” ourselves, where we do not need to genuinely think, where we daydream of when it will finally end. We use monetization from that work to buy things that make us feel happy, but they can

never bring happiness. That is why, across all class levels, we cannot stop procuring “deposits.” We are desperately trying to heal serious wounds with consumption—any other type of distraction—and we are finding that patriarchy is not cracked up to what has been promised.

The “American dream” no longer exists for everyone and, surprisingly, it has an impact on a multitude of people (the benefit of the internet is the massive information share).

These failures dampen productivity, happiness and transformation. With only band-aid solutions, we are at risk of becoming a stuck society—one that Brazilian philosopher Paulo Freire might say is succumbing to “assistencialism” (where recipients are treated as passive objects) and massification. Such solutions are unlikely to heal our wounds.

It’s hardly possible to summarize the work of such a respectable and inspiring figure as bell hooks in a column. To do so is a feeble attempt to honor the passing of a trailblazer.

However, her work can be highlighted and given credit to, which will hopefully prompt others to read it. Doing so is to begin to understand love and genuine education.

When I read bell hooks, I can hardly fathom how her work penetrates every aspect of life while providing captivating and loving insights. I am grateful for her work, as we all shoud be. I hope to possess a fraction of the character that she has exhibited.

We all could use more bell hooks in our life, rather than the negative attention-craving mass media. To empower and free ourselves to be human, we could transform our world through education, commitment and emotional development. When we commit to this education—and not in a gradual manner that only benefits those in power—we can look forward to building a healing society, one that values creativity, reconciliation and spaces where people can feel true love. CW Private Eye is off this week. Chandler Peterson resides in Clearfield. Send feedback to @Chandlahpete on Twitter.

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HITS&MISSES

BY KATHARINE BIELE @kathybiele

HIT: Playing Safe

Welcome to the modern day, when kids are bragging about school shootings on one app and reporting active shooters on another. Utah government, health and education leaders are once again encouraging use of the SafeUT app after a string of too-close-for-comfort incidents involving guns and children.

The app was originally meant to combat bullying and suicide, but this is the United States, where the freedom to harm and perhaps kill is a deeply held belief. That’s also true of the antivaxxers spreading the joy of COVID far and wide, but school shootings are a different animal, somehow becoming “dope” through TikTok videos and the fleeting fame of teenage gunmen, as Fox13 and others reported. Apparently it was “American School Shooting Day.” Celebrate! At least two Utah students in different schools here were arrested— pretty mild compared to 90 in Detroit.

As well-known “Commie Columnist” Gail Collins notes, we could at least require guns to be locked up. Instead, we have an app.

MISS: No Bueno

What you see from the government is angst. What you see from developers is glee. Get ready for the onslaught of people coming to Utah, they say. But the planning piece is less than obvious.

Throughout the state, housing projects are peppering almost any vacant piece of land, typically against the frustrations of neighbors, who tend to lose the fight. Bueno Avenue was the latest to go, as the Salt Lake City Council approved demolition of older, affordable homes for a higher-density micro housing project on 10 lots, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. Neighborhood advocates and the tenant-friendly Wasatch Tenants United protested in the halls, as they have for more than a year. “Few projects in the capital city’s recent construction boom have framed the challenges of its ongoing housing crisis more starkly,” the Trib reported.

MISS: Wedded Bliss

You have to hand it to Lois Collins of the Deseret News—she knows her beat and her beat is marriage. Almost weekly, the newspaper comes out with yet another story on how marriage is good, marriage and religion go hand-in-hand and divorce is a product of family trauma and premarital sex. Of course, this laser-focus on marriage and family is not unusual for the church-owned Deseret.

Collins researches a lot of studies— some national, some local. But some of the findings are just head-scratchers.

For instance, the premarital partner count. Researchers “found the highest link to divorce among those with six or more premarital partners, then next highest among those with one or two premarital partners. Having three to five partners was far less linked to divorce, which puzzled them.” But she did note that marriages in a person’s early teens or 20s are those most likely to fail. Listen up, Utahns.

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

Bears Ear-less

The indigenous community in Utah is clearly suffering whiplash, and the state of Utah is OK with that. After the latest redistricting fiasco, it has become evident that Utah is still sticking with the Trumpster, who shrunk the Bears Ears National Monument not by just a little, but by 85%. Why? Of course to reverse the Obama-era public lands policies, but also as a hand-out to the oil and gas industry. “On December 4th, the State of Utah issued a multi-million dollar contract bid, furthering their plans to file a lawsuit challenging the restoration of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, possibly all the way to the Supreme Court,” says the Southern Utah Wilderness Society, whose podcast We Protest explains the repercussions. “The state was clearly not listening to the people,” they say. So, we’re talking about a lot of taxpayer dollars. Listen to the podcast, and then send a message to Gov. Spencer Cox and Attorney General Sean Reyes that “pursuing this lawsuit would be another monumental mistake.” Virtual, anytime, free. https://bit.ly/3dZx7R1

Food Giveaway

It’s the holiday season, but that’s not the only time people need food. Still, it is a time of giving, and the Christmas Drive-up Food Giveaway is one such effort. Did you know that 1 in 8 Utah kids face hunger every day? That’s 113,700 children. Add in the adults and that adds up to 355,550 people in Utah regularly facing food insecurity. The pandemic only made it worse. So this season, if you know someone in need, help them to receive a turkey and a box of holiday food.

Rowland Hall-St. Mark’s Middle School, 843 S. Lincoln St., Thursday, Dec. 23, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., free. https://bit.ly/3saaPnN

How About the Pets?

We know that the holidays focus on toys and more toys, but there is another more important goal—empathy. Take your kids to PAWliday Crafts for Kids: Recycled Inventions, where they can create their own toys and treats for dogs and cats and then donate their final project to a local animal shelter. Salt Lake County Animal Shelter’s humane educator will be running eight virtual workshops. “We will be using odds and ends you most likely have around the house for each activity, so no need to shop.” Kindness and empathy starts with the children.

Virtual, Tuesday, Dec. 28, 4 p.m., free. https://bit.ly/3sdMa1K

Need a Job?

You keep getting told that unemployment is way down. So why are you still scrambling for a job? They call it the Great Resignation, where many during the pandemic have left jobs or given up searching, and there are still between 10 million and 20 million unemployed in the United States. Many people are simply confused about whether they are actually unemployed or simply on an extended absence from work. Of course, there are lots of reasons, but if you are looking for work or want to change jobs or if you’re preparing for an interview, you should check out the Free Jobs Clinic, hosted by BOD Mogul Consult. Virtual, Tuesday, Dec. 28, 6 a.m., free. https://bit.ly/3GTpR5M

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DECEMBER 23, 2021 | 9

ENTERTAINMENT PICKS, DECEMBER 23-29, 2021

Complete listings online at cityweekly.net

When it comes to works of visual art, it’s not the size that matters. Though it’s often true that large-scale works create an immediate impression simply by virtue of that scope, smaller creations are often just as dynamic, inviting viewers into their intimacy. Representation in a digital format, or on a newsprint page, can’t really do justice to the artist’s choice. Just as some artistic ideas need to be presented in a large size, others need to be presented in a smaller size.

Modern West Fine Art explores that notion in its holiday show Big + Small, presenting works by its represented artists that are divided by size, allowing guests to explore both ends of that spectrum. Downstairs, experience the Big side of the show, with works like Patrick Dean Hubbell’s “Star Portal” attempting to capture the immensity of universe, or Meggan Waltman’s “L’ancre dans le contre-courant” offering explosive bursts of color. Upstairs, Kiki Gaffney’s “Nature’s Notation I” (pictured) applies acrylic, graphite and gold leaf to a mounted photograph for an attempt to find precision in the wild natural world, all in 14” x 11”. Additional participating artists include Shalee Cooper, Ben Steele, Fidalis Buehler and Al Denyer.

The counterpoints between the two

KIKI GAFFNEY

Big + Small @ Modern West Fine Art

presentations provide a unique viewing experience.

Big + Small runs through Jan. 7 at Modern West Fine Art (412 S. 700 West) with operating hours Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., with a holiday break Dec. 24 – Jan. 3. Visit modernwestfineart.com for additional information about the exhibition and the gallery’s represented artists. (Scott Renshaw)

Body Logic Dance: The Nutcracker and the Mouse Queen One of the true test of an artistic work’s greatness is the number of different ways it can be interpreted creatively while still remaining true to the spirit of the source. E.T.A. Hoffman’s 1816 story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King has become a beloved holiday favorite, largely as a result of its connection to the now-familiar Tchaikovsky ballet. But there’s more to this story than tutus and pointe shoes, especially given the anarchic sensibility of toys coming to life and doing battle.

Midvale-based Body Logic Dance Company takes its distinctive stab at Hoffman’s tale with The Nutcracker and the Mouse Queen, a brand-new story choreographed by Body Logic’s artistic director Serena Webb and company member Karyn Andrasko. The community based case includes both adults and children, taking a more modern approach to the narrative of a young girl named Marie and the fanciful Christmas presents fashioned by her godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer. The design and costumes take on a steampunk theme, while the music and dance represent

TDK

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ESSENTIALS

the

a variety of styles beyond the well-known orchestral score. It’s a Nutcracker for those who love the idea of a Nutcracker tradition, with a less-than-traditional mindset.

The Nutcracker and the Mouse Queen runs Dec. 21-23 at the Midvalley Performing Arts Center (2525 Taylorsville Blvd., Taylorsville), with performances 7:30 p.m. nightly; tickets are $15-$30. Face coverings are recommended for all attendees regardless of vaccination status, and the venue may be filled to capacity.

Visit arttix.org for tickets, or bodylogicdance. com for additional event information. (SR)

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ENTERTAINMENT PICKS, DECEMBER 23-29, 2021

Complete listings online at cityweekly.net

How does a piece of popular culture catch lightning in a bottle and become a sensation to the extent that it’s virtually impossible not to know about it? Certainly quality helps, but that’s no guarantee; controversy can get the ball rolling but only takes things so far. But perhaps the most important single factor is that it feels like you can identify a “before” and “after” moment, realizing that a paradigm has shifted and that, whether you like it or not, a form has changed.

That’s how things felt when Hamilton premiered in 2015, taking the dusty, chiseledin-marble story of the Founding Fathers and blowing it up, employing racially-diverse casting and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda’s trademark rapid-fire lyrics to re-frame history based on (as one memorable song lyric puts it) who lives, who dies, who tells your story.

The tale of Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, George Washington, Thomas

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COURTESY PHOTO

Hamilton

Jefferson and more legendary figures becomes a humanizing story of self-doubt, tragic mistakes and even the occasional comedic interlude, filled with instantly memorable songs.

Even if you caught the recorded version of the original Broadway cast that streamed in 2020, it’s not the same as the explosive energy that accompanies experiencing it live.

The touring company of Hamilton visits the Eccles Theater (131 S. Main) Dec. 28 – Jan. 23 for 31 performances, with ticket ranging from $59 - $449. Face coverings are required for all patrons throughout the performance; visit arttix.org for tickets and for additional health & safety and event information. (SR)

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A&E

Remote Learning

The “new normal” of putting on a kid-friendly theater show for an at-home audience

BY SCOTT RENSHAW scottr@cityweekly.net @scottrenshaw

A

fter directing 11 family-friendly holiday productions for Salt Lake Acting Company—not to mention a role as artistic director for University of Utah Youth Theatre—you’d think that Penelope Caywood would be pretty comfortable overseeing a show like this season’s Elephant and Piggie’s “We Are in a Play.” And that’s still mostly true, although the ongoing weirdness that is 2021 means this is a different kind of production than those she has directed previously.

Adapted by author Mo Willems from his Elephant and Piggie book series into an original musical with composer Deborah Wicks LaPuma, Elephant and Piggie’s “We Are in a Play” will be offered by SLAC exclusively in a streaming format to ensure a safe viewing experience while many younger children remain unvaccinated.

For Caywood, however, the question at the outset of preparation was whether they were making a movie, or making a filmed play.

“The whole team agreed, we’re still making a play, and the play is being filmed,” Caywood says. “So I really didn’t do anything differently, because I wanted to make

it feel like kids are coming to the show.”

Caywood credits videographer Kenny Riches for being a key collaborator in the process, in the same way that all of the participants in a live theater production are collaborators. The cast members performed the show through in its entirety, not in sections the way one might expect for a filmed piece, though Riches did bring in implements like tracks for the camera to give it a more cinematic sensibility. Otherwise, there were very few instances where Caywood felt she needed to direct the play differently from one that would have a live audience.

“There’s one part in the show where the actors are supposed to talk to the audience and do an audience-participation section, so that was challenging: Do we have the actors talk to the camera in that moment?”

Caywood says. “But besides that … I’ve gotten to see a couple of clips. I feel like I’ve directed something for Sesame Street, but I didn’t have to block it that way. … If something is working, that is the genius of Kenny making those adaptations.”

Caywood’s depth of experience with this kind of show certainly also plays a role, to the extent that she helps participate every year in the selection of the annual familyfriendly production. As a member of national organizations like Theatre for Young Audiences, she often has her finger on the pulse of interesting new work coming down the road, but says that identifying a great show for kids isn’t radically different from identifying a great show for an audience of any age.

“I happen to like really fun, snappy music that is also sophisticated—things that have harmonies that an adult would want to listen to,” Caywood says. “Nothing that feels like kids are being condescended to.

I want all the bells and whistles in a show that I would want to see as an adult.”

Often, as in the case of Elephant and Piggie, those shows are adaptations of fa-

DAVID DANIELS

THEATER

miliar works of children’s literature, with previous productions showcasing works like Frog and Toad and Pete the Cat. Such productions have the advantage of a builtin marketing hook, not only for kids who might recognize and be attracted to certain characters, but to parents with a nostalgic recollection.

Still, for all the work that goes into choosing the right play and finding all the right collaborators, the final piece of the theater puzzle usually involves an audience—and it’s here that Caywood realizes that things will inevitably be different. In past years, the family shows would have student matinees four days before the official opening night, allowing the creative team to learn what was working and what might need to be tweaked. For Elephant and Piggie, that won’t be part of the process.

“I have done a bunch of these shows, but it was a little bit sad to not hear those voices, the oohs, the ahhs, the laughter,” Caywood says. “And that’s also kind of a gift to those actors for all that hard work. There’s no other audience like a kids’ audience.”

The cast of Salt Lake Acting Company’s Elephant and Piggie’s “We Are in a Play”

Caywood notes that she herself will have that opportunity to gauge audience reaction when she visits elementary schools for a residency that will allow her to show Elephant and Piggie’s “We are in a Show” to first- and second-graders. That will be her chance not just for a personal payoff for the work of creating the show, but a payoff for everyone involved.

“The actors that put this show together are so lovely,” she says. “I’m ready to record with my phone the kids’ reactions, to text to everybody and let them know, ‘You did it, you did a great job.’” CW

ELEPHANT AND PIGGIE’S “WE ARE IN A PLAY”

Salt Lake Acting Company Streaming Dec. 26 – Jan. 9 $10 per household/48 hour viewing window SLACDigital.AtHomeArts.org

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Old media patterns alive and well in the year’s most suppressed news stories.

BY PAUL ROSENBERG COMMENTS@CITYWEEKLY.NET

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DECEMBER 23, 2021 | 19

“Soaring prescription drug costs have been widely reported by corporate news outlets,” Project Censored notes, but they’ve utterly ignored the staggering resulting cost in human lives.

More than 1.1 million seniors enrolled in Medicare programs could die prematurely in the next decade due to unaffordable prescription drugs, according to a November 2020 study reported on

by Kenny Stancil for Common Dreams.

“As medicines become increasingly expensive, patients skip doses, ration prescriptions, or quit treatment altogether,” Project Censored explained, a phenomenon known as “cost-related nonadherence,” which will become “a leading cause of death in the U.S., ahead of diabetes, influenza, pneumonia, and kidney disease” by 2030, according to the study by the nonprofit West Health Policy Center and Xcenda, the research arm of Amerisource-Bergen, a drug distributor.

“Even with Medicare insurance, what seniors pay is linked to a drug’s price,” the study explained, which allowed them “to model how cost-related nonadherence would change under policies that would reduce drug prices, such as Medicare negotiation.” The study focused on

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1. Prescription Drug Costs Set to Become a Leading Cause of Death for Elderly Americans

five medical conditions that “significantly affect seniors and for which effective pharmaceutical treatments are available,” including three types of heart disease, chronic kidney disease, and Type 2 diabetes.

“The good news is that policy changes can curb the power of Big Pharma, resulting in far fewer avoidable deaths,” Stancil reported. “Medicare negotiation is projected to reduce drug prices and seniors’ cost-sharing, which could prevent nearly 94,000 seniors’ deaths annually and save $475.9 billion,” the study stated as one of its key findings.

“As a model for policymakers, the study pointed specifically to the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act (H.R. 3),” which passed the House in December 2019, but died in the Senate, Project Censored noted.

A May 2021 op-ed in The Hill, co-authored by Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vermont), cited the study’s figures on preventable deaths and explained its basic framework. “H.R. 3 would limit the annual out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries to no more than $2,000, and would establish a top negotiated price for drugs at no more than 120% of the average of six other wealthy nations,” the op-ed stated. “H.R. 3 would [also] support and protect innovation and new drug development by investing some of the expected savings into the world-class research funded through the NIH.” But this op-ed was a rare exception. “The public’s understanding of the debate surrounding H.R. 3 and other proposed legislation designed to control inflation in prescription drug prices ought to be informed by accurate information about the grim repercussions of continuing the status quo,” Project Censored noted. “Sadly, the corporate media have failed to provide the public with such information for far too long, and the consequences could turn out to be deadly for millions of seniors.”

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roject Censored’s co-directors, Mickey Huff and Andy Lee Roth, title their introduction to this year’s edition of State of the Free Press, “A Return to News Normalcy?” drawing a direct parallel between our world today to that of post-World War I America, “When the United States faced another raging pandemic and economic recession,” with other sources of tumult as well.

“The United States then had experienced a crackdown on civil liberties and free speech in the form of Espionage and Sedition Acts; racial tensions flared during the Red Summer of 1919 as violence erupted from Chicago to Tulsa; Prohibition was the law of the land; and the first wave of US feminism ended with the passage of the 19th Amendment.” At the time, they noted, “People yearned for a return to ‘normalcy,’ as then–presidential hopeful Warren G. Harding proclaimed.”

But it was not to be. “The desire for simpler times, however, was more a phantom than a reality, as millions of Americans ultimately had to adjust to an ever- and fast-changing world,” including a rapidly changing media landscape—most notably the explosion of radio. And today, we should expect much the same.

Every major change in the media landscape has brought with it the promise of expanded horizons and democratic possibility—the potential for a broader, more inclusive public conversation—only to see many of the old patterns of division, exclusion and demonization recur in new ways as well as old, as recent revelations about Facebook vividly remind us.

Project Censored isn’t alone in drawing parallels to a century ago, of course.

The pandemic above all has expanded journalistic horizons, as a matter of necessity. To a lesser extent, the threat to American democracy—part of a worldwide trend of democratic backsliding—has done so as well. But though some have expanded their horizons, many more continue as if little or nothing has fundamentally changed.

Day-to-day news stories perpetuate the fantasy that normal has already returned. And in one sense they’re right: The normal patterns of exclusion and suppression that Project Censored has been tracking for over 40 years continue to dominate, with even the latest wrinkles fitting into well-established, if evolving, broad patterns that are depressingly familiar.

These patterns are reflected in Project Censored’s Top 10 list, with two stories each about labor struggles, racism, threats to health, the environment and free speech. Several stories this year deal with topics that have gotten widespread attention—but with aspects that have been virtually, or entirely, ignored. The No. 1 story, for example, deals with prescription drug costs, a widely covered story, but with a significant difference in focus: how much those costs translate to in lost lives. The No. 9 story deals with police violence against people of color, but with a new focus that’s actually quite old: vicious police dog attacks. The No. 4 story deals with climate change, again with a different focus: how heavily-industrialized nations like the U.S. “have effectively colonized the global atmospheric commons for the sake of their own industrial growth.”

The point of Project Censored has never been just to expose significant stories that have been ignored, but rather to expose them as portals to a wider landscape of understanding and action. In that spirit, here is our summary of this year’s Top 10 censored stories:

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22 | DECEMBER 23, 2021

2. Journalists Investigating Financial Crimes Threatened by Elites

Financial crimes of global elites, involving the flow of dirty money through some of the world’s most powerful banks, have made major headlines in recent years, most notably with the Panama Papers in 2016 and the FinSen Files in 2020.

But we’d know a great deal more if not for the flood of threats faced by journalists doing this work—a major story that hasn’t been told in America’s corporate media, despite a detailed report from Foreign Policy Centre (FPC), “Unsafe for Scrutiny,” released in November 2020.

The report was based on a survey of 63 investigative journalists from 41 countries, which found that 71% had experienced threats and/or harassment while doing their investigations, with a large portion of those (73%) experiencing legal threats as well. Its findings were described by Spencer Woodman in an article for the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

“The report found that legal threats are chief among the types of harassment facing journalists conducting financial investigations, and often seek to exploit a skewed balance of power between often-underfunded reporting enterprises and the legal might of attorneys hired by the world’s wealthiest people and corporations,” Woodman wrote. “Focusing on frivolous cases known as ‘strategic lawsuits against public participation,’ or SLAPPs, the report asserts that such actions ‘can create a similar chilling effect on media freedom to more overt violence or attack.’” Legal threats are often communicated via private letters, “and, if successful in achieving their aim, the public will never know,” the report said.

Physical threats and online harassment were also a grave concern, but they were geographically uneven. “While no journalists surveyed in North America reported physical threats, 60% of respondents working in sub-Saharan Africa, and 50% of respondents from North Africa and the Middle East region, reported threats of physical attack,” Woodman noted.

Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered by a car bomb in Malta in October 2017, but Woodman added, “The report asserts that an assassination is often not a starting point for those seeking to silence reporters but instead a crime committed after a pattern of escalating threats, noting that Caruana Galizia had faced numerous legal threats and actions and that her family is still fighting 25 lawsuits over her reporting.”

Project Censored noted Galizia’s murder along with that of Slovak investigative journalist Ján Kuciak, adding that “According to FPC’s report, an additional thirty reporters from Brazil, Russia, India, Ukraine, Mexico, and other countries who were researching financial corruption have been murdered since 2017.”

As for legal threats, “Unlike Canada, Australia and certain U.S. states, the United Kingdom has not passed anti-SLAPP legislation, making its courts an attractive venue for elites seeking to use the law to bully journalists into silence,” Project Censored noted, citing a May 8, 2021, Guardian column by Nick Cohen that described the UK’s court system as “the censorship capital of the democratic world.” Cohen in turn cited the case of financial reporter Catherine Belton, author of the 2020 book, Putin’s People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West.

“As Cohen explained, in response, a host of Putin’s super-wealthy associates are now bombarding Belton with one lawsuit after another,” Project Censored observed.

The silence about this silencing has been deafening, Project Censored noted.

There has been some coverage overseas, but “To date, however, no major commercial newspaper or broadcast outlet in the United States has so much as mentioned the FPC’s report.”

3. Historic Wave of Wildcat Strikes for Workers’ Rights

After millions of people were designated “essential workers” when the U.S. went into lockdown in March 2020, thousands of wildcat strikes erupted to challenge dangerous working conditions and chronic low wages, exacerbated by refusal to protect against COVID-19 and cutting or sharply increasing the cost of medical insurance, for those who had it.

A further strike surge was driven by “Black and Brown workers using digital technologies to organize collective actions as a way to press some of the demands for racial justice raised by Black Lives Matter and George Floyd protestors,” Project Censored noted. The nation’s fourth busiest port, Charleston, South Carolina, shut down during George Floyd’s funeral on June 9, for example.

At the labor news website Payday Report, Mike Elk created a continuously updated COVID-19 Strike Wave Interactive Map, which had identified “1,100 wildcat strikes as of March 24, 2021, many of which the corporate media have chosen to ignore,” according to Project Censored, including “more than 600 strikes or work stoppages by workers in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement,” in June 2020 alone, according to Elk. “While local and regional newspapers and broadcast news outlets have reported on particular local actions, corporate news coverage has failed to report the strike wave as a wave, at no time connecting the dots of all the individual, seemingly isolated work stoppages and walkouts to create a picture of the overarching trend,” Project Censored reported.

The sole exception where there was national coverage was in August 2020 when highly-paid baseball and basketball pro athletes walked out in violation of their contracts to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake by Wisconsin police. The coverage ended quickly once they returned a few days later.

Wildcat strikes occur when workers simply stop working, often in response to a specific incident, such as employer actions putting lives at risk by skimping on protective gear or attempting to cut workers’ health care. The situation was exacerbated by the Trump administration’s failure to issue mandates requiring specific safety measures, as reported by Michael Sainato at the Guardian.

Examples covered by Elk that Project Censored cited include: —In Santa Rosa, California, 700 health-care workers went on strike because their hospital lacked sufficient personal protective equipment to keep employees safe, and management warned employees that their insurance fees would be doubled if they wanted continued coverage for their families.

—In St. Joseph, Missouri, 120 sheet metal workers went on strike due to management’s repeated attempts to cut their health-care benefits during the pandemic.

—In May 2020, workers at 50 McDonald’s, Burger King, Starbucks and other fast food establishments throughout Florida staged a day-long strike for higher pay and better protective equipment.

—In April 2021, employees at Chicago-area Peet’s Coffee & Tea locations staged a coordinated work stoppage along with the “Fight for $15” campaign to demand workplace protections and quarantine pay.

Furthermore, Elk noted that the 600 strikes in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement “is likely a severe underestimation, as many non-union Black and Brown workers are now calling out en masse to attend Black Lives Matter protests without it ever being reported in the press or on social media.”

Elk also noted that “[M]any Black workers interviewed by Payday Report say that, once again, white labor leaders are failing to understand non-traditional organizing that has developed from viral social media movements. ... Instagram automation and similar automation on Facebook and Twitter help to build a huge following for grassroots movements, so something that had no following a month ago can suddenly go viral and reach millions of people within hours or even minutes.”

That threat empowers even solitary individual workers, Tulsa-based Black filmmaker and activist Marq Lewis told Elk: “He says he personally knows of multiple examples of Black workers in Tulsa approaching their bosses without the support of a union and winning changes in their workplace. ‘A lot of people may say this is not a strike, well, you tell that to these workers now who are getting their grievances heard,’ Lewis says.”

4. ‘Climate Debtor’ Nations ‘Colonized’ the Atmosphere

5. Microplastics and Toxic Chemicals Increasingly Prevalent in World’s Oceans

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DECEMBER 23, 2021 | 23

Next week in City Weekly : Part 2 of Project Censored’s annual Top 10 stories list.

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According to a pair of scientific studies published in the summer of 2020, microplastic particles and a family of toxic chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (or PFAS) have become more widespread in the world’s oceans than previously realized and have begun to contaminate the global seafood supply.

The two problems are related because PFAS—a family of highly stable “forever chemicals” with more than 4,700 known members—can occur as microplastics, can stick to microplastic particles in water, and are involved in the production of plastics.

In July 2020, a German-American study published in the scholarly journal Environmental Science & Technology revealed that PFAS—which are used in a range of products including carpets, furniture, clothing, food packaging and nonstick coatings—have now been found in the Arctic Ocean.

“This discovery worries scientists,” Project Censored explains, “because it means that PFAS can reach any body of water anywhere in the world and that such chemicals are likely present in our water supply.” This is concerning because, as Daniel Ross reported for Truthout, there are “Known human health impacts ... includ[ing] certain cancers, liver damage, thyroid problems and increased risk of asthma. As endocrine disruptors, these chemicals have been linked to increased risk of severe COVID-19.”

Ross cited a number of other studies as well, noting that, “Emerging research suggests that one important pathway [for PFAS spreading] is through the air and in rainwater,” and that they had been widely detected in China, the U.S. and elsewhere.

“PFASs are probably detectable in ‘all major water supplies’ in the U.S.,” according to an Environmental Working Group study, Ross reported. “What’s more, over 200 million Americans could be drinking water containing PFAS above a level EWG scientists believe is safe, according to the organization’s most recent findings.”

The second study, in August 2020, also published in Environmental Science & Technology, came from researchers at the QUEX Institute, a partnership between the University of Exeter and the University of Queensland.

They looked for and found microplastics (pieces of plastic, less than five millimeters in length— about the size of a sesame seed) in five seafood products sold in Australian markets: crabs, oysters, prawns, squid and sardines, which had the highest concentration.

According to the study’s lead author, as reported by Robby Berman in Medical News Today, a seafood eater with an average serving “could be exposed to ... up to 30 mg of plastic when eating sardines,” about as much as a grain of rice. “We do not fully understand the risks to human health of ingesting plastic, but this new method [they used for detecting selected plastics] will make it easier for us to find out,” another co-author said.

“Roughly 17% of the protein humans consume worldwide is seafood,” Berman noted. “The findings, therefore, suggest people who regularly eat seafood are also regularly eating plastic.”

Aside from the Guardian, “no major news outlet has paid attention to the topic of microplastics in seafood,” Project Censored noted. The exception referred to was an October 2020 story in The Guardian by Graham Readfearn, reporting on a new Australian study indicating that at least 14 million tons of microplastics are likely sitting on the ocean floor—“more than 30 times as much plastic at the bottom of the world’s ocean than there is floating at the surface.”

However, the study’s co-author, Dr. Denise Hardesty, “said the amount of plastic on the ocean floor was relatively small compared to all the plastics being released, suggesting the deep-sea sediments were not currently a major resting place for plastics,” Readfearn reported.

“Leaders from more than 70 countries signed a voluntary pledge in September to reverse biodiversity loss, which included a goal to stop plastic entering the ocean by 2050,” Readfearn noted, but major countries—including the United States, Brazil, China, Russia, India and Australia—had not signed on.

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The United States and other developed countries in the global north are responsible for 92% of all the excess carbon dioxide emissions driving global warming, according to a study in the September issue of The Lancet Planetary Health. The U.S. alone was responsible for 40%, followed by Russia and Germany (8% each), the United Kingdom (7%), and Japan (5%).

The study’s author, economic anthropologist Jason Hickel, told Sarah Lazare of In These Times that his research began from the premises that “the atmosphere is a common resource” and that “all people should have equal access” to a fair share of it.

He calculated each nation’s fair share of a sustainable global carbon budget, based on population, along with an analysis of “territorial emissions from 1850 to 1969, and consumption-based emissions from 1970 to 2015.” In turn, this was used to calculate “the extent to which each country has overshot or undershot its fair share,” according to the study. Out of that came the above list of the largest climate debtors.

The results, he told In These Times, show that “the countries of the Global North have ‘stolen’ a big chunk of the atmospheric fair-shares of poorer countries, and on top of that are responsible for the vast majority of excess emissions ... [T]hey have effectively colonized the global atmospheric commons for the sake of their own industrial growth.”

In contrast, the study found that “most countries in the Global South were within their boundary fair shares, including India and China (although China will overshoot soon).” The leading climate creditors to date are India (34% of global “undershoots”), China (11%), Bangladesh and Indonesia (5% each) and Nigeria (4%).

“High-income countries must not only reduce emissions to zero more quickly than other countries, but they must also pay down their climate debts,” the study said. “Just as many of these countries have relied on the appropriation of labour and resources from the Global South for their own economic growth, they have also relied on the appropriation of global atmospheric commons, with consequences that harm the Global South disproportionately.”

“Other studies and analyses have pointed to the disproportionate responsibility of the Global North, and wealthy countries, for driving the climate crisis,” Lazare noted. Most dramatically, a 2015 study by Oxfam International “found that the poorest half of the world’s population— roughly 3.5 billion people—are to blame for just 10% of ‘total global emissions attributed to individual consumption,’ yet they ‘live overwhelmingly in the countries most vulnerable to climate change,’” she reported.

“In contrast, the richest 10% of people in the world are responsible for roughly 50% of global emissions.”

“Corporate news outlets appear to have entirely ignored the findings of Jason Hickel’s Lancet study,” Project Censored noted. “Although it may be imperative to act ‘quickly and together’ to reduce carbon emissions, as Vice President Harris asserted at the April 2021 climate summit, corporate media have failed to cover Hickel’s cutting-edge research, which demonstrates that the United States and other would-be leaders in addressing climate change are in fact, as the world’s worst climate debtors, disproportionately responsible for climate breakdown.”

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24 | DECEMBER 23, 2021

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DECEMBER 23, 2021 | 25

n my time as a local journalist, I’ve come to the realization that Utah is adept at mixing business with pleasure—as long as that pleasure is rated PG, anyway. Since food and drink represent the pleasures that currently occupy my journalistic interests, I’m starting to see some parallels between Utah’s entrepreneurial spirit and the current state of our hospitality industry. It’s too early to tell whether these parallels are going to make things better or worse for our restaurant scene, but this week’s dining adventures have made me want to at least pause, reflect, and get something down on paper before the winds of change start rearranging the furniture.

My first stop was Flanker Kitchen + Sporting Club (6 N. Rio Grande Street, Ste.35, 801-683-7070, flankerslc.com), a recently opened restaurant/nightclub/karaoke bar/VR sports arcade. I like to think that Flanker will maintain a competitive but healthy relationship with the Dave and Busters on the opposite end of The Gateway complex—though I think Flanker was conceived with a more discerning demo-

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What role will hospitality groups with deep pockets play in Utah’s food scene?

There are things I like about The Crack Shack so far. It’s cool that the restaurant will feature beer from local breweries and proceeds from the grand opening event will be donated to local LGBTQ+ nonprofit Encircle. I also like how their menu features the ubiquitous fried chicken sandwich—there’s the Coop Deville ($12) with pickles and napa cabbage and the Firebird ($12) that borrows from the Nashville hot chicken school of thought—but isn’t beholden to it. There are lots of other chicken and egg-based dishes happening here, and their bowls like the Downward Dog ($11) with its pickled beets, quinoa and hummus, are quite refreshing.

On the quality spectrum that I use to judge these new fried chicken ventures, The Crack Shack’s birds are in the mid to top-tier range. Everything I tried was juicy and flavorful, but the place struggles a bit with their spicier offerings. Lots of promise within those fiery bites, but, at the moment, there’s a bit too much cayenne involved—it hits the back of your throat before you can even take a bite.

The Crack Shack’s Ninth and Ninth location—it’s right where Mazza used to be— will ensure that it gets a lot of traffic from its walkable neighborhood, but I do feel like the proliferation of chicken places is starting to wear thin. I absolutely love chicken in all its forms, but these days I’m to the point of constantly asking myself, “What came first? The chicken or the trend?”

Regardless of where your foodie soul lands on hospitality-centered investment groups like Carver Road and Savor, they are going to play a major part in the future of our local food scene. I can give you a hundred reasons why I am not the right person to predict whether that’s good or bad—all I can really say for sure is that it’s happening, dear readers. It’s happening. CW

Burgers so good they’ll blow your mind!

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Under the Influence

graphic in mind. If the live music, private karaoke rooms, and rentable VR golf simulations seem like a lot of hats for one destination to wear, knowing that it comes to us by way of the Las Vegas-based Carver Road Hospitality might explain a few things.

Flanker definitely feels like a Vegas import, but not in a bad way whatsoever—SLC is just a few liquor law amendments away from being just as debauched as its Nevada neighbor. I do like that Flanker has set itself up as whatever diners want it to be. It can be just a cool place to grab some food and drinks with friends or it can be the centerpiece to the karaoke and virtual golfthemed night of your life.

The food at Flanker is on par with what you’d expect from a place where socializing is the name of the game. Lots of great shareable appetizers that pull from the upscale gastropub playbook, but there are a few creative bites for those just here for the food. The lobster fritters ($17), for example, arrive dusted with powdered sugar beignetstyle, which helps accentuate the sweetness of the lobster and corn within. The truffled beef carpaccio ($17) is also a nice touch for those after something a bit more refined, though that ginger-soy marinade can tend to overpower the black truffle.

Later in the week I checked out a preopening event for The Crack Shack (912 E. 900 South, 385-715-0250, crackshack.com).

This Southern-California fried chicken franchise comes to us by way of Savory Restaurant Fund, a local investment group that specializes in restaurants—they’re a big part of why R&R BBQ, Swig and Mo’ Bettahs are so abundant across the Wasatch Front.

Savory has welcomed The Crack Shack into its ranks, so there’s a good bet we’re going to start seeing plenty more Crack Shacks opening their doors in the near future.

JACKLIN SLACK PHOTOGRAPHY

705 S. 700 E. | (801) 537-1433

onTAP Moab Brewing 686 S. Main, Moab TheMoabBrewery.com On Tap: Bougie Johnny’s Rose

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

Mountain West Cider 425 N. 400 West, SLC MountainWestCider.com On Tap: Lemongrass Ginger Hard Cider

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

OUTDOOR SEATING ON THE PATIO

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26 | DECEMBER 23, 2021

2 Row Brewing 6856 S. 300 West, Midvale 2RowBrewing.com On Tap: Feelin’ Hazy

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Thank you for your support!

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

Epic Brewing Co. 825 S. State, SLC EpicBrewing.com On Tap: Son of a Baptist Coffee Stout

Red Rock Brewing Multiple Locations RedRockBrewing.com On Tap: Baked Pastry Stout

Grid City Beer Works 333 W. 2100 South, SLC GridCityBeerWorks.com On Tap: Extra Pale Ale 2021

Hopkins Brewing Co. 1048 E. 2100 South, SLC HopkinsBrewingCompany.com On Tap: Cowboy Lite Hoppers Grill and Brewing 890 E. Fort Union Blvd, Midvale HoppersBrewPub.com Kiitos Brewing 608 W. 700 South, SLC KiitosBrewing.com

1465 S. 700 E. | 801.953.0636

brickscornerslc.com

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

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

VOTED BEST PIZZA 2021

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

Ogden River Brewing 358 Park Blvd, Ogden OgdenRiverBrewing.com On Tap: Injector Hazy IPA

Level Crossing Brewing Co. 2496 S. West Temple, South Salt Lake LevelCrossingBrewing.com On Tap: Vienna Lager

RoHa Brewing Project 30 Kensington Ave, SLC RoHaBrewing.com On Tap: Mild and Free British Mild Roosters Brewing Multiple Locations RoostersBrewingCo.com On Tap: Cosmic Autumn Rebellion SaltFire Brewing 2199 S. West Temple, South Salt Lake SaltFireBrewing.com On Tap: Grievance - Apple Brandy Barrel Aged Scotch Ale Salt Flats Brewing 2020 Industrial Circle, SLC SaltFlatsBeer.com On Tap: Pumpkin Spice Latte Ale Shades Brewing 154 W. Utopia Ave, South Salt Lake ShadesBrewing.beer On Tap: Winter Warmer Amber Ale Silver Reef 4391 S. Enterprise Drive, St. George StGeorgeBev.com

A list of what local craft breweries and cider houses have on tap this week Squatters 147 W. Broadway, SLC Squatters.com 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: Edel Pils Talisman Brewing Co. 1258 Gibson Ave, Ogden TalismanBrewingCo.com On Tap: 7th Wonder Pale Ale 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: Snowcat IPA 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

Series to Watch

New offerings from local breweries’ themed series

B

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reweries like to keep things interesting in regards to their customers’ long term enjoyment of any given beer in their portfolios. One way to keep that interest is to create special series offerings—beers that follow a theme or, at the very least, separate themselves from the rest of the pack.

Red Rock - Back Door Series (Double Juicy): The “Back Door Series” from Red Rock is only obtainable to-go from the back door of Red Rock’s downtown brewpub.

It can be any style of beer, but the “back door” label is the key to its hidden location.

This has a foggy golden color, with a bright white and fluffy cap including some splotches of lacing, and moderate carbonation on the pour. The aroma features stone fruit, very vague notions of tangerine and grapefruit, but loaded with mango, peach and some pineapple. Slightly bitter pine needle moderates the juicy fruit. Malts are typically light and bready, with touches of pale malt sweetness, honeyed biscuits and some undercooked white bread. Slightly caramelized malt sugars round things out, along with deeply floral notes with some hints of hibiscus. Pine sap and some raw honey might be floating around in there, too. It’s big and bold without being too aggressive.

The taste follows the nose closely, with a touch more bitterness. Tons of stone fruit are present: mango, peach and something like papaya. Tangerine with some touches of grapefruit and orange rind appear, with oily resin. Tons of floral elements, including fresh flowers and dried hibiscus. Malts are lightly sweet with a combination of pale malts, offering bready elements and a touch of raw biscuit dough.

Overall: What Red Rock’s Chris Harlin has done with this beer is create something classic, rustic and sharp all at once. It’s highly drinkable—in fact, it is crushable (though it may end up crushing you). I finished off the 16-ounce bottle by myself, and I am feeling the effects: lulling me to sleep, spreading a smile across my face. I am so glad that I got to try this beer. This is something that local beer-hunters should have on their radars.

Saltfire - A Series of Singularities (Citra): This series features a single variety of hop. I’m a big fan of single hop IPAs, because they offer a great education as to the flavor profiles of individual hops.

The Citra version pours a foggy, goldenrod body, capped with multiple fingers of dense, fluffy white foam. The aroma features flaky malts, introducing a softer pineapple into mango flesh. A resinous grapefruit interlude sparks a peaking bouquet, transitioning to pine and fresh-cut grass on the back end, though it remains synchronized to a peppery dank, lemon twist.

Taste opens to pineapple resins with a light tinge of tangerine pith, wrapped in an undertone of freshly-sliced mango laden with grassy hop textures. A grapefruit spritz over the mid-palate phases effortlessly into a lemony dank finish, with flaky malt accents and distant hints of pine. This 7.3 percent IPA offers a medium body with a fluffy, moderate-high carbonation. A wispy twang invigorates a vague bitterness over the mid-palate, trending sticky as pillowy resins take hold into the back end for a lush hop consistency, and a flaky crispness persists with drying undertones through the finish.

Overall: Levels of resinous saturation bridge West Coast and New England IPA elements, bringing into focus advanced tropical fruit development born from an ultra-refined and raw hop core, and a deftly established malt profile. This is a measured intensity, and a deceptively potent variation of this West Coast style IPA. As I pointed out, the “back door” series is only available to take from the Red Rock brewpub in SLC. You can enjoy it while dining at most Red Rock locations. Some of the better beer pubs around the Wasatch Front are picking up the Citra version of A Series of Singularities, but your only option for taking home these 16-ounce cans is at the SSL brewery. As always, cheers! CW

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MIKE RIEDEL

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opper Common, the sister restaurant to Copper Onion by restaurateur Ryan Lowder, has recently undergone a renovation; diners will notice changes to the dining space and the menu. The now chic, cozy eatery boasts warm interiors, including a marble bar, gentle lighting, and leather banquettes.

Sharable small plates with classic (Copper Common burger with peppery au poive sauce) and unique dishes (tortilla espanola with bottarga and aioli) will allow diners to experience new flavor combinations in tandem. Newly crafted cocktails like ‘Just a Lil Verde’ with mescal, Verde liqueur, and simple or ‘Voodoo Rectifier’ made with rum, lime, coconut cream, and ginger beer are enjoyable additions.

Italian, French, and Spanish natural and organic wines are featured on the revamped wine list to complement each dish. Consultants Chef Robb Finn and Phil Whalen (New York) have carefully selected menu items to bring more upscale noshing to downtown Salt Lake City with success; diners old and new, will be delighted by the offerings.

Owner Ryan Lowder said, “Dining out has the power to transport a guest, and the atmosphere of the restaurant, the flavors of the food, and wine all play a part in that experience. At Copper Common, we are celebrating great food and wine and honoring the farmers and artisans responsible for creating the goods we serve.

We are thrilled to reopen with a renewed attention to detail and turn our guests on to the magic of these flavorful offerings.”

Copper Common is open Wednesdays through Sunday, 5 PM to 1 AM. 21+ only.

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Minor Concerns

Sorting through the problematics—and the great stuff, too—in Licorice Pizza

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and consequential.

That doesn’t mean he can’t also whiff on some of his big swings, like a pair of scenes involving John Michael Higgins as a restaurateur given to speaking to Japanese women in an exaggerated pidgin dialect, without any real interest in pursuing what it entails beyond a broad punch line. Nor does Anderson really seem to know what to do with a subplot involving closeted homosexuality, except as something that has an impact on our protagonists’ lives. Two things can both be true: that Anderson is a gifted filmmaker, and that those talents do not exempt him from the occasional bout of tone-deafness.

It seems odd, then, that the most controversial component to emerge from Licorice Pizza has been the age difference between the two main characters, and whether Anderson is romanticizing an inappropriate/ illegal relationship. You could go around in circles for days about what does and doesn’t happen as part of that relationship—literally zero sex, for example, vs. hand-holding and a lot of running—but it ultimately feels more relevant to consider the role it plays in Alana’s character arc. Haim’s per-

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formance is simply lovely, bursting with a natural on-screen charisma, yet Anderson takes her on an odd journey as to what it means that the directionless Alana latches on to the forward momentum of an adolescent go-getter; he appears to celebrate that Alana sees Gary as a legitimate alternative to the other disappointments in her life, rather than finding it kind of depressing.

For some folks, the worst thing about Licorice Pizza seems to be what could happen between Alana and Gary, rather than what actually does happen between them. When things get messy in a movie, it’s hard to find tidy answers. CW

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Cooper Hoffman and Alana Haim in Licorice Pizza

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quently worked), a 15-year-old child actor aging out of his cute phase; and Alana (Alana Haim, of the band Haim, with whom Anderson frequently worked), the 25-year-old student-photography company employee with whom Gary becomes infatuated. And they find themselves intertwined as Gary explores growth business opportunities of the era, like selling waterbeds and opening a pinball arcade.

Anderson has spent 25 years making movies filled with compelling set pieces, so there was little question that his episodic narrative would yield some terrific moments. A couple of them involve actors having an absolute blast with cameo roles: Sean Penn as a pseudonymous macho actor who drunkenly attempts a dangerous stunt, and Bradley Cooper as real-life producer Jon Peters. The latter involves one of the wildest roller-coaster-of-emotions movie sequences of the year, with Cooper evoking a coked-up mania that is both hilarious and utterly terrifying. While Anderson manages to successfully apply a gauze of nostalgic reminiscence to stuff as improbable as the 1973 OPEC oil embargo, he also finds ways to make his stories gritty

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hat kind of content in a movie becomes a line in the sand beyond which you cannot cross? That’s one of the messiest topics facing creative work of all kinds, and seems only to be getting messier with every passing day. It’s both deeply personal and prone to creating extreme responses, whether it involves the content of the material itself, or real-life issues surrounding any of the creators. And Paul Thomas Anderson has stepped into that swamp with both feet in Licorice Pizza—a movie that a lot of people love, some people find repugnant, and has generated the kind of polarizing discourse that can make people dread expressing any opinion whatsoever.

This is not a review of other reviews of Licorice Pizza, but it’s hard for the swirling extremes of the conversation not to creep into any analysis. And the kind of movie that Licorice Pizza is, makes it even more impossible to avoid thinking about it like the old parable about the blind men and the elephant—a situation where everybody is a little bit right, depending on what piece of it they end up grabbing on to.

Because Licorice Pizza is less a narrative than it is a diorama in which Anderson can display all of his favorite anecdotes about growing up in the San Fernando Valley in the early 1970s. The framing structure for those anecdotes involves the relationship between two unusual characters: Gary (Cooper Hoffman, son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, with whom Anderson fre-

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SLC THURSDAYS

LUCKY THURSDAYS!

30 | DECEMBER 23, 2021

Last Hurrah 2019

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TUESDAYS

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bviously last year was a no-go for big New Year’s celebrations, but this year couldn’t be more different. Below we’ve got way too many events for you to choose from if going out is on your mind.

Whether it’s downtown revelry you desire or local-show intimacy, there’s something for everyone this New Year’s Eve. New Year’s Eve with George Michael Reborn @ O.P. Rockwell: You heard that right: O.P. Rockwell is raising the spirit of George Michael from the dead for this end-of-year shindig. An unconventional way to close out the year? Maybe, but also who doesn’t want to close out the year to “Careless Whisper.” Get to O.P. by 9 p.m. to dance to DJ Danny Boy, and then stick around for the midnight countdown—maybe you’ll even feel the real spirit of Michael in the room as you dance your way into a new year. Doors are at 7 p.m., the show is 21+ and tickets are $99 - $175 at oprockwell.com.

NYE 2022 Bash @ The Westerner: For the cowboys out there, you’re probably already heading to The Westerner to send out the New Year, as only the Westerner can. All the trappings of a good night at

the Westerner will be present at this New Year’s Eve bash, including the line-dance lessons they’re well-known for, plus music later from Kaleb Austin. Indulge in some themed cocktails, giveaways and, of course, Jell-O shots. Line-dance lessons go from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.—just enough time to learn well enough to boot scoot’n boogie right out of 2021. The party is 21+ and there’s a $15 cover.

Brue, Sunfish and Guava Tree New Year’s Eve @ Kilby Court: If Kilby Court is your musical home, make this your NYE destination. Rock out the last of the year with some of Utah’s rockin’-est young lads in Brue, Sunfish and Guava Tree. Brue is the latest project of Sammy Brue, who seems to have stepped away from his solo Americana style to focus on this new, incredibly noisy rock outfit. They’ll find a perfect companion in Sunfish, another young up-andcoming band who just released their own rock-riddled debut this year. Both bands find some balance in the company of Guava Tree, who will deliver onto the crowd their funky, psychedelic vibes. This event is allages, starts at 7 p.m. and is $10 at kilbycourt.com.

Mokie New Year’s Eve @ The Commonwealth Room: Fans of the local jam band Mokie should definitely make this their NYE spot, because this might be Mokie’s last show. At least they’re teasing that; on the post for the event, it says “this could be the last time,” and elsewhere the show is described as “their final show as a band.” What’s the truth? Don’t wait to find out if you’re a fan, and be there. Doors are at 8 p.m., the show is 21+ and tickets are $40 - $58.

Last Hurrah @ The Gateway: While The Gateway still carries that mall-specific sheen of excitement around the holidays, there’s so much more going on there these days. Their New Year’s Eve event is one of the most diverse in the city, offering up

the whole mall as a playground with music at its center. Brother. will be performing alongside The Rubies on the event’s main stage, and they’ll find dance-worthy support in DJ Justin Cornwall. Besides them, there will be buskers on an outdoor stage and pop-up bars throughout. Businesses and restaurants throughout will stay open late, so feel free to wander. This huge event is free to the public and kicks off at 9 p.m.

JRC Events Presents: New Year’s Eve @ The Union Event Center: This event not only pulls in tons of local talent, but big names, too. We’ve got winners of different seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Aja and Yara Sofia, plus more winners from The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula, Landon Cider and Biqtch Puddin’. There’s also The DoubleTime Twins, fitness and dance gurus from the lovely land of Los Angeles, and local host Gia Bianca Stephens. More than 20 local performers are also expected to make an appearance, showing up with hip hop, dancing, DJ sets and drag performances to keep every kind of guest entertained. The event is 18+, doors are at 8 p.m. and tickets range from $30 - $75 at theunioneventcenter.com.

Pixie & The Partygrass Boys New Year’s Eve @ The Depot: If there’s one thing true of Pixie & The Partygrass Boys, it’s that they’re always sure to bring a great time. Local fans of these SLC favorites should make their way to The Depot on New Year’s Eve to engage in the whisky ‘n chickens wildness that the band specializes in. The band brags that last time they had an NYE show at The Depot, they sold it out, and fans drained the well whiskey.

This time around, they’re challenging fans to go for the Cutthroat, and inviting fellow bluegrass acts The Pickpockets and Durango, CO-based Stillhouse Junkies along for the ride. The show is 21+, doors are at 7 p.m. and tickets are $15 at depotslc.com. CW

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Merry Folk’n Christmas at The Urban Lounge

If you’re still in town these days leading up to the big old holiday, pop into The Urban Lounge on Thursday, Dec. 23 to feel the holiday spirit with some awesome locals. At Merry Folk’n Christmas, Vincent Draper & The Culls will be playing alongside Fur Foxen and Josh Doss. The Culls have a lot of material to work with, including stuff from their 2021 album Night Light. If you still haven’t heard them play it, now’s the time to do it; a sweet and smoldering journey of atmospheric odes to love sickness, it’s still warm enough to suit tender holiday sentiments. Opener Fur Foxen also put out an album this year, a self-titled release of spare yet sweeping folk.

They’ve also got a fresh single in “Wicked,” a spirited number that shakes with rumbly guitar and a groovy little percussion set-up.

Finally, Josh Doss also released an album this year, a dreamy and saccharine take on Bob Dylan-esque folk poetry. While these folks blend their folk with a few other ingredients, it’ll still be a merry folk’n Christmas indeed.

The 21+ show starts at 7 p.m. and tickets are $10 at theurbanloungeslc.com.

801-532-7441 • HOURS: 11AM - 2AM

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SLC reggae heads, rise up! This is the Christmas event for you. Once again, if you’re hanging around town with nowhere to be, get yourself out for a night of revelry—but don’t forget your Santa hat. You’ll need it if you head out to The Royal, where not only will Tribe of I grace the crowd with the reggae that’s traditional to The Royal on Thursdays, but where they’ll also add a little Christmas cheer. This “Santa Hat” party is an annual tradition at the venue this time of year, and the dress code is in the name. No white beard is required, and this is one establishment where Santa can probably indulge in more than milk and cookies—instead, maybe a brew and a reggae jam or two. Besides Santa-related items of interest, the local reggae troupe Tribe of I released their very own pandemic album in 2020, Life in Dreams, and no doubt some of the songs will be on display at the show. So track down a Santa hat, get your good vibes on and scoot over to The Royal on Thursday, Dec. 23. The show is 21+, doors are at 6 p.m. and tickets are only $6 at theroyalslc.com.

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Zoso

A Very Merry Christmas Party at The Westerner

The week of Christmas, there’s really only one thing to do, and it’s to get the Christmas party urge out of one’s system—so it’s a good thing we’ve got another Christmas party for you here. This one is coming up on Saturday, Dec. 25. The Westerner kind of seems to be a non-stop party any time of year, with their events always promising line dancing, Jell-O shots and themed drinks.

And that’s all true of this holiday party, too! The theme for this one, though, is Ugly Sweater Contest (surprisingly not an Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest, but dress how you will), which will yield a $100 prize for the ugliness winner. It’s also possible to have a little meeting with Santa ahead of Christmas if you find yourself at the Westerner, to check if you’ve been naughty or nice—and maybe he can advise you away from that next Jell-O shot. The night will be rounded out by music from the Fox Brothers Band, a staple at the venue who have made many a night rowdy with their fiery country rock. This night of Christmas revelry is only barred by an easy breezy $5 cover, so head down to the Westerner and get some cowboy Christmas cheer. This event is 21+ and the bar opens at 6 p.m. Find more info at westernerslc.com.

Zoso at O.P. Rockwell

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Head Portals

One of the best Led Zeppelin tribute bands out there is headed to Utah soon, and when you listen, you’ll slip into a dreamworld where it’s the ’70s, and you’re hearing the real Zep live at their peak. With the last days of 2021 trickling away, put Zoso on your list of things to do before the new year arrives, and let yourself be transported out of this wild and crazy period in time, jamming out to classics like “Kashmir” and “Since I’ve Been Loving You.” Among other exciting tribute bands coming to O.P. Rockwell in coming days, Zoso is a must-see for Led Zeppelin diehards. They’ve been practicing and touring their tribute act around the world since 1995, not only perfecting each and every note of all the hits, but working to portray the whole aura of the band’s spirit and aesthetic. They’ve received acclaim over all those years as being the best of the best when it comes to Zep tribute bands, so make sure you don’t miss them!

They’ll be playing a hearty set on Monday, Dec. 27 up at the grand O.P. Rockwell. The show is 21+, doors are at 7 p.m. and tickets range from $29 - $49 at oprockwell.com.

Head Portals at Kilby Court

With the snow and the cold and the holidays, tours are halted for the next two weeks pretty much, which means if you’ve got a hankering for a show, now’s the time to dive into the local few that are still happening. Coming in hot after Christmas is a show with Head Portals, Sindar and Zopilote, a diverse lineup but a solid one. Head Portals are doing stuff that’s hard to pin down— sometimes they have the lax qualities of good Midwest emo like Ovlov, but their guitar parts are far too jammy to call them emo. But on both their records, 2018’s Brighter Later and 2019’s Please Be Kind they both have the kind of warm buzzing qualities distinct to good early 2010’s indie rock, and it’s good here in 2021 too. The latest record goes a little harder than the last, feels a little woozier and more unhinged, with hypnotic reverb and strong, carrying guitar parts throughout. All in all, Head Portals has a bunch of super fun music to show you if you wanna get in one last show before the new year. They’ll be joined by the mystical prog metal rockers Sindar and the two-piece doom rockers Zopilote. The show is Tuesday, Dec. 28, is all-ages, doors are at 7 p.m. and tickets are $8 on kilbycourt.com.

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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) You may become a more audacious storyteller in 2022. You could ripen your ability to express the core truths about your life with entertaining narratives. Bonus: The experiences that come your way will provide raw material for you to become even more interesting than you already are. Study these words by storyteller Ruth Sawyer: “To be a good storyteller, one must be gloriously alive. It is not possible to kindle fresh fires from burned-out embers. The best of the traditional storytellers are those who live close to the heart of things—to the earth, sea, wind, and weather. They have known solitude, silence. They have been given unbroken time in which to feel deeply, to reach constantly for understanding.”

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Taurus author May Sarton wrote a poem celebrating her maturation into the person she had always dreamed she would be.

“Now I become myself,” she exulted. “It’s taken time, many years and places; I have been dissolved and shaken, have worn other people’s faces.” But at last, she said, “All fuses together now, falls into place from wish to action, word to silence. My work, my love, my time, my face: gathered into one intense gesture of growing like a plant.” I invite you to adopt Sarton’s poem as a primary source of inspiration in 2022. Make it your guide as you, too, become fully and richly yourself.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) “I’ve been trying to go home my whole life,” writes poet Chelsea Dingman. I know some of you Sagittarians resist the urge to do that. It’s possible you avoid seeking a true and complete home.

You may think of the whole world as your home, or you may regard a lot of different places as your homes. And you’d prefer not to narrow down the feeling and concept of “home” to one location or building or community. Whether or not you are one of those kinds of Centaurs, I suspect that 2022 will bring you unexpected new understandings of home—and maybe even give you the sense that you have finally arrived in your ultimate sanctuary.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) To ensure that 2022 will bring you the most interesting and useful kind of progress, take good care of your key friendships and alliances, even as you seek out excellent new friendships and alliances. For best results, heed these thoughts from author Hanya Yanagihara: “Find people who are better than you are— not smarter, not cooler, but kinder, and more generous, and more forgiving—and then appreciate them for what they can teach you, and listen to them when they tell you something about yourself, no matter how bad—or good—it might be.”

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Sometime during the Northern Song Dynasty that ruled China from 960 to 1127, an artisan made a white ceramic bowl five inches in diameter. A thousand years later, a family in New York bought it at a garage sale for $3. It sat on a mantel for a few years until they got a hunch to have it evaluated. A short time later, the bowl was sold at an auction for $2.2 million. I’m not saying that 2022 will bring a financial event as dramatic as that one. But I do expect that your luck with money will be at a peak.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) In the Quechuan language spoken in parts of Peru, the word takanakuy means “when the blood is boiling.” Every year at this time, the community of Chumbivilcas stages a holiday called Takanakuy. People gather at the town center to fight each other, settling their differences so they can forget about them and start over fresh. If my friend and I had a personal conflict during VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Many people in our culture are smart intellectually, but not very the previous year, we would punch and kick each other—but smart emotionally. The wisdom of feelings is undervalued. I not too hard—until we had purged our spite and resentment. protest! One of my great crusades is to champion this neglected The slate between us would be clean. Is there some humorous source of insight. I am counting on you to be my ally in 2022. version of this ritual you could enact that wouldn’t involve even Why? Because according to my reading of the astrological mild punching and kicking? I recommend you dream one up!

Associate Consultant, Civil Engineer sought by WSP USA Inc. in Holladay, UT to be responsible for sophisticated engineering duties required for the successful design, build, management and maintenance of roads, railroads, airports, bridges, and related structures. Duties and responsibilities of this position will include, but are not limited to: apply advanced knowledge of concepts, principles, and practices of civil engineering to the design, build, and management of civil transportation structures; prepare technical specifications for review and approval; apply knowledge of civil engineering professional standards (such as: AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications; DOT MUTCD, as well as codes as established by state and local DOTs where project work is to be executed; AREMA standards including the Manual for Railway Engineering (Fixed Properties), and Trackwork Plan; ASCE; and ASTM Geotechnical Engineering Standards); and apply knowledge and skill in using a variety of engineering computer programs and analytical technology used in solving engineering problems.

Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering required. One year of experience as civil engineer, researcher, or intern required.

Experience must include: using AASHTO MEPDG software to create pavement structures of roads; creating simulations under different loads and load repetition for accuracy of loads; analyzing simulation results and preparing reports; evaluating the confirmation lights for freeway on-ramp intersections; designing and analyzing traffic impact studies, as well as analyzing the data from the experimental work and presenting it in written form; assisting in data collection for portable traffic signal with pilot car operations; and assisting in a project related to the development of temporary rumble strips for work zones. Graduate Research or Internship experience accepted. Send resumes to: Matthew Beatus, WSP USA, One Penn Plz, Fl 4, New York, NY 10119; or email to matthew.beatus@wsp.com

DECEMBER 23, 2021 | 37

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) French poet André Breton wrote, “Je vous souhaite d’être follement aimée.” In English, those words can be rendered as “I wish you to be loved madly.” That’s got a romantic ring to it, but it’s actually a curse. Why would we want to be loved to the point of madness? A person who “loved” you like that might be fun for a while, but would ultimately become a terrible inconvenience and ongoing disruption. So, dear Leo, I won’t wish that you will be loved to the point of madness in 2022—even though I think the coming months will be an interesting and educational time for amour. Instead, I will wish you something more manageable and enjoyable: that you will be loved with respect, sensitivity, care, and intelligence.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Scorpio guitarist Rowland S. Howard spoke of “the grand occasions when love really does turn into something far greater than you had ever dreamed of, something auto-luminescent.”

Judging from the astrological configurations in 2022, I have strong hopes and expectations that you will experience prolonged periods when love will fit that description. For best results, resolve to become more generous and ingenious in expressing love than you have ever been.

University of Utah Health and the Moran Eye Center will be destroying medical records for all patients with dates of service prior to 01/01/2000 and for patients that have a date of death prior to 2012, who were over 18 years old at the time of death, with dates of service prior to 01/01/2012. If you would like to request a copy of your records prior to destruction, or if you have a legal right to access a deceased relative’s medical information and would like a copy of their records, you must contact the facility at 801-581-2704 before 01/10/2022.

After that date, records will no longer be available.

| COMMUNITY |

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Cancerian political leader Nelson Mandela was wrongly incarcerated for 27 years. After his release, he became president of South Africa and won the Nobel Peace Prize. About leaving jail in 1990, he wrote, “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.” Although you haven’t suffered deprivation anywhere close to what Mandela did, I’m happy to report that 2022 will bring you liberation from limiting situations. Please adopt Mandela’s approach as you make creative use of your new freedom.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl said that a sense of meaning is crucial. It’s the key gratification that sustains people through the years—the feeling that their life has a meaning and that particular experiences have meaning. I suggest you make this your theme for 2022. The question “Are you happy?” will be a subset of the more inclusive question, “Are you pursuing a destiny that feels meaningful to you?” Here’s another: “If what you’re doing doesn’t feel meaningful, what are you going to do about it?”

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GEMINI (May 21-June 20) In 2012, the writer Gore Vidal died the day after Gemini writer Maeve Binchy passed away. They were both famous, though Binchy sold more books than Vidal. Vidal was interesting but problematic for me. He was fond of saying that it wasn’t enough for him to succeed; he wanted others to fail. The misery of his fellow humans intensified his satisfaction about his own accomplishments. On the other hand, Binchy had a generous wish that everyone would be a success. She felt her magnificence was magnified by others’ magnificence. In 2022, it will be vital for your physical and mental health to cultivate Binchy’s perspective, not Vidal’s. To the degree that you celebrate and enhance the fortunes of others, your own fortunes will thrive.

omens, you have the potential to ripen your emotional intelligence in the coming months. Do you have ideas about how to take full advantage of this lucky opportunity? Here’s a tip: Whenever you have a decision to make, tune in to what your body and heart tell you as well as to what your mind advises.

Senior Data Scientist & Data Engineers sought by Connor Group, Inc., Lehi, UT to identify & lead data science prjcts, etc. Deg’d applicants, exp’d in use of Genetic Algorithms, Particle Swarm Optimization, etc., send resume to monica.evans@connorgp.com

© 2021

WANDA

BY DAVID LEVINSON WILK

ACROSS

1. Techie’s suggestion, often 2. God, in the Torah 3. Aaron Burr’s birthplace 4. Insect flying in a cloud 5. German “a” 6. Like many HDTVs, in brief 7. Based on ____ story 8. Having millions of views, perhaps 9. Stevie Wonder’s “My Cherie ___” 10. Use a Singer

G

Room and Board

I

11. Metal that’s as strong as steel but 45% lighter 12. Skirted 13. Little shaver, to a Scot 18. Not mainstream, informally 22. Android download, perhaps 24. Focuses attention (on) 25. South side?

26. Maniacal guy 28. Two-time All-Star pitcher Julio 31. Suffix with lact32. Part of BYOB 33. Tic-____-toe 35. Plants also known as mountain misery 36. The Soup ____ (“Seinfeld” character) 37. Asking for a saucer of milk, maybe 39. Get tense and hard, as a muscle 41. It goes from about 540 to 1700 42. Cassiterite, e.g.

43. Singer Morissette 45. What a thanatophobe fears 46. “It’s the Hard

Knock Life” musical 47. Run out, as a well 48. “Sex Education” actor Butterfield 52. “Cómo ___?”

54. U-turn from ENE 55. DVD precursor 56. “Am ____ risk?”

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

URBAN L I V I N

WITH BABS DELAY Broker, Urban Utah Homes & Estates, urbanutah.com

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

1. Charlie who was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus 7. DuVernay and Gardner 11. Noticed, to Tweety 14. Blissful 15. “Pencils down” 16. “So ____ heard!”

17. Something drawn for sport 19. Point of a dancer who’s en pointe 20. Go ____ great length 21. Party where roast pig is often served 22. Martin Luther King’s “Letter From Birmingham ____” 23. Regatta implement 24. 2004 film with the tagline “When the world closed its eyes, he opened his arms” 27. Popular video-sharing service 29. Like the walls of an old church, maybe 30. Implant deeply 34. Hail 35. Its construction created Lake Nasser 37. Hollywood’s Clarke and West 38. Pitch a tent, say 39. Olympic gymnast Strug 40. 1910s Mexican revolutionary Emiliano 44. Once in a while 49. Slang for $1,000,000 50. Wilson of “Starsky & Hutch” 51. 905-year-old in Genesis 52. Mrs. Krabappel on “The Simpsons” 53. What might get under your collar?

54. Emmy-winning Disney+ series (or what you’ll have after solving 17-, 24-, 35- or 44-Across) 57. Sturm ____ Drang 58. Mix with a spoon 59. 1962 John Wayne film 60. Book contents: Abbr.

61. Curds and ____ 62. Loses freshness

SUDOKU X

| COMMUNITY | | CITYWEEKLY.NET |

38 | DECEMBER 23, 2021

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

f we look back on the past few years here in Utah, our No. 1 wish to Santa would probably be greater availability of affordable housing. Up until the 1950s, there was a really great alternative to high-rent apartments called boarding houses, where lodgers rented one or more rooms on a nightly basis. Included in the nightly fee were usually some services like laundry, cleaning and sometimes meals. In some cases, the renter helped with chores to save on costs.

According to Wikipedia, between onethird and one-half of Boston’s entire population lived in a boarding house in the 1830s.

When a wife lost her husband, the widow would often rent out rooms to make ends meet. Boarders would be “genteel ladies,” low-income laborers and families. Such housing accommodated social change of the era, as it made it feasible for people to move to large cities. Low-end boarding houses were called “flophouses” and often were populated by nefarious characters, the likes of which are seen on crime dramas from old black-and-white movies and TV shows.

Skip to the present and we have Airbnbs— both legally and illegally—around the state.

Many cities outlaw them with strict zoning ordinances that prohibit short-term rentals.

The amount of money to be had by landlords who rent homes and condos out nightly is very enticing, despite the spotty legality of it. Renting out a property in an Airbnb-type situation takes rentals out of the mix for regular folk who are looking for a long term place to live, adding to our already bad housing shortage.

Despite massive neighborhood opposition, the Salt Lake City Council has approved a zoning change to allow for the biggest boarding home in many decades to be built.

A four story, 65-unit building with 192 bedrooms/baths is set to materialize at 129 S. 700 East. The builder will have limits in that they must use materials gathered from the demolition of the seven homes they will push over to erect the boarding house and agree to not rent out rooms for less than 30 days.

To some, this project seems simply like a college dormitory, as laundry, rec rooms and kitchens will be shared spaces. Tearing down homes is never a popular cause nor is increasing density in any neighborhood.

Just the traffic alone from new housing units could cause quite an impact on Bueno Avenue and surrounding streets.

What would Santa do—W WSD?—to help our current housing crisis? He’d wiggle his nose or wink away the problem. NIMBYs (not in my backyard) never want any kind of increased density where they live, yet often claim to support the need for affordable housing—just somewhere else.

Well Santa, we’re in a housing crisis and we need positive solutions for rentals at all age groups, income levels and life circumstances, from senior citizens to the unsheltered shivering in the snow on our city streets, to hourly employees at our hotels, ski resorts and restaurants.

I personally would leave someone a lifetime supply of cookies if they could solve our housing crisis! n Content is prepared expressly for Community and is not endorsed by City Weekly staff.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND OTHERS IN THE ESTATE OF MARLON HARDY PETERSON 55 W Alta View Way Sandy City, Utah 84070 who died on 11/02/2021 Take notice that all persons having claims upon the estate of the above named must file with the undersigned Estate Trustee by 03/21/2021 a full statement of their claims and of securities held by them.

Estate trustee Jennifer Udseth 320 f street SLC, UT 84103 | 801-971-0602

PARTLOW 1/6 V

S NEofW the

BY T HE EDITO R S AT A ND RE WS M cMEEL

WEIRD

Who Knew?

The Saudis take their beauty contests seriously, it appears: Judges at a competition northeast of Riyadh are cracking down on artificially enhanced contestants. The contest is part of the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival. Yes, the contestants are camels, the Associated Press reported, and 43 of them have already been disqualified. Camel breeders enter their most beautiful animals with the hope of winning $66 million in prize money, but Botox injections, face lifts and other cosmetic changes will not be tolerated this year. How, you ask, are those procedures implemented?

Breeders might stretch the lips and noses of their camels, inject their heads or lips with Botox, inflate body parts with rubber bands and use fillers to relax their faces. “The club is keen to halt all acts of tampering and deception in the beautification of camels,” the Saudi Press Agency said.

Merry Christmas!

An unnamed mountain climber is a little bit richer this holiday season after a cache of rare gems valued at $84,350 was awarded to him by the Chamonix-Mont-Blanc council on Dec. 3. The climber found the emeralds and sapphires in 2013 as he scaled the tallest peak in western Europe—they apparently were debris from an airplane crash there in 1966, CNN reported. The original owner of the stones couldn’t be located. The council split the booty with the climber and will display their half at the Chamonix Crystal Museum.

Bright Idea In the “this could never happen in America” category: New Zealand is putting in place laws that will eventually ban smoking altogether by 2025, The Guardian reported. Each year, the legal

n On Dec. 3, a second-grader at Pamoja Preparatory Academy in St. Louis, Missouri, brought a loaded pistol to school to “show it to classmates,” the Daily Beast reported. The child said they took the gun from a lockbox under the parents’ bed. Two days earlier, at Woerner Elementary School in St. Louis, a kindergartner brought a gun to school when they picked up the wrong backpack. Sgt. Charles Wall of the St. Louis Police Department said no charges will be filed in either case: “It was determined no criminal incident occurred,” he said.

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Unclear on the Concept Nicole Gregory, 28, was arrested on Nov. 22 in St. Petersburg, Florida, after a sheriff’s deputy observed her dropping baggies containing fentanyl. According to The Smoking Gun, Gregory admitted to selling the opioid, saying she gets $10 per “bump.”

But she had a good(?) reason: She was selling the drugs “to make money to pay for an attorney for a pending drug charge.”

Actually, two charges: one in August and one in October. Along with the fentanyl, Gregory was most recently found to have meth, morphine and Oxycodone.

The Way the World Works You may be grousing about your mail taking forever to get to your mailbox, but that’s nothing compared to a couple in Chicago, CBS Chicago reported. Last year, a postal worker tossed a package onto Vera and Donald Rideaux’s front porch—then pulled away in his vehicle, hitting the Rideauxs’ van, “and he kept backing the truck up, back and forth, back and forth, pulling my car at the same time,” Donald said. The worker got out of his truck, looked at the car, and “got back in it and he drove off,” Vera added. The couple called the USPS but as of Dec. 7, there had been no resolution of the $1,467 in damages caused to their van. A spokesman said drivers are supposed to notify immediate supervisors when they’re involved in an accident but wouldn’t confirm that such a report had been made in this instance.

New World Order Those seeking euthanasia in Switzerland now have the option to use a 3D-printed “death capsule” called the Sarco, Oddee reported on Dec. 7. Philip Nitschke, founder of Exit International, an Australian company, explains how the pod works: A patient enters the coffinlike capsule, closes the lid (which includes a large window), answers a few questions, and then activates a series of events with a single button. At that point, the chamber is flooded with nitrogen, but the occupant will not feel like they’re suffocating or choking, he says. “There is no panic. The person will feel a little disoriented and may feel slightly euphoric before they lose consciousness. Death takes place through ... oxygen and carbon dioxide deprivation.” After five to 10 minutes, the patient is deceased. “The machine can be towed anywhere for the death,” Nitschke said. “It can be in an idyllic outdoor setting or in the premises of an assisted suicide organization.”

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

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DECEMBER 23, 2021 | 39

GOAT Former (unsuccessful) mayoral candidate for Berkeley, California, Wayne Hsiung, an animal rights activist, is going to spend some time on supervised probation after a February 2018 stunt in which he stole a newborn goat, Berkeleyside reported on Dec. 8. The theft, a felony, took place in Transylvania County, North Carolina, at Sospiro Ranch. Hsiung said he stole the kid because he thought it was suffering and might face a cruel death, but the court was not entertaining his “right-to-rescue” defense. In fact, Judge Peter Knight sustained so many objections by the prosecution during Hsiung’s opening statement that he wasn’t able to finish it. Curtis Burnside, owner of Sospiro Ranch, said NipNap, the baby goat’s mother, “cried for days and was beside herself looking for her lost baby.”

Signs of the Times A middle school in Milton, Massachusetts, went into lockdown on Dec. 8 when a student reported an adult “may have had a weapon,” The Patriot Ledger reported. After 30 minutes of investigation by school officials and Milton police, however, it was determined the “weapon” was a phone charger that a staff member was carrying. “I am pleased to report that nobody was physically harmed,” Superintendent James Jette said.

| COMMUNITY |

Wrong Place, Wrong Time Graham George Spencer of Singapore was walking with a friend in the Singapore Botanic Gardens on Nov. 30 when a runner dashed right into the path of a group of about 20 otters, causing them to change from “being quiet to going crazy like dogs,” Spencer told todayonline.com. The otters, apparently confused about who was who, attacked Spencer, pushing him to the ground and biting him around his feet and buttocks. “I was bitten 26 times in 10 seconds,” he said. “If it wasn’t for my friend, I don’t think I’d still be here. I’d be dead.” At a hospital across the street, Spencer was given tetanus shots and antibiotics.

smoking age will increase, said associate health minister Dr. Ayesha Verrall. Legislation will also make smoking unaffordable, reduce the level of nicotine in tobacco products, limit retail outlets, and increase funding for addiction services. “We want to make sure young people never start smoking ... People aged 14 when the law comes into effect will never be able to legally purchase tobacco,” Verrall said.

| CITYWEEKLY.NET |

Nice Try A 50-year-old Italian dentist tried on Dec. 2 to dodge getting the COVID-19 vaccine but still gain a health pass by offering the health worker a silicone prosthetic arm for the jab, The Guardian reported. Italy recently cracked down on unvaccinated people at social, cultural and sporting events, so the man allegedly purchased a fake arm that may have cost him hundreds of euros.

The medic, Filippa Bua, said she “felt offended as a professional.

The color of the arm made me suspicious and so I asked the man to uncover the rest of his left arm. It was well made but it wasn’t the same color.” The unidentified man will face fraud charges, according to Luigi Icardi, the regional health councilor.

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