City Weekly August 29, 2024

The lesserknown Assistance League of Salt Lake City runs a ‘lean and cheap’ charitable juggernaut.

BY BIANCA DUMAS

Major League

By Bianca Dumas

S AP

BOX

Land Grab

When Salt Lake City’s mayor and City Council struck a deal with real estate developer Hines—a global company valued at more than 90 billion dollars—we were promised significant benefits in exchange for giving up our unique, historic, one-ofa-kind Utah Theater.

But those promises have still not materialized, years later.

We have recently learned that Hines now plans to pave over the site. I, for one, am asking—with little to no performance

on the agreement, why does Hines still own the site at all?

We were promised a residential tower with affordable units, a mid-block walkway, a publicly accessible park on the parking garage and the reuse of historic theater artifacts in the new development. We were promised all this in a deal that cost Hines zero dollars.

What we have received is the demolition of the theater, damage to landscaping and planters on Main Street, small businesses evicted and a vacant lot that is reportedly now destined to be a parking lot.

Hines has claimed they can’t find the money to fulfill the terms of the deal they made. However, it seems clear to me that Hines is simply focusing on other projects, like converting the University Club Tower into residential units on South Temple. Hines can obviously find financing for big projects, so why can’t they find it for the theater site on Main Street?

There’s growing concern about how the

wealthiest individuals and corporations are receiving benefits that the rest of us can only dream of: Hines with the Utah Theater site; Ryan Smith with a sports district; and others. Why do they get so many advantages while the rest of us don’t? Words like “favoritism” come to mind.

It’s time for our mayor and City Council to terminate this failed deal. The historic theater artifacts like the grand stainedglass skylight—worth many thousands of dollars—should be returned to the city. We should issue new requests for proposals and if Hines wants to submit a new proposal, they are welcome to do so.

With the city budget increasing, frequent calls for new bonds and rising property values, Hines has missed their chance. It’s time for Salt Lake City to seek new opportunities for the Utah Theater site and the many millions of dollars of value returned to the residents of Salt Lake City.

CASEY MCDONOUGH Salt Lake City

“A Stitch in Time,”

Aug. 22 Cover Story

Wasatch Crochet Collective just started up as a monthly crochet/knit meetup in Salt Lake City.

K_BON_BON

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Editor’s note: The ballot for City Weekly’s 2024 Best of Utah Awards closes at midnight on Aug. 31. Go to cityweekly.net/bestofutah for more information and to cast your votes for the state’s best people, places, dishes, drinks, nightlife, shops and more. Award winners announced in November.

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THE WATER COOLER

What is the one thing you want to do before summer is over?

Scott Renshaw

Get my latest COVID booster so I can travel in peace.

Eric Granato

Get out camping one last time.

Benjamin Wood

I haven’t had a single backyard fire on my patio and it’s unacceptable. But I did finally remember to hang my hammock for the fall.

Larry Carter

One more BBQ with some old friends I haven’t seen in a while.

Wes Long

Perfect my autumn bod.

Katharine Biele

I’d really like to relax, lose weight, and drink more wine.

Paula Saltas

Clean out and organize my garage.

John Saltas

I haven’t caught a fish yet.

Bryan Bale

If money were no object, I would buy a house.

PRIVATE EYE In The Hive

TBY JOHN SALTAS

his week’s column is going to be more difficult to read than normal. It’s never easy to read in the first place. I’m not one to make excuses for my lack of cogent thought or for the weaving meanderings that occur when I take to typing. I’m especially not one to make excuses to the people who often point out those blemishes, for I have come to note—and not reluctantly—that most of the people who don’t like what I have to say primarily comprise a group of Utahns that some might consider to be indoctrinated knuckleheads.

Not me, however. I’ve grown to like them, in the same way a child likes to be served beef liver—with both awe and disgust, but somehow knowing that in time I might get used to them.

So I sometimes cut them some slack. If I’m being honest, however, they don’t see me in the same potentially positive light (given the indoctrination part) and it’s always a song and dance with them, with me usually being their private dance floor.

Per my imprecision today, I’ve already hit the backspace and delete keys at least 14 times, though you wouldn’t know that unless you were some kind of ether savant. The reason for this spastic keystroking is that a couple of my fingers are swollen, my wrist aches, my forearm looks like a single welt and I itch like crazy at every body location where wasps stung me a couple of days ago.

I was minding my own business, pruning a holly shrub of some variety when my daughter, raking nearby, scraped open a ground-level wasp nest. “Game on,” said the wasps.

In seconds, we’d both been stung too many times to count and we were quickly escorted out of the yard and into our house where about a dozen or so of them gallantly followed us inside. I don’t know if wasps award each other for valor or gallantry. Probably no one does.

I doubt that even Karl von Frisch knew. He—as some students in the Utah public school system well know— was the noted apiologist who discovered that bees communicate via a particular waggle type of dance, and he was summarily awarded the Nobel Prize for his research.

I mentioned that only “some” Utah students will know who Von Frisch was. That’s because a good many of other Utah students are disallowed by their home school teachers and local school board monitors from studying tomes that include mysterious words like apiologist—or even melittologist for that matter—because, well, such a subject potentially regards the machinations of all things related to how the birds and the bees do “it.”

Topics related to sex and sexuality (birds and bees, even real ones) are not particularly welcome in the proper schools of Utah. Anyway, such is better learned as God intended, behind a Fairview haystack.

Thus, Utah faces the uncertain future of educating a populace that cannot tell the difference between a wasp, a bee and a hornet. Our children will not learn if a wasp can or cannot do the waggle dance.

Ahh, well. Just so long as Utah kids eventually come to learn that, allegorically speaking (Utahns love their allegories), today’s story of gallant backyard wasps is no different that the story of our own spew of Utah’s primarily Republican politicians: they are pissy little creatures, who don’t give thanks for the nectar within the many flowers and garden vegetables provided them and rather, they return the good favor by stinging the hands that feed them.

By now, you’ve likely heard the Republican supermajority up on Utah’s Capitol Hill is making moves that are intended to keep silent Utah citizens who disfavor heavy-

handed, pushy, arrogant and dangerous supermajority rule. It’s been a consistent theme in my lifetime that the Utah Republicans who run our state are prone to run roughshod over people at any opportunity.

The trigger for their latest democracy suppression act is that Utahns are striking back at attempts to keep their snobby rule in place for all time and eternity. Witness— the Utah Supreme Court recently upheld that a decisive citizens’ initiative intended to construct fair congressional boundaries, replete with objective suggestions for sensible and fair congressional districts, was constitutionally protected.

“Game on,” said the wasps (no pun intended) who comprise the Utah House and Senate.

Faster than one could say “let’s get the Eff outta here,” our Republican leaders (save but a few, notably retiring Sen. Daniel Thatcher of West Valley) responded with some new ideas of their own. What they want is this: To abandon any semblance of fair play and to be able to pass the legislation they deem best, the public be damned.

They can sugarcoat it all day long, but their efforts will allow them to disregard, amend or repeal public initiatives. It’s a power grab that flies in the face of what those same elected officials were sworn in to do—protect and serve the public good. It is antithetical to anything ever taught to a Utah school child about what it means to be an American and to live in a just and fair society.

In their view, serving the public means ignoring the public, because they know what is best for the public and the public does not. That’s usually a sermon left best at a Sunday pulpit, but there’s no mistaking that such sentiment does not derive of community need, but of topdown management style. And where have we seen that?

In the hive, ladies and gentlemen. What we project as a hive of unified worker bees has been taken over by angry wasps. CW

Send comments to john@cityweekly.net

30

HITS & MISSES

BY KATHARINE

MISS: Two Rights

Utah Democrats and maybe most other Utah voters are questioning their very existence after the latest comments from presumptive gubernatorial spoiler Rep. Phil Lyman, R-Blanding. Lyman is indignant after “losing” the Republican nomination and his outrage knows no bounds. While mounting a write-in campaign, Lyman says Spencer Cox didn’t really collect enough signatures to make the ballot, that Cox is a tool for “the Left” and—wait for it—is too woke to be governor of this conservative state. Cox has a tendency “towards Left-leaning, globalist policy and embrace of Leftist culture.” Just ask Tucker Carlson who helped Lyman expose the governor’s socialist agenda. After all, Cox described his pronouns to some young people, endorsed the Democratic Salt Lake City mayor in a nonpartisan race, and more. Hanging onto his 67% win in the fringe GOP convention, Lyman sued and lost at the Supreme Court while charging Lt. Gov. Diedre Henderson with malfeasance. But back to wokeness—far-right Republicans must have a secret definition of the term if Cox exemplifies it.

MISS: In Moderation

Home Run

It’s no secret Salt Lake is in the midst of a housing crisis. One group, SLC Neighbors for More Neighbors, is taking positive and practical approaches to the very real crisis with collaborative, data-driven activism.

According to founder and executive director Turner Bitton, the impact of prejudicial red-lining can be seen in both historical housing trends as well as current public opinion polls.

“The data clearly indicates over and over again that housing is a critical issue affecting Utahns’ quality of life,” Bitton says.

He cautioned against suggestions that Salt Lake City is different from any other city, since this is a common NIMBY (“not in my back yard”) talking point that is used to slow down or prohibit evidence-informed policies that are actively working in other cities. The opposition by residents to proposed real estate and infrastructure development in their area is often based on assumptions that Salt Lake’s problems are unique compared to any other major city and can’t be addressed by the strategies employed elsewhere.

Until Donald Trump’s close encounter with a flying bullet, Cox was seen as moderate-ish. Now, he’s endorsed Trump because he’s sure the former guy has changed. Of course, within days of Cox’s endorsement, Trump proved him wrong. Still, Cox is working on his conservative bona-fides with every bone in his body. He embraced a rural leader who calls environmentalists “terrorists,” signed legislation to ban trans kids from public bathrooms, is all about taking over federal lands and doesn’t like diversity, equity or inclusion. In his universe of “disagree better,” Cox has just signed legislation to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to stop that pesky public from disagreeing with their representatives. If anything, he knows who’s buttering the bread. Trump was expected in Utah but declined after realizing that Cox is now on his side and Lyman, who he pardoned, is an unlikely ally. Don’t mess with success.

HIT: A Closer Look

Well, John “Frugal” Dougall won’t be state auditor much longer, but he still has some cards up his sleeve. He’s agreed to review Utah’s election process, which has been Phil Lyman’s favorite target this year. Lyman is questioning how signatures were gathered and wants to see who signed. But gee, Utah law says signatures are protected and voters can choose to keep them private. Really, who would want a candidate to harass you over why you signed something to get another candidate on the ballot? It’s not a vote. Dougall will “focus only on certain aspects of the election process, including controls over and disclosure of voter registration information as well as the validation process associated with signature-gathering by candidates,” according to a recent statement. No doubt Lyman will call foul anyway, because Dougall isn’t MAGA enough. CW

Bitton supports the more positive point of view that SLC is growing rapidly and will continue to gain positive national and international recognition. For example, the successful bid for the Olympics, the National Hockey League team or the Utah Inland Port create pressure to meet the needs of residents—however, this pressure isn’t a bad thing. When elected officials listen to the voices of those most impacted by the housing crisis, rather than those who the housing market has served well, positive changes can occur.

“The arguments against housing rarely change, regardless of the scale or location of the proposed housing,” Bitton observed. “The same arguments from the same people are made repeatedly, and despite the body of evidence showing the importance of housing, many elected officials continue to listen to these voices.”

SLC Neighbors for More Neighbors is already tracking positive changes. For example, adjustment to RMF-30 zoning back in 2022 unlocked new opportunities for missing middle housing throughout the city.

In the coming weeks, the non-profit will launch a campaign called “UPzone SLC” that proposes decreasing Salt Lake City’s minimum lot size to 1,400 square feet, making it easier to build attainable housing in every neighborhood. Bitton also points to the national movement to end minimum parking mandates. His organization plans to launch a campaign by the end of the year to add Salt Lake City to that list.

This activism is in line with the six core priorities of SLC Neighbors for More Neighbors: upzoning for housing options; ending parking mandates; Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs); affordable housing incentives; utilizing public lands; mixed-income and mixed-use communities. Check out www.slcneighbors.org for more information on their goals, which they stress can be implemented with minimal cost to the city. CW

BIELE | @kathybiele BY ARICA ROBERTS

A&E

Festival Vibes

A roundup of Labor Day weekend festivals and fairs.

BY SCOTT RENSHAW scottr@cityweekly.net @scottrenshaw

While the weather might not feel like it for a little while, summer is winding down. And though many schools have been back in session for a couple of weeks, Labor Day weekend still feels like it marks an unofficial end to the summer season.

Throughout the state, many locations are taking advantage of the long holiday weekend to present harvest festivals, ethnic festivals and community fairs, celebrating the season and the special vibes that come with the onset of fall. Here are just some of the places you can go— whether you’re a local, or visiting for a day trip—to enjoy some of the last outdoor events before things get a little chillier.

Hurricane Peach Days (Hurricane City Rec Center, 63 S. 100 West, Aug. 29 – 31, open 10 a.m. daily): Hurricane City hosts its annual harvest festival, complete with displays, contests, parade, vendors, food booths and live entertainment. Headline events include the traditional Peach Cookoff and 12K; the accompanying rodeo event takes place at the American Legion Equestrian Park for separate admission, with tickets $5.72 - $9.53. cityofhurricane.com

Payson City Golden Onion Days (various Payson venues, Aug. 30 – Sept. 2): The first celebration of Payson’s agricultural bounty dates back 95 years, and the fun keeps coming. The annual weekend of events includes a 5K/10K, car show, art show, flower show, pickleball tournament

and Labor Day parade, plus live entertainment and fireworks. Most events are free and open to the public. paysonutah.org

Festival Latinoamericano Provo (Utah County Historic Courthouse, 51 S. University Ave., Aug. 30 – Sept. 2, times vary): For three days, Provo goes all-in on celebrating Latin American culture. Wonderful food offerings, live music, dancing and art/vendor displays cover a range of individual cultures and their traditions. Vendor booths are closed Sunday; all events are free and open to the public. festivalprovo.com

Utah Wine Festival (various Cedar City venues, Aug. 30 – Sept. 2): Oenophiles, rejoice! Cedar City hosts the 6th annual celebration of local winemakers, allowing you to get to know Utah’s own viticulture, plus great offerings from local chefs. Individual events covering a range of topics—including an introduction to Utah grapes and their European counterparts, non-traditional creations like ciders & meads, and dinner pairings—are kept to small sizes, so ticket availability is limited. Tickets begin at $65 per event; visit the website for

full schedule. utahwinefest.com

Layton End of Summer Bash (Layton City Surf ‘n Swim, 465 N. Wasatch Dr., Aug. 30, 6:45 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.): Enjoy music, food and fun to say farewell to summer in Layton. The highlight event is the cardboard boat race, which invites participants to enter a boat made entirely of cardboard and duct tape to compete for longest floating and best design. Admission is $3 per person, free if you bring a boat for entry. laytoncity.org

Unity Block Party (Granary Live, 742 S. 500 West, Aug. 31, noon – 10 p.m.): Presented in partnership with Salt Lake City Economic Development, this fund-raiser event supports establishing a hub for creative professionals in Utah. Local artists, vendors and food trucks support a day of entertainment including headliner Tinashe. Admission is $40 GA, with VIP available. versatileimage.org

Labor Day Luau (Thanksgiving Point Ashton Gardens, 3003 N. Thanksgiving Way, Lehi, Sept. 2, 6 p.m.): This Labor Day tradition allows guests to enjoy an evening

dedicated to the food and fun of Pacific Islander culture. The evening starts with a traditional dinner of kalua pork, teriyaki chicken and more in the beautiful Waterfall Amphitheatre of Thanksgiving Point’s Ashton Gardens. Then, you can take in a showcase of entertainment from authentic Polynesian dancers and performers. Tickets are $10 - $40, with discount for Thanksgiving Point members. thanksgivingpoint.org Park City Miners Day (Park City Main Street and City Park, Sept. 2, 7:30 a.m. –3 p.m.): Park City’s heritage as a mining town gets honored with a full day of activities, beginning with a community breakfast and 5K run. The traditional Running of the Balls—a cascade of golf balls rolling down Main Street, which spectators can purchase on site—and Miners Day Parade continue the fun in the morning on Main Street, before events return to City Park for live music, kids’ games, food trucks, beer garden and old-fashioned mucking and drilling competitions. Events are free to the public. parkcityminersday.org CW

Utah Wine Fest

theESSENTIALS ENTERTAINMENT PICKS,

Complete listings online at cityweekly.net

AUG 29-SEPT 4, 2024

Midway Swiss Days

The Wasatch Mountains aren’t exactly the Alps, but the vibe is right at a certain time of year. The giant snow-covered peaks and ample winter recreation make this little corner of the world feel like a little corner of that legendary range. That’s not the specific reason that Midway has become home to the annual Swiss Days festivities, but as summer days begin to dwindle and we look towards winter again, it’s a perfect time to get a little taste of Switzerland in our back yard.

Dating back to the “Harvest Days” festival in Midway more than 70 years ago, Midway

Swiss Days attracts folks from all over the state. It has become so popular that the organizers were concerned a few years ago that it was getting too popular, with the executive committee chairman noting to Heber Valley Life, “We decided that we want to avoid making any changes that will make it grow. It’s about as big as it can get and we just want to keep it the same.” You’re still welcome to come and check out the vendor craft fair, plus plenty of authentic food and live entertainment. On Saturday morning, things kick off with the chuck wagon breakfast at 7 a.m.; at 10 a.m., downtown Midway hosts the annual parade, traditionally featuring more than 80 entries.

Most Swiss Days events take place at Midway Town Square (75 N. 100 West, Midway), on Aug. 30 -31, approximately 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. daily. Events are mostly free and open to the public; visit midwayswissdays.org for additional information. (Scott Renshaw)

Wasatch Theatre Company: Freaks of the Cosmic Circus

Every year, Wasatch Theatre Company’s Pageto-Stage Festival celebrates new and emerging work—small-scale theater that offers a unique sense of discovery. Following on the heels of previous festival presentations of King James and Smoke By, WTC offers Freaks of the Cosmic Circus by Lojo Simon, which won the 2023 playwrighting award created in memory of company supporter George F. Plautz.

Freaks of the Cosmic Circus takes as its inspiration the life of another celebrated playwright: Tennessee Williams. While Williams’ homosexuality is likely known to most, there’s a far less commonly explored time of his life when Williams was living in Laguna Beach, California in 1939, and took the opportunity to explore his sexuality fully, probably for the first time. Inspired by Williams’ own memoir and notebooks, it’s a kind of coming-of-age story for both an artist and a human being. As the dramaturg notes for the play state, “There are times when we think we know a historical person but then a good playwright comes along and shines a light on a different perspective. … Place does shape who we are, and TW was transformed by [Laguna Beach] into the writer we know.”

Wasatch Theatre Company’s production of Freaks of the Cosmic Circus comes to the Regent Street Black Box Theatre of the Eccles Theatre (144 Regent Street) Aug. 30 – Sep. 7, with performances Friday, Saturday and Monday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 1 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 general admission/$15 student at arttix. org; visit wasatchtheatrecompany.org for additional event information. (SR)

theESSENTIALS ENTERTAINMENT

Complete listings online at cityweekly.net

AUG 29-SEPT 4, 2024

SB Dance: Tarotville

SB Dance’s traveling “curbside theater” outdoor production of Tarotville is now in its second year, creating a traveling carnival atmosphere and dance numbers inspired by the cards of the tarot deck. But while there’s a certain familiarity that comes from a returning production, the nature of its construction makes each show unique. “We ‘draw’ different cards from show to show, and the order is different. … There could be three solos in a row, or three group pieces in a row. It’s in keeping with the theme: You get what you get. It has that sort of authentic spontaneity.”

Those unique qualities extend to the locations, as SB Dance has performed Tarotville in a wide range of settings—as Brown describes it, with backdrops ranging “from Mount Olympus, to the downtown cityscape, to massive trees.” And while that provides challenges for the technical crew in understanding how to set up and light for each location, the dancers deal with the ongoing challenges of an outdoor show. “It’s not like being in a climate-controlled theater; [what dancer], before a performance, has had to put bug spray on? But it’s also pretty great. Friday night we’re doing a show with that big three-quarter moon, a perfectly comfortable night, stars in the sky, and it’s like, ‘Okay, that’s why we do this.’”

SB Dance’s Tarotville has several more scheduled performances in September and October, including Wednesday, Sept. 4 on the roof of SLC’s Pierpont Garage (174 Pierpont Ave.). Bazaar begins at 7 p.m., performance at 8:15 p.m., free to the public. Bring a chair. Visit curbsidetheater.sbdance.com for full schedule. (SR)

MAJOR LEAGUE

THE LESSER-KNOWN ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF SALT LAKE CITY RUNS A ‘LEAN AND CHEAP’ CHARITABLE JUGGERNAUT.

BY BIANCA DUMAS COMMENTS@CITYWEEKLY.NET

Assistance League is probably Utah’s best-run charity, and many don’t even know it’s there. “We hear this all the time,” said Liz Quealy, President of Assistance League of Salt Lake City. “We’ve been around for 50 years and we are still the best-kept secret in Salt Lake City.”

That’s astounding, because Assistance League does so many things in the community. The charity has 230 members, participating in a main League and two auxiliary groups, Consociates and Assisteens; they volunteered for more than 36,000 combined hours in 2023.

Assistance League funds and actively participates in 10 philanthropic programs and partners with dozens of Salt Lake-area charities. And the Assistance League Thrift Shop at 2090 E. 3300 South does about a million dollars in business annually.

But it’s word-of-mouth that keeps things in motion. “All of us have found out about Assistance League from a friend. They talk it up,”

Quealy noted. “I tried a couple of other charities before I settled on Assistance League, but it was so well run and so organized. I wanted to join where I could be of value.”

Assistance League is a national charity consisting of 20,000 volunteers working in 120 chapters. Utah has chapters in Salt Lake City and Southern Utah.

The National organization exists to provide guidance to its chapters: administrative, legal, tech and operational. Chapters, in turn, run thrift shops, which fund the bulk of their charitable programs.

Every chapter participates in a signature program called Operation School Bell, which provides brand new winter clothing and coats to

area school children in need. The Salt Lake chapter clothes about 5,000 kids a year and has added programs on their own initiative.

While Assistance League has a 100%, four-star rating on the Charity Navigator website, many national charities have high ratings with watchdog groups. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re as careful with their funds. In 2019, social media posts circulated challenging the Red Cross on the enormous salary paid to its national director.

The Red Cross made a formal statement confirming its director was paid $694,000 annually, but justified that the salary reflected “her leadership of the country’s largest humanitarian organization.”

Of 27 Red Cross board members reported in 2022, 15 were paid salaries and those totaled over $7.6 million. In addition, the five highest com-

pensated independent contractors received a total of over $65 million for services like printing and mailing, marketing, courier services and IT consulting.

By comparison, according to the 2022 IRS Form 990 posted on its website, the National Assistance League showed 15 employees; only two were compensated.

Executive Officer Matthew P. Zarcufsky and Salesforce Administrator Ryan L. Berens were paid about $110,000 each, despite being located in ultra-expensive Burbank, California. Also, these salaries are funded directly by membership fees and grants—not by charitable donations. Charity watchdog groups state that up to 35 cents on every dollar can ethically be spent on administrative costs, but Assistance League of Salt Lake seems to feel like that guideline is just too loose.

“We are lean and cheap,” said Barbara Engen, a longtime member who has held a number of positions from President to Tech Chair. Since positions can only be held for two years at a time, long-standing members have often worked in every area of the organization.

“We’re audited every year,” Engen explained, “so we keep everything clean and up front.”

Assistance League of Salt Lake City spends 15 cents on the dollar for administrative costs, which runs the Thrift Shop and its attached administrative building. It also provides three real jobs to people in the community who are not Assistance League members.

“That was one of the first things that really impressed me,” said New Member Orientation Chairperson Lynda Larsen, who has been a member of the League since 2018. “We know exactly what’s coming in. We know what’s going out. We don’t throw money away.”

Eye on the Community

In 2013, an investigation done by the Tampa Bay Times and the Center for Investigative Reporting showed that America’s worst charities funnel nearly all donation money back to their presidents and board members, and to private companies and consulting firms. The worst spent 10% or less of donations on the programs or research they claim to be supporting.

Overall, the 5,800 charities named in the article raised a total of $1.35 billion but only provided $49.1 million in direct cash aid—less than 4%.

Some charities also hire fundraising companies, which bring in donations through coercive phone calls to the vulnerable and elderly.

Telemarketing and expensive direct mail campaigns can leave the organization in debt at the end of the year, and even well-meaning charities get caught up in the cycle.

By contrast, the Assistance League raises money through its curated Thrift Shop, where donations are sorted by a bevy of volunteers; they also apply for yearly grants, which are used to cover administrative costs.

The money made through the Thrift Shop funds Operation School Bell, free dental care to school children, scholarships to college hopefuls, laptops and books to individual students, entertainment to senior care facilities and much more. The League also maintains an Eye on the Community program to stay constantly on the lookout for more ways to help.

The local Thrift Shop building and administrative offices were purchased by funds raised by Utah’s first Assistance League members; no money is owed on them.

In the early days, members were the wives of wealthy businessmen, and they spent their ener-

“We’ve been around for 50 years and we’re still the best-kept secret in Salt Lake City.”—Liz Quealy (pictured), local Assistance League president.

gies on an annual fundraising gala. The membership demographic is still mostly female, but has shifted over the years.

“I think if you spoke to many of our members, they would tell you they had very vibrant careers prior to their retirement,” Quealy said. They continue to be active and hands-on as volunteers.

Assistance League sees their Thrift Shop as a boutique, showcasing only the best donations. Here, you might find a table laid with a full setting of china and flatware. Glass-shelved, backlit cases present higher-end holiday and home decor. The clothes are nicely displayed on mannequins and might be grouped by color on carousels. Silk flower donations are arranged for sale in containers and costume jewelry hangs on display racks like at a retail store.

People have been known to line up outside before the noon opening time. The Assistance League of Salt Lake City Thrift Shop brings in about a million dollars of yearly revenue. Running a shop this successful finally became more than a volunteer could handle.

“The job had become almost unmanageable,” observed Susan Erickson, Thrift Shop Chair.

Compounding the problem was the rule that members can only take chair positions for two years at a time and that’s about how long it takes to learn the ropes, which include ordering, reports, scheduling, cash registers, accounting, point of sale systems and storage.

“We researched various leagues who had paid for a thrift shop manager and felt positive about the idea,” Erickson said.

They also pay two people to sort goods alongside the volunteers. As Thrift Shop Chair, Erickson

supervises the employees and acts as their liaison to the Board of Directors, which oversees the finance and administration of the shop.

The burden of a thrift shop is that it receives donations of varying quality, which have to be sorted before they can be used. Donations that can’t be stored long-term or that aren’t suitable for sale at the Thrift Shop are still put to good use.

Books are donated to the prison, and many kitchen items go to Catholic Community Services’ refugee program. Broken jewelry is sold for melt, while valuable jewelry is resold to a consignment store so that the Thrift Shop never has to worry about security.

Coconut Hut, a charity focusing on survival supplies for people who are experiencing homelessness, receives used outdoor gear donated to Assistance League.

“We just give them a list of items that we’re currently collecting, and they call when they have a bin ready to go,” said Coconut Hut co-founder Angela Arnell. “Baseball hats, water bottles, tents, tarps, sleeping bags—things like that.”

Pat Blodgett is a past Assistance League president who now volunteers behind the scenes and describes herself as a “Thrift Shop regular person.” She has been a member of the organization since 1988.

“We sort all the stuff and keep the best,” Blodgett explained. “The things that have issues, that are dirty and broken, those are things that we still find spots for.”

Among the many volunteers, donors, shoppers, and the Eye on the Community program, there’s always someone with an idea for how to use the donated goods they receive.

“It’s unbelievable how if you just search around a little bit, there’s a spot for everything that’s better than the landfill,” says Blodgett.

Tana Hunter helped Assistance League find a use for heavily-used linens. Hunter has a longterm volunteer relationship with several animal welfare charities and knew they could repurpose previously unusable sheet and towel donations for animal bedding and crate covers. Once she started taking those items from the Thrift Shop, it expanded into animal goods.

“They started giving me all the stuff that had to do with dogs and cats that they couldn’t sell,” she recalled. “It would be dirty or in need of repair, and I’d wash or fix it if I could, and give it away.”

Assistance League’s support for other charitable organizations either comes from thrifted goods or from the money generated by the sales of those goods. Last year, Assistance League bought washers and dryers for the St. Vincent dePaul Center, gave 35,000 books to school children, distributed iPads to children who are nonverbal and offered laptops to rising college students from alternative high schools.

Virtuous Circles

Even with these donations, Assistance League is aware of potential waste and designs their programs to avoid misappropriations. “Items can’t go into a pool, they have to be designated to a specific child,” Quealy emphasized. “We don’t just give a bunch of computers to a school and let them decide what to do. We’re very careful about that.”

While Assistance League supports so many people and programs, they are not set up for direct assistance to individuals. If a family were to call and request help for their children, Assistance League would point them toward their school counselor for inclusion in Operation School Bell, Operation Healthy Teeth, and the like. Assistance League is designed to serve those schools, agencies, programs and charities that assist people directly. Reciprocal relationships are important within Assistance League. The stacks and stacks of vases that get donated to the Thrift Shop every month, far more than can be stored or displayed, are sent to Brown’s Floral. They, in turn, donate vases full of fresh flowers for Assistance League’s annual Karen S. Johnson Woman of Distinction luncheon, usually held at the Cottonwood Country Club in October. Members pay to attend the luncheon. The luncheon is the year’s primary fundraiser for Consociates, one of the Assistance League’s two auxiliaries. This year’s Woman of Distinction will be Amy Haran, Vice President of Camp Hobé, a summer camp for children with cancer. Camp Hobé also receives cold-weather clothing donations from the Thrift Shop so children can bundle up on unexpectedly chilly nights at camp.

The Assisteens—a youth volunteer group—assemble kits for Operation School Bell.

The auxiliary groups—Consociates and Assisteens—offer volunteer opportunities and a community experience for younger members.

Consociates are working-age adults who meet one night a month for dinner and a project. They assemble Baby Bundles, layette sets that go to hospital maternity wards for those who may not be prepared for the birth of a new baby; and assault survivor kits to crisis centers, which include seasonally appropriate clothing and comfort items, since victims of assault have to leave their clothes behind for forensic testing. Consociates have also begun supporting the Weigand Resource Center for the Homeless and the Utah Refugee Center.

The Assisteens are students from 10 middle and high schools across the Valley. They meet once a month to fulfill a variety of projects, which have included cooking at the Ronald McDonald House and assembling Thanksgiving dinners and Easter bunny baskets.

Kim Shemwell, Marketing and Branding Chair, was Assisteens Coordinator when her three children were involved. Shemwell says that a lot of teen members participate because their families are Assistance League members, and the families like working together. Other kids need to put volunteer service on their college applications.

“I loved seeing how it changed them,” she recalled. “A couple of kids changed their majors because they were so impacted by the work we did.”

Shemwell is younger than the average member, but she got into Assistance League because of the intense involvement of her parents, Roger and Pat Blodgett. Shemwell’s husband makes volunteer deliveries, as needed, and her daughter has stayed involved after aging out of Assisteens.

“It’s really a wonderful community, and it’s a comfortable place,” Shemwell says. “Everybody is there for the same purpose of helping others, which I really wanted to instill in my kids.”

Quealy said that one of the things that makes Assistance League different from other charities is the dues that members pay, on top of the work they perform for the organization. Members nationwide contribute annual dues totaling about $750,000, part of which fund the National organization’s assistance to all the other chapters.

Part of those dues come back to Salt Lake’s chapter to be used for programs and operational expenses. The “Assistance League” are the duespaying members who have the privilege of voting at meetings; these are primarily retirees.

“For a lot of us, it was a shock when we retired and then all of a sudden didn’t have a social network,” Quealy explained. “That’s another thing that’s so valuable to the members. Most of us are within the same age. We love young people, but it’s great to have friends you can relate to. Not only do we work hard, but we provide a lot of social activities, too.”

Social activities include coffees, luncheons, outings and tours, planned by the Member Services Chair. Of course, none of these are funded by donations. Men often join after their wives become members, which makes Assistance League a social activity that couples can enjoy together.

“I actually don’t know what my life would have been without it,” Blodgett said. “Now that my husband and I are older, and I think we’re almost finished with the traveling part of our lives, we still have a place to feel needed and a place to go.

I don’t know if all people our age have that.”

During its peak demand in October and February, Ogden’s OGX rapid transit service carried more than 90,000 monthly riders.

AMERICAN EXPRESS

Ogden’s free-fare OGX marks first anniversary with 890,000 riders.

BY BENJAMIN WOOD BWOOD@CITYWEEKLY.NET

Ogden’s Bus Rapid Transit service—the Ogden Express, or OGX—reached its oneyear anniversary last week, with the Utah Transit Authority announcing that more than 890,000 riders have so far utilized the no-fare service, which runs at high frequencies between downtown Ogden, Weber State University and McDay-Dee Hospital.

According to UTA, peak ridership on OGX coincided with the academic calendar, with more than 90,000 riders boarding each month during October and February. Over the 12-month period, 250,000 riders utilized stops at Weber State University, where dedicated bus-only corridors have been built through the center of campus. The service is currently free to ride due to funding from the federal government.

“OGX has been such a gamechanger for Weber State. We’ve seen thousands of students, faculty and staff using it every week, not only to get around campus, but also to get to some of Ogden’s most popular spots,” Weber State University president Brad Mortensen said in a prepared statement. “It’s convenient, it connects us to the community and it saves students time and money on parking—all wins for everyone.”

As a Bus Rapid Transit service—or BRT—OGX combines the lower-cost construction of a bus route with the frequency, convenience and capacity of light rail by utilizing dedicated bus lanes, in this case on Harrison Boulevard (Highway 203) and through Weber State University.

A similar service operates in Utah County—the Utah Valley Express, or UVX—between the Orem and Provo Frontrunner stations, serving both Utah Valley University and Brigham Young University.

BRT cannot function without dedicated lanes, as buses that run in general purpose or “mixed-flow” lanes become ensnared in the same traffic congestion as private vehicle drivers, negating any benefit that might incentivize a person to utilize public transit.

According to Camille Glenn, a UTA regional general manager, OGX immediately became the most popular Ogden bus route following its launch, and one of UTA’s top five routes in terms of rider demand.

“We thank the Ogden community for exceeding all expectations and demonstrating the value of transit,” Glenn expressed in a prepared statement. “The enthusiasm for OGX, along with UTA bus and FrontRunner

services, will help cultivate a new generation of transit users.”

Salt Lake County briefly had a BRT line on 3500 South—the Magna Express, or MAX—but the service was discontinued. More recently, construction on 200 South in Salt Lake City has added Business Access and Transit lanes—or BATs—which function similarly to BRT and will allow for higher-frequency service on multiple bus routes serving downtown and the University of Utah.

And work is currently underway on the Midvalley Express—or MVX—which will run from Murray Central Station to West Valley Central Station, utilizing the Taylorsville Expressway at 4500/4700 South (Highway 266) and Constitution Boulevard/2700 West.

While BRT is a lower-cost alternative to light rail transit, OGX nonetheless required 20 years of planning and more than two years of construction to become operational. Part of that construction timeline was due to the Utah Department of Transportation’s decision to widen Harrison Boulevard in order to accommodate high-capacity bus lanes without any decrease in the road space afforded to the drivers of single-occupancy vehicles.

A similar widening project occurred on University Parkway in Utah County (UDOT’s Highway 265), ballooning that surface roadway to monstrous proportions to accommodate center-running UVX bus lanes while minimizing the impact on drivers.

An additional BRT route is currently in the planning stages for Summit County, between Kimball Junction and Park City, and the state’s longterm transportation plans identify several “core routes” that could one day see BRT-esque service added to major arterials like State Street and Redwood Road, where two of UTA’s highest-ridership buses—the 200 and 217—currently operate.

A UDOT spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

But when asked about BRT-adjacent highway widening in September of 2023, UDOT’s John Gleason stated that such decisions would be made on a case-by-base basis.

“To allow for better mobility and free flow of traffic, sometimes widening and/or paving the center medians would be needed,” Gleason said. “Mixed flow lanes are very typical with BRT projects, with dedicated lanes used to help increase traffic flow when that makes sense.”

Rockin’ out with Pork N’ Roll

It’s pork, pork, and more pork at this Draper hotspot.

BY ALEX SPRINGER comments@cityweekly.net @captainspringer

With modern restaurant culture

wholeheartedly embracing versatile menus that cater to whatever food trend is currently en vogue, it’s fun to see a restaurant put all its chips on one ingredient. There’s something bold about letting a single ingredient define your entire menu, especially when that ingredient isn’t the most health-conscious bite on the block. In this case, I’m talking about Draper’s Pork N’ Roll, an unapologetic love letter to Colombia’s culinary obsession with chicharrón

Also known as pork belly, chicharrón is that decadent cut of fatty pork that combines our affection for bacon and pork loin into one miracle meat. It’s been a staple of Latin cuisine for decades, and each South American region has its own way of preparing chicharrón. The team at Pork N’ Roll leans heavily into their Colombian roots by serving up plenty of grilled chicharrón along with almost any other interpretation of pork you can imagine. Pork N’ Roll got its start as a popular food truck, and its dedication to its craft has led to a brick and mortar location in Draper which was where I checked them out.

Like many restaurants that got their start as food trucks, Pork N’ Roll has a fast casual service method that works for its concept. The menu consists mainly of its signature pork bowls made with either chopped chicharrón ($19) or pulled

pork ($19) arranged on top of Colombian potatoes and melted cheese. These are great for those who are after pork and pork alone, but I would say Pork N’ Roll’s strength is with its burgers.

If you’re like me and you go into a place like Pork N’ Roll and see that they have burgers, you’re immediately looking for the one that has both a ground beef patty and something pork related. I’m happy to say that Pork N’ Roll does not disappoint on this matter. In fact, you cannot order a burger at Pork N’ Roll without having some bacon along for the ride. Their classic burger ($12) is a simple affair that comes with bacon, caramelized onions and melted American cheese. The Porko Burger ($16) and the BBQ Burger ($15) are at the top of this spectrum. The Porko Burger adds some chopped pork belly to the classic burger formula, but the BBQ Burger’s chopped pork ribs lend themselves a bit more to the burger format.

My current favorite burger option is the Farm Burger ($14), which adds a fried egg and some fried yellow plantain to the classic. An over easy egg on a burger is always going to be a win, but it’s the crispy fried plantain that ties everything together. As someone who cannot say enough positive things about plantain and its stellar compatibility with most anything savory, this burger is an absolute joy. The burger comes with an herby crema, and I recommend adding a hefty dollop of this to the top bun to mix up the textures a bit.

The fried plantain is one of Pork N’ Roll’s secret weapons, and I think it could really spruce up some of their pork bowls. For example, the Chicharrón Cone ($16) is like a smaller version of their chicharrón bowl that consists of chopped pork belly and chopped plantain. It comes with crema and some guacamole, so when you get a bite that is equal parts plantain and chicharrón, you’re in Colombian food heaven. The pork belly is excellent here, but it does need to be tossed with some-

thing that complements and contrasts with its richness–this is where the plantains do wonders.

For those wishing to get the full Colombian experience, Pork N’ Roll offers a dish called the Picada Porkonator ($40) that is best shared between two diners. This is a monumental meat plate that comes with the restaurant’s signature pork belly, some chorizo and a bit of morcilla–otherwise known as blood sausage. It’s served with a heap of Colombian potatoes and both yellow and green plantains. Carnivores after a good time will adore this unapologetic heap of porcine delights, but do make sure that you and your dining companion are hungry before taking it on.

If you happen to be visiting Pork N’ Roll but aren’t particularly starving, their appetizer menu has a few hits to check out. You can’t go wrong with the Canastas de Platano ($11) which are bowls fashioned from fried plantains and then filled with your choice of meat–these are great examples of form and function. Their empanadas ($10 for an order of 3) are also great for something a bit smaller. As Pork N’ Roll really leans into its meaty ingredient of choice, the Patacon Pisao ($13) is going to be the best bet for any vegetarians in the party–it’s like plantain nachos and it’s delightful.

Though Pork N’ Roll’s menu doesn’t feature a whole lot of options for those who aren’t the biggest fan of pork, it’s ideal for those who enjoy the savory pleasures of chicharrón. As that includes me, I’m already thinking about what I want to get next time I visit. CW

2 Row Brewing

73 West 7200 South, Midvale 2RowBrewing.com

On Tap: Lollygaggin’ Farmhouse Ale

Avenues Proper

376 8th Ave, SLC avenuesproper.com

On Tap: Limited Pride release, “Gei Effect”: a mango and pineapple Gose, 5%

Bewilder Brewing

445 S. 400 West, SLC BewilderBrewing.com

On Tap:  Cerveza De Mayo for Bewilder.

Bohemian Brewery

94 E. Fort Union Blvd, Midvale BohemianBrewery.com

On Tap: California Steam Lager, American Heritage Lager

Bonneville Brewery 1641 N. Main, Tooele BonnevilleBrewery.com

On Tap: Peaches and Cream Ale

Chappell Brewing 2285 S Main Street Salt Lake City, UT 84115 chappell.beer

On Tap: Pie Hole; Strawberry Rhubarb Tart Ale

Craft by Proper 1053 E. 2100 So., SLC properbrewingco.com

On Tap: “Proper Yasuke” dark rice lager 5%, Mamachari Strawberry Serrano kombucha (NA)

Desert Edge Brewery

273 Trolley Square, SLC DesertEdgeBrewery.com

On Tap:  Ay Curuba! Curuba Sour

Epic Brewing Co.

825 S. State, SLC EpicBrewing.com

On Tap: Blood Orange Wheat

Etta Place Cidery

700 W Main St, Torrey www.ettaplacecider.com

On Tap: All-American Blend Cider, Lemon-Lime-Grapefruit Session Mead

Fisher Brewing Co.

320 W. 800 South, SLC FisherBeer.com

On Tap: A rotation of up to 17 Fresh Beers!

Grid City Beer Works

333 W. 2100 South, SLC GridCityBeerWorks.com

On Tap: Cask Nitro CO2

Helper Beer

159 N Main Street, Helper, UT  helperbeer.com

Hopkins Brewing Co.

1048 E. 2100 South, SLC HopkinsBrewingCompany.com

On Tap: Friendly Introduction Pale Ale

Kiitos Brewing

608 W. 700 South, SLC KiitosBrewing.com

On Tap: Hyperwave West Coast IPA

Level Crossing Brewing Co. 2496 S. West Temple, S. Salt Lake LevelCrossingBrewing.com

On Tap: Sinday Pale Ale Insty: @levelcrossingbrewing

Level Crossing Brewing Co., POST

550 South 300 West, Suite 100, SLC LevelCrossingBrewing.com

On Tap: You-Tah Coffee Uncommon is back!

FREE yoga every other Saturday. 10:15am

Moab Brewing 686 S. Main, Moab TheMoabBrewery.com

On Tap:  Arnie (Co-Lab with 2 Row brewing): cream ale base with Lychee black tea and fresh pasteurized lemon juice.

Mountain West Cider

425 N. 400 West, SLC MountainWestCider.com

On Tap: Pineapple Ginger hard cider

Offset Bier Co 1755 Bonanza Dr Unit C, Park City offsetbier.com/ On Tap: DOPO IPA

Ogden Beer Company 358 Park Blvd, Ogden OgdenBeerCompany.com

On Tap: 11 rotating taps as well as high point cans and guest beers

Park City Brewery 1764 Uinta Way C1 ParkCityBrewing.com

On Tap: GNAR Juice - 5.0% Hard Seltzer, infused with electrolytes from Gnarly Nutrition

Policy Kings Brewery

223 N. 100 West, Cedar City PolicyKingsBrewery.com

Prodigy Brewing 25 W Center St. Logan Prodigy-brewing.com

On Tap: 302 Czech Pilsner

Proper Brewing/Proper Burger 857 So. Main & 865 So. Main properbrewingco.com

Proper Brewing: Limited Pride release, “Gei Effect”: a mango and pineapple Gose, 5%

Proper Burger: “Whispers from Santa Maria” Helles lager with peach and jalapeno

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

Proper Brewing Moab 1393 US-191, Moab properbrewingco.com

On Tap: “Bermuda Blonde” key-lime blonde ale 5%

Red Rock Brewing 254 So. 200 West RedRockBrewing.com

On Tap: Gypsy Scratch

Red Rock Fashion Place 6227 So. State Redrockbrewing.com

On Tap: Munich Dunkel

Red Rock Kimball Junction 1640 Redstone Center Redrockbrewing.com

On Tap: Bamberg Rauch Bier

RoHa Brewing Project 30 Kensington Ave, SLC RoHaBrewing.com

On Tap: 19th Flow IPA

Roosters Brewing Multiple Locations RoostersBrewingCo.com On Tap: Pineapple Sour Seltzer

SaltFire Brewing 2199 S. West Temple, South Salt Lake SaltFireBrewing.com On Tap: Punk as Fuck IIIPA

Salt Flats Brewing

2020 Industrial Circle, SLC SaltFlatsBeer.com

On Tap: Prickly Pear Kolsch

Scion Cider Bar 916 Jefferson St W, SLC Scionciderbar.com

On Tap: Art & Science Mt. Good - 7.5% ABV

Second Summit Cider 4010 So. Main, Millcreek https://secondsummitcider. com

On Tap: Pineapple Mango 6.5%

Shades Brewing 154 W. Utopia Ave, South Salt Lake ShadesBrewing.beer On Tap: Slushies; Harvey Wallbanger Sour Ale

Shades On State

366 S. State Street SLC Shadesonstate.com

On Tap: Salud Mexican Lager; Spring Fever Grapefruit Radler

Silver Reef

4391 S. Enterprise Drive, St. George SGBev.com

Squatters Pub Brewery / Salt Lake Brewing Co.

147 W. Broadway, SLC saltlakebrewingco.com/

squatters On Tap: Salt Lake Brewing Co. Hop Head Red

Squatters and Wasatch Brewery

1763 So 300 West SLC UT 84115 Utahbeers.com

On Tap: Bulletproof Zest Lemon Kolsch

Small Batch Series Release: Polyandry Pilsner - Fri 9/13

Strap Tank Brewery, Lehi 3661 Outlet Pkwy, Lehi, UT StrapTankBrewery.com

On Tap: The Baroness (Munich Helles); Leviathan (Vienna Lager)

Strap Tank Brewery, Springville

596 S 1750 W, Springville, UT StrapTankBrewery.com On Tap: German Pilsner

TF Brewing

936 S. 300 West, SLC TFBrewing.com

On Tap: Coconut Guava Berliner Weisse

Talisman Brewing Co. 1258 Gibson Ave, Ogden TalismanBrewingCo.com

On Tap: American Light Lager

Top of Main Brewery

250 Main, Park City, Utah topofmainbrewpub.com

On Tap: Top of Main Brewery –Off The Tree Juicy IPA

Uinta Brewing 1722 S. Fremont Drive, SLC UintaBrewing.com On Tap: Was Angeles Craft Beer

UTOG

2331 Grant Ave, Ogden UTOGBrewing.com On Tap: Golden Grant 5% ABV.

Vernal Brewing 55 S. 500 East, Vernal VernalBrewing.com

Wasatch Brew Pub 2110 S. Highland Drive, SLC saltlakebrewingco.com/ wasatch

On Tap:  Top of Main Brewery –Big U Pilsner Zion Brewery

95 Zion Park Blvd, Springdale ZionBrewery.com

Zolupez

205 W. 29th Street #2, Ogden Zolupez.com

BEER NERD

Jewels of Summer

Satisfaction is guaranteed with these late-season beers.

BY MIKE RIEDEL comments@cityweekly.net @utahbeer

Kiitos - Hyper Wave: Kiitos of late has been a brewery in search of its identity. For the past few years, the Granary District brewery has had frequent turnover in the brewhouse, which had led to a lack of direction and a bit of inconsistency. That all ends now, with more cohesion under a new brew team led by Head Brewer David Jimenez. You’ll start to see a new look and a new take on the Kiitos portfolio.

The first brew is a West Coast session IPA with a little New Zealand hop influence. It pours a very clear golden copper, forming about a finger’s worth of white, foamy head; it has very nice retention and slowly recedes to a thin layer coating the glass in thin, soapy lacing. An abundance of slowly rising carbonated bubbles form, with a nice consistency that makes the beer almost appear like a golden-hued pearl. Plenty of earthy hops lend their aromas, while being nicely balanced with a malt background. Each hop varietal lends its own unique aroma, with earthy tropical hints of grapefruit and mango along with diesel. Nicely balanced, fairly complex.

Big juicy tropical flavors of oranges, mango, lemon and melon are balanced with a malt background that fits nicely with the earthiness of the tropical fruits. It may not be the most hop-forward IPA on the market, but hop flavors add a nice tropical fruit presence while balancing perfectly with the malts to add some sweetness. Medium-bodied with perfect carbonation, it finishes with a juicy, lightly dry bitterness that complements

the flavors in a nice way.

Verdict: I can’t believe this much flavor was packed into a 5.0 percent IPA; this is the flavor you would expect from an IPA in the 7.0 percent range. I love hops, and this certainly did not let me down. This beer was truly amazing, and I’m hoping it’s the first of many to come.

Mikey Likey!

Grid City - Coyote Elvis: This new wheat lager is far from the traditional Bavarian-style Hefeweizen. Like a pilsner, it has a much cleaner flavor profile with no banana/clove flavors that you may expect from a German wheat ale. This cool hybrid style covers a lot of ground in its flavor notes. It’s still light in alcohol, dry and drinkable, and for a simple malt bill of just wheat and pilsner malt, I think this is something a little different as far as wheat beers go. It’s not too hazy: just an unfiltered appearance that looks wheaty, with a great frothy Hefe head. No strong ester yeast profile emerges, either; instead, it’s crisp, clean and lager-esque, a cool way to make the wheat pop out.

Even with the moderate hopping, the wheat is the main flavor agent. There’s some cool earthy character from it, too, almost like there’s rye in here (there’s not). But the hops contribute some of that bite as well, along with a lemon peel note and a grassy noble herbal character before the moderate bitterness kicks up. Old-school hops keep this super traditional with hints of pine way in the back.

Verdict: This lager has a real clean, fluffy and expansive feeling. It’s nicely carbonated, fresh as can be and very flavorful. It’s a summer slammer, but it has more going on with it than most wheat beers, and I would say it’s substantial enough for the colder months too. The result is a smart take on a wheat beer.

Mikey Likey!

These are limited releases, and while there should be plenty to go around for the next few weeks, I wouldn’t wait too long. Coyote Elvis is on draft via LUKR side-pour faucet, and Hyper Wave is in 16-ounce cans and on draft at Kiitos.

As always, cheers! CW

BACK BURNER

BY ALEX SPRINGER | @captainspringer

St. Regis Deer Valley Announces New Executive Chef

The St. Regis Deer Valley recently appointed Chef Matthew Fradera to the role of executive chef. Not only does this mean that Chef Fradera will oversee culinary operations at the St. Regis, but also at RIME, La Stellina, Brasserie 7452 and The Vintage Room. Before coming to Deer Valley, Chef Fradera was executive sous chef at Waldorf Astoria Park City, which gave him a unique insight into Utah’s culinary potential. Before that, he spent time as senior sous chef at the Ritz-Carlton New York. It’s definitely a stunning pedigree, and we’re sure Chef Fradera will be crushing it on a daily basis at Deer Valley.

Utah Cheese Awards Wraps Up Its Eighth Season

The Utah Cheese Awards recently wrapped up its eighth awards season, and their winners have been announced. This year saw 52 entries vie for dairy supremacy, and the team at Park City Creamery was awarded 2024’s Best in Show award (Division I) for their goat cheese rolled in cocoa and cinnamon. Division II refers to everything but cheese–the Utah Cheese Awards also evaluates locally-produced cured meats, chocolate, jams and other tasty snacks. The winner of this division was the team at Aggie Chocolate Factory for their Villa Riva Dominican Republic milk chocolate. A full list of winners can be found at utahcheeseawards.com.

Mountain-Top Brunch at Snowbasin

Snowbasin Ski Resort (snowbasin.com) recently announced the return of its Mountain-Top Brunch which will take place on Sundays from now until October 6. Not only does this brunch experience offer a sumptuous buffet that features sun-dried tomato and spinach frittata or garlic and horseradish crusted prime rib, but you get an excellent view of the valley in the process. Diners get to take the Needles Gondola up the mountain where they will enjoy brunch at around 8,000 feet above sea level. Fans of hitting up ski resorts in the off season and gigantic brunch buffets will want to check this event out.

Quote of the Week: “Life is great. Cheese makes it better.” –Avery Aames

AI-Yi-Yi

Ahead of the opening of AfrAId, more movies about sentient computers gone bad.

BY SCOTT RENSHAW scottr@cityweekly.net @scottrenshaw

At least thus far, in the real world, artificial intelligence has been … underwhelming. Sure, its proponents have been successful at getting people to talk about it, but promises have mostly exceeded delivery. And in the wake of some tumultuous days on the stock market surrounding AI-promoting companies, it feels like the biggest threat the technology has managed has been both to people’s jobs and to their retirements.

In the movies, however, AI has been considerably scarier—to the extent that there’s an entire subgenre of “evil AI” movies. As the evil-AI-themed thriller AfrAId opens this weekend, here’s a look at just some of its predecessors at giving us reason to fear what happens when computers get too smart.

HAL 9000, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968): Perhaps the granddaddy of them all, Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s novel introduced us to the spacecraft operating system (voiced by Douglas Rain) that got a tad homicidal. It’s a pretty impressive achievement that HAL remains so memorable a character in a movie that was so visually stunning and technically accomplished for its time—which perhaps makes it easier to almost sympathize with HAL as he feels his existence slip away.

COLOSSUS, Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970): You youngsters have no idea how much the Cold War dominated speculative fiction for decades. This adaptation of a Dennis Feltham Jones novel tells the story of an advanced military defense computer which achieves sentience, connects with a corresponding Soviet system, then forces humanity to cede control of everything in order to avoid nuclear war. This slick and effective sci-fi effort presaged an entire subgenre of “computer system threatens/causes/tries to prevent World War III” that also included WarGames (1982) and the Terminator series.

Proteus IV, Demon Seed (1977): One of the ickier entries on this list, this adaptation of a Dean Koontz novel follows a scientist who develops an advanced AI called Proteus (voiced by Robert Vaughn) which looks to evolve by procreating with a human female—spe-

cifically, the scientist’s estranged wife (Julie Christie). Trigger warnings ahoy for psychological manipulation and involuntary impregnation, and the unpleasant premise isn’t particularly salvaged by the movie itself.

Edgar, Electric Dreams (1984): Evil AI hits the MTV era, as directed by music video legend Steve Barron (Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean,” Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing,” etc.). Architect Miles (Lenny Von Dohlen) buys a PC to help him with his work, falls in love with his neighbor Madeline (Virginia Madsen), then finds real trouble when the aforementioned PC (voiced by Bud Cort) acquires a name, a consciousness and its own affection for Madeline. A subplot involving Edgar writing love songs for Madeline becomes an excuse for a soundtrack full of period favorites like Culture Club, Jeff Lynne and Heaven 17—and the music holds up better than the story surrounding it.

Agent Smith, The Matrix (1999): The Wachowskis’ groundbreaking aesthetic and dazzling world-building turned this under-the-radar science-fiction tale into a franchise, built around an ordinary guy (Keanu Reeves) who discovers the reality of the world behind the world he knows. The antagonist AI takes its most memorable form in Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), adding a touch of genuine loathing to these usually dispassionate digital entities, and that’s just part of why the original is so great. It’s a bummer that its narrative ended up co-opted by conspiracy theorists and troubled youth, both of which ended up more genuinely scary than The Matrix itself.

Ultron, Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015): Fictional AI usually believes they know what’s best for the world better than humans do. In this entry from the height of Marvel Cinematic Universe popularity, the artificial intelligence designed by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) concludes that his programming to protect the earth means ridding it of pesky, destructive people, all delivered in the silky-smooth tones of James Spader. The synthetic creation Vision (Paul Bettany) provides a more humanist AI counterpoint to Ultron, who seems as though he’d have a lot to talk about with The Forbin Project’s COLOSSUS.

Ava, Ex Machina (2014) and M3GAN, M3gan (2022): Plotwise, these movies aren’t really connected, except by virtue of a female-presenting robot serving as the primary antagonist. But somehow they both became most celebrated through memes of characters dancing: Oscar Isaac’s funky strut in Ex Machina, and robot M3GAN’s herky-jerky prelude to her attack on Ronny Chieng. Which just goes to show that our digital world remains far more innocuously goofy than the ones writers can dream up. CW

The Utah Draw

Five classic songs that namecheck our fair state

BY LEE ZIMMERMAN comments@cityweekly.net

Popular music finds its muse in many places: Boy meets girl, boy cheats on girl, boy loses girl, etc. However, through the years, the mention of various locales— especially within the 50 states—has become a source of inspiration, musing and contentment. Stephen Foster more or less started the trend in the mid-1800s when he wrote that famous lyric that began, “I come from Alabama with my banjo on my knee / I’m goin’ to Louisiana my true love for to see.” As a result, the imagery became forever entwined in the American ethos.

Nearly a century later, “Tennessee Waltz” found its way into the public consciousness courtesy of a heartwarming rendition by Patti Page. In the 1960s, the Mamas and the Papas captured the hippie fantasy in their signature song “California Dreamin’.”

California and Tennessee remain among the most popular musical destinations, with Arizona, Texas and Colorado prime reference points in between. Nevertheless, Utah has also shown up within the popular musical lexicon, and while some may consider those references confined to obscurity, we here at the Salt Lake City Weekly are pleased to counter that notion by pointing out some prime examples of songs that give our state its due.

“The Great Salt Lake” was the second single taken culled from Band of Horses’ 2006 debut album Everything All the Time Released as a single three months after the album dropped, it failed to chart, and yet even now, some 18 years on, it remains one of Band of Horses’ most requested songs— and, in fact, a regular part of their live repertoire. In truth, though it explicitly

MUSIC

mentions Great Salt Lake by name, it was actually inspired by Lake Murray, a reservoir in band member Ben Bridwell’s native South Carolina. Nevertheless, it also references some anecdotal incidents they encountered here in Salt Lake City. Either way, we’re happy to have the shout-out.

“Ballad For A Friend” was written by Bob Dylan early on in his career, but appeared much later on The Bootleg Series Vol. 9: The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964. The song is a narrative in Dylan’s typical unadorned, early folksy style, one that starts innocently enough about a dear friend from Minnesota who takes to the open road only to meet a tragic end when he’s either hit by a truck, or mowed down by another car after being dropped off by a truck that gave him a ride. “A diesel truck was rollin’ slow / Pullin’ down a heavy load / It left him on a Utah road.” Hmm, that’s clearly not something we necessarily want to be associated with, but on the other hand, any time you can get name-dropped in a Bob Dylan song, it’s kinda worth it. It’s a sad lament to be sure, but hey, we’ll take it regardless.

“Palace of the Brine” shared the Pixies’ appreciation for the concentrated con-

tent of the Great Salt Lake that’s found “beneath reflections in the fountain! The starry sky and Utah Mountains!” Taken from the album Trompe le Monde, it’s a rare bit of nostalgic rumination from a band not necessarily known for drawing on sentiment. Indeed, it comes across as a rocking revelry of sorts, an abbreviated but convincing blast of pure devotion and affection. It’s hard to imagine that anyone could get so revved up by sodium chloride, but apparently it provided the Pixies with the inspiration they needed.

“The Mess Inside” by the Mountain Goats offers a lonely lament wrapped around the realization that a relationship may be well worth preserving, but at times, that reality comes too late. The lyric deals with escapism, and trying to avoid the fact that the narrator has made a mess of his situation to the extent that no amount of traveling with his mate can ever erase the damage that’s been done. Notably, the couple chose our environs as their initial destination: “We took a weekend / drove to Provo / the snow was white and fluffy / But a weekend in Utah won’t fix what’s wrong with us.” Drawn from the album All Hail West Texas, it’s a sad paean to

futility, but the beautiful imagery and the determined delivery are effective nonetheless. Ultimately, it’s wonderful to have something so solid that references Utah’s natural beauty and shares it in song. We can only hope that frontman John Darnielle found the refuge he was seeking, and maybe gave us a try once again.

“Salt Lake City” by the Beach Boys remains an enduring classic, and we’d be remiss if we failed to include this tribute to our own beloved city. It’s an homage indeed: “Down in Utah / The guys and I dig a city called Salt Lake / It’s got the grooviest kids / That’s why we never get tired of Salt Lake.” The love was real, and indeed, it was Mike Love and Brian Wilson who co-wrote the track. Culled from their 1965 album, Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!), it was offered as praise to one of their earliest legions of fans. According to Wikipedia, The Beach Boys performed at the Lagoon Amusement Park in Farmington at least twelve times between 1963 and 1973. We can also claim credit for being one of the first places Beach Boys music was played outside California. Who knew that you could catch a wave in the Great Salt Lake? CW

THURSDAYS

FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS THE BEST HIP HOP IN SLC

SHARK SUNDAYS

POOL TOURNEY HOSTED BY TANNER

MONDAYS

REGGAE MONDAY WITH DJ NAPO

TUESDAYS

WEDNESDAYS KARAOKE

BEST BAR IN UTAH!

GREAT FOOD

MUSIC PICK S

Gregory Alan Isakov @ Snow Park Amphitheater 8/29

The name could suggest a scientist credited with great discoveries, but in reality, Gregory Alan Isakov is an astute singer/songwriter with an indie approach to his folky sound. Born in South Africa, he emigrated with his parents to the U.S. in 1986, and by the time he was 16, he was a touring musician. He was gifted at a variety of instruments, but after relocating to Colorado, he took up horticulture and gardening. After connecting with fellow singer/songwriter Kelly Jo Phelps—whom he likely related to due to the fact that Phelps hailed from a small farming town—Isakov began making music in earnest. Even then, he maintained some rural roots, given that his latest album, Appaloosa Bones, was inspired by time spent in West Texas and recorded in his barn. “I thought I was gonna make something very lo-fi, very simple,” he told NPR’s World Cafe radio program in 2023. “Almost like a lo-fi rock and roll record. I wanted old silver tones that are double amped and kind of dirty.” His approach always works well. His earlier album, Evening Machines, was nominated for a Grammy for Best Folk Album, and his song “Big Black Cat” was featured in a McDonald’s commercial. Not to worry; Isakov donated the proceeds to nonprofit organizations that help further sustainable farming. A scientist may look towards the sky, but Isakov is decidedly down to earth. Gregory Alan Isakov’s “Appaloosa Bones” Tour comes to Snow Park Outdoor Amphitheater at Deer Valley on Thursday, Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $119.96 - $158.12. Go to axs.com. (Lee Zimmerman)

SHOWS

Gregory Alan Isakov

MUSIC PICK S

The Doobie Brothers @ Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre 8/30

Launched in San Jose, Calif. in 1970, The Doobie Brothers struck a chord with listeners thanks to their stylistic breadth—breezy, catchy pop-rock tunes; soulful ballads; hardcharging rockers—and their commitment to touring. Drawing from R&B, country and folk, The Doobies covered a stunning amount of musical ground. Along the way, the group has earned six Top Ten spots on Billboard ’s 200 album chart, sixteen Top 40 hit singles, a Grammy Award and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Over the years, the group’s musical approach has changed here and there, as has its lineup: only guitarist Patrick Simmons has appeared on every one of the group’s 15 studio releases. Most of the band’s hits have featured either Simmons, original lead singer Tom Johnston or his replacement, Michael McDonald (these days Johnston is back in the fold). But the band’s appeal has endured, not only by delivering the classics in concert but – in an age when many classic rockers rest upon their back catalog – with new material. Liberté, the group’s 2021 album, earned positive reviews. Topping the bill and supported by another classic rock legend—Steve Winwood (Traffic, Blind Faith, solo)—The Doobie Brothers come to Salt Lake City Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.; tickets for the concert are $21 and up and can be purchased via ticketsqueeze.com. (Bill Kopp)

EMBRZ @ Sky SLC 8/30

Dublin-based producer, writer and singer EMBRZ (Jack Casey) makes what could be called “emotional dance music.” His songs fall under the sub-genre of chill house, but he is set apart by the use of his own soothing vocals. Lane 8—who is really the father of “emotional dance music” has shown him massive support and EMBRZ was a supporting act on his tour across Europe. EMBRZ is signed to the label This Never Happened (founded and run by Lane 8), which is known for its dreamy and peaceful vibe. This makes a lot of sense, since they both share the signature downtempo melodies and tranquil vocals. He has two albums to check out: In Our Own Way and Moments. His most listened-to EP, Gather Together, was released in May, and his overall discography has accumulated tens of millions of streams collectively from across the world. Attendees are in for an ethereal experience at this live show, especially since it’s a sunset show on a rooftop overlooking the city. Talk about an evening to remember! EMBRZ plays at Sky SLC Rooftop on Friday, Aug. 30 brought by LNE Presents. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Tickets cost $20 at tixr.com. (Arica Roberts)

EMBRZ

Booker T. Jones

Booker T. Jones @ The Egyptian 9/1

You cannot take away the influence of the track “Green Onions.” The fantastic Hammond lead, the constant bass riff, the perfect syncopation of the drums and guitar. It’s a masterpiece. Booker T. & the MGs’ master-groove of an instrumental flew to number three on the charts when it was released in 1962, and if you hear it and don’t at least nod along, you’re made of stone. “I’d forgotten those riffs … so I asked Steve (Cropper) to stand next to the organ and help refresh my memory.” Jones told AmericanSongwriter.com in July. “I played several licks before Steve stopped and shouted, ‘That’s it!’ He identified the opening notes of what would become ‘Green Onions.’ The song burst to life on the spot.” As a youth, Booker T’s music got under my skin. All of it. The whole Stax catalog. You’re only scratching the surface with “Green Onions,” but what a surface to scratch. There are so many great tunes that they’ve done, i.e “Time Is Tight,” “Soul Limbo,” “Melting Pot,” “Slim Jenkins’ Place,” “Hip Hug-Her,” a cover of the Isley Bros “It’s Your Thing,” the entire McLemore Avenue album which totally torches George Benson’s Abbey Road tribute. Furthermore, as a producer/composer/arranger and artist who plays multiple instruments, Booker T. has made some pretty tasty solo albums. Places to start: Potato Hole with The Drive-By Truckers and Neil Young, and Sound The Alarm. Catch this legend on Sunday, Sept. 1. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. Show at 5 p.m. Tickets for the all-ages show are $45 at tickets.egyptiantheatrecompany.org (Mark Dago)

Alien Ant Farm, Spirit Machines, Frick. @ Metro Music Hall 9/1

It was hard to ignore Alien Ant Farm in the early ’00s, especially after the release of their cover of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal.” Many only know that track by the SoCal rock band, but their newest album Mantras is a bad-ass listen. It has those early aughts rock vibes the band is known for, but fits well into the modern day with excellent, hard driving guitar, memorable choruses and emotional intensity. Alien Ant Farm knows how to rock, and they show that off here. It’ll be great to hear these new tunes alongside their classics—and, of course, that awesome cover of “Smooth Criminal.” Joining AAF are local rockers Spirit Machines and Frick. You’ve probably heard Spirit Machines in the past year or two (and if you haven’t, what have you been doing?) crushing it with their Cyberpunk rock vibes. They also released a slower tune in January of this year, “Best for You,” that highlights frontwoman Pepper Rose’s incredible vocals. If you’ve spent any time in Utah, you’ll know all of the euphemisms for “fuck” used by certain members of the populace, and that’s why Frick.’s name is so great. Along with their awesome name, their debut self-titled album released back in Feb. and is a rip-roaring, headbanging great time. This is a lineup that will complement each other so completely, so you don’t want to miss this show. Come rock out on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 7:30.

free will ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

Although there are over 7,000 varieties of apples, your grocery store probably offers no more than 15. You shouldn’t feel deprived. Having 15 alternatives is magnificent. In fact, most of us do better dealing with a modicum of choices rather than an extravagant abundance. This is true not just about apples but also most things. I mention this, Aries, because now is an excellent time to pare down your options in regard to all your resources and influences. You will function best if you’re not overwhelmed with possibilities. You will thrive as you experiment with the principle that less is more.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Taurus comedian Jerry Seinfeld, now 70 years old, has testified, “As a child, the only clear thought I had was ‘get candy.’” I encourage you to be equally singleminded in the near future, Taurus. Not necessarily about candy—but about goodies that appeal to your inner child as well as your inner teenager and inner adult. You are authorized by cosmic forces to go in quest of experiences that tickle your bliss.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

I’m not saying I would refuse to hire a Gemini person to house-sit while I’m on vacation. You folks probably wouldn’t let my houseplants die, allow raccoons to sneak in and steal food or leave piles of unwashed dishes in the sink. On the other hand, I’m not entirely confident you would take impeccable care of my home in every little way. But wait! Everything I just said does not apply to you now. My analysis of the omens suggests you will have a high aptitude for the domestic arts in the coming weeks. You will be more likely than usual to take good care of my home—and your own home, too. It’s a good time to redecorate and freshen up the vibe.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)

These days, you are even smarter and more perceptive than usual. The deep intelligence of your higher self is pouring into your conscious awareness with extra intensity. That’s a good thing, right? Yes, mostly. But there may be a downside: You could be hyper-aware of people whose thinking is mediocre and whose discernment is substandard. That could be frustrating, though it also puts you in a good position to correct mistakes those people make. As you wield the healing power of your wisdom, heed these words from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “Misunderstandings and lethargy produce more wrong in the world than deceit and malice do.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had an older sister, born under the sign of Leo. Her nickname was Nannerl. During childhood, she was as much a prodigy as he. Supervised by their father, they toured Europe performing together, playing harpsichord and piano. Nannerl periodically got top billing, and some critics regarded her as the superior talent. But misfortune struck when her parents decided it was unseemly for her, a female, to continue her development as a genius. She was forcibly retired to learn the arts of housekeeping and prepare for marriage and children. Your assignment in the coming months, Leo, is to rebel against any influence that tempts you to tamp down your gifts and specialties. Assert your sovereignty. Identify what you do best, and do it more and better than you ever have before.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

When a giraffe leaves its mother’s womb, it falls six feet to the ground. I suspect when you are reborn sometime soon, Virgo, a milder and more genial jolt will occur. It may even be quite rousing and inspirational—not rudely bumpy at all. By the way, the plunge of the baby giraffe snaps its umbilical cord and stimulates it to take its initial breaths—getting it ready to begin its life journey. I suspect your genial jolt will bring comparable benefits.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Many people in the Napo province of Ecuador enjoy eating a dish called ukuy which is a Kichwa word for large ants. This is not an exotic meal for them. They may cook the ukuy or simply eat the creatures alive. If you travel to Napo anytime soon, Libra, I urge you to sample the ukuy According to my reading of the astrological omens, such an experiment is in alignment with the kinds of experiences you Libras should be seeking: outside your usual habits, beyond your typical expectations, and in amused rebellion against your customary way of doing things.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

The theory of karma suggests all our actions, good, bad and in between, send ripples out into the world. These ripples eventually circle back to us, ensuring we experience events that mirror our original actions. If we lie and cheat, we will be lied to and cheated on. If we give generously and speak kindly about other people, we will be the recipient of generosity and kind words. I bring this up, Scorpio, because I believe you will soon harvest a slew of good karma that you have set in motion through your generosity and kindness. It may sometimes seem as if you’re getting more benevolence than you deserve, but in my estimation, it’s all well-earned.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

I encourage you to buy yourself presents that give you a feisty boost. Why? Because I want you to bring an innovative, starting-fresh spirit into the ripening projects you are working on. Your attitude and approach could become too serious unless you infuse them with the spunky energy of an excitable kid. Gift suggestions: new music that makes you feel wild; new jewelry or clothes that make you feel daring; new tools that raise your confidence; and new information that stirs your creativity.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

In August in 2012—one Jupiter cycle ago—a Capricorn friend of mine called in sick to his job as a marketing specialist. He never returned. Instead, after enjoying a week off, he began working to become a dance instructor. After six months, he was teaching novice students. Three years later, he was proficient enough to teach advanced students, and five years later, he was an expert. I am not advising you to quit your job and launch your own quixotic quest for gratifying work. But if you were ever going to start taking small steps towards that goal, now would be a good time. It’s also a phase to improve the way your current job works for you.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

Three years ago, an Indonesian man celebrated his marriage to a rice cooker, which is a kitchen accessory. Khoirul Anam wore his finest clothes while his new spouse donned a white veil. In photos posted on social media, the happy couple are shown hugging and kissing. Now might also be a favorable time for you to wed your fortunes more closely with a valuable resource— though there’s no need to perform literal nuptials. What material thing helps bring out the best in you? If there is no such thing, now would be a good time to get it.

PISCES

(Feb. 19-March 20)

For years, I didn’t earn enough money to pay taxes. Fortunately, social programs provided food and some medical care. In recent years, I have had a better cash flow. I regularly send the U.S. government a share of my income. I wish they would spend my tax contributions to help people in need. Alas, just 42% pay for acts of kindness to my fellow humans, while 24% funds the biggest military machine on earth. Maybe someday, there will be an option to allocate my tax donations as I want. I invite you to take inventory of the gifts and blessings you dole out. Now is a time to correct dubious priorities. Ensure your generosity is going where it’s needed and appreciated. What kind of giving makes you feel best?

Entrata, Inc. seeks a Senior

Director of Engineering in Lehi, UT. Position may also telecommute 2 days per week from home within reasonable commuting distance from Lehi, Utah. Applicants interested in applying for this position should visit: https://www.entrata.com/ company/careers and follow the procedures set forth to submit an application for this position. Applicants who fail to provide a resume and pre-screening question responses will not be considered.

urban LIVING

Gender Pay Gap

WalletHub, a personal finance website, has just come out with a new study that compared all 50 states for 17 indicators of gender equality, and Utah scored poorly in three areas: workplace environment; education and health; and political empowerment. As a matter of fact, we ranked dead last for workplace environment and education and health.

What didn’t surprise me was that they found Utah has the largest gender pay gap in the country (vs Hawaii, which was the best for women’s equality). According to Human Capital Innovations, Utah women earn $0.73 for every $1 a man earns, with a yearly average for women of $47,000 compared to men, who earn $65,000 annually.

We women haven’t progressed that much, financially, in the past 50 years. Until 1974, it was very difficult to open a bank account in our own names or even get a line of credit without a man co-signing for us.

Federal laws changed to stop this kind of discrimination against women back then, but many banks were slow to respond. Yet there were groups of women around the country who got together and formed women’s banks and/or women’s banking divisions within banks.

I remember Vervene “Vee” Carlisle, a former Utah legislator and well-known advocate for women’s rights who developed a section for women’s banking at Tracy-Collins Bank & Trust during the 1980s. Unfortunately, it didn’t last that long, despite its popularity among its female patrons.

Lenders stepped up and realized that it was good business to not discriminate against women and unmarried couples, and the need for specialty banking fell to the wayside. Bankers nowadays are more than willing to offer financial advice to men and women despite high or low incomes.

Given the average yearly incomes for both sexes in Utah, it’s obvious that the hope of buying a home is a hard dream. If lenders on average like to see no more than one-third of your income going toward housing costs, a woman with an income of $47,000 could only have a mortgage payment of around $1,300—where a man making $65,000 could pay $1,800 per month.

Given current mortgage interest rates, it would be next to impossible to find a condo or home with this low potential monthly payment.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

ACROSS

1. Appropriate phrase for 1-Across?

10. Digital party notice

15. Question of camera-readiness?

16. Type of colony

17. Longer shift, maybe

18. Speechify

19. ___-Ball (arcade game)

20. 1959 G¸nter Grass novel with narrator Oskar Matzerath

22. Perfume base

24. Coworker of Knope and Swanson

25. John Lee Hooker blues classic of 1962

28. Key in the corner

31. Willing to speak up

34. Golf equipment

35. Mil. address

36. “Hey there, sailor!”

37. Culotte-like portmanteau

38. Singer Jason, or punctuated differently, his 2005 album

39. Title for Arthur Conan Doyle

40. Ancient bread grain

41. Precipitous

42. Approximate weight of a newborn gray whale calf

43. “Kiko and the Lavender Moon” band

45. Poet Gil ___-Heron

47. “When I was a lad I served ___” (navalbased Gilbert & Sullivan lyric)

50. Commences nagging

54. Unaltered, in a way

56. Rentable

57. Almost

59. Playground marble

60. “Yes, that’s my answer, 100%”

61. Foreshadowed

62. Pop star who recently tweeted “kamala IS brat”

DOWN

1. Some PC hookup systems

2. Actress Henningsen of “Hazbin Hotel”

3. 2020 Christopher Nolan (or is it Nalon?) movie

4. Magnolia virginiana, alternately

5. Ventured

6. It’s not “esto” or “eso”

7. ___ gallop (rhetorical technique with rapid-fire dishonest confrontation)

8. Jazz vocalist Anderson who worked with Duke Ellington

9. Neighboring

10. Nachos and sandwiches, for example

11. Salsa ___

12. Owing

13. 2000s Russian music duo who teased onstage kisses

14. Silver or gold, for short

21. Words of refusal

23. CompuServe competitor, once 26. Meathead’s real name

27. Footage that’s not the main action

29. Small quarrel

30. Subgenre of mystery books usually set in a small community

31. Colossal

32. State that means “weird,” in Gen Z slang

33. Side that may involve elote

37. Acne, outside the U.S.

38. Quattroporte maker

40. Like some serving spoons

41. Very in

44. Friendly talk

46. Zeus’s island birthplace

48. Unwind

49. Like the acid in

Hell, even a rental is hard to find, when two-bedroom apartment rents— reported by Apartments.com as of August 2024—average $1,770 per month. Downtown high-rise apartments in newer buildings can cost up to $2,800 per month, or more.

The only path to home ownership for low-wage workers in Utah is to inherit a property, inherit money to buy a property or “couple up” with someone to combine resources and purchase a home or condo.

Mobile homes are much less expensive, of course, but there is a monthly space rent, which can be $600 to $1,500 per month on top of any payment on the actual mobile home. n

Complete the grid so that each row, column,

apples

50. Movie franchise within the “Scream” movie franchise

51. Nation tucked between Benin and Ghana

52. “The Secret of

NEWS of the WEIRD

BY

The Tech Revolution

Randol White lives adjacent to a parking lot full of driverless Waymo cars in San Francisco, KGO-TV reported on Aug. 13. And White is a big fan of the autonomous vehicles. But over the last few weeks, White has been assaulted by the sounds of the cars’ horns. “I was like, where is that coming from? And I looked down, and I was like, I think it’s coming from the Waymo cars,” he said. Sure enough, the “smart” cars have become confused and all started honking at each other, both during the day and at night. “I could not be more cranky today,” said neighbor Russell Pofsky. “It affects the way you feel.” Waymo said it has identified the glitch and is working on a fix.

You Can’t Make This Up

Richard E. Brown of Kershaw County, South Carolina, filed a lawsuit on Aug. 1 against Buc-ee’s, the convenience store chain, WBTW-TV reported. In 2022, Brown was walking on a sidewalk at a store in Florence County, South Carolina, when he tripped over a rope that was holding down the large inflatable beaver mascot, which caused him several injuries, including to his right shoulder. The lawsuit claims that Buc-ee’s was “aware of the dangerous condition of the rope that was holding the inflatable beaver in place.” Brown is suing for negligence and seeking unspecified financial damages. Buc-ee’s has not responded.

It’s a Dirty Job

In Pittsburgh on Aug. 12, the Allegheny River was the site of a massive dredging and cleanup conducted by Three Rivers Waterkeeper, an environmental group. TribLIVE reported on Aug. 12 that in just four hours, the operation pulled about 50,000 pounds of vehicle parts from the river, along with an intact Volkswagen Beetle, bicycles, skateboards and a mattress. “If you were to dive down there right now, you’d see a solid tangle of vehicles,” said Capt. Evan Clark. Many of the cars were thought to be from a long-closed downtown parking lot. “To see this cleanup work, it shows that people care about the rivers, and they’re getting better,” Clark said.

Unclear on the Concept

Even after Cody Mortensen, 28, of Lucerne Valley, California, was told that he would “probably die,” he insisted on biking across Regent’s Slide, a massive landslide near Big Sur. The Mercury News reported that on Aug. 9, Mortensen talked with a construction worker who said the road was not passable, but the biker “said he was going to try anyways.” Sure enough, Mortensen fell more than 100 feet toward the ocean, abandoned his bicycle and climbed down toward the beach, where he was rescued by Bettencourt and Big Sur Fire. He had hit his head and seemed confused, witnesses said, and his arm was cut. Mortensen faces charges of wanton disregard to obey a person directing traffic and failing to obey traffic signs.

Questionable Judgment

(See what we did there?) On Aug. 13 in Detroit, 36th District Judge Kenneth King got a little carried away while “trying to serve as a deterrence” to a teenager in his courtroom, the Detroit Free Press reported. The 16-year-old girl was in court on a field trip when she fell asleep during King’s 45-minute address to the group between hearings. King threatened her with jail and contempt of court charges and forced her to wear a jail uniform and handcuffs before ultimately freeing her. “I wanted to instill in this kid that this is not a joke, this is a very serious situation,” King later said. Marissa Ebersole Wood, the leader of the nonprofit group that organized the trip, said, “We have spoken to the student and her parents, and the young lady was traumatized by the judge’s unnecessary disciplinary treatment and scolding. ... The group of students should have been simply asked to leave the courtroom if he thought they were disrespectful.” King said he has reached out to the family with an offer to mentor the girl, but has not received a response.

Nope

Thrill-seekers will want to put Berlin, Germany, onto their list of spots to visit, Yahoo! News reported on Aug. 10. Atop of a 40-story hotel near the former East Berlin’s famous TV tower is what is reportedly the highest swing in Europe, which allows riders to soar out over the city about 400 feet below. “It feels a bit like flying,” said Victoria Voigt, 34. Riders pay about $22 for five minutes on the swing, which opened in June and has thrilled more than 100 riders per day. Pascal Vent, 36, tried the swing for his birthday: “I came here to feel a bit younger.”

Recent Alarming Headline

Residents of Feather Falls, California, are barking mad over an incident that took place on Aug. 8, KCRA-TV reported. The Butte County Sheriff’s Office said Davina Corbin, 56, was found dead on the Black Hawk Trail after apparently being mauled by a pack of dogs. Max Hecker, who lives nearby, said the accused dogs are Great Danes that are known to terrorize people in the area. “They’d be out here in the road, and you would have to wade through ‘em,” Hecker said. He said he and other neighbors had repeatedly contacted Butte County Animal Control, to no avail. “They didn’t do anything about any of this,” he said. “That lady should have never died.” Officials rounded up the dogs, and a search warrant was issued at a property across from where Corbin was found.

Clothing Optional

Harley Walters of San Antonio, Texas, was working at home on Aug. 13 when he looked out of a window and saw a naked man walking down the sidewalk with his dog by his side. KENS5-TV reported that Walters became worried the man was suffering some kind of physical or mental health issue; a group of neighbors decided to confront the man. “The other gentleman that stopped him on the street ... said, ‘Hey, are you aware that you don’t have pants on?’” Walters said. “He said, ‘Yeah,’ like it was no big deal.” Police who responded to the scene said the man was high on mushrooms; officers gave him a courtesy ride home and did not charge him.

Oops

Auckland City Mission in New Zealand is trying to recover more than its reputation after the charity accidentally distributed fake candy that was actually chunks of methamphetamine, The New York Times reported on Aug. 14. The candies looked like individually wrapped pineapple sweets and had been donated by a member of the public, said Helen Robinson, the group’s chief executive. Each block of meth weighed about 3 grams, packing up to 300 doses of the drug—enough to potentially be lethal. Three people were treated after tasting the candy, but it was so unpleasant they didn’t eat the whole thing. Auckland police were hoping to recover all the candy and were looking into the origins of the donation.

What’s in a Name?

Elaine Salmon, a teacher at Peak to Peak Mountain Charter School in Pine Mountain Club, California, was recently readying her classroom for the new year on Aug. 4 when she left for a moment to make some copies. KERO-TV reported that when Salmon returned, she found an unexpected visitor in the room: a bear. Salmon called her husband, who got the bear’s attention and held the classroom’s door open for it to rush back outside. The animal didn’t do any real damage, but the school plans to change the door handles, since a bear was able to maneuver the latch. The bear is persistent: Salmon said it came back again. Maybe it was just looking for a fish?

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