State of the city

Moving On From Winter

By Richard Markosian

“Put your little hand in mine and there ain’t no mountain we can’t climb … I got you babe! I got you babe!”

“Hello everyone, it’s Groundhog Day! So put on your booties before you step outside, because it’s cold outside!”

Maybe you recognize these lines from a comedy movie classic. Read to the end to find out what it is. If this article looks like a lot of words, I highly recommend cracking open a local Utah beer before reading it.

Does it feel like every day of your life is just like the last? Does February bring you down? It shouldn’t. We are now past the middle of winter and the days are getting longer. This has been an incredible winter season. The mountains are full of deep packed snow. The Salt Flats are full of water. God has answered our prayers! Except that we still aren’t over our drought. But something great is happening this winter that hasn’t happened for a very long time — we will likely exceed 500 total inches of snowfall in our mountains, and that’s good news for everyone. In this issue, we want to show you how to best enjoy our mountains in the winter, and the splendor and joy of spending time in nature.

In an effort to not simply repeat ourselves (this being our 8th annual February Fun Guide), this year’s guide is quite different from years past. Life is more than just where to go and what to do. There are also some things not to do.

Inside this year’s issue, you will find a list of the worst possible winter dates. I don’t agree with all of them, but maybe for a first date with someone you found on Tinder, or Fishes, or Farmers Only, PHOTO BY it could be fun to see how they react to a cold-water plunge in a bikini or swimsuit. It might even be more revealing than deep, emotional conversation. I say, do it! But we also didn’t forget to include the best things to do and the best places to dine.

NBA All Star Weekend Guests

NBA All-Star guests, we have a note just for you. There is something very special about Salt Lake City, and it isn’t just our restaurants. We have antidepressants in our water supply, making us some of the happiest people on earth! This is unfortunately true, but we’re working on it.

What’s special about Salt Lake City is our amazing locally-owned bars, pubs, breweries, distilleries and restaurants. If you really want to know and experience the best of Utah, visit the folks on our updated listings of the best of local Utah food and drink, found on page 46-47.

State of the City

Last week, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall delivered her annual State of the City address in which she gushed about what her administration is doing to combat climate change. She encouraged Salt Lake City residents to trade in their gasoline lawn mowers for electric ones (at no cost to those who traded their mowers), and 531 total gas mowers were surrendered! That was the highlight of her speech, and perhaps Mendenhall’s biggest “mic drop moment” so far. That’s hard to top. After all, what could surpass that kind of commitment to clean air?

Well, I hate to sound like a know-it-all, but how about reducing the number of homeless people smoking crack on the sidewalks? Walking around downtown this past week, I witnessed brand new, gorgeous apartments rising, with scores of homeless people lying on the grass watching construction while consuming crack, meth and fentanyl.

Hard-drug addicts on every corner, openly using, openly dealing, openly preying on the homeless who are easily victimized is an abysmal reflection on our city.

The Mayor praised the work her administration has conducted in “building more affordable housing, and spending more on affordable housing this year than all previous years combined.” Really? Los Angeles currently has more affordable housing than Salt Lake City. But I forgot, it’s not “affordable housing” that does the trick any more, it’s “deeply affordable housing” that we need.

The new term is required because apparently $1300 for a studio apartment is now the new “affordable.” Now that our dirty air is clean (thanks to all those dirty lawnmowers being gone), the new trees the city planted can be chopped down and used as firewood by the homeless.

Big changes coming

There are some nice developments happening in our city. The Granary District is becoming a reality. Take a walk around the area called Woodbine Food Hall, where the Mayor spoke. Stoll down and visit INDUSTRY, Slackwater Pizza and Kiitos Brewery. This area is almost unrecognizable. You’ll feel as if you are in a different, more cosmopolitan city. Indeed, these tall work/live/play/eat great food areas are becoming the new norm.

Salt Lake City is growing up fast. Buckle up, because this certainly doesn’t feel like Groundhog Day (the film starring Bill Murray), now that every day is a new adventure!