Deseret Digest June 2024

THE DIGEST

June 2024 VOL. 2 / NO. 6

Deseret News

Deseret Magazine

Primary Election Guide

West side story: Salt Lake City’s dramatic tale of change

Sober minded: Why young Americans are abstaining from alcohol

Utah GOP Senate candidates want Trump tax cuts extended

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West side story: Salt Lake City’s dramatic tale of change Multibillion-dollar project to bring housing, offices, shops and maybe a pro baseball stadium

CONTINUES ON PG. 4

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2 DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024

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Peripheral Neuropathy WARNING! begin to degenerate due to lack of nutrient South Jordan, UT - The most common flow. method your doctor will recommend to treat your neuropathy is with prescription drugs that may temporarily reduce your symptoms. These drugs have names such as Gabapentin, Lyrica, Cymbalta, and Neurontin, and are primarily antidepressant or anti-seizure drugs. These drugs may cause you to feel uncomfortable and have a variety of harmful side effects.

There is now a facility right here in South Jordan that offers you hope without taking those endless drugs with serious side effects. (See the special neuropathy severity examination at the end of this article) In order to effectively treat your neuropathy three factors must be determined.

1) What is the underlying cause?

Figure 2: When these very small blood vessels become diseased they begin to shrivel up and the nerves begin to degenerate.

Figure 1: Notice the very small blood vessels surrounding each nerve.

Peripheral neuropathy is a result of damage to the nerve often causing weakness, pain, numbness, tingling, and the most debilitating balance problems.

This damage is commonly caused by a lack of blood flow to the nerves in the hands and feet which causes the nerves to

As you can see in Figure 2, as the blood vessels that surround the nerves become diseased they shrivel up which causes the nerves to not get the nutrients to continue to survive. When these nerves begin to “die” they cause you to have balance problems, pain, numbness, tingling, burning, and many additional symptoms.

The main problem is that your doctor has told you to just live with the problems or try the drugs which you don’t like taking because they make you feel uncomfortable.

2) How Much Nerve Damage Has Been Sustained.

NOTE: Once you have sustained 85% nerve loss, there is likely nothing we can do for you.

therapy) using light emitting diode technology. This technology was originally developed by NASA to assist in increasing blood flow. The low level light therapy is like watering a plant. The light therapy will allow the blood vessels to grow back around the peripheral nerves and provide them with the proper nutrients to heal and repair. It’s like adding water to a plant and seeing the roots grow deeper and deeper.

The amount of treatment needed to allow the nerves to fully recover varies from person to person and can only be determined after a detailed neurological and vascular evaluation.

Call 801-937-4412 to make an appointment with us to determine if your peripheral neuropathy can be treated.

(801) 937-4412

The treatment that is provided at Freedom Integrated Medicine has three main goals:

Dr. Alec Laracuente, N. MD, PhD 4775 W. Daybreak Pkwy #102 South Jordan, UT 84009

1) Increase blood flow

2) Stimulate small fiber nerves The treatment to increase blood flow utilizes a specialized low-level light therapy (not to be confused with laser

Freedom Integrated Medicine will do a neuropathy severity examination to determine the extent of the nerve damage for only $49. This neuropathy severity examination will consist of a detailed sensory evaluation, extensive peripheral vascular testing, and a detailed analysis of the findings of your neuropathy.

We will be offering this promotion for neuropathy severity examination from now until June 30th, 2024.

CALL TODAY!

3) How much treatment will your condition require?

3) Decrease brain-based pain

As long as you have not sustained at least 85% nerve damage there is hope!

www.FreedomClinicUtah.com Figure 3: The blood vessels will grow back around the nerves much like a plant’s roots grow when watered.

DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024

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DESERET NEWS

West side story: Salt Lake City’s dramatic tale of change, challenge and a new horizon Multibillion-dollar project to bring housing, offices, shops and maybe a pro baseball stadium

By Dennis Romboy Deseret News

On a cold, blustery March morning with a big snowstorm looming, a line of people — Latino, Polynesian, Asian, Native American, Black, white — stretched around the block outside Culture Coffee in a west-side Salt Lake City neighborhood.

Inside, the aroma of freshly brewed espresso from a machine designed like the back end of a lowrider filled the funky space with its exposed beams on the ceiling and ethnic artwork on the walls. Co-owner Isaac Atencio moved around the shop with nervous anticipation, chatting with baristas and making last-minute preparations for opening day.

Prior to inviting customers in, local politicians, the Pacific Islander Chamber of Commerce, and friends and family of Atencio and his business partner Eric Stone gathered outside in the wind for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“We don’t have this kind of stuff on this side of town, and we deserve it. ... It’s not just serving coffee to serve it. We’re trying to actually build community here and strengthen and empower,” Atencio said, his voice trailing off with emotion as the crowd clapped and cheered.

Atencio grew up on the west side. This is his neighborhood.

The building that houses Culture Coffee and connects to Atencio’s other business, Salt Lake Barber Co., which opened a year ago, sat vacant for a decade. The owner, NeighborWorks Salt Lake, a nonprofit focused on revitalizing neighborhoods, for years spurned substantially more lucrative offers from payday lenders and pawn shops as it waited for the right business to come along.

“In our case, we’re trying to amplify that message by showing that all you need is a catalyst for a few businesses to open in an area,” Atencio said. “Once you do and have that local representation, it makes the difference.”

During the past two months, we’ve walked west side neighborhoods and talked with those who live and work here. We’ve left most of the politicians out to take a look at what this often out-of-sight, out-of-mind part of Salt Lake City is all about. The “other side of town” or the “other side of the tracks” plays out in communities across America. Wealthier enclaves get the better homes, schools and stores, while the poor section gets hand-me-downs. But that’s about to change in the city.

Something big is brewing on Salt Lake City’s long-neglected west side, and it’s not just a new sit-down coffee shop. For perhaps the first time ever, powerful people in the state have taken an interest in breathing life into a section of town that has been gasping economically for decades.

In January, the Larry H. Miller Company announced plans to put $3.5 billion into a mixed-use development, including a potential Major League Baseball stadium, a few blocks southwest of Atencio’s coffee shop. Utah lawmakers last month created a reinvestment and restoration district north of I-80 between 1000 West and Redwood Road that aims to clean up the trashy Jordan River that runs through the property and improve the Utah State Fairpark. The project

Laura Seitz, Deseret News

Jan Lovett and Culture Coffee owner Isaac Atencio react to the line of people waiting to enter his new coffee shop in Salt Lake City on Saturday, March 2, 2024. "We don't have this kind of stuff on this side of town, and we deserve it. ... It's not just serving coffee to serve it.

We're trying to actually build community here and strengthen and empower," Atencio said.

is scheduled to begin in what’s known as the Power District in late 2024 with the construction of a new headquarters for Rocky Mountain Power.

Salt Lake City Council member Victoria Petro made sure west-side interests were represented at the Capitol during its 2024 legislative session.

“I just spent 45 days up on the hill, working where people have really big dreams for this area of the world, and every time they communicated those dreams, they started with words like blighted, depressed, needy. It made my skin crawl every time because that’s not who we are. This is who we are,” she told the crowd outside the coffee shop. “We are the west side. You are the west side. ... We’re not blighted.

We just need a chance to rise.”

The west side, as it’s colloquially known, has endured a long history of political, racial and economic marginalization. Since the late 1800s, west-side residents worked in low-wage jobs and took the brunt of industrialization while being the last to receive public health and infrastructure upgrades. An EPA report last fall detailed disparities in air quality, health and socioeconomic outcomes in west-side

neighborhoods, finding more negative effects from pollution than the rest of the city and, in some cases, the state.

Construction of the transcontinental railroad in the 1870s cut off Salt Lake City’s west side from the rest of the city, both racially and economically. Redlining — the discriminatory practice of denying not just individuals but entire neighborhoods access to mortgages — further isolated the area. Interstate 15 later cemented the cultural division between the whiter, wealthier east side and the less white, poorer west side.

The median household income is under $57,000, compared to $63,000 for the city as a whole, and half of what it is on the east bench, according to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.

Residents now worry planned I-15 expansion could take out homes bordering the freeway.

Other than a light-rail line to the airport, little to nothing has been done to improve the North Temple corridor, seen as the gateway to Salt Lake City. Save several new apartment buildings, the lack of investment in the area continues today.

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6 DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024 “There’s been a lot of commitments and promises that have been made to this community that have been broken over decades,” said Maria Garciaz, CEO of NeighborWorks Salt Lake.

Despite the disadvantages, west siders take pride in where they live.

Several neighborhoods — Rose Park, Glendale, Westpointe, Poplar Grove, Fairpark, Jordan Meadows and People’s Freeway — comprise Salt Lake City’s west side, totaling about 70,000 residents. Some have their own community council. Small, typically well-kept post-World War II homes make up many of the neighborhoods. Community gardens, some with brightly colored murals of community advocates like Garciaz and Margarita Satini, who died of COVID-19 in 2020, and parks with youth league baseball fields are scattered throughout the community.

In some ways, it still appears like a scene out of “The Sandlot,” the iconic coming-of-age-baseball movie filmed partially in Rose Park. Children play in the street and run at the sound of the ice cream truck. Do-it-yourself projects are common in driveways.

There’s a vibrant arts and culture scene and some of the best food in the city. It’s a place where a guy in a suit who works in a bank and a man who works outside with his hands attend the same school event or stand in line together at a food truck.

“I think that’s really beautiful. It’s fun to be around,” said Dan Strong, a Rose Park resident since 2012 and chair of the Westside Coalition, which works with the community councils to influence issues affecting residents.

‘Kingdom of God’

Christian and Caitlin Bortz and their two young children were among those who waited in line at Culture Coffee on the first day. He doesn’t drink coffee but she does. They bought a house just down the street from the shop.

“We love the diversity,” Christian Bortz said.

Almost a third of west-siders are foreign-born, nearly double anywhere else in the city.

Life expectancy on the west side is about a decade less than it is on the east bench. Nowhere are there more households of four or more people. Neighborhoods have been facing gentrification, with new apartment buildings popping up and rental and housing prices skyrocketing. Save a few like the popular Red Iguana and Rancho Market, restaurants and other businesses along North Temple have a tough go.

Crime and punishment

Laura Seitz, Deseret News

Little league players fool around before their games at the Rose Park Baseball opening ceremonies at Riverside Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday, April 13, 2024. Rose Park Baseball kicked off its season with a breakfast cooked by the Lions Club and a community celebration.

The couple left their home in Tennessee where “everyone was white, everyone was wealthy” five years ago, he said. “We felt really comfortable there and we just didn’t like that comfort.” He explained that he and his wife are Christians and felt called to a place that challenges them and gives them opportunities to preach the gospel in their neighborhood.

“We’re not frequently around people from the islands or African Americans so we want to be in a place that’s actually diverse, that looks like the kingdom of God,” said Christian Bortz, who owns Seven Swans Home Services.

A large majority of west side Salt Lake City residents are people of color, with Hispanic/Latino representing the largest group at 48%. Half of the city’s foreign-born residents are west of I-15, home to 30% of the overall city population.

Homelessness has swelled in the Fairpark area. Drug dealing is rampant and in the open.

Encampments of unsheltered people come and go along the Jordan River between I-80 and 1000 North. Salt Lake City’s Rapid Intervention Team along with police routinely dismantle campsites only to have people return a few hours later. But homelessness is not the biggest problem. Organized crime is intermingled with the camps, bringing people into the neighborhood to buy drugs or solicit prostitution.

Drug lords enlist unsheltered people and undocumented immigrants to work for them. They also push them to panhandle to get money to buy drugs.

“They’ll divide and conquer and I’ve seen this,” said Nigel Swaby, a former Fairpark Community Council chair.

One guy makes the sale, one guy hands off the drugs and one guy collects the money — it’s not the same person in case they get caught. They use a complex signaling system to alert each other to cops, he said.

Salt Lake police say officers conduct daily patrols on the Jordan River Trail to “disrupt criminal activity.”

Last month, police and other law enforcement agencies conducted a drug interdiction operation on the Jordan River CONTINUES ON PG. 8

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DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024

WARNING - WARNING - WARNING

If Your Hands, Arms, Feet, or Legs Are Numb - If You Feel Shooting or Burning Pain or An Electric Sensation - You Are at Risk

Don’t Let Creeping Nerve Death Ruin Your Life Get The Help You Need - Here’s What You Need to Know...

Pleasant Grove, UT - If you experience numbness or tingling in your hands, arms,legs, or feet or if you experience shooting or burning pain, this is important. Please read this carefully.

Peripheral Neuropathy is when small blood vessels in the hands,arms, feet or legs become diseased and tiny nerves that keep the cells and muscles working properly shrivel up and die.

Early-warning symptoms include tingling and numbness, mild loss of feeling in your hands, arms, legs or feet, inability to feel your feet, which increases your risk of foot-injury and falling.

More Advanced Symptoms Include...

• Loss of coordination & dexterity, which puts you at increased risk of accidents.

• Inability to feel clothing like socks and gloves.

• High risk of falling, which makes walking dangerous, and makes you more dependent on others.

• Burning sensations in your arms, legs,hands or feet that may start mild, but as nerves and muscles die, may feel like you’re being burned by a blow torch.

Ignore the early warning signals long enough and you risk progressive nerve damage leading to muscle wasting, severe pain, loss of balance and a lot of staying at home wishing you didn’t hurt.

When every step is like walking on hot coals, sitting still may be the only thing you feel like doing. But there’s little joy in sitting still all day long.

Now here’s the scary part....

Copyright ©2021 Russell Communication

Drugs like Gabapentin, Lyrica, Cymbalta, & Neurontin are often prescribed to manage the pain. But, damaged nerves and dying cells do not heal on their own.

Pain pills do not restore healthy nerve function. They just mask the pain as the nerves continue to degenerate and cells and muscle continue to die.

• Nerve damage CAUSES cell damage.

• Cell damage SPEEDS UP nerve degeneration

Without treatment this can become a DOWN-WARD SPIRAL that accelerates.

The damage can get worse fast. Mild symptoms intensify. Slight tingling,numbness or lack of feeling can turn into burning pain.

Before you know it, damage can become so bad you hurt all the time.

Unless this downward spiral is stopped and nerves return to proper function - the damage to nerves and cells in the affected area can get so bad your muscles begin to die right along with the nerves and cells.

And that sets the stage for weakness, loss of mobility, disability, and dependence on others.

If you have early warning signs of peripheral neuropathy, (tingling &/or numbness, loss of feeling or pain) it’s CRITICAL you get proper treatment.

It’s critical, because with proper treatment the symptoms can often be reversed. Without it, you are playing Russian Roulette with your health.

Once your nerve loss reaches 85%, odds are there’s nothing any doctor can do to help. The most common method your doctor may recommend to treat neuropathy is prescription drugs

Taking endless drugs and suffering terrible side effects that may damage your liver &kidney and create even more problems, is not a reasonable path. You deserve better.

Three things must be determined to effectively treat neuropathy. 1) What is the underlying cause? 2) How much nerve damage has been sustained? 3) How much treatment your condition will require?

With proper treatment, shriveled blood vessels grow back & nerves can return to proper function. How much treatment you may need depends on your condition.

At Chiropractic USA we do a complete neuropathy sensitivity exam to determine the extent of your nerve damage. The exam includes a detailed sensory evaluation,extensive peripheral vascular testing, & a detailed Dr. Christopher Moore, D.C. will be offering this complete neuropathy sensitivity exam for $49. This special offer goes away at the end of this month as we have a limited number of exam appointments available.

Stop Hurting & Start Healing

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Dr. Christopher Moore, D.C.

801-939-0641

470 West 220 South, Suite 201, Pleasant Grove, UT 84062

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Laura Seitz, Deseret News

Students attend an English class at My Hometown Northwest Community Resource Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, May 7, 2024.

Trail, resulting in 22 arrests and the seizure of more than 400 suspected fentanyl pills, drug paraphernalia and weapons. In April, officers seized 231 fentanyl pills, more than $2,000 in cash, nearly two grams of marijuana, and nearly three grams of cocaine on the trail just off North Temple.

“The river and North Temple are about as bad as they’ve ever been at least since I’ve lived here,” Strong said.

The same day Culture Coffee served its first cup, Benjamin Stalling fired up his smokers for the grand opening at Benji’s Bar-B-Que on North Temple. It shares a small, nondescript space with City Creek Pizza, a staple on the street for 25 years.

Stalling, a Georgia native whose family moved to Rose Park when he was a sophomore in high school, has opened several restaurants but none in the area where he grew up. He said he chose the location not because of the possibility of a ballpark across the street but because of the street itself.

“I would love this to be a landmark one day,” the West High School graduate said. “My goal is to be here on North Temple and represent my city.”

In the month he spent getting ready to open, Stalling, a BYU- and Harvard-educated owner of a financial services and consulting firm, saw firsthand the challenges west-side business owners face.

“Oh, my goodness. The crime is horrible,” he said.

Stalling watched unsuspecting drug buyers park next to a car wash and walk to the river trail to do the deal only to find their cars towed. “The tow truck drivers aren’t afraid of nothing.

They’re all strapped,” he said. He saw police emerge from seemingly nowhere to descend on drug dealers in sting operations.

A walk in the park

On a partly sunny day that turned to rain near the end of March, photographer Laura Seitz and I walked the Jordan River Parkway Trail south from the Day-Riverside public library at 1000 North. Stretches of the brown river were choked with debris, mostly plastic soda bottles and drink cups, along with the occasional shopping cart or tire stuck in the mud. Trash, again plastic soda bottles and drink cups along with food wrappers and dirty clothes, were strewn along the river bank.

About a quarter mile in, we saw two men dragging a tent next to the trail. Aaron Hall and Dave Daniels told us the police had just kicked them out of their riverside camping

spot and ordered them to leave their shopping carts behind.

As they gathered up their few possessions, Hall complained about how homeless people who don’t clean up after themselves make it tough on everyone else. After going back and forth about what to do and where to go, the pair loaded up their carts anyway and pushed them down the trail.

A little further along the path, several people huddled under a bridge. A young man skipping rocks in the placid river told us he lives in Murray but likes to hang out on the west side. “The best thing about the west side,” he said, “is the view of the east side.”

In another quarter mile, we happened upon two pickup trucks pulling large trailers. A Bobcat operator with the city’s Rapid Intervention Team scooped up a tent, all of its contents along with a grocery cart and a hardware store panel truck, in its powerful jaws and deposited it all into a trailer. In a few minutes, the campsite was bare. Police officers rousted a couple of men behind a pine tree in an adjacent community garden. It was unclear whether the camp belonged to them. One of the workers told me that we wouldn’t be able to tell the crew was there four hours later.

A bridge over the river on North Temple at the west end of the Utah State Fairpark is the epicenter of the drug trade in the area. It is also the very spot on the river the LHM Company plans to bring change, incorporating it into a riverwalk as part of its development.

Several dozen people in ragged clothes congregated on the bank, just a few feet from an unoccupied Salt Lake City police/fire mobile command center just inside the fairgrounds fence. On the other side of the road, people ducked under the bridge to buy, sell and do drugs.

One man sat on the riverbank in what looked like a drug-induced stupor. Another on the pedestrian bridge held a lighter and a piece of tin foil with black residue. A woman carried what looked like a used condom to a trash can. Another woman filled her two-liter soda bottle in the murky river.

“Watch, she’ll drink it,” said a man who identified himself as a Volunteers of America volunteer who tries to help people in the area.

Two police officers stood guard at a lone green tent surrounded by police tape near the bridge. The woman who owns the tent told me that she and her friend let a man sleep in the tent with them the night before. They thought he was asleep when they left in the morning only to find him dead when they returned in the afternoon. A Salt Lake police report described the man as a drug addict known to use methamphetamine. Officers found him lying under a maroon blanket with an open beer can and store receipt for beer next to him.

Down the street, police arrested a man in the parking lot of a shuttered dry cleaner in a building that looks like a barn (home of The Red Barn restaurant in the ’70s) and will soon be torn down to make way for an apartment building. There was a warrant for his arrest for allegedly smashing a Trax train window with his head on North Temple, according to a police report.

Neighborhood vibes

Marguerite Mower has lived in Rose Park for 30 years. She doesn’t feel safe walking the Jordan River Trail anymore. But she loves the neighborhood. She’s surrounded by good neighbors. Crime isn’t a worry on her street. Banks, a post office, a library and grocery stores are within a two-mile radius.

Like most west-side neighborhoods, Rose Park can carry a stigma: undesirable, high crime, people walking around with guns.

“I have had people grimace when I tell them I live in Rose Park,” Mower said. “I think people are afraid of diversity, people not looking like them. In the media, it’s portrayed as having a lot of crime.”

The west side, however, has caught the eye of developers.

Several multistory apartment buildings have gone up in the past couple of years and more are under construction. The city created an Opportunity Zone, which offers some tax breaks to encourage long-term investments in low-income and urban communities along the North Temple corridor, which has made it one of the city’s most rapidly developing areas.

Garciaz, of NeighborWorks Salt Lake, said the construction is good because it creates more places for people to live, but it also brings challenges.

“I think that it would be nice if there were more thoughtful planning going into play instead of us just sort of building out all this housing,” she said. “It’s much-needed housing but I’m not sure that it’s well-planned out in terms of

“We’ve enjoyed the diversity of the community.

We’ve felt needed. We’ve felt like we could contribute in a meaningful way.”

DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024 parking and the impact it’s going to have on communities.”

Also, the many one- and two-bedroom units don’t cater to families. Garciaz said the focus should be on retaining home ownership and building housing to accommodate families that will grow in the area.

Like everywhere else, housing costs in the Fairpark and Rose Park neighborhoods have shot up. A median-priced home goes for $420,000, up 47% from five years ago.

My hometown

Carlton Christensen lives in the Rose Park house he grew up in, going on 59 years now. He and his wife, Cathy, raised their two daughters there.

“We’ve enjoyed the diversity of the community. We’ve felt needed. We’ve felt like we could contribute in a meaningful way,” he said. “We also felt like we didn’t have to compete with our neighbors.”

The Christensens have contributed quite a bit over the years.

Carlton Christensen served on the Salt Lake City Council for 16 years. He’s currently Utah Transit Authority board chair. He just finished 10 years as a stake president for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And before he could catch his breath, the church called him and Cathy as executive directors of Operation My Hometown SLC Northwest, a nonproselytizing neighborhood improvement initiative in various areas along the Wasatch Front.

“It’s an evolving thing,” he said, adding they’re learning what needs the community has and how to respond to them.

Christensen said it’s about creating strong friendships and connecting people with resources and helping them become more self-reliant.

About 40 service missionaries along with dozens of volunteers participate in various ways, including helping organize a PTA and strengthening the reading program in local schools. There’s a

community resource center for people to play basketball or volleyball, learn English or take a computer course. They spruced up the grounds at a Buddhist temple, prompting a Baptist church to approach them for help. They made a home more accessible for a person with disabilities. They put on a youth dance.

Missionaries are helping a homeowner who had a fire in her home line up grants and other resources to rebuild the inside. On a Saturday in April, more than 500 people turned out to clean up a stretch of the Jordan River.

“In many ways, it is the Christ-like love we have been taught to share with others,” Christensen said.

Opening Day

Opening Day for Rose Park Baseball on a clear but windy day in April probably wasn’t much different than it was when the youth league started in 1955. The Lions Club sponsored a community breakfast, boys and girls in new uniforms ran around and played catch, parents smiled and greeted each other. The field at Riverside Park is the very one where the fictional Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez and his ragtag teammates in T-shirts and sneakers soundly beat the well-heeled team in fancy uniforms and cleats from the other side of town in “The Sandlot.”

“It’s our pride and joy, the beating heart of our community,” said Krista Cook, whose husband, Chris, coaches and whose two boys play in the league.

Retired major leaguers Dale Murphy and Jared Fernandez threw out the first pitch, along with some local political leaders and executives from the Larry H. Miller Company. The Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation worked with Salt Lake City to fund and install new lights on the two baseball fields at the park and company employees painted the dugouts last year.

Despite the blue sky, a gray cloud hung over the festivities. Cook managed a table with a big sign reading, “Keep

kids on the sandlot! Don’t price us out!” The city more than doubled its rental fee for the field, putting the league in a financial quandary. It’s trying to figure out how to pay the bills without making the cost to play prohibitive for families. Players, coaches and parents gathered around the table to scrawl letters urging the city to relent on the rate increase as Cook tried to corral the petitions in the wind.

League president James Walje said the cost jumped from about $8,000 to rent the fields to $20,000.

“That’s not sustainable. We can’t afford that year after year after year. We would die,” he said, adding the new lights would shine on an empty park.

Some relief might be in sight, though, as the City Council considers reducing the fee ahead of next year’s budget.

Cook can’t help but see the juxtaposition between the struggling league and the enormous amount of money going into a major league stadium just blocks away.

“As much as I care about the major league team, I care more about our little leaguers and our community. If you had to pick — and I want both — but this is where we should be investing the money. It’s our heart and soul,” Cook said.

Cook’s 10-year-old son, Wilson, wandered over in his still-clean Rose Park uniform. He said he’s excited for the possibility of major league baseball in his neighborhood but unsolicitedly offered, “That would be awesome but I don’t think many people in Rose Park could afford that.”

The average ticket price for a major league game goes up a little each year, hitting $37 in 2023, according to Statista.

The average “cheap” ticket price, per MoneyGeek, is $17.67.

Either way, it’s pricey to take a family to a game, which likely includes parking, drinks, snacks and souvenirs.

CONTINUES ON PG. 10

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10 DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024

The big project

In February, the Larry H. Miller Company announced plans to invest in the west side on an unprecedented scale.

LHM Company co-founder Gail Miller grew up just west of the state Capitol. She and her late husband, Larry, graduated from West High School. Larry Miller played softball on a field across the street from the fairgrounds that is now a vacant lot.

Plans for the company’s multibillion-dollar mixed-use development on 100 acres in what’s known as the Power District include “innovative” residential housing options, local dining and retail, “abundant” green space and trails, as well as a beautified Jordan River walk, and a potential major league ballpark, the piece that has everybody talking about it. LHM, supported by a group of prominent Utah business, civic and government leaders known as Big League Utah, is leading the effort to bring an MLB team to Salt Lake City.

But the project comes with a cost to taxpayers. The Utah Legislature authorized the newly created Utah Fairpark Area Investment and Restoration District to levy a host of taxes including an energy sales and use tax, a telecommunications license tax, a transient room tax and a resort communities sales and use tax. It also allows the district to boost the state’s rental car tax to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for the baseball stadium should LHM land a franchise. Strong, the Westside Coalition chair, will serve on the board that governs the district.

Many west-side residents cautiously welcome the Miller project and the prospect of Major League Baseball in their neighborhood, though there are some naysayers. They want to preserve the culture of the community and ensure people aren’t displaced.

“I think most people are really excited about that. I know that there’s alway some hesitancy for any big construction

project. There’s fear about what we might lose,” Strong said, come … make it a stronger, more positive area than what it adding, “The devil’s going to be in the details.” was years ago or the last few decades.”

Tom King, 67, volunteers at a community garden along Atencio, the coffee and barber shop owner, said it’s about the Jordan River near his home. He’s not thrilled with all the time the west side sees some real investment, though he new development, mainly the “high-density, high-priced” wants to make sure it’s equitable and that locals “get the housing going up leading to more gentrification. He also best shake of the whole deal.” doesn’t think highly of the state and city “wanting to have “I’m excited to see the neighborhood change and I’m exmy tax money” to subsidize an already-wealthy corporation cited to see something that big come and really boost the in LHM. confidence of the people around here rather than make “That really kind of gets my goat,” he said. them feel kind of oppressed by it. The west side as a whole The Bortzes love baseball. But they worry the communihas been Salt Lake’s best kept secret forever. Everyone that ty will become more gentrified with skyrocketing rent and lives here knows the truest sense of community, whether home prices and that traffic will increase. it’s little league baseball, whether it’s the Lions Club or the “There’ll be a lot of people that don’t know any of the historec center, stuff is happening all the time. ry or culture of the neighborhood that are just going to come “It’s something we’ve kept close to our chest for a long and be like ‘I’m here for the baseball’ and don’t have any idea time and it’s time to share it.” about the roots that have been planted here,” Christian Bortz said.

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DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024

© 2024

40, No. 26

Look carefully! Can you exact twin?

Creating the shapes of animals, trees and faces using hand shadows is fun and sometimes challenging. You’ll need a dark room and a flashlight or small desk lamp. Then, try to create some of the hand shadows on this page. See if you can make your hand shadow puppets speak or move realistically. It takes some practice!

Standards Link: Follow visual cues.

Standards Link: Find similarities and differences in common objects.

Match the hands to each of the animal shadows.

Comical Shadows Look in the newspaper

Can you create these shadow animals?

Give it a try!

bull wolf

Standards Link: Find similarities and differences in common objects.

chicken

crab

reindeer

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bunny

snail

comics and find a character you like. On a piece of construction paper, carefully draw the character’s outline. Cut out the shape and tape it to a popsicle stick. Use a flashlight to project its shadow on the wall and see if your friends and family members can recognize the character.

Standards Link: Reading Comprehension: Follow simple written directions.

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Highlighting Happiness

Look through the newspaper for a story about a person or group of people making a positive difference in your community. Discuss with your family ways you can also help.

Standards Link: Social Science: Understand civic responsibility.

Where does your shadow go at night?

Write about it. Be creative!

Standards Link: Language Arts: Write using descriptive details.

11

12 DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024

DESERET MAGAZINE

Sober minded

Why young Americans are abstaining from alcohol

Tim Bouckley, for the Deseret News

By Anneka Williams Deseret Magazine

I lived in the French Alps for nearly six months while in graduate school, ending workdays with long hikes in rugged mountains, eating more than my fair share of freshly baked baguettes, and wandering down cafe-lined streets watching locals sip glasses of wine as meals stretched on for hours and warm wishes of camaraderie and abundance were toasted.

There, I learned that in French, santé is synonymous with the English “cheers.” It also translates to “health.” I’m not sure if that’s the etymological intention, but it certainly gave me pause for reflection, mostly because it conveyed a very different relationship to alcohol than the one I see unfolding in my own culture. It also is underpinned by the irony of a toast for health being associated with alcohol — something that we’re finding has objectively unhealthful qualities.

Today, young people in the United States — and other countries around the world — are drinking less than ever before. According to Pew Research Center, adults ages 18 to 34 who reported that they ever drink dropped from 72% in 2001-03 to 62% in 2021-23.

A 2023 Gallup survey found that the rate of drinking has declined by 10% in that same age group bracket over the last two decades. It seems that temperance is tapping into the roots of modern-day life.

Our relationship with alcohol in the United States has been fraught for about as long as we’ve been a country. To drink or not to drink has long been the subject of social judgment, public scrutiny and moral division. While what we consume is a deeply personal decision, alcohol tends to carry more weight than most other food or drink choices.

Historical angst around alcohol dates back to the late 19th century with the beginnings of an aggressive temperance movement and, later, more than a decade of nationwide prohibition in the 1920s. The temperance movement had numerous religious affiliations and opposed alcohol’s impact on moral character.

In this era, alcohol was framed as the cause of many social problems such as domestic violence, poverty and crime, so constitutional prohibition was enacted to try to remedy these social ills by banning the assumed cause. Today, opposition to alcohol seems to stem more from education and personal choice around general physical and mental well-being.

In response to emerging research about the impacts of alcohol consumption on our health, young adults are forging a new relationship with alcohol than generations before them.

I am Gen Z, while my partner is millennial. We like to keep a healthy amount of generational rivalry present in our relationship, so we have a crudely made Venn diagram taped lopsidedly to our fridge that features “millennials” on one side, and “Gen Z” on the other. Most of the diagram’s contents are lighthearted nods to generational icons and trends. Gen Z gets “Noah Kahan” and “TikTok,” while my partner has claimed “Blink-182 and “avocado toast” for the millennials.

I don’t often feel like the line between millennials and Gen Z is all that apparent, even when it comes to drinking alcohol or not drinking it. Both generations drink less than those before us.

But a closer look shows that abstaining from drinking is more of an identifier for Gen Z than it currently is for millennials.

CONTINUES ON PG. 14

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14 DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024

Research on Gen Z alcohol use

Javier Lastra, one of the lead authors of a 2017 Berenberg Report on generational drinking habits, found that Gen Z (individuals born between 1997 and 2012) was drinking 20% less per capita than millennials who, in turn, were drinking less than Gen Xers and baby boomers did at the same age. One of the main reasons they found to drive this shift? Health, both mental and physical.

“There’s generally a greater awareness by Gen Z (compared to previous generations) about health,” Lastra explains. “They seem to be a much more health-conscious generation than previous ones.”

There is also evidence of increasing health consciousness across all age groups. A 2023 Gallup survey found that 39% of all adults and 52% of young adults (age 18-34) view consuming even one or two drinks a day as bad for health, representing a marked increase in this point of view just since 2018.

Public interest in mindfulness meditation has exploded over the last several decades, the fitness industry is booming to meet rising consumer demand for workout classes and gym services, and there is an increase in the use of health-tracking technologies such as apps and smartwatches that measure sleep, calories and other physiological metrics of health.

Amid all this information about how to be healthier, live loncells and causing inflammation that inhibits our mitochondria’s ger and look better, decisions around alcohol are just one piece energy production. That can manifest in poor sleep, inflammain the broader puzzle. tion in the body, high blood pressure and other negative effects.

In recent decades, there has been a proliferation of research Alcohol is classified as a group 1 carcinogen by the Internasuggesting that alcohol is bad for human health. tional Agency for Research on Cancer, placing it among other In 2023, the World Health Organization announced that there high-risk carcinogens such as asbestos and harmful radiation. is no safe amount of alcohol to drink; any amount of alcohol has With information like this at hand, it would make sense for anyadverse health impacts such as increased risk of heart disease, one of any age to be at least a little scared of alcohol. high blood pressure and mental health problems. Research from History is important, too. the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public “Young people have seen the behavior of their parents and grandHealth shows that alcohol consumption, no matter the amount, parents and have dealt with family, friends ... people that they know alters how our body functions at a cellular level, “triggering a (deal) with addiction issues, probably more than any other genernumber of adverse effects.” This includes disrupting neural stem ation,” says Gary Frankel, a licensed social worker in Vermont who ZB_7046_2024_ForYou_Print_DND_4.9x5_3_v01.pdf 1 5/2/24 3:17 PM cell growth, interfering with the communication between nerve conducts individual and group therapy sessions for young adults.

“There’s generally a greater awareness by Gen Z about health.

They seem to be a much more healthconscious generation.”

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According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, more than half of all adults have a family history of alcohol abuse or problem drinking. It’s not uncommon for families in America today to be dealing with the repercussions of generations of familial strife driven by these issues. In that context, it’s simply hard to view alcohol as “cool.” It’s hard to view anything that’s wrapped up in negative feelings as “cool.”

Red Brick Road, a U.K.-based ad agency, conducted a report focused on Gen Z drinking habits in the United Kingdom and found that 51% of Gen Z respondents reported that their “online image” was a factor when going out “socializing and drinking.”

Lastra found the same thing in a separate report: Gen Z is drinking less, in part due to fear that drunk escapades and reckless decisions will be etched into permanence on the internet. “(Respondents) were afraid of being humiliated,” Lastra explains. But more and more, instead of making choices to avoid negative consequences, Americans are incentivized by the positive effects of their health-based choices.

Health concerns and alcohol use

Just a few weeks ago, I drove by a billboard on Utah’s I-215 that read “Self-care is cool.” In a 2022 McKinsey report, around 50% of U.S. consumers reported wellness was a top priority in their daily lives, which represented an 8% increase from 2020.

This newfound dedication to health seems to be pushing Americans, particularly young adults, away from alcohol. By some estimates, more than a third of people under the age of 27 in the United States abstain from alcohol for the sake of their mental health.

And many more take a more moderate and flexible approach.

“Gen Z is drinking less alcohol and I think that where that might stem from is social things like what mental health and physical health is and what it means to be a well person,” explains Frankel.

But prioritizing health isn’t as simple as just abstaining from alcohol. In a culture that’s drinking less, there’s a need to navigate new ways to socialize that don’t involve drinks at the bar with friends.

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DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024 For centuries, the social hubs where alcohol has traditionally been served have been proven to bring people together and facilitate social connections that benefit health. Robin Dunbar, an anthropologist at Oxford University, found that living near a pub significantly increased an individual’s happiness thanks to the in-person connections and local community fostered through frequent pub visits.

As I flash back to the hum of voices and the rich sound of laughter echoing down the cobblestone streets of that French village, glasses clinking santé, I can’t help but wonder what changes await as the sober-curious movement gains traction. But one issue to be aware of as alcohol becomes less prevalent in the U.S. is creating solutions to mitigate ongoing social division and isolation.

Historically, churches, offices and clubs have been important hubs of social interaction that facilitate community and benefit mental health, but these institutions are declining. In 2020, a Gallup survey found that only 47% of Americans said they belonged to a church, a 23% decrease since 1999.

The share of individuals who work remotely has skyrocketed over the past two decades. And, thanks to the iPhone and other technological advancements, more socializing is happening digitally. While there is merit to being connected digitally, in-person interactions have been shown to have a greater benefit to overall well-being, and American adults are now spending 30 percent less time face-to-face socializing than 20 years ago. Simply put, we are spending less time with other people and that is taking a toll on our health.

Social disconnection, an increasing phenomenon in our culture, can have devastating impacts on long-term health. Researchers from Brigham Young University suggest that poor social relationships or the lack of social community can have health impacts of a similar magnitude to smoking and alcohol consumption.

Drinking alcohol is objectively harmful to health, but, when it comes to curtailing the negative impacts of social isolation, there could be something to be said for the health benefits of finding new ways to go out with friends.

The future of alcohol consumption in the United States is uncertain, but it’s clear that we are all drinking — or not — and hanging out — or not — in markedly different ways than in generations past. Where this will lead in terms of net health and happiness remains to be seen.

As Americans grapple with the idea of what it means to be a healthy person, our culture is at an inflection point, and it’s hard to know whether and how alcohol fits into the equation. It is increasingly apparent that being a healthy person is more complicated than simply being sober. By approaching alcohol more mindfully, young adults are providing space for consumption to be an ongoing and deeply personal choice, rather than a categorical decision. Cheers, or santé, to that.

This story appears in the May 2024 issue of Deseret Magazine. Learn more about how to subscribe.

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16 DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024

CHURCH NEWS

Former BYU athlete Courtney Wayment focuses on ‘faith over fear’ in preparation for U.S. Olympic Trials Wayment will compete at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials for the second time in June

Nate Edwards, BYU

Latter-day Saint distance runner Courtney Wayment dominated the women's steeplechase race at the 2022 NCAA Track and Field Championships on June 11, 2022.

By Trent Toone Church News

Courtney Wayment was so close to realizing her Olympic dream in 2021.

Wayment, a Brigham Young University collegiate champion from Kaysville, Utah, delivered a phenomenal performance in the finals of the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon, except for one thing.

Only the top three finishers qualify to represent the U.S. in the Olympic Games, and Wayment came in fourth.

Now three years later, the Latter-day Saint runner is preparing to return to Oregon to compete at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials at the prelims on June 24 and the finals on June 27. Her mindset and approach have not changed.

“I would say the thing that’s on my mind as it comes up is faith over fear,” Wayment said. “That was my motto, ‘Faith over fear,’ going into that race, where I just had faith that whether I made a team or I don’t — or I didn’t then, and I guess it still applies now — whether I make a team or I don’t, having faith in the process and having fun with the journey of it.”

The 25-year-old Wayment told the story as she reflected in an interview with the Church News on her passion for running, her

career and her faith as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Who is Courtney Wayment?

After playing soccer and being nominated as Gatorade Player of the Year for Utah Women’s Cross Country in high school, Wayment moved on to compete as a runner at BYU, where she was a four-time NCAA Division I champion and an eight-time All-American.

She finished her stellar college career by winning the women’s steeplechase — a 3,000-meter race that includes obstacles, such as hurdles and a water pit — at the 2022 NCAA Track and Field

DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024

“I would say the thing that’s on my mind as it comes up is faith over fear.”

Meaningful lessons

Both running and her faith in Jesus Christ have taught Wayment meaningful lessons about belief, resilience, faith and hope.

“The things that I have learned from running are similar things that I have learned from the Church. I think they go hand in hand,” she said. “In my life, it’s been very evident and obvious that God’s hand is so deep into our lives, and everything is very intertwined. I would say some of my best and most spiritual experiences have come from running. And so, the Church has helped navigate my life to help me be really grounded in God.” When speaking to Latter-day Saint youth, her message centers on developing a relationship with Heavenly Father and the Savior.

“I know how hard it is to be a youth,” she said. “God loves you, He hears you, and He knows you.”

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Wayment first discovered her talent for running in seventh grade but didn’t compete in the 3,000-meter steeplechase until she got to BYU and convinced Diljeet Taylor, the women’s distance running coach, to let her try it.

Taylor instructed Wayment to write down the time “10:04” and put it where she would see if often. With Taylor’s guidance and Wayment’s dedication, the young runner quickly improved her times.

Wayment ran her first steeplechase at BYU in 10:13. She hit 10:04 in a race a short time later.

“That was when me and coach Taylor were like, ‘Yeah, there’s something special here,’” Wayment said. “Coach Taylor has changed my life.”

Wayment said she is grateful for her experience at BYU, where she learned how to compete and associated with “many good people.”

How does a runner prepare for the steeplechase at the U.S. Olympic trials?

The answer involves a lot of running — “cardio stuff” — for miles and miles, some weightlifting and cross-training, 10-plus hours of sleep and occasional naps, a nutritional diet and balanced mental and emotional health.

“Almost every tiny decision that you make in your day is leading you towards the Olympic trials,” Wayment said.

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Championships in Eugene, Oregon. At the meet, she clocked a personal best time of 9 minutes, 16 seconds, breaking her own school record, the collegiate record and the meet record, while running the fifth-fastest steeplechase time in United States history.

Since then, Wayment has competed with two Team USA senior national teams, running at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in 2022 and in Budapest, Hungary, in 2023.

She is the daughter of Mark and Becky Wayment, who were members of the cross-country and track and field teams at Weber State University. Her father also competed in the steeplechase; the two-time All-American was inducted into the Weber State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000.

While expressing appreciation for her supportive parents, Courtney Wayment said: “They have made so many sacrifices for me in my life. ... They have offered me a lot of strength.”

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EVENTS

Draper Concerts in the Park 2024

June 12 - 26 7pm 12625 900 E - Draper nowplayingutah.com/event/draper-concerts-in-the-park-2024

Orem's Sunset Farmers Market 2024

June 12 - 3 5pm 300 E Center Street - Orem Free | (801) 400-5972 nowplayingutah.com/event/orems-sunset-farmers-market-2024

Parade of Raptors

June 12 Time: 4pm-5pm Location: 1575 W 1000 N - SLC https://events.slcpl.org/events?r=thismonth

Evening Makers Market

THE IMPROVABLES

June 14 - 5 9pm 745 S Main - Bountiful $6.00 nowplayingutah.com/event/the-improvables

Utah Scottish Festival June 15 - 16 155 North 1000 West - SLC

Free Sunday Concert Series

June 16 - 7 7pm 403 North Wasatch Dr - Layton Free | (801) 546-8575 nowplayingutah.com/event/free-sunday-concert-series-2024

Roka Hueka

June 21 8pm-1am 1249 E 3300 S - SLC liquidjoes.ticketsauce.com/e/roka-hueka?aff=cityspark

June 13 - 27 4:30pm-8pm 2011 1100 E, - SLC sugarhousecoffee.com

The Other Side of the Tracks Art Exhibit June 13 - 7 10am-6pm 455 25th Street - Ogden ogdencontemporaryarts.org/othersideofthetracks

America's Pickleball Classic

June 14 - 22 12pm 1460 N. 1500 W - Provo nowplayingutah.com/event/americas-pickleball-classic

Parade of Raptors

July 1 4pm-5pm 455 F Street - SLC events.slcpl.org/events?r=thismonth

2024 Colonial Fest

July 2 - 4 9am-5pm 745 South State Street - Orem nowplayingutah.com/event/2024-colonial-fest

Eaglewood Auto Fest

July 2 6pm-9pm 1110 East Eaglewood Drive - North Salt Lake nslcity.org/calendar.aspx

2024 Freedom Days

July 3 - 5 4pm Provo nowplayingutah.com/event/2024-freedom-days

2024 Altabank Stadium of Fire with the Jonas Brothers

July 4 8pm 1700 North Canyon Road - Provo nowplayingutah.com/event/2024-stadium-of-fire-with-thejonas-brothers

Gem Faire

July 5 - 7 12pm-6pm 9575 S. State Street - Sandy $0.00 - $7.00 | (503) 252-8300 gemfaire.com

Deer Valley Music Festival: Christmas

July 6 7:30pm 2250 Deer Valley Dr S - Park City nowplayingutah.com/event/2024-deer-valley-musicfestival-christmas-in-july

*Events and details are subject to change. Please visit the event websites for the most up to date and correct information.

20 DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024

PRIMARY ELECTION GUIDE

Utah GOP Senate candidates want Trump tax cuts extended Four Republicans seeking to replace retiring Sen. Mitt Romney appear at Utah Taxpayers Association forum

higher taxes on the wealthy as well as corporations; revenues then would be used to fund tax cuts for workers and families.

Trump not only backs making his 2017 tax package permanent, the Republican has talked about making another round of tax cuts if he wins in November.

During the forum, Curtis said “the elephant in the room” is what he described as an $8 trillion increase in the national deficit under the former president and suggested candidates need to ask them-

The winners of this year’s congressional and presidential elections are facing what will be a tax increase for most individual taxpayers.

Laura Seitz, Deseret News

United States Senate candidates John Curtis, Brad Wilson, Jason Walton and Trent Staggs speak at the Utah Taxpayers Association Annual Taxes Now Conference at The Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 10, 2024.

By Lisa Riley Roche Deseret News

The four Republican U.S. Senate candidates on Utah’s June primary ballot all agreed during a panel discussion May 10 that former President Donald Trump’s nearly $4 trillion tax cuts should not be allowed to expire next year.

Appearing together at the Utah Taxpayers Association’s annual “Taxes Now” conference, Congressman John Curtis, former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson, businessman Jason Walton and Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs were united in their support for extending the Tax Cut and Jobs Act. Throughout what was billed as a lunch hour forum on the expiration of the tax cut passed by Congress in 2017, the contenders still in the race for the seat held by retiring GOP Sen. Mitt Romney after last month’s state Republican Party convention vote, largely remained agreeable even as they attempted to highlight their differences.

The winners of this year’s congressional and presidential elections are facing what will be a tax increase for most individual

taxpayers if the tax cuts set to end in 2025 are not addressed. A Utah family of five that earns $90,000 annually would see their tax bill go up just over $2,300, Utah Taxpayers Association President Rusty Cannon said at the start of the forum.

Extending all of the cuts due to expire, which include lower tax brackets and increases in the standard deduction and child credit for individual taxpayers but not the reduction in the top corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, would add an estimated $4.6 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

“These are important things that we wish this election cycle was about. Unfortunately, at least on the presidential side, it’s not actually about that. It’s more about personality. Maybe that will change,” Cannon said. The major party presidential candidates are split on continuing the tax cuts, with President Joe Biden, a Democrat, insisting they “stay expired.”

Biden posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the cuts “overwhelmingly benefited the wealthy and biggest corporations and exploded the federal debt.” His administration is calling for

selves if they’re “willing to say no to President Trump when he submits a budget that spends trillions of dollars that we don’t have.”

Saying he voted against legislation that would have boosted the debt despite being personally lobbied by Trump, Curtis added, “If we’re honest as Republicans, we own as much of this as the Democrats. The best we can say is we don’t spend as much as they do. But we own a lot of this. In reality, President Trump owns a lot of this.”

Staggs, who has Trump’s endorsement in the race, said a theme of his campaign is “going against the grain, standing up to the establishment. It’s the establishment that’s got us in these problems.” He said COVID-19 efforts account for “a lot” of the $8 trillion deficit and called Biden’s infrastructure bill “a fig leaf for the green new deal” that will add trillions more to the national debt.

Burdening future generations with that debt, which currently amounts to more than $34 trillion or just under $103,000 per person, is “the height of immorality,” Staggs said.

“We’ve got to be able to turn it around,” the Riverton mayor said, citing the backing he’s received from conservative members of Congress as well as the former president, who he said will “likeCONTINUES ON PG. 22

DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024

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22 DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024

lect Re-E Dr. Mark Clement For Alpine School Board #5

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ly win.”

Wilson talked about the value of his experience managing the state budget and providing “an environment where tax cuts become the norm or at least part of the conversation,” calling those “the kinds of lessons, the practical Utah experience, that we can take to Washington to try to fix things back there.”

The former speaker said he won’t be “an echo chamber for anyone, Republican, Democrat, whatever. Because I know what’s right. I know what we have to do to get our fiscal health back in line.”

Wilson said the Senate race will have “big consequences” for Utah, with whoever is elected likely serving two or three terms, but “hopefully, not longer.”

Walton, who said tax collections should add up to “only enough money to fund the legitimate purposes of government,” called the need for a balanced federal budget the main reason for getting in the race. “These are things I think traditional career politicians run from. This is what I’m running to.”

The reason the deficit hasn’t been addressed is “people who have a sense of self-preservation” go along with congressional leadership and what polling tells them voters want in the hopes of being reelected, Walton said. “That’s why I say now more than ever, we need to elect more business people.”

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DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024

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Between his 23 years in the construction industry leading some of the nation’s largest projects and living in other areas that have seen tremendous growth in short periods of time, he has both the skills and understanding to serve Salt Lake County for the next 6 years, leading to the best possible outcomes for you, your family, and your livelihood.

Mike will: » Lower taxes by controlling spending. » Control spending by bringing greater efficiency to government operations and returning County government to focus on its core mission. » Improve housing affordablity by bringing jobs to Salt Lake County that benefit existing residents. » Hold other elected officials accountable ensuring our laws are not only enforced, but protected from State or Federal overreach. » Ensure development does not continue to outpace our infrastructure. » Preserve the integrity of our local government.

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24 DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024

What is the ‘uniparty’? Here’s what Sen. Mike Lee says The term is used by some lawmakers to describe instances when they believe Democrats and Republicans are working against the interests of the American people

Alex Cochran, Deseret News

By Gitanjali Poonia Deseret News

After weeks of threats, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s attempt to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., failed last month. The majority of representatives sided against her, choosing to reject her efforts in order to prevent the House from falling into what several called “chaos.” As Greene spoke on the floor about her call for a vote on the motion to vacate the chair, many lawmakers booed her. The Georgia Republican pushed back: “This is the uniparty, for the American people watching.”

This term “uniparty” originally surfaced in a 1944 editorial in a Pennsylvania newspaper in reaction to fabricated news

that Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Republican rival in the 1940 election was handpicked by his adviser Harry Hopkins, according to Politico Magazine. In the modern day, it’s used by some members in the Republican Conference to imply Democrats and Republicans are working together and against the interests of the American people.

Sen. Mike Lee told the Deseret News he uses the word most frequently in the context of spending bills, including the most recent $95 billion foreign aid supplemental package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

Typically, these bills, largely unvetted by the public and lawmakers, are introduced on the House floor, and “this almost mysterious force, steps in and unifies enough members of both houses and local political parties to support them,” he said.

More recently, Lee said he saw another instance of this “uniformity,” when Congress took on the reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. After encouraging calls from Democratic and Republican congressional leaders, lawmakers passed it without an amendment requiring intelligence agencies to get a warrant to spy on Americans after calls from Democratic and Republican congressional leaders to do so.

“I heard someone say that sometimes the battle really isn’t about left versus right, about liberal versus conservative, about Democrats versus Republicans. Sometimes the battle was about Washington, D.C., versus everyone else,” he said.

CONTINUES ON PG. 27

DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024

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Lee clarified that bipartisanship is still important and he routinely works with Democrats. “Just a couple of weeks ago, I was in a meeting with Pramila Jayapal on the House side, and she’s a member of the squad,” he said. “It would be a mild understatement to say that she and I don’t always agree on everything.”

The Utah senator said he and Jayapal, a Washington Democrat, managed to find common ground: FISA reform. But, he said, there’s a difference between “bipartisanship and uniformity.”

“Very often the uniformity is marked by a collusive agreement between the elected leaders of the two political parties in the two chambers,” Lee said.

He said Utah voters often ask him why their elected officials are voting in favor of a bill they previously opposed.

These questions inspired his efforts to teach the masses about the “uniparty” phenomena in creative ways.

On May 2, Lee said he was attaching the symbol of the unicorn to the uniparty. “While other options exist, none get the job done like this one,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“It’s a symbol. It’s a nickname. It’s the Uniparty Unicorn.”

In a separate post, he came up with a Haiku, a Japanese poem with seventeen syllables. “Unicorns are nuts. They steal the souls of many. Sapping our freedom,” Lee wrote.

Another Haiku from May 1, said, “Printing money fast. Uniparty’s grip tightens. Americans pay.”

He said he has always been intrigued by the Haiku style and likes using “different ways of getting the point across.”

But, as Lee says, not every effort to reach across the aisle is evidence of a grand collusion. In many cases, it can represent different areas of agreement, and the different points of view held by members of the same party.

When the Deseret News and KSL editorial boards in late April asked Republican Rep. John Curtis, who represents Utah’s 3rd

Distrc16

DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024

27

“I heard someone say that sometimes the battle really isn’t about left versus right, about liberal versus conservative, about Democrats versus Republicans.

Sometimes the battle was about Washington, D.C., versus everyone else.”

District, his thoughts on the idea of a “uniparty,” he called it “hypocrisy” to criticize bipartisanship, especially when a handful of GOP lawmakers relied on House Democrats to strip former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., of his gavel last year.

Matthew Burbank, a political science professor at the University of Utah, said given the maneuvering Johnson had to go through to pass several foreign aid bills, the use of the word could feel justified if American politics wasn’t as highly polarized as it is now.

“If you go back to the ’80s, the ’70s or the ’60s, the American party distinctions were just not nearly as sharp and clear ... as they are today,” he said. U.S. voters also think there are greater differences between the two parties, as evident through polling, said Burbank, adding he doesn’t think the word describes the reality of politics. As far as he can tell, it’s “designed to be a pejorative term” against so-called “Washington insiders.”

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KEEPINGUTAH UTAH STRONG KEEPING STRONG

As we think about the future, we’re more optimistic than n As we think about the future, we’re more optimistic ever. There are better days ahead for our families and the than e generations that follow we continue push forward and the ever. There are better daysif ahead for to our families common-sense, conservative policies.

KEEPING UTAH STRONG generations that follow if we continue to push forward

As we think about the future, we’re more optimistic than common-sense, conservative policies. ever. There are better days ahead for our families and the generations that follow if we continue to push forward Spencer Cox Deidre Henderson Governor Lieutenent Governor common-sense, conservative policies.

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Governor Cox Cox signed signed historic historic legislation legislation to to lower lower taxes, parents, families, Governor taxes, empower empower parents, protect protect families, CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP. REAL RESULTS. and safeguard Utah’s water and other natural resources — and he isn’t done yet. and safeguard Utah’s water and other natural resources — and he isn’t done yet.

Governor Cox signed historic legislation to lower taxes, empower parents, protect families, and safeguard Utah’s water and other natural resources — and he isn’t done yet.

Historic Tax Tax Relief: Relief: Historic

During his term, Governor Cox has During his term, Governor Cox has signed more than $1 billion in tax signed more than $1 billion in tax cuts, providing relief for all Utahns cuts, providing relief for all Utahns with a focus on helping families by with a focus on helping families by reducing taxes on income, food, reducing taxes on income, food, and Social Security. and Social Security.

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During his term, Governor Cox has Protecting Life: Life: Protecting signed more than $1 billion in tax Governor Cox is unequivocal in his Governorrelief Cox is unequivocal in his cuts, providing all Utahns commitment to for defending Utah’s commitment to defending Utah’s with a focus on helping families by right-to-life laws. He signed HB467 right-to-life laws. He signed HB467 which limits the expansion of reducing which taxeslimits on income, food, the expansion of abortion clinics in the state. abortion clinics in the state. and Social Security.

Fighting Federal Federal Fighting Protecting Life: Overreach: Overreach: The Cox Administration has pushed GovernorThe CoxCox isAdministration unequivocalhas inpushed his back on federal overreach at every back to on federal overreach at every commitment defending Utah’s opportunity to protect our public opportunity to protect our public right-to-life He signed HB467 landslaws. and state resources. lands and state resources. which limits the expansion of abortion clinics in the state.

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Empowering Empowering Parents Parents in in the the Fight with Social Media: Fight with Social Media: Governor Cox delivered major new Governor Cox delivered major new legislation that empowers parents, legislation that empowers parents, including a bill that requires including a bill that requires parental permission before a child parental permission before a child can sign a legally binding contract can sign a legally binding contract with Big Tech companies. with Big Tech companies.

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30 DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024

Conservatives have lost trust in elections.

Here’s how Utah leaders are trying to help Utah’s top election officials are part of a national push to promote ‘a conservative agenda for democracy’

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Attendees listen to Sutherland Institute Election Trust Forum panelists at Utah Valley University in Orem on Tuesday, May 7, 2024.

By Brigham Tomco Deseret News

Utah leaders are at the forefront of a nationwide initiative to increase election confidence among conservative voters.

The state’s top election officers, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson and her director of elections, Ryan Cowley, spoke at a Sutherland Institute event on May 7 along with the man behind an ambitious project to bring together hundreds of election administrators and scholars across the country to promote “a conservative agenda for democracy.”

Scott Warren, who leads the joint program from the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University and the center-right think tank R Street, presented the initiative’s “conservative principles for building trust in elections” in a message that was echoed by Henderson, Cowley and former Utah Gov. Gary Herbert.

“Voter access and ballot security are paramount, especially in the age of some saying elections are illegitimate or have been stolen,” Herbert said in a prepared video statement.

“Unfortunately, this has become an all too common feature of campaigns and it undermines our system of self government.”

Herbert called on attendees to adopt the principles developed by the Agora Institute and R Street partnership, which

Henderson and the Sutherland Institute have been involved with since shortly after it was formed about 18 months ago.

The principles are: 1) publicly affirming the integrity of elections in Utah and across the country, 2) using transparency and outreach to boost election confidence, and 3) inviting continuous improvement in election processes to increase trust in election results.

As part of the event held at Utah Valley University, Warren released new polling data commissioned by the partnership on Utahn’s election confidence, candidate preferences and media consumption.

Do Utahns trust federal elections?

The poll, conducted by Gallup in March, found that a majority of Utahns who identify as “conservative” are not confident that President Joe Biden was the legitimate winner of the 2020 presidential election. Only 17% of Utah conservatives are “very confident” that Biden won fairly and 20% were “confident.” Over 30% were “not too confident” and another 30% were “not at all confident.”

The distinction between conservatives who believe Biden’s win was legitimate and those who don’t correlates with other divides among conservatives. Utah conservatives who believe

“There’s a high level of confidence that elections in Utah are accurate and receive fair outcomes and that they’re secure.”

CONTINUES ON PG. 34

DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024

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32 DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024

RREEPPUUBBLLI C I CAANN

JOHN JOHN CURTIS CURTIS

AACONSERVATIVE CONSERVATIVEAGENDA AGENDAFOR FORTHE THEU.S. U.S.SENATE SENATE John John Curtis Curtis Has Has Stood Stood Tall Tall forfor Utah Utah Fighting Fighting against against Biden’s Biden’s failed failed border border policies policies Protecting Protecting Utah’s Utah’s land land from from federal federal takeover takeover Standing Standing upup toto China’s China’s aggression aggression Leading Leading onon America’s America’s energy energy independence independence and and dominance dominance

AsAs mayor mayor of of Provo, Provo, John John cutcut thethe city’s city’s budget budget byby more more than than 8%, 8%, running running a leaner a leaner government. government.

HeHe left left office office with with a 94% a 94% approval approval rating rating – and – and a top-rated a top-rated city. city.

VOTE VOTEJOHN JOHNCURTIS CURTIS FOR FORU.S. U.S.SENATE SENATE JOHNCURTIS.ORG JOHNCURTI S.ORG

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by Curtis John Curtis for Utah for Utah

n o t S p e c i a l I n t e r e s t s • Commit ed Conservative

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34 DESERET NEWS | JUNE 2024 Biden won are more likely to have voted in 2020 (82%) than those who don’t believe he was the legitimate winner (62%), the poll found. They are also more likely to have always been a Republican, 70%-61%.

The divide extends to feelings surrounding the 2024 election: 90% of Utah conservatives who believe Biden’s win was legitimate, and 53% of those who don’t, have some or a lot of confidence that other states’ legislatures will certify the winning presidential candidate in 2024 “regardless of party.”

51% of Utah conservatives who believe Biden’s win was legitimate, and just 19% of those who don’t, think that Democrats will accept the 2024 presidential election if they lose.

Utah conservatives who believe Biden won the 2020 election are unique in the nation in describing themselves as Romney Republicans (31%) or Never Trump Republicans (25%) and are twice as likely, at 39%, than that same cohort in any other state polled by Johns Hopkins and R Street to say they will vote for someone other than Trump and Biden in 2024, the poll found.

Nearly 80% of Utah conservatives who don’t believe Biden won the 2020 election fair and square say they will vote for Trump in 2020, compared to just 36% of conservatives who have confidence in the results of the 2020 election.

Do Utahns trust state elections?

Utahns are much more united in their perception of their own state’s election integrity.

Election policy scholar Derek Monson presented a Sutherland Institute poll conducted by Y2 Analytics in February

which found over 70% of Utahns have confidence that the state’s decade-old vote-by-mail system counts ballots accurately, produces fair outcomes and is secure.

The same percentage of Republicans say they like how vote-by-mail allows them to avoid lines at polling places but around half of Republicans are worried about mail-in ballots being hard to track or being sent to the wrong home.

“There’s a high level of confidence that elections in Utah are accurate and receive fair outcomes and that they’re secure,” Monson said.

The state’s mature vote-by-mail laws and willingness to pursue reforms to increase election integrity have made Utah an example for the country on election administration, Monson said. This is why the Agora Institute-R Street initiative convened officials and academics from across the country in Park City a year ago to talk about how Utah election officials are doing their job and “persuading Republicans to kind of resist the erosion of trust in things like election outcomes.”

Henderson and Cowley invited Utahns to come and see the processes that build democracy to remind them who it is that makes elections tick: their neighbors.

“As we move into the 2024 election, it’s essential for all of us to continue to promote Utah’s strong track record of election integrity while we strive to continue to improve things so citizens can continue to have high levels of trust in our voting system,” Henderson said in a prepared video statement. “It’s important to remember that elections are not done at a national or even a state level. They’re per-

formed at the local level by our neighbors and members of our communities.”

Cowley, who oversaw elections in Summit and Weber counties before joining the lieutenant governor’s office, lamented the loss of institutional knowledge that has taken place with 20 of Utah’s 29 county clerks leaving since 2020 because of the unprecedented pressure and harassment directed toward local election officers.

According to Cowley, distrust in elections is bipartisan and has more to with whatever the results were of the most recent election than with a faulty election system.

“I think it’s honestly a mechanism of when the polling is done,” Cowley said. “If you were to go back four years, when you have a Republican President and Democrats lost the election, I think the polling would show probably an inverse number.

Cowley said the best way to improve confidence in elections is to increase transparency surrounding election processes, invite community members to watch their neighbors oversee vote counting and gradually reform the election system based on public feedback, similar to how the state’s vote-by-mail system was developed over two decades.

The event included a panel on supporting election administrators with Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane, a breakout session on potential election reforms and a discussion on media reporting and election trust featuring Deseret News executive editor Doug Wilks, Salt Lake Tribune executive editor Lauren Gustus and KSL NewsRadio Inside Sources host Boyd Matheson.

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Doug Wilks, Deseret News executive editor, and Lauren Gustus, Salt Lake Tribune executive editor, speak as panelists during the Sutherland Institute Election Trust Forum at Utah Valley University in Orem on Tuesday, May 7, 2024.

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Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Ryan Cowley, Utah Elections Division, speaks as a panelist during the Sutherland Institute Election Trust Forum at Utah Valley University in Orem on Tuesday, May 7, 2024.

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