City Weekly April 3, 2025

S AP

BOX

Uneducated Guesses

Spencer Cox, our dear state leader, is at it again. He has just come out against … gun violence? Poor air quality? Juvenile crime? high cost of housing? Sorry, none of these. He’s come out against education. Yes, this is the one: Education.

Cox apparently feels his political career is best guaranteed by uneducated voters—you know, like his idol Donald Trump. Trump’s own political career is made possible by stupid people, primarily in the Bible Belt and in similar uneducated states—like Utah, Idaho and the Dakotas.

Churches have brought beautiful architecture, music and many good people who sincerely try to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

However, many churches have also promoted ignorance and the inequality of women and members of the LGBTQ community. Many churches also teach that one should never question its leaders—like in the Mormon tradition.

Due to gerrymandering, even liberalleaning Salt Lake City and County are almost totally controlled by white, straight, GOP, Mormon men. The same goes for the state’s U.S. reps. At least the 4th district has elected a person of color: Burgess Owens. But he is as Trumpian as his white fellow Utah congresspeople are. Utah now boasts one woman representative in Congress.

Our western European neighbors are providing universal health care and a higher quality of life partially, if you ask me, because religion no longer rules.

TED OTTINGER Taylorsville

Love Your Library

I am currently employed at my local public library. I cannot begin to explain the importance the library provides for myself and our entire community.

I have helped people fill out job applications, print tax forms, find books for school projects and the list doesn’t stop. I am so grateful to be able to help my community members.

Before more funding is cut for libraries, please consider how much libraries benefit our communities. It’s more than just “free books”—it is a place where people can come find resources and better themselves which in turn benefits our entire country. Libraries are a pillar of American culture!

STACEY KEAHON Park City

“The End” March 27 Online

The state did a lot to drive them away, but I can’t help but feel angry at the Sundance execs. They just gave a huge middle finger to the progressive community in Utah and handed [Rep.] Trevor Lee and [Sen.] Dan

McCay huge wins on their way out. Their need to be more comfortable is bad for progressivism, in my opinion. This is a white flag.

T_WAITFORIT_MAC Via Instagram

Way to go, MAGA. Because you don’t want liberal views in your state, we all suffer.

KAREN STACK Via Facebook

Park City should have invested many years ago, to expand and build out its facilities to host this.

MIGHT1JP Via Instagram

Distance is the only answer to disrespect. Don’t react, don’t argue, don’t dive into drama. Simply remove your presence.

JIM BRIMLEY Via Facebook

Care to sound off on a feature in our pages? Write to comments@cityweekly.net or post your thoughts on our social media.

THE WATER COOLER

Do you have a name for your personal items? How did you come up with it if so?

Eleni Saltas

I named my sourdough starter BEATRICE for no real reason other than I had just started my sourdough journey and thought the old-timey name fit. She’s thriving—strong, bubbly, and looking fabulous.

Bryan Bale

I used to have an Ibanez AES10EAM “Amber Quilt Top” acoustic guitar. I called it Amber because of the color.

Carolyn Campbell

My husband and I had ordered a black SUV. While waiting for it to arrive, we found ourselves distracted by a burgundy-colored SUV at the same dealership. We couldn’t resist its raspberry-colored charm. As we signed the papers, the salesman explained that the SUV’s previous owner was a woman who worked at the dealership. She decided to buy a smaller car. Still, she asked if the new owner would please keep the name she had called the SUV. Possibly because it was also the name of one of our beloved pets from the past, we instantly agreed to keep calling our new SUV by the name “Roxie.”

Benjamin Wood

I typically don’t name inanimate objects, but my wife and I refer to piles of dirty laundry around the house as “Larry.”

BY WES LONG

OPINION Brother Brigham

If you have spent time in downtown Salt Lake City in recent years, you likely have noticed scaffolding around the Lion and Beehive Houses on Temple Square. Part of a restoration project that encompasses structural improvements and preservation work, these buildings have undergone some very complicated evaluations and remain a work in progress.

Once the home and offices of Brigham Young—who served as territorial governor and president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—these buildings hold general interest. Nearly bulldozed for a parking garage in the 1960s, if not for the church’s then-Young Women leader Florence Jacobsen (1913-2017), the Lion and Beehive Houses stand among us today as emblems of a time, of a place and, particularly, of an important historical figure.

They will go on and be treasured by countless people, but the man who once occupied them remains somewhat elusive, which is unfortunate, given his entwined place in our understanding of ourselves as a city and state. Having worked extensively with Young’s papers, I have noticed this disconnect especially in our relations with one another—itself a work in progress.

If there’s one thing that appears evident from the tenor of conversations regarding Young—whether religious or secular, Latter-day Saint participant or not—I have concluded that there’s a single quality that most Utahns share: they know very little about the actual man.

Yes, the bare facts are readily grasped: Born to austere Methodist parents in Vermont; little schooling; labored as an artisan; embraced the teachings of Joseph Smith; devoted his life as a missionary and Apostle; became the face of 19th century Mormonism following his movement’s relocation to Mexican territory.

I’m going to stick my neck out here and suggest that neither the sanitized, all-knowing chieftain so extolled by his apologists, nor the monstrous tyrant behind every local ill so reviled by his detractors bear much resemblance to the real man. On the contrary, these two artificial avatars of Brigham Young pertain more to how we treat each other today. On all sides, invoking Young’s name is often little more than a cheap ploy to make ourselves feel superior to someone else on cultural, spiritual or political grounds.

Young’s discourses were often informal and impromptu, possessing plenty of theatrical thunder for his hearers that hardly translates well on the printed page. But, as historian Ronald Walker has pointed out, “the Saints who listened to him Sunday after Sunday knew what the occasional visitors at the Tabernacle did not: Young’s preachings were often upbeat and liberal. Doctrines of depravity and damnation had no appeal for him. Humankind, he believed, was good. He rejected out of hand the idea that his church monopolized good intentions or righteousness.”

That being said, Young was not immune to personal blindness or such vices as racism. Despite early Mormonism’s open racial vision, as historian W. Paul Reeve has shown, Young established a course that developed—in fits and starts following his death—into a crystallized precedent of segregation that has haunted Latter-day Saint culture even after it was finally repealed in 1978.

Stated generously, then, Young kept his people together as best he could and led them away from a hostile environment for the purpose of building a society on principles gleaned from their religious explorations and historical moment. Stated more searchingly, he and his contemporaries carried their traumas and weaknesses with them, replicating the very ills they so despised elsewhere—like inequality, racism and violence—and remained so entrenched in an “us against them” position that they failed to see those patterns being perpetuated among their neighbors and children.

When one factors in the larger world of the 19th century—with all the attitudes that then carried popular currency—it becomes somewhat problematic to compare that century with our present world. It’s similarly foolhardy to

presume that everything we consider the norm today is necessarily wiser and better than anything before. Given how easily we humans can take societal steps backwards as much as forwards, we should dispense with that bit of modern arrogance.

What I can tell you is that Young resented the repressive tendencies of his puritanical forebears, who looked down on such joys as dancing and theater.

He mocked the fundamentalist religious creeds that were threatened by scientific discovery. He demonstrated a unique environmental ethic, advocated lifelong education and held little respect for those who extolled blind obedience. He, along with his counselors, particularly feared the reigning power of capitalism, as in this message from 1875:

“One of the great evils with which our own nation is menaced at the present time is the wonderful growth of wealth in the hands of a comparatively few individuals. The very liberties for which our fathers contended so steadfastly and courageously, and which they bequeathed to us as a priceless legacy, are endangered by the monstrous power which this accumulation of wealth gives to a few individuals and a few powerful corporations.”

I don’t know what Brigham Young would make of today’s Beehive State. But he would most likely have despised the worship of wealth that infects both those who loathe his name as well as those who piously take mileage with it.

If he were alive today, he’d be a different person than he was, living in the 19th century, so it’s a moot point. For Utahns, regardless of faith or non-faith, why not instead learn from his errors, appreciate his contributions and let that be the basis for a more unified community?

“I am not a stereotyped Latter-day Saint, and do not believe in the doctrine,” Young once remarked in 1860. “Away with stereotyped ‘Mormons.’”

As we Utahns continue to renovate ourselves while preserving the beauty of our past, I would broaden that statement even further: Away with stereotyped Utahns! CW

Private Eye is off this week.

Send comments to wlong@cityweekly.net

HITS & MISSES

MISS: Final Scenes

Now that the Legislature has wrapped up, citizens are processing the damage with just one word—embarrassing. The damage done to Utah, once a model of good sense, is incalculable. Where to start? Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill that will ultimately end vote-bymail, not because there was anything wrong with it. Instead, it was a nod to conspiracy theorists. “Lots of people wrongly believe that we have mass fraud in our elections, and it’s just not true, but we need to restore trust to them as well,” he said. Next up, Utah banned Pride flags from government offices and schools. That was one alleged reason behind the Sundance Film Festival fleeing the state. After all, Sen. Dan McCay, a “premier” theater critic, thinks it promotes porn and alternative lifestyles, so Cox should consult with McCay before starting a new festival. Former NPR reporter Howard Berkes summed it up like this: “Not a surprise given the sharper right turns of the Utah governor and Legislature, who have made it harder for citizens to vote-by-mail, harder for citizens and journalists to hold them accountable, easy to ban books, and easy to demonize those who don’t fit their definition of who deserves basic human rights.” And let’s not forget banning fluoride.

MISS: Vox Populi

Republicans are being told to avoid inperson town halls, because no one likes to get yelled at. Utah’s Rep. Celeste Maloy must have felt that pain recently, although she stuck with it. President Donald Trump has blamed paid protesters for demonstrations, but that belies the public angst over widespread firings and threats to government services—not to mention the “price of eggs.” People are mad. The Salt Lake Tribune quoted demonstrators who said it’s their only option. Sen. John Curtis wrote an editorial calling for new models and, of course, tele-town halls. While he talks about meetings being hijacked, he also says he’ll meet with constituents one-on-one. This is a show-me moment for the freshman senator, who says he will stand up to Trump when he’s wrong. Those loud voices haven’t yet seen it.

HIT: Moore Problems

Maybe Congressman Blake Moore is the best we can hope for. No, he wasn’t willing to chance an in-person town hall—but he did express some “frustration” at DOGE’s indiscriminate methods. It must be hard when 70% of Americans think the government is bloated by waste and fraud, and yet the DOGE solution is to burn it all down. Moore tries to walk a fine line, as the Financial Times notes, because he represents not only a highly Trumpist area, but also a highly federal workforce—including the IRS and Hill Air Force Base. Moore has the unenviable job as co-chair of DOGE, a non-agency run by a billionaire with a chainsaw. It’s nice that he’s sympathetic. He has a chance to be more. CW

Jump for Joy

Niccolo Angelino is a six-year veteran of the Army’s Airborne Infantry and now works as a police officer in Cleveland. After a close friend—who also served in the Army— took his own life, Angelino became involved with 22 Jumps, an organization dedicated to combating veteran and first responder suicide. “I love the mission they are on,” Angelino said.

Tristan Wimmer, a former Marine, founded 22 Jumps after his brother Kiernan—who sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) while serving in Iraq—took his life. He started 22 Jumps as a way to combat suicide among vets and first responders.

The name “22 Jumps” refers to the estimated number of veterans who take their own lives every day, according to a 2012 Department of Veterans Affairs study. During their fundraising events, jumpers will perform 22 BASE jumps in a day as a way to honor the veterans who have passed.

Besides suicide prevention, via adventure sports, 22 Jumps also raises money for TBI research and connects veterans and first responders to alternative treatments. “We also have a scholarship program,” Wimmer said, “through which we connect veterans to organizations that specialize in plant medicine retreats.”

TBIs are ubiquitous among veterans who have seen combat. Dagan Van Oosten, a Marine Corps veteran and someone who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, said studies have shown that actions like firing large caliber weapons can produce TBI in the shooter. Van Oosten runs an outdoor adventure and clothing company called Nomadic Research, which donates clothing and gear to participants in the yearly adventure sports retreat that 22 Jumps hosts in Moab, UT.

“I was a sniper for 10 of my 12 years … plus demolitions, plus getting knocked out on several occasions … your head takes a beating,” Van Oosten said. “You find out years later when the dust settles that you’re not ok.”

Alex Popescu, a former gunnery sergeant in the Marine Corps, was medically retired after sustaining a TBI from an IED (improvised explosive device) that exploded near him while he was serving in Iraq. Popescu, who had been following 22 Jumps on social media, signed up for the inaugural 22 Jumps adventure sports retreat.

“It ended up being life changing,” Popescu said. “Eventually, I am going to start jumping off bridges with these guys. It has taken on a therapeutic role in my life. When you’re up at 14,000 feet, nothing else matters.”

The need that 22 Jumps fills is urgent; veteran suicide is at epidemic levels. The VA reported that in 2022, 6,407 veterans took their own lives. “It got to the point where all the units I served with in combat—besides the green berets—lost more guys to suicide than from combat,” Popescu said. “There is such a backlog at the VA and we have cuts coming now. More needs to be done about men’s mental health in this country. If the VA wants to help, we need more stuff like this.” CW

TRUE TV

The Best and Worst TV of 2025 (So Far)

The first quarter of the year has produced some promising new series—but they aren’t all gems.

BY BILL FROST comments@cityweekly.net

It may feel like it’s been a decade since Jan. 1—or, more accurately, Jan. 20— but the year is still young. In the TV biz, new series that debut in late winter/early spring are usually considered to be leftovers that weren’t good enough for the fall TV season. Not in 2025: Several new shows have come out strong, and, with a couple of exceptions, it’s an excellent crop. Here’s what to seek out (and avoid).

The Hunting Party (NBC, Peacock): A secret underground Wyoming super-jail is hit with a mysterious explosion, setting the nation’s worst—or best, depending on your true-crime podcast feed—serial killers loose in the wild. Now, it’s up to FBI profiler Bex Henderson (Melissa Roxburgh) to track them down before they kill again, one per weekly episode. Procedurals like Criminal Minds and The Blacklist have tread here before, but Roxburgh carries the taut Hunting Party with grim grit and a dash of humor. Paradise (Hulu): It was billed in advance as a “political doomsday thriller,” which seemed like the last thing we need since we’re currently living in one. But Paradise upended all expectations with an early twist that made it the buzz of the season.

The no-spoiler gist: Former U.S. President Cal Bradford (James Marsden) is the firstever murder victim in the utopian future community of Paradise, leading Secret Service agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K.

Brown) to find the killer. And that’s only a thin slice of the plot.

Daredevil: Born Again (Disney+): Fortunately, Daredevil: Born Again isn’t about the classic Marvel superhero/vigilante finding Jesus. Set years after the 2015–2018 Netflix Daredevil series, Born Again finds blind attorney Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) retired from the crime-busting nightlife. But when his former adversary Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio), runs for New York City mayor, it’s time to dust off the red suit and horns. Daredevil: Born Again is just as dark, violent and mesmerizing as its predecessor.

Deli Boys (Hulu): The lush lives of spoiled Pakistani-American brothers Mir and Raj (Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh) come crashing down when their convenience-store tycoon father suddenly dies. Going from bad to worse, it’s revealed that Pops was also secretly the head of a criminal organization that they’re ill-equipped to take over. Deli Boys shares some bumbling family crime-comedy vibes with Weeds, and smartly plays up a hilariously arresting breakout star in Poorna Jagannathan as the brothers’ mob liaison, Lucky.

Running Point (Netflix): She’s starred in many a rom-com and psychological thriller movie since the ’90s, but Running Point is Kate Hudson’s first bona fide headlining gig for TV—needless to say, she nails this, too. Running Point sits in the tricky genre of “sports comedy,” with Hudson as an ex-party girl who inherits her family’s pro basketball team, the Los Angeles Waves (a none-too-subtle stand-in for the Lakers). It works, thanks to Hudson, a stellar cast and sharp scripting by Mindy Kaling and Ike Barinholtz.

Grosse Pointe Garden Society (NBC, Peacock): Grosse Pointe Garden Society, centered on four members of a suburban gardening club (Melissa Fumero, Aja Naomi King, Ben Rappaport, and AnnaSophia Robb) hiding a mysterious murder, lives up to its “next Desperate Housewives” hype. The story is told in flashback-and-present tense and gives Fumero plenty of room to shine as

A&E

sardonic socialite Birdie, a hyper-fashionable hot mess that her former Brooklyn Nine-Nine character would probably hate. Suits L.A. (NBC, Peacock): The new TV shows of Q1 2025 aren’t all gems, and Suits L.A. is a legal drama reboot as lackluster as Matlock is inspired. When the original 2011–2019 cable series Suits blew up in 2023 on Netflix for … reasons? … a revival was inevitable. But that heat has fizzled two years later, and it doesn’t help that you have to watch this Suits on a weekly broadcast basis instead of as an all-atonce Netflix binge. Suits L.A. is just a snappily-dressed snooze that doesn’t recapture

any of that old USA Network bliss. Denise Richards & Her Wild Things (Bravo, Peacock): The title is a play on her notoriously steamy 1998 thriller Wild Things, but I held out hope that Denise Richards & Her Wild Things would be about the actress and former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star running a wacky wildlife habitat. No such luck. It’s just more reality slop about how “hard” it is to be a rich and beautiful family in Hollywood. Richards’ greatest role remains 1994’s Tammy and the TRex—watch that instead on Peacock, Tubi or Pluto TV. CW

theESSENTIALS

Complete listings online at

Broadway in Utah: Life of Pi

The kind of story told by Yann Martel in his 2001 best-selling, Booker Prize-winning novel—a parable about truth, faith and the stories we need to tell ourselves in order to survive— seems like one that should only work in literary form. Yet that has clearly not proved to be the case. An original theatrical adaptation launched in 2003; in 2012, a film adaptation was released that won four Academy Awards, including Best Director for Ang Lee. Then, in 2019, a new theatrical adaptation debuted in England, eventually making its way to Broadway and winning three 2023 Tony Awards. It’s clear that Martel’s tale is rich with possibility for interpretations in other media.

The story remains the same, focusing on an Indian youth named Pi Patel who survives a shipwreck on a vessel filled with animals. Several of those animals survive with him, and end up sharing the same life raft—including a tiger that Pi calls Richard Parker. Extraordinary puppetry brings those animal characters to life on stage, part of a remarkable overall scenic design anchoring a show that Time Out called “one of the most visually stunning shows I have ever seen.”

Broadway in Utah’s touring production of Life of Pi continues its run at the Eccles Theater (131 S. Main St.) through April 6, with performances Wednesday – Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. & 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $54 - $139; visit saltlakecountyarts.org to purchase tickets and for additional event information. (Scott Renshaw)

Ballet West: The Rite of Spring

The 1913 premiere of The Rite of Spring—with its music by Igor Stravinsky and choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky—has become the stuff of legend about inspiring a “riot.” Yet over the years, as Stravinsky’s music grew in popularity, it has lent itself to many different choreographic interpretations, according to Ballet West artistic director Adam Sklute—including Nicolo Fonte’s commission from Ballet West to celebrate The Rite of Spring’s centennial.

“To me Nicolo’s Rite of Spring is wildly successful, and really illuminates a new way of interpreting Stravinsky’s score,” Sklute says in an email interview.

“Rite of Spring has now had a wide and varied history of reinterpreting Stravinsky’s score, so it is not sacrilegious to do so.”

For this program, Ballet West pairs Rite of Spring with Balanchine’s Apollo and Kylián’s Symphony of Psalms, works that Sklute says are unified both by the idea of “journeys,” and by the music itself.

“The thing that binds this program most for me is … the music first and foremost,” Sklute says. “While Stravinsky has a definitive sound in many ways, he is also a musical chameleon, and I am excited to present these three very different pieces of music as imagined by three renowned choreographers.”

Ballet West’s The Rite of Spring program comes to the J.Q. Lawson Capitol Theatre (50 W. 200 South) April 4 – 12, with performances April 4, 5, 10 & 12 at 7:30 p.m., plus a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, April 12. Tickets are $29 - $108; visit saltlakecountyarts.org to purchase tickets, and balletwest.org for additional event info. (SR)

Stephen E. Strom: Forging a Sustainable Southwest

For more than 40 years, Stephen E. Strom’s professional career focused on astronomy—so you know he’s got a sense for looking at the “big-picture” side of things. That sensibility has informed his work as a photographer and an essayist in his postretirement years, and it drives his ongoing interest in environmentalism. Even more particularly, it drives his sense for how change can be accomplished through collective action.

In his new book Forging a Sustainable Southwest: The Power of Collaborative Conservation, Strom looks not just at the challenges facing the American Southwest as environmental, economic and community interests clash over land-use decisions, but at the people fighting on the front lines to make sure “environmental” isn’t always last on that list. He speaks with dozens of individuals representing groups working on efforts like the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan and Las Cienagas National Conservation Area, attempting to understand how they organize, fund-raise and fight for responsible stewardship. It’s an inspirational celebration of the power of grass-roots activism that also recognizes the nuts-and-bolts efforts and group action required for success. And maybe it even offers a blueprint for other necessary citizenbased activism.

Stephen E. Strom visits The King’s English Bookshop (1511 S. 1500 East) on Tuesday, April 8 at 7 p.m. to discuss Forging a Sustainable Southwest. The event is $5 admission, with registration available via Eventbrite. Copies of the book will also be available to purchase on-site, with places in the signing line reserved for those who purchase copies from The King’s English. Visit kingsenglish.com for additional event information. (SR)

City Weekly’s Best Of Utah Top 10!

BICYCLE STORE

In need of a repair job? Perhaps some informed advice or an enhancement to your gear? Maybe you’re just looking for a starter’s entry into the wonderful world of biking. Whatever you’re seeking, you can’t go wrong with any of these terrific two-wheel traders. With their help, you’ll be feeling the rush of forward motion like you were born on a bicycle.

BEST ROOFTOP PATIO

Spread out as it is, the Salt Lake Valley is hardly lacking for fun places to explore and fascinating nooks to discover. As wonderful and diverse as our many local offerings are, there’s always something special about a place that provides a great view among its amenities. Wherever you are in the valley, seek out these spots and feast your eyes!

Each week, City Weekly will publish, email to our Best of Utah list and post on our socials an expanded version of our beloved Best of Utah issue. With over 400 categories to choose from, we selected our favorites to post from now til the Best of Utah issue in November. Remember, always support local! CONTACT US TO

THE FOILIES 2025

RECOGNIZING THE WORST IN GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY

BY DAVE MAASS, AARON MACKEY, BERYL LIPTON, MICHAEL MORISY, DILLON BERGIN AND KELLY KAUFFMAN COMMENTS@CITYWEEKLY.NET

The public’s right to access government information is constantly under siege across the United States, from both sides of the political aisle.

In Maryland, where Democrats hold majorities, the attorney general and state Legislature are pushing a bill to allow agencies to reject public records requests that they consider “harassing.” At the same time, President Donald Trump’s administration has moved its most aggressive government reform effort— the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE—outside the reach of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), while also beginning the mass removal of public data sets.

One of the most powerful tools to fight back against bad governance is public ridicule. That’s where we come in: Every year around the time of Sunshine Week (March 16 to 22), the Electronic Frontier Foundation, MuckRock and AAN Publishers team up to publish The Foilies. This annual report—now a decade old—names and shames the most repugnant, absurd and incompetent responses to public records requests under FOIA and state transparency laws.

Sometimes the good guys win. For example, last year we highlighted the Los Angeles Police Department for using the courts to retaliate against advocates and a journalist who had rightfully received and published official photographs of police officers. The happy ending (at least for transparency): LAPD has since lost the case, and the city paid the advocates $300,000 to cover their legal bills.

Here are this year’s “winners.” While they may not all pay up, at least we can make sure they get the negative publicity they’re owed.

The Exorbitant FOIA Fee of the Year: Rapides Parish School District

After a church distributed a religious tract at Lessie Moore Elementary School in Pineville, La., young students quickly dubbed its frank discussion of mature themes as “the sex book.” Hirsh M. Joshi from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a lawyer representing a parent, filed a request with the Rapides Parish School District to try to get some basic information: How much did the school coordinate with the church distributing the material? Did other parents complain? What was the internal reaction?

Joshi was stunned when the school district responded with an initial estimate of $2 million to cover the cost of processing the request. After local media picked up the story and a bit of negotiating, the school ultimately waived the charges and responded with a mere nine pages of responsive material.

While Rapides Parish’s sky-high estimate ultimately took home the gold this year, there was fierce competition. The Massachusetts State Police wanted $176,431 to review—and potentially not even release—materials about

recruits who leave the state’s training program early. Back in Louisiana, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s office insisted on charging a grieving father more than $5,000 for records on the suspicious death of his son.

The Now You See It, Now You Don’t Award: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Sports reporter Daniel Libit’s public records request is at the heart of a lawsuit that looks a lot like the Spider-Man pointing meme.

In 2023, Libit filed the request for a contract between the University of Wisconsin and Altius Sports Partners, a firm that consults college athletic programs on payment strategies for college athletes (“Name, Image, Likeness” or NIL deals), after reading a university press release about the partnership.

The university denied the request, claiming that Altius was actually contracted by the University of Wisconsin Foundation, a separate 501(c)(3). So, Libit asked the foundation for the contract. The foundation then denied the request, claiming it was exempt from Wisconsin’s open records laws.

After the denial, Libit filed a lawsuit for the records, which was then dismissed, because the university and foundation argued that Libit had incorrectly asked for a contract between the university and Altius, as opposed to the foundation and Altius.

The foundation did produce a copy of the contract in the lawsuit, but the game of hiding the ball makes one thing clear, as Libit wrote after: “If it requires this kind of effort to get a relatively prosaic NIL consultant contract, imagine the lengths schools are willing to go to keep the really interesting stuff hidden.”

The Fudged Up Beyond All Recognition Award: Central Intelligence Agency

There are state secrets, and there are family secrets, and sometimes they mix … like a creamy, gooey confectionary.

After Mike Pompeo finished his first year as Trump’s CIA director in 2017, investigative reporter Jason Leopold sent a FOIA request asking for all of the memos Pompeo sent to staff. Seven years later, the agency finally produced the records, including a “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year” message recounting the annual holiday reception and gingerbread competition, which was won by a Game of Thronesthemed entry. (“And good use of ice cream cones!” Pompeo wrote.)

At the party, Pompeo handed out cards with his mom’s “secret” recipe for fudge, and for those who couldn’t make it, he also sent it out as an email attachment. But the CIA redacted the whole thing, vaguely claiming it was protected from disclosure under federal law.

This isn’t the first time the federal government has protected Pompeo’s culinary secrets: In 2021, the State Department redacted Pompeo’s pizza toppings and favorite sandwich from emails.

The You Can’t Handle the Truth Award: Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin

In Virginia, state officials have come under fire in the past few years for shielding records from the public under the broad use of a “working papers and correspondence” FOIA exemption.

When a records request came in for internal communications on the state’s Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program, which provides tuition-free college to spouses and children of military veterans killed or disabled as a result of their service, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office used this “working papers” exemption to reject the FOIA request.

The twist is the request was made by Kayla Owen, a military spouse and a member of the governor’s own task force studying the program. Despite Owen’s attempts to correct the parameters of the request, Youngkin’s office made the final decision in July to withhold more than two folders worth of communications with officials who have been involved with policy discussions about the program.

The Courts Cloaked in Secrecy Award (Tie): Solano County Superior Court, Calif., and Washoe County District Court, Nev.

Courts are usually the last place the public can go to vindicate their rights to government records when agencies flout them. When agen-

cies lock down records, courts usually provide the key to open them up.

Except in Vallejo, Calif., where a state trial court judge decided to lock his own courtroom during a public records lawsuit—a move that even Franz Kafka would have dismissed as too surreal and ironic.

The lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union sought a report detailing a disturbing ritual in which officers bent their badges to celebrate their on-duty killings of local residents.

When public access advocates filed an emergency motion to protest the court closure, the court denied it without even letting them in to argue their case. This was not just a bad look; it violated the California and U.S. constitutions, which guarantee public access to court proceedings and a public hearing prior to barring the courtroom doors.

Not to be outdone, a Nevada trial court judge has twice barred a local group from filming hearings concerning a public records lawsuit. The request sought records of an alleged domestic violence incident at the Reno city manager’s house.

Despite the Nevada Supreme Court rebuking the judge for prohibiting cameras in her courtroom, she later denied the same group from filming another hearing. The transparency group continues to fight for camera access, but its persistence should not be necessary: The court should have let them record from the get-go.

The No Tech Support Award: National Security Agency

In 1982, Rear Adm. Grace Hopper (then a captain) presented a lecture to the National Security Agency entitled “Future Possibilities: Data, Hardware, Software, and People.” One

can only imagine Hopper’s disappointment if she had lived long enough to learn that in the future, the NSA would claim it was impossible for its people to access the recording of the talk.

Hopper is undoubtedly a major figure in the history of computing whose records and lectures are of undeniable historical value, and Michael Ravnitzky, frequent FOIA requester and founder of Government Attic, requested this particular lecture back in 2021.

Three years later, the NSA responded to tell him that they had no responsive documents.

Befuddled, Ravnitzky pointed out the lecture had been listed in the NSA’s own Television Center Catalogue. At that point, the agency copped to the actual issue.

Yes, it had the record, but it was captured on AMPEX 1-inch open reel tapes, as was more common in the 1980s. Despite being a major intelligence agency with high-tech surveillance and communication capabilities, the NSA claimed that it could not find any way to access the archive recording.

Let’s unpack the multi-layered egregiousness of the NSA’s actions here. It took the agency three years to respond to this FOIA. When it did, the NSA claimed that it had nothing responsive, which was a lie. But the most colossal failure by the NSA was its claim that it couldn’t find a way to make accessible to the public important moments from our history because of technical difficulties.

But leave it to librarians to put spies to shame: The National Archives stepped in to help, and now you can watch the lecture in two parts.

TEN YEARS OF THE FOILIES

THE ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION LOOKS BACK AT THE GAMES GOVERNMENTS PLAYED TO AVOID TRANSPARENCY.

BY DAVE MAASS COMMENTS@CITYWEEKLY.NET

In the year 2015, we witnessed the launch of OpenAI, a debate over the color of a dress going viral and a Supreme Court decision that same-sex couples have the right to get married.

It was also the year that the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) first published The Foilies, an annual report that hands out tongue-in-cheek “awards” to government agencies and officials that respond outrageously when a member of the public tries to access public records through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or similar laws.

A lot has changed over the last decade, but one thing that hasn’t is the steady flow of attempts by authorities to avoid their legal and ethical obligations to be open and accountable. Sometimes, these cases are intentional, but just as often, they are due to incompetence or straight-up half-assedness.

Over the years, EFF has teamed up with MuckRock to document and ridicule these FOIA fails and transparency tripups. And through a partnership with AAN Publishers, we have named-and-shamed the culprits in weekly newspapers and on indie news sites across the United States in celebration of Sunshine Week, an annual event raising awareness of the role access to public records plays in a democracy.

This year, we reflect on the most absurd and frustrating winners from the last 10 years as we prepare for the next decade, which may even be more terrible for government transparency.

The Most Infuriating FOIA Fee: U.S. Department of Defense (2016 Winner)

Under FOIA, federal agencies are able to charge “reasonable” fees for producing copies of records. But sometimes, agencies fabricate enormous price tags to pressure the requester to drop the query.

In 2015, Martin Peck asked the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to disclose the number of “HotPlug” devices (tools used to preserve data on seized computers) it had purchased. The DOD said it would cost $660 million and 15 million labor hours (over 1,712 years), because its document system wasn’t searchable by keyword, and staff would have to comb through 30 million contracts by hand.

Runners-up:

City of Seattle (2019 Winner): City officials quoted a member of the public $33 million for metadata for every email sent in 2017, but ultimately reduced the fee to $40.

Rochester (Michigan) Community Schools District (2023 Winner): A group of parents critical of the district’s remotelearning plan requested records to see if the district was spying on their social media. One parent was told they would have to cough up $18,641,345 for the records, because the district would have to sift through every email.

Willacy County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office (2016 Winner): When the Houston Chronicle asked for crime data, the sheriff sent them an itemized invoice that included $98.40 worth of Wite-Out— the equivalent of 55 bottles—to redact 1,016 pages of records.

The Most Ridiculous Redaction: Federal Bureau of Investigation (2015 Winner)

Brad Heath, who in 2014 was a reporter at USA Today, got a tip that a shady figure had possibly attended an FBI retirement party. So he filed a request for the guest list and pictures taken at the event. In response, the FBI sent a series of surreal photos of the attendees, hugging, toasting, and posing awkwardly, but all with polygonal redactions covering their faces like some sort of mutant, Minecraft family reunion.

Runner-Up

U.S. Southern Command (2023 Winner): Investigative journalist Jason Leopold obtained scans of paintings by detainees at Guantanamo Bay, which were heavily redacted under the claim that the art would disclose law enforcement information that could “reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law.”

The Most Reprehensible Reprisal Against a Requester: White Castle, Louisiana (2017 Winner)

Chris Nakamoto, at the time a reporter for WBRZ, filed a public records request to probe the White Castle mayor’s salary. But when he went down to check on some of the missing records, he was handcuffed, placed in a holding cell, and charged with the crime of “remaining after being forbidden.” He was summoned to appear before the “Mayor’s Court” in a judicial proceeding presided over by none other than the same mayor he was investigating. The charges were dropped two months later.

Runners-up

Jack White (2015 Winner): One of the rare non-government Foilies winners, the White Stripes guitarist verbally abused University of Oklahoma student journalists and announced he wouldn’t play at the school anymore. The reason? The student newspaper, OU Daily, obtained and published White’s contract for a campus performance, which included his no-longer-secret guacamole recipe, a bowl of which was demanded in his rider. Richlands, Virginia (2024 Winner): Resident Laura Mollo used public records laws to investigate problems with Richlands’ 911 system and, in response, experienced intense harassment from the city and its contractors, including the police pulling her over and the city appointing a special prosecutor to investigate her. On separate occasions, Morro even says she found her mailbox filled with spaghetti and manure.

Worst Federal Agency of the Decade: Federal Bureau of Investigation

Bashing the FBI has come back into vogue among certain partisan circles in recent years, but we’ve been slamming the feds long before it was trendy.

The agency received eight Foilies over the last decade, more than any other entity, but the FBI’s hostility towards FOIA goes back much further. In 2021, the Cato Institute uncovered records showing that, since at least 1989, the FBI had been spying on the National Security Archive, a non-profit watchdog that keeps an eye on the intelligence community.

The FBI’s methods included both physical and electronic surveillance, and the records show the FBI specifically cited the organization’s “tenacity” in using FOIA.

Cato’s Patrick G. Eddington reported it took 11 months for the FBI to produce those records, but that’s actually relatively fast for the agency.

We highlighted a 2009 FOIA request that the FBI took 12 years to fulfill: Bruce Alpert of the Times-Picayune had asked for records regarding the corruption case of U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, but by the time he received the 84 pages in 2021, the reporter had retired.

Similarly, when George Washington University professor and documentary filmmaker Nina Seavey asked the FBI for records related to surveillance of antiwar and civil rights activists, the FBI told her it would take 17 years to provide the documents. When the agency launched an online system for accepting FOIA requests, it somehow made the process even more difficult.

The FBI was at its worst when it was attempting to use nondisclosure agreements to keep local law enforcement agencies from responding to public records requests regarding the use of cell phone surveillance technologies called cell-site simulators, or “stingrays.”

The agency even went so far as to threaten agencies that release technical information to media organizations with up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine, claiming it would be a violation of the Arms Export Control Act.

But you don’t have to take our word for it: Even Micky Dolenz of The Monkees had to sue the FBI to get records on how agents collected intelligence on the 1960s band.

Worst Local Jurisdiction of the Decade: Chicago, Illinois

Over the last decade, The Foilies have called out officials at all levels of government and in every part of the country (and even in several other countries). But time and time again, one city keeps demonstrating special antagonism to the idea of freedom of information: the Windy City.

In fact, the most ridiculous justification for ignoring transparency obligations we ever encountered was proudly championed by now-former Mayor Lori Lightfoot during the COVID-19 lockdown in April 2020.

She offered a bogus choice to Chicagoans: the city could either process public records requests or provide pandemic response, falsely claiming that answering these requests would pull epidemiologists off the job.

According to the Chicago Tribune, she implied that responding to FOIA requests would result in people having to “bury another grandmother.” She even invoked the story of Passover, claiming that the “angel of death is right here in our midst every single day” as a reason to suspend FOIA deadlines.

If we drill down on Chicago, there’s one particular department that seems to take particular pleasure in screwing the public: the Chicago Police Department (CPD).

In 2021, CPD was nominated so many times (for withholding records of search warrants, a list of names of police officers, and body-worn camera footage from a botched raid) that we just threw up our hands and named them “The Hardest Department to FOIA” of the year.

In one particularly nasty case, CPD had mistakenly raided the home of an innocent woman and handcuffed her while she was naked and did not allow her to dress. Later, the woman filed a FOIA request for the body-worn camera footage and had to sue to get it.

But CPD didn’t leave it there: the city’s lawyers tried to block a TV station from airing the video and then sought sanctions against the woman’s attorney. n

Up All Night

Taiwanese street food is all the rage at 9-UP

Night Market.

BY ALEX SPRINGER comments@cityweekly.net @captainspringer

Visitors to the Downtown Farmers Market will no doubt recognize the feline-centric branding of 9-UP Night Market. Since 2023, the mobile version of this popular Taiwanese spot has been making waves at our annual celebration of all foods local. Earlier this year, our friends at 9-UP opened a brick-andmortar storefront in South Salt Lake’s sprawling Chinatown Supermarket complex. Before it found this more permanent location, 9-UP had been burning the midnight oil with its late-night deliveries, which is part of where the restaurant gets its “night market” moniker. As nocturnal street food is something I can always get behind, I was excited to check out 9-UP’s new digs.

For starters, you have to go to the back of the Chinatown Supermarket proper to find 9-UP. This was honestly a new experience for me as I didn’t know there were spaces back there; I was too blinded by my desire to dig into 9-UP’s Taiwanese menu to get a good look at what was open behind the market. The 9-UP menu leans heavily into street food—about half of it consists of items that are under $10. There are familiar snacks like potstickers ($3.99 for 3, $6.99 for 6) and takoyaki ($8.99), and there are bags of “jiggle fries” ($9.99) that are meant to be tossed with your favorite seasoning.

It’s perfectly viable to spend your time

at 9-UP exclusively eating from this side of the menu—it’s awesome, it’s cheap and there’s a wide variety from which to choose. Some of my favorites from 9-UP’s street food menu are the pork belly bao buns ($5.99), the breakfast egg crepe roll ($5.99) and the ten yen cheese coin ($6.99). The bao buns are among the biggest that I’ve seen locally; they’re roughly the size of a cheeseburger, stuffed with 9-UP’s famous braised pork belly, which is absolutely fantastic.

The pork belly at 9-UP is subject to a 24-hour braise, so this stuff quite literally melts in your mouth. I don’t think I’ve ever had a braised pork belly that is this tender. The bao bun is exactly as soft and pillowy as it should be, and the interior gets sprinkled with some crushed peanuts and cilantro. The pork belly can be customized as far as spice levels go, so diners can feel free to ramp up the heat as they so please. I’ll always love a pork bun, but I do think the buns served up on 9-UP’s menu are something special.

Perhaps one of the most surprising items on the menu was the breakfast egg crepe roll, which can be supplemented with a protein like ham, chicken, roast beef or tuna salad. The crepe roll has a lot in common with a traditional breakfast burrito—fluffy scrambled eggs with melted cheese folded inside a thin crepe. It’s sliced into segments, topped with mayo and served with a bowl of onion sauce, which was a condiment I haven’t encountered before—it’s a bit like honey mustard, and it’s dynamite. If you are a breakfast burrito fan of any stripe, you’ll want to add this dish to your repertoire.

The ten yen cheese coin was recently added to the menu—last time I was there, the menu said it was coming soon, even though it appears to be on the regular

menu. This grilled cheese pancake with the markings of a ten yen coin looked like a simple novelty, but it’s got some interesting flavors going on. The batter has a slight sweet corn flavor that contrasts nicely with the salty cheese inside. It’s a fun little snack that tastes much better than I was expecting.

For those hungry enough for a full entree, the pork belly rice bowl ($9.99 for kids’ size, $15.99 for large) is the way to go. That glorious braised pork belly that we got to know in the pork buns is fully showcased here, piled on top of some fluffy white rice, slivered cucumbers and pickled daikon, served with a marinated hard-boiled egg. I’ve often derided the rice bowl format, but I’m keeping my mouth shut when the pork belly is this good. I’d recommend going for the kids’ size portion if you’re planning on including some of the street food options, as the portions are pretty huge.

While the street-food culture that most Asian countries enjoy may not be more than a pipe dream for Utah diners, I do like it when little tastes of that culture arrive in our dining scene. Places like 9-UP Night Market are doing a lot to lay the street-food appreciation groundwork, and I really appreciate the enthusiasm with which they’re operating their business. While street food may not be totally a thing here in Utah, what’s to stop me from getting a few snacks from 9-UP and wandering around South Salt Lake? Nothing, that’s what. CW

2 Row Brewing

73 West 7200 South, Midvale

2RowBrewing.com

On Tap: Piney Peaks “West Coast IPA”

Avenues Proper 376 8th Ave, SLC avenuesproper.com

On Tap: Steamy Wonder Rye Steam Ale

Bewilder Brewing

445 S. 400 West, SLC

BewilderBrewing.com

On Tap: Belgian Pale Ale, Cosmic Pop IPA, Lord of the Ryes Stout

Bohemian Brewery

94 E. Fort Union Blvd, Midvale

BohemianBrewery.com

NEW Releases: Kölsch, German Pale Ale, On Tap: Munich ‘Dunkel’, California ‘Steam’ 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: Playground #13 - Hazy Pale with Lemondrop and Sultana

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

On Tap: Steamy Wonder Rye Steam Ale

Desert Edge Brewery

273 Trolley Square, SLC DesertEdgeBrewery.com

On Tap:  High Pressure Haze, Hazy Pale Ale

Epic Brewing Co.

825 S. State, SLC EpicBrewing.com

On Tap: 2024 Big Bad Baptist Imperial Stouts

Etta Place Cidery

700 W Main St, Torrey www.ettaplacecider.com

On Tap: Wassail Cider, Pineapple

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

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: Irish Stout on Nitro

Kiitos Brewing

608 W. 700 South, SLC KiitosBrewing.com

Now with a full bar license & draft beer cocktails!

On Tap: Fonio - 100% gluten free beer; Schwarzbier

Level Crossing Brewing Co.

2496 S. West Temple, South Salt

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 Brewing 1764 Uinta Way C1 ParkCityBrewing.com

On Tap: ALES for ALS - 5.0% hazy pale

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

On Tap: Steamy Wonder Rye Steam Ale

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

On Tap: Blizzard Wizard Hazy Pale Ale

Red Rock Brewing 254 So. 200 West RedRockBrewing.com

On Tap: Gypsy Scratch

Salt Lake SaltFireBrewing.com

On Tap: Passion fruit, orange, guava Lager on draft

Salt Flats Brewing

2020 Industrial Circle, SLC SaltFlatsBeer.com

On Tap: FOG LIGHT - JUICY IPA

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

On Tap: Etta Place Pineapple/ Passionfruit Mead - 6% ABV

Second Summit Cider 4010 So. Main, Millcreek https://secondsummitcider.com On Tap: Imperial 8.2%

Shades Brewing 154 W. Utopia Ave, South Salt Lake

ShadesBrewing.beer

On Tap: Fresh Hop IPA (with homegrown local hops)

Shades On State

366 S. State Street SLC Shadesonstate.com

On Tap: Six Wheat Under Hefeweizen; Black Cloud Lager

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

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

On Tap: “Ostara” German Amber Lager with orange and lemon peel; “Virgil the Guide” Italian Pilsner

Strap Tank Brewery, Springville 596 S 1750 W, Springville, UT StrapTankBrewery.com

On Tap: Candy Cap English Mild

TF Brewing 936 S. 300 West, SLC TFBrewing.com

LevelCrossingBrewing.com

On Tap: Kolsch

Level Crossing Brewing Co.,

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

On Tap: Vienna Lager

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: Strawberry Sereni-Tea Hard Cider

Offset Bier Co 1755 Bonanza Dr Unit C, Park City

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: Brewers Select: Above the Clouds Hazy IPA

Roosters Brewing Multiple Locations RoostersBrewingCo.com On Tap: Cyclops Irish Stout

SaltFire Brewing 2199 S. West Temple, South

Squatters Corner Pub – Valley Fair 3555 Constitution Blvd, West Valley City squatterscornerpub.com

On Tap: Salt Lake Brewing Co. Dog Lake Pale Ale

Squatters Pub Brewery / Salt Lake Brewing Co. 147 W. Broadway, SLC saltlakebrewingco.com/ squatters

On Tap: Salt Lake Brewing Co. Velvet Brimley Oatmeal Stout

Squatters and Wasatch Brewery 1763 So 300 West SLC UT 84115 Utahbeers.com

On Tap: 20 beers with 12 rotating small batch releases: Black Tea English Porter, Hazelnut Brown Ale, and more!

Small Batch Series Release: Back Abbey Double Belgian Ale

BEER NERD

Coastal Elites

One continent, two very different IPAs

BY MIKE RIEDEL comments@cityweekly.net @utahbeer

West Coast or New England IPAs: You’re probably in one camp or the other. If you’re in neither, here’s a quick guide to two local examples. If you’re firmly entrenched, one of these will likely make you very happy.

2 Row - Coastal Collision: You don’t see a lot of Triple IPAs out there in the market, and even fewer tend to be made locally. It’s a tough style; when you think about big ales like this, people often think of barleywines and Belgian tripels. But let there be no doubt, these are all IPA. This example is in the West Coast style, with big caramel-like malts and equally big citrus forward hops.

Coastal Collision pours a mostly-clear, medium copper-amber color, with three fingers of puffy, loosely foamy and bubbly head, which leaves some stellar webbed lace around the glass. It smells of bready and doughy caramel malt, biscuity toffee, mixed domestic citrus rind, a further indistinct tropical fruitiness, mild chalky notes and more leafy, herbal and gently perfumed floral green hop bitters.

The taste is grainy and bready caramel malt, cold toffee pudding, generic citrus vodka, red grapefruit zest and weedy, herbal and soused-up floral verdant hoppiness. The carbonation is fairly laid back in its plebeian frothiness, the body a solid heavyweight and generally smooth, as the malt wields a mighty sword to keep the 11.0 percent alcohol at bay. It finishes well off-dry, with the lingering caramel, citrus and alcohol colluding as such.

Verdict: This is indeed highly evocative of the West Coast DIPAs that first

lured me into the game all those years ago: big, challenging citrus and forestfloor-detritus hops, with a sturdy-ass malt backbone. Great stuff, and warming to boot, so I just think I’ll kill the rest of this one by taking a further walk down memory lane.

Saltfire - Big in Japan: While not a new brew by any means, this is the first time I’ve taken a crack at it for the Beer Nerd. This one screams New Englandstyle IPA, with its turbid nectar appearance and high tropical fruit profile. This cool-looking can pours a big, cloudy, frothy solution and appears to be unfiltered. Lots of white foam develops, with an average amount of carbonation; the color is light gold with orange highlights. A big-time aroma suggests lots of dry hops, with orange, melon and some piney/grassy notes, too. It’s delicious to whiff, and I could smell this for a long time and be happy.

Some serious juiciness hits up front in the taste—a lot of orange, tangerine, some nice caramel sweetness and light alcohol. It finishes clean, and not harsh or astringent, like many citra-forward beers can be. Head Brewer Don Moore really pulled off the showcase of hops across the board; this one is truly wonderful, and one of the most enjoyable IPAs I’ve had from Saltfire in some time. Big in Japan boasts a big, creamy mouthfeel that lingers on the palate. The 7.0 percent ABV is spot on, and the unfiltered nature of this beer really aided with that impression as well.

Verdict: This is a big, hoppy, juicy IPA for hop-heads; I’d put this up there with some of Saltfire’s best IPAs. The big juicy smack of hops, well-integrated and clean balance of this beer, as well as the awesome mouthfeel really designate this as an excellent NEIPA. I’m going back for more soon.

Find these at their respective home bases, and compare the distinct IPA philosophies that keep India Pale Ale on top of most breweries’ beer portfolios.

As always, cheers! CW

the BACK BURNER

BY ALEX SPRINGER | @captainspringer

The Continental Opens

Culinary rockstar Bleu Adams recently opened a new concept called The Continental (thecontinentalprovo.com) in downtown Provo. The Continental continues to embrace Adams’ passion for sustainability and Indigenous foodways, and will feature a menu inspired by Turtle Island and Mesoamerica. As part of this exciting concept, The Continental’s menu will include bison sourced from the Ute Tribe, foraged ingredients and heirloom Native grains. Anyone familiar with Chef Adams’ culinary perspective knows that dining at one of her restaurants is both delicious and educational, and The Continental looks like it will be continuing that trend. The Continental is located at 63 E. Center Street, Ste. 1 in Provo.

Hearth and Hill Opens Sugar House Location

Hill Top Hospitality—owners of Utah favorites like Hill’s Kitchen and Urban Hill—recently opened its Sugar House location of Hearth and Hill (hearth-hill.com). It will continue the casual but high-quality legacy that the Park City space established. The culinary team will include Chef Josh Barnabe as Chef de Cuisine; Barnabe had previously worked as sous chef at Urban Hill with James Beard Award-nominated chef Nick Zocco. The new location is at 2188 S. Highland Dr., and will be open for lunch and dinner.

Woodbine Food Hall Welcomes Salt City Barbecue

Last time I was at Woodbine Food Hall, I was excited to see signage for the incoming Salt City Barbecue (saltcitybbq.co), and it looks like they have finally moved in. My first question when evaluating a barbecue spot is, do they serve sausage? and I’m pleased to say that Salt City Barbecue passes this test: It’s a smoked cheddar kielbasa, no less. Plus, their ribs have been tasty enough to net some Best of Utah Awards from City Weekly. They’ll make a nice addition to Woodbine (545 W. 700 South).

Quote of the Week: “Barbecue is a journey, not a destination.” – Mike Mills

Celebrating David Lynch

This month, Salt Lake Film Society presents a film festival of the late, great director’s work.

BY SCOTT RENSHAW scottr@cityweekly.net @scottrenshaw

David Lynch’s passing on Jan. 16 marked the end of a remarkably original creative career, one that included visionary feature films and one of the most influential series in television history, Twin Peaks. This month, the Salt Lake Film Society honors Lynch with a festival of some of his most noteworthy work, including a short film program April 4-5.

April 4-5: The Elephant Man (1980) –The first of Lynch’s three Academy Award nominations for Best Director came in this fact-based story of the Victorian Londonera friendship between physician Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) and deformed sideshow curiosity John Merrick (John Hurt). Those two performances are both remarkable, but Lynch’s direction captured both the horror of an increasingly mechanized society and the profound humanity involved in seeing beyond the skin to someone’s soul.

April 11-12: Eraserhead (1977) – Maybe it is just a primal scream of parental anxiety; maybe it’s a more general metaphor about dehumanization. However you interpret it—and as is generally true with Lynch, how it makes you feel is more important than what it means—the director’s debut feature remains one of the most distinctive and unsettling films in the cult canon.

April 11-12: Mulholland Dr. (2001) – Salvaged from its origins as the pilot for a planned TV series, this psychological dra

ma would be important enough for Naomi Watts’ breakthrough role. But Lynch turned this material about the curdled dream factory of Hollywood into yet another exploration of identity filled with bone-deep dread, oddball humor and confounding imagery. Even if you can’t fully process what it’s “about,” it still hits hard.

April 18-19: Lost Highway (1997) – Lynch could be at his most frustrating when trying to combine his surreal ideas with realworld consequences, so it’s deeply weird when this narrative involves a character completely changing identities at one point, followed by police treating that as an actual mystery to solve. It still features some of Lynch’s finest crawl-into-yourown-skin moments—and if nothing else, he understood earlier than most that Robert Blake should be considered terrifying.

April 18-19: Blue Velvet (1986) – For my money, and as “normie” an opinion as it might be, this is still Lynch’s movie masterpiece. Yes, it served as the foundation for Twin Peaks’ exploration of the rot beneath the surface placidity of American suburbia, and launched the creative partnership with Kyle MacLachlan. But it also digs at the ugliness potentially lurking beneath any “nice” façade, while also allowing Dennis Hopper to go wonderfully batshit as gas-huffing, sadistic Pabst Blue Ribbon aficionado Frank Booth.

April 25-26: Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) – As a young Twin Peaks fan, I raced out to see this on opening night, and came out thinking, “What the hell was that?” A recent re-watch showed that while the prologue material still really doesn’t work— yeesh, Chris Isaak’s performance—this was a perfectly natural outgrowth of TP’s story, and povided a showcase for a performance by Sheryl Lee that includes some of the most emotionally raw acting I’ve ever seen.

April 25-26: Wild at Heart (1990) – Not a big fan of most of the Elvis-in-Oz craziness that makes up this wild road trip, though Lynch clearly understood how to channel Nicolas Cage at his Nicolas Cage-

iest. Still, it’s got some real juice when the content hits lizard-brain fears, like the scene in which a dazed Sherilyn Fenn staggers around a car wreck, or Willem Dafoe’s psychological assault of Laura Dern. “The world is wild at heart and weird on top,” Dern’s Lula says at one point—and even if this is “minor” by Lynch’s standards, it still exemplified the way he knew how to mix wildness, weirdness and heart.

OTHER APRIL SPECIAL SCREENINGS

Brewvies Sunday Brunch: Clue (1985): The odd-sounding notion of turning a board game into a film and its multiple-

endings gimmick led to box-office disappointment on its initial release, but its goofy charms have aged well in the 40 years since. Join the crowd at Brewvies (168 W. 700 South) on Sunday, April 6 at noon, admission $3. brewvies.com

Indiana Jones and the Return to Megaplex: The original Indiana Jones trilogy—1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1984’s Temple of Doom and 1989’s Last Crusade come to the big screen for individual showings, plus a marathon presentation on Saturday, April 19 for $29.99. Visit the website for theaters and showtimes. megaplextheatres.com CW

David Lynch

Behind the Music

Salt Lake DJ & Production School teaches the basics of spinning, mixing, producing and more.

BY ARICA ROBERTS comments@cityweekly.net

Salt Lake City is quickly becoming a hub for electronic dance music, with plenty of music collectives and venues booking up-and-coming talent. If you want to learn about DJing and music production, Salt Lake City DJ & Production School (SLDP) is the place to go.

The director of SLDP, Derek Beck, first opened the school in 2013 at a home studio in the Avenues. As a lifelong lover and learner of music, Beck had already been working in various areas of the music industry for a decade. The list of people asking Beck for music production, mixing, mastering and DJ advice became so long that he decided to start a school himself.

Now located at 430 E. South Temple, SLDP offers several courses from Music Production with the Ableton Live audio workstation (MPAL); Advanced Production, Mixing and Mastering (APMM); as well as DJing and Business of Music (BOM). This year, two new courses are rolling out. One (SONO) is an end-all, be-all course for music production, songwriting, sound design, mixing and mastering, and is being taught upon request in one-on-one settings. The other is Advanced DJing, which gives students the drills they need to master rhythm, preparation, understanding genres and blending between them to perfect the performance aspect of DJing that can set them apart.

There are several rooms in the school, each with its own title. There’s the Wasatch (classroom) and The Tank (recording studio), which connects to the King’s Peak

(production) room. In King’s Peak, there’s a production, mix and master space built around a UA Apollo system with Barefoot Footprint01s as the main monitors.

“Being able to plug in and listen to your favorite music in a treated space will open your eyes and ears to what you want your music to sound like,” Beck explained. With several diffusion boards, the room is built so that no sound goes out or in. In the Alta (DJ) room, there are CDJ 3000s, 2000s, a DJM A9, various 2-channel mixers, vinyl turntables and a variety of MIDI and FX controllers.

Although 12 years have gone by, Beck says that the goals and mission have remained the same: “to teach more DJs and producers, and build the next generation of successful artists.” To achieve this, the school has focused on balance.

Running SLDP requires a significant monetary investment. “Not so much that you’re going six figures into debt, forcing yourself into a hole that takes decades to climb out of,” Beck said. The time commit-

MUSIC

The King’s Peak production room at the Salt Lake City DJ & Production School

ment is also flexible. “If it required students to quit their jobs, and have no idea how they were going to eat, pay rent and car payments, that’s too much pressure to be able to focus on creative endeavors,” he added.

The school boasts alumni such as dubstep/riddim producer Mile32, who is playing all over the country, including big festivals and has notable releases on labels like Space Yacht, Bypass and Indefinite Recordings. Trance producer Bixx is also playing across the US and internationally, while approaching 100k monthly listeners on Spotify. One of the current teachers, Allen Salazar (one-half of the DJ duo ZANDZ), was also a past student.

“ZANDZ is our favorite group here locally, and has a special place at SLDP as Allen was one of the very first students in the new studio, nearly a decade ago,” Beck said. “The story comes full circle, and now he’s helping teach the next great generation of producers here now.”

Other past teachers include Gaszia (for-

merly half of X&G) who has collaborated with A-list producers like Flosstradamus and Skrillex, local DJ and producer Nate Lowpass and Ryan Chisolm (DJ Bangarang and talent buyer for LNE Presents). Ian Hiscock (artist relations manager, public relations manager and talent buyer for V2 Presents) has also come into the studio to provide knowledge to our students and the community. Will Flakes, a concert pianist, has also taught songwriting and music theory at SLDP.

Beck highly encourages studio tours, reiterating, “If you can see what is possible, you can start to build a long-term vision of what you want to do with music, what you want to become. Then it’s up to you to make the changes you need to make that goal a reality—no one else is going to do that for you, and there are no shortcuts.”

For those interested in signing up, check out Instagram @sldp__ and SLDP.com for course information and to complete a student application. CW

THURSDAY, APRIL 3

FRIDAY,

SATURDAY,

BEST BAR IN UTAH!

GREAT FOOD

MUSIC PICK S

Blindlove, Hollow Hill, Drunk in June @ Kilby Court 4/3

SLC rockers Blindlove have been impressing listeners since the dreaded 2020 days. Since their debut that year, they’ve cultivated a dedicated fanbase and continued to grow, releasing some fantastic alt/rock hits. Blindlove’s unique sensibility incorporates electronic sounds with their distorted instrumentation, creating an atmospheric and full sound. Their lyrics are also poetic, painting a picture with each line. One of their most popular tracks, “Bad Timing,” features lines like, “I breathe you in / To breathe you out / savoring the air my lungs then drown / I drown in you.” Their newest single “Armageddon” dropped in February, and offers more of the same of that alt/rock sound. The production is top-tier, as frontman Brogan Kelby’s dreamy vocals offer a lovely balance to the rock vibes. This weeknight show will be perfect for rocking, as Hollow Hill and Drunk in June join the bill. Hollow Hill serves up an addicting indie/punk spin in their sound that’s incredibly energetic and tons of fun to listen to. Drunk in June’s newest EP felicity drips with emotionality, and will have you experiencing a wide range of feelings while listening. This is going to be a fantastic lineup of locals on Thursday, April 3 at 7 p.m. Tickets for the all-ages show are $10 at 24tix.com. (Emilee Atkinson)

MUSIC PICK S

Gareth Emery @ The Great Saltair 4/4

When it comes to lasers, nothing is like LSR/CITY. World-renowned trance and progressive-house British DJ and producer Gareth Emery started LSR/CITY (pronounced “laser city”) as an alter-ego electronic group in 2021, and the Cyberpunk tour this year integrates music, synchronized laser displays, 3D digital visuals and live performance elements. Emery explained the meaning of the tour to EDM Identity as “where melody and human emotion battle against the dark forces of artificial intelligence in a dystopian future world.” This social commentary on the impact of machine-generated content upon art and human connection is a huge contribution to live electronic music, and an awareness of the zeitgeist. Expect major hits from Emery’s 2024 album Fable, including “don’t leave” and “without u” featuring the late trance producer, Robert Miles. It will be a cinematic masterpiece featuring evocative storytelling and world-building while highlighting the unique significance electronic music has when paired with visuals. The custom-built lasers and cyberpunk-inspired theme create a visually stunning, immersive spectacle where every burst of light is perfectly timed to the beat. Be part of the rebellion Friday April 4 at The Great Saltair, where human-made creativity—both music and art—thrive and evoke emotional responses in a way that no AI could replicate. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the event ends at 1 a.m. General admission costs $37; Laser View VIP tickets are $147. Go to edmtrain.com for tickets and more event information. (Arica Roberts)

Johnnyswim @ The Commonwealth Room 4/4

Like most professional musicians, Amanda Sudano and Abner Ramirez—the duo also known as Johnnyswim—take their career quite seriously. Their lovely new album When the War Is Over attests to that fact, courtesy of songs that share both intimacy and affirmation while looking at life’s comforts and complexities. Yet, as a married couple with three children, they’ve made it a point not to forsake their family and its bonds. In addition to their seven albums and four EPs, they authored a book, Home Sweet Road: Finding Love, Making Music, and Building a Life One City at a Time, documenting the way they’ve shared love, made music and built their lives together over the course of a 20-year career. “We decided early on that we want to spend as much time together as possible,” Sudano explains on their website. “So when we go on tour, we all go on tour.” They were also the subject of a Magnolia Network series “Home On the Road,” which followed the couple while out on tour. Likewise, they’ve had actual experience in terms of melding the personal and the professional. Amanda is the daughter of the late Donna Summer and singer/songwriter Bruce Sudano, the man behind many of Summer’s hits. As a result, they prove the fact that a family that plays together can stay together. Johnnyswim brings their “When the War Is Over” tour with guest Micah Edwards to the Commonwealth Room on Friday, April 4 at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $45 - $75 (plus taxes and fees). Go to axs.com. (Lee Zimmerman)

Remi Wolf @ The Union 4/8

Remi Wolf is one of those artists that no matter what she does, I’ll at least give it a listen. The first thing I heard by her was “The Street You Live On,” which is a tiny, perfect pop song. Her debut LP, Juno, was a clever introduction into the Californian singer/songwriter’s fresh vocal harmonies and unapologetically over-the-top approach. Last year, she dropped her sophomore album, Big Ideas, and with it brought a new energy, each track showing significant steps forward in every aspect compared to her earlier efforts. “I just want to live on the edge of genre, on the edge of profanity, on the edge of everything. I want it all to feel like it’s on

the edge of falling apart—and I think I’ve done that!” Wolf told DIY. “I feel like it’s not up to me to decide what boundary-pushing is; I just hope I’m doing it by existing.” Her genuine, frantic energy does not pander to contemporary likes. For instance, possibly my favorite song off of Big Ideas, “Cherries and Cream,” floats through the here-today, gone-tomorrow algorithm with the haze of sunset-driven synth. Her range is incredible, and Remi has a unique ability to showcase her influences without ever sounding like a copycat. Dana and Alden open. Catch this lineup on the Big Ideas tour at The Union on Tuesday, April 8. Doors at 6:30 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the all-ages show can be found at ticketmaster.com. (Mark Dago)

Ghost-Note @ The Commonwealth Room 4/8

In response to enthusiastic inquiries from fans, Snarky Puppy percussionists Nate Werth and Robert Sput Searight were inspired to launch their superstar side-project, GhostNote, in 2015. The duo decided to explore their unique chemistry in that new band, with a sound that incorporates funk, jazz fusion and hip-hop. In time, the duo recruited former Prince sideman Dwayne “MonoNeon” Thomas on bass and guitar, A.J. Brown (whose credits include work with Snoop Dogg and Fred Hammond) on bass and L.A.-based keyboardist Dominique Xavier Taplin (Prince, Toto). Ghost-Note also features a top-notch horn section that includes Mike Jelani Brooks, Jonathan Mones and Sylvester Onyejiaka. And that eight-member core group is often joined live by a rotating roster of guests that includes members of bands led by Justin Timberlake, Erykah Badu, Beyoncé, Jay-Z and other prominent artists. Both onstage and in the studio, all members contribute to the creation of the funky mix of sounds. That resulting sensibility doesn’t necessarily sound much like the music from any of those other names; Ghost-Note has a musical approach all its own. GhostNote’s albums include 2015’s Fortified, 2018’s Swagism and their latest, Mustard n’Onions, released in 2024. The group comes to the Commonwealth Room on Tuesday, April 8 at 8 p.m. Loom opens this 21+ show. Tickets are $27 from axs.com. (Bill Kopp)

free will ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

Have you ever been part of an innovation team? Its goal is not simply to develop as many new ideas and approaches as possible, but rather to generate good, truly useful new ideas and approaches. The most effective teams don’t necessarily move with frantic speed. In fact, there’s value in “productive pausing”—strategic interludes of reflection that allow deeper revelations to arise. It’s crucial to know when to slow down and let hunches and insights ripen. This is excellent advice for you. You’re in a phase when innovation is needed and likely. For best results, infuse your productivity with periodic stillness.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Barnacles are crustaceans that form vast colonies on rocks, pilings, whales and boats. They may grow so heavy on a ship that they increase its heft and require as much as a 40-percent increase in fuel consumption. Some sailors refer to them as “crusty foulers.” All of us have our own metaphorical equivalent of crusty foulers: encumbrances and deadweights that drag us down and inhibit our rate of progress. In my astrological opinion, the coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to shed as much of yours as possible. (I’ll be shedding mine in June.)

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

In 1088, the Chinese polymath and statesman Shen Kuo published his book Dream Torrent Essays, also translated as Dream Pool Essays In this masterwork, he wrote about everything that intrigued and fascinated him, including the effects of lightning strikes, the nature of eclipses, how to make swords, building tall pagodas resistant to wind damage and a pearl-like UFO he saw regularly. I think the coming weeks would be an excellent time for you to begin your own version of Dream Torrent Essays Gemini. You could generate maximum fun and self-knowledge by compiling all the reasons you love being alive on this mysterious planet.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)

The mimosa is known as the “sensitive plant.” The moment its leaves are touched, they fold inwards, exposing the sharp spines of its stems. Why do mimosas do that? Botanists say it’s meant to deter herbivore predators from nibbling it. Although you Cancerians sometimes display equally extreme hair-trigger defense mechanisms, I’m happy to say that you will be unlikely to do so in the coming weeks. You are primed to be extra bold and super-responsive. Here’s one reason why: You are finely tuning your protective instincts so they work with effective grace—neither too strong nor too weak. That’s an excellent formula to make fun new connections and avoid mediocre new connections.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

While sleeping on a recent night, I dreamed of an old friend I had lost touch with for 20 years. It was wonderful. We were remembering mystic breakthroughs we had while younger. When I awoke the next day, I was delighted to find an email from this friend, hoping for us to be back in touch. Hyper-rationalists might call this coincidence, but I know it was magical synchronicity—evidence that we humans are connected via the psychic airways. I’m predicting at least three such events for you in the coming weeks, Leo. Treat them with the reverence they deserve. Take them seriously as signs of things you should pay closer attention to.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

A star that astronomers call EBLM J0555-57Ab is 670 light years away. Its diameter is the smallest of any known star, just a bit larger than Saturn in our solar system. But its mass is 250 times greater than Saturn’s. It’s concentrated and potent. I’ll be inclined to compare you to EBLM J055557Ab in the coming weeks, Virgo. Like this modest-sized powerhouse, you will be stronger and more impactful than you may appear. The quality you offer will be more effective than others’ quantity. Your focused, dynamic efficiency could make you extra influential.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Libran jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk was an influential musician in part because he didn’t conform to conventions. According to music writer Tarik Moody, Monk’s music features “dissonances and angular melodic twists, and are consistent with his unorthodox approach to the piano, which combined a highly percussive attack with abrupt, dramatic use of switched key releases, silences, and hesitations.” Many of Monk’s most innovative improvisations grew out of apparent mistakes. He explored and developed wrong notes to make them into intentional aspects of his compositions. “His genius,” said another critic, “lay in his ability to transform accidents into opportunities.” I’d love to see you capitalize on that approach, Libra. You now have the power to ensure that seeming gaffes and glitches will yield positive and useful results.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

Author Richard Wright said that people “can starve from a lack of self-realization as much as they can from a lack of bread.” That’s rarely a problem for Scorpios, since you are among the zodiac’s best sleuths when exploring your inner depths. Does any other sign naturally gather more self-realization than you? No! But having said that, I want to alert you to the fact that you are entering a phase when you will benefit from even deeper dives into your mysterious depths. It’s an excellent time to wander into the frontiers of your self-knowledge.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

Andean condors hunt for prey while flying through the sky with their 10-foot wingspan. They’ve got a good strategy for conserving their energy: riding on thermal currents with little effort, often soaring for vast distances. I recommend that you channel the Andean condor in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. Always be angling to work smarter rather than harder. Look for tricks and workarounds that will enable you to be as efficient and stress-free as possible. Trust that as you align yourself with natural flows, you will cover a lot of ground with minimal strain. Celebrate the freedom that comes from embracing ease.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

While hiking in nature, people often rely on their phones to navigate. And what if their battery dies or there’s poor cell service out in the middle of nowhere? They might use an old-fashioned compass. It won’t reveal which direction to go, but will keep the hiker apprised of where true north lies. In that spirit, Capricorn, I invite you to make April the month you get in closer communication with your own inner compass. It’s a favorable and necessary time to become even more highly attuned to your ultimate guide and champion: the voice of the teacher within you.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

“It is advisable to look from the tide pool to the stars and then back to the tide pool.” Aquarian author John Steinbeck wrote that. I think it’s useful counsel for you in the coming weeks. What does it imply? Here are a few meditations: 1. Be tuned in to both the small personal world right in front of you and the big picture of the wider world. Balance and coordinate your understandings of them; 2. If you shift your perspective back and forth between the macrocosmic and microcosmic perspectives, you’re far more likely to understand how life really works; 3. You may flourish best by blending the evaluative powers of your objective, rational analysis and your intuitive, nonrational feelings.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

The earliest humans used bones and pebbles to assist in arithmetic calculations. Later, they got help from abacuses and crude mechanical devices. Electronic calculators didn’t arrive until the 1960s. All were efforts to bypass tedious reckonings. All were ingenious attempts to manage necessary details that weren’t much fun. In that spirit, I encourage you to seek time-saving, boredom-preventing innovations in the coming weeks. Now is an excellent time to maximize your spacious ability to do things you love to do.

(inContact, Inc.; Sandy,

Work with customer success managers, product development, and AI innovation teams. Telecommuting pursuant to company policy. Resumes: cilicia.holland@nice.com

(inContact, Inc.; Sandy, UT): Implement conversational Al (Artificial Intelligence) digital web and text assistants. Telecommuting pursuant to company policy. Resumes: cilicia.holland@nice.com.

SelectHealth, Inc. seeks a Business Systems AnalystSenior-Tactical Initiatives in Murray, UT. Position may telecommute from any state in the US except CA, HI, IL, PA, RI, and WA. Apply at https:// imh.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/ IntermountainCareers or email resume to mary.hansen@ imail.org . Salary: $108,618 to $114,048/yr.

urban LIVING

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

Mid Mods!

Mid Century Modern architecture is a very popular style for home buyers, especially due to the television show Mad Men. There was a boom nationally and locally of buyers looking for “Mid-Mod” open-space concepts in the past two decades, with its bold use of interior color and focus on integrating nature into not just landscape plans but sometimes bringing the greenery inside, with interior patios. We have plenty of Mid-Mod homes as well as commercial buildings in Utah.

One of the most stunning examples of a commercial building is the Steiner American Building at 505 E. South Temple, with its floating, precast concrete canopies that extend around the building’s edges. It has very Frank Lloyd Wright vibes in and around it, although it wasn’t built until 1967.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

ACROSS

1. Actress Stone

5. “Booyakasha!” speaker

9. Picture’s perimeter

14. Money repaid with interest

15. “Blade Runner 2049” actor Jared

16. Enthusiast

17. “A Man ___ Importance” (musical based on a 1994 film)

18. Suffix after teen

19. High-level

20. “Provided the whole thing’s a solo effort”?

23. Capital home to Willamette University

24. Feature of “j” but not “J”

25. “All Things Considered” host Shapiro

28. Greek vowel

29. Gargamel’s cat

33. Evita’s husband

34. Least likely to mix

35. “Book ‘em, ___!” (“Hawaii Five-O” catchphrase)

36. What happens when the first preservation doesn’t seal?

40. Arm bones

Another is Bonneville Towers Condominiums at 777 E. South Temple. That was built in 1964, and we locals call it the “wedding cake building” because of its tiers on top of tiers. And you can’t miss the University Heights condos at 130 S. 1300 East, with its unusual modern canopy/porte-cochère out front. The old First Security Bank Building at 405 S. Main—now the Ken Garff Building—was one of the first high-rises to go up here after the Great Depression. The three-part windows are classic Mid-Mod design, and the building was brilliantly rehabilitated to show off its original interior and exterior features.

The city’s former Redevelopment Agency, now called the Community Reinvestment Agency, will be helping to restore the former Public Safety Building at 315 E. 200 South, investing $1 million to help change the use from a commercial office building (a.k.a. the old “Cop Shop”) into a residential one that will be known as The Grove. It will feature 244 housing units, of which many will be available for purchase to buyers who earn between 41% and 80% of the area median income. There will also be rent-to-own options when The Grove is finished in the next few years.

There are fantastic Mid-Mod buildings to see when traveling in the West, like the Theme Building at LAX and the La Concha Visitors Center at the entrance to the Neon Museum’s Boneyard in Las Vegas. Denver has the MCM neighborhoods like Virginia Village, Harvey Park and Bow Mar, and Palm Springs, CA, has a huge concentration of MCM homes like the famous Sinatra Residence, the Tramway Gas Station and St. Theresa Catholic Church.

In our capital city, we have a cluster of Utah architect Ron Molen-designed homes in West Valley City around 4100 South and Constitution Blvd (2700 West) known as the Westshire homes. He was famous for sunken living rooms and built-in furniture.

The Capri Condos at 3600 South and 900 East is a 55+ community of onelevel units, many with the original sunken living rooms also intact. There are also smatterings of the 1950s style in the upper Avenues and lower foothills as well. n

41. Paul of “Mad About You”

42. Severance

43. Psychologist Abraham known for his “hierarchy of needs”

44. Bee prefix

47. A.L. East squad, on scoreboards

48. 2025 Fox medical drama where the main character suffers a brain injury

49. “The Thursday Murder Club” author Richard

51. Horror movie where the clown trades a balloon for a bouquet?

56. Informal summons

58. Think tank output

59. Pt. of MIT

60. Performance space

61. Bad sign

62. Gratuitous

63. LP’s other half

64. World’s longest river

65. Rain protector

DOWN

1. Plaza Hotel kid

2. “SNL” alum Alex

3. Site of an Ali-Frazier showdown

4. + end of a battery

5. “’Tis a pity”

6. Interlockable brand

7. Piece of info

8. Shocking tidbit, maybe

9. Admiral’s ships

10. One in a restaurant basket

11. Birds of a given region

12. Annual host of a notable gala

13. Before, in poems

21. Plains natives

22. Sun, in Spain

26. Punjabi princess

27. Part of, as a plot

30. CA red wine

31. News error follow-up

32. Biennial cricket match between England and Australia, with “the”

33. Hockey legendJaromir

34. “The Acrobat of ___” (Al Jarreau epithet)

35. Korean carmaker bought by GM

36. Mongolian tent

37. Miscellany

38. Drop on Facebook

39. “General” on menus

43. Miss Piggy, to herself

44. Chief deity of Egypt

45.

46. Arched foot part 48. Dorky person 50. “The Tortured Poets

Last week’s answers

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

No math is involved. The grid has numbers, but nothing has to add up to anything else. Solve the puzzle with

Sentence breaker-downer

Department” artist

“That does add up”

NEWS of the WEIRD

Spring Breakers

One spring breaker got more than he bargained for when he recently got into a fight with Jack Turner, 18, of Fort Myers, Florida. The Smoking Gun reported that on March 17, a sheriff’s deputy was patrolling Fort Myers Beach when he was “flagged down” about an altercation. As Turner and Juwan Black tussled in the sand, police said, Turner “pulled Black’s head upward as he brought his face toward the left side of Black’s head.” That’s when Turner bit off Black’s ear. Black was taken to the hospital for treatment; Turner was arrested for felony battery and posted $50,000 bond. Turner applied for a public defender, saying he has no income and that his bond was posted by his family. His home is a three-bedroom house in Fort Myers purchased by his parents in 2018.

Least Competent Criminal

On March 18, as Ellen Schapps Richman, 76, drove her Mercedes SUV to a golf lesson at Palm Beach Country Club, she reportedly experienced a vague sense that she had hit something—maybe a piece of “debris” in the road. The Palm Beach Daily News reported that, actually, Richman allegedly hit a bicyclist, 63, and then continued driving on, dragging him and his bike a short distance down the road. When Richman arrived at the club, she handed her car keys to a valet and told him she thought the damage to her car was from something she hit, police said. The cyclist, meanwhile, had “massive” injuries to his left leg and was transported to a hospital. Richman, an area philanthropist and adjunct professor of business at Columbia Business School, has been ordered by Circuit Judge Donald Hafele not to drive. She faces a charge of leaving the scene of a crash involving death or injuries.

Don’t Try This at Home

The Daily Express reported that a couple in Jilin, China, were forced to visit a hospital on March 18 after the woman’s hand became stuck in her boyfriend’s mouth. They were testing whether her hand would fit in his mouth when the muscles in his mouth spasmed, preventing her from pulling her hand out. The man’s face turned red and he began salivating, and his teeth were clamped down on her hand. “It felt like my hand was stuck in a meat grinder,” she said. At the hospital, doctors administered muscle relaxants to the man, and after about 20 minutes, the woman was able to remove her hand.

Awesome!

Paul Broome, 55, of Bognor, England, specified in his will that he wanted to be buried in a Snickers barthemed coffin, NDTV reported on March 24. So when he passed on, his family got to work. Broome was a care assistant for adults with learning disabilities and a big fan of the chocolate bar and the Crystal Palace FC. His coffin, which was painted to look like a half-unwrapped Snickers, also said “I’m nuts” on the side and featured the football club’s logo. “Paul’s family informed us that he was one of life’s true characters, and his farewell needed to reflect that,” said Ali Leggo of FA Holland Funeralcare.

Irony

Daniel Murillo, 44, was arrested on March 16 in Kissimmee, Florida, accused of repeatedly punching a 24-year-old female acquaintance as they sat in a car, The Smoking Gun reported. Things had gotten tense between the two after they traveled from Tampa but ran out of money; a verbal argument, the victim told police, led to the battery. Strangely, though, in Murillo’s mugshot, he is wearing a black shirt with bold white letters reading: “I Never Argue.” He was charged with misdemeanor battery.

Latest Religious Message

Suckers, take note! Senior adviser to the White House Faith Office Paula White-Cain has a Passover deal for you, Raw Story reported on March 24, but only if you send her $1,000 before Easter. With that donation, she promises, you’ll receive seven “Blessings of Passover,” which include an angel assigned to you by God, long life, “an increase for inheritance” and a special year of blessing. “You’re not doing this to get something,” she clarified on a video, “but you’re doing it in honor of God, realizing what you can receive.” One featured gift is a 10-inch-tall Waterford crystal cross (retail, $100, but on sale at Waterford.com for 30% off). Nine years ago, White-Cain sold a rock for $1,144 that she billed as a “resurrection seed.”

Oh,

By the Way ...

Passengers aboard the Cunard Line’s cruiser Queen Anne recently received an alarming message from the ship’s captain on March 13, the Independent reported. “This area is known for piracy threats,” the announcement said as the ship traveled between Australia and Manila. The message went on to say that the external promenade deck would be closed overnight and “deck lights will be on to reduce the ship’s external lighting.” Passengers were also asked to turn off stateroom lights and keep their window shades down. A representative for the Cunard line said there was “no specific threat to the ship or its guests, and our onboard experience remained uninterrupted.”

Most Precious Criminal

Thomas Talbert, 18, was charged with felony robbery, theft, reckless endangerment and possession of an instrument of crime on March 24 in Duncansville Borough, Pennsylvania, WJAC-TV reported. Talbert allegedly entered the Smokers Express Store brandishing a gun, with a face covering and gloves on, and demanded a carton of cigarettes and cash from the register. But Talbert’s “gun” was an airsoft gun, and he fled the scene on an e-bike, having only collected about $200. When authorities caught up with him, he initially denied the robbery, then admitted, “I did it.” He was held in the Blair County Prison on $50,000 bail.

Weird in the Wild

Napa County, California’s Morning Glory Spillway, a passive spillway located at Lake Berryessa, hadn’t been formally used since 2019, IFLScience.com reported on March 25. But starting in February and continuing through March, the so-called “glory hole” has been busy draining excess water from the lake into Putah Creek. When lake levels exceed 440 feet, the water spills into a vortex that looks like a giant sink drain from above. The water falls 200 feet before rushing into the creek. Large amounts of rainfall have contributed to the higher lake levels.

It’s

a Dirty Job

Maybe Deon De Groot, 26, is the Easter bunny’s little helper. The Guardian recently reported that De Groot was seen stuffing about $283 worth of Cadbury Creme Eggs into a duffel bag at a Tesco Express in Peterborough, England, on March 22. He also concealed some in his jacket. After store staff flagged down officers, PC Guy Cunningham asked De Groot, “What have you got in there?” to which De Groot replied, “Creme Eggs.” De Groot was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison, suspended for a year, and was banned from Cambridgeshire for the next three months.

MANAGER to oversee window cleaning & maintenance projects. Ensure deadlines, quality, & safety. Responsibilities include project coord., budget mgmt., contract admin., team supervision, stakeholder collab., & quality assurance. Apply now to lead impactful projects. Mon-Fri, 40 hrs/ wk. Requires Bachelor’s in Construction Mgmt., Business Mgmt., or related field. Monthly travel to worksites in Salt Lake, Utah, Box Elder, & Wasatch counties. Mail resume to CWC Dallas Roberts, LLC (dba Clairvoyance Window