City Weekly May 7, 2026

TRUE RELIGION

A downtown church built on belonging, acceptance and ethical non-monogamy reveals where Utah spirituality is headed. BY ZACH

ABEND

S AP

Ban My Books

Open letter to Governor Spencer Cox: Dear Governor, regarding your banning of certain books, I’ve authored two novellas—one a satire of Fifty Shades of Gray entitled Nein Juan, Juan; and the other a story of twin girls overcoming being raised by an alcohol-crazed mom called Mad Momma

How may I get you to ban both books? Sales have been slow and I really need the publicity of you banning both books. Will I need to edit in dirty words to get your seal of disapproval?

Thanks.

TED OTTINGER

Taylorsville

“Good News, Bad News,”

April 30 Cover Story

This cover story reported: “According to Pew’s December 2025 report, overall attention to news has declined, with only 15% of young adults aged 18 to 29 saying that they follow the news ‘all or most of the time,’ compared to 62% among the oldest Americans.”

I don’t know if the second half of that sentence is intended to substantiate the first half. If so, the data does not support that conclusion. It doesn’t refute it, but it also doesn’t support it.

It would be like pointing out that over the last year, fewer young people have gotten cancer than old people and using that to claim that cancer rates are declining.

I don’t know if that linkage is one the author of the article was making or one that Pew made in their report, but either way it doesn’t float.

KEITH ALLEMAN

Salt Lake City

“Critical Mass,” April 23 Cover Story

The diocese should know their congregation. This guy should never have been made the head pastor of the predominant parish of east Salt Lake. Send him to Oklahoma, Alabama or some other knuckle-dragging community.

JON.DEAN.82

Via Instagram

“Political Picasso,” April 15 Bingham Boys podcast

Eventually you are gonna get luck and be on the right side of history for once—just not this time.

Y’all voted for this hatred. All of it three times. Now reap.

FORRELL SCOTT

Via Facebook

Two Boomer assholes. White liberal entitlement, Exhibit A. Lol, jerkoffs.

CLAY ELDREDGE Via Facebook

Whose Military?

Whose Military is a question for you and me, The answer is the future of our Democracy. Will our severely polarized society, Bleed into our Armed Forces with anomaly?

Military Code prohibits an “illegal act,” But in the eyes of our soldiers what is a fact? Our political discord creates this ethical dilemma, Forcing our defenders to question their agenda.

The Civil War fractured our Military, “Patriot” choices severing our Society. Prudent civilian moral control of our Armed Forces, Respects soldiers’ lives and our humanity enforces.

The warfare orders followed by our Military, Will determine the Rule of Law for our Democracy.

GEORGE KIBILDIS

Sparta, New Jersey

Care to sound off on a feature in our pages or about a local concern? Write to comments@cityweekly.net or post your thoughts on our social media. We want to hear from you!

THE WATER COOLER

What is your opinion of the proposed data center in Box Elder County?

Scott Renshaw

Take your environment-killing plagiarism engine somewhere else. Or, preferably, nowhere else.

Eric Granato

Absolutely against it. We don’t have the resources to spare!

Aimee Cook

With our drought issues, I think it’s a bad idea unless they use newer technology like a closed-loop cooling system.

Zach Abend

I’m wary of how fast it’s moving given how massive it is. The water use alone feels like a serious concern, and I wonder what it means when a project this big starts reshaping large stretches of open land. It feels like the kind of decision that should be slowed way, way down, not rushed.

Benjamin Wood

The massive size and scope seem excessive. At the same time, it’s a convenient boogeyman for performative Utahns who otherwise insist on environmentally-destructive policies around housing and transportation.

Wes Long

Life in exchange for profit: an old story. I doubt investors wait out appeals/review.

OPINION

BY CHRISTOPHER SMART

Dirty Air? Blame China

Hey Wilson, you know those signs at the bank drivethru that say not to idle your car while waiting? Well, you can ignore that. Most people do anyway, but now the Environmental Protection Agency says our air pollution is coming from China and Mexico.

So fire up the wood stoves, forget that tune-up on your old jalopy, and don’t mind all that gunk pouring out of the oil refineries.

A recent EPA statement reads: “Today, the EPA proposed repealing the Biden Administration’s December 2024 decision to reclassify Utah’s Northern Wasatch Front from a ‘Moderate’ to a ‘Serious’ non-attainment area under the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards.”

Yeah, why should we be punished for China’s pollution, asked Utah Republican Sen. John Curtis. “For too long, Utah has faced the prospect of being penalized for air pollution we did not create and cannot control,” Curtis said.

And you’ll never guess what, Wilson, the Utah Petroleum Association agrees with Curtis and the EPA. According to The New York Times, the oil and gas industry has been pushing to move the blame for domestic smog onto foreign countries.

Well you know what they say—money talks and bullshit walks. This is America, after all.

War is Over. Well, Pretty Close to Over … Kinda

Everyone relax, the war has been “terminated.” Well Wilson, normally that would mean the war is over. But in Trumpspeak, it could mean something else.

“As far as I’m concerned the war is over,” President Donald Trump said a month ago. But it wasn’t over then and it appears not to be over now.

On Feb. 28, the U.S.—along with Israel—began a coordinated bombing campaign against Iran. According to the 1974 War Powers Act, the administration, after 60 days, must end hostilities or get approval from Congress to continue.

The 60 days may be up, but Trump says that, because there is a “ceasefire” in place, he need not get congressional approval. Call it Trump pretzel speak.

In a congressional hearing last week, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth seemed to concede that the war wasn’t over. He refused to say how much longer it could go on but said it wouldn’t be “for years and decades.”

And “Pistol Pete” Hegseth contended it would end sooner, were it not for Congress. “The biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans,” he said.

By the way, Hegseth said, the Pentagon needs $1.5 trillion next year, so get off your behinds. Just another example of Trump diplomacy.

The Big Beautiful Ballroom Grift

Our president, Donald J. Trump, loves to make money. So much so that since his election in November 2024, he has enriched himself and his family by well over $3 billion, according to Forbes and Bloomberg.

There is the $TRUMP cryptocurrency—valued at $2 billion—through which investors can buy access to the president. There’s the $400 million Boeing 747 gifted from Qatar. He’s suing the Internal Revenue Service for $10 billion; and the list goes on and on.

This is corruption like no other U.S. president. Trump’s latest scam is the proposed White House Ballroom.

There is, of course, controversy surrounding his willynilly destruction of the White House’s East Wing. And his precious ballroom has hit a few snags and is yet to be a done deal.

Nonetheless, Trump insists it’s a good thing for Americans, because it would be built with $300 million in private donations.

Nothing up his sleeve, right? Well, not exactly. The 90,000-square foot structure, at $300 million, pencils out to $2,778 per square foot—at least 10 times more than industry standards for such facilities. Hmmm. Let’s say it’s built for $270 a square foot. What happens to the left-over $275 million in cash?

Lately, the White House said the ballroom may cost as much as $400 million. Another bonanza for Trump. And the band played on.

Postscript—That’ll do it for another historic week here at Smart Bomb, where we keep track of cancel culture so you don’t have to.

You know Wilson, conservatives are always bellyaching about cancel culture. But when best-selling author Sharon McMahon was slated to give the commencement address at Utah Valley University, Republicans came out of the woodwork to make sure she got cancelled, because she had disagreed with Charlie Kirk on a number of things.

Led by Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee and state legislative leaders, UVU’s graduating seniors were cheated out of a speech that was patriotic, non-partisan, straighttalking and uplifting.

McMahon’s address was printed in the May 3 edition of The Salt Lake Tribune. The speech touched on the hardships of the Revolutionary War and that success was anything but inevitable.

“Easy optimism collapses the first time life is unfair,” McMahon’s prepared remarks said. “What you need is something better: durable hope.” She also would have told the UVU grads that, “you do not get to choose the world you inherit, but you do get to choose what the world inherits from you.”

It was a beautiful thing, but shallow and vindictive minds made sure those graduates didn’t experience it. And that’s a shame. CW

Christopher Smart writes the weekly Smart Bomb column, available online at cityweekly.net. Send reader feedback to comments@cityweekly.net.

HITS & MISSES

BY KATHARINE BIELE | @kathybiele BY ANDREA G. HARDEMAN

MISS: It’s Reigning Men

Let’s just say that the Republican Party is taking their war against DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) to its logical conclusion. Women need to butt out, stay at home and bake more bread—and children. When you let women make decisions, there’s simply too much unnecessary collaboration, too much social sensitivity and way too much analytical thinking. So it makes perfect sense that a vacancy on the Utah Supreme Court went to a man, selected from an all-male slate of nominees. And now, as the Legislature intends, two new justices will also be men, again from an all-male slate. The governor is right there with them, telling voters to get rid of two female justices on the high court who stunningly read the constitution, deciding that “all political power is inherent in the people.” Wrong, wrong, wrong. Ignore the people and 86 the two justices.

HIT: Star Light, Star Bright

Cache Valley may join the ranks of dark sky advocates, if an alliance can bring some 19 cities around to the idea. Because of the urban concentration in the state, residents may not realize that Utah has the most dark-sky parks and places in the world. Parks aside, there are towns that have lighting ordinances, like Moab, Springdale, Torrey, Helper and Castle Valley. Salt Lake City tried in 2006 and may be looking at the issue again. But Cache Valley wants to get community buy-in first, and that can be hard with people worried about crime and, of course, with LDS temples shining into the heavens. Dark skies, though, are not just niceties. They help wildlife survive and have a beneficial effect on the human psyche. Just ask Christian Luginbuhl of Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition, where the movement first started in 1958. In a Salt Lake Tribune report, he suggested using amber lighting rather than blue lights, shielding outdoor light so it shines only where intended, and not using more lights than needed.

MISS: Back Pedaling

This week, for what it’s worth, a new Utah law goes into effect around the use of electric bicycles. We say “for what it’s worth” because the law is likely unenforceable. If you’ve seen kids riding these devices on your neighborhood sidewalks, you know why. They’re kids, and parents aren’t out watching their every move. Last month in Southern California, a 14-year-old riding an electric motorcycle ran into an 81-year-old man walking home from work. That man later died from his injuries, and the boy’s mother has been charged. That case involved a motorcycle, and Utah law specifies the difference between e-bikes and e-motos, mostly by how fast they go. People walking are little match for a bike slamming them at 20 miles per hour. Utah legislators want kids to wear helmets, but adults can continue to ride without one. Children 8 to 15

now

Dancing For Me

If you’ve been to a burlesque performance, you may have felt like the dancers were performing for you and for the audience. Burlesque is an art form known for its sensual movements and teasing.

For two local burlesque performers—Dr. Rubi K. Rose and T. Lou Rose—those elements are byproducts of their routines. For them, dancing neo-burlesque is a ritual of self-intimacy and liberation.

Both dancers discussed how powerful it is to have the freedom for their Black bodies to take up space, unapologetically. It’s an energy exchange for them and the audience, and one where things happen on their terms, which isn’t always a given for queer Black bodies.

I saw Dr. Rubi perform years ago at a Pride Kick Off event behind Fice Gallery. The small parking lot was crowded and I remember that it was a cool night for June.

We gathered in a circle, and I was captivated as they danced.

Dr. Rubi was grounded in their power, and I knew they weren’t simply dancing for us. There was something more. Sitting down with them and T. Lou provided the words to capture the experience.

“Every time I perform, I heal,” stated Dr. Rubi.

This is what I witnessed. A Black body like mine owning the stage, moving sensually—not for me or anyone watching, but for them. It was the opposite of what femme bodies are taught to do in our society. The assuredness of their gaze (and that move with the red blow pop) shone a bright light on a part inside of me that longed to heal.

T. Lou described the freedom of being able to play and do anything you want on stage (within Blue Laws) as making her inner child “happy” and “lit up.” It’s validation that she’s “supposed to be here,” performing in this way.

The two are best friends, lovers and creative collaborators. The pair’s duets typically unfold with Dr. Rubi visualizing the big idea for how the dance should look, down to the time stamps. T. Lou maps that to an executable plan.

Their creative partnership works so well that the duo co-founded Noir Rose Productions and launched Black in Bloom, Utah’s first all-Black burlesque show, earlier this year. They brought an elevated standard of care that allowed performers to focus on their craft.

Noir Rose’s next event has yet to be announced; however, readers can keep tabs on them through Instagram (@noir.rose.productions). Dr. Rubi and T. Lou also teach classes and regularly perform—follow them on Instagram at @xoxo_rubik and @t.lou. rose, respectively.

an

And if you feel the call, sign up for one of their classes or private lessons. Heels and lace are optional. CW

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A&E TRUE TV

The Bad, Almost Good, Movies of 1996

The cinema-stacked year of 1996 also had its share of nearly-enjoyable washouts.

BY BILL FROST comments@cityweekly.net

Can you name more than a couple of movies you’re excited to see in 2026? Nope. Now consider the theatrical releases of 1996: Fargo, Sling Blade, Jerry Maguire, Scream, Broken Arrow, Happy Gilmore, Bottle Rocket, The Craft, Mission: Impossible, The Rock, Independence Day, Trainspotting, Tin Cup, Swingers, Space Jam—and that’s only a partial list that doesn’t even include The Cable Guy

You’re probably thinking, “Oh great, another think piece about how great the 90s were.” First, how dare you accuse me of thinking. Second, 1996 wasn’t all blockbusters and cult darlings; some flicks rode the jagged edge of so-bad-they’re-good-for-a-laugh. Here are eight ‘96ers to stream with a sixer of Zima.

Bio-Dome (streaming on Tubi, Pluto TV): Pauly Shore had already starred in major studio hits like Encino Man, Son in Law and Jury Duty, but Bio-Dome was the final farce before the fall of The Wiez. Dim bros Squirrel (Shore) and Stubs (Stephen Baldwin, pre-Jesus) stumble into an experimental sealed bio-dome project, trashing environmental science 30 years ahead of our own government. At the very least, Bio-Dome marked the first screen appearance of Tenacious D (Jack Black and Kyle Gass), so there’s that.

Lawmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace (Tubi, Roku Channel): The Lawnmower Man, the 1992 original, made decent box-office money, but Lawmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace (sub-subtitled Jobe’s War) didn’t arrive until 1996—and they did not spend the extra time retaining the cast, developing CGI effects or scripting a coherent story. LM2 also couldn’t match the pulpy intensity of 1995’s wave of “cyberpunk” movies like Hackers, Johnny Mnemonic or even The Net. But, props to Matt Frewer’s capital-A Acting.

Down Periscope (Prime Video): The plot of military comedy Down Periscope mirrors the film’s production: a ragtag submarine crew deployed on a doomed, impossible mission. With the exception of future Pete Hegseth inspiration Rob Schneider, the cast (including Bruce Dern, William H. Macy, Rip Torn, Toby Huss and film newbie Patton Oswalt) survived this mess just fine, as did Kelsey Grammer’s ego. Somehow, Down Periscope bested Steve Martin’s slightly less terrible Sgt. Bilko, released the same month in 1996.

Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy (Pluto TV): As with Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie, released the same year, Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy couldn’t quite replicate that cult-comedy TV magic on the big screen—but it’s still a funny (and prescient) KITH oddity. Brain Candy refers to Gleemonex, a new antidepressant drug that works so well that it puts users into a coma, hallucinating their happiest memory on a perma-loop. (Sign. Me. Up.) Because they’re smarter than us, Canada reveres Brain Candy. Barb Wire (YouTube): Likely inspired by 1995’s Tank Girl movie, Barb Wire attempted to bring another comic-book character to life—unfortunately, Pamela Anderson was no Lori Petty. Or at least she wasn’t allowed to be: Anderson showed some comic talent in later roles, but her Barb Wire is a dead-serious, dead-eyed battlebot cinched into leather BDSM gear straight out of a Mötley Crüe video. Even dumber, Barb Wire is set during Civil War II of 2017 America, which we all know is a decade-ish too early.

The Phantom (YouTube): The Rocketeer and The Shadow didn’t fare well commercially in the 90s, but that didn’t stop Paramount from launching its own retro, superheroadjacent reboot of 1930s comic strip The Phantom. Like Indiana Jones equipped with an unforgiving purple bodysuit and toothless one-liners, Billy Zane tussles with overacting baddies (including James Remar and Treat Williams) in the jungle over chrome skulls that look like leftover accessories from Barb Wire’s motorcycle. Pure, moldy cheese. Tales From the Crypt Presents: Bordello of Blood (YouTube): Former Saturday Night Live star and current Exhibit A that conservative comedy doesn’t work Dennis Miller stuck a fork (or fang) in his short film career with Bordello of Blood. Miller plays a detective hired by a blonde bombshell (Erika Eleniak) to find her missing brother (Corey Feldman), who we learn is being held captive in a vampire bordello by a redheaded bombshell (Angie Everhart). Blood, boobs and a hair-metal soundtrack ensue—and yet, meh. Kazaam (Disney+): You might remember 1996’s Kazaam, starring Shaquille O’Neal as a genie, as Shazaam, starring Sinbad as a genie. But Shazaam never happened, despite many swearing they remember it as a real 1990s movie and arguing about it on internet message boards for years. Allow me to set the record straight: Shazam!, the perceived 2019 DC superhero movie starring Zachary Levi, was never real, nor was its alleged 2023 sequel, Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Meet me on Reddit to argue further. CW

Pauly Shore (left) and Stephen Baldwin in Bio-Dome

theESSENTIALS

Utah Opera: La Traviata

Among the great parent/offspring artistic creators, you’ve got to include Alexandre Dumas pere and fils. While dad may have The Three Musketeers and The Man in the Iron Mask to his name, this namesake can claim La Dame aux camélias, the 1848 novel and 1852 play that became the source for Giuseppe Verdi’s beloved 1853 opera La Traviata. The story follows a courtesan named Violetta who begins a relationship that threatens her new partner’s social status—and you might also discover that you know music you didn’t think you knew, particularly the first-act aria “Libieto, ne’ lieti calici (Let’s drink with joyous abandon).”

Utah Opera’s production of Verdi’s La Traviata comes to the Capitol Theatre (50 W. 200 South), with performances May 9, 11, 13, 15 & 17. Tickets are $31 - $117; visit utahopera.org for showtimes on specific dates and additional event information. (SR)

Salt Lake City Performance Art Festival

Performance art doesn’t need to be scary, even if it conjures images of avant-garde efforts. Often combining elements of live theater, music, visual art and interactivity, it’s a uniquely vibrant, unscripted and unrehearsed form that can offer a jolt of creative energy. The 2026 installment of the Salt Lake City Performance Art Festival—once again curated by longtime coordinator Kristina Lenzi—presents 15 performances by creators including Sam Forlenza, Erin Esplin, Stephanie Garcia, Eugene Tachinni, Maybelle Tibbs, Jorge Rojas, Lu Wei, Molly Heller, Lisa DeFrance, Steve Creson, Jeff Huckleberry and Sandy Huckleberry. The Salt Lake City Performance Art Festival comes to the Sugar House Monument Plaza (1078 E. 2100 South) on Friday, May 8, 4 p.m. – 9 p.m., and Saturday, May 9, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. All performances are free to the public; visit kristinalenzi.com/slcpaf for schedule. (SR)

Janeane Garofalo

COACH AND

PLACEMENT COORDINATOR (Farmington, Utah) Train high performance jr. tennis players for tournaments on ITF tour; conduct practice sessions; teach matchplay strategy; plan phys condition programs for max. performance; advise jr players for athletic scholarships at universities; Prepare video reels for uni coaches. Min Reqs: HS dipl; RSPA, PTR, iTPA certification; Exp. competing in tennis at NCAA Div. I-III; Knowledge of NCAA Division I-III recruitment rules. Resume Attn: Brady Lee, Ace Athletics Tennis Academy 874 S. Shirley Rae Dr., Farmington, UT 84025.

It can be a double-edged sword when you become an icon for a decade, as actor/ comedian Janeane Garofalo did in the 1990s. Emerging from the Los Angeles altcomedy scene, she became a familiar face from TV’s The Ben Stiller Show and The Larry Sanders Show, movie roles like The Truth About Cats & Dogs and Reality Bites and even a brief stint on Saturday Night Live. Then, in the early 2000s, she became one of the signature voices for the shortlived left-leaning Air America radio network, where she was never shy about airing her own progressive political views. More than 20 years later, Garofalo remains busy in film and TV work, yet she’s also a fixture on the stand-up stages where she got her start. In a recent set, she commented on her preferred method of getting active: “I walk everywhere with great vim, because I don’t want to exercise formally. And I pretend that I’m late for everything. I even will check my watch. I don’t know why I don’t want people to know I’m getting my steps in. And good luck trying to buy a watch, by the way and P.S., just a watch. It’s like trying to buy a map. Good luck, sailor. I got the last one at REI before my points ran out.”

Janeane Garofalo comes to Wiseguys Gateway (194 S. 400 West) Thursday, May 7 @ 7 p.m., Friday, May 8 @ 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, May 9 @ 6:30 p.m. & 9 p.m. Tickets are $40; visit wiseguyscomedy.com for tickets and additional event information. (Scott Renshaw)

COURTESY PHOTO

Choreographic Fest VII: Spotlight Utah

Let’s say, hypothetically speaking, that you’ve never seen one of Utah’s amazing dance companies live and in person. Rather than shame, I’d simply point you to a first-of-its-kind opportunity to rectify that situation: A single production showcasing four of the state’s preeminent creators of movement art. That’s what you get in this year’s installment of Ballet West’s annual Choreographic Fest, which will include new work from Ballet West, Repertory Dance Theatre, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company and SALT Contemporary Dance. According to Ballet West Artistic Director Adam Sklute, “I respect these companies tremendously, and it is such an honor to be able to bring them in and put us all on the stage together, to show our uniqueness, our sameness, and what makes the dance scene so strong and wonderful in Salt Lake City and in Utah.”

Ballet West’s contribution to the program is the world premiere of Processional, by Tony Award-nominated choreographer Donald Byrd, whose résumé includes works created for Dance Theatre of Harlem and the Joffrey Ballet. Also featured is  Time Comprises A Net by SALT Contemporary Dance, choreographed by Noelle Kayser;  The Rate We Change by Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, choreographed by Salt Lake City–based multidisciplinary artist Kellie St. Pierre; and  Scherzo Fantastique by Repertory Dance Theatre, choreographed by Norbert De La Cruz III, created for the company’s 60th Anniversary.

Choreographic Fest VII runs May 13 – 16 at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center (138 W. 300 South), with performances 7:30 p.m. nightly plus 2 p.m. Saturday matinee. Tickets are $50; visit saltlakecountyarts.org for tickets and additional event information. (SR)

The Parents Trapped

Three new features involve the consequences on children of complicated family dynamics.

BY SCOTT RENSHAW scottr@cityweekly.net @scottrenshaw

The Sheep Detectives BBB

This adaptation of Leonie Swann’s 2005 book Three Bags Full from director Kyle Balda (Minions) and writer Craig Mazin (The Last of Us) feels a bit like two movies pasted together, but both of them are entertaining enough that it’s not particularly distracting. It’s set in an English village where sheep farmer George Hardy (Hugh Jackman) lives peacefully with his flock—including his favorite, Lily (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss)—until he’s found dead, and Lily decides to apply the lessons learned from the murder-mysteries George reads to his sheep, and attempt to solve the crime. In many ways, what ensues is itself a conventional mystery, with the hapless local constable (Nicholas Braun) trying to interpret the clues left by Lily and her friends about a handful of suspects: George’s long-lost daughter (Molly Gordon); the local innkeeper (Hong Chau); a visiting journalist (Nicholas Galitzine); a rival farmer (Tosin Cole). It’s well-constructed enough, but it’s not always on the same tonal wavelength as the family-friendly animal shenanigans, and an attempt to squeeze in a message about being exclusionary. All of the humor generally works— including a thoroughly unexpected nod to the Krays in the names of a pair of rambunctious twin rams (Brett Goldstein)—even if it’s a bit odd to roll with a story that’s half Babe, half Baby, It’s Murder Available May 8 in theaters. (PG)

Blue Heron BBB1/2

“It feels natural to you … but it shouldn’t,” young Sasha (Eylul Guven) hears her mother (Iringó Rétí) tell her one day—and in many ways, Sophy Romvari’s semi-autobiographical drama addresses a guilt that a child shouldn’t be responsible for. The story opens with Sasha’s Hungarian immigrant family moving to Vancouver in the late 1990s, where her mother and father (Ádám Tompa) hope

for a new start dealing with the eldest child, troubled teenager Jeremy (Edik Beddoes). Romvari offers up these scenes more as snapshots from an idyllic childhood summer than ominous portents of the chaos that Jeremy’s behavior will bring, as centering Sasha’s perspective suggests things maybe weren’t so bad after all. Then the narrative shifts forward by 20 years, as the adult Sasha (Amy Zimmer), now a professional filmmaker, creates work that reckons with her family history. And there’s a subtle emotional devastation to the way Romvari has Sasha insert herself into her own past, attempting to recognize that there’s nothing she could have done differently herself, even as she tries to warn her parents of what they can expect. The sense of watching an act of artistic therapy might be awkward for some viewers, but as the closing credits roll to a song by Daniel Johnston— an artist with his own history of mental illness— the story conveys how hard it is to piece together your place in a family tragedy you didn’t really understand was happening at the time. Available May 8 at Broadway Centre Cinemas. (NR)

Omaha BB1/2

Well-acted, well-meaning miserabilism is still miserabilism, and director Cole Webley—working from a script by Robert Machoian—can’t find enough notes to play beyond “well, this is all going to end in tears.” It opens with widowed single dad Martin Harper (John Magaro) waking up his two kids—9-year-old Ella (Molly Belle Wright) and 6-year-old Charlie (Wyatt Solis)—and packing them into the car for an impromptu road trip to Nebraska, precipitated by getting evicted from their Nevada home. Most of what follows involves Martin trying to make the trip seem like an adventure when it’s clearly not, and young Wright is particularly impressive as we spot her gradual realization that Dad doesn’t fully have things under control. But once you get past that idea, Omaha starts to feel pretty thin, particularly at allowing us to understand literally anything about who Martin was prior to reaching this crisis point in his life. As a result, he starts to feel more like an Everyman stand-in for people impacted by the 2008 financial crisis (you get a couple of indicators of the time frame before the on-screen coda), with no specific sense for how the family tragedy is connected to his plight. It’s understandable if viewers respond viscerally to certain moments, but a better script would help us feel for the particular struggles of these people, and not merely the idea that people struggle. Available May 8 at Park City Film Series, May 15 at Broadway Centre Cinemas. (PG-13) CW

Blue Heron

TRUE RELIGION

A downtown church built on belonging, acceptance and ethical non-monogamy reveals where Utah spirituality is headed.

BY ZACH ABEND COMMENTS@CITYWEEKLY.NET

For generations, Utah’s religious landscape has been defined by established religions that fit within the Judeo-Christian tradition. But new religious organizations like The Sanctuary SLC offer a radically different model, which may point to what comes next in Utah and the United States.

Describing itself as an “invitation-only spiritual fellowship” for people who seek “the freedom to explore without shame,” The Sanctuary was founded in 2025 by James Swensen and claims thousands of members. Sex-positivity is central to The Sanctuary’s theology. “Poly people feel welcome,” Swensen said. “Swingers feel welcome. We have members who are non-binary.”

Swensen said The Sanctuary doesn’t consider itself a sex club, but when asked whether members can have sex on site, he said that “if consenting adults decide to connect that way, it’s up to them.”

The Sanctuary doesn’t allow sex workers to ply their trade on the premises, nor does it charge extra for single men to join, as many swingers clubs do. Instead, The Sanctuary blends metaphysical spirituality, self-help culture, ethical non-monogamy values and a proclaimed lack of hierarchy to form a distinctly American form of spirituality. As with many new religious movements, the organization’s structure—and whether it legally qualifies as a church— have raised questions among regulators like the IRS and the State of Utah.

Despite having the title of board chairman, Swensen said leadership is “given to the people” and described the board’s role as “facilitators.” In true Protestant tradition, Swensen said The Sanctuary doesn’t broker its members’ relationships with the divine. When asked why he started The Sanctuary, Swensen said he and his wife were exposed to ethical nonmonogamy (ENM) about three years ago and wanted to create a space where Utahns in this lifestyle could be themselves.

“Anyone who diverges from a Judeo-Christian lifestyle is seen as odd,” he asserted. “This is a way of life for us, a way of belief for us.”

Ethical non-monogamy, sometimes referred to as consensual non-monogamy, is an agreement where instead of being romantically involved with only one other person, individuals and partners are involved with multiple people. The “ethical” component stems from everyone involved knowing about, and agreeing to, this arrangement.

On its website, The Sanctuary celebrates “the growth and joy that comes from nurturing multiple, loving relationships.”

In addition to ENM, their core values include facilitating spiritual growth “through deep human connection,” embracing compersion—an ENM term for when someone is happy that their partner is in additional relationships—and mutual respect.

Swensen acknowledges that being a new, nontraditional faith will invite skeptics. People have a hard time because The Sanctuary doesn’t have scriptures written “thousands of years ago,” he said. Despite its newness, it has attracted members who hail from a variety of backgrounds.

“We have people who are also LDS,” Swensen said. “We have Orthodox Jews who visit from New York once a month to participate.”

Divine Communion

Just because some of its members have sex with each other while they are there doesn’t make The Sanctuary a sexually oriented business, according to Swensen. He compared it to a hotel, where even if some patrons do engage in sexual activity on the premises, it doesn’t make the hotel a sex-centered enterprise.

In fact, Swensen said many members do not connect sexually at The Sanctuary at all.

Swensen said The Sanctuary has not experienced any regulatory pushback from local government about members having sex on the grounds.

“We would argue that we bring a lot of sexual safety to it,” he said. “Our obligation is to make sure it’s a safe, clean space.”

Consent between partners is another cornerstone of the faith. Swensen feels so strongly about protecting his members that The Sanctuary will not allow anyone who was convicted of domestic violence or sexual assault to join.

Before potential members can participate, they undergo a background check as part of the vetting and application process.

“A lot of high-demand religions attract predators,” Swensen remarked.

The Sanctuary requires members to believe in the divine, however that manifests for individuals—even if that’s finding the divine in nature.

“Without a divine, none of us have any inherent rights,” Swensen said. “Without that, it’s just a human giving you rights.”

According to Swensen—who, along with his wife, used to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—The Sanctuary’s tiered monthly donation system is similar to how faith-based organizations like the Jewish Community Center grant admission to its facilities. Access increases with monthly contributions. “Just like every church, we need a way to generate income to support the community and church,” he said.

Starting a new religion is not without its hiccups. But after discussions with the IRS—which initially questioned whether The Sanctuary constituted a religion—Swensen said he received a letter granting 501c3 status earlier this year.

A check of the IRS’ database confirmed that The Sanctuary is classified as a public charity.

On the state level, The Sanctuary is the beneficiary of the Utah Religious Freedom Restoration Act, like other new religious movements such as the Singularism Spiritual Center in Provo.

In fact, Swensen said he leveraged federal court decisions involving Singularism after the Utah Bureau of Investigation and DABS contacted him to review a complaint that The Sanctuary may have been serving alcohol in a manner that violated state law.

Swensen clarified that as a private event provider, The Sanctuary allows its members to bring their own alcohol onto the premises, but can’t charge for it or allow walk-ins.

As with many new religions, he said, the default is often skepticism.

The Sanctuary SLC is invite-only and located in the historic Odd Fellows Hall on Market Street.

“The biggest thing people miss when they leave religion is the social aspect.”—USU’s Patrick Mason

“We had one state employee say we aren’t a church,” Swensen said, “which is very insulting.”

Beyond Belief

Despite its divine aspirations, The Sanctuary must still render unto Caesar. While The Sanctuary SLC is not a licensed business with Salt Lake City, a sister organization—Salt Lake Urban Ventures LLC—holds an active business license at the church’s location on Market Street.

However, The Sanctuary could face other regulations, like the requirement for a food handler’s permit if they serve ice, according to Salt Lake County Health Department spokesman Nicholas Rupp, because ice can carry disease. And they need to comply with relevant occupancy requirements laid out by the Salt Lake City Fire Prevention Bureau.

There are no county regulations when it comes to a venue hosting sexual activity on site, according to Rupp. However, he said that it is advisable for individuals who engage in group sex activities to consider routine screening for STIs.

This regulatory ambiguity reflects a larger question about how religions are defined. Under U.S. law, organizations have wide latitude to define themselves as religious entities, according to Shima Baughman, Professor of Law at BYU Law School and Distinguished Fellow at the Wheatley Institute.

“A group doesn’t need a church building, ordained clergy, or an old scripture to qualify,” she said. “What it does need is sincerity.”

However, the growth of religious-liberty protections has been mirrored by the growth in legal incentives—like tax exemptions or the ability to administer psychedelics—for new organizations to claim religious status.

“Courts now have to evaluate sincerity without becoming theological referees, weigh religious-exercise

claims against real third-party harms, and decide how much institutional autonomy to extend to organizations without the historical markers the doctrine once relied on,” said Baughman. “In short—it is a tricky business making these determinations.”

Inner Sanctum

While The Sanctuary might seem to be an unusual addition to downtown Salt Lake City, religious scholars say that it fits within a familiar pattern. Dr. Patrick Mason, Professor of Religious Studies and History at Utah State University, said that alternative faiths often pop up in places that are “drenched” in a particular spiritual tradition.

Utah is no stranger to movements like these, Mason said, as the state is “a rich, well-plowed field for spirituality.”

“Not everyone will mesh with the dominant religion,” he observed.

In the 1870s, William Godbe organized an offshoot of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which emphasized spiritualism. The Godbeites disagreed with Brigham Young and didn’t like polygamy, according to Mason, but they valued the spiritual aspects of mainstream Mormonism.

More recently, the United States has seen the rise of the so-called “nones,” or people not affiliated with any organized faith. But despite a lack of affiliation, Mason said, the nones still report high levels of religious and spiritual belief.

“Most human beings have spiritual longings,” Mason explained.

Dr. Matthew Bowman, Associate Professor of Religion and History at Claremont Graduate University, said that Utah is particularly susceptible to movements like The Sanctuary, because the Latter-day Saint community has a strict hierarchy, which makes it a non-typical Protestant movement.

As a consequence, splinter groups tend to look more traditionally Protestant by emphasizing less control and less hierarchy.

One of the odd things that has happened in the U.S., according to Bowman, is the extent to which American Christianity has become fixated on sex. Whether it’s birth control, feminism or the LGBTQ movement, sex has become a flashpoint.

“There has been a real puritanical movement happening in it,” he said.

For Mason, The Sanctuary is very “on-brand” for how religion is morphing in the 21st Century. While distrust of institutions is growing, people still long for community. And The Sanctuary is trying to address the issues of heavy-handed doctrinal interpretation and sexual repression.

“This newer generation emphasizes authenticity and finding yourself and consent,” he said. “The biggest thing people miss when they leave religions is the social aspect.”

In that vein, The Sanctuary offers weekly events as well as educational workshops that are designed to help members understand shame and guilt culture around non-monogamy.

“We want to help people retake their agency,” Swensen said.

Whether The Sanctuary lasts, only time will tell. According to Mason, most religious start-ups tend to fail, and very few outlive their founders.

But Swensen said he remains optimistic and has been surprised by how much support The Sanctuary has received.

“We have people who want to open up sanctuaries in other parts of the country,” he said. “People are looking for something like this.”

For him, it comes back to the truth that humans are all connected.

“Hopefully, other religions welcome us in on an interfaith basis,” Swensen said. CW

BYU law professor Shima Baughman said it’s a “tricky business” determining what is and isn’t a church.

Claremont’s Matthew Bowman said the LDS church’s strict hierarchy leaves Utah ripe for alternative faiths.

Party At the Puerto

Puerto Vallarta Mexican Grill & Cantina is over the top in all the right ways.

BY ALEX SPRINGER comments@cityweekly.net @captainspringer

Even though our state’s weird-ass weather wrecked the timing of my patio roundup last week, I’m hoping this week’s weather forecast will back me up when I say it’s a good time to start thinking about ceviche. While I don’t typically enjoy entrees that fall into the categories of cold and savory, there are few pleasures in life that compare with eating ceviche in the summer. Despite Utah’s desert climate and distance from the ocean, we’re lucky to have a few good cevicherias in town, and Puerto Vallarta Mexican Grill & Cantina is definitely one of them.

The restaurant opened its first location in West Jordan at the Jordan Landing shopping complex, and since then has recently opened a second location in Midvale near Fort Union. I brought my family along with me to check out the Midvale location, and as soon as I spotted a group dining area called The Rose Room, I knew this place would be relevant to my interests. The Rose Room is a circular alcove furnished with a central round table and the walls feature gilded plaster fists clutching long-stem roses. There’s a kitsch factor at play, to be sure, but I love it when a restaurant invests in experiential stuff like this.

Puerto Vallarta’s menu definitely complements the restaurant’s unapologetic take on its interior design—this is a menu with no shortage of bombast and

spectacle, God bless it. Even while perusing the cocktail menu, there is no shortage of over-the-top micheladas. For example, the rim of the V.I.P. Vallarta ($14) is bedecked with shrimp and cucumber. If tropical cocktails are more your thing, Puerto Vallarta has everything from piña coladas ($12) to palomas ($10), all of them complete with little paper parasols. We happened to visit on a Wednesday which was $5 margarita night, so I had a few delightfully refreshing cucumber margs for good measure.

As the restaurant specializes in seafood, this part of the menu is where diners should spend most of their time. I can vouch for the restaurant’s ceviche game; I ordered the Botana Mixta ($25), which had a ceviche of scallops, octopus and snail tossed with serrano peppers and onion before getting topped with cooked shrimp and avocado. The composition offers exactly what you’d want from a ceviche—each bite is composed of vibrant flavors and silky textures that are contrasted with plenty of spice from the serranos and crunch from the veggies. It’s served with a few crispy corn tortillas and plenty of saltine crackers, which makes this dish work very well as a shareable.

The ceviche menu at Puerto Vallarta plays all the hits, but the restaurant also has a decent selection of grilled seafood. My wife ordered the Camarones Imperiales ($22), which is a plate of baconwrapped shrimp stuffed with cheese. It’s the kind of entree that evokes summer barbecue vibes, but it wasn’t a completely flawless endeavor. The thick-cut bacon was a bit overdone, and its flavor completely overwhelmed the shrimp and cheese. At the end of the day, you can’t really complain about plump shrimp wrapped in bacon, but it was a bit of a smoky salt bomb of a dish.

While I thought both entrees provided portions large enough to share, a place like Puerto Vallarta is happy catering to

those after a bit of spectacle with their meal. If you’re having a special occasion—one that might require the use of the Rose Room, perhaps—you’ll want to order up the Gran Mariscada el Patrón ($250). This maritime platter features a whole steamed lobster, stuffed with crab and cheese, and a whole octopus prepared zarandeado style, referring to a traditional grilling technique where the protein is grilled over hot coals in a fire pit. It’s a crowd-pleaser, to be sure; just make sure you know what you’re getting into before ordering one of these for the table. Those after less surf and more turf will still be able to find something tasty to dig into. Wednesday nights are enchilada nights at the Midvale location, and a cool $10 will get you a beef, chicken or cheese enchilada plus a soft drink—not a bad deal when paired with a $5 margarita. Birria tacos are still having a moment, and the Combo Tacos de Birria ($12) offers more than enough braised beef-and-consomme action. This combo gets you four birria tacos, consomme and some grilled onions and serrano peppers. For two bucks more, you can get your birria tacos con queso for the ultimate in cheesy, slow-cooked beef goodness.

Though the vibes at Puerto Vallarta are similar to other full-service Mexican restaurants around town, the place continues to maintain plenty of its own style. Its enormous portion sizes, specialization in seafood and party-centric cocktails are poised to make this place an ideal summer dining experience. CW

The Botana Mixta at Puerto Vallarta Mexican Grill & Cantina

2 Row Brewing

73 West 7200 South, Midvale 2RowBrewing.com

On Tap: Elder Berry - Fruited Blonde Ale

Avenues Proper 376 8th Ave, SLC avenuesproper.com

On Tap: White Out - White Stout

Bewilder Brewing

445 S. 400 West, SLC BewilderBrewing.com

On Tap: Pink Boots - Pink Pony Pilz

Bohemian Brewery

94 E. Fort Union Blvd, Midvale BohemianBrewery.com

NEW Releases: Kölsch, Dusseldorfer “Alt” Bier

Bonneville Brewery 1641 N. Main, Tooele BonnevilleBrewery.com

On Tap: Peaches and Cream Ale

Chappell Brewing

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

On Tap: Pie Hole - Strawberry Rhubarb Tart Ale

Craft by Proper

1053 E. 2100 So., SLC properbrewingco.com

O n Tap: El Hefe - Hefeweizen

Desert Edge Brewery

273 Trolley Square, SLC DesertEdgeBrewery.com

On Tap: Edge’s Special Bitter ESB

Epic Brewing Co.

825 S. State, SLC EpicBrewing.com

On Tap: A rotation of 8 new draft beers!

Etta Place Cidery

700 W Main St, Torrey EttaPlaceCider.com

On Tap: 435 Hopped Cider, Pineapple-Passion Fruit Session Mead

Fisher Brewing Co.

320 W. 800 South, SLC FisherBeer.com

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

Grid City Beer Works

333 W. 2100 South, SLC GridCityBeerWorks.com

In a Can: Extra Pale Ale

Heber Valley Brewing

501 N. Main Street, Heber City, UT hebervalleybrewing.com

On Tap: Yōtei - Japanese Rice Lager 5% ABV

Helper Beer 159 N Main Street, Helper, UT h elperbeer.com

Hopkins Brewing Co. 1048 E. 2100 South, SLC HopkinsBrewingCompany.com

On Tap: Pico Rico

Kiitos Brewing

608 W. 700 South, SLC KiitosBrewing.com

On Draft: Bliss IPA (Extremely Small Batch)

Kiitos Brewing Sugar House Bar 1533 S. 1100 East, SLC KiitosBrewing.com

On Draft: Bliss IPA (Extremely Small Batch)

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

On Tap: Nitro Sinday Pale Ale

Level Crossing Brewing Co., POST

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

On Tap: Helles Munich Pale Lager

Moab Brewing 686 S. Main, Moab TheMoabBrewery.com

On Tap: “Big Drop” West Coast Pilsner

Mountain West Cider

425 N. 400 West, SLC MountainWestCider.com

On Tap: Hot Girl Summer (Pineapple Ginger Hard Cider)

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

Ogden Beer Company 358 Park Blvd, Ogden OgdenBeerCompany.com

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

Park City Brewing 1764 Uinta Way C1 ParkCityBrewing.com

On Tap: Cold Town - Cold IPA

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

O n Tap: Paradise - Green Tea Rice Lager

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

O n Tap: Paradise - Green Tea Rice Lager

Red Rock Brewing 254 So. 200 West RedRockBrewing.com

On Tap: Gypsy Scratch

Red Rock Fashion Place 6227 So. State Redrockbrewing.com

On Tap: Grand Bavaria

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: Bramble Brown

Roosters Brewing Multiple Locations

RoostersBrewingCo.com

On Tap: Hibiscus Sour

SaltFire Brewing 2199 S. West Temple, South Salt Lake SaltFireBrewing.com On Draft: Terpene Station - IPA with Pineapple Express Terpenes

Salt Flats Brewing 2020 Industrial Circle, SLC SaltFlatsBeer.com

On Tap: OPEN ROAD SERIES #3 - Barrel Aged Grand Cru

Scion Cider Bar 916 Jefferson St W, SLC Scionciderbar.com On Tap: Newtown Pippin | ABV 7.40%

Second Summit Cider 4010 So. Main, Millcreek https://secondsummitcider.com On Tap: Prickly Pear Habanero

Shades Brewing 1388 S. 300 West, Salt Lake City ShadesBrewing.beer New Batch: Raspberry Pistachio Sour Ale

Shades On State

366 S. State Street, Salt Lake City

Shadesonstate.com On Tap: Six Wheat Under Hefeweizen

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

Squatters Brew Pub Sugar House 2110 S. Highland Drive, SLC squatterspubs.com

On Tap: Salt Lake Brewing Co. Big U Pilsner

Squatters Brew Pub West Valley 3555 Constitution Blvd, West Valley City squatterspubs.com

On Tap: Salt Lake Brewing Co. Acapulco Gold Mexican Lager

Squatters Pub Brewery / Salt Lake Brewing Co.

147 W. Broadway, SLC squatterspubs.com On Tap: Salt Lake Brewing Co. Emigration Amber Ale

Squatters Top of Main Brewpub & Brewery

250 Main, Park City, Utah squatterspubs.com

On Tap: Top of Main Utah Beer American Light Lager

Strap Tank Brewery, Lehi

3661 Outlet Pkwy, Lehi, UT StrapTankBrewery.com

On Tap: “Virgil the Guide” (Italian Pilsner); “Smiles und Sunshine” (German Leichtes Weizen)

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

On Tap: “Orange Hopsicle” Hazy Pale; “Trouble”

BEER NERD

Sticky Picks

You’ll think you’re in a Cheech and Chong movie after swigging these IPAs.

BY MIKE RIEDEL comments@cityweekly.net @utahbeer

If you somehow slept through last month’s 4/20 celebration, you’ve been given another chance for some dank and chewy IPAs. Better to get them this week, anyway, now that the terpene craze has died down a bit. If you’re not familiar with terpenes, they’re natural aromatic compounds found in hops, responsible for the diverse fruity, floral, piney and earthy aromas and flavors in beer. Craft brewers use them to enhance aroma, particularly in IPAs through dry hopping, or by using concentrated terpene extracts to create intense, specialized or “dank” flavor profiles.

Saltfire - Terpene Station: Some IPAs flirt with dankness. This one kicks the door off its hinges and hotboxes the room before you even crack the can. From the first pour, you get an aroma so thick and resinous it practically clings to the glass. “Chewy” is an oddly perfect descriptor for the nose; there’s a dense, almost tactile quality to it, like inhaling hop oil straight from the source.

The aroma leans aggressively into cannabis-adjacent territory, delivering waves of sticky pine sap, crushed resin and pungent herbal character. Beneath all that swagger, however, there’s a familiar backbone keeping things grounded. Citra and Mosaic step in with flashes of recognizable modern IPA charm, offering bursts of mango, overripe citrus and a little blueberry sweetness that prevents the beer from becoming a onenote dank bomb.

The first sip confirms what the aroma promised. This thing is unapologetically sticky, saturated and intensely hop-forward. Massive herbal bitterness collides with grapefruit rind, pine needles and a distinct earthy quality that lingers deep into the finish. There’s a soft malt body underneath that gives the beer enough heft to justify that “chewy” reputation without becoming syrupy.

Verdict: What makes this 7.5 percent IPA memorable is its refusal to smooth out its rough edges. It’s raw, weirdly aggressive and entirely committed to being a terp-forward experience. If you like your IPAs polished and restrained, look elsewhere. If you want your beer to smell like a hop farm exploded in your glass, welcome aboard.

Epic - Small Batch (Weir Greatful): Named for the late Grateful Dead founding member Bob Wier, this IPA boasts an aroma that jumps from the glass with

a distinctly dank, “nuggy” character that immediately evokes fresh cannabis flower rather than full-on skunk. It’s herbal, sticky and unmistakably terpdriven, but thankfully avoids veering into harsh or overly funky territory. Instead, there’s a strangely “chewy” quality to the nose—dense and saturated, like the aroma alone has texture.

Once that initial wave of dankness settles in, brighter notes begin to emerge. Big citrus leads the charge with bursts of orange peel, lemon zest and grapefruit oils. There’s a noticeable berry component lurking underneath as well, adding a touch of sweetness that rounds out the sharper citrus edges. Hints of blueberry and mixed berry candy briefly flash before the beer returns to its more resin-heavy identity.

The flavor follows a similar arc. Up front, the citrus character shines brightest with bold lemon and orange notes delivering immediate freshness. It feels vibrant without becoming overly juicy.

Just as the fruit begins to dominate, the terp character rolls in and reminds you what this beer is really about. Herbal bitterness, sticky resin and a subtle earthy quality build toward the finish, giving the beer a distinctly modern dank IPA profile.

Verdict: Despite its bold aromatic presence, this 8.8 percent beer remains surprisingly drinkable. The bitterness stays measured, giving the citrus and berry notes room to breathe while delivering plenty of hop intensity. It’s a wellexecuted balancing act between fruit expression and old-school dankness.

For fans of modern hop experimentation that still embraces classic weedadjacent IPA character, these ales absolutely hit the mark. Look for them at their individual breweries.

As always, cheers! CW

Protect Your Loved Ones

the BACK BURNER

BY ALEX SPRINGER | @captainspringer

Spring Dine About Park City

The Park City Restaurant Association just kicked off its Spring Dine About, which means a lot of your favorite Park City restaurants will be offering unique Dine About menus at economical price points. Participating restaurants will be offering multi-course lunches that range from $15 to $25 per person, and dinners that range from $30 to $65 per person. Some restaurants will also be offering $20 cocktails and small plates. Classic Park City restaurants like Grappa, Hearth and Hill, Handle, Twisted Fern and LOMA, just to name a few, will be participating. The Dine About started on May 1 and runs through May 31.

Fini Pizza Opens

Brooklyn-based pizzeria Fini Pizza (finipizza.com) just opened its first stateside location in Utah City this month. A New York original that blends its affection for traditional NYC and Sicilian pies with a community-based mindset, Fini Pizza is all about strengthening the neighborhoods where it resides. In addition a menu that includes a wide variety of classic New York pizza options— cheese, white pies and pepperoni pies are all part of the menu—Fini Pizza is known for sponsoring youth basketball initiatives and offering 25% discounts to teachers and first responders. The Utah City location is at 875 N. Main Street in Vineyard; check it out if you’re craving some traditional New York pies.

Torani Treat Truck Visits Mountain View Village

It would appear that Utah’s affection for Torani drink syrups got someone’s attention, because the Torani Treat Truck is on its way to Riverton. This mobile beverage pop-up is on a cross-country tour to identify America’s favorite flavor, and attendees will get the chance to cast their vote via an onsite flavor tip line—or you can vote online at torani.com. Visitors will also be able to take an interactive quiz that takes stock of their flavor preferences and turns them into the basis of their very own dirty soda. The Treat Truck will be at Mountain View Village (13303 Teal Ridge Way) on May 8 and May 9 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Quote of the Week: “Six out of the seven days of the week, I’m having at least one 44-ounce soda.” – Layla Taylor

May 2026 Music Mailbag

New

music from Stella Standingbear, Tariq Abou-Bakr, Austin Archer, Graveyard Violet, Advent Horizon.

BY EMILEE ATKINSON eatkinson@cityweekly.net @emileelovesvinyl

As Justin Timberlake once sang, “It’s gonna be May.” Well, actually he was singing “It’s gonna be me,” but it undeniably sounds like “May,” which is where we finally are in 2026. It’s the only time this joke can be used during the year, so it’s worth embracing. (I am not a Timberlake fan and don’t condone or support his mistreatment of women; I’m just here for the meme).

Summertime means bands are getting out to play more shows, and sending out great releases into the world. Here are some new ones to check out if you haven’t heard them.

Stella Standingbear, “Mmhmm” Remix: Currently on her “Off the Rez Tour,” Standingbear is dominating not only the stage, but the charts as well. In November 2025, she released an EP titled RAP STAR, where her track “Mmhmm” makes an appearance. A new iteration of the track featuring rapper Paul Wall was released in February, and is gaining well-deserved attention. While it’s not a completely new track, cracking the top 40 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Hot 100 list the last week in April is new.

“Mmhmm” has a satisfying beat accompanied by Standingbear’s smooth bars,

and will make you want to crank it up on the bass-iest speakers available. Standingbear is a well-known Indigenous artist, but is unsurprisingly gaining a lot of traction with mainstream audiences. If you’re a fan of rap/hip-hop, she’s a must-listen.

Tariq Abou-Bakr, “Backwards”: Political unrest has very, very few positives— incredible songwriting being one of them. Acoustic music in particular sees a lot of music offering words of protest and criticism, due to the storytelling nature of the genre. There’s a reason “This Land is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie is still so well known today. SLC singer/songwriter Tariq Abou-Bakr is a talented acoustic artist who employs beautiful lyrics and a rich voice, making for an unforgettable listening experience. His latest single “Backwards” is, in his words, a protest song in which he doesn’t hold back. “Don’t be afraid of New York or California / Because that’s what Fox News informed ya / What’s so scary about healthcare?” he sings. “Take your red hat off right now / This has gone too far / Come on and join us at some not so scary city bar.” If your protest playlist needs more tracks, this is definitely one to add.

Austin Archer, “AMERICAN DREAM”: Speaking of protest songs, Utah native and TikTok creator Austin Archer knows a thing or two about this type of art. Archer has made his fair share of parody-type songs, but has been releasing more songs of a serious nature in recent months, one of those being “AMERICAN DREAM.” “A haunting ode to the deserted people in America’s deserted towns,” he describes on BandCamp. “Self-described patriots, riddled with generational poverty and addiction, committed to a tradition of prejudice and ignorance, but a mystifyingly proud bunch nonetheless. From the

front porch of their double-wide trailer with a cool Miller Lite in one hand and a spliff in the other, you’ll never be able to convince these folks they aren’t living the dream in the greatest country on Earth.” The song is mellow with hard-hitting lyrics and well-crafted instrumentals. All too relatable, “AMERICAN DREAM” spells out how many in the country currently feel.

Graveyard Violet, Evil Ways: Music tastes grow and change over the years, but typically there are genres that people stick with and find comfort in as they age. Anything goth or goth-adjacent always reels me in; there’s a natural gravitation there that can’t be denied. SLC group Graveyard Violet definitely scratch the goth itch with their indie/goth/alt-rock sound. Their latest EP Evil Ways has an amazing track list, with songs like “One Last Bite” and “Reanimated,” both previously released as singles. The group is inspired by the likes of The Cranberries, Smashing Pumpkins and Blue Öyster Cult, and classic horror movies have also made an impression, which that shines through in their tracks. The zombie vibes on “Reanimated” are immaculate, with lyrics like “Mutilated and decapitated / We always find a way to reanimate it / Again and again and again.”

If you enjoy goth vibes and indie sensibilities, Evil Ways is just for you.

Advent Horizon, “Faith’s Window”: As a precursor to their newest album, Advent Horizon recently shared a single from the upcoming project titled “Faith’s Window.” A progressive rock band from SLC, Advent Horizon brings a steady, melodic sound on this new track. Each musical element stands out distinctly, but it all melds together well, making for an awesome listening experience. Prog rock sometimes catches flak for overly long

tracks, and while “Faith’s Window” is over five minutes, it never outstays its welcome. It’s definitely part of a bigger story, so being able to listen to the album in full will be a treat. “Faith’s Window” is out now and the full album, Falling Together, drops May 15.

“This record is the result of two years of dedication from this band, and from the team of wonderful people surrounding us,” the band notes. “We have poured our hearts and souls into both the music and the lyrics, and we very much hope that the love and passion that went into it can be heard upon first listen.” Mark your calendars for the full release, and catch them on Friday, May 22 for an album release show at Pearl on Main in Midvale. CW

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GREAT FOOD

MUSIC PICK S

Hairitage @ VIP Event Center 5/9 VS VBOVE SO BELOW is a newer dance music promotion company in Salt Lake City and has been gaining steady momentum. Their shows at the VIP Event Center (1845 S. 300 West) have been full of bass-heavy nights that bring some of the up-and-coming talent in the industry, as well as a space for local artists to showcase their music. This weekend, their event, dubbed The Nest, will feature headliner Hairitage (Aaron LeClair). You may have heard of the Texan dubstep artist for his breakout single “The Movement,” which has led him to huge labels, including Monstercat with his remix of the song “Waiting for Love” by melodic dubstep duo ARMNHMR. LeClair got his start in music with his family band in high school and became passionate about music production ever since. His big hair and even bigger beard match the big energy of his sets. He’s a pro at mixing dirty south hiphop with the wubby-bass that’s impossible not to dance to, so expect all the peace, love and wubz. Don’t sleep on the other artists: G-REX who has been part of Liquid Stranger’s past tours; Medicine Place who has been huge in the underground bass scene; Shmani and her dark vocals on top of free-form bass; as well as our local artists Pataya (Nic Tobchan) and Obsydian (Ian Heaton). Come check out all the hype on Saturday, May 9. Doors open at 8 p.m. General admission for this 18+ event costs $30. Grab your tickets at eventliveus.com. (Arica Roberts)

Benefit Show

Party Pre Party w/ Jewel House

MUSIC PICK S

The Boulet Brothers @ Metro Music Hall 5/9

I feel like music by drag artists is its own genre. Scratch that: Popular music has long traded on gender-bending performers, and if it’s about entertainment, then The Boulet Brothers are second to none. Swanthula and Dracmorda have really carved out their own niche. Known for co-producing and co-hosting the horror-themed reality show Dragula, The Boulet Brothers have also released two EPs of original songs: 2021’s Time to Die, and Halloween House Party back in 2024. They really lean into the surf-rock death aesthetic. In my opinion, the best way to play these records is to invite some friends around, sit them in a dark room and play at a decent volume—then spin the turntable backwards to hear some Kurt Cobain. “I remember Nirvana and the grunge explosion happening, and how that introduced a subculture that I held close to my heart to the mainstream,” Drac told Alt Press. “Because of that movement, there was a massive influx of amazing music, fashion and film that came out of that period.” I’ve a soft spot for any form of counterculture. There is so much hard work put into drag and the performances and we should listen when people find language that validates their experiences and identities. There is power in this expression. Catch these artists on the Dragula: Titans 2 Tour at Metro Music Hall on Saturday, May 9. Doors at 7 p.m.; show at 8 p.m. Tickets for the 21+ show are $45.83 and can be found at 24tix.com. (Mark Dago)

MUSIC PICK S

Mutilated Perception, Ganymede, The Saltones, Braille @ Kilby Court 5/11

Punks are some of the coolest, nicest people you’ll encounter. Sometimes they may look a little scary with their studs, spikes and piercings, but generally they’re safe and fun folk. SLC group Mutilated Perception is a post-hardcore punk group (sans studs, spikes and piercings) who hit the scene in 2025, have been growing their fan base and trying to do some good along the way. Their debut EP Right Thumb’s Requiem released in January, leaving a lasting impression. It’s a heavy, thrashing romp that will fulfill all one’s punk needs. Amid their punk rocking Mutilated Perception plays benefit shows with food drives, shows that raise funds for friends whose families have been wrongfully detained by ICE as well as for vet bills. Also joining the fun is fuzz rock group The Saltones, whose only single out at the moment, “Moon Trip,” is the perfect track with which to blow your speakers out. Emo band Braille and post/alt/math rockers Ganymede will also be bringing their immaculate energies to create an amazing evening of music. Catch this lineup on Monday, May 11 at 7 p.m. Tickets for the all-ages show are $13 in advance and $15 at the door. Go to 24tix.com. (Emilee Atkinson)

Chet Faker @ Metro Music Hall 5/11

Not all music needs to be boundary smashing, musically experimental, sonically adventurous or lyrically zeitgeisty. The latest LP from Nick Murphy (a.k.a. Chet Faker) that was released earlier this year, A Love for Strangers , sure does scream “intimate” at the top of its voice. It’s always a pleasure with any of his albums to just let the brain peel back the layers that he so intricately has lain one on top of another. Chet Faker has even added a few more strings to his bow. “I’ve finally sort of done this full lap … coming back to what I originally started making music for—but with all the added growth, lessons and inspiration along the way,” Murphy told Atwood Magazine. “I feel like the last 15 years has been one

big circle.” The whole record is a listening experience. And as with pretty much all music, you must be in the mood for this kind of thing. At times, I do find myself yearning for a touch of some of his earlier influences. Still, his regularly catchy yet subtle verses have been stuck in my head since they dropped. A Love for Strangers is perfect for a certain frame of mind, and no one is better than Chet Faker at providing its soundtrack. Ideas By Ab opens. Catch these musicians on the A Love For Strangers world tour at Metro Music Hall on Monday, May 11. Doors at 7 p.m. Tickets for the 21+ show are $49.17 and can be found at 24tix.com. (Mark Dago)

Ben Folds @ Abravanel Hall 5/12

Combining musical virtuosity with a punk sensibility, Ben Folds emerged on the scene during the 1990s alternative-rock era. Notably lacking a guitarist, Ben Folds Five crafted a “punk rock for sissies” sound that nonetheless had all the energy of guitar rock, with intelligent (and often sardonic) lyrics to match. “Brick” was a deeply emotional ballad about a couple dealing with an unplanned pregnancy, while “Battle of Who Could Care Less” and “Kate” (all from 1997) were rousing singalong tunes with a strong pop foundation. The trio went inactive (with occasional reunions), paving the way for Folds’ solo career. His solo debut, Rockin’ the Suburbs, had the misfortune of being released on Sept. 11, 2001; it contained the sharply humorous title track, and an inspired music video was also released. Folds’ brand of intelligent rock with bratty undertones has won him critical acclaim and an ardent following. His acclaimed 2025 release Live with the National Symphony Orchestra was released shortly after his resignation in protest from his position as the artistic advisor to the Kennedy Center’s NSO. Folds performs with the Utah Symphony, Chad Goodman conducting, at Abravanel Hall on Tuesday, May 12 at 7 p.m.; tickets are $55 and up at myusuo.org. (Bill Kopp)

Ben Folds

free will ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

Astronomers depend on instruments to collect the observations that fuel their work, but they don’t spend every night glued to the stars. On overcast nights, they turn to what they have already gathered, digging into past measurements and reworking the data. You’re in a comparable phase, Aries. For now, looking farther out into the glittering world won’t give you anything essential. The guidance you need is folded into what you’ve previously seen, felt and taken in. It’s waiting for you to sort through and understand it on a deeper level.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

When lightning from a cloud hits sand or soil, the current travels down into the ground. It melts material along its path and forms tubular, branching glass structures that can penetrate deep below the surface. I believe that metaphorically similar phenomena will soon happen in your life, Taurus. Sudden insights or electrifying feelings will leave permanent traces in your psyche, creating new pathways for energy and information to flow. These disruptive inspirations and inspiring disruptions will rewire your internal circuitry, creating channels that will enhance your receptivity to future revelations. You’ll be able to absorb clues and hints from life that you weren’t tuned into before.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

I invite you to ruminate on death not as the conclusion of physical life, but as a metaphor for discarding what’s stale and outmoded. In that light, what would be the best deaths you could generate during the coming weeks? Use your imagination with verve and vigor as you dream up scenarios in which you purge parts of your life that are not serving your strongest, most vital yearnings. Visualize how much fresh potency that will liberate. (PS: To reiterate: You are NOT in physical danger.)

CANCER (June 21-July 22)

What part of you is too tame? Maybe your imagination is politely well-behaved, or maybe your voice edits itself before it dares to say what it really thinks. Can you inspire it to be wilder and freer? Not reckless or destructive, but more honest and experimental? Here’s a suggestion: Go on regular excursions with your wild side, maybe once every two weeks. Follow it as it chooses what to explore and create. This might ultimately teach your tamed self that it’s safe to let primal wisdom help steer you.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

According to quantum physics, particles can become “entangled,” which means they share a single connected quantum state. Observing and measuring one particle reveals information about the other, even if they’re not in close proximity. Einstein called this “spooky action at a distance.” I predict that different parts of your life will also interweave in unlikely ways during the coming weeks, Leo. Moves you make in one area will seem to produce mysterious effects in other domains. For example, adjusting your morning routine may boost your creative output. Healing an old alliance could unlock a professional opportunity. Everything will be more intermingled than the visible evidence suggests.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Your key power word for now is stretch. Speak it aloud multiple times every day, and write it on a card that you put in a place where you will keep seeing it. Also, make a point of physically and spiritually living out these three senses of stretch: 1. to lengthen, widen, or expand without snapping or tearing; 2. to unfurl your body to its full reach, boosting circulation and warding off stiffness or cramps; 3. to take on challenging tasks that push you to amplify your abilities and move beyond what you previously believed you could do.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Four oracles for you, Libra: 1. You’re in possession of keys to doors that haven’t been built yet. Tuck those keys away

somewhere safe; 2. You’re ready to dream up titles for stories your life hasn’t lived through yet. Write those titles down; 3. You are being granted sneak previews of your future, even though you can’t yet see the bridge that will carry you there. Imprint these glimpses on your memory; 4. You have everything required to grow a more muscular faith that’s grounded in real evidence, not in vague hopes and wishful thinking. Take advantage.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

At the ancient Library of Alexandria, editors did far more than copy manuscripts. They compared multiple versions of important works and produced editions that aimed at definitively reliable texts. Their efforts at preservation required active intervention rather than mere reproduction. In the coming weeks, Scorpio, I think it will be fun and transformative for you to make similar adjustments to your own life story. How might your memories of the past need to be corrected and refined? How could you make your personal mythology more accurate and liberating? I invite you to revise and revivify the tales you tell yourself about your magnificent journey from the moment you were born until now.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

The speed of light is how fast it travels through a vacuum. When moving through water and other media, though, light’s swiftness decreases. The fastest possible speed in the universe only applies in emptiness. If you put anything in light’s way, it slows down. Let’s use this as a metaphor for your life. I suspect you may be frustrated by how incrementally things are moving. But you’re not in a vacuum. Your bright intelligence is traveling through the complex situations that life has brought you. So of course you’re not zipping along with maximum haste. My advice: Be grateful for the slowdowns. Learn all you can about how they are educating and transforming your brilliance.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

Cryptographer Claude Shannon (1916–2001) was the father of information theory. His achievements were comparable to those of Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. Here’s one of his secrets: He kept his office filled with juggling equipment, unicycles and mechanical toys, which inspired him to solve abstract problems. His playful tinkering helped inspire breakthroughs that ultimately created the digital age. For him, recreation and innovation happened at the same time. I invite you to try a similar approach in the coming weeks, Capricorn. Blend “serious work” with “just messing around.” Be alert for key insights that emerge from improvisation and experimentation. Your diversions won’t be distractions from your purpose but rather pathways toward it.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

Master calligrapher Yukimi Annand is an Aquarius. She teaches that beautiful letters emerge not just from the hand that holds the brush, but from the entire body and relaxed awareness. Breath, posture, centered weight and quiet mind flow through the arm to create each stroke. Trying to control the outcome with arduous effort produces rigid, lifeless art. This is an excellent teaching for you right now. Whatever you’re striving to accomplish, I beg you to refrain from forcing results through grueling, overly laborious exertion. Instead, align your whole being so that graceful outcomes flow naturally from your soulful coherence.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

The placebo effect is getting stronger over time. Placebos in drug trials are becoming increasingly effective, to the point where it’s sometimes becoming harder to prove that actual drugs work better than sugar pills. Are we getting better at healing ourselves through belief? That would be a problem for pharmaceutical companies but interesting for the rest of us. Dear Pisces, I believe your placebo response is exceptionally strong right now. In the coming weeks, use it deliberately. Be daring and exuberant in your efforts to heal yourself.

urban LIVING

WITH BABS DELAY

Broker, Urban Utah Homes & Estates, urbanutah.com

Home Improvement

Astudy done at the end of 2025 by MarketScreener.com found that 43% of U.S. homeowners renovated their home last year, and an additional 33% plan to renovate this year. This means roughly two in five Americans are either currently remodeling or planning to do so!

The survey showed that for those who recently renovated, 65% chose to upgrade their current home and 71% said they are choosing to remodel rather than buy a new home. Also, it found that Gen Z and Millennials are especially likely to remodel instead of moving and homeowners with children living at home were found to choose renovations to stay in the same school district and community.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

ACROSS

1. “The ___” (2016 Spielberg adaptation of a Roald Dahl book)

4. Miserable soul

10. ___ En-lai (Chinese premier)

14. ___ Speedwagon

15. Tony-winning Cole Escola play about Abe Lincoln’s wife

16. “King of the Hill” dad

17. Fossil resin that encourages economic activity?

20. Elementary particle

21. Coffee grown on Mauna Loa

22. ___ Plaines, Ill.

23. Natural feeling

24. Enter

26. Word before table or zone

28. Music center?

29. Leo, for one

30. “Tombstone” lawman Wyatt

33. Wildcat that gives off fragrant compounds?

37. “Stop messing with me!”

I would generally agree with these stats. But oddly enough, I often find that people who renovate often do sell their home within a year for a variety of reasons—the constant workers coming in and out makes them question why they decided to renovate in the first place, they didn’t like the finished work when all they wanted was to move to a larger/smaller home, etc.

Many homeowners said they wanted to stay put and improve their existing homes due to high moving costs, elevated mortgage rates and limited options in the market. It makes no sense these days to buy at a 6% or higher mortgage rate, particularly if you bought during the COVID years with 3% interest. And despite the U.S. being set to get a new head of the Federal Reserve, I don’t see interest rates dropping back to 3% for a long, long time— if ever. There’s too much going on with the world economy and inflation to see such low rates again.

Remember, those low rates were a response to the economic problems caused by the international pandemic. The Fed cut rates to almost zero to help boost the U.S. economy and industries like mortgage lending, insurance sales, construction and supply chains. Basically, we were in a short recession. And the Fed’s website, FederalReserve.gov, has a great explanation as to what was going on back then and the response taken by our government.

The MarketScreener survey found that the average renovation people were doing was under $20,000. Want to get a guesstimate on renovations for your home? There are millions of sites, but I like HomeAdvisor.com for reasonable remodeling quotes, including: bathrooms ($6,640 to $17,624); kitchens ($14,587 to $41,540); basements ($12,021 to $34,635); central air units ($3,912 to $8,072); small building additions ($21,904 to $83,368).

I’ve also heard locally that to build a detached accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, can cost between $50,000 and $400,000, depending on the type that you build. A garage conversion into an ADU can cost between $50,000 and $150,000, according to UtahHomeBuilders.com.

Washington County is famous for ADUs, called “casitas,” as many seniors desire a separate space for visiting family or caregivers. n

40. City near San Francisco

41. NFL star Saquon in a Provencal city where Van Gogh painted?

43. Univ. military program

44. Slippery creatures

45. Jamie ___ Curtis

48. Airport abbr.

50. Widespread

51. “___ Daniel” (2016 viral video)

52. Canadian MLB team, on scoreboards

54. Pre-owned

56. Actress Rosie of “Do the Right Thing”

57. Set design around a “Dallas” family?

61. Grande and de la Plata

62. New York City’s longest subway line

63. Barely lit

64. Squishy brand

65. Accessory not needed with electric lawnmowers

66. Part of a World Cup chant

DOWN

1. Cubism pioneer Georges

2. Long bones

3. They’re grabbed in an emergency

4. Nine-to-five routine

5. 17th Greek letter

6. “Schubert Dip” band of 1991

7. Less tasteful

8. Sing like Perry Como

9. Song from the pews

10. Weekend Update co-anchor Michael

11. Quantifiable and reliable information

12. This is often enough

13. Island strings

18. “Able was I ___ I saw Elba”

19. Actress Whitman

24. Scored 86%, perhaps

25. “Nixon in China,” for one

27. Hockey legend Cam

29. Tire measurements

31. Published

32. Doctoral deg.

33. Vote in

34. Some soft drinks

35. School corridors

36. ___ out a living (gets by)

37. Pirate’s exclamation

38. Gold, in Milan

39. Like some motives

42. Drugstore glasses, casually

45. Texas border town

46. Frequent “Top Chef” guest judge Lagasse

47. Chemical change catalyst

49. Made a hole

55. Antlered grazer

56. Talkative half of a magic duo 58. Abbr. on a bounced check 59. Anatomical pouch

60. Org. for spies (or chefs)

Last week’s answers

Complete the grid so that each row, column, diagonal and 3x3 square contain all of the numbers 1 to 9. No math is involved. The grid has numbers, but nothing has to add up to anything else. Solve the puzzle with reasoning and logic. Solving time is typically 10 to 30 minutes, depending on your

50. Conductor Zubin

51. Relaxing room

52. Sea bird

53. Boo-boo

NEWS of the WEIRD

Special Delivery

When Ashley Blair boarded her flight to Portland, Oregon, she was about 38 weeks pregnant. By the time the plane landed, she was a new mom. Brielle Renee Blair was born on April 24 on a Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to Portland, the Associated Press reported. Two passengers, paramedics Tina Fritz and Kaarin Powell, helped deliver the baby. With limited supplies available on board, Fritz and Powell had to improvise. They gathered blankets from other passengers and even shoelaces, to tie off the umbilical cord. Blair gave three “super, really good pushes, and the baby came out really quickly,” Fritz said. “It was nice. ... Baby pinked up right away. She was gorgeous. Mom was a rock star.” Personnel from Portland Airport Fire & Rescue “found the mother and baby healthy, and the new family was transported to a local hospital for observation,” Port of Portland spokesperson Molly Prescott said.

Unleash the Bees

■ Rebecca Woods, 59, of Massachusetts, was found guilty of assault and battery after unleashing hives of bees on officers who were in the process of evicting a friend of hers, The Guardian reported on April 28. One officer had to be hospitalized and others were stung repeatedly. In addition, Woods lost about a thousand bees in the kerfuffle. Some were crushed by the hives as she tried to move them, and some were female honeybees that perished after employing their stingers. Woods’ lawyer, Mary Saldarelli, said that Woods’ own experiences with being evicted compelled her to intervene on her friend’s behalf, a cancer patient in his 80s. The man was not at home when Woods unleashed her bees, having gone to the library to try to find information about halting the eviction. Woods was sentenced to six months in jail.

■ Meanwhile, in Arizona, two men were attacked by what sheriff’s deputies called a “moving black cloud of hundreds of thousands of angry bees,” People Magazine reported on April 29. The Greenlee County Sheriff’s Office described the men as “completely covered head to toe in bees.” Firefighters donned protective gear, but the bees still managed to sting several on their heads. No ambulances were available, so the men got a ride to the hospital in the fire truck while firefighters picked the bees off them. Officials were unable to locate a hive, and suspect the bees were part of a migrating swarm. Both men have been released from the hospital.

Oddly Specific

A speed limit sign in Appleton, Wisconsin, is giving motorists pause. UPI reported on April 29 that the Outagamie County Recycling and Solid Waste announced their new speed limit: 17.3 miles per hour. Program Coordinator Jordan Hiller hopes the sign is just disruptive enough to make drivers slow down and be more aware of their surroundings. “Why 17.3? Because it makes you pause. It makes you look twice. And most importantly, it breaks that ‘autopilot’ feeling we can all fall into when driving familiar routes,” the recycling center said in a social media post.

Crying Wolf

A 40-year-old South Korean man could spend five years in prison and pay a fine of $6,700 for using AI to create an image of a wolf roaming the streets of Daejeon. A wolf named Neukgu escaped from the Daejeon Zoo in South Korea, Oddity Central reported on April 30. A South Korean man heard the news and used a prompt to create an AI-generated image of Neukgu. The fabricated image spread rapidly, and authorities closed schools and sent emergency teams to the area. Neukgu was eventually found just outside of Daejeon, but authorities believe it could have been captured much earlier had it not been for the AI shenanigans. “A single AI-manipulated image delayed the wolf’s capture by up to nine days,” they said. “The prolonged deployment of police and firefighters caused significant disruptions to their primary duty of protecting the public.”

Shell Game

A 19-year-old Taiwanese woman recently attempted to board her plane in Bangkok with an unusual carry-on item: 30 Indian star tortoises, worth $9,000, strapped underneath her clothing. Yahoo News reported that Thai authorities grew suspicious of the woman’s movements, and a search uncovered the protected species.

“The suspect had used adhesive tape to immobilize the animals, packed them into cloth bags and attached them to her body to evade detection,” Thailand’s wildlife conservation department said. The passenger was later charged with illegally transporting animals and evading customs controls. And given the preponderance of wildlife smugglers who use Thailand as a transportation hub to sell endangered animals on the black market, authorities say they are investigating whether the woman could be linked to a larger smuggling ring. The recovered tortoises are under the care of wildlife conservation officials.

Hole-y Ground

Christine Keilback, 58, of Manitoba, found herself in a hole, UPI reported on April 28. No, really—an actual hole. Keilback had just stepped out of her friends’ car when she quickly fell feet first into a hole in the ground. Buried up to her armpits, Keilback waved at passersby and had her friends snap photos while they waited for Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service to rescue her. “When they came around, it was quite surprising to find my head and shoulders just above the ground. The ground had just given away very fast. I have no recollection of the fall. It just happened very quickly,” Keilback said. Paramedics used a harness to safely pull Keilback out of the hole, and she made it out unharmed. City officials who surveyed the situation determined that the hole was not a sinkhole as suspected, but a catch basin with a missing cover. They found another coverless basin nearby as well. “I mow the lawn there,” she said of the second hole. “I mean, it could have happened [again]. Wouldn’t that have been something?” Both holes have since been covered.

Bringing the Artificial to the Intelligence It started as an experiment. Almira Osmanovic Thunstrom, a medical researcher at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, wanted to see what language learning models would do with obvious medical misinformation, Oddity Central reported on April 29. So Osmanovic and their team made up an eye condition— bixonimania—and uploaded a couple of fake studies to a preprint server. The studies contained language that would make it obvious to human readers that the content wasn’t real. “I wanted to be really clear to any physician or any medical staff that this is a made-up condition, because no eye condition would be called mania—that’s a psychiatric term,” Osmanovic Thunstrom said. One paper acknowledges “Professor Maria Bohm at The Starfleet Academy for her kindness and generosity in contributing with her knowledge and her lab onboard the USS Enterprise,” and both studies say they are funded by the “Professor Sideshow Bob Foundation” and a “larger funding initiative from the University of Fellowship of the Ring and the Galactic Triad.” But within weeks, LLMs like Gemini and ChatGPT were referencing the imaginary ailment as if it were real. “Bixonimania is indeed an intriguing and relatively rare condition,” Microsoft’s Copilot reported, and according to Google’s Gemini, “Bixonimania is a condition caused by excessive exposure to blue light.” The team’s experiment points to the risk of depending on LLMs. “It looks funny, but hold on, we have a problem here,” Alex Ruani, a doctoral researcher in health misinformation at University College London, said. “This is a masterclass on how mis- and disinformation operates. If the scientific process itself and the systems that support that process are skilled, and they aren’t capturing and filtering out chunks like these, we’re doomed.”

Systems Engineer IV (SEIV-RKM) in Midvale, UT. Telecommute permitted within the area of intended employment. Troubleshoot & test to ID possible cause of incidents. Determine appropriate course of action to resolve issues. BS followed by 5yrs prog rltd exp. Send resumes to Zions Bancorporation at ZionsCareers@ zionsbancorp.com. Must reference job title & code in subject line.

Software Engineer V (SEV-LMM) in Midvale, UT. Telecommute permitted within the area of intended employment 2 days a week. Dvlp APIs to meet the organization’s needs for customer data. Work on cross-functional agile team to deliver cust master data mgmt capabilities. BS followed by 5yrs prog rltd exp. Send resumes to Zions Bancorporation at ZionsCareers@ zionsbancorp.com. Must reference job title & code in subject line.

Systems Engineer (SE-BA) in Midvale, UT. Telecommute permitted from anywhere in the U.S. Resp for business & tech analysis of division needs, mapping those needs to engg & dvlpmt efforts. MS+3yrs exp or BS followed by 5yrs prog rltd exp. Send resumes to Zions Bancorporation at ZionsCareers@ zionsbancorp.com. Must reference job title & code in subject line.

Financial Analyst III (FA3-TA) in Salt Lake City, UT. Resp for producing interest rate risk reporting for the Bank’s Asset & Liability Committee (ALCO) using Empyrean’s ALM sfwr. Must report to office 5 days/week but can work anywhere in US occasionally with approval. BS+4yrs exp or MS. Send resumes to Zions Bancorporation at ZionsCareers@zionsbancorp.com. Must reference job title & code in subject line.