Utah news

• Firefighters brush up on water rescue techniques

  12-08-2017 23:06
  SALT LAKE CITY — Firefighters straddled the Jordan River with a set of ropes secured on each shore Saturday as they trained for swift water rescue operations."Thankfully, it doesn't happen often in real life, but we always want to be prepared for whatever happens," said Gianni Valente, lead instructor and a firefighter/paramedic with the Salt Lake Fire Department. He said firefighters are often called to assist with various vehicles in the water, typically abandoned there or driven in acci
  
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• CEO of global refugee aid organization meets with LDS Church officials, local staff

  12-08-2017 22:32
  SALT LAKE CITY — David Miliband admits refugee numbers can be daunting — 25 million refugees worldwide and another 40 million internally displaced. But the International Rescue Committee president and CEO breaks them down to what he calls “the human scale” — numbers Utahns can better understand and relate to.Like 470.“In Salt Lake City this year, the IRC will resettle about 470 people — not 470 heads of households, but 470 people — and a good half
  
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• Rosie Rivera becomes 1st woman elected as Salt Lake County sheriff

  12-08-2017 22:31
  
  For the first time, a woman has been elected as the sheriff of Salt Lake County. Unified Police Chief Rosie Rivera was chosen Saturday to fill Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder’s remaining 16 months in office.
  
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• Urgent flash flood warning hits southern Utah after wildfire

  12-08-2017 22:23
  
  There's an urgent warning for the flash floods expected in southern Utah, where a major wildfire has left a "burn scar" that could make conditions even more dangerous.
  
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• Chaffetz named 2017 fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics

  12-08-2017 21:21
  
  Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, will be a 2017 fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  
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• Voting underway in race for new Salt Lake County sheriff

  12-08-2017 20:03
  
  Voting is underway to pick a nominee to fill Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder’s remaining 16 months in office.
  
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• Rosie Rivera becomes first woman elected as Salt Lake County sheriff

  12-08-2017 20:00
  SANDY — For the first time, a woman has been elected as the sheriff of Salt Lake County.Unified Police Chief Rosie Rivera was chosen Saturday to fill Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder’s remaining 16 months in office. She received the most votes from Salt Lake County Democrats during a special meeting at the Miller Campus at Salt Lake Community College.Her name will now be presented to the Salt Lake County Council. If confirmed by the council, Rivera will not only be the county's fi
  
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• 10-year-old hit by truck in Bluffdale parade

  12-08-2017 19:06
  BLUFFDALE — A 10-year-old girl was hospitalized Saturday after she was hit by a truck during the Old West Days Parade in Bluffdale.The girl was walking "in the parade route" when she was hit, said Saratoga Springs Police Sgt. Jeremy Wright. He did not know the circumstances of the accident nor did he specify if she was part of the parade or was a spectator.A medical helicopter was originally requested to the scene, but it was canceled and the girl was transported to a hospital by ambulance
  
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• Girl, 12, hit and injured in Bluffdale parade

  12-08-2017 19:05
  BLUFFDALE — A 12-year-old girl was hospitalized Saturday after a trailer ran over her during the Old West Days Parade in Bluffdale, police say.The girl was dancing with a group accompanied by a truck and a trailer in the parade, said Saratoga Springs Police Cpl. Jason Ruch. She tried to jump over the hitch of the truck to get to the other side, but tripped, fell to the ground and was ran over by the trailer.The girl suffered a broken bone in her hand and road rash. She was transported to t
  
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• Richard Davis: Utah needs an independent election commission

  12-08-2017 16:30
  One of the most fundamental traits of a representative democracy is a process of free and fair elections that offers a level playing field for all candidates and parties. Americans continually see examples in other nations of rigged elections, manipulation of election data or the imposition of high barriers for opposition parties and candidates. In the United States, our political philosophy of fairness rejects tactics. But we need to do more to maintain a free and fair electoral process, partic
  
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• In our opinion: Quality of Utah hospitals is high, but the state may need more health care services

  12-08-2017 14:05
  With health care funding a primary topic of recent political debates, Utah can take some satisfaction in the quality of its hospitals, but policymakers must be clearheaded in deciding the quantity of health care services needed going forward.The recent U.S. News and World Report ranking of hospitals across the country looked at “nearly 5,000 hospitals in 16 adult specialties, 9 adult procedures and conditions and 10 pediatric specialties.” It represents one of the more comprehensive
  
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• Riverton family searches for hope halfway around the world to treat daughter's tumor

  12-08-2017 07:04
  
  A Riverton family is refusing to give up after learning their 7-year-old daughter has what doctors call an incurable disease.
  
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• 2 injured when plane's engine fails over West Jordan

  12-08-2017 05:01
  WEST JORDAN — A pilot and passenger were taken to a hospital in serious condition Friday evening after a plane's engine failed, forcing it to fly through power lines and crash-land at South Valley Regional Airport.Two other passengers, ages 38 and 50, did not have serious injuries and walked away from the crash, authorities said. The pilot, 38, and another person in the plane, 28, were transported to Intermountain Medical Center in serious but stable condition.Their names have not been rel
  
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• Park City superintendent unwittingly becomes 'public voice' of opioid crisis

  12-08-2017 04:20
  PARK CITY — After two 13-year-old Treasure Mountain Junior High students died last fall after overdosing on a synthetic opioid known as pink, Park City School District Superintendent Ember Conley has become "a public voice on an issue I never wanted to address."Conley wrote those words in the August cover story of School Administrator, a monthly magazine delivered to public school superintendents nationwide.The article largely describes the school district’s response to the tragedy,
  
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• Utah AirMed joins eclipse medical effort

  12-08-2017 03:31
  
  For the first time ever, the University of Utah plans to activate an extra medical helicopter and preposition it in Wyoming for the Great American Eclipse on Aug. 21, part of a major medical preparedness effort.
  
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• Wasatch Front home prices higher than ever before

  12-08-2017 02:40
  SANDY — The local housing market has hit an historic high.Wasatch Front existing home prices reached their highest point ever during the second quarter of this year, with the median single-family home price climbing to $300,000 — up from $275,000 the same time last year, the Salt Lake Board of Realtors reported.The median home price in Salt Lake County rose 10 percent year-over-year to $327,000, according to data compiled by the organization.The rising prices are attributed primarily
  
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• ARUP Laboratories announces new CEO, president

  12-08-2017 02:31
  SALT LAKE CITY — Two longtime ARUP Laboratories officials began new responsibilities Friday as president and CEO of the organization.Dr. Sherrie Perkins and Andrew Theurer were named CEO and president, respectively, via a prepared written announcement from the organization.The two replace Dr. Edgar Braendle, who had served in both roles for the past year."Dr. Braendle has decided to step down in order to pursue new opportunities and rejoin his family in New Jersey," ARUP spokeswoman Peta O
  
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• Push for unaffiliated voters to register at polls could delay GOP primary results

  12-08-2017 02:05
  SALT LAKE CITY — A last-minute push to get unaffiliated voters to sign up as Republicans at the polls Tuesday so they can vote in the 3rd Congressional District primary election could delay the final results in the race."There will be a portion that will be delayed," Utah County Clerk/Auditor Bryan Thomson said, predicting there could be as many as 15,000 ballots cast that won't be counted for at least a day.It's another problem resulting from Utah County mistakenly sending more than 68,00
  
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• 4,000 students to celebrate summer reading goals at Bees game

  12-08-2017 01:54
  SALT LAKE CITY— More than 4,000 Utah elementary school students are being rewarded for their summer reading with a night out at a Salt Lake Bees baseball game.The Salt Lake Bees baseball team will host Read Today Night on Wednesday as part of its support for summer readership. The event comes as a celebration for students completing the Bees Summer Reading Challenge. The reading challenge is an effort by the Deseret News, KSL, the Bees, the Utah State Library Division and Seagull Books.The
  
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• Parents accused of giving baby drugs face new child abuse charges

  12-08-2017 01:52
  PROVO — An Elk Ridge couple accused of trying to disguise their newborn baby's addiction by giving her drugs in the hospital are now facing new child abuse charges.In addition to charges filed last month, Colby Glen Wilde, 29, and his common-law wife, Lacey Dawn Christenson, 26, are now each charged in 4th District Court with three counts of child abuse, a second-degree felony.Amended charging documents filed Monday indicate that the couple's 3-month-old baby tested positive for methamphet
  
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• 'These people are a godsend': Bank employees repaint couple's Salt Lake home

  12-08-2017 01:32
  SALT LAKE CITYAt the end of Concord Street and Pierpont Avenue stands a house where every side, from the foundation to the gables, is marred by peeling white paint.
  Gary and Linda Smith have lived in the home for more than a decade, along with a dozen or so neighborhood cats that stay in the couple's backyard garage.
  Linda Smith said neither she nor her husband have been healthy enough in recent years to repair or repaint their property.
  On Friday, 18 employees from U.S. Bankarmed with paint rol
  
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• 5 vying to become Salt Lake County sheriff Saturday

  12-08-2017 00:54
  SALT LAKE CITYSalt Lake County Democrats will choose between five candidates aturday to fill the remaining 16 months of departed Sheriff Jim Winder's term.
  Originally, there were six candidates looking to fill the slot. But Matani Manatua, who retired from law enforcement in 2006, does not have a current Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training certification. Salt Lake County Democratic Party Chairman Quang Dang said in order to be considered for sheriff, a person must live in Salt Lake County
  
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• Woman charged with torching ex-boyfriend's car after breakup

  12-08-2017 00:43
  SALT LAKE CITYA West Valley woman now faces criminal charges after police say she set fire to her ex-boyfriend's car and threatened to have a gang shoot up his house just two days after he broke up with her.
  Katia Guadalupe Ontiveros-Nevarez, 20, was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with use of an explosive device, a first-degree felony, and arson, a third-degree felony.
  On Sept. 11, 2016, Nevarez's boyfriend broke up with her, police say. The next day, the ex-boyfriend's car was vandalized
  
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