Utah news

• Man charged with sexually assaulting 2 teens at knifepoint

  15-11-2017 23:59
  SANTAQUIN — A preliminary hearing was postponed Tuesday for a man accused of sexually assaulting two teenage girls at knifepoint.
  Marcos Barajas, 33, of Santaquin, was charged Oct. 27 in 4th District Court with aggravated sexual assault, attempted sexual assault and two counts of aggravated burglary, all first-degree felonies; two counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony; tampering with a witness, a third-degree felony; and domestic violence in the presence of children, a cl
  
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• Florida man pleads guilty to threatening former Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz

  15-11-2017 23:25
  ORLANDO, Fla. — A Florida man has pleaded guilty to making a threatening phone call to former Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, in March, leaving a voicemail telling the congressman that he would hunt him down.
  Charles Zachary Howard, of Winter Park, Florida, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to threatening Chaffetz, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
  Howard, a registered Republican, called Chaffetz's Washington office and threatened to hunt him down, "wrap a rope around your neck and hang you
  
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• Utah lawmaker seeks to protect freedom of speech rights

  15-11-2017 22:47
  SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah lawmaker says local governments aren't respecting the First Amendment rights of many Utahns.
  And he's proposing legislation to help make some changes.
  Rep. Norm Thurston, R-Provo, said a constituent in Provo was at a city recreation center attempting to collect signatures for a petition to enforce a referendum on an initiative pushed by the mayor when that citizen was told he'd have to stop because it was annoying some of the patrons.
  "People complaining about your
  
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• 3 arrested after 16 pounds of meth found in vehicle

  15-11-2017 22:38
  
  Three men were arrested last week after 16 pounds of meth was discovered in the car they were in, police said.
  
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• Woman attacked at group home now advocating for industry reform

  15-11-2017 22:31
  LAYTON — A health care worker who endured an 18-minute attack from a patient with special needs said Tuesday she is now lobbying for industry-wide change.
  "I really do have to fight," Kaitlynne Jones, 20, said, noting numerous other health care professionals across the country had been injured while caring for patients. "I need to stand up and be a voice for people who are put in situations like this — like me."
  Jones said she was working at a Chrysalis group home in Layton on July 2
  
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• Sex education online instead of in class? Utah lawmaker exploring the idea

  15-11-2017 21:31
  
  A Utah representative is exploring the idea of changing the way schools teach sex education. Instead of in the classroom, he's looking at how students might learn curriculum online.
  
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• Police looking for 'Hulk,' who is charged with assaulting officers

  15-11-2017 21:17
  SALT LAKE CITY — Police are looking for a man known to frequent the Rio Grande neighborhood who has a history of assaulting officers.
  David Loren Simmons, 35, who is listed as homeless and goes by the moniker "Hulk," was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with two counts of assault on a police officer, and interfering with an arresting officer, a class B misdemeanor. The assault on a police officer charges were enhanced to third-degree felonies because he has previously been convicted o
  
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• Former Public Enemy No. 1 wanted in Layton attempted murder

  15-11-2017 21:09
  LAYTON — A former Public Enemy No. 1 now faces charges of attempted murder for a shooting in Layton.
  Eddie Angelo Samora, 31, of Salt Lake City, was charged Oct. 27 in 2nd District Court with attempted murder, a first-degree felony; and possession of a firearm by a restricted person, a second-degree felony.
  On Oct. 26, police say Samora went to a Layton apartment complex, 1667 N. Avalon Drive, and shot a man numerous times. "Some of which were while the victim was laying helplessly on the
  
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• Leadership shakeup complete in polygamous Utah community

  15-11-2017 19:51
  SALT LAKE CITY — A polygamous group's dwindling control of the remote Utah-Arizona border community it has called home for a century slipped a bit more after official election returns showed four nonmembers took over the mayor's office and three City Council seats.
  Donia Jessop, a former Fundamentalist LDS Church member who left several years ago over discord with leaders, defeated incumbent Mayor Philip Barlow by winning 61 percent of the 210 votes cast in the all-mail election in Hildale
  
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• Police searching for woman in connection with stabbing of neighbor

  15-11-2017 19:44
  
  Police are searching for a woman they said stabbed a neighbor in the neck after an apparent argument before fleeing in an SUV early Wednesday morning.
  
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• A.M. notes: U.S. Embassy closes in Zimbabwe, Romney slow on Senate run, SLCPD wants more officers

  15-11-2017 19:23
  Here’s a look at the news for Nov. 15.4 dead in California school shootingA lone gunman killed four people in Northern California on Tuesday. Authorities avoided a larger death toll by making sure the shooter didn’t enter an elementary school, according to CNN.The Rancho Tehama Elementary School staff heard gunfire in the area just as the school day began. The school locked its doors and ushered children into a lockdown drill, which included them hiding under desks, CNN reported.The
  
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• Fire at Layton clinic causes $250K in damage

  15-11-2017 19:16
  
  A fire at a medical clinic caused about $250,000 in estimated damage Wednesday morning, fire authorities said.
  
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• Teen pleads guilty in deliberate double-fatal crash

  15-11-2017 18:55
  OGDEN — A teenage girl accused of killing two people in a deliberate crash pleaded guilty in an adult courtroom Wednesday, finalizing a plea agreement in the case.
  Marilee Gardner, 17, answered quickly and clearly as 2nd District Judge Brent West asked if she had thought about the deal she was making, whether she was taking her prescribed medication and whether she was thinking clearly.
  Each time, Gardner responded with a firm, "Yes, your honor."
  Gardner was originally charged as an adult
  
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• Florida man pleads guilty to threatening Utah congressman

  15-11-2017 18:39
  ORLANDO, Fla. — A Florida man has pleaded guilty to making a threatening phone call to a former Utah congressman.
  The Orlando Sentinel reports that Charles Zachary Howard, of Winter Park, Florida, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to threatening former Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, last March.
  Howard, a registered Republican, called Chaffetz's Washington office and threatened to hunt him down, "wrap a rope around your neck and hang you from a lamppost."
  Howard could receive up to five
  
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• Utah lawmakers propose reducing fireworks days around July 4, 24

  15-11-2017 18:18
  SALT LAKE CITY — State lawmakers are considering reducing the number of days around the Fourth of July and Pioneer Day that fireworks would be legal in Utah.
  Rep. Jim Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville, proposed Wednesday to allow fireworks two days before July 4 and July 24, and one day after, a total of eight days around those two holidays. Current law allows 14 total days around those two holidays.
  The bill cuts the number of legal days nearly in half while still allowing Utahns to celebrate with
  
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• Charges: Ex-Clearfield karate instructor raped teen victim again

  15-11-2017 18:17
  CLEARFIELD — Even after he was arrested, a former Clearfield karate instructor continued having a sexual relationship with one of his former teenage students, according to investigators.
  Damian Tyler Fullmer, 20, was charged last week in 2nd District Court with five new counts of rape, a first-degree felony, and sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony.
  Fullmer, who was already charged a week earlier with similar charges involving the same girl, now faces a total of seven cou
  
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• Florida man pleads guilty to threatening former Utah congressman

  15-11-2017 17:33
  
  A Florida man has pleaded guilty to making a threatening phone call to a Utah congressman.
  
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• Jay Evensen: Why are Americans so reluctant to change the drinking culture?

  15-11-2017 17:05
  SALT LAKE CITY —In this corner: the combined wisdom of the World Medical Association, American Medical Association, British Medical Association, European Commission, European Transport Safety Council, World Health Organization, Canadian Medical Association, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine, not to mention the Utah state Legislature and the National Transportation Safety Board.All of these support lowering the legal blood alc
  
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• Crews respond to fire at Layton clinic

  15-11-2017 16:07
  
  Crews are responding to a fire at a clinic that broke out Wednesday morning, officials said.
  
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• Miller Foundation: 700 coat-sleeping bag hybrids to go to homeless

  15-11-2017 15:21
  
  It's a coat and it's a sleeping bag. On Wednesday, the Larry H. Miller and Gail Miller Foundation will give 700 of them away during a luncheon Wednesday at Valley Behavioral Health's Safe Haven Center for people experiencing homelessness.
  
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• In our opinion: A smoke-free Capitol complex encourages healthy behavior

  15-11-2017 14:05
  Utah state Rep. Bruce Cutler has proposed a ban on tobacco use at the Capitol complex. While smoking is prohibited inside the Capitol building, the proposal would extend that ban across the Capitol grounds and eliminate designated smoking areas. Cutler’s proposal is worth considering as Utah continues to incentivize healthy behavior.The proposal, however, has been met with trepidation from state legislators, the lieutenant governor and the attorney general. The main concern is that the ban
  
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• Gov. Herbert's son helps organize trip to deliver supplies to Puerto Rico

  15-11-2017 06:56
  
  A group of Utahns with ties to Puerto Rico is heading to the island to assist with recovery efforts.
  
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• Weber County charities in need of turkey donations

  15-11-2017 06:42
  
  With a little more than a week to go, now is a good time to buy your Thanksgiving turkey — and this year, you might consider buying two.
  
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• Should Utah elementary schools kick homework to the curb?

  15-11-2017 06:31
  
  A Utah school district recently tried a no-homework pilot program, which many families are hailing as a "life changer." It's an idea a growing number of educators are considering amid lack of evidence homework helps young kids achieve.
  
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• These are Utah's 25 smallest towns

  15-11-2017 06:00
  While the Beehive State's most populous areas might be obvious, its smallest towns span a slew of counties across the state.
  The top six cities with the most people are in Salt Lake and Utah counties, but the 25 smallest towns are found across the state. Here are tidbits on each of them.
  Population information is gathered from 2016 estimates by the Utah Department of Workforce Services.
  25. Torrey
  Population: 241
  Location: Wayne County
  Torrey is a gateway town for Capitol Reef National Park, acc
  
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• Prosecutors confident in case against man accused of murdering girlfriend, child

  15-11-2017 05:16
  
  A man charged with murdering his girlfriend and her 3-year-old son faced a Utah judge for the first time on Tuesday. Even without having found the bodies, prosecutors are confident in their case.
  
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• Meet an antelope that roams with horses in the Salt Lake Valley

  15-11-2017 04:35
  
  Utah is known for its rural farms and ranches and its wilderness. But in the Salt Lake Valley, there's a rare incidence where the two meet in a unique way.
  
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• Auditors find room for improvement in energy incentive efforts

  15-11-2017 04:22
  SALT LAKE CITY — A state legislative audit released Tuesday says a lack of accountability has created a rift of gray area between energy-related tax credits that have been claimed versus ones actually earned.
  And the revenue impacts of energy incentive programs — some $74 million over the last five years — are likely to grow while quantifying impacts of the efforts remain hazy at best, according to auditors.
  Overall, state-funded and state-regulated energy incentive disbursemen
  
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• Audit notes turnover, workload hindering State School Board

  15-11-2017 03:48
  SALT LAKE CITY — A legislative audit made public Tuesday says high turnover and heavy workloads of employees of the Utah State Board of Education contribute to challenges with oversight of educational programs and initiatives.
  The audit calls on the board of education to do a better job overseeing education programs and initiatives such as the state's strategic plan, K-3 reading improvement programs and digital teaching and learning initiatives, among others. But it also noted the impact o
  
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• Utah coffee company lauded as conservatives smash Keurigs

  15-11-2017 03:31
  
  A Salt Lake City coffee company has been lauded by conservatives after coffee-machine maker Keurig drew anger from the right when it pulled its ads from Sean Hannity's Fox News program over his coverage of an Alabama U.S. Senate candidate accused of sexual misconduct.
  
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• Utah business, community leaders sign declaration to address climate change

  15-11-2017 03:04
  SALT LAKE CITY — Dozens of Utah leaders signed a declaration on Tuesday promising to address climate change issues and find solutions to protect Utah's environment.
  The signing kicked off Path to Positive Utah, an initiative creating conversations about climate change sponsored by environmental public interest groups Utah Clean Energy and ecoAmerica.
  "We're seeing the impacts globally, and we're seeing the impacts here at home," said Sarah Wright, executive director of Utah Clean Energy. "
  
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• Trump may cut size of Bears Ears by 90 percent, top Hatch staffer says

  15-11-2017 02:25
  
  Bears Ears National Monument's boundaries likely will be reduced to between 100,000 and 300,000 acres, and Grand Staircase-Escalante could end up anywhere from 700,000 to 1.2 million acres, a top staffer in Sen. Orrin Hatch's office said.
  
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• Council caught off guard by county plan to sue drug companies

  15-11-2017 02:24
  SALT LAKE CITY — While supportive of Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams' announcement that the county will be suing pharmaceutical companies for their alleged role in the opioid epidemic, some County Council members didn't like being caught off guard.
  "Quite frankly, I was very surprised when I got the notice the same time as the media," Councilwoman Aimee Winder Newton said during Tuesday's council meeting.
  "It seems odd to me that we weren't notified or given the option to participate,"
  
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• 15-year-old charged as adult with multiple robberies

  15-11-2017 02:09
  TAYLORSVILLE — A 15-year-old boy was charged Tuesday with participating in a series of armed convenience store robberies over the summer with a group of other teens.
  Mario Segura, of Salt Lake City, was charged as an adult in 3rd District Court with four counts of aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony.
  Segura is accused of being part of a group of three teens who committed a series of convenience store robberies in mid-July, according to prosecutors.
  The string of robberies began July
  
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• Romney Senate bid in 'holding pattern' until Hatch decides whether he's retiring

  15-11-2017 02:02
  SALT LAKE CITY — Two of Mitt Romney's closest friends said Tuesday there should be no doubt that he's serious about running for the Senate, but nothing's going to happen until Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, decides whether he's retiring.
  "I think at this point, Mitt is just waiting on the senator," said Kem Gardner, a real estate developer who helped talk Romney into taking over the then-troubled 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City nearly two decades ago.
  John Miller, another longtime friend wh
  
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• Salt Lake wants 27 more officers, but some council members want more

  15-11-2017 01:55
  SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake City Police Department wants to hire 27 more officers as part of Operation Rio Grande. But some City Council members worry the city might need even more to properly patrol surrounding neighborhoods.
  "Twenty-seven new officers is a pretty big number, but frankly I don't think it's nearly enough," Councilman Charlie Luke said during Tuesday's council meeting.
  The council reviewed a $5.2 million budget adjustment to the current fiscal year to hire the 27 additio
  
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• Utah resorts ready to build on recent record-breaking ski seasons

  15-11-2017 01:34
  SALT LAKE CITY — After a historic season last year, Utah's 14 ski resorts are poised to start the new ski season as early as next week.
  Beginning the day before Thanksgiving, at least three ski areas will officially begin operations for the upcoming 2017-18 winter season, Nathan Rafferty, president and CEO of Ski Utah, said Tuesday.
  Noting that the past two seasons have been record-breaking, with more than 4 million skier days annually, Rafferty said the state's top winter tourism industry
  
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• Couple with remarkable crash survival story urges families to buckle up

  15-11-2017 01:32
  MILLCREEK — Michael Simkins doesn't remember the painful crash that nearly took his life, but he does recall putting on his seat belt that morning.
  Simkins hardly wore his seat belt, but his wife of just a few weeks had been pleading with him to use it. She had even placed a photo of herself and their 5-year-old son in the car, complete with a handwritten note and some doodled hearts in the corner urging, "Buckle up for us!!!"
  Simkins was caught in a residual crash from a large, multicar p
  
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• Woman chases attacker and fights back, police say

  15-11-2017 01:24
  SALT LAKE CITY — A man who police say sexually assaulted a jogger apparently didn't expect the woman to not only fight back, but chase after him as he ran away.
  Salt Lake police on Tuesday announced they were looking for a man who groped a woman while jogging. The incident happened about 6 a.m. Friday near 1700 South and 500 East.
  A woman in her 40s was jogging when she noticed a man crossing the street and heading toward her. The man then came up to the woman from behind and grabbed her,
  
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• Venezuelan tycoon funds jailed Utah man's defense

  15-11-2017 01:19
  
  A Utah man's hopes for being freed from a Venezuelan jail, where he's lingered for more than a year in declining health, now lie with a wealthy shipping magnate closely linked to the country's socialist government.
  
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• Embattled mortuary resumes business on probation, to pay $10K fine

  15-11-2017 01:17
  
  An embattled South Salt Lake mortuary accused of improper cremations and incomplete record keeping will retain its license on a probationary basis.
  
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• 2 teens in police shootout had tried to rob officer, police say

  15-11-2017 01:02
  WEST VALLEY CITY — Two teenagers attempted to rob an off-duty officer who was checking his mail last week, prompting a shootout between them, police said Tuesday.
  The officer-involved shooting incident occurred Nov. 7 between an officer and two boys, ages 17 and 15.
  Just after 7 p.m., a West Valley police officer, whose name has not been released, was checking his mail at the Village at Rivers Edge complex, 1250 W. 3301 South. The officer was not on duty and not in uniform, said West Valle
  
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• Carver Mortuary resumes business on probation, to pay $10K fine

  15-11-2017 00:47
  SOUTH SALT LAKE — An embattled South Salt Lake mortuary accused of improper cremations and incomplete record keeping will retain its license on a probationary basis.
  The deal between Carver Mortuary Service and the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing was announced Tuesday. Under the agreement, the mortuary neither admitted nor denied the allegations against it, but acknowledged the division had evidence to support its findings, according to an order filed in the divisi
  
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• User submitted: Photos show North Salt Lake house fires, Utah sunsets

  15-11-2017 00:20
  
  This week's user submitted photo gallery includes several photos submitted of flames and smoke pouring out of two North Salt Lake homes, by KSL.com readers.
  
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• Audit: Kids at risk while child care providers appeal violations

  15-11-2017 00:14
  SALT LAKE CITY — Child care facilities accused of violating safety standards can operate as normal during their appeals process, a practice that is putting children at risk, a state audit released Tuesday concludes.
  The Division of Family Health and Preparedness' Child Care Licensing program "does not increase monitoring of providers who operate during the appeals process," states the audit, prepared by the Office of the Legislative Auditor General.
  "We … found the appeals process i
  
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• 2 guns used in Mapleton triple murder-suicide, police say

  15-11-2017 00:01
  
  Mapleton police believe a man used two guns to kill his wife, son, and stepdaughter before taking his own life.
  
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