Utah news

• UHP hopes holiday DUI patrols prevent more tragedies

  14-12-2017 23:54
  SOUTH JORDAN — Michael "Mikey" McMillian, 27, was driving home from a scuba diving class the night he was killed by a drunken driver.
  "Michael loved a good adventure," said his mother, Jan McMillian, explaining that her son had recently been fitted for a wetsuit and couldn't wait to go on his first dive.
  She shared her son's story Thursday in their hometown of South Jordan at a press conference kicking off the statewide Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over law enforcement mobilization.
  It was ne
  
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• Police: Man spotted burglarizing home barricades himself in second house

  14-12-2017 23:52
  TAYLORSVILLE — A man suspected of burglarizing one home has now barricaded himself inside another and is in a standoff with police.
  Officers and police K-9s have surrounded the home near 5600 South and Bree Street in Taylorsville, Unified Police Lt. Brian Lohrke said, but the man isn't responding to calls to come out.
  The man broke into the home after police spotted him burglarizing another house in the area, Lohrke said. The home was empty at the time with the exception of a dog, which en
  
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• Roosevelt City Council taps former member to fill vacant seat

  14-12-2017 23:43
  ROOSEVELT — On a vote of 3 to 1, the Roosevelt City Council on Tuesday appointed David Labrum to fill the seat vacated by Albert Foster in November.
  Labrum, a Roosevelt native, was sworn in during the meeting by City Recorder Carolyn Wilcken and immediately took his seat. His term will run through 2019.
  Labrum, who is part owner of L&L Motor, previously served on the Duchesne County School Board from 1987-1995 and on the Roosevelt City Council from 2010 to June 2014, when he resigned t
  
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• Salt Lake Chamber calling for modernized state tax code

  14-12-2017 23:41
  SALT LAKE CITY — With the future of national tax policy at stake in Washington, D.C., local business leaders are appealing to Utah lawmakers to make updating the state's tax policy a top priority in the upcoming legislative session.
  The Salt Lake Chamber Thursday unveiled a new effort calling for the modernization of Utah's tax code. Leaders of the state's largest business association said adapting Utah's tax code to the current business environment is among the most urgent matters the Leg
  
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• Utah's Homie is disrupting the real estate world

  14-12-2017 23:39
  
  Though Silicon Slopes’ name may be a nod to the Valley, Utah’s growing tech scene has taken a different path to success. Homie is one of the newest startups rocketing there.
  
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• Sandy police investigating man in front yard homicide case

  14-12-2017 23:34
  SANDY — Sandy police are continuing to interview people regarding the death of a man found in the front yard of a home in November.
  The death of Michael Hoffman Jr., 44, is being treated as a homicide, but as of Thursday no arrests have been made and police have not named any suspects. But investigators have been trying to question one of the occupants of the house where Hoffman was found, according to a series of search warrant affidavits unsealed in 3rd District Court.
  About 12:20 a.m. o
  
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• Plea deal spares Santaquin dog the death penalty

  14-12-2017 23:12
  SANTAQUIN — The dog at the center of drawn out controversy involving a city ordinance and euthanasia will be spared the death penalty.
  On Thursday, the Humane Society of Utah announced that a plea deal had been reached between dog owner Lindsy Bray and the city of Santaquin. Bray pleaded guilty to her dog running at large, not being current on the dog's rabies shots and not having a city dog tag.
  In exchange, the city dropped a charge of "vicious dog," which came with a mandatory penalty o
  
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• Salt Lake hires ex-Utah League of Cities and Towns director

  14-12-2017 21:49
  SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski has hired Ken Bullock — the former director of the Utah League of Cities and Towns who resigned amid controversy — to work in intergovernmental relations, the mayor's spokesman confirmed Thursday.
  Bullock resigned from the league earlier this year, the day before a state audit reported that he improperly charged about $57,000 to the taxpayer-funded group's credit card for loans to himself for personal purposes and racked up
  
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• DWR still asking anglers to keep small lake trout caught at Flaming Gorge Reservoir

  14-12-2017 21:45
  
  For the second consecutive year, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources officials are asking anglers to keep the fish they catch at Flaming Gorge Reservoir.
  
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• BYU lifts restrictions in Jerusalem

  14-12-2017 21:02
  
  Brigham Young University has lifted security restrictions at its campus in Jerusalem a week after protests and violence erupted following President Donald Trump's recognition of the city as Israel's capital.
  
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• Why Salt Lake City is one of the top cities while you're in college

  14-12-2017 20:15
  A new report from MagnifyMoney ranked Salt Lake City as one of the most affordable cities in the country while working your way through college and student loan debt.
  Salt Lake City ranked sixth in working your way through college while living at home, scoring an 84 out of 100 in the rankings.
  Three Florida cities were the most affordable with Cape Coral as No. 1, followed by Lakeland and Palm Bay. San Jose, California and Omaha, Nebraska, ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. Buffalo, New York
  
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• FCC unravels Obama-era net neutrality rules

  14-12-2017 20:05
  SALT LAKE CITY — Net neutrality advocates promised a swift legal response immediately following a Thursday vote by the Federal Communications Commission to roll back Obama-era rules governing internet service providers and replace them with a lighter regulatory framework.
  Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood said in a statement released moments after the vote that his group will join other net neutrality proponents in lobbying Congress to overturn the FCC's actions, as well as pursuing leg
  
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• Police investigating possible child abduction in West Jordan

  14-12-2017 19:43
  WEST JORDAN — West Jordan police are investigating a possible child abduction.
  But the investigation appears to be out of an abundance of caution rather than a verified kidnapping.
  As of 11 a.m., detectives had not received any reports of a missing child.
  "We're not quite sure what we have," said West Jordan police detective JC Holt.
  The investigation began about 7:40 a.m. when a 10-year-old boy waiting for a ride to school outside an apartment complex in the 3900 West block of Serenity Vi
  
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• Mark Huntsman re-elected State School Board chairman

  14-12-2017 19:11
  SALT LAKE CITY — Mark Huntsman, CEO of an engineering firm with offices in four Western states and a member of the Millard School District Board of Education for eight years, has been re-elected to a one-year term as chairman of the Utah State Board of Education.
  Huntsman, who lives in Fillmore, was elected to the State School Board in 2014. He is joined by Brittney Cummins and Alisa Ellis as first and second vice chairwomen, respectively. Their leadership terms begin in 2018.
  "I will stri
  
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• Jay Evensen: Believe it or not, the air has gotten better

  14-12-2017 17:05
  The caller was so angry she never gave the mayor a chance to respond.“You simply must do something about the terrible smog in Salt Lake City,” she said. “I simply can’t stand it any longer.”If nothing was done, she said, “I’m going to sell my house and move to Los Angeles.”The call could have happened any time during the last week or so as skies along the Wasatch Front inched closer to the ground and the mountains disappeared faster than anything D
  
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• Police respond to 2 unrelated gas station robberies

  14-12-2017 15:25
  
  Police are investigating two armed robberies overnight which they do not believe are related.
  
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• Alabama Loss Exposes Republican Fissures Amid a Democratic Surge

  14-12-2017 15:16
  With the Republican majority in the Senate now reduced to a single seat, the party’s establishment is uneasy about what the populist wing could do in next year’s primary races.
  
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• In our opinion: Congress should make renewing CHIP a priority

  14-12-2017 14:05
  Federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) — an initiative that provides basic health care for nearly 20,000 Utah children — lapsed Sept. 30. In the months since, CHIP has become a contentious issue amid broader debates about health care and tax reform. Congressional leaders have been unable to garner bipartisan support for the program.Sen. Orrin Hatch, one of the original authors of the bill that created CHIP, is well positioned to depoliticize debates
  
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• Community rallies for Utah mother facing deportation on Christmas Day

  14-12-2017 06:59
  
  A Utah mother has 12 days to persuade Immigration and Custom Enforcement officials (ICE) to let her stay in the country.
  
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• BYU lifts security restrictions at Jerusalem Center

  14-12-2017 05:55
  PROVO — School officials lifted travel restrictions imposed on students and others at the BYU Jerusalem Center on Wednesday, a week after violence erupted in the wake of President Donald Trump's announcement that the United States would recognize the city as Israel's capital.The change was announced through a security update on the BYU Jerusalem Center's website."While there are still tensions and incidents in the south of Israel along the border with Gaza, events there have little effect
  
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• Report: Homeless Utah mothers need better housing, child care access

  14-12-2017 04:17
  SALT LAKE CITY — Utah women with children who are homeless or at high risk of homelessness report having trouble locating affordable housing and have little access to child care services, according to a survey organized by the Urban Crossroads Center.
  The organization, a social services nonprofit that runs a food pantry and thrift store, contracted with former Salt Lake City Councilwoman Deeda Seed to carry out a study examining the needs of those women. Beginning in September, Seed interv
  
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• Op-ed: Businesses must do their part to solve Utah's skilled labor shortage

  14-12-2017 04:15
  Any professional association will tell you access to talent is the biggest challenge facing Utah’s industrial businesses. But our current skilled labor shortage is not a temporary phenomenon. It's a product of a gradual breakdown in the mutual commitment between industrial employers and blue-collar employees. Luckily, the very Utah businesses most affected by the skilled labor shortage hold the power to solve it.Long gone is the era of an employee accepting a career-long position with a si
  
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• Have a power outage? RMP unveils new phone alerts for power outages

  14-12-2017 03:32
  
  Those away from their home won’t have to search around to find power outage updates; rather, they’ll now receive alerts from their phones about it, Rocky Mountain Power announced Tuesday.
  
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• Eagle Scout donates caskets for babies to Vernal funeral home

  14-12-2017 03:00
  
  A Vernal teenager who crafted nine infant-sized caskets to give to families who lose a child as a service project says the experience taught him to be more grateful for what he has.
  
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• Photos: A breath of fresh air expected this weekend

  14-12-2017 02:46
  With the Wasatch Mountains to the left, a layer of haze and smog covers the Salt Lake Valley on Wednesday. The National Weather Service is predicting widespread haze and fog Thursday and Friday, with highs in the mid-30s and lows in the mid-20s. A storm will move into the area Friday night and into Saturday, bringing with it a 40 percent chance of rain and snow — and cleaner air. Sunday is expected to be mostly sunny with highs near 37. While the inversion is in place, officials with Utah
  
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• Doomsday sect member accused of kidnapping 4 children potentially faces more charges

  14-12-2017 02:28
  
  A man accused of kidnapping his own children — who later became the focus of a statewide Amber Alert — may face new charges.
  
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• A. Scott Anderson: Utah’s citizen of the decade – Lane Beattie

  14-12-2017 02:20
  Some 15 years ago, I helped recruit a distinguished Utahn named Lane Beattie to become CEO/president of the Salt Lake Chamber. Despite one of my better sales jobs, Lane did not accept it willingly. He had other things he wanted to do with his life, and he declined the first three asks.After further pleading, coaxing and arm-twisting, Lane finally agreed, but committed to only two years. Well, 15 years later Lane has announced his retirement. Reviewing his decade and a half of leadership, I belie
  
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• 17 state lawmakers: 'All confidence lost' in Utah County leader

  14-12-2017 02:15
  SALT LAKE CITY — Most of Utah County's state lawmakers are calling on embattled Utah County Commissioner Greg Graves to resign.
  The all-Republican group has grown significantly since Tuesday, when four of the lawmakers said they would sign a letter urging the commissioner to step down immediately. The letter is signed by 17 of 22 legislators whose districts cover at least part of Utah County.
  The bolstered calls follow a county investigation that found employees view Graves as a bully who
  
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• Police investigating drive-by shooting in Magna

  14-12-2017 01:33
  
  Police are investigating a drive-by shooting that began as a possible road rage incident in Magna Wednesday afternoon.
  
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• What does Alabama senate upset mean for future elections in the US?

  14-12-2017 01:17
  
  With so much analysis on each special election in the country as a possible national referendum on the political climate, was there anything from Tuesday’s election that could point to where the political climate is heading in 2018?
  
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• Photos: Judge students help wrap gifts for refugee kids

  14-12-2017 01:12
  Judge Memorial High School students Lilly Lyon, left, and Lily Sibthorp wrap presents at Catholic Community Services in Salt Lake City on Wednesday. The donated gifts are destined for 571 refugee children in the Salt Lake area. According to the school, many of the Judge students helping with Wednesday's project are foreign exchange students who learning about Christmas and the season of giving for the first time.
  
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• Op-ed: New district boundaries may harm our students' health

  14-12-2017 01:06
  School districts across the Wasatch Front are busy with bonds to build new schools and renovating and changing the boundaries for existing ones. While many goals have to be juggled to meet the needs of students, parents and the community at large, a serious consideration is being left out of the equation — the air that Utah schoolchildren will breathe.Currently, Davis County parents say that the school board proposes sending the children of 700 families living on the west side of Kaysville
  
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• Ogden father pleads guilty to killing infant daughter

  14-12-2017 00:48
  OGDEN — An Ogden father has pleaded guilty to murder in the death of his 8-week-old daughter. The plea deal spares him the possibility of a death penalty.
  Michael Lee Hatton, 26, pleaded guilty Dec. 7 to murder, a first-degree felony. When he is sentenced next month, he faces a mandatory sentence of at least 15 years and up to life in prison.
  Prosecutors handed down the murder charge in October 2016 after his daughter, Avery Hatton, succumbed to extensive injuries she suffered while in her
  
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• Department of Natural Resources names new law enforcement director

  14-12-2017 00:40
  SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Department of Public Safety Capt. Doug McCleve has been named the new law enforcement director for the Utah Department of Natural Resources. He will assume his new position Jan. 2, following the retirement of Sidney Groll, the current director.
  In his new capacity, McCleve will work closely with department's division leadership and section chiefs to oversee its public safety efforts and law enforcement personnel, including wildlife conservation officers and state park
  
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• Herbert appoints new chief of justice commission

  14-12-2017 00:37
  SALT LAKE CITY — Gov. Gary Herbert appointed Kim Cordova as the executive director of the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice.
  Cordova replaces Ron Gordon, who held the position for nearly nine years and now serves as the governor's general counsel.
  "Kim Cordova will bring exceptional dedication and passion to this role," Herbert said in a statement. "Her extensive experience and dedication to the rule of law make her a good fit for this position, and the commission will benefit fr
  
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• Rocky Mountain Power customers can now receive customized text alerts

  14-12-2017 00:36
  SALT LAKE CITY — Rocky Mountain Power launched a program that it hopes will keep customers more in the know about power outages, billing and payment information.
  "In the past, customers would call or go online for updates on outages," Aric Muhlestein, director of customer service and support, said in a statement. "Now, after they sign up, customers can receive text or email updates on an outage, including changes to the estimated time of restoration and cause. We also have options for bill
  
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• Free entrance days at national parks cut to 4 in 2018

  14-12-2017 00:35
  SALT LAKE CITY — The National Park Service announced Tuesday it will reduce the number of free entrance days at national parks to four in 2018, down from 16 in 2016 and 10 in 2017.
  The free days will be on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 15), the first day of National Park Week (April 21), National Public Lands Day (Sept. 22) and Veterans Day (Nov. 11.) The park service's announcement didn't offer a reason for the cutback.
  The 10 parks in Utah that will waive fees on those days include Ar
  
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• Orthodontist giving kids the gift of a smile for Christmas

  14-12-2017 00:34
  HERRIMAN — Dr. Chase Dansie, of Dansie Orthodontics, wants to give local children the gift of a new smile this holiday season and needs help spreading the word.
  Dansie and his team, who also have a practice in Duchesne, will donate orthodontic care to up to 50 kids through the national nonprofit Smiles Change Lives.
  On average, braces cost $5,000 per child, making them out of reach for many hard-working families. Further, orthodontic treatment has long been considered cosmetic by insurance
  
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• Springville man charged in violent assault on girlfriend

  14-12-2017 00:30
  OREM — A Springville man was charged Wednesday with assaulting his former live-in girlfriend with such a "high level of violence and brutality" that she may lose an eye.
  Kevin Paul Rieske, 38, is charged in 4th District Court with attempted murder and aggravated assault, second-degree felonies; plus assault by a prisoner and obstructing justice, third-degree felonies.
  On Sunday, Rieske called police asking for a welfare check on a 37-year-old woman in her Orem home. Rieske and the woman li
  
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• Judge praises courage of kids who reported abuse by bounce house operator

  14-12-2017 00:19
  HEBER CITY — A judge become emotional Tuesday as she sent a bounce house operator accused of sexually abusing children to prison, noting that if the victims hadn't found the courage to speak up, others may have been harmed.
  "I am shedding a tear because cases like this make me incredibly sad, sad for everyone involved," 4th District Judge Jennifer Brown said.
  While Bryce Johnson, 33, admitted to some of the lesser offenses included in the law, Brown called the case a clear example of groom
  
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