Utah news

• Report shows 2 Utah cities among top-ranking metros in U.S.

  21-01-2018 23:59
  SALT LAKE CITY — Two of Utah's largest cities have been pegged among the top-rated metro areas in the nation, a new report stated. According to the Milken Institute index of best-performing cities, Provo-Orem was ranked No. 1 in 2017, with Salt Lake City at No. 10.
  The report stated that Provo-Orem has become "a technology hotbed," over the five-year period from 2011 to 2016 when the area added 5,500 new jobs. The burgeoning tech hub, which last ranked No. 1 in 2008, is anchored by Adobe's
  
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• Pleasant Grove man stays active after paralyzing accident

  21-01-2018 23:41
  PROVO (AP) — Adrenaline; it's a hormone that pumps through us when we're stressed, in danger or about to do something big. Those that chase the feeling by doing the latter of those things are called adrenaline junkies, and Sam Jolley certainly falls into that category.
  In his free time, Jolley can be found soaring through the skies paragliding with Project Airtime, hitting the gym, or trying his luck at any number of other adventurous activities. Though, his first and greatest love is moto
  
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• Their downlines became lifelines

  21-01-2018 23:35
  SALT LAKE CITY —
  When the eye of Hurricane Maria passed over the small town of Corozal, Puerto Rico, last September, ushering in a Category 5 storm with 175 mile per hour winds that swamped and devastated the entire island, the phones immediately started ringing in a Utah company in Sandy called 4Life.
  The calls didn't come from Puerto Rico, of course, where the power lines were down (and some of them still are).
  They came from everywhere else.
  From Asia and Europe and South and Central Am
  
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• Bryce Canyon visitor center open for limited hours during government shutdown

  21-01-2018 23:32
  
  Due to the federal government shutdown, the visitor center at Bryce Canyon National Park will be open for limited hours starting Monday.
  
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• Plenty on the table heading into Utah's 2018 legislative session

  21-01-2018 21:02
  
  Utah lawmakers passed a record 535 bills in 2017, and with more than 1,200 bill requests on the docket this year that record could be in jeopardy when the 2018 session gets underway Monday.
  
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• In our opinion: Openly discussing the topic of suicide may help prevent it

  21-01-2018 14:00
  Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox struck a chord Wednesday when he talked about one of the difficulties of suicide prevention.
  "One of the issues that we have the hardest time talking about can be solved by talking about it," he said.
  There are reasons it's difficult to talk about. Most importantly, suicide can be a contagion, and no one wants the words used or the sentiments expressed to prompt someone to attempt suicide.
  This may be why studies have shown even physicians tend to avoid the subject. In one s
  
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• 5 cannabis-related bills to be introduced this year, but none as sweeping as ballot initiative

  21-01-2018 07:05
  SALT LAKE CITY — The ballot initiative campaign seeking to legalize the medical use of cannabis in Utah is expected to have enough signatures by early next month, and state legislators are pursuing their own bills affecting the commercial, research and patient access to the drug.
  The Utah Patients Coalition campaign is expected to reach the required 113,000 threshold for the number of ballot signatures by early February, campaign director DJ Schanz said.
  Rep. Brad Daw, R-Orem, and Sen. Eva
  
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• Man dead after his truck was hit by a train, police say

  21-01-2018 06:22
  BERYL, Iron County — A 50-year-old man is dead, police say, after his truck was hit by a train Saturday morning.
  The man was dead when police arrived on scene after receiving a call about 8:30 a.m. that a train had hit a truck at about 8400 North and 5600 West, said Iron County Sheriff's Lt. Del Schlosser.
  Investigators talked with Union Pacific, which said a train went through that area about 4:30 a.m. "and they did not see the vehicle," according to Schlosser.
  "The conductor of the train
  
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• Sundance panel tackles future of VR in entertainment

  21-01-2018 05:37
  
  With a variety of movies playing, a couple dozen people lined up instead to hear about the future of virtual reality and interactive technology in filmmaking Saturday during the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
  
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• Day of searching yields no suspect, motive for Herriman shooting

  21-01-2018 05:37
  HERRIMAN — After a tense day of searching, police still do not have a suspect in custody nor a motive for a Saturday morning shooting that put many Herriman residents on edge, told to stay locked in their homes.
  Shelter-in-place warnings issued to Herriman and Riverton residents were lifted Saturday afternoon even as police continued to search for the gunman who opened fire on an officer and shot a homeowner before stealing his car early in the morning.
  Unified Police Lt. Brian Lohrke said
  
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• US marches for women's rights slam Trump, encourage voting

  21-01-2018 04:58
  
  Demonstrators from Los Angeles to New York marched in support of female empowerment and denounced President Donald Trump's views on immigration, abortion, LGBT rights and women's rights on Saturday, the anniversary of his inauguration.
  
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• Protecting clean air: How Utahns are tackling the air quality issue

  21-01-2018 03:55
  
  A few hundred people funneled through the booths at the Utah Clean Air Solutions Fair Saturday, learning ways to improve the air quality around them. It's a topic likely to be on the minds of Utah's lawmakers this year too.
  
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• Movie stars lead the charge for change at Park City Respect Rally

  21-01-2018 03:45
  PARK CITY — The hundreds of Respect Rally attendees who braved pounding snow and sub-freezing temperatures here Saturday morning were treated to a podium packed with Hollywood A-listers, thanks to the Sundance Film Festival.
  The rally mirrored dozens of similar events happening around the country on the anniversary of the 2017 Women's March that brought tens of thousands together to advocate for women's rights, immigration reform, LGBTQ rights, environmental issues, workers' rights and mor
  
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• Rep. Mia Love among members of Congress refusing pay during shutdown

  21-01-2018 03:13
  
  Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah, and several other members of Congress have asked that their pay be withheld during the government shutdown, with some saying they will donate that money to charity.
  
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• Police cancel Amber Alert after pinging phone to find girl

  21-01-2018 03:02
  SOUTH SALT LAKE — Police canceled an Amber Alert for 8-year-old Jaszmine Corianna Leah Winston after locating her unharmed about an hour and 45 minutes after the alert was issued Saturday.
  According to South Salt Lake police, Jaszmine was with her father, Robert Winston, 53, who does not have legal custody of her.
  Around 2:45 p.m., Winston was pulled over by police on an I-15 northbound off-ramp at 12300 South in Draper and arrested. The public alert was canceled 30 minutes later.
  Jaszmine
  
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• Inside the newsroom: 'The Post,' the speech and the president

  21-01-2018 02:56
  SALT LAKE CITY — Journalists from the Deseret News newsroom (and newsrooms across the country) have flocked to the movie "The Post," which tells the story of the 1971 legal battle by the Washington Post and the New York Times over the publication of the Pentagon Papers. It should wind up the weekend with a box office showing of more than $12 million to bring its domestic total to $45 million, although it was only the fourth best showing of films this weekend.
  The inspiring story focuses on
  
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• Frank R. Pignanelli and LaVarr Webb: Campaigns heat up and lawmakers take the stage

  21-01-2018 02:30
  This week is the beginning of a major vortex in Utah politics. The Utah Legislature commences Monday, Mitt Romney is likely to announce within days — and we may get more snow — hopefully. We comment on all things not meteorological.
  What will be the overriding issues for legislators this session?
  Pignanelli: "The most practical kind of politics is the politics of decency." — Theodore Roosevelt
  Various forms of boogeymen have haunted humans for thousands of years, influencing em
  
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• Understanding the medical cannabis debate

  21-01-2018 02:07
  KAYSVILLE — During those many years when she rarely felt well enough to leave the house, Christine Stenquist would frequently curl up in her bed, gaze out the window at the apple tree in her yard, and see an analogy for her life staring her in the face.
  Stenquist, who rarely felt well enough to drive, had plenty of time to look out that window, see the seasons change, and exert their will on the tree and its fruit.
  "I spent lots of hours alone, lots and lots and lots of hours," she recalls
  
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• Activists march in support of pro-life movement

  21-01-2018 01:48
  SALT LAKE CITY — About 200 vocal advocates of the pro-life movement took to the snowy streets of downtown Salt Lake City to "walk the walk" in solidarity with the principles of eliminating abortion in Utah and nationwide.
  Saturday's event was organized by local nonprofit Utah Pro-Life as part of the annual March4Life rallies held to protest the 1973 Supreme Court decision permitting abortion.
  Chloe Card, 27, of Lindon, said she has long been an activist for the cause of offering women an a
  
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• 'Shelter in place' warnings lifted as police continue search for Riverton carjacker

  21-01-2018 01:37
  
  Shelter-in-place warnings issued to Herriman and Riverton residents have been lifted even as police continue to search for a gunman who opened fire on an officer and shot a homeowner before stealing his car early Saturday morning.
  
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• Utah's Intermountain among hospital groups creating company to make cheap generic drugs

  21-01-2018 01:32
  
  Several major not-for-profit hospital groups — including Utah-based Intermountain Healthcare — are trying their own solution to drug shortages and high prices: creating a company to make cheaper generic drugs.
  
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• Sheriff pleads with Herriman shooting suspect to turn self in

  21-01-2018 01:30
  HERRIMAN — Shelter-in-place warnings issued to Herriman and Riverton residents have been lifted even as police continue to search for a gunman who opened fire on an officer and shot a homeowner before stealing his car early Saturday morning.
  Police initially set up a four-mile search radius and sent reverse-911 calls to residents of Herriman and Riverton who live between Mountain View Corridor to Rose Crest Road and Blackridge Reservoir and 13400 South, asking to shelter in place.
  The shel
  
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• Lawmakers looking for lower tax rates but more revenues

  21-01-2018 01:24
  SALT LAKE CITY — Lawmakers may have to figure out during the 2018 Legislature what to do with an extra $100 million or more pouring into state coffers as a result of the new federal income tax changes.
  Or not.
  The question of what the impact the $1.5 trillion tax cut just passed by Congress will have on state income tax collections is expected to be answered at least in part Monday, the start of the 45-day legislative session.
  If it's a windfall, that means not only will there will be more
  
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• Equalizing school funding tops lawmakers' to-do list

  21-01-2018 00:52
  SALT LAKE CITY — First things first.
  Before the Utah Legislature can act on any new proposals on public education during the upcoming session, the entire body has a significant housekeeping chore: passing legislation that recodifies sections of the Utah code that pertain to education.
  Recodification is akin to cleaning out a gargantuan hall closet. Legislative attorneys and staff have spent months discarding obsolete language in code, updating other portions and then reorganizing it.
  It's
  
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• Utah House speaker backing 'critical' bill to fund homeless resource centers

  21-01-2018 00:49
  SALT LAKE CITY — As the countdown to the June 2019 closure of the troubled downtown homeless shelter continues, there's at least one loose end state lawmakers must iron out, and House Speaker Greg Hughes says it needs to happen this year.
  Hughes, R-Draper, says the bill to provide an ongoing revenue stream for the three new homeless resource centers slated to replace the Road Home shelter must pass during the 2018 Legislature, which begins Monday.
  The bill would enact fees on cities and co
  
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• Police ID suspected gunman, continue search for him in Riverton

  21-01-2018 00:15
  
  Police have identified the man they say opened fire on police and shot a homeowner before stealing his car early Saturday morning.
  
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