Utah news

• Twilight Concert Series will return in summer 2018 after all

  07-02-2018 23:55
  
  The Twilight Concert Series will likely be back this summer, thanks to a new agreement between the Salt Lake Arts Council Foundation Board and Broadway Media.
  
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• School of 47 students forced to pay more than $800K for consultant after new law

  07-02-2018 23:54
  
  In an effort to help Utah’s lowest-performing schools improve, lawmakers now require those schools to hire consultants. But this program that is using millions of Utah tax dollars to hire consultants has many asking if the money is well spent.
  
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• Cadaver dogs show interest in vehicle in search for missing Utah couple

  07-02-2018 23:52
  LOFGREEN, Tooele County — A search of the property of the relatives of a missing Eureka man turned up some clues, but nothing that pointed definitively to the fate of the man or his girlfriend.Riley Powell, 18, and Brelynne "Breezy" Otteson, 17, were officially reported missing Jan. 2 after embarking on a drive from Tooele to Eureka days earlier. On Jan. 11, Powell's missing Jeep was found partially hidden in trees, about a mile south of Cherry Creek Reservoir.In a pair of search warrant a
  
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• Utah lawmakers pass bill legalizing 'free-range parenting'

  07-02-2018 23:22
  SALT LAKE CITY — Utah lawmakers passed a so-called "free-range parenting" bill Wednesday that ensures moms and dads don't come under investigation for letting their children play alone.SB65 revises state law to say it isn't neglect to let children do things such as travel to and from school, go to parks and play outside if they are otherwise well cared for.Rep. Brad Daw, R-Orem, the House sponsor of the bill, said child protective services has investigated parents for neglect under some of
  
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• Free Feline Fix on first Thursday of the month

  07-02-2018 23:11
  SOUTH SALT LAKE — Salt Lake County Animal Services, 511 W. 3900 South, and its nonprofit partner Utah FACES are hoping to prevent unwanted litters of kittens this spring with Free Feline Fix events on the first Thursday of each month.The first 40 cats in the door between 7:30 a.m. 9 a.m. are eligible to be spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and micro-chipped for free. Cats must be brought to the facility in a carrier or box.All cats will need to be licensed at the time of service. The fee is
  
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• More allegations against St. George teacher claiming years of abuse

  07-02-2018 23:00
  SALT LAKE CITY — A longtime teacher at Sunset Elementary School in St. George already charged with sexually assaulting a student was charged Wednesday with an additional 12 counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child in four separate cases.The cases were filed in 5th District Court against Curtis William Payne, 59, of Santa Clara.On Jan. 31, Payne was charged with three counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony, for allegedly sexually assaulting a student while i
  
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• Prison ordered for 2nd teen who plotted to kill 14-year-old girl

  07-02-2018 22:55
  LOGAN — As he was confronted in court by the girl he plotted with a friend to kill, 17-year-old Jayzon Decker didn't flinch.The teen stared straight ahead as Deserae Turner, seated in front of him and holding her aching head, described the irreparable damage done by the bullet that was fired into her skull on Decker's signal."What kind of person wants to experience the feeling of ending another's life, watching another person take their last breath?" Deserae asked. "A person who is pure ev
  
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• SeniorAdvisor.com honors assisted living community in Daybreak

  07-02-2018 21:54
  SOUTH JORDAN — Sagewood at Daybreak has been selected as one of the 2018 Best of Assisted Living Award Winners on SeniorAdvisor.com.The annual award tabulates more 150,000 family created reviews to find the highest quality care providers. Of the nearly 45,000 communities currently listed on SeniorAdvisor.com, just over 1,600 were recognized.To qualify, care providers must have maintained an average overall rating of at least 4.5 stars while receiving four or more new reviews on SeniorAdvis
  
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• 'We did it once; we can certainly do it twice': Another Olympic bid for Salt Lake recommended

  07-02-2018 21:51
  
  A motion to pursue another Utah Olympic bid was unanimously approved by the Olympic Exploratory Committee Wednesday morning.
  
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• Lawsuit claims UHP trooper sexually harassed woman

  07-02-2018 21:50
  
  A woman has filed a civil rights lawsuit claiming she was subjected to sexual harassment from a member of the Utah Highway Patrol at the risk of her company losing business.
  
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• Warrants present new allegations in bizarre doomsday cult case

  07-02-2018 21:44
  SALT LAKE CITY — The father of two Spring City girls who allegedly kidnapped his children to join a purported doomsday cult may have been planning to kill his son because he believed he was possessed by an evil spirit, according to newly released search warrants.Explosive new allegations were revealed Wednesday against John Alvin Coltharp and Samuel Warren Shaffer in a pair of search warrants filed in 6th District Court, including alleged plans to kidnap more children in preparation for th
  
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• Reptile rescuer accused of animal cruelty denies abuse; 60 animals taken away

  07-02-2018 21:31
  
  Salt Lake County Animal Services workers removed 60 venomous snakes, poisonous spiders, alligators, turtles and other creatures left at a warehouse for two weeks by the embattled owner of a reptile rescue, who is adamant he did not abandon them.
  
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• 2-year-old child seriously injured after being run over by truck

  07-02-2018 21:28
  
  A 2-year-old child was seriously injured after being run over by a pickup truck Wednesday morning, police said.
  
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• St. George GOP representative 'unexpectedly' resigns from position

  07-02-2018 20:34
  
  A GOP representative for a district in St. George resigned from his position Tuesday night, citing “immediate personal and family concerns.
  
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• GOP Rep. Jon Stanard unexpectedly resigns from Utah House

  07-02-2018 20:29
  SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Jon Stanard suddenly resigned from the Utah House on Tuesday, Speaker Greg Hughes said Wednesday."Last night Rep. Stanard unexpectedly resigned due to personal and family concerns. We will honor his request for privacy, and ask that others do the same. We wish Jon and his family the best at this time," Hughes, R-Draper, said in a statement.Stanard told the Associated Press that his father has terminal cancer and he resigned to spend time with him out of state.Stanard,
  
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• Prison ordered for teen who plotted to kill 14-year-old girl

  07-02-2018 20:08
  LOGAN — A teenage boy who plotted with his friend to shoot and kill a 14-year-old girl was ordered Wednesday to serve up to life in prison.Jayzon Decker, who turned 17 in December, didn't fire the shot that struck Deserae Turner in the head, but prosecutors argued for the maximum possible prison sentence, emphasizing he was the first to suggest hurting the girl and then kept the shell casing from the attack as a memento."What he did to Deserae was unquestioningly evil," prosecutor Spencer
  
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• Motion approved to pursue 2026, 2030 Utah Olympic bid

  07-02-2018 19:00
  
  A motion to pursue another Utah Olympic bid was unanimously approved by the Olympic Exploratory Committee Wednesday morning.
  
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• Animal services set to remove dozens of reptiles left at warehouse

  07-02-2018 18:51
  
  Salt Lake County Animal Services workers were preparing Wednesday morning to remove dozens of venomous snakes, poisonous spiders, alligators, turtles and other creatures left at a warehouse for two weeks by the embattled owner of a reptile rescue.
  
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• Doug Robinson: Ian Cumming lived life with little fanfare and died the same way

  07-02-2018 18:46
  SALT LAKE CITY — It was with some irony that on the very day that Jon Huntsman Sr. passed away, another philanthropist-billionaire from Utah also died, but with not as much notice. This seemed entirely fitting given his reclusive nature.Ian Cumming died Friday in Jackson, Wyoming, where he lived most of the time, at the age of 77, three years younger than Huntsman. Both men grew up in humble circumstances, both started companies that became worth billions, both became heavily involved in p
  
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• Legislature: Early support for $10M Rio Grande request, move to create Jordan River Recreation Area

  07-02-2018 18:04
  
  Lawmakers are expected to approve a $10 million request for state money to fund Operation Rio Grande. Also, a new bill on Capitol Hill would create a Jordan River Recreation Area.
  
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• Man critically injured in Memory Grove Park stabbing

  07-02-2018 17:46
  
  A man is in critical condition after he was found in Memory Grove Park with several stab wounds early Wednesday morning, police said.
  
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• West Valley officer hit, injured by fleeing vehicle

  07-02-2018 17:17
  WEST VALLEY CITY — A police officer suffered minor injuries Tuesday night after being hit by a vehicle. Police continued Wednesday to look for the person who hit the officer.Police officers responded to a call of a suspicious person at 11:58 p.m. at 2300 W. Fly Catcher Lane, said West Valley Police Lt. Mike Fossmo. Officers approached a silver Hyundai four-door car when the driver took off and hit one of the officers.Fossmo said the officer suffered minor injuries.Investigators located the
  
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• Microwave sparks fire at West Valley home, firefighters say

  07-02-2018 17:11
  
  A fire that started in the electrical components of a microwave oven forced a family of four and their three pets out of their West Valley City home late Tuesday.
  
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• Man killed while running across I-15 in Kaysville

  07-02-2018 17:11
  KAYSVILLE — A man died Tuesday night after being hit by a vehicle while running across the I-15 freeway.The 24-year-old man was running across southbound lanes near the 200 North exit in Kaysville when he was struck by a vehicle at 10:13 p.m. and killed on impact, said Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Todd Royce.Royce said the BMW was occupied by a woman with her daughter.Authorities are investigating why the man was crossing I-15. His name has not yet been released.More information will be posted
  
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• Bill offers help with workers' comp for first responders

  07-02-2018 16:29
  SALT LAKE CITY — First responders would get easier access to workers' compensation for ailments related to mental stress under a bill advanced by a House committee Tuesday.Rep. Karen Kwan, D-Murray, the sponsor of HB209, spoke about the "extraordinary amount of stress that (first responders) deal with each day" that can cause mental health disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder.First responders have access to workers' compensation, but it's difficult to prove that PTSD stems from
  
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• Audit would compare costs of death penalty cases

  07-02-2018 16:25
  SALT LAKE CITY — How much do death penalty cases cost Utah taxpayers compared with cases where the death penalty isn't used? A House committee approved a bill Tuesday that will create an audit that will find out just that.Rep. Steve Handy, R-Layton, presented HB70 to the House Law enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee.Handy said there was a study conducted in summer 2012 that found that it costs $1.6 million more to pursue the death penalty than to pursue life without parole.But there
  
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• 6-vehicle accident blocks lanes, causes traffic delays on southbound I-15 near Layton

  07-02-2018 15:37
  
  A six-vehicle accident on southbound I-15 blocked several lanes and backed traffic to Roy early Wednesday morning.
  
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• Teen accused of plotting to kill 14-year-old Cache County girl to be sentenced today

  07-02-2018 15:32
  LOGAN — A teenage boy accused of plotting with his friend to shoot and kill a 14-year-old girl is scheduled to be sentenced today for attempted murder.Jayzon Decker, who turned 17 in December, didn't fire the shot that struck Deserae Turner in the head, but prosecutors have argued he was the first to suggest hurting the girl and then kept the shell casing from the attack as a memento.Decker pleaded guilty as an adult to attempted aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, and obstruction of
  
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• Pedestrian hit and killed by car on I-15 in Kaysville

  07-02-2018 15:20
  
  A man died after a car hit him as he ran across I-15 in Kaysville Tuesday night.
  
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• Officer hit by car in West Valley City

  07-02-2018 15:11
  
  One man is in police custody after a car hit a West Valley City police officer early Wednesday.
  
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• Crews extinguish house fire on 1300 East in Sugar House

  07-02-2018 14:37
  
  Crews put out a fire at a home in Sugar House. The residents initially believed their 21-year-old son was trapped in the basement.
  
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• 'Friend, mentor and example': Gail Miller 3rd woman to win Utah leadership award

  07-02-2018 07:18
  SALT LAKE CITY — Gail Miller joined several of the state's elected and business leaders Tuesday evening, where she received a leadership award from the Utah chapter of a national nonprofit connecting students and businesses.Of 40 recipients, the billionaire businesswoman is the third woman to be inducted into the Junior Achievement business hall of fame, an honor first given in 1991.Friends and colleagues at the event in Salt Lake City cast the Utah Jazz owner as a gracious leader and prai
  
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• S.L. School Board renames Jackson Elementary after NASA engineer

  07-02-2018 05:55
  SALT LAKE CITY — In the Salt Lake City School District, NASA engineer Mary Jackson has trumped President Andrew Jackson.The Salt Lake City Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday to rename the school to honor the space agency's first black female engineer instead of the country's seventh president.After a lengthy public process that began as a discussion at the school community council in the 2016-17 school year, three names were ultimately considered as an alternative to (Andrew) Jac
  
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• Love calls House vote to overhaul system for reporting harassment 'long overdue'

  07-02-2018 05:46
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House passed legislation Tuesday to overhaul how members of Congress and their staffs report sexual harassment on Capitol Hill, a response to reports about the current system's tangle of confusing guidelines and culture of secrecy."From members to staff, no one should feel unsafe serving in Congress," House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement following a voice vote.Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah, agreed."This bill is long overdue, and I'm glad Congress is finally pushin
  
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• Bill would require consent to record a conversation in Utah

  07-02-2018 05:35
  SALT LAKE CITY — A state legislator introduced a bill Tuesday that would undo a longstanding Utah law allowing a person to record a personal conversation or telephone call without telling the other party.Rep. Lowry Snow's proposal, HB330, would make it a crime to record a conversation with someone without their consent.The Santa Clara Republican said the Salt Lake Chamber contacted him about running the bill before the legislative session as a way to protect proprietary business interests.
  
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• Girl, 13, dies in fall from narrow cliff at Zion National Park

  07-02-2018 04:12
  ZION NATIONAL PARK — A 13-year-old girl fell to her death from a popular narrow trail bordered by steep drops at Zion National Park, officials said Tuesday.The Utah girl was hiking with family when she tumbled from the Angel's Landing Trail Monday evening, said Zion park ranger John Marciano. She was quickly discovered by hikers on the West Rim Trail below.Angel's Landing was closed Tuesday morning to investigate the fall from the path that ascends some 1,500 feet above the southern Utah p
  
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• State doesn't want 'hostile takeover' for Salt Lake inland port, leaders say

  07-02-2018 03:29
  SALT LAKE CITY — State leaders insist they are not interested in a "hostile takeover" of the city's northwest quadrant as they push for an inland port in the capital's last remaining swath of developable land.In a more than hourlong meeting with the Salt Lake City Council Tuesday, House Speaker Greg Hughes, House Minority Whip Rep. Francis Gibson and Sen. Jerry Stevenson did their best to send that message — and while city leaders walked away from the meeting with some positivity, ma
  
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• Utah Legislative effort for a permanent 'spring ahead' falls short — for now

  07-02-2018 03:04
  SALT LAKE CITY — While it took scientists almost 100 years to prove Einstein's theory that the Earth is surrounded by a space-time vortex, the Utah Legislature's efforts to alter the state's much simpler time rules have been orbiting in a seemingly perpetual vortex of their own, and it's not clear if the decadeslong journey will finally find a destination anytime soon.Before a Senate legislative committee hearing Tuesday to consider the latest time-change proposal, SCR5, co-sponsor Rep. No
  
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• Legislative effort for a permanent 'spring ahead' falls short — for now

  07-02-2018 03:04
  SALT LAKE CITY — While it took scientists almost 100 years to prove Einstein's theory that the Earth is surrounded by a space-time vortex, the Utah Legislature's efforts to alter the state's much simpler time rules have been orbiting in a seemingly perpetual vortex of their own, and it's not clear if the decadeslong journey will finally find a destination anytime soon.Before a Senate legislative committee hearing Tuesday to consider the latest time-change proposal, SCR5, co-sponsor Rep. No
  
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• Man walks into West High School, confronts resource officer

  07-02-2018 03:01
  
  Students eating breakfast Monday morning were disrupted when a man let himself into the school and charged at a school resource officer.
  
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• Another Olympic bid expected to be recommended, but there may be a roadblock

  07-02-2018 02:32
  SALT LAKE CITY — There seems to be no question members of the state's Olympic Exploratory Committee are going to recommend bidding for another Winter Games at their final meeting Wednesday.But that decision, which follows a resolution declaring the state "ready, willing and able" to host another Olympics after the success of the 2002 Winter Games, passed Tuesday by the Utah Legislature, could hit a roadblock pretty quickly.The U.S. Olympic Committee has yet to announce whether an American
  
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• Bill would establish Jordan River Recreation Area

  07-02-2018 02:30
  SALT LAKE CITY — A $1 million proposal would establish the Jordan River Recreation Area, specifically targeting 2100 South to 4430 South for improvements such as lighting, boat ramps and cutting down overgrown weeds.The legislative measure sponsored by Rep. Mike Winder, R-West Valley City, represents lawmakers' continuing commitment to help communities absorb the impacts of new homeless resource centers planned for construction in the area, Winder said.The bill, which excludes Murray at ci
  
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• Utah House advances bill to add assisted suicide to state manslaughter statute

  07-02-2018 02:17
  SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah House voted in favor of a bill Tuesday that would add assisted suicide to the state's manslaughter statute.Under HB86, sponsored by Rep. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, it would become a second-degree felony in Utah to knowingly provide the means for someone to take their own life or to aid in a suicide attempt.The bill comes in the wake of the suicide of a 16-year-old girl in Utah County that prosecutors say was only possible through the help and encouragement of he
  
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• House votes to overhaul system for reporting harassment; Love applauds

  07-02-2018 02:12
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House passed legislation Tuesday to overhaul how members of Congress and their staffs report sexual harassment on Capitol Hill, a response to reports about the current system's tangle of confusing guidelines and culture of secrecy."From members to staff, no one should feel unsafe serving in Congress," House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement following a voice vote.Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah, agreed."This bill is long overdue, and I'm glad Congress is finally pushin
  
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• Final deputy in Daggett jail abuse scandal resolves case

  07-02-2018 02:08
  PARK CITY — The final deputy facing abuse allegations at the Daggett County Jail has resolved the case against him.Logan James Walker, 27, was scheduled to proceed to a jury trial starting Thursday. Instead, he recently pleaded guilty plea to official misconduct, a class B misdemeanor, in Summit County Justice Court. The plea will be held in abeyance for six months. He was ordered to serve six months of probation.If Walker successfully completes his probation, the conviction may be dismiss
  
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• 'I shot that kid': 2 teens charged as adults in gang-related murder case

  07-02-2018 02:02
  SALT LAKE CITY — Two West Valley teens were charged Tuesday with murdering a rival gang member on the Bangerter Highway in an effort to gain street cred.Emanuel Angel Moreno-Vallejo and Robert Theron Danhauer, both 16, are charged as adults with murder, a first-degree felony, as well as other felonies.About 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 18, Irving Alexis Chuba, 15, was shot and killed while driving a minivan near 4100 S. Bangerter Highway. Two officers conducting an unrelated traffic stop nearby heard
  
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• Utah lawmaker wants federal lands decisions to involve state Legislature

  07-02-2018 01:54
  SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah lawmaker said he and his colleagues in the Legislature should not be caught by surprise if members of the congressional delegation are seeking federal land designations.Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, pointed to previous legislation supported by the Mountain Accord and other local governments that sought land trades and a new wilderness designation involving 80,000 acres.The measure died after the departure of former Rep. Jason Chafftez, R-Utah, who gave up his seat early
  
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• Sandy Chamber launches programs to help small businesses grow

  07-02-2018 01:51
  SALT LAKE CITY — With so many area small businesses struggling to expand their bottom line, a local organization is developing new programs designed to help them improve their chances for long-term success.The Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce Tuesday announced the launch of The Business Institute to help build the capacity of small- to medium-size enterprises across the state. President and CEO Greg Summerhays said the programs offered through the institute are aimed specifically at providin
  
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• Overworked domestic violence programs seeking $1.4M annually from Utah lawmakers

  07-02-2018 00:31
  SALT LAKE CITY — Domestic violence ends in death 40 to 50 times a year in Utah. In the past decade, 42 percent of all murders were committed by an intimate partner.Crisis workers in the state took 40,000 telephone calls for help last year, all of them fielded by 13 community-based programs in the state's 29 counties affiliated with the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition."It's a lot of hard work," said Jenn Oxborrow, coalition executive director.Those thinly stretched programs are asking the
  
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• Utah lawmakers push for bevy of clean air measures

  07-02-2018 00:18
  SALT LAKE CITY — The Legislature's nonpartisan Clean Air Caucus on Tuesday unveiled a spate of clean air proposals and a sizeable funding request of more than $3 million to fuel the state's pollution battle.In a packed room at the state Capitol, Rep. Patrice Arent, D-Millcreek, caucus co-chairwoman and founder, said the collaborative group has passed more clean air-related legislation in the past four years than in the history of the state."That being said, there is still more to do," Aren
  
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