City Weekly August 21, 2025

Missing in Plain Sight

Patchwork policing, flawed data and media indifference leave the Four Corners region haunted by unsolved murders.

By Zach Abend

S AP

Main Street Fire

Editor’s note: On Monday, August 11, a fire in Downtown Salt Lake City destroyed White Horse, London Belle, Whiskey Street and Los Tapatios. An employee assistance fund has been set up by the Downtown Alliance. Information can be found at downtownslc.org.

Heartbreaking. Main Street and Salt Lake City will feel this loss for a very long time. Such a vibrant stretch of Main Street gone. So sad.

GOUTES

Via Instagram

Such a sad loss for downtown. This is one of the most vibrant stretches of Main Street. Wishing the best for anyone affected, from those injured to the business owners, and looking forward to seeing this area come back stronger once everything is sorted out and the rebuilding begins.

CUBKELLER Via Instagram

Now the big question is, will the owners of this building completely tear it down and build a high-rise with retail underneath? Or will they try and rebuild something similar to the original to hold the integrity of the neighborhood?

ASHSIMULATION Via Instagram

I think the fire department did a great job not letting the fire spread to other close buildings. It was great that the wind was not a factor either. Still a very sad day.

JEAN STEPHENSON Via Facebook

I was in Salt Lake City for a long weekend, ate at Whiskey Street three times and drinks at White Horse. Staff and food wonderful. Highly recommended both to people going to SLC. Looking forward to their return.

TAMMARAVERDUIN Via Instagram

Literally the greatest restaurant in all of SLC. Heart goes out to everyone.

COREYMILNE Via Instagram

This is a very sad damn day! So many memories of these places. Prayers to rebuild these unique and delicious restaurants and meeting places.

LINDA STOKES WATERS Via Facebook

So if a condo gets put in its place we are all going to collectively lose our shit, right?

WYATTCREBS Via Instagram

Crazy this was on the anniversary of the downtown tornado!

STILL_GRIMEY Via Instagram

Thank you SLC Fire for keeping our community safe during this devastating fire.

NICHOLASANDCO Via Instagram

So devastating for them, and a huge loss for downtown SLC and Main Street!

KURT REINHARDT Via Facebook

Absolutely devastating. So many good folks affected by this. Our hearts are heavy today.

OGDEN’S OWN DISTILLERY Via Facebook

Care to sound off on a feature in our pages or about a local concern? Write to comments@ cityweekly.net or post your thoughts on our social media. We want to hear from you!

THE WATER COOLER

Happy Birthday to CW Publisher Pete Saltas

Zach & Toni Howlett

Happy Birthday Pete! Wishing you nothing but the best for your special day. Thanks for always being so generous and kind and for always losing money on the golf course.

Mikey Saltas

Big Bro Pete Birthday Who Is Luckier Than I? Love You, Brother Bear

Eleni Saltas

Big brother Pete laughs, Louder than the joke itself, We all crack up too.

Kathryn Metos

Happy Birthday to everyone’s favorite Mayor! Hope this next spin is better than your fav cigar Xo-your fav cousin.

George Metos

To my nephew: I’ve watched you grow into one of the most recognizable businessman in Salt Lake. AND I don’t know anybody who has more friends. I’m a proud Uncle. Happy Birthday.

Mason Clark

No better friend in the world and if you ever want someone to show you the ropes on camping, Pete is your guy! Love ya bro! Happy Birthday.

BY CHRISTOPHER SMART

OPINION Hurricane Erin

No Wilson, that hurricane off the eastern seaboard was not named for Salt Lake City’s Mayor—Erin Mendenhall. It is true that she’s something of a whirlwind, and critics sometimes accuse her of being a blowhard, but her sustained winds are nowhere near 74 mph (NOAA’s definition). Nonetheless, she did kick up a storm last week when it was revealed that homelessness in Utah is up 18%.

It felt like a sirocco (hot, dusty wind) when the mayor blamed state legislators and the governor for not putting their money where their mouths are on homelessness.

In December, state leaders told Mendenhall to clean up homeless camps in her city or they would do it for her. That wasn’t the only squall rushing down from Capital Hill this year. But the mayor blew right back at lawmakers for seeking to “control our residents’ lives and to narrow our city’s ability to function as a municipality,” through legislation prohibiting LGBTQ and Pride flags at all government buildings, requiring the city to coordinate planning with UDOT and the Department of Public Safety, and prohibiting collective bargaining with public sector labor unions.

No doubt Mendenhall has skippered Salt Lake City in blustering times. Not long after taking office in 2020, hurricane-force winds swept through northern Utah, toppling thousands of trees in the capital city.

You could be right after all, Wilson. “Hurricane Erin” might just be a suitable handle for the mayor. Hurricane Erin—it does have a ring to it.

Christmas Comes Early: Utah School Vouchers For Skiing

If you think it’s too expensive to get your kids on skis, you haven’t heard of Utah’s fantastic school voucher program, where parents spent $700,000 in taxpayer funding last

year to educate their children on how to slide down snowy mountains. Sweet.

People who love freedom have found it in school voucher programs where they don’t have to send their kids to second-rate public schools. No, they get vouchers—otherwise known as money—to educate their kids as they see fit.

It’s so great; why make youngsters with sharp minds bored as hell sitting through classes aimed at the dumbest students, when they could be skiing? Or, as Park City Mountain Resort spokeswoman Emily McDonald told The Salt Lake Tribune, skiing and snowboarding classes teach life lessons, camaraderie and self-sufficiency.

“[Y]ou fall down, you get back up again, you try not to fall again,” McDonald said. “That’s the best way to learn.”

You gotta admit it Wilson, that’s cooler than algebra and English. Should a kid waste time studying the geography of Uzbekistan or learn how to get big air on a snowboard?

Parents also spent over $400,000 of the taxpayer voucher bucks on bicycles and gear. This, of course, makes for a well-rounded education. Cycling is good, healthy exercise. And anyway, what’s better, a kid sleeping through history or peddling around having a great time while building strength and stamina?

Sure, Asian students are way ahead of Americans on STEM subjects, but who really cares?

Utah’s New Motto: “Greatest Toxic Dust on Earth” We’re on the map—again! Sure, we had the 2002 Winter Olympics and since then we’ve made commodities of “The Greatest Snow on Earth” and our “Mighty Five” national parks. Well, hold on to your hats because northern Utah just made The Washington Post for all the toxic dust blowing off the shrinking Great Salt Lake’s 120 square miles of exposed lakebed. It’s laced with lead, cadmium and arsenic.

“Anybody with lungs is vulnerable. Anybody with a heart or a brain or reproductive organs is vulnerable,” said Dr. Ben Abbott, a BYU ecologist and executive director of Grow the Flow, a nonprofit aimed at saving the lake.

Arsenic on the lakebed is more than 10 times the EPA’s recommended exposure. But there is no centralized method for tracking and understanding the long-term effects they are having on Utah’s burgeoning population.

But what the heck, out of sight out of mind. State legislators and the governor aren’t getting worked up, so it can’t be that big of a deal. Of course, eventually Salt Lake City will have to change its name or people will get confused: Why is it called Salt Lake City?

Blame global warming, blame the drought, but 70% of the water bound for the lake is diverted for agriculture. Most of the Bear River is used for growing alfalfa, a lot of which is shipped to China. But heck, those Chinese cows have to eat, too. Meanwhile, maybe state leaders could do something to keep the dust down. But what’s the hurry, we’re not going to die tomorrow. Hopefully.

Postscript—That’s a wrap for another historic—or not— week here at Smart Bomb, where our staff keeps track of Putin’s poop briefcase so you don’t have to.

This is for real: Putin’s aides make sure not to leave behind any of his poop because it carries genetic and lifestyle information that could reveal details about his health and who knows what all. That’s right, his handlers fear that someone might somehow scoop up his feces and learn intimate secrets that could alter the balance of power.

President Trump, by contrast, doesn’t have a poop briefcase, according to the White House. You’re right Wilson, it does conjure up some scary images. We already know that Trump’s lifestyle includes McDonald’s and Diet Coke; as far as genetic information, well, Don Jr. and Eric tell us all we really need to know.

Fun Facts: Putin’s grandfather, Spiridon Ivanovich Putin, was a cook for Vladimir Lenin and later for Joseph Stalin. Putin likes to use certain catchphrases that are known as “Putinisms.” One is, “To bump off in a toilet.” He used that one about killing terrorists. Another is, “Like shearing a pig—lots of squeal but little wool.”

The Russian strongman loves The Beatles. Paul McCartney is his favorite of the Fab Four and “Yesterday” is his favorite song. Well Wilson, that’s what we’re told, but who really knows? Should Putin’s staff mess up and leave behind the poop briefcase, it would be a fitting souvenir for Donald “TACO” Trump and his not-so-historic Alaska Summit. CW

Private Eye is off this week. Christopher Smart writes the weekly Smart Bomb column, available online at cityweekly.net

HITS & MISSES

BY KATHARINE BIELE | @kathybiele BY WES

MISS: Vox Populi

With all the talk about redistricting— in Texas and California, particularly— you have to wonder where the voter is in the dialogue. The answer appears to be nowhere. Rather than asking voters what they want, legislators seem to be concerned about themselves—and, of course, their own power. A Utah special session seems likely to focus on slapping voters down. While voters have triggered a referendum vote to reconsider a union-busting law, it may not make it to the 2026 ballot. Instead, a special session may attempt to repeal and replace the onerous law before the public has a chance to weigh in. The “replace” part is concerning, because lawmakers could easily replace the law with something worse. That’s what they did in 2020 with the law creating an independent redistricting commission. These aren’t the only examples of overreach. The Salt Lake Tribune has editorialized about a scandal that “shows how the Utah legislative process is flawed and favors the powerful.”

HIT: Dust to Dust

All may not be lost in the rush toward a special session. An interim committee on natural resources says it “will consider draft legislation, ‘Great Salt Lake Amendments,’ which has been prepared for inclusion in a potential special session and changes requirements related to the adaptive management berm.” Whether an adaptive management berm will be enough to save the lake is a question. But at least the country is recognizing the problem. A Washington Post article covered the dangers associated with the drying lake. “Dozens of dust events probably happen each year across the 120-square-mile playa once covered by the Great Salt Lake. But there are no comprehensive state or federal records of them,” it noted. The public knows the dust contains harmful chemicals and heavy metals. Maybe the Legislature is starting to understand.

MISS: Not Permitted

Congresswoman Celeste Maloy wants to save the “little guy” from those big, bad environmentalists who keep suing the government. So she convened a panel of Utah’s energy and mining industries to address what she calls the most important issue facing Congress—permitting delays. Say what? Indeed, when companies begin the process of construction for, say, a mine, they are hit with delays from rules and regulations. Maloy says that results in higher prices and threatens national security. It’s probably true that streamlining processes helps, but the S.J. Quinney College of Law weighed in, noting the wide variety of regulations to protect or achieve social goals: “An empirically grounded approach to permitting reform would address the true causes of delay and reject the prevailing zero-sum perspective that assumes deregulation is the only option.” Maloy might consider bringing all stakeholders into the conversation. CW

High Society

It’s not often one sees a 65th birthday marked with a bounce house, and yet for celebrants at the Humane Society of Utah (4242 S. 300 West), the sight seemed appropriate. Surrounded by booths for balloons and games as well as food and face painting, an inflatable circus slide sprawled across the shelter’s lawn on the morning of July 12, awaiting infusions of air to its shell.

Meanwhile, volunteers busied themselves with getting everything ready. Alexis Hertig, with HSU’s cat program, arranged stickers at one booth in good spirits. Hertig is allergic to cats, and yet has no qualms about the work she does for the Humane Society.

“If I die, I’ll die happily,” she joked. No less enthusiastic than Hertig was Haley Kroepfl, HSU’s education manager. Why do Kroepfl and Hertig take such satisfaction from their work?

“My two favorite aspects,” Kroepfl explained, “are seeing each participant’s joy in meeting our animal guests, and witnessing passion being inspired when youth learn about animal welfare topics.”

Indeed, HSU’s decades of adoption and advocacy wouldn’t be possible without people like Kroepfl, Hertig and their colleagues, nor would it survive without the countless animal lovers who have kept the doors open all these years. Each lends vital air to a cause that requires ongoing infusions by each new generation—it cannot take shape otherwise.

But to make proper birthday wishes for the future, it helps knowing how far one has come.

Utah has had humane societies in one form or another since 1888, following the passage of an anticruelty law by the Legislature upon recommendation by local clubwoman Clementina Jones (1847-1892). Law enforcement—as well as activity in humane groups—fluctuated over the years, but Utahns like Grace Hyslop (1883-1958) and Grace Johnson (1896-1984) kept these issues alive, with Hyslop in particular operating a shelter that once stood along Beck Street beneath Capitol Hill.

“Lack of funds, facilities and personnel have hampered city, county and interested groups in their animal rescue endeavors,” noted the Deseret News in 1960. Abandoned and abused animals were a frequent occurrence— something needed to change.

Accepting an offer from the national Humane Society, three competing local groups merged in 1960 and became an official branch of the larger organization. By 1961, the local branch had selected a site at 4613 S. 4000 West to build a modern facility, with funds obtained from the sale of the old Beck Street building and what they raised through rummage sales.

Originally, HSU served the areas between Ogden and Provo and championed animal care and adoption, cruelty investigations and public education. Today, the HSU offers an array of programs that retain the air of those earlier services. They even have a clinic in St. George and do birthday parties.

Call them old if you want, but 65 never looked so good—or adorable. CW

A&E

Political Theater

Theatre & Justice Convening brings creators together for mutual support and creating change through art.

BY SCOTT RENSHAW scottr@cityweekly.net @scottrenshaw

It can be a disheartening time if you’re someone concerned with social justice issues, wondering how to take meaningful action. As an attempt to take that concern from an individual to a collective level within the largely-progressive local theater community, one local theater organization is creating a weekend of talks and workshops dedicated to exploring the intersections of performance, activism and justice.

Wasatch Theatre Company’s executive director Jim Martin has organized Theatre and Justice Convening, a two-day event at the Regent Street Black Box Theatre, inspired by a similar event that took place earlier this year in Chicago. According to Martin, “I think it’s really just about, sometimes we feel kind of powerless in this world of so much going on. And it gives artists a way of using their art in a way that can bring some solace, but also create community among the artists involved, and direct their efforts towards some justice-oriented activities.”

Martin used his own contact list to pull together the lineup of speakers and performers, including keynote speaker Dr. M. Candace Christensen, founder of the former Utah-based theater company Avalon Isle and current associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work; University of Utah professor emeritus in

theater Richard Scharine; drag/clown performer Madazon Can-Can; and slam poet RJ Walker. The event is also scheduled to include staged readings from books banned in Utah schools.

Dr. Christensen, whose presentation will address their work using theater as a tool for community-building and advocacy, recognizes that there are challenges in terms of presenting theater that addresses social-justice issues— especially when high-profile artists, expressing political thoughts, are often scolded on social media and told to “stay in your lane.” “There are a lot of people who find direct engagement with politics uncomfortable, or when they go out for an entertaining evening at the theater, they don’t want that to be part of it,” Dr. Christensen says. “[But] I believe that everything is political. Theater is political. I actually think it’s the tool of the oppressor to say we need to ‘stay in our lanes.’ If you look at the history of the theater, it’s used as a tool for political and social education, for teaching morals.”

Madazon Can-Can—who will be presenting the performance piece Revolting: The Academy of Exile, about bias against gender-non-conforming people in academia, with Judas Rose—believes that theater can be challenging and confrontational about complex issues without falling victim to the kind of didacticism that can alienate people who hate feeling preached to.

“It’s not about telling people ‘how wrong you are;’ it’s about showing and feeling,” they say. “It’s sharing personal experiences and letting the audience make of it what they want. It’s personal. It’s storytelling.”

For many artists, when addressing justice issues in their work, there’s always that concern about an audience consisting mostly of already like-minded individuals, and wondering about what to expect from presenting the work. “There is a lot of despondence with me and a lot of creatives: Why do it if we’re not being heard, not being sustained, why why why,” Madazon Can-Can says.

“But silence is death. … If we’re not at least speaking at all, then regardless of the effect, the silence is worse than anything else.”

Since this is a first-time event, those involved have pragmatic views on what can be accomplished in the space of a weekend. Indeed, they suggest it’s not so much about changing the world as about changing a sense of isolation, and having people work together to consider what’s possible. “This is an excellent start; it’s a way of bringing people together to ask questions,” Dr. Christensen says. “What are you worried about? What skills do we have as theater people to address these issues we’re concerned about? Do we create a festival on a certain theme? Do we create more participatory theater experiences for more non-theater folks?”

Martin also believes that an event like this one is as much about sustaining and providing resources to the creators as it is to finding audiences. “I think it’s just important to keep talking and supporting one another,” Martin says. “I don’t want people to feel they can’t do anything, or that there aren’t people they can go to for support—a network of connections where we can build on the work of others. … We’ve only skimmed the surface of what’s available out there. I don’t see a whole lot of partnering in theater, so I’d love to see more. Yeah, there are stories that we want to be involved with, but that we might not be in the position to tell alone, so to connect with different groups throughout the state, broadening the definition of what theater is.” CW

THEATRE AND JUSTICE CONVENING Regent Street Black Box 144 Regent St. (adjacent to Eccles Theater) Aug. 23, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Aug. 24, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. $5/day saltlakecountyarts.org

theESSENTIALS ENTERTAINMENT

Complete listings online at cityweekly.net

Performing Arts Coalition: Our Carnival of the Animals

In 2024, the resident arts organizations at the Rose Wagner Center—Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation, Plan-B Theatre Company, Pygmalion Theatre Company, Repertory Dance Theatre, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company and SB Dance—shifted the concept for their annual one-night-only collective showcase from individual performances to a collaborative effort thematically focused around Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. According to Pygmalion Theatre Company’s Fran Pruyn—who directs this year’s presentation, Our Carnival of the Animals—it was an ideal shift. “I feel now we’re creating more a cohesive piece of art rather than just a showcase,” Pruyn says. “But it’s still spontaneous, and it’s still fun, and it’s still one night only.”

Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals becomes the musical centerpiece for the 2025 presentation, a work that brings with it several advantages, including the familiarity of the music and the Ogden Nash poetry inspired by it for a 1950 recording. While last year’s Mussorgsky piece allowed for a thematic focus on the idea of presenting art, Pruyn believes the primary advantage of Carnival of the Animals, with its dancing animals and animal narrators, is “mostly it’s just that it’s fun.” And it remains an important way to introduce these organizations to new audiences, at a time when funding cutbacks have made it even more important to support the arts.

Performing Arts Coalition’s Our Carnival of the Animals comes to the Rose Wagner Center (138 W. 300 South) on Saturday, Aug. 23 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12.50 - $17.50; visit saltlakecountyarts.org to purchase tickets and for additional event information. (Scott Renshaw)

Art on the Trails

We shouldn’t need an excuse to explore the natural beauty of our local mountain trails—but to the credit of the Summit County and Park City Arts Councils, we have one. Art on the Trails brings guests into the Wasatch Back with knowledgeable trail guides for a nature experience that also becomes an artistic experience.

The tours get their particular jolt from immersive, site-specific visual and performing arts experiences placed throughout the trail. Scheduled performers for 2025 include Elizabeth Bee Music; Park City Opera; trumpeter Christopher Danz and Utah Symphony principal horn player Jessica Danz; Steel Ranch Welding; Rhythm Nation Tap Dance Group; Cultural Fire Events indigenous dance; and musical group Changing Lanes. Before and after the tours, guests are invited to enjoy additional live music performances free to all visitors until 6 p.m. at the Copper Moose Farm Stand meeting area, with food and drinks available for purchase. It’s a rare opportunity to get exposed to local and regional creators of all kinds, even while you’re in our beautiful wilderness and getting your steps in.

Art on the Trails tours begin at Copper Moose Farm Stand (1285 Old Ranch Road, Park City) on Saturday, Aug. 23, with groups departing every 20 minutes from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. for a 90-minute round trip. Tickets are $28.52 per adult including fees, with kids under 12 free; attendees are encouraged to wear comfortable walking attire and sunscreen, and bring refillable water bottles. Please arrive 15 minutes ahead of scheduled departure time. Visit pcscarts.org/art-on-the-trails to purchase tickets and for additional event information. (SR)

Shannon Hale: Dream On

While Utah author Shannon Hale launched her professional career with young-adult fantasy novels like The Goose Girl and Princess Academy, most of her published titles in recent years has been in illustrated works: the Princess in Black series, the autobiographical Best Friends and her new release, Dream On. But as she noted in an email interview, that’s more of a blip in her wide-ranging interests, and the wideranging interests of young readers.

“The way my brain works, variety and challenges are good for productivity,” she writes, “so I’m always writing several different books in various genres, age groups, and formats. … Sometimes we want a book to take us far, far away on a fantastical adventure. Sometimes we want a book to reflect back to us our current struggles, emotions, and confusion so we can feel validated as well as process all that muckity-muck through the characters.”

Dream On deals more with that “muckity-muck”: a girl named Cassie living in a financially-challenged family who becomes obsessed with the possibility of winning a sweepstakes prize. It also marks Hale’s collaboration with a new illustrator, Marcela Cespedes. “We clicked immediately,” Hale writes. “I loved her style, but I didn’t know till later how much she connected personally with our highly sensitive main character in Dream On. It’s all felt so serendipitous.”

Shannon Hale launches Dream On at Rose Park Elementary School (1105 W. 1000 North) on Sunday, Aug. 24 at 2:30 p.m. The ticketed event costs $18.12, including admission for one adult and one child, plus a signed copy of Dream On. Visit kingsenglish.com for Eventbrite registration link. (SR)

The Wasatch Front is home to a number of quality bookstores, each with its own distinctive audience and wares. From the realms of fantasy to the latest scholarship, whether new or used, these are but a sampling of the outstanding purveyors of published print in our own backyard.

CINEMA

Dream Season

Filmmaker Kelyn Ikegami turns the underdog sports story of The Streak into a reflection on athletic dreams.

BY SCOTT RENSHAW

scottr@cityweekly.net

@scottrenshaw

The crowd-pleasing formula of the “underdog sports drama” is woven into the fabric of film history. When aspiring filmmaker Kelyn Ikegami learned as a student at Brigham Young University that a professional baseball record for consecutive wins was set in 1987 by the rookieleague Salt Lake Trappers, it would have been easy for him to lean into the story of a ragtag group of undervalued young men doing the improbable. But he envisioned a different kind of story as he fashioned the documentary that would become The Streak.

“The movie is called The Streak, so no one is going in wondering if they’re going to break the streak,” Ikegami says. “I wanted people to get more out of it than they were expecting. So then I had to tell a story about more than the streak; I had to dig deeper.”

Ikegami certainly doesn’t ignore the on-field achievements that turned the ’87 Trappers—a newly-created team without a major league affiliate, co-owned by actor

Former Trapper

Frank Colston in 2022

Bill Murray, that stocked its roster with undrafted and castoff players—into national news. The story of that 29-game winning streak, however, is done at about the halfway point of the film, leaving the rest of the running time for reflection on several of the players’ lives 35 years after the fact, when none of them ended up making the big leagues.

In order to explore those lives, Ikegami had to get the ex-players to trust him personally. That required sharing with them stories like his own history of growing up as a baseball fan in Japan and connecting with his father and grandfather over love of the game. “As a documentary filmmaker, the more I’m open about my life, and the more I’m willing to give [my subjects], the more they’re willing to give me,” Ikegami says. “A lot of people don’t realize how much of a commitment of time it is to be in a documentary, and how much of an emotional drain it can be, to open up old wounds.”

The result is a story that finds complexity in a group of would-be pro baseball players achieving something that landed them in the Baseball Hall of Fame, yet ended up being the peak of their careers, forcing them to shift their expectations for their lives. One focal point for that narrative is Frank “Shady” Colston—the ’87 Trappers’ captain and catcher, now operating a tavern/restaurant in Illinois—who opens up before the camera about the substance abuse that affected his life and that of several of his teammates.

“Out of the blue, [Frank] just started talking about his recovery from alcoholism,” Ikegami says. “As we dug a little bit deeper and made that connection of that pain of having to quit ball and not knowing what to do af-

terwards … if Frank is experiencing this, I could talk to other players about those pivotal moments in their lives. That exact point is what would make this point relatable both to baseball fans and non-baseball fans. We all have dreams from when we were kids, and most of us don’t end up doing that thing.”

Ikegami also realized that the very context that made this an ideal underdog-sports movie—that none of these players were individually expected to be stars—also contributed to the richness of the psychology. “That was one of the dichotomies that was so interesting to me,” Ikegami says. “When you go through something like that, the whole world descends on Salt Lake City. And they made it to the Hall of Fame! Most major leaguers don’t even get to do that. I think it made the heartbreak all the more real for those players, because for that one month when they weren’t losing, they would think they would be able to extend their careers.”

Yet for all the potential to emphasize the bitterness of failing to parlay “the streak” into a successful pro career, there’s a poignant moment near the end where Frank Colston notes that he actually hopes the Trappers’ streak is broken someday, and that he further hopes it’s another minor-league team that does it. “That line exactly is part of the reason why I gravitated so much to Frank when I made this film,” Ikegami says. “Because his level of introspection, and generosity, and philosophical thinking—I don’t know if there’s words to describe it. It’s rare to be able to step outside of yourself and say, ‘This experience has already blessed me so much, if somebody else could have this experience, that would be wonderful.’”

The Streak opens Aug. 22 in local theaters. CW

MISSING IN PLAIN SIGHT

PATCHWORK POLICING, FLAWED DATA AND MEDIA INDIFFERENCE LEAVE THE FOUR CORNERS REGION HAUNTED BY UNSOLVED MURDERS.

BY ZACH ABEND COMMENTS@CITYWEEKLY.NET

“I am tired; my heart is sick and sad.”

—Chief Joseph, October 5, 1877

Danielle Werito remembers her brother, Julius Lane Largo, as “our shoulder to lean on, the best friend you could ever have.” But on the evening of November 25, 2024, Largo, a 29-year-old Navajo man, vanished from his family home in Hogback, New Mexico, after dinner.

Largo’s ex-girlfriend—who was alleged to be physically abusive—claimed that Largo stole her car when he disappeared. When Werito went to the Navajo Nation Shiprock Police Department to report her brother missing, the authorities told her the car had to be found before they would begin an investigation. Werito realized she’d have to find the car herself. “I knew Navajo Nation won’t do shit,” she said. “We started looking for the car the day after I reported him missing.”

After roughly three weeks of searching around the clock with her family and volunteers, Werito found the car abandoned in Utah. But even then, Largo’s case stalled. And when Werito tried to get outside law enforcement agencies involved, she said she was admonished by the local officers.

“I have advocated for my brother,” Werito said. Werito’s search for answers to her brother’s disappearance led her to a Murdered and Missing Indigenous People—or MMIP—event, where she had an illuminating conversation with a New Mexico lawmaker. She learned that her inability to get outside law enforcement agencies involved in her brother’s case boiled down to jurisdictional issues and a lack of formal cooperation between tribal leadership and state agencies.

“The Navajo Nation hasn’t signed [a memorandum of understanding] with New Mexico,” Werito said. “People go missing every day and there is no help because they didn’t sign the MOU.”

Joshua Barnett, a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) spokesperson, said jurisdictional issues are the most common problem for MMIP cases, because investigations can involve multiple jurisdictions or someone who is outside tribal or BIA control. And Dustin Jansen, Director of the Utah Division of Indian Affairs, echoed this concern.

“Everyday, jurisdiction is still a big issue,” Jansen noted. “We work with tribes and state law enforcement to enforce other areas of law.”

Law enforcement on the Navajo Nation—which cov-

“No one wants to be a snitch,” said Derwin McCabe, a Navajo artist whose cousin’s murder remains unsolved.

ers 27,000 square miles in Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico—is a byzantine conglomeration of seven tribal police districts, state law enforcement, the BIA, the FBI and multiple law enforcement jurisdictions bordering Navajo land.

If a memorandum of understanding hasn’t been signed, outside law enforcement may not be able to respond to a missing person case at all. Each law enforcement entity is siloed, creating a fragmented system for families trying to find their loved ones.

And even in cases when a suspected perpetrator is caught, experts say there is a very small window of opportunity for the tribe to prosecute them.

Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd is relatively new to his position, but determined to address issues like jurisdiction in the absence of a state-level initiative. “We will look at data collection, how we build trust, jurisdiction, how we work with tribal leaders when they report,” Redd said.

Clear as Mud

Georgianna Harrison’s sister, Ranelle Rose Bennett, a Navajo woman, vanished on June 15, 2021, from the family home in Hogback, New Mexico.

Navajo authorities told the family that Bennett’s ex-boyfriend was a “bad person,” and it was alleged within the community that he was physically abusive to the women he dated. But the man was reportedly never questioned about Bennett’s disappearance, even after he was arrested in a shootout with Navajo police and sent to prison.

Harrison said that she retreated inwardly after Bennett’s disappearance.

“I won’t get in a relationship with anyone in this area because maybe someone in their family was involved in my sister’s disappearance,” Harrison said.

Derwin McCabe, who is Navajo and runs the Native American Trading Post’s Rock Shop in Salt Lake City, says fear of retaliation is a complicating factor

Calvin Willie Martinez disappeared on May 12, 2019. He was last seen at a truck stop in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

in solving Indigenous-related crime. “No one wants to be a snitch,” McCabe said. “I would say about 60 percent don’t know who did the killing and 40 percent know but don’t want to tell.”

About three years ago, McCabe’s cousin Jerilyn Richards, a Navajo woman, was murdered in her home on the reservation in Bird Springs, Arizona. The case remains unsolved.

Unfortunately, trauma begets trauma in MMIP cases. “It’s a perpetual cycle of inflicted trauma on a marginalized society that is forced into erasure,” said Tamra Borchardt-Slayton, Indian Peaks Band Chairwoman and Council member for the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah.

Deiandra Reid, a Navajo advocate with the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women (CSVANW) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, had a sister go missing. Tiffany Reid was 16 years old in 2004 when she disappeared while walking to school from her home in Shiprock, New Mexico. The official response from Shiprock Police was slow.

“They had my mom wait 72 hours before taking a police report,” Deiandra Reid recalled. “They labeled her as a runaway.”

To add insult to injury, Tiffany Reid was purged from the missing person system a year after she was entered. Deiandra Reid said the family didn’t find out Tiffany had been purged until 16 years later. The original case number for Tiffany’s investigation was also lost. “They would open a new case number every time someone called in about her,” Deiandra Reid said. The numbers are about as clear as mud for MMIP cases. According to public affairs specialist Sandra Barker, the FBI has 942 open MMIP cases nationally and 16 open cases in Utah. However, the BIA estimates there are 4,200 unsolved MMIP cases nationally. When asked about discrepancies between tribal, state and federal MMIP case data, Barker explained that there are various databases maintained by the FBI, Department of Justice and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

“People go missing every day and there is no help,” said Danielle Werito, whose brother disappeared last November.

Frustrated with the work of traditional law enforcement, Bernadine Beyale founded 4Corners K-9 Search and Rescue.

“None of these systems were developed to collect or report information based on race or Indian Country investigative jurisdiction,” Barker said. In recent years, however, they have come up with ways to report tribal affiliation.

Un fortunately, the entry of records into systems like the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) report is mostly voluntary.

Data collection is key for Amber Kanazbah Crotty, Council Delegate for the 25th Navajo Nation Council. Crotty has helped take the lead in creating a Navajo Nation-specific MMIP database.

Horrified by the abduction, sexual assault and bludgeoning to death of Ashlynne Mike in 2016—an 11-year-old Navajo girl in Shiprock, NM—Crotty decided to take action.

“We wondered how this could happen to one of our children,” Crotty recalled. “No one knew how many relatives are missing. So, we wanted to gather our own data.”

The Navajo Nation has invested $1.5 million in creating this database in conjunction with the Navajo Technical University. Crotty hopes to have something ready by the fall.

“We don’t want to wait any more for someone else,” Crotty remarked.

Dee Platero—who is part Navajo and one of the founding board members of a new Utah non-profit advocacy group called MMIR Utah, or Murdered and Missing Indigenous Relatives—is also passionate about collecting Indigenous data.

With plans to launch MMIR Utah this fall, one of Platero’s key goals is to create a database of murdered and missing Indigenous people for Utah in conjunction with the University of Utah.

“We see a correlation between data sovereignty and justice and healing,” Platero said. “If Indigenous people can’t own their data, how can they own their own healing.”

Grief and Healing

Becky Martinez’s 32-year-old brother, Calvin Willie Martinez, a member of the Navajo Nation, disappeared on May 12, 2019, from a Love’s truck stop in Albuquerque, New Mexico, off of Interstate 40.

It took law enforcement four years to tell Martinez that her brother’s trail had gone cold in the vicinity of Grants, New Mexico.

“He had called my mom from there on Mother’s Day 2019 to say he would be home soon,” Martinez said. “They were interrupted or disconnected, according to my mom. She called back and no one picked up.”

Bernadine Beyale knows a thing or two about the trail going cold. Beyale, a Navajo search and rescue expert, founded 4Corners K-9 Search and Rescue (4CK9SAR) in 2022 because she was frustrated with the lack of urgency when it came to missing Indigenous people on the reservation.

As the first and only native-owned K-9 team on the Navajo reservation, according to Beyale, the 4CK9SAR team now has eight volunteers and two canines named Gunny and Moby. This year alone, Beyale’s team has gone on 32 searches in the four corners region—more than during all of 2024.

The psychological component is key for Beyale. “Mental wellness is so important for our team,” she said. “Everyone has different ways of dealing with it. We smudge when we go out and when we come back. The dogs get ash on their paws.” Smudging is a Navajo ceremony that involves burning herbs like sage to eliminate negative energy and restore balance.

The lack of attention focused on missing Indigenous people critically impacts MMIP families’ mental health. Multiple people interviewed for this story expressed bitterness and disappointment in the lack of media attention toward MMIP cases. To the mainstream press, they said, Indigenous people may as well be invisible.

“If you think about the media itself, who they highlight on the evening news who goes missing, it’s not

natives,” Borchardt-Slayton explained. “The only time you hear about missing natives is when there is a body found.”

The first step in combating invisibility is acknowledging that trauma happened.

“Justice isn’t always going to court and winning the case,” Borchardt-Slayton said. “It’s acknowledging something bad happened.”

Utah House Minority Leader Angela Romero, who championed Utah’s now-defunct Murdered and Missing Indigenous People (MMIP) Task Force, said that far too many people think MMIP issues are confined to the Indigenous community.

“They think it’s just a Native issue,” Romero observed, “and it should be a community issue.”

McCabe, who teaches traditional Navajo drumming and beading classes, emphasizes traditional Navajo approaches to dealing with grief.

“The way we heal is through prayer and fellowship with family,” McCabe said. “In our culture we are taught that we only have a time frame of four days to grieve. In order for them to make their journey into the spirit world, we have to let go of grieving for them to move on.”

Connection with community has helped Reid grapple with her pain. Reid first became involved with CSVANW through their trainings for MMIP families. Now she helps implement CSVANW healing retreats for other families who have lost relatives to violence or who are missing.

“Having this retreat lets people reflect on their advocacy journey and build relationships with each other,” she said. “We are teaching them self-care and giving them tools for that.”

For Werito, she said that focusing on her close bond with her brother helps her to stay positive.

“Just because we haven’t found a body or remains, it gives me hope that he is out there,” Werito said. “He used to say one day I will leave with what I have and start a new life. I just don’t know why he isn’t reaching out.” CW

Fine Dining Meets Fast Casual

STRADA

by Matteo offers much more than a good lunch.

BY ALEX SPRINGER comments@cityweekly.net @captainspringer

In a truly just world, fast-casual Italian restaurants would be more of a fixture in our commercial landscape. I suppose it comes down to the ubiquity of pizza places that also serve pasta, but I’m always on the lookout for a good Italian spot that will offer a quick lunch of classic Italian flavors. This active quest is what got me so excited to visit STRADA by Matteo, a new concept from chef Matteo Sogne.

STRADA offers a fast-casual counterpoint to Matteo, which is Sogne’s flagship fine-dining restaurant in downtown SLC.

At the end of last year, Chef Sogne relocated his restaurant from the Ninth and Ninth neighborhood to the heart of downtown Salt Lake City. On the heels of this successful reopening, Sogne and his team spotted an opportunity to tackle the fastcasual market and opened STRADA only a block away from Matteo’s new location.

This clever tactic uses Matteo’s kitchen as a staging area for STRADA’s menu prep, which means you’re getting finedining quality goods in STRADA’s fastcasual atmosphere. It also means you’re getting plenty of bang for your buck, as every pasta dish, salad and panini on the menu is under 20 bucks. That said, you’ll likely want to assemble a multi-course meal for yourself, because STRADA does not disappoint for fans of Italian food.

DINE

It’s perfectly reasonable to kick off a decently-sized meal at STRADA with the whipped brie ($13). The cheese is caramelized and whipped with walnuts and raisins, making for a silky-smooth pregame experience. The polpette ($13) are on the heartier side for an antipasti, but these meatballs are indeed delicious— plump, flavorful and served with a pomodoro sauce that adds the perfect amount of acidity.

If you prefer a salad to pasta—or if you’re just really hungry and want to get both—you cannot go wrong with the Caesar ($15). Served with your choice of meatballs or grilled chicken, this Italian classic is always a win. Those looking for more of a main course salad will want to check out either the pollo bowl ($15) or the bistecca bowl ($17). The former comes with grilled chicken and roasted tomatoes, while the latter gets a chimichurri and gorgonzola dressing.

The pasta situation at STRADA is mixand-match, which means you get a few different types of freshly-made pasta for $11—the gnocchi and gluten-free casarecce are $12—and a choice of sauce. All of these options are great bets, but the bolognese ($5.50) is an Old World banger. The crema di parmigiano ($5) is also great for those who like a creamier sauce with their pasta.

With Chef Sogne at the helm, there was no doubt that the pasta, salad and antipasti game would be on point. As a grilled panini menu was new territory for Sogne and crew, this was the area that most captured my curiosity. They can be ordered in halves or wholes, and the half sandwich combo comes with a side salad and dessert, which is not a bad deal.

The chicken parm ($9.50 for half, $17 for whole) is the restaurant’s best-seller, as it represents a lot of what Sogne can do well. A cutlet of fried chicken sits upon a generously-sized panini and is slathered in pink vodka sauce, melted mozzarella,

pesto and some Parmigiano Reggiano.

I also very much liked the piccante ($9.25 for half, $16.50 for whole) with its spicy Italian sausage and peppers. A good sausage-and-pepper sandwich is never far from my thoughts, and I really liked the STRADA take on this classic. The sausage is indeed spicy, but it’s got enough melty mozzarella to calm things down a bit.

While I could see diners gravitate more to STRADA’s pasta menu, the paninis should not be overlooked. This was the area where I thought STRADA might fumble a bit, but it represents a solid roster of classic Italian flavors. As an objective fan of sandwich-craft, I can confidently say that STRADA is not messing around.

I was also a fan of swapping the dessert out for some kind of savory side dish in the sandwich combo. STRADA offers both gelato ($6) and cannoli ($6) on its dessert menu, and I opted for the cannoli in my sandwich combo. It’s composed of a nice, crispy shell and a creamy, not-toosweet filling, garnished with a drizzle of chocolate sauce and crushed pistachios. I am baffled as to why most fast-casual restaurants don’t offer dessert with their lunch combo meals—though it would be tough to compete with this cannoli recipe.

STRADA very much feels like an interesting risk that will pay off for Chef Sogne. Its downtown location puts it within the radius of the urban office crowd, and its high-quality but economical menu is packed with crowd-pleasers. STRADA has the engine of a fine dining restaurant under its hood, so don’t be surprised if you end up getting wowed by your visit. CW STRADA

2 Row Brewing

73 West 7200 South, Midvale

2RowBrewing.com

On Tap: “Czech One-Two” Czech Pilsner

Avenues Proper

376 8th Ave, SLC avenuesproper.com

On Tap: Steamy Wonder Rye Steam Ale

Bewilder Brewing

445 S. 400 West, SLC BewilderBrewing.com

On Tap: Pink Boots - Pink Pony Pilz

Bohemian Brewery

94 E. Fort Union Blvd, Midvale BohemianBrewery.com

NEW Releases: Kölsch, Dusseldorfer “Alt” Bier

Bonneville Brewery 1641 N. Main, Tooele BonnevilleBrewery.com

On Tap: Peaches and Cream Ale

chappell.beer

On Tap: Pie Hole - Strawberry Rhubarb Tart Ale

Corner Brew Pub Sugar House 2110 S. Highland Drive, SLC saltlakebrewingco.com/wasatch

On Tap:  Top of Main Coalition Hellfire Chili Pepper Ale

Craft by Proper 1053 E. 2100 So., SLC properbrewingco.com

On Tap: Steamy Wonder Rye Steam Ale

Desert Edge Brewery

273 Trolley Square, SLC DesertEdgeBrewery.com

On Tap:  Centennial Steamer, California Common Lager

Epic Brewing Co. 825 S. State, SLC EpicBrewing.com

On Tap: Chasing Ghosts IPA

Etta Place Cidery

700 W Main St, Torrey

A list of what local craft breweries and cider houses have on tap this week

Fisher Brewing Co.

320 W. 800 South, SLC FisherBeer.com

On Tap: A rotation of up to 17 Fresh Beers!

Grid City Beer Works

333 W. 2100 South, SLC GridCityBeerWorks.com

NEW: Cyotee Elvis Kolsh

Helper Beer

159 N Main Street, Helper, UT  helperbeer.com

Hopkins Brewing Co.

1048 E. 2100 South, SLC HopkinsBrewingCompany.com

On Tap: Pray For Rain - Summer Ale

Kiitos Brewing

608 W. 700 South, SLC KiitosBrewing.com

On Tap: Sake Rice Lager (collab with Tsuki Sake); Tropical Haze IPA

New Launch: Fonio Fusion - 6.6%

Level Crossing Brewing Co. 2496 S. West Temple, South Salt Lake

LevelCrossingBrewing.com

On Tap: Helles Munich Style

Level Crossing Brewing Co.,

550 South 300 West, Suite

LevelCrossingBrewing.com

On Tap: Look Up! Amber Ale

Moab Brewing 686 S. Main, Moab TheMoabBrewery.com

On Tap:  “Big Drop” West Coast

Mountain West Cider

425 N. 400 West, SLC MountainWestCider.com

On Tap: Sage Advice (Peach and Sage Hard Cider)

Offset Bier Co

1755 Bonanza Dr Unit C, Park City offsetbier.com/

On Tap: DOPO IPA

Ogden Beer Company

358 Park Blvd, Ogden OgdenBeerCompany.com

On Tap: 11 rotating taps as well as high point cans and guest beers

Park City Brewing 1764 Uinta Way C1 ParkCityBrewing.com

On Tap: Canadian Pub Water - Lager

Policy Kings Brewery

79 W. 900 South, Salt Lake City PolicyKingsBrewery.com On Tap: Kings Proper Kolsch

Prodigy Brewing 25 W Center St. Logan Prodigy-brewing.com On Tap: 302 Czech Pilsner

Proper Brewing/Proper

Burger 857 So. Main & 865 So. Main properbrewingco.com

On Tap: Steamy Wonder Rye Steam Ale

Proper Brewing Moab 1393 US-191, Moab properbrewingco.com

On Tap: Blizzard Wizard Hazy Pale Ale

Red Rock Brewing 254 So. 200 West RedRockBrewing.com

On Tap: Gypsy Scratch

Red Rock Fashion Place 6227 So. State Redrockbrewing.com

On Tap: Grand Bavaria

Red Rock Kimball Junction 1640 Redstone Center Redrockbrewing.com

On Tap: Bamberg Rauch Bier

RoHa Brewing Project 30 Kensington Ave, SLC RoHaBrewing.com

On Tap: Kensington Street Festival IPA

Roosters Brewing Multiple Locations RoostersBrewingCo.com

On Tap: Cranberry Lime Seltzer

SaltFire Brewing 2199 S. West Temple, South Salt Lake SaltFireBrewing.com

On Draft: Hot Blonde Summer Ale

Salt Flats Brewing 2020 Industrial Circle, SLC SaltFlatsBeer.com

On Tap: OPEN ROAD SERIES #3 - Barrel Aged Grand Cru

Scion Cider Bar 916 Jefferson St W, SLC Scionciderbar.com

On Tap: Scion Cider Spruce

Moose 6.3% ABV

Second Summit Cider 4010 So. Main, Millcreek https://secondsummitcider. com

On Tap: Blackberry Lime 6.5%

Shades Brewing 1388 S. 300 West, Salt Lake City

ShadesBrewing.beer

New Batch: Coyote Ugli (New England Style Double IPA)

Shades On State

366 S. State Street, Salt Lake City

Shadesonstate.com

On Tap: Six Wheat Under Hefeweizen

Silver Reef 4391 S. Enterprise Drive, St. George SGBev.com

Squatters Corner Pub –Valley Fair 3555 Constitution Blvd, West Valley City squatterscornerpub.com

On Tap: Salt Lake Brewing Co. Emigration Amber Ale

Squatters Pub Brewery / Salt Lake Brewing Co.

147 W. Broadway, SLC saltlakebrewingco.com/ squatters

On Tap: Salt Lake Brewing Co. Bee Sting Honey Lavender Ale

Strap Tank Brewery, Lehi 3661 Outlet Pkwy, Lehi, UT StrapTankBrewery.com

On Tap: “Virgil the Guide” (Italian Pilsner); “Smiles und Sunshine” (German Leichtes Weizen)

Strap Tank Brewery, Springville

596 S 1750 W, Springville, UT StrapTankBrewery.com

On Tap: “Orange Hopsicle” Hazy Pale; “Trouble” American Sour with Mango and Passionfruit

TF Brewing

936 S. 300 West, SLC TFBrewing.com

On Tap: Twelve taps and high point cans available.

Talisman Brewing Co. 1258 Gibson Ave, Ogden TalismanBrewingCo.com

On Tap: Thirst Trap (watermelon wheat); Lucky Punk (pilsner)

Thieves Guild Cidery

117 W. 900 South, SLC thievesguildcidery.com

On Tap: Death and Decay Rosé - 6.9%

Top of Main Brewery

250 Main, Park City, Utah topofmainbrewpub.com

On Tap: Top of Main Brewery Hop Carousel IPA

Uinta Brewing 1722 S. Fremont Drive, SLC UintaBrewing.com

On Tap: Was Angeles Craft Beer

UTOG

2331 Grant Ave, Ogden UTOGBrewing.com

On Tap: Golden Grant 5% ABV.

Vernal Brewing

55 S. 500 East, Vernal VernalBrewing.com

Zion Brewery

95 Zion Park Blvd, Springdale ZionBrewery.com

BEER NERD

Regional Success

Hops take us on a worldwide road trip.

BY MIKE RIEDEL comments@cityweekly.net @utahbeer

Top of Main - Blurry Mountain: I’ve often advocated for the creation of an IPA or pale ale style that represents the beer-lovers of the Mountain West—a beer style that represents the flavors of the mountains. What are those flavors? Well, to me I think of piney, spruce or juniper elements combined with berrylike notes. Hops with these profiles are out there in abundance, and I think with enough enthusiasm, some excellent examples could be crafted. This week I had one of those beers—a great representation of what a Mountain IPA could be.

From the moment it’s poured, this beer is classical beer porn. It cascades into the glass with an extra-pale strawgold hue, so light that it’s almost luminous. It’s topped by a brilliant white head, dense and persistent, which leaves webs of foam lacing as it slowly recedes. The appearance alone previews a crisp drinking experience.

The aroma fulfills that promise. Vibrant hop notes leap into my sniffer: they’re so damn inviting. The first impression is of resinous pine, not overpowering, but it takes me back to hiking trails in the high Uintas. This bold character is quickly followed by a softer, sweeter dose of mixed berries, a subtle counterpoint from the hops that add a welcome layer of complexity to the nose.

The taste follows suit with a clean, crackery malt base providing the perfect, unassuming stage, allowing the familiar hop profile to shine without distraction. The pine and berry notes from the aroma translate beautifully onto the palate, creating a harmonious and balanced flavor journey. The experience culminates in a wonderfully crisp and dry finish.

Verdict: The 6.0 percent ABV provides enough pleasant body, while the lingering pine bitterness cleanses the palate, making this an impeccably crafted ale— dangerously drinkable and leaving you eager for the next sip.

Kiitos - NZ Pilz: This New Zealandstyle pilsner presents a notable deviation from traditional lager profiles, emphasizing a significant malt character alongside its expressive hop bill. Built on a foundation of Motueka, Nelson Sauvin, and Riwaka hops, the beer showcases a complex interplay between grain and hop-derived notes.

Upon pouring, the beer presents with good clarity, consistent with the pilsner style. The aroma is where its unique character first becomes apparent. Fruitforward notes of mixed berries and melon are out front, a hallmark of its specific hop selection. Beneath this initial impression, however, a secondary layer of complexity emerges. A subtle but distinct note of citrus peel provides a touch of bright zest, while a prominent undercurrent of caramel corn suggests a substantial and sweetish malt base.

The flavor profile directly reflects the aroma, with the malt character taking a central role. A super-toasty quality dominates the palate, lending a bready, almost biscuity foundation to the beer. The berry and melon hop notes are still present, but they are integrated into the malt structure rather than floating on top. The experience is rounded out by the caramel corn and that hint of citrus peel, which adds a brief flash of bitterness. The finish in this 5.0 percent lager is moderately crisp, with the lingering sweetness from the toasty malt balancing a gentle hop presence.

Verdict: Ultimately, this is a pilsner where the grain bill is given nearly equal footing with the hops, resulting in a layered and distinctly malt-forward drinking experience.

These brewers utilized their hops well, not just creating flavors but also adding a taste of their respective regions. Kiitos’ NZ Pils can be found at their brewery in cans and on draft. Blurry Mountain is available at Top of Main Brewing, of course, and at all Salt Lake Brewing locations. As always, cheers! CW

the BACK BURNER

BY ALEX SPRINGER | @captainspringer

Donations Still Open For Main Street Fire Assistance Fund

The Utah Downtown Alliance (downtownslc.org) launched a fundraising campaign for the restaurants impacted by the horrific fire that ripped through Main Street last week, and there’s still time to donate. Donations can be made via the Downtown Alliance website—just look for the Main Street Fire Assistance Fund link. All of the proceeds from these funds will go to the employees of the businesses that were destroyed in order to cover rent, groceries and transportation while they get back on their feet. It’s a tragedy that’s still fresh in our minds, and anything you can do to help out would be much appreciated.

2 Row Brewing Reopens After Kitchen Overhaul

The team at 2 Row Brewing (2rowbrewing.com) successfully overhauled its kitchen, and the business is breaking it in with an exciting new menu. When 2 Row Brewing first opened, the team had always envisioned the space as one that would provide an elevated brewpub menu along with its notable craft beers. Now that its newly renovated kitchen is complete, fans of the brewery can expect to see some new surprises—like the five-point Keg Crusher challenge burger, for example. 2 Row Brewing is making sure to rustle up the good stuff by importing its giardiniera from Chicago while sourcing beef from Niman Ranch.

Four Savory Fund Brands Recognized On Inc. 5000 List

The Savory Fund (savoryfund.com) roster of restaurants was recently recognized with four spots on the prestigious Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest growing private companies. This list of 5,000 up-andcoming companies is the result of much number-crunching by finance nerds, and a spot here means positive brand growth and a good outlook for the future. The four Savory Fund Brands on the list are Houston TX Hot Chicken, known for its spicy fried chicken sandwiches; Via 313, a Detroit-style pizza restaurant; Mo’ Bettahs Hawaiian-Style Food, a Savory Fund OG; and South Block, an acai bowl and smoothie restaurant.

of the Week: “A good spice often deceives us into thinking someone is a good cook.”

Femme EDM

The traditionally male-dominated electronic dance music scene gets an infusion of female energy.

BY ARICA ROBERTS comments@cityweekly.net

Among all the great things happening in Salt Lake City’s electronic dance music (EDM) scene, the growing presence of women, long underrepresented, who are stepping into the limelight and taking control of the decks as orchestrators of the dance floor is one of the most welcome. This steady increase of female DJs and collectives—from Hudson Carmichael’s new “Project Girl” to DJ and producer OBAŸASHI (Alexus Obayashi), who plays for every promotion company in the city—is providing more representation in such a male-dominated field.

And it doesn’t stop there. Priss Collective (PrissCo) is home to TinkFu, Juliette, Sodie, Mizz Nici, Lazer Kitten, Samara, Decibelle, Neon Drip, Meeko, Moonchiild, Crystal, and Lenix IX. You can catch other DJs like Pookie, DESERTFAWX and Moon Siren frequently playing at afterhours events; Spaz at this summer’s Sky SLC Rooftop series; as well as Sarah Lies at Ranger Sound Car. This list is not exhaustive, which just shows how many women are present at the various events throughout the city.

“A lot of the success has been from supporting our local scene and building friendships with people I call family now,” OBAŸASHI explains. She got her first gig in 2017 with the Priss Collective ladies on an all-female lineup where TinkFu and Juliette introduced her to people in the scene. In October of 2018, she played her first Therapy Thursday at Sky SLC; a few

months later, she played at the major annual rave, Get Lucky.

OBAŸASHI recently teamed up with a newer DJ, Abigail Amparan, embodying the idea of “lifting as you climb” by using her own success to help another woman rise. Their duo is appropriately called GIRLS NEXT DOOR.

Another woman, Lazer Kitten (Kat Fechner), founded the label Occult Cats as a way to help artists release music. While she’s been in the electronic music scene for more than 15 years, Fechner actually started producing music before considering DJing as a way to showcase her own work. Her own events, such as “Sanctuary,” are safe, inclusive and intimate, with a focus on storytelling and back-to-back sets.

In describing the industry in Salt Lake City, she says, “It’s a boys club, to put it politely. ... It’s definitely very difficult to get into, especially for anyone female or female-identifying, just because there’s a lot of stigmas around ‘girls getting into this because they want to date the guys, they want to be with the promoters, they don’t really care about the music’ kind of thing.”

While she has faced some of her own challenges and stigmas in the male-dominated industry, she finds support in the growing community of female electronic artists. What’s her secret? “I play music for the girls,” she says. “I’ve kind of noticed there’s a different energy with it when it comes to the guys DJing.”

DJs, producers and promoters take note: If you want there to be more women at your events, then play music that resonates with female attendees and focus on creating moments where women can feel empowered and celebrated on the dancefloor.

One woman who has mastered this feat in the local scene is Kainani Clark (DJ KaiZen). She co-founded Venus Riot, an all-female DJ collective with the goals of empowering women and creating a supportive community. The group also included Alyxandria Hannemann (Jupiter), Hudson Carmichael (Carmichael), Jessica Holker (Jess), and Ju-

MUSIC

From their involvement at the Sundance Film Festival, as well as their own curated events like the “Bubbles and Beats” popup, Venus Riot’s popularity grew much more quickly than they were ready for, which unfortunately led them to dissolve. However, Clark succeeded in creating a safe, authentic and empowering space for women to express themselves through music and dance. And she is nowhere near finished with this vision. In fact, Clark’s background in event curation has been monumental in the success of many places, such as the private non-profit social club Plumhouse.

“Project Girl” is the next big thing for women to be a part of, with the goal for women to take up space, build their platforms and connect with each other. The founder, Carmichael, struggled to be recognized as an equal co-founder of her business Tilt, often overlooked or not included in conversations. This inspired her to bring women together with plans to curate women-led events with all-women

teams, vendors and lineups.

“I want networking. I want to bring in badass, powerful women to be keynote speakers and help kind of build this next generation,” she says.

Carmichael also hopes to provide travel experiences, humanitarian work, resources and opportunities for women who may not otherwise be available to them (such as skydiving certification or how to get a motorcycle license). The launch party is on Aug. 23 at Tilt (1435 S State St) from 4 p.m. – 10 p.m. All those who identify as women—cis, trans and nonbinary femmes— are welcome.

Through Instagram, check out @projectgirl_, @obayashi_official, @prisscollective, @lazerkittenmusic, @occultcats, and @aloha_kainani to follow along with these artists and get in touch if you want to be involved. Through the rise of women in the electronic music scene in Salt Lake City, there is one major takeaway: Celebrating another woman’s success contributes to everyone’s collective achievement. CW

TUESDAYS

WEDNESDAYS

BEST BAR IN UTAH!

GREAT FOOD

MUSIC PICK S

Chicago @ Sandy Amphitheatre 8/21

In the mid- to late-1960s, two American bands laid the groundwork for fusing rock and jazz idioms, while also ensuring the combination remained palatable to the masses: Blood, Sweat and Tears, and Chicago. While that legacy lives on, BS&T does not—but Chicago is still around. Although there have been plenty of personnel changes throughout their nearly 60-year history, the content remains consistent. The horn section that gave Chicago their singular sound early on continues to help provide the band’s driving delivery while bringing back memories of the original classic combo. Ironically, the current incarnation—which includes original members Lee Loughnane on trumpet and flugelhorn, James Pankow on trombone and arrangements—finds itself competing with a popular Chicago tribute outfit known as Leonid and Friends, made up of East European musicians who cover the hits. Nevertheless, there’s nothing like the real deal. Consequently, anyone who longs for the opportunity to hear such timeless classics as “Saturday In the Park,” “29 or 6 To 4,” “Make Me Smile,” “Hard To Say I’m Sorry” and the like performed by those who were responsible for creating them may want to avail themselves of this opportunity. To borrow the title of another tune, “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?,” the answer is, of course, that now is the time. Chicago performs at Sandy Amphitheatre at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 21. GA tickets cost $114 - $238 at ticketmaster.com. (Lee Zimmerman)

City Weekly’s Best Of Utah Top 10!

A good fitness studio manages to balance reassurance with challenge. It is a place that provides the facilities and guidance to advance one’s fitness goals without being snooty or overwhelming. Whether the specialty is spinning, yoga, boxing, or any other fitness field, our readers have found the following locations to be particularly adept in providing what we all seek from such spaces.

MUSIC PICK S

SLC Music Festival @ Library Square 8/22

Some of your favorite underground music collectives are stepping into the daylight this weekend. BLAQ VOID, Ranger Soundcar, Rainbow Room and Oddball team up to bring a lineup of local bands and DJs to Library Square—this is truly an all-local effort, so come support! While BLAQ VOID continues to push the boundaries of what the underground can be in our city by staying innovative with new secret locations each month, Ranger Soundcar is a newer phenomenon, where the DJ booth is a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) Sound Car and Void sound system. Rainbow Room is back in full-swing this summer, and Oddball has recently been throwing shows at SLC’s newest venue, Tilt. You can expect live music from talented artists like vocalist Kaia Jette, homegrown hip-hop group Badluck Brigade, indie bands like The Lip and Claw, folk rock band Local Kin and folk rock singer Spencer Sanders. There will be five (yes five!) stages, and DJs will be announced soon, but between these powerhouse collectives, it’s bound to be a killer lineup. BLAQ VOID and Ranger Soundcar, the music collective Tilt and the art collective Downhaus are also teaming up to curate the lounge and vendors for the event. This event takes place on Friday, Aug. 22 at Salt Lake Public Library. Doors open at 5 p.m. and end at 11 p.m. Tickets cost $22.99 at posh.vip. (Arica Roberts)

Grid City Music Festival @ The Commonwealth Room 8/22-24

Grid City Music Festival is more than just a music festival—it’s an event that transforms downtown SLC and invites the community to come together and celebrate the arts. The events are spread out through the Creative Industries Zone on various stages/venues for three whole days of fun. There are more than 80 local bands set to perform, including The Glitter Bombs, Gordon Greenwood, Brazuca Band and The Kirk Dath Band. Some of the music events will take place at The Commonwealth Room, while others take place in local restaurants, letting guests try some of the excellent food SLC has to offer. There are also around 75 new murals for attendees to admire, and the best part about all of this is that it’s completely free. These events are great for folks of all ages and families to come by and have some fun. There is also a Fun Bus that will be running to help get you to all of the locations you want to see. It’s pretty much impossible not to have fun at Grid City Music Festival. Come hang out the weekend of Friday, Aug 22 through Sunday, Aug 24. Tickets are free, but you still need to head to gridcitymusicfest.com to get those tickets. (Emilee Atkinson)

MUSIC PICK S

KRCL Day in the Park @ International Peace Garden 8/23

Bigger than ever, KRCL’s Day in the Park sets out to celebrate community connection by bringing together some of the local scene’s best musicians, food vendors, artists and creating fun events for kids. Last year the event was re-launched and is back full-force and then some for 2025. You’ll be able to catch music acts like Pepper Rose and the Thorns, Lavender Menaces, Marv Hamilton and Dream Back the Buffalo, Sammy Brue, Lee Rafugee and The Sister Wives Band. Activities for the kiddos include School of Rock instrument petting zoo, Winks the Clown making balloon animals and artist Ricky Vigil with art projects for kids. Local vendors include the 1974 Bookstore SLC, a bookstore by bike, stickers and art from Paisley Jensen Studios, chocolate and cheese tastings with Caputo’s Market & Deli, tie dyes with Chase The Dyes, and a jump into the 360 Photobooth with SLC Pride. And don’t forget typewriter poems, caricatures and up-cycled clothing from Anna Does (Almost) Anything. In summary, there’s something for everyone at KRCL’s Day in the Park, and it’s not something you want to miss. Come have some fun on Saturday, Aug 23 at the International Peace Gardens in Jordan Park from noon to 6 p.m. This event is free, familyfriendly and open to everyone. For more info, head to krcl.org. (Emilee Atkinson)

Warren G @ Granary Live 8/24

The lead single off the soundtrack of the film Above The Rim, “Regulate,” came out in the spring of 1994, and quickly became a hit. By sampling songs by luminaries such as Michael McDonald, Bob James and George Clinton, as well as a snippet from Casey Siemaszko’s character Charlie Bowdre from the movie Young Guns, producer Warren Griffin III (a.k.a. Warren G) not only created one of the most indelible hip-hop singles of all time, but an entire genre of music—the “G Funk” era. Later released

on his debut Def Jam LP, the album, Regulate … G Funk Era, is credited with saving the iconic label. “The love was given back to them for believing in me ’cause nobody was really believing in me … I didn’t know they was in the situation that they was in. When I learned it, they was doing my shit with credit cards,” Warren G told Drink Champs via Revolt.tv “It just felt great for them to give me my shot and me blow up … and then help the company to where it opened the door for JAY-Z, Redman, Method Man and DMX.” This local monthly series, Kick Back In The City, is a chill, familyfriendly day party with lowriders, food trucks, art, vendors and DJs spinning on the 1’s and 2’s. Record-digger extraordinaire J Godina and some of the city’s finest, Dirty Dave, Davey Dave, Handsome Hands, Parkboi and Erockalypze open. Catch all of these acts at Granary Live on Sunday, Aug. 24. Doors at 2 p.m. Tickets for the all-ages show are $28.94 and can be found at tixr.com. (Mark Dago)

Toto @ Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre 8/27

Few bands have covered the wide stylistic range of Toto; fewer still have found commercial success doing so. Formed in 1977 by a coterie of top session players, Toto has made music that has variously—and accurately—been described as progressive rock, pop, “yacht rock,” hard rock and even jazz fusion. Multiple Grammy Award-winner Toto has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. The band’s early lineup of the Porcaro brothers Jeff (drums) and Steve (keyboards) plus David Paich (more keys), singer Bobby Kimball and guitarist Steve Lukather all played on the band’s first four albums. Between 1978 and 1988, Toto placed 15 of their songs on U.S. singles charts; “Hold the Line,” “99,” “I Won’t Hold You Back” and “Rosanna” were all top 10, and 1982’s “Africa” was both #1 and a worldwide smash. The band members have long had a lucrative and creatively successful sideline playing on other artists’ records, including sessions for Michael Jackson (“Beat It”) and The Tubes (“Talk To Ya Later”). Toto comes to the Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre on Wednesday, Aug 27 at 6:45 p.m. with fellow 1980s hitmakers Christopher Cross and Men at Work. Tickets are $42 and up at ticketsqueeze.com. (Bill Kopp)

free will ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

When glassmakers want to cool a newly blown piece, they don’t simply leave it out to harden. That would cause it to shatter from the inside. Instead, they place it in an annealing oven, where temperatures drop in measured increments over many hours. This careful cooling aligns the internal structure and strengthens the whole. Let’s invoke this as a useful metaphor. I absolutely love the heat and radiance you’ve expressed recently. But now it’s wise for you to gradually cool down: to allow your fervor to coalesce into an enduring new reservoir of power and vitality. Transform sheer intensity into vibrant clarity and cohesion.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

To paraphrase Sufi mystic poet Rumi: “Don’t get lost in your pain. Know that one day your pain will become your cure.” In my astrological opinion, Taurus, you have arrived at this pivotal moment. A wound you’ve had to bear for a long spell is on the verge of maturing into a gift, even a blessing. A burdensome ache is ready to reveal its teachings. You may have assumed you would be forever cursed by this hurt, but that’s not true! Now it’s your sacred duty to shed that assumption and open your heart so you can harvest the healing.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

As you enter a Tibetan Buddhist temple, you may encounter statues and paintings of fierce spirits. They are guardian figures who serve as protectors, scaring away negative and destructive forces so they can’t enter the holy precincts. In accordance with astrological omens, Gemini, I invite you to be your own threshold guardian. Authorize a wise and strict part of you to defend and safeguard what truly matters. This staunch action doesn’t have to be aggressive, but it should be informed with fierce clarity. You can’t afford to let the blithe aspect of your personality compromise your overall interests by being too accommodating. Assign your protective self to stand at your gate and say: “I protect this. I cherish this. I won’t dilute this.”

CANCER (June 21-July 22)

“Dear Dr. Feelgood: Lately, you seem to be extra nice to us hypersensitive Crabs. Almost too kind. Why? Are you in love with a Cancerian woman, and you’re trying to woo her? Did you hurt a Cancerian friend’s feelings, and now you’re atoning? Please tell me you’re not just coddling us.”—Permanently Drunk on a Million Feelings. Dear Drunk: You use your imagination to generate visions of things that don’t exist yet. It’s your main resource for creating your future. This is especially crucial right now. The coming months will be a fertile time for shaping the life you want to live for the next 10 years. If I can help you keep your imagination filled with positive expectations, you are more likely to devise marvelous self-fulfilling prophecies.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

In traditional Chinese medicine, the heart is the seat of joy. It’s also the sovereign that listens to the wisdom of the other organs before acting. Dear Leo, as you cross the threshold from attracting novelty to building stability, I encourage you to cultivate extra heart-centered leadership, both for yourself and for those who look to you for inspiration. What does that mean? Make decisions based on love and compassion more than on rational analysis. Be in service to wholeness rather than to whatever might bring temporary advantage.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

In Mesoamerican myth, the god Quetzalcoatl journeys to the underworld not to escape death, but to recover old bones needed to create new life. I propose you draw inspiration from this story, Virgo. In recent weeks, you have been gathering pieces of the past, not out of a sense of burdensome obligation, but as a source of raw material. Now comes the time for reassembly. You won’t rebuild the same old thing. You will sculpt visionary gifts for yourself from what was lost. You will use your history to design your future. Be alert for the revelations that the bones sing.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

In the Hebrew language, the word for “face” is plural. There is no singular form for panim. I love that fact! For me, it implies that each of us has a variety of faces. Our identity is multifaceted. I think you should make a special point of celebrating this truth in the coming weeks, Libra. Now is an excellent time to explore and honor all of your many selves. Take full advantage of your inner diversity, and enjoy yourself to the max as you express and reveal the full array of truths you contain.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

In the ancient Hindu holy text known as the Upanishads, ananda means bliss, though not so much in the sense of physical or psychological pleasure as of deep, ecstatic knowing. I believe that you are close to attracting this glorious experience into your soul, Scorpio—not just fleetingly, but for a while. I predict you will glide into alignments that feel like coming home to your eternal and perfect self. Treasure these moments as divine gifts. Immerse yourself with total welcome and gratitude. Let ananda inform your next steps.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

In Daoist cosmology, the nature of life is characterized by cyclical, flowing patterns rather than linear, static motions. In my study of its gorgeous teachings, I exult in how it inspires me to honor both contraction and expansion, the power of circling inward and reaching outward. With this in mind, Sagittarius, I invite you to make the spiral your symbol of power. Yes, it may sometimes feel like you’re revisiting old ground. Perhaps an ex will resurface, or an old goal will seek your attention. But I guarantee it’s not mere repetition. An interesting form of evolution is underway. You’re returning to longstanding challenges armed with fresh wisdom. Ask yourself: What do I know now that I didn’t before? How can I meet these interesting questions from a higher point of the spiral?

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

Inuit artworks are often made from materials available in their environment, like driftwood, stones, walrus ivory, whale bones and caribou bones and antlers. Even their tools are crafted from that stuff. In part, this is evidence of their resourcefulness, and in part, a reflection of how lovingly they engage with their environment. I recommend you borrow their approach, Capricorn. Create your practical magic by relying on what’s already available. Be enterprising as you generate usefulness and fun out of scraps and leftovers. Your raw material is probably better if it’s not perfect.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

The medieval alchemists had a central principle, rendered in Latin as follows: Visita interiora terrae, rectificando invenies occultum lapidem. Translated, it means, “Seek out the lower reaches of the earth, perfect them, and you will find the hidden stone.” I invite you to go on a similar underground quest, Aquarius. The purpose is not to wallow in worry or sadness, but rather to retrieve a treasure. Some magnificence beneath your surface life is buried—an emotional truth, a creative impulse, a spiritual inheritance. And it’s time you went and got it. Think of it as a quest and a pilgrimage. The “hidden stone,” an emblem of spiritual riches, wants you to find it.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

In ancient Greece, the god Janus presided over doorways. He had two faces, one looking outward and forward, one gazing inward and backward. I believe this is your Janus phase, Pisces. Before you launch into your next fluidic quest, pause and take inventory. Peer behind you, not with regret but with curiosity and compassion. What cycle has fully ended? What wisdom has settled into your bones? Then face the future, not with shyness or foreboding, but with eager intention and confidence. What goals, rooted in who you are becoming, can inspire an exciting new plot thread?

Office Manager

(Draper, UT) Manage scheduling of staff meetings, interdepartmental communications, and executive calendars. Oversee inventory of office supplies, uniforms, packaging, & key operational inputs such as POS hardware, printed menus, and branded materials used across food trucks. Maintain minimum inventory thresholds for at least 20 food trucks operating across Utah and coordinate with vendors for timely replenishment. Serve as the primary liaison between the operations department & external vendors, negotiating pricing and ensuring delivery timelines. Ensure all documentation for employee onboarding, compliance, and operational reports are accurately maintained. Monitor facility operations, including equipment maintenance schedules & health/safety compliance in coordination with operations teams. 40hrs/wk, Offered wage: $123,032/yr, High school/GED diploma and 2 years of experience as Office manager or related required. Resume to CUPBOP CO Attn: Yeiri KIM, 12184 S Business Park Dr, Draper, UT 84020

urban LIVING

WITH BABS DELAY Broker,

Urban Utah Homes & Estates, urbanutah.com

Fire and History

Many of us locals are mourning the loss last week of several fine eating establishments on Main Street downtown. A devastating fire took out Los Tapatios Taco Grill, Whiskey Street, London Belle Supper Club and White Horse Spirits and Kitchen. I went to Whiskey Street three days in a row last summer for their “white gazpacho” made from grapes and almonds.

The businesses were established on what Brigham Young jokingly referred to as “Whiskey Street”—Main Street between 200 South and 400 South— due to the saloons and brothels thriving there in the 1800s. Commercial Street—behind the Eccles Theater, now known as Regent Street—was also a red-light district, with notorious madams Miss Helen Blazes and Miss Ada Wilson running girls above legit businesses like liquor and tobacco stores.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

ACROSS

1. Johnny formerly of The Smiths

5. “Straight Outta Compton” costar ___ Jackson Jr.

10. Pop group with 40 years between albums “The Visitors” and “Voyage”

14. ___ d’amore (Baroque instrument)

15. “Matilda” author Dahl

16. It’s a square number in German 17. Began eagerly

19. Knitting festival material

20. He played opposite Burton in “Becket”

21. Go head-to-head

23. “Dear” group

25. Night in Madrid

26. Like some relationships

30. New Orleans pro team

33. “___-Pah-Pah” (“Oliver!” tune)

34. ___ de Torquemada (Spanish Inquisition leader)

36. Feedback

37. Short cut

39. “Little” literary characters that can be found on the outside of the four longest answers

41. “Young Frankenstein” actress Teri

So many people were coming to Utah: miners for our copper and silver; soldiers heading west; railroaders; and Mormons seeking their new Mecca, known as Zion. Gentiles and Mormons alike sought out drink and the company of shady women, and one of the most famous madams ever to work in Utah and capitalize on the needs of men was Belle London.

She was born Dora B. Topham and gained fame in Ogden with a brothel known as “No. 10 Electric Alley” by the Union Station on the notorious 25th street. She built a parlor house with nice furnishings and elaborate décor to welcome clients. It was a warren of small cubicles for her prostitutes, whom she called her “belles.” She was clever enough to use the upper level of her “London Ice Cream Parlor” as a cover for one of the brothels.

Fast forward a few years after her Ogden successes, Belle London was hired by then-Salt Lake City mayor John Bransford to oversee some of the red light districts in the capital city. With the cooperation of the local police chief, a stockade-like structure was built on 200 South in Greektown, between 500 West and 600 West, and was open from 1908 to 1911. From photos, I’ve seen how the stockade looked like horse barns—there were 100 small brick cribs, each 10 square feet with a door and a window. A curtain divided the crib into two rooms, with a washstand and chair in the front part and a white enameled bed in the back.

The girls were charged between $1 and $4 a day to stay there. The stockade was guarded to keep children and undesirable guests from wandering into the area and had an elaborate alarm system in case of police raids.

The stockade was ultimately closed by Belle, and many of the girls moved over to Commercial Street, where they continued to offer their services into the 1930s. Greektown still had sex workers into the 1970s. FYI—Belle was the only state-sanctioned madam in Utah history … that we know of.

We hope Jason LeCates and his partners can rebuild quickly along with the other restaurants, as a gastric hole has been left now in this historic part of our city. We miss them already! ■

42. Kickoff

44. Middle East desert region

46. “We’ll say later,” on a schedule

47. Mudslide liqueur

49. Subject of an upcoming cancellation, with “The”

51. Capital of Guadeloupe, ___-Terre (literally, “low land”)

53. Big ripoff

54. Walking loudly in armor, maybe 57. Sci-fi visitors

61. “The Avengers” costar Diana

62. Supplement that may assist cognition

64. Motivate

65. Electric toothbrush maker

66. Made shinier, perhaps

67. Delivery time, usually

68. Ballot box bundle

69. Smoked fish

DOWN

1. Supernatural charm

2. Share a boundary with

3. Former Cowboys quarterback Tony

4. Share again on social media

5. Infomercial’s urgent request

6. “___ says to the guy ...”

7. Poker holding

8. “Candle in the Wind” name

9. Philippine meat dishes

10. Whatever

11. Familiar route

12. “A Holly Jolly Christmas” singer Ives

13. “Breathing Lessons” author Tyler

18. “Middlemarch” novelist George

22. Source of antioxidants

24. Four-color toy of the 1980s

26. “The Chosen” author Chaim

27. ___ Doone (Nabisco cookie)

28. Slow-moving vehicle in parts of Pennsylvania

29. Oasis animal

31. Prefix with prop or charger

32. Takeout bag item

35. Some consoles

38. Spice mixes

40. Measurement in some diets

43. Mammoth protrusion

45. Calflike

48. Prolific author Isaac

50. Little bit

Last week’s answers

Complete the grid so that each row, column, diagonal and 3x3 square contain all of the numbers 1 to 9. No math is involved. The grid has numbers, but nothing has to add up to anything else. Solve

NEWS of the WEIRD

The Passing Parade

The South China Morning Post reported on Aug. 5 that adults in China are turning to pacifiers to ease their stress, improve sleep and stop smoking. The adult binkies are larger than the infant models and come in different colors, and shops say they’re selling more than 2,000 each month. “It’s high quality, soft, and I feel comfortable sucking it,” said one buyer. “It does not impede my breathing.” But Chengdu dentist Tang Caomin isn’t a fan: “By sucking the dummy for more than three hours a day, the position of your teeth might change after a year.”

Nope

■ Talk about rodents of unusual size. A giant rat—perhaps the biggest ever caught in the United Kingdom— was recently captured in North Yorkshire, reported The Independent on Aug. 5. The rodent, removed by exterminators from a home in the Greater Eston area, measured 22 inches long and was described as “almost the size of a small cat.” (For reference, rats in the U.K. usually stay under 11 inches, on average.) Some local leaders say pest issues have dramatically worsened since the end of free services for residents in the area. Eston ward councilor David Taylor said the rodents were becoming “brazen,” adding, “The longer this is ignored, the worse it will get.”

■ In Fort Collins, Colorado, residents have recently reported seeing rabbits with black, tentaclelike protrusions on their heads, KUSA-TV reported. Colorado Parks and Wildlife said the horny growths are caused by a virus that is not dangerous to humans or pets, but warned people not to touch them just the same. The “Frankenstein rabbits” are not in pain, CPW said, unless the spines grow on sensitive areas like the eyes. There is no known cure.

Kids These Days

So, it’s not enough to just play ding-dong-ditch in Laurens, South Carolina. WYFF-TV reported that on Aug. 9, two juveniles unlawfully entered railroad facilities and started an engine that was hooked to two other engines. Police said they drove the train engines around the yard before taking them onto a rail line that connects with Greenville. But when they tried to return to the rail yard, they collided with parked railroad cars and caused the derailment of the engine and damage to one of the parked cars. “This was a dangerous and reckless act,” said Laurens Police Chief Heath Copeland. “Railroad property is not a place to play.”

Unclear on the Concept

In reference to what seems like an obvious enough policy, Starbucks Korea has posted signs in all its shops across the country, warning customers that they may no longer bring desktop computers and printers to the locations to work. United Press International reported on Aug. 11 that Starbucks has also banned setting up large partitions and leaving valuables at a table for long periods of time. The targeted customers are known as “cagongjok,” which combines the Korean words for “cafe,” “study” and “tribe.” Starbucks made the policy change after other customers complained about cafe squatters taking up too much space; laptops will still be welcomed.

Crime Report

Everyone should be trying to move to East Greenbush, New York, where police have been busy chasing down the community’s hardened criminals, WNYT-TV reported on Aug. 11. Officers have received multiple reports of juveniles playing “ding-dong-ditch” during overnight hours, they said. They called such aberrant behavior disruptive and a violation of state law. Police said if the kids are caught, their antics could lead to charges of harassment, trespassing and disorderly conduct. Zillow, here we come!

The Neighbors

Gary Boyadzhyan of Van Nuys, California, told KTLATV on Aug. 13 that he has a mysterious long-running grievance with the Los Angeles Police Department, and that’s why he has been blasting home alarms and a train horn from his house for months. “He does this periodically several times during the day,” said neighbor Bob Donovan. “It has a range of 3.5 miles. It’s an actual train horn.” Boyadzhyan says that the horns are his way of getting the LAPD’s attention. “I do sincerely apologize to my neighbors,” Boyadzhyan said, “but I don’t know what else to do.” Neighbors are unclear about what kind of help the man needs to solve his problem, but they’re at wits’ end about the noise. But maybe a solution is on the way: Boyadzhyan was arrested on Aug. 13 on unknown charges.

Bright Idea

There’s something in the water at Loch Ness in Scotland ... but it’s not the famed monster. The Daily Record reported on Aug. 13 that Domino’s Pizza has launched a delivery submarine that can reach speeds of 45mph and leap 5 meters out of the water. Pizza Delivery Innovation spokesperson Izzy Gardener said the company is “always looking for new and unexpected ways to deliver to our customers.” Loch Ness seemed like a “perfect place to test the waters,” Gardener said.

Recent Alarming Headlines

■ Dan Burton, owner of Urban Trapping Wildlife Control in Salinas, California, alerted officials of Monterey County and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to a discovery he made while trapping wild pigs in early August. The Los Angeles Times reported that when Burton cut into one of the animals, he discovered that the flesh was ... off-color. “I’m not talking about a little blue,” he said. “I’m talking about neon blue, blueberry blue.” Fish and wildlife officials say the blue flesh is probably caused by exposure to a poison popularly used by farmers to control rats, mice, squirrels and other rodents. They are warning trappers and hunters not to consume the blue flesh, and some of the poison traps have been pulled from the fields because of pigs seeking them out.

■ The Missouri Department of Health and Human Services is warning visitors to the Lake of the Ozarks about a rare “brain-eating” infection called Naegleria fowleri, KSHB-TV reported on Aug. 13. A man who had been water skiing in the lake is now being treated in intensive care at a Missouri hospital, officials said. The infection enters the human body through the nose, then travels into the brain.

132 Days Until Christmas

Three Deutsche Post volunteers—or elves, you might call them—left St. Nikolaus, Germany, on Aug. 9 and started cycling toward Santa Claus Village in Finland, the Associated Press reported. The trio are carrying more than 30,000 letters and Christmas wish lists that have been delivered to the German village and are expected to arrive in roughly two weeks. The traditional journey dates back to 1967.

Don’t Touch That!

“A ground mishap” at Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield, Massachusetts, was likely caused by an unnamed passenger accidentally triggering an ejection from an F-15D Eagle on Aug. 12, The War Zone reported. After the plane had landed, video showed a puff of smoke and the backseat passenger crawling along the runway next to the aircraft. The canopy landed on the plane’s wing. The 104th Fighter Wing released a statement saying that one service member was taken to a hospital for evaluation and the other had no injuries.