City Weekly June 11, 2026

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CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS

Salt Lake City residents face tax and fee hikes as the budget reacts to inflation and maintenance costs.

BY GRACE X. MAYA

S AP

BOX

Fueling a Crisis

The world as we know it today was built on the back of burning fossil fuels. Unfortunately, this has come at a tremendous cost. Emissions from burning fossil fuels are rapidly warming our world at a rate that has never occurred in the history of our planet.

Why do we continue to burn fossil fuels? One primary reason is the tremendous control the fossil fuel industry has over our government.

The industry spends approximately $250 million per year lobbying elected

officials, the vast majority going to Republican officials and candidates. During the 2024 presidential campaign, oil interests gave over $75 million to Donald Trump-affiliated PACs.

This lobbying serves as a highly effective financial instrument, yielding unparalleled returns on investments by securing multi-billion-dollar taxpayer subsidies, rolling back environmental regulations and stalling clean energy competition. Furthermore, the federal government spends $20 billion to $35 billion annually on direct handouts, including special tax breaks and cheap drilling access on public lands.

We cannot expect meaningful climate action as long as our representatives are financially beholden to the industry driving this crisis. Voters must demand transparency and reject candidates who prioritize fossil fuel payouts over our planet’s future.

RON SADLER Salt Lake City

“Former Utah Theatre pit … to host pop-up beer and art garden …”

May 29 Online

Thank god the mayor pushed the destruction of the Pantages Theatre that housed vaudeville and Babe Ruth and was one of the last bits of culture left untouched by developers. Now we can have a cool pit in the ground and hopefully a vacant luxury high rise soon.

THANKYOUFORTHESHORTNOTICE Via Instagram

Salt in the wound. Maybe beer will help. I hope some of the art shown there is able to express the magnitude of pain for what the city and Hines did to destroy this beautiful theatre.

CINDY SPIGLE Via Facebook

Ya know what’s better? A historic theater. I hate the selfish, corrupt administration.

THECOUCHANDCAULDRON Via Instagram

The Mendenhole. SCOTTPERRY07 Via Instagram

“... Hive Pass holders take 13,000 … trips per month,” May 28 Online

My partner and I have passes and it makes living in the city more affordable. It’s nice to be able to go anywhere we need or want to go at a price that seems fair. We’re car-free and we’ll be miffed to see it go.

CJSPAYER Via Instagram

Correction: The 2026 Pride Issue included an incorrect address for SLC Pride, which will be held June 27 and 28 at the intersection of 400 North and 400 West.

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

What is an invention you think should be invented?

Krista Maggard

It’s not very practical, but I dream of an all-in-one laundry machine. You just toss it into a chute and it will sort, wash, dry and fold/hang everything too!

Zach Abend

A memory immersion machine (MIM, patent pending). Imagine being able to sit down with a former mobster, a Bwiti elder, or a Diné medicine man and experience a moment exactly as they remember it happening.

Scott Renshaw

A trap for gnats and fruit flies that’s made to imitate the corner of your eye.

Gavin Dahl

I would like to be able to drink a pizza. Take a New York slice and blend it and let me suck it through a straw.

Carolyn Campbell

Teleportation would be great. Just think—no more traffic, and you’ll always be where you want to be.

Paula Saltas

A way to politely say to drivers behind me, “I can’t go any faster, get off my tail,” without slamming on my brakes.

Benjamin Wood

I want a Star Trek-style food replicator.

BY MATT PACENZA

OPINION Playing Hooky

Obviously, COVID wasn’t great for America’s children. Today, six years after the pandemic hit, educators and experts agree that shuttered schools and ineffective online education delayed learning for millions.

The test scores that measure learning have largely rebounded, but one key metric remains far worse than before the pandemic: attendance. All across America, and certainly in Utah and Salt Lake City, fewer students are attending school. However, despite this massive problem, another key metric remains strong: graduation rates. Students are missing twice as much school as a decade ago but, somehow, more kids are graduating from high school.

How? Our schools are making it far too easy for kids who only occasionally attend school to graduate.

I write this column as an insider. My two sons graduated from Salt Lake City high schools—my older son from West High in 2022 and my younger son from Highland High in May. I am also a high school English teacher at a parochial school in the Salt Lake Valley, while my wife is a professor at Westminster University.

In short, the topic of how to motivate a disengaged generation dominates my work and home life.

Across Utah, about 25% of all students miss at least 10% of all school days—or 18 missed days each year. This figure has nearly doubled from a decade ago, according to state data. Think about that: One in four students, of all ages, are missing at least one day of school every two weeks. For Salt Lake City schools, the number is even higher, with 28% of students characterized as chronically absent in 2025.

There don’t seem to be many consequences when kids keep missing class. School districts, in the wake of the pandemic, relaxed attendance policies to ease the transition back to school for families concerned about exposure

to COVID, and to support students struggling with anxiety and depression after the social disruptions of the pandemic.

However, four to five years after schools reopened, these COVID-era policies remain in place. In addition, shadow education—makeup packets and online courses, also known as “credit recovery”—has grown sharply.

Yes, there are still consequences to missing school. Earn enough zeros on assignments and you can and will fail a class. However, “failing” doesn’t really mean “failing” anymore. You can make up that course with limited effort via credit recovery.

My son who graduated from Highland this year took three online courses. Most of his friends took several as well. The quality of those courses varied, but they required far less work than showing up to school for 180 days. And, because their assessments were online, students willing to cut corners found it easy to use AI to complete their work.

Online alternatives to in-person schooling have made it easy for kids to attend school less. And many upperclassmen at SLC schools have learned to stack their in-person classes on either A or B days, so they end up going to school half-time, at most.

Our son did this. And to his credit, he filled his free time, investing hundreds of hours into a burgeoning business selling vintage clothes. Nonetheless, it’s alarming to see a kid graduate high school after going to school half-time.

This is unlikely to affect him in the long run—my privileged son has robust advantages. But what about vulnerable kids, who do not?

Amazingly, graduation rates statewide and in Salt Lake have risen as attendance rates remain low. In 2018, 76.7% of Salt Lake City school students graduated. The number briefly dipped during COVID, but by 2025, 77.4% of students were graduating, according to state data.

Educators are not ignoring the problem of absenteeism, but they might be missing their most powerful tool: Consequences. It may be time to emphasize the stick more than the carrot when it comes to getting kids to attend classes.

Evidence to support this idea comes from, of all places, the Deep South. Schools from Mississippi to Louisiana to Alabama have seen remarkable turnarounds in recent years. The so-called “Mississippi Miracle” has produced sustained gains in learning for more than a decade.

One central piece of this remarkable renaissance? Tougher attendance policies. For example, Alabama schools bring parents in for meetings after students have missed several classes. If the problem persists, they can even refer students and parents to the courts, although this strategy is “more of a threat than a practice,” according to a recent New York Times story.

The Utah State Legislature recently took a few tentative steps to toughen attendance standards. SB58 set up a statewide standard for attendance tracking, while HB502 allows teachers to count attendance toward 10% of a student’s final grade. Both bills were signed into law by Governor Cox.

More school districts across the state and especially in Salt Lake City should adopt tougher attendance policies. They should make crystal clear to young people: You have to show up to succeed. There are no shortcuts.

Unfortunately, as with most issues in America today, attendance has become polarized. Progressive institutions recommend complex strategies to limit absenteeism: help kids get to school; identify and treat mental health issues; offer poor kids clean clothes and showers; create schools within schools offering robust support. Those are worthy interventions, but they require school districts to solve complex social problems with limited resources. Boards and superintendents, on the other hand, can mimic our Southern innovators and change policies to ensure that students can’t graduate if they miss too many classes.

However, the critique of current attendance and graduation policies is more likely to come from the political right. The conservative policy magazine City Journal recently concluded that credit recovery programs have helped districts “prioritize graduation rates over actual learning,” while the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute argues that lax graduation policies “threaten school cultures and lowers our expectations for our most disadvantaged students and the schools that serve them.”

Progressives—like the folks who tend to hold sway in the Salt Lake City School District—hate to look toward red states and conservative leaders for good ideas. But school attendance policies must be an issue where we swallow our pride to find the best policies to get more kids to show up to school. CW

Send feedback to comments@cityweekly.net

HITS & MISSES

BY KATHARINE BIELE | @kathybiele

MISS: Holy War

Americans seem to be shunning labels and while that says a lot about the nation’s independent spirit, it spells trouble for organized religion and political parties. Some 30% of Americans call themselves religiously unaffiliated. Religion was in the hearts and minds of Latter-day Saints this week when the Department of “War” cut the number of federally recognized Christian religions from 200 to 31. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was not among them. It was the work of Pete Hegseth, who wouldn’t know a Christian if one was nailed to a cross. This did not sit well with Utah’s senators, and the church said Christ is, you know, central. Apparently they hit their mark and Mormons are back in the fold. But Paul Mero, formerly of the Sutherland Institute, disagrees: “Latter-day Saints are NOT Christians, thankfully, as defined by evangelical, Catholic and protestant faiths. We are true Christians of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Utah Senators Lee and Curtis should let it go.”

MISS: Simple Machine

On to politics and the super-dismissive, super-majority Republicans in the state. Gov. Spencer Cox said he doesn’t think gerrymandering “broke” the country. But gee whiz, Utah’s Legislature is super-majority GOP and he believes the constitution lets them gerrymander however they want. The constitutional argument is one for another day—and another court. But the numbers say something different. Democrats are indeed a pinprick in the mix: 247,538 registered voters against 922,187 Republicans. But unaffiliated voters account for 500,069—add third parties and you get 852,034. That makes Republicans 51.9% of the electorate. It’s a majority, but not so super. Cox likes to say the people voted for an independent redistricting commission by a bare majority. If he cares about constituents, he should start saying Republicans have a simple majority. And as for population-heavy Salt Lake County, it has more voters who are unaffiliated than in either major party.

HIT: Money Ball

What could possibly go wrong? That was the question Utah State Auditor Tina Cannon was asking about the University of Utah’s private equity deal. The idea for this deal with Otro Capital was, of course, all about money—hundreds of millions to help out the university’s struggling athletics program. What Cannon wants the public to know is that an influx of cash doesn’t necessarily mean more revenue. Already there have been layoffs, although administrators call them “a discontinuation of individual positions.” And the private equity firm will have some say in decisions on which departments get boosted, or not. Competition for athletes who can now get paid individually has been driving the move. USA Today put it bluntly: Utah sold its soul for private equity. And RadioWest asked if supporters would be OK with being No. 7, or if money can really buy anything, including success. CW

Buying Local

Last month, Wasatch Food Co-op— Salt Lake City’s only communityowned grocery store—officially opened its doors at 416 E. 900 South. Opening day featured product samples from regional vendors, free coffee, prizes, live music and free Co-op totes to the first 100 guests.

Cynthia Martinez, the co-op’s chairperson, said she was filled with gratitude for the support, dedication and belief the community shared for roughly a decade as the project came to fruition. “This milestone belongs to every member, volunteer, supporter and neighbor who helped carry this dream forward,” she said. “Because of that commitment, we are closer than ever to creating something lasting and meaningful for our community.”

The store is stocked with at least 20% of its inventory sourced locally, delivering on the co-op’s promise to keep food dollars in the community, support homegrown producers and encourage sustainable choices. Shoppers are greeted at the door with a bright, colorful bouquet of locally sourced flowers, which sets a pleasant tone for browsing.

General manager Killian Geeslin said that co-ops are “fundamentally unique,” as the patrons shopping in the store have a stake in how it runs.

“That changes everything,” Geeslin remarked. “Salt Lake City deserves a grocery store shaped by the values of the community it serves, one that supports local producers and prioritizes people over profit. That’s exactly what we’re here to do.”

In addition to weekly, moneysaving deals, local collaborations include a POG (passion fruit, orange and guava) sour brew called Co-op Crush, created by Bewilder Brewing Company and exclusively sold at Wasatch Co-op. The store also carries Mims sourdough bread, with both fresh and day-old prices, Baby’s Bagels and the Other Side Donuts (get there early for these). I also spotted some pasta salads in the fresh deli area from Billy Bob Joe Chuck’s.

There is hummus, pita and other dips from Paréa, salsas from Salsa Del Diablo and several Rico products. The full-service grocery is still waiting on its license to sell beer, so it is stocked with non-alcoholic options for now.

Kathia Dang, owner of the larger Milk Block development, noted that the building occupied by Wasatch Food Co-op has been a source of food for the neighborhood since 1942. It originated as the O.P. Skaggs grocery store and then became Tay Do Asian Market, predecessor to the Southeast Market, which closed in 2022.

“Harboring its history, Wasatch Food Co-op will now anchor this block,” Dang said, “a communityowned grocery store on Harvey Milk Boulevard, rooted in The Milk Block’s values to serve the community.”

Folks interested in becoming a coop member should email questions@ wasatch.coop. CW

City Weekly’s Best Of Utah

Bear Lake is what some of us locals refer to as “The Missed Vacation.” You go there to relax for a few days, but then you end up doing a bunch of stuff anyway until you realize it’s time to leave. You say to yourself, “I’m just gonna go to Rendezvous Beach and read a book,” and the next minute you’re in a paddleboat with a friend, or hiking with strangers, or getting a raspberry shake in Garden City. Don’t believe us? Try it next summer. bearlake.org

These lists are derived from the 2025 Best of Utah ballot.

STAY TUNED FOR THE 2026 BEST OF UTAH BALLOT THIS AUGUST!

Each week, City Weekly will publish, email to our Best of Utah list and post on our socials an expanded version of our beloved Best of Utah issue. With over 400 categories to choose from, we selected our favorites to post from now til the Best of Utah issue in November. Remember, always support local! CONTACT US TO ADVERTISE! sales@cityweekly.net

The Bear and Foodie TV

The Hulu favorite closes up shop this month, but there are other restaurant dramas and comedies to savor when it’s over.

BY BILL FROST comments@cityweekly.net

It had to end eventually: The Bear, Hulu’s critically-acclaimed (... and lambasted … and think-pieced-to-death) series about a driven, raw-nerved chef and his devoted crew of misfit employees, drops its fifth and final season on Thursday, June 25. The “Is it a comedy or a drama?” argument may never be settled, but The Bear will live on as the pinnacle of stressful foodie TV. As dessert, here are some other restaurant-centric shows to fill the coming Yes, Chef! void.

The Bear (2022–2026; Hulu): It’s not over yet, so let’s start here: When we last left The Bear, Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) had quit the dining biz, leaving Syd (Ayo Edebiri) and Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) to run the restaurant as it faces closure and a serious reduction in screaming kitchen blowouts. Will he return to help The Bear finally earn a Michelin star in the end? With any other series, obviously. But this one? Not without setting your emotions to flambé first. Let’s white-knuckle it together on June 25.

A Taste for Murder (2026; BritBox): Anglophile murder-mystery buffs and Italian dining foodies alike can enjoy A Taste for Murder, which pairs Capri cuisine with a delicious new death in each of its six epi-

A&E TRUE TV

sodes, from “Uova In Purgatorio (Eggs in Purgatory)” to “Holy Cannoli!” (no translation required). London detective Joe (Warren Brown) just wanted a summer vacation, but these multiplying homicide cases aren’t going to solve themselves (even though they kinda do). A tasty twist on the cozy whodunnit.

Sweetbitter (2018–2019; Starz): Like The Bear, Sweetbitter captures the behind-thescenes kitchen chaos of a big-city restaurant. Unlike The Bear, the show’s protagonist, Tess (Ella Purnell of Fallout and Yellowjackets), has way more fun—at least at first. She’s just moved to New York City and landed a job at a hotspot restaurant, but the sex and drugs and rock & roll lifestyle that comes with it soon becomes too much for her to sustain. Also, Sweetbitter is not to be confused with Sweetpea, another Purnell series.

Feed the Beast (2016; AMC+): Sommelier Tommy’s (David Schwimmer) dream of opening a restaurant in the Bronx soon becomes a nightmare when his chef and partner Dion’s (Jim Sturgess) Polish mob debts and inner demons catch up with him. Feed the Beast channels the tension and dark humor of Breaking Bad into the restaurant world, with the added visual flair of classic Dexter (thanks to Dex writer Clyde Phillips). The show had grit and preBear potential, but no one wanted a postFriends Schwimmer.

Mildred Pierce (2011; HBO Max): In the Todd Haynes-directed series adaptation of the 1941 novel and the 1945 Joan Crawford movie, Kate Winslet absolutely owns the title role as a Great Depression-era divorcee struggling to establish a restaurant. Mildred also struggles to earn the love of her narcissistic daughter, Veda (future Westworld star Evan Rachel Wood), in this emotional rollercoaster that went on to win over 20 small-screen awards. Bonus:

Mildred Pierce is only five episodes long. Kitchen Confidential (2005; unavailable): Trying to stuff Anthony Bourdain’s memoir Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly into a half-hour broadcast comedy was not a winning idea (Fox canceled the show after airing only four of 13 produced episodes), but it probably would have worked on 2010s cable or present-day streaming. Kitchen Confidential featured Bradley Cooper’s funniest TV performance as “Jack” Bourdain, but it’s been off the streaming menu for years.

Party Down (2009–2010; 2023; Starz, Prime Video, Plex): Party Down is about a catering company, which makes it at least kitchen-adjacent. The hilarious comedy lasted just two seasons in the late ’00s, but the show’s cult following was loud enough

for Starz to finally produce a third in 2023.

The scathing Hollywood satire is relentlessly deadpan, with stars Adam Scott, Lizzy Caplan, Jane Lynch, Ken Marino, Megan Mullally and others turning in some of their best comedically off-the-cuff work. Bob’s Burgers (2011–present; Hulu): The Bear subliminally cribbed some of its restaurant chaos from Bob’s Burgers, which has charmed its way into the hearts (and stomachs) of America with 16 seasons of burger puns, musical numbers and smallbusiness grit. Bob makes it work behind the grill, but Carmy could never run his restaurant with “help” like Linda, Gene, Louise and Tina. It would be cool to see Richie animated into the show as a temp maître d, though—it’s all in the Disney Company family. CW

theESSENTIALS ENTERTAINMENT

Complete listings online at cityweekly.net

Scottish Festival & Highland Games / Latino Arts Festival

Summer in Utah tends to be chockful of cultural and ethnic heritage festivals—so many, in fact, that some weekends offer multiple choices. This weekend, you can experience one hanging out in Salt Lake City and another up in the mountains.

The 2026 edition of the Utah Scottish Festival & Highland Games brings a range of events that celebrate Scottish heritage in Utah. A lot of the fun comes in the form of competitive events, ranging from the physical to the artistic. The Men’s Lightweight U.S. Nationals and Women’s U.S. Pro Nationals Highland Athletics competitions offer feats of strength from 150 competitors per day, including world champions in events like the caber toss (you try chucking a telephone pole). The Scottish Festival Open Championship features competitors at traditional highland dance, and a pipe band competition includes bands and individual performers from across the country. Add games and family activities, plus headliner performances by bands like Wicked Tinkers, and you’ve got three days of great entertainment June 12 – 14 at Utah State Fairpark (155 N. 1000 West). Tickets start at $11.86 for single-day; weekend passes also available at utahscots.org.

Meanwhile, you can also enjoy the festivities at the Latino Arts Festival in Park City. The free event includes live performances from groups representing 10 Latin American nations in music and dance, an exhibit of Talavera-style tiles created by local schoolchildren, art, hands-on experiences and, of course, plenty of amazing food. You can even catch a watch party for the World Cup match between Brazil and Morocco. Head to Canyons Village June 12 – 14, with more info at pcsarts. org/latino-arts-festival. (Scott Renshaw)

Rough Nest

It’s fair to say that the aggressive promotion of a certain “traditionalist” approach to femininity and motherhood is having a moment— and not a particularly welcome moment for those who find such an approach constricting and limiting. Not surprisingly, artists are responding to this with thoughtful explorations of what it means to be in a “domestic” space, including the two movement artists whose work forms the evening-length Rough Nest, a co-production with loveDANCEmore. Mitsu Salmon’s Forage offers a solo performance that questions the isolation of contemporary mothers as “natural” compared to the communal aspect of hunter-gatherer societies; audience interaction and multiple disciplines of storytelling, dance, and voice are integrated throughout the work. Meanwhile, Courtney Mazeika’s Wildlife finds the creator collaborating with dancers Cody BrunellePotter, Peter Farrow and Maeve Friedman to play with the tension of domesticity and wildness. As a press release explains, “Working from improvisational scores and episodic events, the performers move between tending and unraveling, inner and outer landscapes, managed exteriors and untamed divulgences. The work challenges the expectations of how a performance space is used, seen, and framed.” Join these two artists for an evening that begins with the concept of “nesting” and takes it in fascinatingly unique directions. Rough Nest comes to the West Main Studios (1400 S. Main St.) for performances Friday, June 12 and Saturday, June 13 at 7 p.m. Tickets are on a pay-what-you-can system, with $20 recommended and any additional payment making it possible to support attendees who are unable to pay full price. Visit events.humanitix.com/ rough-nest/tickets to purchase tickets, and find additional information at lovedancemore.org. (SR)

JUNE 5, 6, 8, 12, 13, 15, 19, AND 20.

Gates: 7:30 pm | Show: 8:00 pm Draper Amphitheater

theESSENTIALS

Lakefest 2026

The impacts of the low winter snowfall along the Wasatch Front are already being felt, including requests to limit irrigation. It has also resulted in the annual event traditionally known as Sailfest—showcasing sailboats on the Great Salt Lake—to pivot due to the low lake levels making it impossible to bring boats into the lake from the marina. Instead, Grow the Flow Utah has turned that event into Lakefest, hoping to raise awareness with the public for the need to take action to preserve the lake.

Lakefest offers a range of activities, including some for those who want to get really active. You can go kayaking on the lake, or participate in one of the guided nature walks. If you’re feeling particularly creative, you can sign up for the annual Cardboard Boat Race, which challenges participants to create seaworthy crafts out of corrugated cardboard and complete a short race course, with special awards for the prettiest and ugliest craft. Family-friendly artist workshops provide additional participatory opportunities, you can enjoy live music and lawn games, grab a bite from a participating food truck or even get a close-up encounter with an eagle. Mostly, it’s a chance to learn more about what needs to be done to preserve lake, so that one year soon, there can be a Sailfest once again.

Lakefest 2026 comes to Great Salt Lake State Park (13312 W. 1075 South, Magna) on Saturday, June 13 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, with RSVPs encouraged. Visit growtheflowutah.org/lakefest for additional information. (SR)

Masters of Disaster

Aliens, kung fu and a runaway train all make for an eventful weekend over at the movies.

BY SCOTT RENSHAW scottr@cityweekly.net @scottrenshaw

Disclosure Day BBB ½

Over the course of 50 years, Steven Spielberg has spent a fair amount of time on people dealing with the existence of alien life, to the extent that folks staring skyward in wonder became known as “the Spielberg shot.” His latest feature places a close encounter in a different context, one that feels extraordinarily timely, even if it’s sometimes a crowded road to its conclusions. It opens with Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor), former tech expert for a paragovernmental agency, on the run with information that it’s soon clear is evidence of a vast cover-up of proof of alien life; elsewhere, Kansas City TV meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) is experiencing strange abilities that may be connected to Daniel’s quest to release his information. David Koepp’s screenplay (working from an original story by Spielberg) packs a lot of business into 2-1/2 hours, including the theological anxieties of Daniel’s girlfriend (Eve Hewson). But it’s still a thrilling adventure that makes great use of the director’s gifts for cross-cutting, action set pieces and directing emotional performances, while finding a fascinating humanist core in the idea of our need for real factual information to make sense of our world, and the paradigm-shifting possibilities of leading with empathy. The result is an occasionally messy but welcome kind of blockbuster, one that realizes our salvation comes from looking not just on alien beings, but also other humans, with curiosity and wonder. Available June 12 in theaters. (PG-13)

The Furious BBB ½

Those far more immersed than I am in the history of martial-arts cinema—from the Shaw Brothers and Bruce Lee through Jackie Chan and beyond—are better suited to explain where Kenji Tanigaki’s action missile fits in that tradition. I just know what I like when it comes to bloody, ass-kicking entertainment. This one finds two fighting machines joining forces for a common cause: Wang Wei (Xie Miao), whose young daughter Rainy (Yang Enyou) was ab-

ducted by traffickers in Southeast Asia; and Navin (The Raid: Redemption’s Joe Taslim), whose journalist wife disappeared while investigating the same traffickers. None of the dramatic plot elements prove particularly sticky, whether it’s hinting at Wang Wei’s mysterious past or trying to give Navin’s quest an intensity to match Wang Wei’s mute ferocity. Really, it’s all about the flying hands, feet and weapons, which Tanigaki and assistant action choreographer Naohiro Kawamoto (a veteran of the John Wick series) deliver from start to finish, best of all in a five-way finale featuring key antagonists Brian Le, Yayan Ruhian and Joey Iwanaga. And it works not just because it’s creatively brutal, but because the filmmaking gives us great angles on the combat, and pays enough attention to detail to offer a cut to garbage on the floor of a flatbed truck to show why one fighter slips and falls. The relentless two hours of punishments might not work for those who’d think of it as a bug, rather than a kinetically satisfying feature. Available June 12 in theaters. (R)

Stop! That! Train! BBB

It’s not easy trying to step into the shoes of a comedy masterpiece like Airplane!, but unlike another recent attempt at genre parody that I’d prefer never to think about again, this one understands how to wrangle a similar anarchic spirit, albeit into drag attire. RuPaul’s Drag Race alums Jujubee and Ginger Minj co-star as DeeDee and Tess, two best friends from Train Hostess Academy whose first day on the job for the cross-country bullet train Glamazonian Express is an eventful one, as it winds up hurtling out of control through a “stormaganza,” while a Department of Transportation train controller (Rachel Bloom) and the President of the United States (RuPaul) try to save the day. It’s clear that director Adam Shankman (Hairspray) and screenwriters Christina Friel and Connor Wright are paying their respects to Airplane!, what with bits like an unconscious pilot (Chris Parnell) and a main character trying to overcome a traumatic past incident. But the basic disaster-movie framework is also given a distinctive queer twist, not just in its cast of queens but trusting its audience to understand, for example, a very specific definition of “reading.” The sheer volume of gags yields a pleasantly high percentage of hits, mixing wordplay, visual gags and enthusiastic performances. The best material feels pretty heavily loaded towards the first half, leading to some loss of momentum. At its best, it’s gleefully silly enough to feel like it shares more with Airplane! than just an exclamation point. Available June 12 in theaters. (R)

CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS

Salt Lake City residents face tax and fee hikes as the budget reacts to inflation and maintenance costs.

BY GRACE X. MAYA comments@cityweekly.net

When Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall released her budget recommendations in May, she described an impossible bind. Decreased federal funding, ongoing inflation and a 175-year-old city meant that maintenance was more expensive, and more necessary, than ever.

After a round of administrative cuts failed to close the gap, including the termination of several city employees, Mendenhall said that there was one remaining solution—tax rate and utility fee increases for residents.

“This budget has had to hold two truths at the same time,” Mendenhall said. “The first is that Salt Lakers are already feeling stretched. Every added cost matters. And every decision we make as a City has to respect that. The second is that the services residents rely on are also becoming more expensive to provide.”

In the weeks since, Salt Lakers have attended City Council meetings to protest the impending jump in their tax and utility bills. But the administration has maintained that extra revenue is vital to ensure the livability and the safety of all 200,000 of Salt Lake City’s residents.

The point has been contentious not only for homeowners, but also for the city departments most affected by funding cuts. All in all, Mendenhall’s budget proposal for the 2027 fiscal year reflects a futurefacing city—one that is both excited for new growth opportunities, yet forced to endure some costly growing pains.

“We cannot fund all of the things,” City Council Chair Alejandro Puy said in relation to the capital improvement program (CIP) budget. “While frustrating, we’re trying to make good with limited funds.”

Larger Pie, Fewer Slices

The city’s total anticipated expenditures for the year are just over $2 billion, but the services most relevant to residents come from the $500 million General Fund. That fund pays for the Police, Fire and Public Services departments and is largely sourced through property and sales taxes.

It’s here that the city hopes to raise approximately $13.5 million in new revenue through property tax increases. And, if approved by the City Council, the Department of Public Utilities would receive another $17 million—bringing its budget to $427 million— used to administer the city’s water, sewage and street lighting systems, impacting not just city residents, but also nearly 20,000 people in periphery towns like Millcreek and Midvale.

For the average, low-water-use household, Mendenhall predicted that yearly utility bills would rise by more than $500. The revenue generated by those

higher fees would be used to upgrade the city’s utility infrastructure.

“We did not arrive at this proposal quickly or casually,” Mendenhall said. “We exhausted every other option before proposing increases to property taxes and fees.”

But the anticipated revenue is hardly applied equally among city departments. While the Justice Courts, Fire, and Police departments would see millions of dollars in new funding, the Mayor’s Office and Economic Development department— among others—is set to lose funding.

Similarly, most of the increased utility revenue will go toward engineering projects at the expense of water reclamation and water quality services.

Knowing where the funds will go has made little difference for some critics, like Thomas Wall, who spoke before the City Council during a recent hearing. Although he lives out of the city in the Murray/ Holladay area, his water is administered by the Salt Lake City utility department.

“We had a quadrupling of the water rate last year,” Wall said. “This tax is basically aimed at the homeowner. I don’t see the amount of regard that’s given to apartment owners and the behavioral habits of apartment dwellers.”

Cottonwood Heights resident Jack Wilhite also expressed frustration over repeated water rate hikes. “My water rates went up 33% in 2026, and now the city is proposing another rate increase,” Wilhite remarked. “To me, any time you have large rate increases like this, it shows lack of planning.”

To others, the increases are in keeping with trends that they say have made living in the city harder for vulnerable residents.

“All I’m getting is more property taxes at the same time other taxes are going up, utilities are going up,” said Leslie Trubetzkoy, a SLC resident and business owner. “I see the city going in a direction, making a person of my age—with retirement potential coming up—making it unaffordable for me to live in the city that I love.”

Eyes in the Sky

One of the victors of this budget season is undoubtedly the Salt Lake City Police Department (SLCPD), which is set to receive 28% of the overall General Fund, including a $7 million year-over-year budget increase. But according to the department, looks can be deceiving.

Sgt. Greg Wilking has spent nearly 20 years with SLCPD. He sees the funding increase as vital for the department’s goals of community engagement, new technology implementation and full staffing.

“It’s about being able to keep people safe,” Wilking said. “That’s a function of government—to make sure citizens feel safe and to reduce crimes, solve crimes and hold people accountable.”

Wilking explained that $5 million of the proposed $7 million increase comes from Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA) revenue, and will specifically fund 12 officers assigned to patrol the industrial area located to the southwest of the Salt Lake International Airport.

“It’s such a remote area out there. They’ll be dedicated to the boundaries of the port,” Wilking said. “It’s not tax money. It can’t go anywhere else.”

The remaining $2 million of tax-funded budget increase is slotted for drone technology and pilots, insurance and overtime.

“We’ve invested in our people, invested in technology, training. I think that will pay off long-term for all the residents of Salt Lake,” Wilking said.

That technology investment has been contentious.

Residents have protested the adoption of drones by the SLCPD, arguing the cameras represent a violation of privacy and means of surveillance. The department has also used drones to monitor community events like the weekly 999 bike ride.

Charlie Padilla spoke against any expansion of police surveillance when the city considered a grant for FLOCK cameras late last year.

“This is supposed to be the most free country on the planet. Since when is creating a system of mass surveillance, at the scale of Big Brother from ‘1984’, a component of freedom?” Padilla asked. “We must not allow ourselves to provide more tools of tracking and surveillance

to a government that has consistently made threats against its own citizens.”

Wilking said the drone program has already had a positive impact. He described one scenario in which drones were used to locate a suicidal woman on a parking structure, allowing officers to safely pull her from the building.

“We’ve already seen it in terms of lifesaving,” Wilking explained. “We believe it’s paying off in crime reduction—being more strategic in how we respond, safer for how we respond. We solve crimes because of it.”

Drone usage could have one universally positive impact—fewer expenses related to police overtime.

While Mendenhall praised the SLCPD for reducing overtime costs by $1 million in fiscal year 2026, that number comes only after accounting for a $3.8 million increase in overtime funding granted by the City Council in January.

The drone program was still in its infancy at the time, but officials say it could be used to triage calls for service and improve officer response times.

“When you don’t have to wait for [stop] lights, worrying about traffic, you’re getting eyes on a situation much faster,” Wilking said. “It’s freeing up those officers to handle those calls where an officer is actually needed for something.”

Stranger than Fiction

The Salt Lake City Library made headlines earlier this year as the first library to unionize in the state of Utah. After nearly six years of organizing, the union was ratified in February by the Salt Lake City Council as part of AFSCME, a parent labor group that represents a variety of public employees.

While union negotiations recently secured a series of wins for employees, the yearly budget suggests not all is well.

The library’s budget is administered separately from the rest of the city’s, meaning their proposal came not from Mendenhall, but from Noah Baskett,

the library’s CEO. Baskett listed staff compensation, capital improvements and youth literacy among the budget’s priorities. However, this budget was preceded by the startling announcement of library-wide voluntary layoffs.

In a recent interview with the “City Cast” podcast, Baskett said that voluntary severance payments were meant to assist retiring or transitioning employees and are not expected to predicate forced layoffs.

“We thought this was a benefit we wanted to extend to everyone,” Baskett said. “There’s no negative implication on the budget.”

Library assistant Ivy Smith started working at the city library in 2018. She began secret talks of unionization in May of 2022 and is now the secretary treasurer of AFSCME’s local chapter.

“A lot of people assume we unionized for money and benefits,” Smith said. “That’s true. But another reason was that we really wanted transparency and a seat at the table.”

Smith cites union organizing for the library’s new grievance process and on-call pay for maintenance workers. In the next fiscal year, staff will receive a 5.5% raise, tele-health benefits for part-time workers and pay for traumatic incidents.

The union was also the first to learn of the voluntary layoffs.

“We have been working with the library,” Smith said. “They’ve been updating us in good faith to discuss this.”

Just over a dozen of the library’s roughly 250 employees have agreed to voluntary separations. While the decreased staffing could point to a slimmer budget during a year of cost-cutting, the proposal itself paints a more confusing picture.

Baskett’s budget proposal showed a nearly $1 million decrease in regular salaries. Paired with a 200% increase in flex salaries, one source—who requested anonymity out of fear of reprisal—suggested the library may seek to replace salaried employees with part-time workers without benefits.

This is further supported by a planned decrease in insurance costs, a benefit extended to full-time staff.

“Do I see this as a precursor to forced layoffs? Yes,” the source said. “They are not interested in being honest with their processes.”

Another library employee pointed to a massive spike in administrative staffing and salaries after Baskett took over in 2024. They referred to the library as a “corporate hellscape.”

Caught in the Crossfire

General Fund cuts came largely from the usual suspects. The Salt Lake Arts Council would lose $125,000, while eliminating the discounted transit Hive Pass would save the city an additional $350,000.

Across most departments, existing roles have been eliminated or left vacant, with cost-of-living increases only for employees lagging significantly behind industry norms.

Andrew Wittenberg, the mayor’s spokesman, stated that cuts to the Economic Development department will not cease payments to outside entities like World Trade Center Utah, the Salt Lake Chamber or Biohive. However, reduced construction mitigation grants— designed to provide restitution to businesses affected by construction projects—mean that after ongoing projects wind down, the program will likely cease.

The city will receive a one-time payment of $2.3 million from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for major street closures surrounding the open house for the Salt Lake Temple next spring. And $1 million will be allocated toward the revitalization of Japantown, an ongoing promise of the city and Smith Entertainment Group after Delta Center and Salt Palace renovations are expected to significantly disrupt 100 South, affecting both the Buddhist temple and Japanese Church of Christ that are located there.

“2026 is a consequential year for our city,” Mendenhall said in her recent State of the City address. “The state of our city is determined not by what we’ve completed, but by what we choose to take on next. We are writing this chapter with intention, with care, and with an understanding of what is at stake.” CW

Inter-Stella

Stella Grill brings Southwestern diner vibes to Millcreek.

BY ALEX SPRINGER comments@cityweekly.net @captainspringer

The idea of neighborhood diners is simply awash in nostalgia for me. Growing up in suburban Utah, these local diners were really my first exposure to food that was not flash-fried, crimped into a Styrofoam clam shell and collected at a drive-through window. Granted, the food at these local diners wasn’t exactly the picture of diversity, but they understood the assignment of what a neighborhood restaurant should be for its community.

I sometimes wonder if that paradigm can still exist today, which is perhaps what led me to Stella Grill. It’s one of the last restaurant vestiges of Pub Group, a local hospitality crew that has operated Desert Edge Brewery since the early 1970s. Pub Group also operated Red Butte Cafe and Martine, both of which sadly shuttered their doors in 2020 due to complications from the COVID-19 pandemic. Pub Group’s Stella Grill, however, weathered that particular storm, and has been going strong since 2007.

Located at 4291 S. 900 East, just west of Big Cottonwood Regional Park, Stella Grill exudes all the right diner vibes. It’s a welcoming little place that overlaps with a small Millcreek neighborhood, and it’s located in a fairly walkable part of town, making it a great pit stop when you’re out and about. The thing that really sets it apart from all the small diners that I grew up with is the menu—and the beer, of course.

Since Stella Grill is a sister restaurant

to Desert Edge, diners have access to a wide array of the brewery’s local microbrews, along with a decently-priced cocktail menu. Stella Grill serves up diner staples like Reubens ($15) and cold pub sandwiches like rare roast beef and Swiss ($13 for a whole, $11 for a half), but its menu is flavored with plenty of Latin-inspired fare. Appetizers like the chicken quesadilla ($11.50) and the chile verde cheese fries ($11.50) really lean into south-of-the-border flavors.

Of this pair of appetizers, the chile verde cheese fries were my favorite—especially when you cough up an extra $3.50 to get them loaded with guacamole, salsa, cilantro cream, remoulade and olives. I’ve found that more often than not, fries make a more than adequate substitution for tortilla chips in a plate of nachos, and this dish further validates that claim. The chile verde is great—acidic with just the right amount of heat. All the loaded toppings combine together to create a lovely combination of flavors and textures with every forkful.

The chicken quesadilla definitely gets the job done; the tortilla gets nice and crispy on the edges, and the cheese quantity is ideal. It comes served with the chicken, black beans and salsa on top, however, which makes it slightly messy to eat. I liked the small salad dressed with cilantro cream, but I kept thinking it would be a more successful dish if the meat and beans were on the inside of the quesadilla, with the salad and veggies served on the side. It’s an easy gripe to overlook once you make your own little taco with each triangle of the quesadilla.

The entree menu might look simple with its selection of sandwiches, salads, soups and tacos, but there are plenty of clever little ditties to choose from. I will always be on board with a Cubano ($15.50), so that’s where I started. Sandwiches at Stella Grill can be paired with

a wide range of sides, from pasta salad to fresh fruit, and for a few bucks more, diners can upgrade their side to French onion soup. I stuck with the fries, but there was no side dish FOMO to be had here, as they were crispy, well-seasoned and plentiful. I liked the Cubano—it played up the pickles and mustard, which I really like, and the thick stack of sliced ham paired well with the condiments. My one issue with the sandwich was the pulled pork, as it was dry enough to cause a bit of an interruption in the sandwich flow. The flavors were good, but the protein was a bit overdone.

Based on how good Stella Grill’s chile verde was, exploring its range of Mexican classics is not a bad way to go during your visit. The pork chile verde burrito ($16) is absolutely smothered in the restaurant’s tasty chile verde, and the braised pork inside the burrito pairs very nicely with the acidic flavors.

Plant-based diners can also find plenty of good stuff on the menu. The veggie burrito ($16) is just as hefty as the pork chile verde, but it’s packed with root veggies and bell peppers instead of meat. The black bean veggie burger ($14.50) is also not a bad option for a plant-based burger. It also leans into the restaurant’s Mexican flavor palette with poblano pepper, pepitas and chipotle mayo.

In the end, Stella Grill is exactly what one would picture if they thought of a well-established brewery branching into diner territory. It’s a welcoming spot with a creative menu, and what’s not to love about a place where you can get a beer with your midday lunch?

2 Row Brewing

73 West 7200 South, Midvale

2RowBrewing.com

On Tap: Total Jamnation - Fruited sour

Avenues Proper

376 8th Ave, SLC avenuesproper.com

On Tap: Drop Top - English summer ale (collab with Salt Flats)

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 Brewing

2285 S Main Street, SLC chappell.beer

On Tap: Pie Hole - Strawberry Rhubarb Tart Ale

Craft by Proper

1053 E. 2100 So., SLC properbrewingco.com

On Tap: El Hefe - Hefeweizen

Desert Edge Brewery

273 Trolley Square, SLC DesertEdgeBrewery.com

On Tap: Edge’s Special Bitter ESB

Epic Brewing Co.

825 S. State, SLC EpicBrewing.com

On Tap: A rotation of 8 new draft beers!

Etta Place Cidery

700 W Main St, Torrey EttaPlaceCider.com

On Tap: 435 Hopped Cider, Pineapple-Passion Fruit Session Mead

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

In a Can: Extra Pale Ale

Heber Valley Brewing

501 N. Main Street, Heber City hebervalleybrewing.com Freshly Canned: 435 Pale Ale 6% ABV

Helper Beer

159 N Main Street, Helper helperbeer.com

Hopkins Brewing Co.

1048 E. 2100 South, SLC HopkinsBrewingCompany.com

On Tap: Stonewall Sour Saison

Kiitos Brewing

608 W. 700 South, SLC KiitosBrewing.com

On Draft: Bliss IPA (Extremely Small Batch)

Kiitos Brewing Sugar House 1533 S. 1100 East, SLC KiitosBrewing.com

On Draft: Bliss IPA (Extremely Small Batch)

Level Crossing Brewing Co. 2496 S. West Temple, SLC LevelCrossingBrewing.com

On Tap: Nitro Sinday Pale Ale

Level Crossing Brewing, POST 550 South 300 West, # 100, SLC LevelCrossingBrewing.com

On Tap: Helles Munich Pale Lager

Moab Brewing 686 S. Main, Moab TheMoabBrewery.com

On Tap:  “Big Drop” Pilsner

Mountain West Cider 425 N. 400 West, SLC MountainWestCider.com

On Tap: Mango Karma (Mango chai 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: Hefe Yeah Brother!

Prodigy Brewing 25 W Center St., Logan Prodigy-brewing.com

On Tap: 302 Czech Pilsner

Proper Brewing/Proper

Burger 857 & 865 So. Main properbrewingco.com

On Tap: Concerning Hops - West Coast IPA

Proper Brewing Moab 1393 US-191, Moab properbrewingco.com  On Tap: Concerning Hops - West Coast IPA

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

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: Bramble Brown

Roosters Brewing Multiple Locations RoostersBrewingCo.com

On Tap: Hibiscus Sour

SaltFire Brewing 2199 S. West Temple, SLC SaltFireBrewing.com On Tap: Hard Ginger Beer

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: Rosé Ruckus 7.2% ABV

Second Summit Cider 4010 So. Main, Millcreek secondsummitcider.com On Tap: Blackberry Lime

Shades Brewing 1388 S. 300 West, SLC ShadesBrewing.beer New Batch: Raspberry Pistachio Sour Ale

Shades On State 366 S. State Street, SLC Shadesonstate.com On Tap: Six Wheat Under Hefeweizen

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

Squatters Brew Pub

Sugar House 2110 S. Highland Drive, SLC squatterspubs.com

On Tap:  Salt Lake Brewing Co. Big U Pilsner

Squatters Brew Pub West Valley 3555 Constitution Blvd, West Valley City squatterspubs.com

On Tap: Salt Lake Brewing Co. Acapulco Gold Mexican Lager

Squatters Pub Brewery / Salt Lake Brewing Co. 147 W. Broadway, SLC squatterspubs.com

On Tap: Salt Lake Brewing Co. Emigration Amber Ale

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

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

Strap Tank Brewery, Springville 596 S 1750 W, Springville 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: Berry Keller (Kellerbier); Save the Fkn Bees (Smoked Honey Kolsch)

Thieves Guild Cidery 117 W. 900 South, SLC thievesguildcidery.com

NEW: Seaside CitadelPineapple and passion fruit cider with a hint of sea salt | 6.5%

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

On Tap: Was Angeles Craft Beer

UTOG 2331 Grant Ave, Ogden UTOGBrewing.com

On Tap: Bar Down IPA

Vernal Brewing

55 S. 500 East, Vernal VernalBrewing.com

Zion Brewery

95 Zion Park Blvd, Springdale ZionBrewery.com

BEER NERD

Vinyl and Pints

Pairing great pours with timeless sounds.

BY MIKE RIEDEL comments@cityweekly.net

@utahbeer

Level Crossing - The Great Gig: For a brewery that has explored just about every corner of the IPA spectrum, it’s somewhat surprising that this marks Level Crossing’s first true West Coast IPA. Fortunately, the wait appears to have been worth it. Rather than treating the style as a nostalgia exercise or loading it with modern gimmicks, the brewery has delivered a beer that feels both classic and refreshingly restrained.

The first thing that stands out is the alcohol content. In an era where many West Coast IPAs push well beyond 7 percent ABV, seeing one land comfortably at 6.3 percent is a welcome sight. It signals a focus on drinkability, and that decision pays dividends throughout the experience.

From the first sniff, citrus dominates the conversation. This isn’t a one-dimensional citrus profile, either. Every aspect of the fruit seems represented. Bright zest leaps from the glass, followed by notes of citrus pith and juicy citrus flesh. The result is vibrant and expressive without feeling artificial or overly sweet. It’s the kind of hop character that reminds one why West Coast IPA became such a beloved style in the first place.

A touch of pine emerges beneath the citrus, providing structure and depth. It never takes over the beer, instead serving as a subtle supporting note that reinforces the style’s roots. The balance is impressive, allowing the hops to shine without becoming abrasive.

The malt bill deserves credit as well. Rather than disappearing entirely, it contributes just enough richness to keep the beer grounded. There’s a gentle backbone that supports the hops while remaining comfortably in the background. Nothing in this feels heavy, sugary or distracting.

Verdict: Quite simply, this is one of

the best West Coast IPAs I’ve enjoyed in quite some time.

SaltFire - Dorothy’s Disco: Brewed in celebration of Pride Month in Utah, this New England IPA delivers an interpretation of the style while maintaining plenty of personality. From the moment it hits the glass, it makes a strong first impression with a gorgeous hazy-blonde appearance. The color glows softly, inviting the drinker in for a closer look and hinting at the juicy hop character waiting beneath the surface.

The aroma opens with bright citrus notes that immediately take center stage. Fresh orange and grapefruit-like qualities lead the way, while softer tropical nuances linger in the background. It’s inviting without being over-the-top, showcasing restraint rather than chasing sheer intensity.

On the palate, the beer reveals its most compelling qualities. Chewy stone fruit flavors form the backbone, bringing impressions of peach, apricot and nectarine. These are joined by subtle berry notes that add complexity without distracting from the core profile. Citrus elements reappear throughout, weaving everything together into a cohesive drinking experience. Rather than leaning into the sugary fruit smoothie territory that some examples of the style embrace, this beer takes a more measured approach. In many ways, it feels like a European interpretation of a modern American hazy IPA—focused on balance, texture and drinkability.

As the beer progresses, gentle herbal hop character emerges, adding depth and structure. Bitterness remains low throughout, appearing only as a subtle drying note that keeps the finish from becoming soft or cloying.

Verdict: This is a nuanced, highly drinkable hazy IPA that proves restraint can be just as rewarding as excess. It’s a fitting and memorable beer for a meaningful celebration.

Dorothy’s Disco is available for a short time at SaltFire at 7.4 percent, and is in 16-oz. cans. The Great Gig is officially part of Level Crossing’s standard lineup, and should be available everywhere you snag craft suds. There’s also a theme on every can; can you find all of the easter eggs and figure it out? As always, cheers! CW

Protect Your Loved Ones

BY ALEX SPRINGER | @captainspringer

Perch Coffee Opens in Millcreek

Millcreek recently welcomed Perch (perchcoffee.com), an Australian-influenced coffee shop that looks to be a hip new addition to the Brickyard area. The menu features collaborations with Idle Hands Roasting Company and Tea Grotto, along with a selection of goodies from local bakeries like Forty-Three Bakery, Blacksmith Ice Cream Co. and Dough Lady. Perch makes all of its flavoring syrups in-house, and offers a unique spin on classic caffeinated bevvies—the affogato and ceremonial matcha seem particularly interesting. Perch’s Aussie influence comes through in its comfy interior and laid-back cafe culture, and its baristas are known for their mean flat white.

Dragon Ball Z Collab at JINYA

It’s tough to improve on a hot bowl of ramen from JINYA Ramen Bar (jinyaramenbar.com), but getting a cute little prize for ordering a seasonal special just might do the trick. From now until the end of August, Utah JINYA locations will be serving a seasonal Creamy Tonkotsu Ramen, and every guest who orders it will get a sweet collectible pin from Dragon Ball Z . There are three pins total—Goku, Vegeta and Shenron—and honestly, ordering up three bowls of ramen to get the whole set sounds like a pretty decent deal to me. JINYA restaurants will also be featuring a summery Hokkaido Mille Crepe dessert until the end of August, so it’s gonna be a Super Saiyan summer at JINYA.

Trader Joe’s Eyes West Jordan for New Location

Another Trader Joe’s location has been mapped out, and this time it’s headed to the Mountain View Corridor in West Jordan. The new location will be at 5561 W. 7800 South, though its exact opening date is still unconfirmed. Trader Joe’s has developed a reputation as kind of a grocery store oasis among frugal shoppers who like to experiment, and another TJ’s in town is usually a good thing. In addition to expanding to West Jordan, Trader Joe’s has also announced plans to open a location in the Daybreak area of South Jordan. It’s economical orange chicken and frozen samosas for all!

Quote of the Week: “I just want to be as happy as a Trader Joe’s cashier.” – Conan O’Brien

Space Odyssey

Veteran Utah band Our Time in Space releases an album that’s been 20 years in the making.

BY EMILEE ATKINSON eatkinson@cityweekly.net @emileelovesvinyl

Music has a way of being timeless. Sure, songs may age, but it always feels great to listen to music of yesteryear, bringing up personal memories or serving as a time capsule from another age. Local SLC band Our Time in Space has been jamming together since 2003, so there are a lot of songs in their catalog to look back on— but they’re also looking ahead to continue making music as a band.

Ryan Nielson (vocals/guitar/bass/mascot), Rod McNeely (drums) and Chris “Pete” Peterson (vocals/bass/guitar) have been friends for a long time; “We’ve known each other basically since we were sperm,” Nielson joked. They were all interested in the same types of music, so they meshed well, and have continued to jam and grow as a band over the last 20 years.

Our Time in Space has a satisfying alt/ rock sound that is definitely reminiscent of great early aughts bands like Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins and Muse. They also played together as a heavy metal act, but the alt/rock vibe is where they stay these days.

“I’m kind of sick of screaming,” McNeely said. “In the old band, we were kind of sick of screaming. I was sick of playing double bass. We tried doing both bands for a while, but we were just burnt out.”

Their latest release is Palimpsest, a sixtrack album that showcases epic electronic effects, juicy bass and soaring guitar solos. It’s upbeat and energetic—and any headbanger’s dream.

While the songs may be new to listen-

ers, they have been sitting on the band’s backburner for quite a while. They recorded the bulk of Palimpsest around 2007, but have been piecing it together for the last several years. As they finished their 2023 album Past, Present, Future, they realized they needed to get these songs to see the light of day as well. They assembled the album bit by bit, taking old recordings and adding updated vocals and drums while never being in the same room together.

That’s where the inspiration for the album title came from—a palimpsest is a piece of writing where the original content has been effaced to make room for something new, but the original traces still remain. It’s one of the most aptly clever, accurate and cool album names out there, especially once you learn of the whole journey that went into creating it and where the journey started.

Palimpsest was released in April, but the band is hard at work coming up with new material. Because this last batch of songs started being written about 20 years ago (how is it even possible that 2007 was 19 years ago?), one has to wonder if new music from Our Time in Space will have the same type of sound. Or have things changed over the years for the trio in regard to how they make their music?

The group does have the advantage of hindsight at this point, knowing what they do and do not want to do this time around, but also they’re taking things slow and being more conscious about their musical choices. “[It] will be different because it’ll be more like an album that flows,” Peterson said. “We tried to achieve that last time, but because it got shelved and then we came back to it, we cut some songs.”

Nielson added: “All of this foresight has accumulated, or hindsight has accumulated. At least for me personally, I’m kind of like, ‘Okay. Let’s try to learn some of the lessons that are written in blood basically across our psyche on all these other experiences.’ And so it’s like, ‘Let’s try to be better than the last thing, or take more

MUSIC

lessons from things that we’ve been iterating upon.’”

The trio have a very collaborative process when it comes to writing music, so it will be fun to see what 2026’s Our Time in Space will sound like compared to what 2007’s Our Time in Space sounded like.

Other than new music on the horizon, the group is extremely stoked to be playing at the Utah Arts Festival this year. They’ve applied several times, but 2026 turned out to be the lucky year.

“It’s nice to play some of these shows that there’s people at, things are going on around. All ages and kids can come,” McNeely said.

At this point in their music career, Our Time in Space is satisfied to put out some music that they’re happy with, and play at fun festivals here and there.

“Our main thing at this age for us and

how long we’ve been doing it, is just to be able to come together and still play with each other and see each other, because we all kind of do live separate lives,” Peterson explained. “So this kind of keeps us together, and we would probably see each other once a year, but now we see each other at least once a month to practice.”

If you’re planning on attending the Utah Arts Festival this year, don’t miss Our Time in Space when they perform on Sunday, June 21 at 2:30 p.m. on the Park Stage. Go to uaf.org for full details on the Utah Arts Festival. Also keep an ear out for their new album, the details of which are still to be determined—but it will definitely be worth waiting for! CW

TUESDAYS

WEDNESDAYS

BEST BAR IN UTAH!

GREAT FOOD

MUSIC PICK S

The Human League @ Red Butte Garden 6/11

In 1977, when The Human League came together in Sheffield, England, there was virtually nothing else like them. Combining the experimental bent of analog synthesis with a pop sensibility, the group fronted by Philip Oakley cut a distinctive figure on the music scene. The band’s first two albums earned some positive notices, but sold poorly on initial release. By 1980 the original lineup had fractured, but Oakley and Philip Adrian Wright carried on, recruiting new vocalists Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley to the group. And when The Human League’s third album—1981’s Dare —was released, it broke through in a big way. Pop culture caught up with the band just in time for the dawn of MTV; the band’s icy-cool demeanor meshed well with the danceable beats and innovative synth textures. 2011’s Credo is the group’s most recent studio release, but The Human League continues as a popular and engaging live act, with Oakley, Catherall and Sulley still on board. With fellow British synthpop legends Soft Cell and Alison Moyet, the group comes to Red Butte Garden for the Generations U.S. tour on Thursday, June 11 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $89 and going fast at etix.com. (Bill Kopp)

WEEKLY LINEUP

OUT Benefit Show World Refugee Day Benefit Show For the IRC Polkadot Cadaver + The Angry Toons Nik Parr & The Selfless Lovers Corners of the Sky

MUSIC PICK S

Chop Lake City @ VIP Event Center 6/12

For those who love to purely headbang, riddim is taking over this weekend at Chop Lake City. The Jamaican patois word for “rhythm,” riddim is a subgenre of bass-heavy electronic music gaining some ground here in Salt Lake City. U.K. artist SHIVERZ (also known as dabutcher) will headline with his signature minimalist, repetitive type of music that has wonky yet heavy synth patterns and a groovy drum structure. Instead of the melodic drops common in dubstep, SHIVERZ’s songs like “Knockout,” “Body Bag,” and “ON SMOKE” are the stripped-down synths that will make you want to get that neck workout in. Missouri-based dubstep producer Bommer (Zack Bommer) will also be on the lineup with such songs as “Nah Nah” and “Mind Ya Business.” From starting at local bars to now booking shows across the country, he’s now available for you to listen for his flawless double drops and clean transitions. The underground riddim scene will also be represented with Montreal-based DJ and producer Gram Greene back-to-back with SMAL B. None of this could be possible without the support from the biggest advocates for underground riddim, RIDDIM NYC, who is also performing. VSVBOVESOBELOW hosts this Chop Lake City event at the VIP Event Center this Friday, June 12. This is an 18+ show with a 21+ bar. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. Tickets cost $35 or two tickets for $60. Go to eventliveus.com for tickets and event information. (Arica Roberts)

MUSIC PICK S

Kid Cudi / Big Boi @ Utah First Credit Union Amphitheater 6/13

Kid Cudi (a.k.a. Scott Mescudi) is always interesting and an artist set apart from the herd. He’s been putting out creative work on a phenomenal level. In 2025, he dropped his eleventh studio LP, Free. He also published a memoir, appeared in the Adam Sandler movie Happy Gilmore 2 and tied the knot with fashion designer Lola Abecassis Sartore. Cudi continues to reshape media on his own terms. “I have so much awesome shit going on in my life. My family is good. Work is good,” Cudi told Esquire. “I won’t allow anything to fuck up my mojo right now. I can’t.” Tour coheadliner Big Boi is so underrated in many popular circles. Sure, southern hip-hop was willfully disregarded by most mainstream media until the early 2000s. There was an insane number of incredible artists from below the Mason-Dixon line who were pushing rap music into daring new territory throughout the ’90s—most notably his Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Grammy-winning group Outkast. And after all these years, Antwan André Patton’s rapping still moves effortlessly from macho bragging to playful Doom-lite wordplay. When it comes to musical inventiveness and lyrical ingenuity, he’s still inspiring and innovating. Dot Da Genius and Chip Tha Rapper open. Catch these acts on the Rebel Ragers Tour at the Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre on Saturday, June 13 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets for this all-ages show are $49.45 and can be found at ticketmaster.com. (Mark Dago)

Tigers Jaw @ Metro Music Hall 6/15

One of Midwest Emo’s most essential bands, Tigers Jaw, brings their tour to Salt Lake City. With the release of their eighth record, Lost On You, they are continuing the saga of long-winded evenings crying into your beer and pizza. The band was cofounded by Adam McIlwee and Ben Walsh in 2005, and has now become a five-piece with Walsh (vocals), Brianna Collins (vocals and keyboard), Teddy Roberts (drums), Colin Gorman (bass) and Mark Lebiecki (guitar). From small beginnings in the indie scene in the early 2000s to now, having gained acclaim for being an “authority figure” in the scene, as stated by Pitchfork , Tigers Jaw has become a large part of the soundtrack to loneliness, becoming a

friend in the process. Upon first listen, one may picture a middle-school punk, walking through the halls with wired earbuds in and the volume up, looking down with eyeliner piercing their eyes. You may also become reminiscent of the Tumblr and Pinterest obsessions, and be reminded of your own adolescent self as each song captures memories that have been forgotten. Tigers Jaw is a good representation of creating meaningful moments within tracks that don’t surpass the three-minute mark. So find your new favorite song with Tigers Jaw on June 15 at Metro Music Hall. The show begins at 7 p.m. and tickets are $40 ahead of show and $43 at the door. Find yours now at snspresents.com. Attendees must be 21+ for entry. (Laney Hansen)

High Fade @ The State Room 6/18

High Fade self-describes as “Scottish Punk Funk and Nonsense.” Hailing from Edinburgh, the funk-rock trio are coming to town this week to make a statement.

Founded by frontman and guitarist Harry Valentino, Oliver “Oli” Sentence on bass and Heath Campbell on drums, High Fade is a champion of independence in music, and really is in a lane of their own. And while they’ve chosen to stay away from signing with major labels, this has not stopped their success. For example, their debut album, Life’s Too Fast, charted independently in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, the United States and Australia. You may have heard their songs like “Gossip” and “Burnin” that are all somehow a perfect blend of metal and disco. Their album explores a mix of purely instrumental songs, while others, like “Burnt Toast & Coffee,” is a highenergy song with the lyrics: “Quarter past nine is the time I get home / She didn’t look once or twice on her phone / Just want some lovin’ baby, I’ve been alone / But all she wants to give me / Is burnt toast and coffee.” The relatable narrative about unappreciated effort and a rocky relationship accompanied with music one can jam to is the quintessential High Fade experience. For an incredible live show, go see High Fade at The State Room on Thursday, June 18. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $27; go to axs.com for tickets and event information. (Arica Roberts)

free will ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

Many of you have a fraught relationship with discipline. You recognize you need it if you want a life rich with epic adventures. Yet you sometimes resist planning ahead or organizing your resources, fearing it might dampen your immediate pleasures. The problem is that when you skip the planning and organizing, the short-term fun you default to may turn out to be unsatisfying. That’s the challenging news. The encouraging news is that you’re now in a cycle when you can transform how you relate to discipline. I bet you can render some of those old patterns obsolete.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Gemologists evaluate opals less for flawless uniformity than for their mesmerizing play- o f- c olor. They study how light interacts with a stone’s microscopic internal structure to produce vivid, shifting hues. The most prized opals aren’t necessarily the most perfect in shape, but the ones whose internal pattern and rainbow-like displays are most vibrant, varied and alive. This is a marvelous metaphor for you in the coming weeks. I hope you don’t obsess on consistency or smooth away your complications. Let the world see your play-of-color.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

“Dear Oracle: Why do we always have to start at the beginning? I’d much prefer just jumping into the middle of things. Right now, I would love to bypass all the tedious baby steps I’m being forced to take as I try to get some momentum going. Please slip me a few clues about how to fast-forward directly to the fun stuff.—Bored with the Groundwork.”

Dear Bored: Your timing is perfect. The planetary omens say you are now authorized to vault over the preludes and prologues and dive right into the heart of the action.

CANCER

(June 21-July 22)

Restoration ecologists work to revive damaged prairies. They’ve discovered that seeds of many native plants can lie dormant in the soil for years, waiting for the right conditions to germinate. If they remove invasive species and restore the land’s natural cycle of controlled fire, wildflowers long absent from the landscape spring back to life. With this metaphor in mind, Cancerian, consider what dormant possibilities may lie buried in your own psyche. What seeds did you plant long ago and then forget? What dreams or talents are waiting for you to clear away the choking overgrowth and create space for them to emerge? Old potentials may be patient, not dead.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

Better than any other sign, you understand that ego and generosity can be collaborators rather than enemies. Your charismatic radiance is often a public service. When you express your interesting beauty, you give others permission to tap into their own luminosity. The world always craves your unique flavor of audacious joy, and especially now. The rest of us need your intense insistence that flair and flamboyance are forms of resistance against the forces that would diminish life’s splendor.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Many people struggle with what could be called “imagined ugliness,” a condition clinicians refer to as body dysmorphic disorder. It usually involves fixating on a supposed physical defect, or even on a flaw that exists only in one’s mind. I suspect that almost everyone carries a trace of this tendency, including you and me. The good news, though, is that the current astrological climate is ideal for you to at least partially shatter its spell. You are poised to transform your self-image so vigorously that you begin to regard yourself as a flawless exemplar of quirky, one-of-a-kind beauty.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

The Golden Gate Bridge, which is a few miles from my home, is painted continuously. Painters start at one end, work their way across, and by the time they reach the other side, it’s time to start over. The job is never finished; maintenance

is the permanent condition. Some people find this depressing, but I find it oddly liberating. It means the bridge doesn’t have to achieve some final, perfect state. It just has to be tended. Similarly, you don’t have to fix everything once and for all, Libra. The relationships, projects and internal states you’re concerned about aren’t meant to reach completion. You shouldn’t worry about trying to finish what’s meant to be an ongoing practice. Just keep starting the cycle again.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

Innovative theater director Viola Spolin was a Scorpio. She taught that the best scenes emerge when the actors avoid trying to control outcomes. Instead, they fully commit to the reality they’re creating together. Spontaneous responses are their gold standard. Let’s make this a keynote for you in the coming weeks. Your assignment is to give yourself heartily to improvisation. The most interesting magic will happen as you relax into the collaborative process, trusting it to guide you toward beauty and meanings none of you could have scripted alone.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

Musicologists distinguish between “perfect pitch” and “relative pitch.” A person with perfect pitch can sing or identify a specific note without hearing any other music beforehand. Relative pitch is the ability to recognize musical notes in relation to other notes. In the coming weeks, Sagittarius, relative pitch will be a more useful metaphor for you than perfect pitch. Don’t insist on perfect clarity about what’s right and wrong, beautiful and ugly, worthy and unworthy. Instead of obsessing on fixed standards, practice relational discernment. How does this choice feel compared to that one? How does a person behave in this context versus another? For you right now, truth lives in the intervals and connections.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

The best way to eliminate a bad habit is to replace it with a good one. Now is an excellent time to acquire more expertise in this art. Start by choosing a specific habit that drains your energy, time or self-respect. Then identify what that habit is secretly trying to give you, like comfort, distraction or a sense of control. Your mission is to find a healthier behavior that offers a similar payoff without the damage. For example, maybe you go online and binge-scroll through bad news because you imagine it soothes your anxiety. Instead of that, read an uplifting book or listen to serene music for a while. Be concrete: When the itchy habit hits, what exactly will you do as an alternative?

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

In 1905, 26-year-old Albert Einstein worked full-time as a clerk in a Swiss patent office. During his off-hours, he wrote four audacious papers that fundamentally changed how physics understood space, time, light and matter. He accomplished his revolution without the sponsorship of a renowned university or laboratory. Einstein’s example suggests that we can perhaps re-imagine and recreate the world even if we’re not supported by glamorous circumstances. I suspect that this principle applies to you these days. Breakthrough insights and earth-shaking realizations may arrive while you’re doing ordinary tasks. Be alert for the flashes that arise in seemingly routine and modest situations.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

For linguists, “untranslatable” words are concepts that exist in one language but have no equivalent in others. One example is mono no aware which in Japanese refers to the tender poignance and appreciation you feel in the presence of fleeting beauty, like cherry blossoms falling. I bring this to your attention, Pisces, because I suspect that you, too, are untranslatable right now. My advice is to forget about trying to get others to grasp what’s going on with you. Here’s a suggestion that might help: Find soulful artists and emotionally intelligent creatives who speak the language of your mystery.

urban LIVING

WITH BABS DELAY

Broker, Urban Utah Homes & Estates, urbanutah.com

Park It

Iremember when I served (for eight years!) as a volunteer Planning and Zoning Commissioner for Salt Lake City. It was one of the most interesting and educational experiences I’ve ever had.

Besides learning about past, present and future planning laws and trends, I learned a great deal about my city. At one meeting, an out-of-state consultant was brought in as an expert in urban “green spaces.” He had never traveled here, and when asked in our public hearing about adding more green spaces to our city and county, he laughed and said, “Why do you need more when it’s a 15-minute drive or 30-minute bike ride to the hills and mountains around here?”

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

ACROSS

1. Scottish map word

5. First-aid box

8. Superfood seed (no, it’s not acairelated)

12. Buffalo’s lake

13. Alias letters

14. Garden mixes

15. Star

17. Arya Stark’s father

18. Abandoned ships

19. What remote controls are good for, power-wise?

22. Conductor ___-Pekka Salonen

23. Prefix with thermal

24. Hackneyed

25. Widely accepted game of hoops?

31. Forbidden

34. Here, to HergÈ

35. TV chef Garten

36. Workbench tool that only works in dangerous winds?

41. Suffix with glob

Ali Vallarta, host of the “City Cast Salt Lake” podcast, spent two years documenting every single public park in Salt Lake County, all 511 of them. She found that 69% of parks don’t have year-round public bathroom access, only 15 parks have full family amenities (her metric included maintenance-intensive splash pads) and that roughly a quarter of county households are not within walking distance to a park.

Walking and biking access to parks was one of the major amenities for the master-planned Daybreak community in South Jordan, and that may be one of the reasons the massive development under the eye of the copper mine is such a popular place to live. There is a park, path and playground area within 5 minutes of every home, and there are plans for more in future developments.

Salt Lake City’s Downtown Farmers Market started this past weekend at our historic Pioneer Park, and some folks were surprised to see the north end of the park closed and some of the streets around it closed to cars during market hours. Pioneer Park is undergoing massive improvements, to the tune of almost $20 million, paid for by a combination of impact fee revenue and a voter-approved bond.

There will eventually be a fountain and a main pavilion, new pickleball and basketball courts, a better dog park and playground, and a new building inside the park with year-round restrooms and on-site park rangers.

Liberty Park—Salt Lake City’s second largest public green space—is also undergoing significant improvements. There are plans to preserve and repair some of the historic buildings, replace dying trees, expand indoor and outdoor gardens, put in a new greenhouse and improve the “Liberty Lake” with a boardwalk and trail.

Currently the Rotary Play Park, an all-ages, all-abilities playground, is being rebuilt with new swings, climbing towers, shaded seating and picnic areas. They also recently finished working on the Seven Canyons water feature, now a dry art installation that uses light, sound and sculpture to engage visitors.

Summer is here and for a list of all the county parks one can discover and enjoy this season, go to: saltlake.citycast. fm/parks/visiting-every-park-in-saltlake-county. ■

42. Govt. agency once headed by Patricia Harris

43. Upwords pieces

44. Thought similar to “External computer storage can be so crude”?

49. Fresh

50. Neither counterpart

51. Screen abbr.

54. Back when a mopey cartoon character was popular?

59. Girder material

60. Trollish response to a celebrity game show contestant list

61. Ready to go

62. Parcel units

63. Feel like crap

64. Zippo

65. Pork cut

66. Physique

67. “It is too hard a ___ for me tí untie”: “Twelfth Night”

DOWN

1. Dulce de ___

2. Nabisco cookies

3. British singer/actress Black

4. Pay attention to

5. Hat brand popularized by LL Cool J and Samuel L. Jackson

6. Retailer with a blue-and-yellow logo

7. Big reveal sound

8. Might have, informally

9. Palatine or Esquiline, e.g.

10. Varieties

11. It may follow dumb or smart

14. Cabinet position?

16. Half of OutKast

20. Org. that sponsors “Read Across America”

21. Shaped like a martini glass (minus the stem)

25. Queens, e.g., for short

26. “Bob’s Burgers” spouse

27. Tumbler contents, maybe

28. Medicine bottle

29. “Next one’s ___!”

30. They have distinctive flows

31. Impact sound

32. “___ Lang Syne”

33. Title of a trickster rabbit

37. Like mochi

38. National Black Business mo.

39. Vertebra that supports the weight of the head

40. “Would I ___ to You?”

45. Completely committed

46. Meat case options

47. Play out (or splay out)

the grid so that each row, column, diagonal and 3x3 square contain all of the numbers 1 to

No math is involved. The grid has numbers, but nothing has to add up to anything else. Solve the puzzle with reasoning and logic. Solving time is typically

NEWS of the WEIRD

BY THE EDITORS

Renaissance Man

Sterling Nasa, a student of politics and international studies at the University of Sydney, found himself in an unusual spot recently: behind an electric keyboard during a live concert of the “La La Land” movie score. The 21-year-old was in the audience for the May 30 concert at the Darling Harbour theater in Sydney when composer and conductor Justin Hurwitz made an unusual request from the stage during intermission: Did anyone in the audience know how to sight-read? The orchestra’s keyboardist had fallen ill, and local reinforcements were too far away to make it to the theater in time. “I figured nobody’s as close as they say they are,” Hurwitz said, “so I just thought, well, we have 2,500 people in here [in the audience].” Despite Nasa’s background in music—he plays piano, organ and bagpipes—he was initially hesitant to volunteer his services. But with encouragement from his friend, he headed down to the pit. If being thrust into the spotlight weren’t enough, Nasa also had to play a tricky piece—John Legend’s “Start a Fire,” which has a complex solo that synchronizes with the character Sebastian’s (Ryan Gosling) frenetic piano playing on screen. With no time to prepare, Nasa improvised the piece, earning him a rousing ovation. “To be able to play a really cool solo in the right key, in the right scale, on the fly with no rehearsal—it was remarkable,” Hurwitz said.

Goal!

Brenden Aaronson, 25, a forward for the U.S. Men’s National Team in the FIFA World Cup, missed practice on May 29 for a very important reason: his wedding. He and his high school sweetheart, Milana D’Ambra, booked their wedding date over two years ago. Aaronson realized the scheduling conflict in March, but a conversation with head coach Mauricio Pochettino put his fears at ease—he could take a day to attend his wedding without losing his status on the team. The couple married in New Jersey, not far from where they met. Aaronson had to leave shortly after the wedding to get back to the team. “It’s not easy to be leaving on a wedding night, but she’s been with me since the beginning,” Aaronson said of his wife. “She knows how many days we’ve been through doing all the football stuff. For her to be as cool as she is is amazing.”

Well, That Escalated Quickly

■ Eric Pierwsza, 48, of Butler County, Pennsylvania, is facing charges of causing a catastrophe, reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct after using an excavator to tear down his family’s house after his wife told him she wanted a divorce. On May 28, CBS News reported that Pierwsza had been out drinking, and when he arrived home, he and his wife argued, and she told him she wanted a divorce. According to the police report, Pierwsza told her, “If it’s over, I’ll tear the house down.” And he did—with his wife and two children still inside. Sounds of destruction could be heard on the 911 call. Pierwsza then entered the home to grab a gym bag and fled the scene. He was apprehended in a nearby township. Luckily, no one in the home was injured, and his wife is seeking a protection-from-abuse order. The house suffered irreparable structural damage and likely will need to be demolished.

■ Over in the Poconos, 31-year-old Saif Kaleem faces charges of criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and trespassing after vandalizing a pickleball court. According to NBC 10 in Philadelphia, surveillance video from May 12 and May 14 shows an individual on crutches entering the park. In one instance, he cuts the net on the pickleball court; in another, he enters the court after it closes. Police issued a Crimewatch report to solicit help from the community in identifying the trespasser, which led them to Kaleem. Kaleem admitted to his crime, telling officers he did it because “his summer was ruined” after sustaining an injury on the pickleball court.

Born This Way

Shelbee Dugger-Kemp of Texas has a birth story for the ages: She delivered her premature twins in the passenger seat of a moving car. According to People, Dugger-Kemp was at a campsite at the TexasOklahoma border with her family over Memorial Day weekend when she experienced stomach pain that she initially attributed to a bad batch of nachos. At 31 weeks pregnant, she decided it wouldn’t hurt to go to the hospital to make sure everything was OK. Her husband’s grandmother, Mimi, drove her, and on the way, Dugger-Kemp quickly realized that her pain was actually contractions. “She said, ‘Oh no, Shelbee,’ and I said, ‘Oh yes, Mimi, it’s about to happen.’” With the ambulance 20 minutes away, the seasoned mom of four—now six—delivered two boys. Kane came first, at four pounds, four ounces, followed about five minutes later by Kallan, who weighed three pounds, 15 ounces, and emerged still in his amniotic sac, known as an en caul birth. The baby boys were born about eight weeks ahead of their due dates but are doing well in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Oh, Rats

One Australian designer is taking ratty clothing to a new level. Rat Oddity Gizzard, known for using taxidermied rats to make unusual creations, recently released a line of clothing they’re calling LingeRAT (pronounced like “lingerie”), Oddity Central reported on May 29. Unfortunately, it’s exactly what it sounds like—taxidermied rats sewn onto underwear. While the garments aren’t meant to be worn, Rat Oddity Gizzard’s Instagram audience begs to differ, with followers claiming to want to surprise their partners. The lingerie sells for $137 apiece, and yes, they do offer international shipping.

Crime Report

On May 31, a French museum reported a theft—not of precious jewels or a priceless painting, but of fruit. A banana, to be precise. The banana had been taped to the wall as an artistic piece called “Comedian,” by Italian visual artist Maurizio Cattelan.

A security guard noticed the banana missing from the Pompidou-Metz museum, and the museum has “lodged a criminal complaint for theft against persons unknown,” Gulf News reported. The banana is typically replaced every three days, and the museum says this is not the first time the fruit has been stolen:

A hungry visitor helped themselves to it last July. “Comedian” is valued at $120,000.