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Republicans had more good news in the latest vote count Friday afternoon in Salt Lake County. The county clerk reported about 10,000 more ballots since its last update on Wednesday. At-large Salt Lake County Council incumbent Shireen Ghorbani, a Democrat, is now more than 1,000 votes behind her Republican opponent Laurie Stringham after leading in all other tallies since election night. A loss by Ghorbani would see the GOP further solidify their majority on the council, growing it to 6-3, after Republican candidates prevailed in two races for open council seats. In District 2, Dave Alvord continues to hold a solid lead, nearly 56%, over his Democratic opponent Deborah Gatrell. Republican Dea Theodore is also ahead by 10 percentage points over Democratic Terri Tapp Hrechkosy for District 6. Mayor Jenny Wilson has maintained her 7-point gap ahead of Republican Trent Staggs. Staggs conceded the race last week . County Recorder Rashelle Hobbs, a Democrat, also remains ahead in her bid ...

Providence, R.I. • The governors of Oregon and New Mexico ordered near-lockdowns Friday in the most aggressive response yet to the latest wave of coronavirus infections shattering records across the U.S., even as many of their counterparts in other states show little appetite for reimposing the hard-line restrictions of last spring. “We are in a life-or-death situation, and if we don’t act right now, we cannot preserve the lives, we can’t keep saving lives, and we will absolutely crush our current health care system and infrastructure,” Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico said in imposing a two-week stay-at-home order. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown ordered a two-week “freeze” starting Wednesday, under which all businesses will be required to close their offices to the public and mandate work-from-home “to the greatest extent possible.” While most Oregon stores will remain open, gyms, museums, pools, movie theaters and zoos will be forced to close, and restaurants and bars...

St. George • An ordinance limiting the number of drinking establishments in downtown St. George was passed after the city received complaints, stopping other potential business owners from applying for permits, officials said. The St. George City Council approved Thursday an ordinance that would cap the number of stand-alone bars allowed in the downtown arts district at four rather than six. The city previously regulated one bar permit in a zone for every 15,000 people, the Spectrum  reported . Three permits are already accounted for and a fourth is in the early stages of seeking approval from the city. The permit for the fourth bar, which would be located in Ancestor Square, was submitted to the city as an “upscale lounge” with an enforced dress code. It was approved by the city’s planning commission on Tuesday. The permit will next head to the city council for approval. The decision to limit drinking establishments in the city comes after three bars were rapidly approved in...

Departing from long-standing department policy and practice, Attorney General William Barr’s latest pronunciamento has “authorized” Justice Department prosecutors “to pursue substantial allegations of voting … irregularities” — before states certify their elections. Stripped of the mumbo-jumbo, the memorandum allows zealous U.S. attorneys to go overt. They may, for example, immediately issue subpoenas, obtain search warrants, interview witnesses, sign off on arrests, even make news releases — all actions likely to attract media attention. And media attention is what Barr wants. What is wrong with that? you might ask. Nothing, if Barr intends to streamline voter fraud prosecutions. But he does not, not really. U.S. attorneys could always prosecute voter fraud miscreants. But they used to be instructed not to do anything public that might affect the election process before certification, the idea being that prosecutors ordinarily should not mess with an ongoing election process withou...

This Pat Bagley cartoon appears in The Salt Lake Tribune on Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020. You can check out the past 10 Bagley editorial cartoons below: Too Little Too Late Party Animals Power Grabber Fer Heck’s Sake Snipe Hunt Big News Pants on Fire Waiting in the Wings Vote! Look for the Helpers Want more Bagley? Become a fan on Facebook. from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/3eW9AA2 via IFTTT

Utah Jazz execs Dennis Lindsey and Justin Zanik were their typically cagey, elusive selves Friday morning, speaking for nearly 22 minutes to local media via Zoom about the coming unlike-any-other NBA draft without ever giving much actual insight into what they might do with the 23rd overall pick this coming Wednesday night. Is there a specific position they’re targeting? “With this draft in particular, there are a variety of prospects at all three positions — guards, wings, and bigs — that are good kids who we like,” said Lindsey, the team’s executive vice president of basketball operations. After two straight years of being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, do they maybe have a preference for a player who could maybe contribute from Day 1 as opposed to a player who’s a bit more of a project? “The draft is one of our many tools to continue to move forward, so we’ve always tried to do ‘best player available,’” added Zanik, the general manager. How about the possibili...

Putting problems cost Tony Finau a lot of ground Friday, so he chose to sleep on a 12-foot birdie attempt on the par-3 No. 12 at Augusta National Golf Club. Finau is in the half of the field that has yet to complete the second round of the Masters, stemming from Thursday’s rain delay. Play will resume Saturday at 5:30 a.m. MST, then the 36-hole cut will be made and the third round will begin. Finau, a West High School graduate, and Sandy resident Mike Weir have some work to do Saturday morning. Each player is 2 over par for the second round. Finau is 1 under for the tournament, tied for 45th place. Weir is 1 over through 27 holes, tied for 61st. The top 50 players (plus ties) will advance. Teeing off in the mid-afternoon Friday in Georgia, Finau scrambled well enough to par the first three holes. But then he three-putted for bogeys on Nos. 4 and 7, while also bogeying the par-4 No. 5 after a drive into the left rough. He regrouped with a birdie on the par-5 No. 8. In the twilight, ...

Connie Coyne, a rough-and-ready journalist who dispensed her wisdom and gruff wit to Salt Lake Tribune readers and colleagues for nearly two decades, has died. Coyne’s death was announced Friday on Facebook by her friend and former Tribune colleague Sheena McFarland. Coyne was 76. No cause of death was announced, but Coyne had suffered from back problems and heart ailments over the past few years, including a stroke in 2012. David Noyce, interim editor of The Tribune, called Coyne “a dedicated, hard-nosed journalist. But she had a joyous, infectious sense of humor and the deepest, most delightful laugh.” Coyne joined The Tribune in June 1993, relocating from Minot, N.D. She started on the copy desk, was named assistant state editor in 1994, and moved into the weekend editor position the same year. Noyce recalled working with Coyne on the desk, “batting around headline ideas — many of which we would never dare publish. She never stopped ribbing me about my habit of running around th...

So sad that politics would be a priority over our well-being. Gov. Gary Herbert and Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox should be embarrassed! Running the campaign seemed more important than managing the virus. The mask mandate should have been put in place weeks ago. We would be far ahead of the virus now had they heeded the advice of our doctors, nurses and health officials. Shame on you! Reva Anderson, North Salt Lake Submit a letter to the editor from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/3pwBZll via IFTTT

This week in Utah news: Utah reported a record-shattering 3,919 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, with record-high hospitalizations and the virus' deadliest single week since the pandemic began. Between 4.5% and 5% of those cases will end up in the hospital, Gov. Gary Herbert said at a Thursday news conference. “Those numbers should be alarming to all of us,” he said, warning that the state’s hospitals could be overrun if the case numbers don’t come down. Republican Burgess Owens held on to a lead Thursday over incumbent Rep. Ben McAdams in Utah’s hotly contested 4th Congressional District. His lead narrowed only slightly to 1,616. That’s compared to a 1,697 gap on Wednesday. Owens now has 47.47% of the votes counted and McAdams has 47.03%, keeping him ahead for the sixth day in a row after McAdams had the edge on election night. Still, votes remain to be counted in the district that straddles Salt Lake and Utah counties and also includes voters from the much smaller counti...

When the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law in 2010, millions of disabled Americans, myself included, breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, we no longer would be punished for illnesses outside of our control. No longer would we face higher costs or coverage lockouts due to preexisting conditions. No longer would we struggle to find plans that actually cover essential health benefits like mental health services, prescription drugs, hospitalization and rehabilitative services. No longer would we face annual or lifetime caps if our life-sustaining care cost insurance companies too much. Unfortunately, that sense of relief did not last long. The ACA was immediately subject to legislative and legal challenges. For years, patients have fought against attempts to undo the protections that barred discrimination against people with chronic illness, mental illness and a variety of other disabilities. Now, with another pending legal challenge heard by the Suprem...

Some Democrats are losing their leads in Salt Lake County races according to the latest round of ballot tallies. The incumbent for the an at-large seat, Shireen Ghorbani, is now just 84 votes ahead of Republican Laurie Stringham. Democratic Party officials elected Ghorbani to the council in 2019 to replace Jenny Wilson when she became county mayor. Other Democrats have fallen behind. The party’s candidate for county assessor, Jennifer Fresques, previously held a lead by a few percentage points over Republican Chris Stavros. She now lags by just over one point. The Republican incumbent Treasurer, K. Wayne Cushing, once locked in a close race with Democrat Michael McDonald, now leads by about five points. Recorder Rashelle Hobbs continues holding an edge over Republican challenger Erin Preston, although it has narrowed from 12 points on election night to just two points as of Wednesday evening. Meanwhile, County Council candidates Dave Alvord and Dea Theodore have widened their leads...

Escalante • A man who died in an estimated 400-foot fall from Willow Gulch in the Escalante Arm of Lake Powell in Utah last month has been identified, authorities said Tuesday. Kane County Sheriff’s officials said the victim was 49-year-old Cory James Christensen and his last known address was Flagstaff, Arizona. They said information and keys found inside the backpack Christensen he was wearing when he fell on Oct. 8 led to a search for a vehicle. It was located in a Garfield County parking lot about eight miles south of Escalante and about 35 miles from the location of the fall. Based on conversations investigators had with eyewitnesses elsewhere in his travels, it’s believed Christensen was traveling alone. Sheriff’s officials said bicycle parts were found in Christensen’s backpack and investigators are considering the possibility that he rode an off-road bike from his vehicle to an area near Willow Gulch. The fatal fall remains under investigation by the county Sheriff’s Off...

Republican Burgess Owens maintained his lead over Rep. Ben McAdams for the fifth day in a row on Wednesday as new ballot results were posted from Salt Lake County. Owens now has a 1,697 vote advantage over McAdams, with 47.50% of the vote to the Salt Lake City Democrat’s 47.03%. But it may not be clear who’s won the closely-watched race until the final canvass Nov. 17. Still, Owens' campaign said Wednesday that his camp is feeling “very optimistic” about the results that have come in so far. “We’re confident when the race is called that Burgess Owens will be representing the 4th district in Washington,” Owens' campaign spokesman, Jesse Ranney, said in a written statement. McAdams' campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. McAdams, the former Salt Lake County mayor, took an early lead in the close race on Election Day and held onto it for much of last week. But Owens, a former NFL player and frequent Fox News commentator, pulled ahead Saturday and h...

It was dark out when deputies from the Weber County Sheriff’s Office arrived near a home in Huntsville on Oct. 23 on a report about a man with a gun breaking into the homeowner’s camping trailer and firing a gun inside it. Deputies, using police headlights to illuminate the scene, yelled for anyone inside an enclosed trailer or the RV next to it to come out with hands up, video footage released Tuesday shows. One of the officers said he couldn’t see anyone, but after a few seconds feet appeared beneath the trailer and a shirtless man ran out. The man pointed his gun toward the deputies and ran at them. Shots rang out. The man changed directions, running parallel to the officers, with his arms still raised and a .40 caliber gun still in hand. One of the deputies can then be seen firing at him multiple times. He flailed and then fell to the ground. Deputies declared him dead at the scene. Weber County Attorney’s Office released body camera footage and parts of the 911 call from the ...

Salt Lake City will loan another $1.15 million to a Chicago developer in hopes of keeping afloat the long-delayed affordable housing project at 255 S. State Street. Different developers have struggled to build on the key downtown plot for more than eight years now for a variety of reasons, from soil problems and contractor disputes to financial issues and now a pandemic. The additional cash for Brinshore Development — on top of $13.4 million in lending and other guarantees the city has already chipped in — got approved Tuesday after the firm said its costs had leapt by 16% in one year, partly due to COVID-19. The new loan makes 255 S. State one of the largest recipients of financial backing from city’s Redevelopment Agency in its history, city officials noted. The total price tag for the Brinshore project is now estimated at $88.5 million. “It’s not cheap to put affordable housing in your downtown core,” RDA Chief Operating Officer Danny Walz said Tuesday. “We recognized going in ...

Years of investments in emission reductions and cleaner fuels have improved Utah’s air quality to a point that federal authorities on Tuesday declared the Wasatch Front’s air quality “in attainment” for particulate matter, the gritty pollution that often fills the valleys during wintertime inversions. While state officials crowed about Utah’s progress, clean air advocates say the Salt Lake Valley’s airshed still has an unacceptable pollution load, with more industrial emission sources and population growth on the way. After concluding Wasatch Front air quality now meets standards for fine particulate, or PM2.5, and coarse particulate, or PM10, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to lift its oversight of Utah’s efforts to reduce this type of air pollution. “That bureaucratic change is likely to hamper, or even reverse efforts and public policies needed to further reduce our air pollution,” said Jonny Vasic, executive director of Utah Physicians for a Healthy E...

It certainly looked like Democrats had picked up at least three seats in the Utah House on Election Day, but those races have tightened as more results have rolled in. And in another race a Democratic challenger for other Salt Lake County seat remains tantalizingly close to the Republican incumbent. New results were added Tuesday and more votes are expected to be tallied in the days to come. The closest race right now is in House District 39 between Republican Rep. Jim Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville, and Democrat Lynette Wendel. On election night, Wendel led by about 300 votes, but Dunnigan erased his deficit and pulled ahead on Tuesday by just 22 votes in this district that covers Taylorsville and Kearns. Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, has stormed back after falling behind Democrat Wendy Davis on election night by more than 700 votes. Davis’ lead is now just 181 votes after the latest update in this district which covers parts of Midvale, Cottonwood Heights, Sandy and South Jordan. Eliason...

The Salt Lake Valley Coalition to End Homelessness is closing in on two overflow sites to house unsheltered people experiencing homelessness this winter — but at least one of the spots is coming under fire. Midvale Mayor Robert Hale said Tuesday that he’s opposed to the proposal to use a hotel on 7200 South to move people off the streets this winter, arguing the location has not been “not well thought out.” “It’s within a half mile that we try to protect [because of] our homeless shelter,” he told The Salt Lake Tribune in an interview Tuesday, referencing the city’s Midvale Family Shelter. “It’s also in a high crime area. We’ve got extra officers working 7200 South, the freeway. We’ve got other motels in the area that accept cash for payment, which brings its own crime element. And we’ve got a brand new multi-hundred-unit apartment building going up right across the back fence.” Jean Hill, co-chair of the Salt Lake Valley Coalition to End Homelessness, said Tuesday that the group b...

Rumors swirled that Sen. Mitt Romney is being considered for Joe Biden’s Cabinet — which is perhaps not too surprising since he is among few GOP leaders who acknowledge Biden as president-elect , and he scolded President Donald Trump for saying the election is being stolen. Romney tried to quash such talk Tuesday in a phone call to Utah news reporters. When asked if Biden has approached him for his Cabinet, Romney said, “I have not been approached, nor will I be approached. And I’m not going to be part of the Biden administration.” He said that as far as he can tell, rumors spread when a Buffalo, N.Y., newspaper reported that he was under consideration as Biden’s secretary of health and human services. “I have no idea who made that story up,” Romney said. “I commented at the time: I’ve not been approached by the Biden team. I will not be approached by the Biden team. And I would never take a job where I had to follow in the footsteps of Michael Leavitt,” the former Utah governor wh...