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Jen Hill

Former Salt Lake Magazine Associate Editor Jen Hill is a SLC transplant from Bloomington, Ind. As a blogger and feature writer, Jen follows the pulse of the community with interests in urban agriculture, business, fitness & beauty and anything that allows her to get out of the office and into the mountains.

Sep 21
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The Utah Symphony REIMAGINED.

By Arts & Culture, City Watch, Music

One year ago, I was invited to sit on stage and in very close proximity to the entire Utah Symphony orchestra during a rehearsal: On Stage with the Utah Symphony. What a difference a year can make. The 2020 season came with COVID, and our beloved Utah Symphony was forced into exile. What was to be their 80th Anniversary Gala on May 16, 2020, at Abravanel Hall was canceled. The concert was to include two original selections from the Utah Symphony’s inaugural 1940 concert: Johann Strauss, Jr.’s majestic “Emperor Waltzes” and “Moldau” from Smetana’s Má Vlast, as well as Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, to be performed by Joshua Bell, one of the most celebrated violinists of this generation.

Utah Symphony

On Stage with the Utah Symphony. Under the direction of Connor Covington, the symphony rehearsed Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture”, an American classic, Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” as well as Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with a guest performance from Ukrainian pianist Anna Fedorova.

With six months of silence, the road back to Abravenal has been a slow and thoughtful one. Much had to happen to ensure everyone’s safety, confidence and ultimately bring back to us the reason we attend a Utah Symphony performance in the first place: To enjoy it. Hired in the midst of the pandemic their newly appointed president and CEO Steven Brosvik says, “In our preparation and evaluation to reopen, we took in the recommendations of several experts including epidemiologists and a chemical engineering team from the U, analyzing airflow and optimum safe distancing.” The plans also have included the scaling back of the size of the orchestra to 40 members (strings-only) until a larger stage expansion can take place and limiting the audience to 400 max. “The ticket office has been extremely busy in accommodating to subscribers, Brosvik says, “All people involved have been incredibly patient and understanding.”

“I’ve felt like a little kid who has been promised ice cream for many weeks,” says Music Director Thierry Fischer, “When we were first introduced to the new arrangement and spacing on stage, it felt strange as orchestra members are accustomed to being in very close proximity with one another.” With only one other symphony orchestra reopening in the United States, Maestro Fischer says, “I personally fought to bring about this reopening, and there were many obstacles. It was a long process with many long meetings. It was a fascinating experience allowing questions, concerns, and strong feelings. It brought about a new leadership approach and dimension of collective building, looking at each point of view. It has been incredible.”

Maestro Fischer said, “It’s not about being upset, it’s about making things happen. Our responsibility is bigger. To succeed here we realized that we have to do it totally together and building collectively.”

USUO consulted with Tony Saad and James Sutherland, who as chemical engineering professors from the University of Utah created a software analytical program 10 years in the making to determine the existing air-fluidity (flow) and intake on the performance stage and throughout the auditorium. By testing several different approaches they were able to make their most favorable safety recommendations. With this study in conjunction with other research by a local epidemiologist, the USUO leadership formed a strategy based upon their reports. James Sutherland said, “We often worried about making Theirry Fischer upset with the changes, and if it would still work for them?” Standing close, Maestro Fischer said, “It’s not about being upset, it’s about making things happen. Our responsibility is bigger. To succeed here we realized that we have to do it totally together and building collectively.”

For the most up-to-date information, visit usuo.org and follow on social media. Tickets may be purchased using the new Utah Symphony/Utah Opera mobile app, available free for iPhone and Android. Tickets may also be purchased online at usuo.org, or by calling USUO Patron Services at 801-533-NOTE (6683) or through ArtTix.org.

 

Sep 17
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Artist of SLC: When Art Venues Close, Online Sales Can Boom

By Arts & Culture

In the beginning, Issac Hastings found himself in a collective space with a bunch of different artists and thought that being a painter was the only way to go about his work as an artist. Later, wanting to explore other options, he came across a screen printing press shop and was pulled in by the medium of ink, how tactile it was, how altering the layers and amount of ink could change the look, and began to pursue designing his own T-shirts. With his first design, Isaac was invited to set up a table at an open studio event and quickly sold out: IHSQUARED was born. A participant in Craft Lake City for 10 years in a row, for several years he also traveled the arts festival circuit all around the country. Then COVID hit.

And a mural, too..

Evan Jed Memmott and Isaac Hastings pulled out the rollers and brushes to

give their mural at Clever Octopus (2250 S. West Temple,) an upcycled arts and crafts business, a more “screen-printed” look and feel, using a technique that is more common to their method of spreading ink than mural painting. As explained by Isaac, “We were able to achieve texture and dimension, not by shading or traditional spraying, but with only a few colors. The illusion of depth is from the spacing between lines, or from the placement and proximity of dabs or dots of paint.”

Now Isaac sells his original tees and tapestries online—ihsquared.com. Recently he added a tarot deck. And fortunately, while art and music festivals were canceled, online sales continued to climb. For a closed event in Seattle, Isaac announced an exclusive sale for those living in Washington, and the response was favorable, “Folks usually wait to see me in person versus buying online. This was the biggest feeling of love ever, to ll orders and be supported, it was awesome.”

Isaac explains his dark-themed or even frightening designs: “I find a lot of beauty in the increments of life. We’re here as long as we are here—experiences have made me appreciate the life death balance. I love ecosystems, the grim reaper in the form of the vulture to clean up the bones and also allowing things to survive and thrive. Sometimes it’s gnarly and scary, but such is a part of everything.”

For more on artist Issac Hastings and IHSQUARED, visit ihsquared.com

For more A&E, click here.

Sep 11
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Can’t We All Just Get Along?

By City Watch

“In the end, the bigger number wins,” says Adrian, a resident in a Sugar House whose home borders the west stadium wall of the Westminster campus on 1200 East, “One day it was wooded, bustling with wildlife and native plants, the next day it was all gone.”

Dumke Field, originally Dane Hansen Memorial Stadium, was opened in 1949 (70 years ago). It was a gift of the George Hansen family in memory of a son, Lt. Dane Hansen, class of 1940, who lost his life in World War II. Seating 1,200 it was used for soccer and several collegiate activities.

This is a tale of two sides, a small, liberal arts college wishing to keep its NCAA DII status by installing new stadium lights, and the closely bordering area between its stadium and a residential community. Cohabitation between big and little special interests can often be tricky.

Founded in 1875, Westminster College has come a long way since its first year with 27 students, moving to the current campus location in 1911 in Sugar House. Since, they have continued to expand and develop into a fully independent, privately funded, nondenominational liberal arts institution with selected graduate programs. And most recently, The Princeton Review named Westminster College as a Top Green College. Go Griffins!

In 2005, Dumke Field was transformed into a 2-level parking structure (and voice echo chamber) with the soccer/athletic field on top.

Next to the current stadium, Adrian’s grandparents built their home 60 years ago, and eventually, this became her home. Back then many parts of the Westminster campus were still undeveloped and the forested area was once her path to school. Young Adrian would walk with her siblings and friends, they would place large rocks and cross the stream close by. As the college grew, the stadium has also evolved, and close-by neighbors have made accommodations and learned to live with all that came with it: The crowds, the players, the loud music during games and the lights. Adrian says, “Along with the college games, several of our local high schools would come to play on this field.” Although she pointed out that in Westminster’s history, these events did not take place late at night, so the disturbances were over at a reasonable time and a more serene neighborhood could then resume.

Love thy neighbor as thyself?

“You want your college experience to matter, with opportunities for social life; interactions with people you wouldn’t otherwise meet; and support for your academic, personal, and professional goals. We invite you to discover your passions, find your people, and build a home.”

—Westminster College homepage

In 2005, Dumke Field was transformed into a 2-level parking structure (and voice echo chamber) with the soccer/athletic field on top. Now 15 years later, the field is in need of upgrades, and according to Westminster, the NCAA expects its member institutions to provide quality facilities.

So this summer a big construction project came to the little woods between Westminster and Adrian’s home. It’s the twilight zone, an undeveloped dead-end that is city-owned and contained a walking path with mature trees and native landscapes (and lots of quail). All of which were quickly removed and installed were large concrete posts in preparation for a new addition to the stadium: big-league NCAA lights.

“There was very little that anyone looking on could do, I did my best to preserve some of my favorite trees and shrubs, and can yell pretty loud,” says Adrian, but nothing changed or was considered as she made several pleas with Westminister’s administrators and athletic director prior to and during construction. She says, “The athletic director mentioned that the new lights were a requirement to receive an NCAA affiliation.”

From Westminster College: “We are installing new lighting on Dumke Field in order to comply with NCAA lighting requirements. No games and no night games are currently scheduled due to the pandemic. When our student-athletes are able to resume competition, the college will hold games within Salt Lake City noise and light ordinances. With our neighbors in mind, the college selected lights that would be the least invasive while still meeting NCAA requirements.”

For the record, the new lights aren’t small, in fact, they’re huge. But Westminster assures, “The lights going in will have almost no glare and much less light spill than most high school stadiums.” The NCAA Division II membership opens up dollars, sponsorship, recruitment and many other beneficial opportunities for this independent, liberal arts college.

What did Westminster do to educate, work with the needs of the residents prior to construction? They shared, “We contacted neighbors prior to the first crews working on the area. The college notified them there would be activity and noise occurring behind the field for removal of the diseased trees and overgrowth. Neighbors were provided contact information and arranged an informal meeting (everyone was masked and distanced) at the site to hear concerns and explain the project. We communicated that neighbors will be notified again before the poles go in. The city fully permitted the project and did not require community notification or input.”

But the question remains: Even if the needs of a private entity exceed those of the surrounding neighborhood, and even if they are needing that status to continue to expand, was the way they went about it okay? Westminster seems to think so, but Adrian certainly doesn’t.

Why don’t you let President Beth Dobkin know how you feel? president@westminstercollege.edu

Sep 10
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COVID & Classes – How to Organize a Campus

By City Watch

For students attending the University of Utah this fall, only one thing is clear: The semester won’t start with the traditional big opening assembly at Kingsbury Hall. The 2019-2020 school year dribbled to an end in COVID chaos—graduation ceremonies were held online or in car parades, classroom time was cancelled before school was officially over and summer classes and plans were scrambled. For schools everywhere, from kindergarten to graduate programs, Fall 2020 looks just as confusing. With COVID-19 raging across the country, whether or not—and most especially, how—to resume classes is a question. Even after school starts, things may change.

According to the midsummer statement from the University of Utah, the plan was for classes to resume in a mixture of in-person and hybrid form on August 24th. Safety measures will be in place, including mandatory mask-wearing, amended class sizes and daily body temperature checks. As a hybrid semester, in-person classes will finish by Thanksgiving and after that all instruction including exams will be online.

“This is more labor for everyone—to learn about additional resources, rent out laptops, supply wifi, Bluetooth. It’s a cultural shift for many, sharing information, not overloading them with too much, and it will require from us as faculty a different level of care,” explains Annie Isabel Fukushima, assistant professor at the School for Cultural and Social Transformation at the University of Utah. With a hybrid model, laboratory or other classes that require one to be physically present will be hard or impossible to replicate online. Fukushima says to adjust to the lack of in-person instruction during the Spring semester, she met more frequently with students one-on-one virtually, but of course, for larger classes, that wouldn’t be possible, “As faculty, we will have to connect and find new ways to reach out to students, via Canvas (a software platform designed to facilitate teaching and learning), emails and virtual meetings.”

From a student’s perspective, Merry Joseph, U of U undergraduate senior studying Biomedical Engineering & Psychology says, “I’m prepared to go to fewer on-campus events in person and am training myself to feel comfortable wearing a mask for longer durations so that I can wear it during lectures and whenever I’m in common areas at the U.” During the transition to online learning in the Spring, Joseph found it difficult to stay motivated, but having successfully gotten through the Spring 2020 semester she feels more prepared and comfortable for taking online classes in the fall.

What is the cost of college this fall?

Pandemic issues bleed into economic ones, as higher education institutions are figuring out who will receive tuition discounts with on-campus, off-campus or hybrid models. If students must return to campus only to get sent home a few weeks later, how can schools justify charging regular tuition? And if they finish remotely, it seems like students are going to not only want, but will demand, a discount.

Some universities and colleges are weighing out tuition pricing alternatives like a reset, earn-up points, “pandemic” rebates (a free semester encouraging students to stay enrolled) or a la carte pricing course options.

What about cheating?

With more classes, quizzes and exams going virtual, the question arises, how do you ensure students are keeping their eyes on their own papers?

“As educators our surveillance must shift. We have to look at different kinds of assignments to better monitor what students are learning, such as through discussion boards, fostering open virtual discussions, and communicating through video responses. This requires us to think differently about how we assess learning,” says Fukushima.

“We will all have to adjust our expectations.”

“This is going to change the way people learn. We are learning how online mechanisms can work with teacher and peers. Until we have a vaccine and a cure, physical distancing is necessary for public health reasons—going forward this definitely will change how people learn.”

“All the uncertainty surrounding this pandemic has been overwhelming at times,” says Joseph, “With cases increasing in Utah, I’m worried how things will be once school re-opens and students are on campus. But it’s reassuring to know that the U has a team that’s monitoring this pandemic and is prepared to change plans if necessary.” By the time you read this, plans will likely have changed.

“Right now, everything feels up in the air. I know the university is in the process of rebuilding the course schedule to try to make in-person classes possible, but with the recent spike in cases, this feels less likely by the day,” says Matt Potolsky, English professor at University of Utah. With a household member who has compromised immunity, Potolsky has asked that all his classes be virtual this term. “I commend the university for giving faculty lots of lead time to adapt to changing circumstances, but the trend line in Utah is not promising. I really don’t know what’s going to happen—that’s the biggest challenge.”

For more on health & wellness, click here.

Sep 03
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Lisa Bickmore: Letting New Light into the Literary Arts

By Arts & Culture, City Watch

Lisa Bickmore was working on her fourth book when she met some challenges and limitations in the by-now-familiar but always-arduous traditional process of publishing. She was inspired to take a different route.

Lisa Bickmore

NAME: Lisa Bickmore (publisher, professor English SLCC)

BLOG: hightouchmegastore.net

WEBSITE: lisabickmore.com AUTHOR OF THREE BOOKS OF POEMS: Haste (Signature Books, 1994), flicker, 2014 Antivenom Prize from Elixir Press, and Ephemerist (Red Mountain Press, 2017), published in Tar River Poetry, Sugar House Review, SouthWord, Hunger Mountain Review, Terrain.org, Quarterly West, The Moth, MappingSLC.org. In 2015, Eidolon’ Ballymaloe International Poetry Award.

As member of literary arts and film boards, a writer and avid reader, Bickmore noticed an increasing number of authors who were supplementing their books with links to digital and other modal content. She was especially inspired by an interview with the indigenous American poet Jake Skeets about the photo on the cover of his book, “Eyes Bottle Dark with a Mouthful of Flowers.” The article explored the reasons the portrait of his uncle—murdered two months after the picture was taken—was chosen, and delves into the complexity of the project and Skeets’ writing. Bickmore shares, “I realized that other people might not have bumped into that essay, and how much more interesting the book would be to those who encounter that material.”

Her ideas led to the foundation of her own literary press. She gathered a board of diverse and leading-edge literary artists to help build a new expanded way to engage readers from multiple entry points: visual, spatial, gestural and alphabetic. The goal is to enrich the printed word with video interviews, audio content, readings and insights that go along with the poems.

“ONE THING REALLY IMPORTANT IS TO REALIZE THAT BEING RECOGNIZED IS VALIDATING, BUT YOU HAVE TO DO IT FOR THE REASONS THAT ARE INTERNAL TO YOU.” –LISA BICKMORE

She calls the idea “the book and.” The press’s metaphorical name, Lightscatter Press, was inspired by her father’s work as an optical physicist: “When light encounters an object, it bends and scatters: as a form of energy, it passes through the air, then shifts and deflects in ways not entirely predictable.”

Fore more A&E, click here.

Aug 06
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The Wrath of Sim Gill. Be Careful With Red Paint

By City Watch

Be careful with that red paint SLC, you may get a life sentence. Our county district attorney Sim Gill is prepared to throw the book at protestors with first-degree felony charges. These are going towards seven individuals who attended the July 9, 2020 “Justice for Bernardo” rally and are being accused of vandalizing public property, including the front of SL County D.A. Sim Gill’s office with red paint.

As a recap, on May 23, 2020, Salt Lake City police officers fired 34 shots at 22-year-old Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal who was running away from them, and a body camera captured it all. In July 2019, the Salt Lake City Police Department, Sim Gill, and a Police Civilian Review Board determined and exonerated the two officers who killed Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal, claiming that they were “in policy” when they shot him.

In the SL Trib, “Gill defended the charges Wednesday, saying prosecutors weren’t the ones trying to make it political. He said they looked at the evidence in front of them: that those charged allegedly caused more than $5,000 in damage and they worked in a group to cause that damage. That’s why what is normally a second-degree felony, he says, was bumped to a first-degree.”

Sim, a conflict of interest perhaps? An SLC resident on the @sltrib IG page sums it up nicely:

“So are they seriously just going to ignore the fact that rapists and pedophiles and those who commit human trafficking commit more serious crimes that truly affect and damage people’s lives but they are worried about the people who committed these crimes??? WTF is wrong with our justice system!!!”

Yeah, Sim wtf.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDhm7x9ArRX/

Aug 06
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Lauren McCluskey: When Officers Betray Trust

By City Watch

You are a young woman, a student at the University of Utah with a clean record, who is being threatened and is receiving death threats from an ex and needs protection. You hand personal and very private information as evidence, including explicit photos to police, who have sworn not only to protect you but are getting paid to do it. One of those officers ends up taking that evidence, your photos, to enjoy at their leisure, boast about how cute you are to their colleagues, and pass it along. Meanwhile, you are killed by your ex.

On October 22, 2018, 21-year old Lauren McCluskey was shot and killed outside her University of Utah campus dormitory by the accused.

Salt Lake magazine covered the heartbreaking murder of the 23-year-old University of Utah student Mackenzie Lueck last year in Lover for Sale. Mackenzie’s murder took place in the summer of 2019, while U of U student Lauren McCluskey’s was in 2018. We chose not to mention Lauren’s story in this particular article merely because we classified it in another victim category, but wish to call out her name today. Because of new reports we have learned that Lauren McCluskey was indeed victimized by more than just her ex.

In her memory, the Lauren McCluskey Foundation @LMC_Foundation honors Lauren’s legacy by supporting charitable work in her name. Let Her Light Shine. #ForLauren laurenmccluskey.org

When an individual is being stalked, harassed or threatened, and goes to government authorities with evidence, it should be taken seriously. The response of this particular officer (and those who didn’t speak up) brings that into serious question. And, with the BLM protests, incidents such as this, and most recently the excessive force displayed by local officers at a Cottonwood Heights protest on Monday, August 3, 2020, the need for local citizen review boards, police reform, just prosecution, de-escalation training, and yes defunding are gaining momentum.

Lauren McCluskey’s story from The Salt Lake Tribune: University of Utah police officer shows explicit photos of Lauren McCluskey to his co-workers.

“Days before student-athlete Lauren McCluskey was killed, a @universityofutah police officer showed off explicit photos that McCluskey had taken of herself to at least three of his male co-workers without a work-related reason, according to a months-long investigation from the Utah Department of Public Safety…
⁠
The state’s final report reinforces and expands on The Tribune’s reporting, concluding the images were displayed inappropriately at the end of a staff briefing in October 2018 by the same officer who was supposed to be investigating McCluskey’s concerns of exploitation by a man she had dated.⁠”

Aug 04
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3 Places to Get Your Hair Done

By Lifestyle

My hair mojo is wash and go, but then again, sometimes it’s nice to try a new look. It’s also very nice to get pampered. Like how? Like when someone hands you a mug of coffee first thing in the am, or surprises you with an icy cold beer from a river cooler after a long hike. Here’s another: To have someone take charge of styling your hair.

3 Places to Go When You Don’t Want to 

1. Blo Dry Bar (Best of the Beehive 2019)

things to do in sugarhouse“Once in a while, isn’t it nice to let someone take over and do the heavy hairstyle lifting? Take a load off your shoulders, arms, wrists and hands and let the folks at the Blo Dry Bar take on your next full blowout, classic up-do, or create a fancy fishtail braid.”

202 E. Wilmington Ave. Suite 150, SLC, 801-466-2090, blomedry.com

2. The Drybar—Sugar House

1133 E. Wilmington Ave., SLC, 385-429-5334, thedrybar.com

3. STYLD’ Blow Dry Bar

602 E 500 South (Trolley Square), SLC, 801-609-7718, styldblowdrybar.com

 

With face mask, I entered the newly opened Drybar salon (formerly Jamba Juice) in Sugar House last Saturday. It no longer resembles JJ or smells like fruit smoothies, instead envision an open, bright and cheerful salon. Not meant for cuts, colors or perms, this is a place to get your hair deep washed, conditioned and styled as desired. The Drybar along with a few other local styling-only/blow-out salons have popped up to meet the demand of many, who would enjoy a professionally trained hairstylist who knows how to use the products and has the magic trick tools to make it happen.

Braiding one’s hair or taking on a radical updo is difficult if not impossible to do yourself, so if that’s the look you want, having it done is a bit of a luxury ($45-90.) My stylist earned every penny because she had to power through my extremely thick hair, using styling products to protect from heat damage, and flat iron to fully straighten. Being far from my everyday look, I did enjoy it. My hair felt soft, shiny and smooth enough that my friends/daughters had to touch it in disbelief. Yep, that gal below is me with straight hair, I got “Mandy Moored.”

 

With COVID-19 still going strong, the Drybar salon is taking safety measures: practicing safe distancing between clients and requiring the use of masks. Although most public events have been canceled—you can still show-off your hair on Zoom. Indulge!

Jul 29
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Liberty Park: The Lady of Liberty

By Community

At the heart of the Liberty Wells community is Liberty Park and at the heart of Liberty Park is Valerie Vaughn. Ask a Liberty Wells resident— they describe Vaughn using words like “tireless” and “supportive.” She’s first to come and last to leave in her volunteer efforts, serving on the council, managing several community gardens, attending park events. Plus, she founded the Liberty Park Farmers’ Market.

About Valerie’s vibrant community spirit and wish to serve others, Zachary Bartholomew, organizer of Liberty Park’s annual British Field Day says, “This strong woman deserves some credit, which she’d never ask for.” On market days, with great enthusiasm, volunteers and vendors run to greet her with open arms, and heck, we don’t blame them one bit. Fridays June-October, 4 pm. until dusk libertyparkmarket.com.

What is the Liberty Park Farmers Market?

This market helps support local farms and businesses by bringing fresh local produce directly to the Liberty Wells community. A smaller, more intimate market experience than the big Downtown Farmers Market, offering a handful of fresh produce, eggs and honey vendors, as well as arts and craft vendors. Accepts DUFB.

The History

It’s a stretch to think about the city of Salt Lake some 140 years ago. But if you could—you would see the beginnings of a new centralized city park. Back in 1881, 80 acres were purchased by the city, and even before that, Brigham Young had trees planted there.

The purpose of a park is to allow the community access to a safe, beautiful, open green area to recreate. As a park, over the years many things have been added, and Liberty is unique because of its pure underground stream, and if you haven’t stopped to drink at one of its water fountains, we advise you to take a sip.

For more information about the L.P. Famers Market, click here.

For more food and drink, click here.

Jul 20
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Masks Seem to be Working in SLC

By City Watch

Let me level with you. I am in favor of and in full support of wearing masks as a preventative measure against the spread of the coronavirus. The flagrant display of rebellion (and jeers from the crowd) against wearing masks at the Utah County meeting last week made national news and was painful to watch.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCtY7Eth-no/

We could go into a long debate trying to convince, and while namecalling is fun, realize that shaming often fuels the fire more than to extinguish it. And, given the nature of the virus of late, that most of us are eager to get our kiddos back into school or at least back to some degree next year, we need solutions more than conflagrations. Having two high school students, one an entering freshman and the other a senior at Highland High, I can’t help but hurt inside for the common yet wonderful things they will be missing out on this year.

Charts sometimes seem to be helpful in visually supporting data. I appreciated this particular chart that shows a significant gap between the climb of those testing for COVID-19 in SL County as compared to the rest of the state. The chart (below) shows the rolling average of new cases in Salt Lake County (red line) and the rest of the state (gray line), pointing out that the mandate to wear a mask went into effect on June 25. 

Posted on Twitter, Sunday, July 19, 2020, Robert Gehrke, columnist at sltrib.com: “I updated my graph showing the trends for Salt Lake County and the rest of the state. Today was a bad day for SLCo, 347 new cases bringing the 7-day rolling average to 265, still down from the peak. The rest of the state still surging. 7-day avg now at 371.”

The chart seems to be indicating that a mandate (and compliance) in wearing a mask in public seems to be working, in spite of SL’s higher and denser population, and is mildly encouraging news. For those who are wearing masks, thank you. Please continue to keep it up, make those amazingly clever and cool signs to display in your yards, and stay healthy SLC.

To read more about City Life in SLC, go here.