City Watch

Hideout’s ongoing annexation attempt of land in Summit County won’t relent. What began with a hastily-signed, clandestine bill—H.B. 359—from a July special legislative session has become an ongoing saga exposing deep rifts in visions for the future of the Wasatch back. On one side are supporters of development being imperative to meet inevitable growth goals for the area. On the other are those who demand transparency and clear public benefit behind building. In the middle is Hideout, a municipality of approximately 1,000 people in Wasatch County which has doubled down on its unpopular effort to annex land from neighboring Summit County.

A quick recap for those who haven’t been paying attention. The aforementioned H.B. 359 was amended with language allowing a municipality to annex unincorporated land across county lines without outside approval. The amendment passed with little to no discussion, allowing Hideout to pursue annexation of land near Richardson Flat. Developers Nate Brockbank and Josh Romney—Mitt’s son, who has since been bought out of development rights by Brockbank—secured a pre-annexation agreement with Hideout to build a Kimball Junction sized development on the land. After intense public outcry and resistance from Summit County and Park City officials, lawmakers who initially supported the bill subsequently repealed it during an August special session, claiming the bill had been misrepresented to them. After a lawsuit by Summit County and an injunction from a district judge, it appeared the Hideout annexation was dead, a special interest project gone awry and exposed to the light of day. But Hideout wasn’t finished.

On September 10, Hideout began a new process to annex land in Summit County during the 60-day window before the repeal of H.B. 359 goes into effect. The revised annexation plan includes about 350 acres straddling Richardson Flat Road, reduced from the 650 sought in the initial annexation agreement. Hideout now has 30 days from September 10 to hold a public hearing, after which it can officially annex the land and determine how it’s developed.

The Hideout Council contends the town requires commercial amenities like grocery stores, gas stations, retail spaces, mixed cost housing and even a school. Hideout councilors and Brockbank insist everything has been done above board, according the letter of the law, arguing the town’s expansion is essential to gaining political legitimacy. Outside observers, however, find the unilateral process unseemly. H.B. 359 was quickly repealed by state legislators upon the public discovering its implications, showing there’s very little appetite for the move from anyone outside of Hideout.

Hideout itself was incorporated under a short-live state law, H.B. 446 in 2008. The town announced a public hearing about the proposed annexation will be held on October 12 and 6:00 p.m. If you have input on the issue of Hideout’s annexation or the way it’s been pursued, make sure to attend. It will most likely be virtual event due to public health restrictions.

Read more of our community coverage here.

“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.”

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!

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.”

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

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.”

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For more on health & wellness, click here.

On May 25, 2020 a 46-year-old Black man named George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota while under arrest for supposedly using a counterfeit bill to purchase cigarettes. Video evidence revealed former officer Derek Chauvin pinning Floyd to the ground, keeping his knee pressed on Floyd’s neck and leaving him unconscious. Floyd was pronounced dead shortly after this incident. This abuse of power led to nationwide outrage, only thanks to the brutality being captured on camera. Protests across the nation demanded racial justice and an end to police brutality, shining a light on hundreds of cases across the United States of Black and minority people killed by police.

Starting on May 30th, protests began in Salt Lake City over the murder of George Floyd, calling to end police brutality and qualified immunity, which was a huge factor in Sim Gill’s July 9th decision to claim the shooting and death of 22 year old Bernardo Palacios as justified.

In the last few months there has been a lot of hearsay and rumors lingering on news-outlets about these protests and those involved. Old protest footage has been used to mislead and inflict fear in viewers. Terms like rioters, looters, anarchists and antifa (aka: anti fascists) have been used to describe groups of people protesting in opposition to police brutality. Because of this, a lot of people are scared and unsure about what’s actually happening in our city. So instead of name-calling and finger-pointing, we decided to listen, and get answers straight from the mouths of the protest organizers themselves.

Below is Q & A with protest organizers Angela Johnson and Rania Ahmed.

(*Angela and Rania would like it made clear that there are a lot of organizers to recognize who aren’t comfortable coming out to the media.)

Q: What are the goals of these protests & what do you want people who oppose these protests to know?

I think police brutality is something that everyone should learn about, I think there’s a misconception that it’s a black issue, but no—this is for all of us. – Rania Ahmed

A: The brutal murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officers was the lighter fluid that ignited this fire across the country but it wasn’t the first, nor will it be the last police murder without consequence. Now we’re here in Utah, where the majority of  police brutality is against white people. I don’t think people realize that police shootings are the second most common homicide in Utah. In fact, killings by Utah police outpace gang, drug, child abuse and homicides. If that doesn’t anger you, then I don’t know what will. So when we get up and we stand up and protest, it is against police brutality against all people. There is this misconception that when we are out protesting it’s only about Black lives. Actually, the protest that was met with the most aggression, aside from the July 9th Justice For Bernardo one, was one that was organized specifically for Zane James, a white 19-year-old who was killed by officers. We were there as Black organizers in solidarity standing up for white lives. If you were to say, “what is your message?” it’s to end police brutality and specifically qualified immunity because that’s what allows them to get away with this, against all lives.

Q: What do you have to say to those who call protestors “rioters”?

A: To be accused of being “rioters” is intentionally wrong. It’s a term used to provoke fear and to make retaliation against us by the state or by locally organized supremacist groups easy. We’d like to make it very clear that not only are we not rioting, we have not rioted and we will never riot. I think ultimately it’s really important to shift the narrative about who is causing all of the death, who is creating all the fear—it’s the people in power. It’s not us. Changing that narrative is critical in a country that cares more about stories than fact. And I think that’s a huge part of what we do.

Q: How does going into residential neighborhoods help the cause? 

A: Going into residential neighborhoods has been an interesting experience because for a lot of these people, their expectations of protestors are people coming in and burning down houses, but really, we’re just walking past their yards with music on. The news intentionally stokes fear for better ratings. I think humanizing it for them gives them a “wait a minute, what I’m reading in the media doesn’t look like the group that just walked by” moment. I think going out into these residential neighborhoods is a really important conception of what it’s like to protest.

Q: What is your advice for someone who wants to be a part of this movement but doesn’t know where to start?

A: Join us at our Sunday protests! It’s every week, it’s family friendly, educational and joyful. There’s music, dancing, food trucks, water guns, performers, medics, you name it. We provide masks, snacks and water for anyone in need, thanks to COVID Mutual Aid. There’s a lot of different ways to protest, but we make this one extremely fun while also effective. And at the same time you get to learn a lot and meet community members. For many of us that is how we got to know each other. 

I work really hard to make sure it’s not just “going out”—I started finding and organizing speakers because we definitely want more education. We don’t want people to go just to dance, we want people to be educated and aware of everything that’s going on. The statistics that come out of the speakers series are so jarring. For instance, the average lifespan of a black transgendered woman is 35. These are things that many of us don’t talk about or know about. And if you’re not into protests, this is an election year, I think this is the year of all years to really learn about who is on the ballot locally for you. 

Q: How do you feel about recent efforts from city officials such as Mayor Mendenhall? 

A: The performative stuff means nothing to us. Nobody cares about murals, nobody cares about empty quotes, we don’t need any of that. We want qualified immunity to end for the police. Period. If you’re going to do programs, then invest in all the programs that create jobs. Jobs that reduce the need for police to be in many of these neighborhoods in the first place. This is about police brutality, this is about ending qualified immunity. What’s also profoundly disturbing about all of this is seeing their resistance towards our truth, we are literally just going out and talking about the facts. The resistance towards it has been as telling as the negligence of the elected officials. Until all Black people can experience the ability to live free from police violence and other manifestations of systemic racism, we will keep shouting, “Black Lives Matter.”

Q: What keeps you going? 

A: I think about the fact that change in this country has resulted from people protesting, and they’ve been unpopular in their protests, but from the Vietnam war to the anti-segregation movement, those protests helped yield change. When I get down, I think about abolitionists, those who fought to abolish the institution of chattel slavery in the United States of America, how they must’ve thought that what they wanted was crazy. But they didn’t give up, and the amount of violence targeted towards them didn’t make them stop. We have to have faith. 

In order to get what we want, what we are demanding, we have to apply pressure. And as I always say, “the power of the people is always stronger than the people in power.” -Angela Johnson

Q: What are some action items all of us can start doing?

A: Research locally what’s going on. Educate yourself on who has spoken up and who hasn’t, play your part. Help us create safe places online to communicate. Everyone can do something. Show up at the protests, bring your kids. Understand that black lives matter because all lives matter. Join us, we want you there. And donate if you can! 

Q: Anything else you’d like to mention?

A: We’re not going anywhere, we’ll keep being peaceful and we’ll continue to protest. We will continue to educate people about the unjust laws in place. We the people have to pressure local officials to change those laws and then we will finally see real change. It starts with us. Protect Black women, protect Black trans women and Black lives matter. And remember, we’re in a pandemic that disproportionately impacts people of color, so you cannot come to a protest without a mask.

Where to donate?

• SLC Mutual Aid
• Local Propagandists
• Migrant Mutual Aid
• DSMNTL

Petitions to sign?

Protect Civil Liberties – Demand The D​.​A. Drop All Charges Against Peaceful Protestors

Upcoming movements? 

Dance Dance for Revolution- Sunday, August 16th @ 5:00 PM. Reservoir Park 1352 University ST E

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For more city life, click here.

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.

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/

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.

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.⁠”

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• Related article: LAUREN MCCLUSKEY: THE TRAGIC AND UNNECESSARY TALE
• Related article: FIVE CASES OF UTAH CRIME THAT SHOCKED THE BEEHIVE STATE
• Related article: ESPN DOCUMENTARY ON LAUREN MCCLUSKEY’S MURDER PROMISES NEW REVELATIONS

Maybe it’s because the pandemic has shut down nearly all forms of indoor recreation. Maybe it’s because the Salt Lake Valley is at its hottest this time of year. Maybe it’s because hiking, mountain biking and running on trails is fun, and those activities are becoming increasingly popular. Whatever the reason, trailheads in Park City have been extremely popular this summer, and overflow parking has spilled into residential areas. Once again, the natives are getting restless, and county officials are pledging to do something about it.

Summit County had deemed it necessary to ramp up enforcement of parking restrictions at busy trailheads after increased signage and attempts at education have failed to curtail problems ranging from serious—illegal parking blocking emergency access routes—to less severe—neighbors complaining about mountain bikers tailgating in neighborhoods. Enforcement, which will progress from education to ticketing and towing, is scheduled to begin on July 29 after the necessary code changes were implemented.

The trailheads where overcrowding has been acutely felt are in Summit Park at the top of Parley’s Canyon and at Rob’s Trailhead near the Utah Olympic Park. These trailheads are popular with multiple user groups, and they’re easily accessible for people coming up from Salt Lake for some quick recreation after work. Many observers, as noted by a litany of editorials in local media, have pointed to trail users who live outside of Summit County as the primary culprits, and even some county officials have echoed that sentiment. One proposed solution that seems to be gaining traction is for out of county trail users—who do not pay for trail construction and maintenance through property taxes—to pay an access fee, such as for a parking permit.

To quote Jon Snow, “It’s a bad plan.” The trail system in Park City has become the centerpiece of the area’s economy during non-skiing months. Exact figures are disputed, but out-ot-town trail users bring a lot of revenue to local restaurants, shops and bars in Old Town, in Snyderville Basin and throughout the County. Local business alone never before has and is a long way from being able to sustain the economy up here. Trails are what attract people to the area. Adding an obstacle to access isn’t going to fix the problem, but it will create others.

Chaotic trailhead parking is far from a new topic, as evinced by this article in the Park Record from MORE THAN EIGHT YEARS AGO bemoaning the very same issues. Color me shocked it hasn’t been resolved and Park City residents are bemoaning the inconvenience while resisting any infrastructure that could help alleviate the problem. I’ve lived in Park City for over a decade, which makes me either a rotten local curmudgeon or an insurgent new arrival depending on who you ask. Whichever you’d like to peg me as is fine, but I’ve been around long enough to see locals engage in NIMBYism when convenient and decry it at other times.

I also happen to live in one of the “afflicted” areas in Summit Park. There are real problems; certainly blocked emergency access isn’t good. But as far as revelry near the trailheads are concerned, I consider that a collateral issue that comes with the privilege of living within shouting distance from a desirable trailhead. Sorry. Things are even trickier during a pandemic. Everyone is driving solo to the trailheads, and public transit use is way down. That’s going to be an issue for a while longer, but it won’t last forever. I hope.

Increased enforcement is inevitable and probably a good thing, but elitist attitudes and access fees to use public land that are the primary draw to a resort town aren’t going to solve anything. It’s no different than us Summit County residents driving over to ski powder in the Cottonwood Canyons. We can’t have it both ways, so let’s all take a deep breath.

Read more of our community coverage here.

Again.

Kathy Stephenson reported it well in today’s Salt Lake Tribune: Rico Brand may be the latest loss to Salt Lake culture which is being slowly assassinated by merciless landlords and greed.

Stephenson’s a good newspaper reporter. She reports the facts, ma’am, as objectively as possible. That means although she can list the ravaging of our city, she can’t express outrage because reporters can’t show feelings.

But I’m a columnist so I can. And you should.

The story of Jorge Fierro, owner of Rico, his move to the U.S. from his native Chihuahua, his humble beginnings here as a sheepherder, then a factory worker, then selling refried beans at Salt Lake’s Downtown Farmers Market, eventually building a business from that single food stand to a business stocking handmade Mexican food in more than 90 stores, is a quintessential version of the American self-made myth. A myth developers and property owners seem determined to quash.

Rico Brand’s factory in the then-unnamed and never-visited Granary District was a risk when Fierro leased it. So many Salt Lake residents only went to the west side of town to eat at Red Iguana. Otherwise, it was all too “scary.” Fierro’s business was a pioneer and helped make the warehouse district appealing. Too appealing for his own good.

Then, as Stephenson recounts, “In late 2019, the building he had leased for 18 years was bought by Woodbine Industries LLC of Sandy. After taking possession, the new owners told Fierro he needed to look for another home to make way for as-yet-unspecified plans for the property.”

Fierro’s been looking, but hasn’t been able to find a suitable space. Woodbine has yet to “specify its plans,” yet Fierro has to vacate, along with his 30 employees by August 31. It’s becoming, as Stephenson points out, a familiar story here.

Jian Wu, with his wife and family, ran one of Salt Lake City’s best Chinese restaurants, Cafe Anh Hong on State Street. He had to close because of rising rents—the cost of his space doubled.

Ken Sanders Rare Books, a nationally recognized bookstore unique in the country, is having to move because Ivory Homes is developing that space. It’s doubtful that Sanders can find an affordable space. In the collegiate design competition held to come up with possible plans, not one student was smart enough to see Sanders’ store as an asset to incorporate into a new design rather than something to demolish.

Back to Rico Brand—after becoming a success, Jorge Fierro gave back to the city that had supported him. Besides helping other small businesses, he is also on the board of the Lowell Bennion Community Center for the University of Utah, the Utah Microenterprise Note Fund, and American Heart Association Go Red Por Tu Corazón. He feeds the homeless through his Burrito Project. The factory he’s about to lose was the site of an annual party to benefit Utah Food Bank.

Read the comments on Stephenson’s Tribune article—they devolve pretty quickly into a socialist vs. capitalism debate like we’re hearing a lot of during this highly partisan time. But supposedly, the good American life isn’t just an economic argument. It’s about creating quality of life, contributing to the place we live, joining together to help neighbors and encouraging others to contribute as well.

I moved to Utah almost 20 years ago and was so delighted to find a city with the feel of a small and neighborly town, filled with smallish, locally owned businesses. That’s the culture that has made this an attractive place to live and move to. It didn’t look generic, like Dallas or Denver. It was truly a unique place. That’s the place being destroyed by landowners and developers who can’t seem to see they’re killing the goose that laid the golden egg.

How about a little more compromise? A little more love for the place you live and the people who live here with you? How about a lot more imagination? Tax breaks for small businesses? Leadership? Understanding of how Salt Lake City can be a great city?

The Covid pandemic will see this city lose a lot more home-grown businesses unless citizens speak up.