Utah
One lawmaker wants to streamline the reparations process for crime victims
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24469945/merlin_2903296.jpg "One lawmaker wants to streamline the reparations process for crime victims")
A December day in 2020 left Susan Duehlmeier’s daughter in the hospital with catastrophic injuries, including broken occipital bones and knocked out teeth. A car speeding 70 mph collided with her daughter’s vehicle.
Duehlmeier appeared before a House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice committee meeting Wednesday to tell her daughter’s story as Rep. Melissa Ballard, R-North Salt Lake introduced HB276, a bill that deals with crime victims reparations.
Committee members were shown pictures of Duehlmeier’s daughter’s injuries before she explained the cost of the crash on their family. In addition to the broken occipital bones and knocked out teeth, Duehlmeier’s daughter suffered a compound fracture, a brain bleed, a traumatic brain injury and a broken jaw, per KUTV. On top of the psychological and emotional trauma, the injuries sustained were costly.
“We probably have put out $150,000 for expenses,” Duehlmeier said in the meeting, explaining that insurance helped cover some additional expenses. When the family went to seek restitution for what had occurred, they had to wait for months. “We were told that we could not get any help until the case was closed,” she said.
Rep. Melissa Ballard, R-North Salt Lake, center, talks with Rep. Christine Watkins, R-Price, and Rep. Jefferson Burton, R-Salem, at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Jan. 25, 2023.
Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Ballard’s bill is aimed toward helping victims of crime receive reparations in a timely manner. It would allow the Utah Office for Victims of Crimes to give lump sum payments for crime-related deaths or disability and establishes procedures around these kinds of requests.
Gary Scheller, director of the Utah Office for Victims of Crime, said there are two caps on reparations in current statute. There’s a $50,000 cap for crimes that have aggravating circumstances and $25,000 in the cases of crimes without those circumstances.
“We are in a perfect position as a government agency to say ‘here’s some emergency funding’ and work to set very tight parameters on what that looks like,” Scheller said as he explained that the current way the office operates can leave people “in a holding pattern” while the office waits for the necessary information from law enforcement to move forward.
During the meeting, Vickie Walker, who was appointed to the Crime Victims Reparations Board by Gov. Spencer Cox, spoke about why she supported the bill.
When her husband Jeff and her son A.J. were shopping at Trolley Square, her husband was murdered and her son had received life-threatening injuries. Walker described how she was “sobbing” in the funeral home when they brought the bill to her and she didn’t know how she’d be able to afford it.
Walker said she supported the bill because she knows what it’s like to have bills pile up as the result of a crime. “We had medical bills, we had therapy bills, we had a lot of bills surrounding A.J.’s injury and Jeff’s death,” she said. “And we noticed that it was almost a year after Jeff was murdered that we were still paying bills.”
Others said that they favored getting help to victims, but said the bill needed some tweaks as it pertains to the requirement contained within the bill for law enforcement to produce a report of the crime to the office.
Tom Ross, executive director of the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, said, “The good news is, to me, that everyone recognizes we’ve got to get funding to victims as soon as possible.” But he added that this has to be done in a way that doesn’t hurt law enforcement investigations.
As the bill is currently written, it states, “a law enforcement agency shall provide a complete copy of an investigative report to the office within five business days of the date the office requests a copy of the report.” Based on that investigative report, the office would then determine if the victim can receive reparations for what happened.
It was this language in the bill that sparked a significant amount of discussion.
Nate Mutter, chair of the Utah Law Enforcement Legislative Committee, said, “I hate to say that we do oppose this bill as it’s currently written.”
“We definitely do not want to get in the way of legislation that helps support victims and we believe there is a part to this bill that does support victims and we are really here for that part,” Mutter said. He added that the opposition stems from the lack of distinction between an open and a closed investigation.
“We have zero problems handling over a closed investigation that becomes a public record at that point and we definitely want to move that process forward and give information to whoever needs it as fast as possible,” Mutter said. “Where the concern is, of course, is the open investigation.”
Mutter explained they were concerned that it “puts the integrity of that investigation at risk. And where we’re trying to help victims, that could actually hurt victims if that information were to get it.” Some investigations, he said, are protected from other members of the agency that’s doing the investigation and there’s a necessity for that.
After public comment closure, the committee voted to hold the bill, which means that it’s still in committee and has not yet moved to a floor vote.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz missed out on the NBA Playoffs, but still scored a big win thanks to a coin flip.
In Monday’s tiebreaker coin flip to determine who had the fourth-worst record in the league last season, the Jazz came out winners over the Sacramento Kings, who had the same 22-60 record.
Had the Jazz lost the coin flip, they would have been fifth in NBA Draft Lottery odds. Only the worst four teams are guaranteed to remain within the top eight of the lottery.
If Utah had fallen to fifth, there would have been the chance they could have dropped out of the top 8 teams in the lottery, and owed the draft pick to Oklahoma City, which was top-8 protected in a previous trade.
The Jazz now have an 11.5 percent chance to win the first overall pick in the NBA Draft Lottery, which is scheduled for Sunday, May 10.
The Utah Jazz are rolling into a big offseason before they into what’s projected to be a wildly different-looking 2026-27 campaign from what they had just seen this past 22-win season.
But before that season is able to get underway, the Jazz have some priorities to address in the offseason––both in terms of constructing their roster and retaining a few key pieces from last year’s group into next year.
That makes their salary cap situation and everything around it important to be aware of in the next few months. So with that in mind, we’ve put together an offseason cap tracker for a glimpse of what the Jazz are dealing with in terms of cap space, contracts, and any of their own free agents hitting the open market.
Let’s break it down:
Maximum Possible Cap Space: $24.7M
The Jazz are currently projected at just under $25 million in cap headed into the summer. That’s without any additional moves made to the roster from how they’re entering the offseason, and without factoring in any free agents’ pending cap holds.
That number is bound to get smaller once the Jazz hash out their contract situation for Walker Kessler, but it could also see an uptick if Utah were to shed salary with some of their non-guaranteed deals, or any other player they wanted to pivot from.
As of now, it allows the Jazz to make a couple of moves around the edges in free agency, but the main focus will lean on signing Kessler to a long-term deal.
Contracts
A glimpse of the Jazz’s contract values for the 2026-27 season, and when they’re slated to hit free agency from their current deals:
– Jaren Jackson Jr.: $49.0M, ’29 PO
– Lauri Markkanen: $46.1M, ’29 UFA
– Ace Bailey: $9.5M, ’29 RFA
– Keyonte George: $6.5M, ’27 RFA
– John Konchar: $6.1M, ’27 UFA
– Cody Williams: $6.0M, ’28 RFA
– Brice Sensabaugh, $4.8M, ’27 RFA
– Svi Mykhailiuk: $3.8M*, ’28 UFA
– Kyle Filipowski: $3.0M, ’28 RFA
– Isaiah Collier: $2.7M, ’28 RFA
– Hayden Gray: $2.1M*, ’27 RFA
– Bez Mbeng: $2.1M*, ’27 RFA
– Blake Hinson (two-way), ’27 RFA
Total: $142.1M
*- non-guaranteed
The biggest chunk of the Jazz’s salary leans on their top two veterans, Markkanen and Jackson Jr., each making a combined $95 million next season alone.
However, the rest of the roster isn’t taking up much money. No one else will be making more than $10 million, and their payroll is a little less than $150 million in total.
Another noteworthy fact: the Jazz’s key roster pieces outside of George and Sensabaugh are all under contract through the next two seasons.
Both of the aforementioned names are also bound to see extension discussions take place this summer, which might lock in their future for even longer.
Free Agents
A look at who from this season’s roster is set to hit the free agent market in July:
– Kevin Love (UFA)
– Jusuf Nurkic (UFA)
– Walker Kessler (RFA)
– Oscar Tshiebwe (two-way)
– Elijah Harkless (two-way)
The biggest name of note is, of course, the Jazz’s restricted free agent big man, Walker Kessler, who Utah is bound to hand a big payday, but it remains to be seen how much that contract––or offer sheet from another team––will be.
Jusuf Nurkic and Kevin Love have also expressed their desire to return to the roster as they hit free agency. Re-signing both likely wouldn’t cost much for the Jazz financially, but instead relies on a question of whether the roster space is readily available to keep both.
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Utah
Golden Knights vs. Mammoth Game 1 prediction: NHL odds, picks, best bets for Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Utah Mammoth is going to be a trendy underdog pick in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Not only does Utah have the novelty of this being its first-ever appearance in the postseason going for it, but the Mammoth tick plenty of other boxes that punters look for in a dark horse. They’re fast, dynamic, and create plenty of quality scoring chances.
The only problem is that they are running into the Vegas Golden Knights, arguably the best defensive team in the Western Conference, in Round 1.
Vegas is a -170 favorite to win the series, and it is -152 to win Game 1 on Sunday night.
Mammoth vs. Golden Knights odds, prediction
The Golden Knights had a weird season. Vegas started hot, took its foot off the pedal, and struggled to regain its form down the stretch. That led to a surprising coaching switch late in the campaign, but the move paid immediate dividends as John Tortorella led the Knights to a 7-0-1 record in his eight games behind the bench.
It should be noted that Tortorella benefited from an easy schedule since taking over in Vegas, but it’s hard to deny that the team looks sparked with a new voice in their ear.
What’s especially encouraging for Vegas is that its most glaring weakness, the play of goaltender Carter Hart, has started to trend in the right direction at the exact right time.
And Vegas is so good in its own zone that Hart doesn’t need to stand on his head to get the team over the line against Utah. If he’s just average, the Knights will stand a chance, especially since Utah’s goaltending situation is just as much of a question mark.
Betting on the NHL?
Outside of Vejmelka outplaying Hart, the Mammoth will also need to get this series on their terms if they want to pull the upset. Utah grades out as a slightly above-average defensive outfit, but its strength is up front with dynamic playmakers like Logan Cooley and Clayton Keller, plus sharp-shooter Dylan Guenther.
For those stars to have an impact, the Mammoth will need to get Vegas to open up and engage in a back-and-forth style. I just don’t see that happening with a team that was so disciplined in its own zone all season. The Knights led the NHL in expected goals against and high-danger chances conceded at 5-on-5, which shouldn’t be a shocker given the personnel in Sin City.
Not only does Vegas boast a deep blueline, but forwards Mitch Marner and Mark Stone are regarded as two of the best defensive minds in the entire sport.
Perhaps Utah can blitz Vegas and pull the upset, but I’d need a bigger number to go against the experienced, defensively savvy Knights in a best-of-7.
And if you’re looking for a play with more upside, have a good look at Vegas to pull off the sweep at 12/1.
The Play: Vegas moneyline (-152) | Vegas to sweep the series (12/1, FanDuel)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
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