Utah
Striving for solutions to solve Utah's childcare crisis
SALT LAKE CITY — As the childcare crisis in Utah continues to impact whole communities and not just families, local leaders say they are hard at working trying to find solutions.
Families say they are having to choose between parents working to make ends meet or staying home to care for their kids.
“The childcare crisis is real. There is an immense need for affordable childcare and there just aren’t enough places that can do that,” said Jennifer Nuttall, Exec. Dir. of Neightborhood House.
The issue is one that impacts all families, including immigrants trying to build their American Dream.
“To keep their jobs, to provide for their families, but also to provide resources for their children and their family members, to be educated, to be safe, and eventually to contribute to society themselves.” explained Eduardo Baca, the Counsul of Mexico in Salt Lake City
It’s a crisis that stems from other community issues such as inflation and housing affordability.
“Family’s income is increasingly reliant, even in the state of Utah on the mother’s income. Mothers contributing to the economy and bringing money into their households,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall.
That’s where places like Neighborhood Houses are attempting to step in to bridge the gaps and help people afford safe childcare.
“If you don’t have the care for your kids, its hard to find a job and leave your kids with people that you don’t know,” said Ariadna Morales, Asst. Manager for Children’s Development and a parent at Neighborhood House. “It’s really important and Neighborhood House has made a huge difference on those families.”
But families can’t do it all on their own, and federal dollars that were used during the pandemic are running out. Making things even harder, the Utah State Legislature did not pass funding specifically for childcare resources.
“We’ll continue to work with the federal government,” said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. “Obviously, that’s where the funding has come from that is being removed, and so those are the discussions that are happening. The legislature holds the purse strings. We’ve been working really hard on this tax credit for families that will be an additional $400 for about 5,000 families that need access to childcare and we think that will go long ways, but certainly we still have more work to do..”
There’s also creative solutions being looked at through community and private sector partnerships.
“More and more, businesses are recognizing that childcare should be part of the benefits that they are offering to their employees,” added Cox. “So that will help. As more and more businesses open childcare facilities, that frees up other childcare openings for those that don’t have that benefit in their companies.”
Childcare accessibility is a community issue that impacts the workforce as a whole.
“We love having a state that can bring people into here, but if we don’t have the workers to support that infrastructure, then whats going to happen?,” asked Nuttall. “That’s going to collapse. So all of that depends on a family having high-quality affordable childcare so they can get into the workforce, do what they need to do, and be contributing members of our community.”
Those looking for childcare options that work for a wide range of families are urged to reach out to the Utah Department of Workforce Services.
Utah
Curry helps Golden State bury Utah 140-124 behind a flurry of 3-pointers
By John Coon, The Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY — Stephen Curry scored 27 points, Moses Moody had 26 and the Golden State Warriors beat the Utah Jazz 140-124 on Wednesday night.
Gui Santos had 16 points off the bench for the Warriors. Golden State made 23 3-pointers and never trailed over the final three quarters. Moody led the way with five 3s.
The 140 points scored by the Warriors was their season high.
Brice Sensabaugh scored 22 points off the bench for Utah. Keyonte George had 19 points and seven assists. Ace Bailey also scored 19 points for the Jazz and Lauri Markkanen had 18.
Utah trimmed a 22-point deficit to single digits entering the fourth quarter. The Jazz drew to 108-100 on a pair of free throws from Isaiah Collier with 9:52 left. Curry made back-to-back baskets to restore a double-digit lead.
Golden State used a 20-2 run to go up 136-109 with 3:29 left.
Golden State made it rain from the perimeter early, going 15 of 31 from long distance before halftime. Eight different players made an outside basket for the Warriors in the first half. Buddy Hield and Moody accounted for three apiece before halftime.
Hield buried back-to-back 3s a minute into the second quarter to cap a 19-8 run that gave Golden State a 40-24 lead. The Warriors built a 16-point lead three other times in the second quarter — the final time when Quinten Post made a 3-pointer to make it 64-48.
Golden State expanded its lead to 22 points in the third quarter, going up 91-69 on a pair of free throws from Curry.
Up Next
Warriors: Host Detroit on Saturday night.
Utah
Inmates create first‑of‑its‑kind documentary inside Utah State prison – KSLTV.com
SALT LAKE CITY — A groundbreaking documentary — conceived, filmed, and produced entirely by inmates at the Utah State Prison—is giving the public an unprecedented look at life behind bars.
The film, Breaking Chains, follows six incarcerated men and women as they confront their pasts, reflect on their choices, and work toward rebuilding their lives.
The Utah Department of Corrections collaborated with the One Kind Act a Day initiative to secure funding and equipment for the inmates. The result is a raw, emotional film that highlights a little‑known educational program operating inside the prison.
The documentary opens with a stark confession from participant Casey Vanderhoef.
“When I was incarcerated in 2021, I had no more answers,” Vanderhoef says in the film. “I knew I was broken in a way I couldn’t fix.”
Vanderhoef, now living in a halfway house as he completes his sentence, says revisiting his past on camera wasn’t easy.
“There are certainly regretful decisions—and sometimes embarrassing ones—that are definitely part of my story,” he explains.
The project was coordinated from outside the prison by filmmaker and educator Bo Landin, who says the decision to have inmates interview one another created a level of honesty he didn’t expect.
“It’s authentic. It’s raw. It’s emotional,” Landin says. He admits he became emotional himself while transcribing the conversations. “I think it’s important because it is their voice. They are telling us a story.”
The program began with roughly 18 to 20 students learning the fundamentals of filmmaking, storytelling, and production.
The One Kind Act a Day initiative—created by philanthropist Khosrow Semnani—donated the professional equipment used to make the documentary. The Semnani Family Foundation will now support an ongoing media program integrated into the prison’s career‑training and productive‑time initiatives. Semnani hopes the effort encourages compassion in a place where it can be hard to find.
“Human nature is born with kindness,” Semnani says. “But in prison, it’s not there.”
For Vanderhoef, the experience has been transformative.
“As I look back at the mistakes that were made, I have some regret and embarrassment,” he says. “But I have a lot more gratitude.”
Semnani says he recently spoke with U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi about expanding the program nationally, potentially bringing similar opportunities to prisons across the country.
Breaking Chains debuted at the Utah International Film Festival and won the Audience Choice Award. Landin now hopes to promote it at film festivals worldwide in hopes of getting it in theaters for the public to see.
Utah
Nina Dobrev Wears a Bathrobe While in Utah for Sundance Film Festival
Nina Dobrev‘s bathrobe photo has fans checking in from Park City, Utah, during Sundance weekend. She posted it 18 hours ago, tagged Park City, and wrote, “Final Sundance in Park City, Utah? bittersweet doesn’t begin to describe it…” Nina’s carousel from the Sundance Film Festival reads like downtime between screenings. The post shows about 480.8K likes and 888 comments.
Nina Dobrev shares a bathrobe photo from Utah during Sundance Film Festival
Have a look at Nina Dobrev in a bathrobe:
The “Vampire Diaries” alum wears a plush white hotel robe, loosely cinched at the waist. It falls open at the neckline. Her hair looks half-done, pinned up at the crown, with loose lengths down.
The warm bathroom lighting highlights marble counters and polished wood doors. The photos also landed after she discussed recovering from a dirt bike injury. Fans replied fast, with one writing, “Such a cutie,” another said, “Gorgeous,” and a third added, “THE DIVA”.
Originally reported by Santanu Das on Reality Tea
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