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Are there enough shelter beds available for Utah’s homeless this winter?

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Are there enough shelter beds available for Utah’s homeless this winter?


Luis Perez, Volunteers of America shift lead, units up overflow beds for the homeless within the Weigand Middle for the Weigand Winter Overflow in Salt Lake Metropolis on Jan. 10. This week’s winter storm introduced with it the primary actual check of a brand new state legislation requiring cities to return collectively and submit a plan for summer season and winter overflow to the Utah Workplace of Homeless Providers. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret Information)

Estimated learn time: 4-5 minutes

SALT LAKE CITY — As an anticipated winter storm rolled by way of the Wasatch Entrance this week, it introduced with it the primary actual check of a brand new state legislation requiring cities to return collectively and submit a plan for summer season and winter overflow to the Utah Workplace of Homeless Providers.

In earlier years, metropolis leaders and useful resource suppliers have scrambled to carry sufficient non permanent winter overflow shelters on-line earlier than the primary snowfall.

That scrambling — and failure to supply the variety of beds beneficial by the Salt Lake Valley Coalition to Finish Homelessness — prompted HB440 earlier this yr. Many metropolis officers and mayors raised considerations concerning the invoice, saying it could pressure sources whereas additionally conceding that collaboration between cities was wanted.

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In the end, the invoice handed, requiring metropolis officers and leaders to reconvene in conversations and coordinate a plan. That plan recognized the previous Calvin Smith Library in Millcreek as a location for non permanent winter overflow however did not establish different areas.

Regardless of not discovering the 400 wanted beds outlined by the coalition to finish homelessness, metropolis leaders submitted the plan to the Utah Workplace of Homeless Providers. The inadequate plan triggered the state’s capacity to flex capability at current useful resource facilities and used state-owned amenities for overflow, some extent of concern from the beginning for Salt Lake Metropolis officers.

“They’ve signaled their intention to pursue utilizing their thought of the Millcreek location, together with utilizing state preemption for the present useful resource middle websites to extend the capability and people by 25%. They’ve talked to the suppliers, they’re speaking to us as a metropolis as a result of it could require us to do sure issues to permit that,” Salt Lake Metropolis’s Homeless Coverage and Outreach director Andrew Johnston informed the Salt Lake Metropolis Council on the time.

“Is there any method we are able to advocate for a flex that does not attain that full 25%?” Councilwoman Victoria Petro-Eschler requested. “I completely get that we’re on this place and we do not need anybody to be chilly. However I additionally get that my predecessors on this council labored actually laborious to earn the belief of these communities, and I need to violate that belief as minimally as doable.”

The complete flex is probably not exercised and will likely be adjusted based mostly on calls for, in keeping with Johnston. The anticipated demand is difficult to measure and is predicated on final winter’s numbers and the lower in motel beds obtainable, bringing the very best estimate to 400.

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“That does not embrace households, which is a complete totally different strain level proper now,” Johnston added.

The non permanent winter overflow plan is anticipated to supply 340 winter overflow beds in Salt Lake County, as follows:

  • Calvin Smith Library: 100 beds
  • St. Vincent De Paul Eating Corridor: 65 beds
  • Pamela Atkinson Useful resource Middle: 75 beds
  • Gail Miller Useful resource Middle: 50 beds
  • Geraldine E. King Useful resource Middle: 50 beds

Officers didn’t discover the extra 60 beds wanted to fulfill the excessive estimate of 400.

The winter overflow plan started working on Nov. 1.

“We’ve got room, so not one of the amenities have been full but. … We actually need that phrase to get out for people who find themselves in want of shelter, as this stormy climate that we’re having, to please know that there’s shelter obtainable,” mentioned Michelle Flynn, government director of the Highway Residence, which manages the homeless useful resource facilities.

Transportation is being offered to these contacted by road outreach groups and people taken to the Millcreek location. Individuals who keep in a single day in Millcreek will likely be supplied transportation again to Salt Lake Metropolis the subsequent morning.

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We’ve got room, so not one of the amenities have been full but. … We actually need that phrase to get out for people who find themselves in want of shelter, as this stormy climate that we’re having, to please know that there’s shelter obtainable.

–Michelle Flynn, The Highway Residence


“The method has been actually advanced planning with the transportation in order that these further beds, the flex beds in addition to the power in Millcreek, they’re solely utilized at nighttime,” Flynn mentioned.

Whereas the brand new homelessness legislation might be considered an enchancment over earlier years, conversations are ongoing.

“This setup, this course of — and (we’re) making an attempt to make it even higher for subsequent years, as a result of I believe most people would say this isn’t essentially a foul deal — but it surely was one step ahead … so I believe we received to maintain getting higher at it,” Johnston mentioned.

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Flynn agreed, encouraging all cities in Salt Lake County to “take it to the subsequent step” by figuring out what they will provide, which “is probably not shelter however positively will be deeply inexpensive and supportive housing.”

“I am actually hoping to see that that finally ends up being a few of the subsequent steps, the place cities are taking a chance to say, ‘This is how we’re contributing to this rising want in our group, to the rising inhabitants throughout all the state,” she mentioned.

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Ashley Fredde covers human companies and and ladies’s points for KSL.com. She additionally enjoys reporting on arts, tradition and leisure information. She’s a graduate of the College of Arizona.

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Utah

Amid traffic, Utah walked to Leafs’ arena pregame

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Amid traffic, Utah walked to Leafs’ arena pregame


TORONTO — The Utah Hockey Club said players were forced to walk to their game against the Maple Leafs after their bus got stuck in Toronto traffic Sunday night.

The team posted a video on social media of team members walking to Scotiabank Arena, with player Maveric Lamoureux saying the bus was “not moving at all.”

Several city streets had been closed during the day for an annual Santa Claus parade.

The Maple Leafs earned their fourth consecutive win by defeating Utah 3-2.

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The viral incident prompted Ontario Premier Doug Ford to call the congestion “embarrassing” and “unacceptable,” highlighting his government’s plan to address the city’s gridlock through bike lane legislation.

It wasn’t the first time a Toronto visitor had to ditch their vehicle to make it to an event on time.

In June, former One Direction band member Niall Horan had to walk through traffic to get to his concert at Scotiabank Arena.



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Utah Highway Patrol responds to your suggestions on making Utah roads safer

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Utah Highway Patrol responds to your suggestions on making Utah roads safer


SALT LAKE CITY — FOX 13 News is Driven to Change and that includes bringing you reports on important topics like road rage, construction, and wrong-way drivers. During our coverage, we continually ask for any questions or concerns you may have along Utah’s roadways.

The feedback has gotten an enormous response, so FOX 13 sat down with Lieutenant Cameron Roden on Good Day Utah to help address input we have been getting, from the perspective of Utah Highway Patrol.

Speeding in Utah, there’s so much of it, and then you can sometimes say that that leads to tailgating, which may lead to road rage incidents. What are you seeing out there in terms of speed and what can we do to lessen the effects of that?

Lt. Cameron Roden: Speed is our number one thing that we see. That’s our number one traffic stop that we make, and we know that it leads to the majority of crashes in the state of Utah. So we definitely put an emphasis on speed and it does lead to other things. Not just crashes. It leads to road rage and other things .So, as far as what changes can we make, we need to start with ourselves, and really say, ‘Hey, do I have a problem?’ You know, we just need to start with ourselves and not think that it’s something else’s problem. If we slow our speeds ourselves, and then it’ll start to to catch on and people will do that speed limit. So, but the legislature has definitely taken some steps to help us address, especially the the speeds that are those excessive speeds where we have that one zero five law now that addresses those speeds and increases fines and and hopefully discourages people from those extreme speeds.

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Some of our viewers talked about maybe capping some of the speed limits for truck drivers. Is that something that’s even feasible?

You know, that would be something that would have to go through that, that legislative process to see whether we that would be something that would help. But ultimately, if we we start with ourselves, hopefully that will make that change and reduce crashes and fatalities.

There are things being done to try and intervene and stop wrong-way drivers before they happen. But some of our viewers propose things like spikes. What are your thoughts on implementing something like that?

We’ve had over the last several years, a rash of wrong-way drivers, and it’ll come in onesie twos, and then we’ll go for a period of time without that. And so, but this spike over the last couple of years has caused us to to create a task force to look at wrongly driving what things can be done. And so getting all these stakeholders together between UDOT and Highway Safety, looking at what technologies and things that could be implemented, and and things like, wrong way detection cameras. Those are some things that are being actually used in the state of Utah right now to help us spot those and and advance signage, getting people to realize they’re going the wrong way and turn around. The the spike strips have actually been talked about in our task force a little bit. And if something like that would even be, it is that technology available right now. And as what we could actually implement in the state of Utah, there’s nothing that really fits the bill right now because of our environment. We have our snow plows. We have snow and things like that. Something like that really wouldn’t be practical right now.

Probably the most talked about topic that we’ve received was distracted driving, texting while driving. You went out, I saw on the UHP social media page, that you guys just driving and you look to your right and left and you can find someone texting. What kind of enforcement do we have against distracted driving specifically on your phone?

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This is something that we like you said, we see it every day. We go out to crashes,and and we may suspect that a driver may be distracted. And so, it’s something that’s definitely under-reported. It’s it’s a bigger problem than than the numbers really show.And so not only do we address it during our normal patrols.Our officers are seeing it, and addressing it while they’re out there.But we’ll also do targeted patrols where the highway safety office actually gives out additional funds for that targeted enforcement, where we’ll get an unmarked vehicle. We go out driving down the roads where we try to spot these vehicles and and get them stopped because those are those are a big danger on our roadways where our attention and our focus needs to be on driving.

If you have ideas or suggestions for how to make Utah’s roadways safer click here to be taken to our Driven to Change form. There you can share your ideas or suggestions.

DRIVEN TO CHANGE

Share your ideas on how to make Utah’s roads safer





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Utah National Guard gets new, top-of-the-line Apache helicopters

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Utah National Guard gets new, top-of-the-line Apache helicopters


WEST JORDAN, Utah — The Utah National Guard has been serving the state since 1894 with roots dating back to the Minutemen of the 17th-century American colonies.

This weekend, they received quite the boost in the form of the Army’s most advanced attack helicopter.

“These aircraft are extremely fast compared to our other aircraft,” said Col. Patrick.

On Saturday, the Utah National Guard took their new Apache helicopters for a spin.

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“The flight went better than we could have hoped for. A little weather on the east coast, but after that, it wasn’t bad at all,” Patrick said.

The first four of 24 Apaches arrived early Saturday morning after they went under full inspection.

“They’ve got software on there that it’s like playing a video game. You just fly the video game and the airplane… is fast and smooth, which is the good thing, and so it’ll just hold the altitude and airspeed and just keep on trucking along. It’s pretty good,” Patrick said.

The first Apache helicopters arrived in Utah back in 1992.

“It just continues the legacy of the air pirates and what we bring to not only Utah, but really to the global fight and security, really,” Patrick added.

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The colonel calls it a major step forward.

“What a great day for Utah as we advance into the next couple decades of combat operations and what we can provide to, you know, the global security.”





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