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Can Utah commit to reducing homelessness before hosting another Olympics?

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Can Utah commit to reducing homelessness before hosting another Olympics?


Salt Lake law enforcement officials patrol as Salt Lake County Well being Division employees clear up homeless encampments on 500 West and 400 South in Salt Lake Metropolis. As homelessness will increase in Salt Lake County, officers met in a Poverty Summit Saturday to debate how you can scale back homelessness. (Laura Seitz, Deseret Information)

Estimated learn time: 5-6 minutes

MILLCREEK — Spiritual leaders, advocates and elected officers requested what it could take to scale back homelessness in Salt Lake County because the state prepares to doubtlessly host one other Olympic Video games.

The query and plenty of makes an attempt to reply it was posed throughout a Poverty Summit held by Crossroads City Heart at Christ United Methodist Church on Saturday. The summit featured displays by state and native governments on present plans to scale back the growing want.

“If we do not begin planning now, we’re actually not going to be finished by 2030, we’d not be finished by 2034. Time is of the essence if we don’t wish to have extra individuals tenting exterior when the world comes to go to us, then we have to begin engaged on it now and we’re beginning to work on it,” stated Invoice Tibbitts, related director of City Crossroads Heart.

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The difficulty of homelessness is commonly thought to be “complicated” and “multifaceted”, one thing that requires a number of approaches and methods to actually remedy. But because the state continues to pour funding into lowering it — the Utah Legislature allotted a report $70 million within the 2022 session — homelessness continues to be on the rise.

A 2022 homelessness report by the Utah Division of Workforce Providers’ Workplace of Homeless Providers revealed that the homeless inhabitants is growing, with the variety of Utahns experiencing homelessness for the primary time growing by 14% from 2020 to 2021.

Roughly 12,023 individuals obtained homeless providers in Salt Lake County in 2021 — with a lot of these being kids.

State officers level to the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, skyrocketing housing prices, lack of housing and growing inhabitants as potential causes for the rise. Advocates and spiritual leaders narrowed the reason for homelessness to 1 factor — the shortage of housing or capacity to pay for it.

An evaluation launched by the Authorities Accountability Workplace in 2020 revealed that a rise of the median hire of $100 per thirty days will improve homelessness in that group by 9%, prior to now three years the typical month-to-month hire in Salt Lake County has elevated by virtually $300.

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The Salt Lake Valley Coalition to Finish Homelessness has known as for two,950 models to fulfill the present want to scale back homelessness. These models embody: 600 models of everlasting supportive housing, 1,000 models for short-term fast rehousing help, 200 shared housing models, 900 deeply inexpensive models and 150 completely sponsored models.

Crossroads City Heart has set a objective to realize the variety of models earlier than the state doubtlessly hosts an Olympic Video games in 2030 or 2034.

“I do not imagine we actually have that sort of time. I do know they wish to preserve issues sensible and doable however religion shouldn’t be sensible. It’s visionary,” stated Rev. Curtis Value of First Baptist Church of Salt Lake Metropolis. “How about 2,950 models earlier than we construct one other jail? Earlier than we gentrify one other neighborhood, construct one other luxurious excessive rise, or construct one other freeway?”

In a panel dialogue, Millcreek Mayor Jeff Silvestrini, Utah state homelessness coordinator Wayner Nierdauser, Salt Lake Metropolis homeless coordinator Andrew Johnston and Dina Blaes of Salt Lake County Regional Improvement mentioned present efforts to fulfill that quantity.

“I simply say that simply because I need you to know that our native management is engaged in attempting to unravel the issues of our state. However as a mayor, I imply that this can be a vital drawback,” stated Silvestrini. “Nevertheless it’s additionally essential to my 63,000 constituents that the rubbish will get picked up, that there’d be police safety, that there’d be fireplace safety, that we’ve working water and sewers and streets which can be paved, and on and on and on.”

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The mayor stated that whereas there are various issues native authorities try to deal with, town nonetheless gives non permanent winter shelter to assist resolve the instant want.

“We will not do it alone and we won’t do it completely due to the opposite obligations we’ve, however I do care,” stated Silvestrini. “I do know that there are homeless unsheltered individuals which can be from Millcreek. … Most of our unsheltered inhabitants is from Utah. It is our personal households.”

So what’s being finished?

Points recognized in offering extra housing because the inhabitants continues to develop embody lack of density, costly land costs and resistance to mixed-income communities, stated Dina Blaes of Salt Lake County Regional Improvement.

Funding granted within the American Rescue Plan Act to the state gives a “as soon as in a era alternative,” however the issue is the need of these “exterior of this room,” stated Blaes.

She pointed to neighborhoods with a “not in my yard” mindset and several other housing proposals being turned down by metropolis councils as a result of group backlash. To fulfill the demand for extra inexpensive housing and the necessity for density, many must settle for combined revenue residents.

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This fall and into subsequent 12 months, roughly 500 models of deeply inexpensive models can be obtainable, stated Niederhauser. Moreover, the Utah Workplace of Homelessness plans to ask the Legislature for $15 million of ongoing funds for housing grants.

“There’s loads of nuances, however a key a part of this that we’re lacking is ongoing funds which partly may very well be used, I imagine, for a state voucher program,” stated Niederhauser.

Ongoing funds had been additionally talked about by Johnston, who deemed them “vital” in addressing the issue.

“After we speak about timber as a metropolis official, the very best time to plant a tree is 20 years in the past, and the second greatest time is at the moment. Housing is an identical factor,”‘ stated Johnston. “We survive loads in these programs on one-time funding when issues are good or when there is a disaster … however we’ve to construct it into our programs.”

The Salt Lake Metropolis Council is scheduled to listen to further proposals on inexpensive housing and homelessness in its coming classes, Johnston added.

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Ashley Fredde covers human providers and and girls’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

Crash between semi truck, RV, and boat leaves 1 in critical condition

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Crash between semi truck, RV, and boat leaves 1 in critical condition


WASATCH COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — Three people were injured in a crash on US-40 on Sunday afternoon, with one person being flown to the hospital, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.

Officials with UHP told ABC4.com that a semi truck with an empty tanker was traveling eastbound on US-40 when it got hit by an RV that was turning to go westbound on the same road.

UHP officials said the RV was towing a boat at the time of the crash.

The incident happened near Strawberry Reservoir in Wasatch County, and officials said both the driver of the semi truck and the driver of the RV suffered minor injuries, but neither was taken to the hospital.

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The passenger in the RV was flown to the hospital in critical condition, according to UHP.

According to the Utah Department of Transportation, the crash occurred near milepost 40, about 19 miles south of Heber City.

UDOT said the crash happened just before 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, and drivers were advised to seek alternate routes while the roads were closed. UDOT said motorists should expect major delays in the area.

The incident was expected to be cleared by 4:30 p.m., according to UDOT. However, UHP told ABC4.com that traffic in the area was alternating and that the road was not closed.

There is no further information at this time.

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Gordon Monson: Utah State AD Jerry Bovee shares his side of football firings story

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Gordon Monson: Utah State AD Jerry Bovee shares his side of football firings story


There are multiple sides to most stories and Jerry Bovee wants his side told after Utah State dismissed him as the school’s deputy athletic director.

Here is that telling.

First, the setup: USU president Elizabeth Cantwell and athletic director Diana Sabau this past week gave Bovee notice that he and Utah State football coach Blake Anderson were being fired. The reason, according to a statement from the school’s top administrators, was that there had been an unacceptable rupture in a required reporting process for sexual misconduct, including domestic violence, inside Anderson’s football program.

In Bovee’s case, USU said in a news release, there had been “violations of university policies related to the reporting of sexual and domestic violence” and “failures of professional responsibilities.”

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Au contraire, said Bovee.

I wrote a column criticizing Anderson for his shortcomings in this regard, past and present, and congratulated Cantwell and Sabau for knocking down walls that often are put up by coaches and administrators to protect their programs and themselves.

Bovee subsequently told me he did report information he received from Anderson within 24 hours of hearing about it, as is required according to school policy, to an appropriate USU official.

“I reported it through the vice president of student affairs to the Equity Office,” he said. “That’s ingrained in our heads … we take that seriously.”

Two other individuals at the school reported alongside Bovee, he said. “All three of our names are on the report.”

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Bovee said he couldn’t speak to Anderson’s actions in this case or others.

For the university’s part, it said it would have no additional comment until further notice.

The incident at hand centered on a football player at Utah State who Bovee said was involved in an “incident” with a woman in April, 2023. Said athlete shortly thereafter transferred to another school. Because Bovee is filing a grievance against Utah State for his termination, he did not share specifics of what precisely took place, other than to say there were no charges filed in the case.

The deputy AD, who at the time of that incident and report was the school’s interim athletic director, said he is confused by the decision reached by Cantwell and Sabau to fire him on these grounds. Asked why Cantwell and Sabau would fire him if he had followed proper channels in the case, he said he could only guess. And he preferred not to. Again, Bovee wouldn’t speak to or for Anderson or the coach’s situation, but he reiterated that he reported what he knew when he knew it, promptly and properly.

“My reputation and my name, I’m going to fight for that,” he said. “… It’s hurtful that my name is associated with this. I’ve been doing [sports leadership] for 32 years, this is at the top of my list, the importance of getting [such issues] right regarding women.”

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Bovee said he’s gone to great lengths to educate personnel and players at Utah State regarding issues of sexual misconduct, how to report it, how to eradicate it, how to — due to past history — make Utah State a “safe school.”

He added that it’s not his intention to do harm to USU, the school that is his alma mater: “I have a great love for Utah State. I have confidence in the grievance process,” and that the school upon further review “will get this right.”

Bovee and his attorney issued this statement to The Salt Lake Tribune:

“Jerry Bovee, recently terminated by Utah State University, is vigorously defending his reputation as a loyal Aggies alum and stellar Associate Vice President and Deputy Athletics Director. With decades of athletic leadership under his belt, Bovee is a firm supporter and defender of Title IX civil rights law. In his tenured career, he has never incurred disciplinary action or accusations of misconduct of any kind.

“Bovee, who was blind-sighted by this decision, understands he was terminated based on an inconclusive and untimely review of an incident that took place more than a year ago in April of 2023, while he was Interim Athletic Director. Contrary to what has been represented, Bovee and two other USU employees did in fact report the incident to the USU Office of Equity. Even so, the external review did not commence until the fall of 2023. And not until July 2, 2024, some eight months later, was Bovee summarily terminated, without an opportunity to respond to the results of the review.

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“He fully intends to file a grievance pursuant to USU policy within 30 days of termination. Bovee has no ill will against USU, an institution that he loves. He trusts the University will consider in good faith all the circumstances specific to actions taken by Bovee in considering his grievance and will also refrain from further comment while his grievance is pending.”

Bovee’s side of the story includes this comment, though: “This is the most painful week I’ve had in my career. I’m hopeful I’ll get fair treatment. To say there’s been a lot of tears shed in the Bovee home this week is understating it.”



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Former Utah Gymnastics All-American loses home in Fourth of July fire

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Former Utah Gymnastics All-American loses home in Fourth of July fire


Former Red Rocks star Kari Lee and her family are grappling with the devastating loss of their family home during the fourth of July holiday. The tragic event unfolded early Thursday morning in Peoria, Arizona, when a barbeque fire spiraled out of control, ultimately destroying their suburban home.

A GoFundMe account has been established to support the Lee family as they work to rebuild their lives. Despite the severity of the fire, it is a relief that everyone managed to escape with only minor injuries being reported. However, the family faced a heartbreaking loss as they were unable to save their five dogs and lost all their belongings in the blaze.

Kari’s athletic achievements as a gymnast for the University of Utah from 2015 to 2019 are a testament to her resilience and determination. During her illustrious career, she earned the distinction of being a three-time All-American and a six-time All-Pac-12 honoree. Kari’s leadership skills were evident as she served as a co-captain in her senior year, demonstrating a high level of consistency by hitting 96% of her routines and securing 20 career victories.

Lee’s contributions were instrumental in Utah’s success, helping the team clinch two Pac-12 Titles in 2015 and 2017. Her efforts also propelled the team to a near-victory at the National Championships in 2015, where they finished as runners-up .

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The loss of their home and beloved pets is an unimaginable hardship for Kari and her family. As they navigate this difficult period, the support from the community through the GoFundMe campaign is crucial. The outpouring of generosity and compassion serves as a beacon of hope, helping them to begin the process of healing and rebuilding.



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