Utah
Protesters rally in support of public land protection
SALT LAKE CITY — Hundreds of protesters rallied Saturday at the Utah state capitol, who want more done to protect Utah’s public lands. They hope to get the attention of state leaders to preserve two of Utah’s national monuments.
Taking over the steps of the state capitol, hundreds of protesters, signs in hand, rallied to protect Utah’s public lands.
“1, 2, 3, let the land be!” the crowd chanted.
Rally organizers vowed not to sit idly by as the tide may be turning for parts of those lands’ preservation.
“Federal lands in Utah are under attack, by the governor, by the legislature, and this is a chance for people to have their voices heard,” said Steve Bloch, Legal Director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.
At issue: Utah’s lawsuit to gain more state control of public lands, and the size of Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. During the first term of President-elect Donald Trump, he reduced the size of the monuments by 85%, something President Joe Biden reversed in 2021. With Trump returning to office, protesters don’t want the monuments to shrink again.
“I think it’s the reason we’re all here, because we’re all deeply concerned,” said protester Meg Randle.
“If we don’t put some energy behind protecting some of the wild areas then we’re going to lose them and it’s going to be very difficult to get them back,” said protester Bernie Lasalle.
The protesters were hoping state leaders get the message by rallying together to make their voices loud and clear.
“We are going to do whatever it takes,” organizers said.
Organizers said Saturday’s rally was just the beginning, and they anticipate Utah won’t be the only state rallying in defense of public lands.
SALT LAKE CITY — A California man in Utah, as part of his duties with the National Guard, is accused of trying to solicit sex from a young teenager.
Joshua Ruben Rodriguez, 29, of Fresno, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with attempted rape of a child, a first-degree felony, and enticement of a minor, a second-degree felony.
The investigation began when an agent with the Utah State Bureau of Investigation posed as a 13-year-old girl on a “popular social media site … in an attempt to locate and apprehend adults attempting to have sexual contact with children,” according to charging documents.
On April 16, Rodriguez sent the agent a message — believing he was talking to a teen girl — that stated, “I’ll be direct with you, I would like to get to know you and (have sex with) your mind into a daze to where you feel like a woman,” according to charging documents.
When the “girl” asked if he had a problem with her age, Rodriguez replied, “I don’t have a problem with your age,” the charges state.
The agent told Rodriguez to meet at an apartment complex in Salt Lake County where the girl lived, claiming her mother would be gone. When Rodriguez arrived, he was taken into custody, the charges state.
“(Rodriguez) does not have ties to Utah. He is a resident of Fresno, California. (He) was in town as part of his military service with the California National Guard,” prosecutors stated in charging documents while requesting he be held without bail pending trial.
ST. GEORGE, Utah (KUTV) — One person was hospitalized at the St. George Regional Hospital after a car rolled and caught fire just south of the Utah-Arizona border.
The Beaver Dam and Littlefield Fire Department in Arizona said its crews responded to the crash near the Black Rock Road exit – roughly two miles south of the state border – on Sunday night.
Upon arrival, crews put out the car fire and found the driver had left the scene. A single occupant, who was able to get out of the car on their own, was transported to the hospital by a Beaver Dam ambulance.
MORE | Crashes
Their condition has not been publicly released.
Details on what led to the crash and the condition of the driver were not immediately available.
The Beaver Dam and Littlefield Fire Department said law enforcement investigated the scene.
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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.
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