Utah

Utah lawmakers pass DEI overhaul, Gov. Spencer Cox expected to sign bill

Published

2 years ago

January 26, 2024

Utah lawmakers pass DEI overhaul, Gov. Spencer Cox expected to sign bill

State Republican lawmakers sent a bill banning “discriminatory” DEI practices to the governor’s desk Friday after two weeks of extended debate and revision. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is expected to sign the legislation into law.

The Utah House took a final concurrence vote on the measure during Friday floor time, approving Senate amendments to HB261 with 60 Republican “yeas” to 14 Democratic “nos.”

The state’s GOP supermajority passed the bill easily with a party-line vote of 23-6 in the Senate on Thursday following the House’s initial passage on Jan. 19. The bill will now head to Cox, who signaled in December his eagerness to print his signature on legislation prohibiting diversity statements and other DEI initiatives.

Senate Education Committee Chair John Johnson, R-North Ogden, told the Deseret News on Wednesday, immediately following a meeting with Cox, that he had no doubt the governor would sign the bill.

The bill, titled “Equal Opportunity Initiatives,” is one of the highest profile “culture war” measures to emerge from the 2024 legislative session so far. If signed into law, it would overhaul diversity, equity and inclusion programs at public institutions in the state and replace them with resource centers open to all “high risk” individuals.

“The intent of this bill is that we treat everyone as an individual, taking into account all their circumstances, capabilities, opportunities and experiences with the goal of providing equal opportunities for everyone,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Katy Hall, R-South Ogden, prior to the House concurrence vote.

The bill aims to outlaw DEI trainings, requirements, programs and offices at public universities, schools “or any other institution of the state” that engages in what the legislation calls “prohibited discriminatory practices,” which includes policies that promote differential treatment based on race.

The bill requires public institutions to maintain neutrality on political topics. It also ensures that all students are able to access programs that provide student success resources and mandates that institutions of higher education conduct trainings and surveys focused on free speech.

State funding can be withheld if institutions fail to address violations of these requirements, the bill says.

“It is asking our state entities to provide an environment where everyone, if they work hard enough, and if they want, can succeed,” Hall said. “It will also provide an environment where civil discourse and a marketplace of ideas can flourish again on our university campuses.”

Equal Opportunity Initiatives joins a spate of similar measures across the country seeking to ban DEI initiatives, reaffirm academic freedom at universities and reestablish political neutrality in state hiring and training programs. But Hall and Senate floor sponsor Sen. Keith Grover, R-Provo, have said their proposal is a conciliatory third way, not based on any model legislation, that reclaims the best goals of DEI while abandoning its divisive side effects.

“The reason we’re doing this now is because it needs to happen. We need to now start providing equality of opportunity for all students,” Grover said during Wednesday’s floor debate.

Grover has said the “meat of the bill,” and the part he’s most excited about, is the funding and guidelines for each public university to create or maintain “student success centers” that will provide special resources for all “at risk” students based on their individual circumstances.

Lawmakers debate DEI bill

“Diversity, equity and inclusion” refers to policies meant to create an environment of equal opportunity in colleges, schools or in the workplace with a focus on groups that have faced historic discrimination. It can take the form of diversity statements in hiring, employee trainings and programs intended for particular identity groups.

But whereas proponents of DEI initiatives say they help to redress societal disparities and make all students or employees feel welcome, Hall and Grover have argued that DEI programs can create a chilling effect in academic institutions, often ruling out conservative viewpoints, and highlight racial divisions while showing little effect on participants’ actual sense of belonging.

In explaining her vote in opposition to the bill, House Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake, worried about “unintended consequences,” not having to do with the substance of the bill, but surrounding what the legislation signals to minority communities.

“Taking out diversity, equity and inclusion, it just doesn’t send the right message to many of us,” Romero said.

During the weeks since the bill was introduced, Hall, Grover, and others have made great pains to clarify the messaging around HB261.

Rep. R. Neil Walter, R-St. George, who spoke in favor of the bill during both floor and committee time, clarified that unlike measures in other states, the bill would not automatically defund current programs or offices on college campuses.

“We are very much concerned about making sure that we help people have a successful experience in navigating higher education,” Walter said. “We’re not trying to, in this bill, do anything to take resources away from minorities or other underserved communities.”

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, and concerned community members during two public hearings, have voiced concerns over how the bill’s broad scope might affect teaching strategies, data collection, public-private partnerships, health care initiatives targeted toward specific identity groups and even the 2034 Winter Olympics.

In response to each concern, Hall and Grover have said their bill would allow current practices to proceed in almost every instance unless they violate the bill’s restricted practices. The bill’s sponsors have worked with critics of the bill and stakeholders, including the Utah Board of Higher Education and University of Utah President Taylor Randall, to craft language that avoids unintended consequences.

Randall told the Deseret News Thursday morning that the university would wait to comment until final revisions were made. But Randall readily agreed that the process of amending the bill has been collaborative.

“I will say that the collaboration has been good,” Randall said. “The bill has changed in a variety of ways dramatically. We’ve appreciated the conversation. I think it’s built a shared understanding around the concerns of this issue but also the potential benefits that we also have for just continuing to focus on student success in a diversifying state.”

What does, and doesn’t, Utah’s DEI bill prohibit?

According to the legislative text, banned DEI practices would include maintaining any policy that:

Promotes differential treatment in employment status or program participation based on “personal identity characteristics,” like race, sex or religion.
Asserts in trainings or procedures that individuals with one personal identity characteristic are inherently superior, privileged, oppressed or culpable for past actions, because of their personal identity characteristics.
Requires statements of an individual’s position on DEI initiatives, or topics like anti-racism and critical race theory, before taking action in regards to employment, admissions or state financial aid, among other things.
Carries the title “diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

The bill does not prohibit policies required under state or federal law related to discrimination or harassment, including Title VI, VII and Title IX provisions. The bill contains carve outs for grants, academic research and course material, and requirements needed to maintain eligibility for athletics, accreditation and federal programs. It also includes an exception for previous agreements entered into between the University of Utah and the Ute Indian Tribe.

No training or office will be affected by HB261 unless they violate the bill’s “prohibited discriminatory practices.” The same goes for special ed programs and student groups, Hall and Grover have said.

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Utah

Utah chef’s cake didn’t have enough booze, Food Network judges say

Published

7 hours ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

Utah chef’s cake didn’t have enough booze, Food Network judges say

After hitting a snag and suffering through what he called “the biggest embarrassment” on national TV, chef Adalberto Diaz managed to narrowly avoid elimination during the premiere episode of Food Network’s “The Ultimate Baking Championship.”

“I’ll make you proud,” Diaz told the judges when the show revealed he would be claiming the final spot in the top 10 and moving forward in the competition.

But during the second episode of the season, the Utah chef behind the Salt Lake City bakery Fillings & Emulsions once again found himself in a far from ideal situation.

Adalberto Diaz faces criticism on ‘The Ultimate Baking Championship’

After an intense first episode that eliminated six of the top pastry chefs from across the country, Diaz found himself in the competition’s top 10.

The first challenge of the episode tasked the remaining bakers with putting a modern twist on a classic dessert. Diaz did OK in this round, creating strawberry shortcake canapés that put him in a three-way tie for fifth place with 11 points out of 20.

But like the premiere episode, things took a turn for the worse during the second challenge.

Diaz and his fellow bakers each had 2.5 hours to create a geometric layered mousse cake. The Utah chef’s specific assignment was to give his cake a tropical and boozy theme — something he said he felt confident about given his Cuban heritage.

The chef went to work creating a blueberry mojito gelée cake with mango mousse, topped off with a chocolate hibiscus flower. He gave it an ocean look with dark blue coloring.

In a blind taste test, celebrity guest judge and pastry chef Amaury Guichon said Diaz’s final product wasn’t the right interpretation for a boozy dessert. There wasn’t enough booze in the cake, both Guichon and judge Duff Goldman said. Guichon also criticized the amount of dark blue coloring Diaz used and said it wasn’t a natural look.

“This cannot be served in a restaurant,” Guichon said.

Chef Adalberto Diaz Labrada puts a batch of macarons into an oven in the kitchen of Fillings & Emulsions in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News

Diaz, who was watching the judging on a screen in another room, became emotional as he heard the feedback.

He told his fellow pastry chef and competitor Juan Gutierrez that it hurt to get that kind of criticism on the show because as an older competitor, he doesn’t have as much time for improvement in his career as the younger chefs.

“We should be already there,” a visibly upset Diaz told Gutierrez.

After all of the judging, host Jesse Palmer revealed that Diaz was once again among the bottom competitors for the round. And, just like the premiere episode, the Utah chef ended up narrowly avoiding elimination.

Diaz received a 15 out of 30 for his cake, bringing his cumulative score for the episode to 26 points.

Oralia Perez, a pastry chef based in Houston, got eliminated from the competition with a cumulative score of 25.

Contestants Sarah Craichy, Christopher Teixeira, Rochelle Cooper, Clement Le Deore, Lasheeda Perry, Molly Coen, Robert Gonzalez, Oralia Perez, Juan Gutierrez, Arlety Estéves, Florencia Breda, Steven Weiss, Casey Doody, Cesar Sajulan, Julian Belon and Adalberto Diaz on Season 1 of “The Ultimate Baking Championship.” | Rob Pryce

Now, Diaz moves forward as one of nine remaining chefs competing for $50,000 in “The Ultimate Baking Championship.”

The show airs Monday nights on Food Network, with episodes available for streaming the following day on Discovery+ and HBO Max.

Who is Adalberto Diaz?

Diaz’s colorful macarons and fruit desserts are on display at Fillings & Emulsions in Salt Lake City — which the chef has described as an “eclectic Latin bakery with a French flair.”

“The last 12 years I have invested everything I have, everything, into my pastry shop,” Diaz said during “The Ultimate Baking Championship” premiere episode, which included footage of his new location that features bright murals painted by his brother to highlight their Cuban heritage.

Chef Adalberto Diaz Labrada hands customer Cameron Dryg a cup of coffee at Fillings & Emulsions in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News

“When I win this competition, it will be a dream come true and that money is gonna go straight into my business and my amazing team of chefs and pastry chefs,” he said during the premiere episode. “I want to make sure that we make it out of these harsh economic times.”

Diaz emigrated from Cuba in 2000 and made a home in Utah, where he quickly began working in the food industry. He worked at a few places around Salt Lake City over the next decade, and earned the American Culinary Federation’s title of Pastry Chef of the Year in 2012. He opened Fillings & Emulsions the following year, as the Deseret News reported.

The chef’s appearance on “The Ultimate Baking Championship” comes on the heels of being nominated as a semifinalist for the prestigious James Beard award for outstanding pastry chef or baker.

“I am part of this community and this community has welcomed me to be part of it, and even bigger, this country welcomed me when I came here, and gave me an opportunity to be more where I am today,” Diaz told the Deseret News last year after his James Beard nomination. “And I wish that opportunity was given to more people because you don’t know how they would change the world.”

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Sixers-Jazz: What we learned from Saturday’s crucial win against Utah

Published

19 hours ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

Sixers-Jazz: What we learned from Saturday’s crucial win against Utah

The undermanned Sixers pulled away late in the fourth to take a 126-116 win over the Utah Jazz.

With the win, the Sixers jump all the way from ninth to seventh in the NBA’s Eastern Conference standings. Quentin Grimes led the Sixers with 25 points, and rookie VJ Edgecombe added 22, along with a team-high 13 rebounds.

“We stayed the course,” Sixers forward Trendon Watford said postgame. Watford would finish with 20 points. “It was an up-and-down game; they took the lead, and then we’d take the lead. We just had to grind it out, and that was big.”

Here’s what we learned from a late night in Salt Lake City…

» READ MORE: Andre Drummond fined for making an ‘objectional gesture’ during Sixers-Kings game

Dominick Barlow leaves the game

Barlow left the game in the first quarter with a leg injury that was later determined to be a left ankle sprain. He limped off the court and into the locker room, replaced by Jabari Walker. He played just four minutes and scored one point on Saturday before the injury.

The forward started the season on a two-way deal, and quickly worked his way into a regular role in the rotation. His contract was converted to a two-year standard contract on Feb. 5.

Barlow has averaged 8.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 59 games this season. The Sixers announced in the second quarter that Barlow would not return after he suffered an ankle sprain.

The news nearly got even worse after Edgecombe also left the game late in the second quarter with an injury. He appeared to be off-balance heading into the locker room after taking an elbow to the face from Utah’s Kyle Filipowski.

But Edgecombe returned to the game out of halftime and put up another solid performance. The Sixers rookie finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds playing a team-high 38 minutes.

Turnovers blemish a win

The Sixers might have won the game, but they still didn’t play particularly well, especially against a team focused more on improving their lottery odds than winning.

They turned the ball over ten times in the first half, with three each from Watford and Grimes. Those turnovers left the Sixers behind the ball defensively, adding to the fact that four players sat on three fouls at halftime. Utah scored 16 points in the first half off 10 turnovers, compared to the Sixers’ two points off four turnovers.

Cam Payne’s coming along

Since returning to the Sixers and the NBA, Cam Payne has put up the best single-game performance of his career. However, since that game he’s also struggled to find consistency, especially from deep, now thrust into a larger role than he might have expected after injury to All-Star Tyrese Maxey.

After his 8-for-8 game from three in a 32-point outburst against the Memphis Grizzlies on March 10, Payne has shot just 24% from three over the last five entering Saturday’s game in Salt Lake City, as the Sixers collectively continue to struggle from behind the arc. But on Saturday, Payne found his shooting touch, going 3-for-7 from three and scoring 16 points in the win.

Next up…

The Sixers head back to Philly in preparation to host Oklahoma City at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Monday (7 p.m., NBCSP).

» READ MORE: Watch: Sixers team up with Bank of America to host youth clinic

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The behind-the-scenes drama that led to Kyle Whittingham bolting Utah for Michigan

Published

1 day ago

March 21, 2026

Press Room

The behind-the-scenes drama that led to Kyle Whittingham bolting Utah for Michigan

Kyle Whittingham wanted to stay.

Yet two weeks after beating Kansas and completing a 10-win regular season, he announced his resignation from the University of Utah and just a couple of weeks later signed a deal to become the head football coach at the University of Michigan.

Documents Yahoo Sports uncovered through public records requests show how the plans changed and how a relationship between coach and school soured in Utah.

Whittingham is the all-time winningest coach in Utes football history, a tenure that began in December 2004 for a coach who had been a member of the staff since 1994.

After finishing the regular season and before a date in the Las Vegas Bowl, Whittingham — who was the second-longest tenured head coach in the FBS — relayed to the school through agent Bruce Tollner that he wished to remain in the job and included a litany of requests.

According to Yahoo, Whittingham wanted his salary to jump from $7.4 million to $9 million, $20 million in NIL funds and an increase of $2 million in a pool for his coaching staff.

Head coach Kyle Whittingham of the Utah Utes watches a replay of a touchdown during the second half of their game against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Rice-Eccles Stadium on November 1, 2025 in Salt Lake City. Getty Images

Three days later, according to the report, Utah sent Tollner an offer for a one-year, $8 million deal that included several stipulations — notably that the 66-year-old would begin to cede some control to defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley, who had been announced as Utah’s coach in waiting in July 2024 and whose presence loomed over Whittingham’s exit.

Included in this offer, according to Yahoo, was that Scalley would be the program’s general manager and have “full and final” oversight in decision-making regarding recruiting, player personnel and staffing decisions that would affect the school beyond 2026. Additionally, athletic director Mark Harlan would be in charge of approving some staffing decisions made by Whittingham.

This deal was never inked. On Dec. 12, Whittingham announced his resignation and signed a deal with Utah in which he would receive $13.5 million in three installments over two years as a “transition bonus,” according to Yahoo.

“As consideration for the transition bonus,” reads the separation agreement, “Coach Whittingham agrees that he will work with the University and its Athletics Department to facilitate a smooth and successful transition of the Football Program to the incoming head coach of the Football Program and his coaching staff.”

A man with gray hair and a black shirt holding a microphone with — Head coach Kyle Whittingham of the Michigan Wolverines talks to the crowd during a basketball game between the Southern California Trojans and Michigan Wolverines at Crisler Center on January 2, 2026 Getty Images

On Dec. 26, Whittingham joined Michigan and brought a number of staff members with him, including offensive coordinator Jason Beck and strength coach Doug Elisaia. Whittingham also flipped four-star defensive back Salesi Moa from a Utah commitment to join him in Michigan.

Utah apparently felt this violated its $13.5 million agreement, though a letter from Harlan to Whittingham that Yahoo obtained shows the university followed through with an $8 million check in January.

“This represents the first payment of a Transition Bonus to be paid in three installments over the next two years under the Fourth Amendment to your Employment Agreement,” the letter reads. “As you know, the University was disappointed by your actions last month. The University felt that your involvement with recruiting our football coaches and staff to Michigan was contrary to the terms of your employment agreement which requires you to assist with a smooth and successful transition of the football program to the new head coach and his coaching staff. Your position was that this provision only prohibited non-disparagement. We have determined that a fight over this issue would not be in the long-term interests of the University and its football program or your legacy as our long-time football coach. We have decided to look to the future and we hope and expect that you will do the same.

“Future payments of the Transition Bonus will be paid pursuant to the ongoing terms of the Fourth Amendment. We wish you well.”

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