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Why No. 18 Utah’s 2-game road trip to Los Angeles will factor heavily in the Pac-12 race

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Why No. 18 Utah’s 2-game road trip to Los Angeles will factor heavily in the Pac-12 race


Over the past five weeks, No. 18 Utah has begun to hit its stride — the Utes’ 8-2 record in the Pac-12 during that stretch is evidence of how far they’ve come since starting league play 1-3.

With two weeks left in the regular season, there is a lot at stake not only for Utah but several other conference teams in a league that has six squads ranked in the top 20 of the latest Associated Press poll.  

The next challenge for Utah, after earning a thrilling 1-point win over then-No. 8 Colorado last week, is a two-game road swing at No. 12 UCLA and No. 7 USC this weekend.

“Right now, we’re just focused on the next games,” Utah coach Lynne Roberts said. “It’s late February. You can’t get too ahead of yourself thinking about ‘if this and then we got to do this.’ You just have to focus on one game, and right now it’s UCLA.”

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The Utes beat both the Bruins and Trojans last month when those teams visited Salt Lake City, though facing the pair on the road will bring its own obstacles, par for the course in the ultra competitive Pac-12.

“We’re used to it playing in the Pac-12 every single week, and I feel like we’re playing like a top 20 team. We’ve gotten used to it and it’s definitely preparing us for the postseason,” Utah forward Jenna Johnson said.

A key at this point in the season is not looking too far ahead. Right now, there are six teams within three games of each other atop the Pac-12 standings.

Four of those teams will likely earn first-round byes in the Pac-12 tournament — which runs March 6-10 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas — while the other two will have to play in the first round.

Utah and UCLA are currently tied for fifth in the league standings at 9-5, one game behind Colorado, Oregon State and USC, who are all 10-4 in Pac-12 action.

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They’re fighting to play one less game in Las Vegas, be a bit more fresh come NCAA Tournament time and in all likelihood playing for the right to host the first two rounds in the NCAA Tournament.

Utah did that last year as a No. 2 seed. Right now, the Utes are a projected No. 5 seed in ESPN’s bracketology, though that could change with a solid finish to the regular season and a good showing at the Pac-12 tournament.

The other five top teams in the Pac-12 — Stanford, USC, Colorado, Oregon State and UCLA — are all projected to host the NCAA’s first two rounds.

Stanford is atop the conference standings with a 12-2 league record, and the Cardinal play three teams in the bottom half of the standings in their final four games.

“I just remember the level of intensity and focus it took to beat them. UCLA is so well-coached and executes their stuff really well,” Johnson said. “That’s just the type of mentality that we have to go into tomorrow with.” — Utah forward Jenna Johnson

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The Buffaloes, the Utes’ traveling partner, will also be playing at USC and UCLA this weekend, helping to potentially sort out the seeding.

“That first-round bye is huge, but there’s six of us that all have a shot at it and we all want it and as it all plays out, we’re all playing each other, so it’s going to be pretty decisive,” Roberts said.

“But for us to host the NCAA Tournament, we’ve got to finish out the four regular-season games well and then you know, we can’t lay an egg in the Pac-12 tournament. We’ve got to make some noise there, too. Everything that we’ve talked about all season long is still in front of us.”

The first task, though, is facing UCLA, a team that’s been ranked as high as No. 2 this season and nearly beat the Utes last month after trailing almost the entire game, though Utah forced overtime and earned the win in the extra session.

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“I just remember the level of intensity and focus it took to beat them. UCLA is so well-coached and executes their stuff really well,” Johnson said. “That’s just the type of mentality that we have to go into tomorrow with.”

Utah neutralized the Bruins’ top scorer, Lauren Betts, in their first meeting, holding the 6-foot-7 center to seven points and five rebounds while also forcing her into five turnovers.

“She’s a big presence inside for them and she’s a great finisher and post player, so it’s definitely going to be a challenge to keep her off the boards and things like that,” Utah forward Alissa Pili said of Betts.

“She impacts the game a lot, so we’ve just got to be smart about that.”

Roberts said that the Bruins, who like many other teams have dealt with their share of injuries, are now healthy.

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Utah’s coach added her team isn’t 100% — Dasia Young, the hero of the Colorado game, missed four straight games before that contest — but “we’ll roll with it.”

“It’s a huge challenge, but it’s fun in February to be playing for something and to go on the road and have an us against them kind of thing, so we’re excited,” Roberts said.

Winning at UCLA (Thursday at 7:30 p.m., ESPN) will be a tall task — the Bruins have gone 12-1 at home this season. 

“Just like anybody, they’re better at home, and so we’ve got to be better than we were here,” Roberts said.

“That was a game where I thought it was very well-played by both teams. We controlled parts of it, they controlled parts of it and then we just kind of ran away with it in overtime but the thing with UCLA — playing them, beating them, you have to play hard.”

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It’s a challenge the Utes, the preseason favorite to win the Pac-12, are embracing as they close in on the end of a regular season that’s been full of ebbs and flows and includes coming off a high moment in that victory over Colorado last week.

“For us going down to LA, we’re going to need that. Literally, we’re going to need some extra life, some extra juice. It’s hard to win on the road in this league, but we’re up for the challenge,” Roberts said.

Two things Pili identified that will be critical for Utah to find success this weekend are avoiding turnovers and playing together.

“When we play together, we’re a very hard team to stop,” she said, “and just locking in on defense because I think when we play great defense, we’re good on the offensive end.”

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Utah

Judge hears arguments in case alleging Utah’s ‘school choice’ program is unconstitutional • Utah News Dispatch

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Judge hears arguments in case alleging Utah’s ‘school choice’ program is unconstitutional • Utah News Dispatch


Should Utah’s “school choice” program be allowed to stay put — or is it unconstitutional?

That’s the question that a judge is now weighing after spending several hours listening to oral arguments Thursday.

In the hearing, 3rd District Court Judge Laura Scott grilled attorneys for both the state and for Utah’s largest teacher union, the Utah Education Association, on the complex constitutional questions she must now unravel before issuing a ruling in the case — which she said she expects to hand down sometime in mid-to-late January. 

Earlier this year, the Utah Education Association filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Utah Fits All “scholarship program,” which the 2023 Utah Legislature created as an effort to offer “school choice” options by setting up a fund from which eligible K-12 students can receive up to $8,000 for education expenses including private school tuition and fees, homeschooling, tutoring services, testing fees, materials and other expenses. 

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Utah’s largest teacher union files lawsuit against Utah Fits All school choice voucher program

In 2023, lawmakers appropriated about $42.5 million in ongoing income tax revenue to the program. Then this year they nearly doubled that ongoing funding by adding an additional $40 million. In total, the program uses about $82.5 million in taxpayer funding a year. 

That is, if the courts allow it to continue to exist. 

In its lawsuit, the Utah Education Association alleges it’s an unconstitutional “voucher” program that diverts money from Utah’s public school system — using income tax dollars that they contend are earmarked under the Utah Constitution for the public education system and should not be funneled to private schools or homeschooling in the form of the Utah Fits All scholarship program.

The Utah Constitution has historically required the state’s income tax revenue be used only for public education, though that constitutional earmark has been loosened twice — once in 1996 to allow income tax revenue to be spent on public higher education, and once in 2020 with voter-approved Amendment G, which opened income tax revenue to be used to “support children and to support individuals with a disability.” 

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Scott Ryther during a hearing on Utah Education Association’s lawsuit against the Utah Fits All Scholarship (voucher) program, in Salt Lake City on Dec. 19, 2024. (Pool photo by Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune)

This year the Utah Legislature tried to remove that education earmark completely by putting Amendment A on the Nov. 5 ballot — but that effort failed after a judge voided the question because lawmakers failed to properly publish the proposed constitutional amendment in newspapers across the state. 

Attorneys representing state officials, the Alliance for Choice in Education (a group that the Utah State Board of Education chose to administer the program), and parents of students benefiting from the program urged the judge to dismiss the lawsuit. 

They argued the Utah Legislature acted within its constitutional constraints when it created the program. They contended that when Amendment G added to the Utah Constitution the word “children” as an allowable use for income tax dollars, that created a “broad” yet “not ambiguous” category that allowed Utah lawmakers to use the revenue for the Utah Fits All scholarship fund. 

Attorneys for the Utah Education Association, however, argued that when legislators put Amendment G on the ballot and pitched it to voters, their stated intentions did not include using the funding for private school vouchers. Rather, they argued it was characterized as an effort to narrowly open the revenue up to “social services” for children and people with disabilities. 

Ramya Ravindran during a hearing on Utah Education Association’s lawsuit against the Utah Fits All Scholarship (voucher) program, in Salt Lake City on Dec. 19, 2024. (Pool photo by Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune)

The judge repeatedly questioned state attorneys about their position, asking for clarity on the state’s interpretation of the Utah Constitution and whether it would allow Utah lawmakers the power to create a “shadow” or “parallel” education system that could funnel public dollars to private schools, which can select students based on religion, political beliefs, family makeup or other criteria. In contrast, Utah’s public school system must be free and open to all. 

Arif Panju, an attorney representing parents who intervened in the case to argue in favor of protecting the Utah Fits All program, argued parents have a “fundamental right” to exercise their “school choice” options. 

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“The mere fact that they can use a private scholarship … does not transform those options into a shadow system,” Panju argued. 

But to Scott, that still didn’t answer her question. 

“I’m getting a little frustrated,” Scott said, adding that she wasn’t trying to debate school choice but rather she was trying to conduct a constitutional analysis. 

Ultimately, state attorneys conceded their position could open the door to a “parallel” or “shadow” system — however, they argued that’s not what is being debated in this case. They argued the Utah Fits All program was funded only after the Utah Legislature appropriately funded its education system, as required by the Utah Constitution (which does not set a specific threshold). 

When the hearing’s time ran out at about 4:30 p.m., Scott said she would take the issue under advisement, and she would not be ruling from the bench. 

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“I’m hopeful for mid-to-late January,” she said, “but I’m not making any promises I won’t take the entirety of the 60 days” that she has to make a decision. 

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Green Beret calls for more to be done in search for missing Utah National Guardsman

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Green Beret calls for more to be done in search for missing Utah National Guardsman


SALT LAKE CITY — There’s frustration in the search to find the body of a missing member of the Utah National Guard, presumed murdered by his wife.

Matthew Johnson has been missing for nearly three months, and one of his fellow Green Berets said more should be done to find him.

“I think more can be done,” said John Hash, Utah Army National Guard 19th Special Forces Group.

Hash served with Johnson for 12 years in the Utah Guard’s 19th Special Forces Group and became friends outside of work. He was stunned to learn Johnson’s wife, Jennifer Gledhill, was arrested and charged for his murder.

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Cottonwood Heights police officers escort Jennifer Gledhill into a police car on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. Police say she shot and killed her husband as he slept. (Ed Collins, KSL TV)

“Having had Jen in our home before, you know, breaking bread with them, it turned out she’s responsible for his death; it was shocking, frankly,” Hash said.

That pain made it worse that Johnson’s body is still out there somewhere. Hash would like Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to get the National Guard out looking.

“I’d like to see the Governor commit openly to finding Matt, to bringing him home and giving him a proper burial,” he said.

A photo of Matthew Johnson and John Hash.

A photo of Matthew Johnson and John Hash. (Courtesy John Hash)

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While the governor can call them out, the National Guard said that’s not what they do.

“This is a local law enforcement issue and not a National Guard or a state level issue. Human recovery is not a mission that’s specifically a National Guard mission or something that we specifically train for,” said Lt. Col. Chris Kroeber, Public Affairs Officer for the Utah Army National Guard.

It’s not necessarily an answer Hash wants to hear.

“You don’t give up, you leave no one behind, you bring him home, and he’s home, we just can’t find him, let’s find him,” Hash said.

Cottonwood Heights police, the agency in charge of the search for Johnson, said they didn’t have an update and are doing all they can to find him.

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KSL TV contacted the Governor’s Office Thursday night but didn’t immediately hear back.



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Liquor licenses go to 7 Utah restaurants and 3 bars, including Kiitos’ Sugar House location

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Liquor licenses go to 7 Utah restaurants and 3 bars, including Kiitos’ Sugar House location


Utah’s liquor commission approved licenses for three bars and and seven restaurants Thursday, including the long-awaited second location of Kiitos Brewing.

The commission for the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services’ (DABS) also learned that a program to allow customers to “round up” purchases to the nearest dollar — and donate the difference to help unsheltered Utahns — has been successful in its first weeks.

During the board’s monthly meeting Thursday, Todd Darrington, DABS’ director of finance, said $87,989 had been raised so far for the Pamela Atkinson Homeless Account, to support its homelessness services.

Commissioner Jacquelyn Orton said she found that number to be “extraordinary.”

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Through Feb. 28, shoppers at Utah’s state-run liquor stores will also find donation boxes, each supporting a different local charity. With the donation of coats, canned goods, pet food and more, customers can help organizations (see a full list at ABS.utah.gov) that support people and animals across the state.

DABS director Tiffany Clason spoke about the importance of having a plan for a safe ride home when people go out to drink. That’s why DABS has partnered with WCF Insurance and the Utah Department of Public Safety, she said, to have WCF offer $10 rideshare vouchers for bar patrons needing a ride home. People can get the vouchers by scanning a QR code at the door of the bar they’re visiting.

The bars that received their licenses Thursday are:

• SnowmoBAR, 877 S. 200 West, Salt Lake City (conditional, projected opening Jan. 1, 2025). This bar will be a rebrand of Snowmobile Pizza, which has been closed since August for a remodel.

• Eleven Nightclub, downtown Salt Lake City (conditional, projected opening Jan. 10, 2025).

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• Kiitos Brewing, 1533 S. 1100 East, Salt Lake City (conditional, projected opening Jan. 28, 2025). Business manager Jamie Kearns said February is looking more likely for the opening of this second Kiitos location, in Sugar House.

The restaurants that received their licenses are:

• Don Miguel’s, 453 S. Main St., Cedar City.

• The Hub, 1165 S. Main St., Heber City.

• Cody’s Gastro Garage, 2100 S. Main St., Nephi (conditional).

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• Back Spin Bistro, St. George (conditional, projected opening Jan. 1, 2025).

• Cosmica, Salt Lake City (conditional, projected opening Jan. 15, 2025).

• Lucky Slice Pizza, 37 W. Center Street, Logan (conditional, projected opening Feb. 1, 2025; this is a new location).

• Hash Kitchen, Salt Lake City (conditional, projected opening Feb. 14, 2025).





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