City Weekly November 11, 2021 by Copperfield Publishing

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Dividing Lines

By Katharine Biele

Voters wanted a different kind of redistricting. Lawmakers want more of the same.

CONTENTS COVER STORY

DIVIDING LINES Voters wanted a different kind of redistricting. Lawmakers want more of the same. By Katharine Biele

Cover design by Derek Carlisle

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PRIVATE EYE A&E DINE MUSIC CINEMA COMMUNITY

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OPINION

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STAY INFORMED! Want to know the latest on coronavirus? Get off Facebook and check out these three online resources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov World Health Organization: who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019 State of Utah Coronavirus Updates: coronavirus.utah.gov

STAFF Publisher PETE SALTAS Associate Publisher MICHAEL SALTAS Executive Editor JOHN SALTAS News Editor BENJAMIN WOOD Arts & Entertainment Editor SCOTT RENSHAW Contributing Editor JERRE WROBLE Music Editor ERIN MOORE Listings Desk KARA RHODES

Editorial Contributors KATHARINE BIELE ROB BREZSNY MIKE RIEDEL ALEX SPRINGER Production Art Director DEREK CARLISLE Graphic Artists SOFIA CIFUENTES, CHELSEA NEIDER Circulation Manager ERIC GRANATO

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Salt Lake City Weekly is published every Thursday by Copperfield Publishing Inc. We are an independent publication dedicated to alternative news and news sources, that also serves as a comprehensive entertainment guide. 15,000 copies of Salt Lake City Weekly are available free of charge at more than 1,800 locations along the Wasatch Front. Limit one copy per reader. Additional copies of the paper can be purchased for $1 (Best of Utah and other special issues, $5) payable to Salt Lake City Weekly in advance. No person, without expressed permission of Copperfield Publishing Inc., may take more than one copy of any Salt Lake City Weekly issue. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in whole or part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, without the written permission of the publisher. Third-class postage paid at Midvale, UT. Delivery might take up to one full week. All rights reserved.

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SOAP BOX “Home Run” Nov. 4 Cover Story

Very timely on housing and bipartisanship on policy that would have real impact. Nice going. Love the highlight of a Republican learning about how it costs less in the long run to provide good services, and it’s the right thing to do. MICHAEL COURTNEY

via Facebook

“Come at Me, Bros” Nov. 4 Dining Review

I love reading your restaurant reviews. But going forward,

I’m not so sure. Alex [Springer]’s vulgar language really put me off. I don’t think foul language really needs to be in a restaurant review. It’s food!—not hanging out with your unmarried bros on the weekend. F-bombs don’t make for great journalism, and if I was Kabob Bros I would be very embarrassed. Stay in your lane. BRENT CARLSON

hospitality workers. I am a receptionist, and I, too, have been at work every day, unable to ever work from home. I had similar experiences. Banbury Cross is one of our favorite places to get treats. Things are different and crazy. Hang in there and know there are lots of us who appreciate those people who get up and go to work every day. Thank you! ERIN FIRKINS

Love the article! I feel for the

@SLCWEEKLY @CITYWEEKLY government handouts is what people are upset about. MOMMYTANYA

via Instagram Having witnessed the whole world lose its mind last year while I went to work as per usual, with absolutely zero changes to my daily life, I identify closely with this sentiment. THEO STEPHEN via Facebook

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Salt Lake City

“Donut-Hole Cops” Nov. 4 Private Eye

@SLCWEEKLY

If the sign had simply said: “We are short-staffed, please be patient,” no one would care. But the suggestion that the cause is because [workers] are taking

Care to sound off on a feature in our pages or about a local concern? Write to comments@cityweekly.net or post your thoughts on our social media. We want to hear from you!

THE BOX

What dishes can you cook to perfection? Benjamin Wood

My wife’s favorite thing that I make is artichoke chicken with garlic-roasted potatoes.

Scott Renshaw

The real question is, what can’t I cook to perfection (the answer is caramelized onions, which are an eternal struggle)? Everything else, though? Come at me, recipe, I shall tame thee.

Mikey Saltas

Asian chicken with steamed rice. It’s easier than it looks.

Sofia Cifuentes

Arepas, buñuelos, empanadas.

John Saltas

It’s cold out there. Time for a good Dutch oven Greek stifado (game meat or beef stew with pearl onions). Better than the Greek Festival’s.

Christie Zervos Tortilla soup.

Eric Granato

Egg sandwiches.

Paula Saltas

Rice pudding and avgolemeno (lemon chicken soup). For recipes, email paula@cityweekly.net

Aimee L. Cook

I can smoke/slow cook a brisket to perfection. There are a few vital steps to cooking the perfect brisket: First is the trimming that ensures brisket cooks evenly. Be careful not to trim all the fat—you want some for moisture. Second, smoke/ cook low and slow, at 225 degrees. Depending on size, brisket can take 8-10 hours. Third, wrap it in butcher paper after it reaches 160 degrees and remove from smoker at 204. Let it rest at least 30 minutes.

Chelsea Neider

Vegetarian tacos.

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PRIVATE EY

For Locals Only M

y mother’s father was born on the Greek island of Crete in 1886. From that time until he was 20 years old—and was teleported from his Gavalohori village vineyards to the inside of a pitch-black coal mine in Sunnyside, Utah, in 1906—he never lived in a free country. For 400 years prior, the Ottoman Turks occupied the island of Crete, ruling with a flair for being unfair and murderous to Cretans. My grandfather’s own father was a fairly well-known resistance leader, often heading into the hills to hide after he “shoot the Toorks” as he’d say. That’s what people do when ruled under an iron fist. They rebel. It was hard to muster much of a fight against the foreign occupiers of Crete. Too often, resistance was met with overwhelming retribution, with whole villages murdered and Christian churches blown to bits. My grandfather never returned to Crete, but sometime before 1913, the father he’d never see again made a rebel name for himself, so much so that a photograph of him and his rifle are on display in the village museum, and his name is etched into the Gavalohori Crete War Monument. I don’t know when my grandfather cast his first vote as a U.S. citizen, but he took voting very seriously. On Election Day, he’d put on his best (or only) suit, pack a red rose into his lapel, put on his fedora and be off to vote. He voted fast, straight ticket, never once casting a vote for a Republican candidate for any office ever. His experience was that Republican politicians were crooks who didn’t help the working man. By his own account, Utah in 1906 wasn’t too far removed from Crete in a certain respect—the people who ran things here had little regard for immigrant workers. The Utahns

B Y J O H N S A LTA S @johnsaltas

he first met here were as racist as they come. Local Ku Klux Klan burned intimidating crosses. He was a dirty foreigner in their eyes—the scourge of Europe, diseased, lazy and dangerous. He and his ilk weren’t dangerous people. They were kids who believed in honesty, hard work and the idea that anyone could become president of the United States. Utah’s Mormons treated Greeks no better than Crete’s Ottoman Muslims had. Apparently learning about that in Utah’s schools is not “critical,” though. Greeks weren’t alone in being discriminated against. All ethnics were segregated into their own enclaves and work units, with the locals basically adopting the stance that they were undeserving scum. That was a real roundabout, that the people who invented democracy would emigrate to a democratic country only to be non-democratically disenfranchised into subset communities. The design was to keep them at distance from the local puritans who had already stolen Native American lands and scooted most of them to corners unknown. My grandfather’s first vote occurred after he became a citizen in the 1930s. Prior to that, he had no voice, no representation, barring that someone did have a congressional seat and thus an obligation to listen to persons like him. Of course, they did not. Greeks, Italians, Croatians, Serbians, Mexicans, Japanese, Chinese and the occasional AfricanAmerican (Utah simply didn’t house many Blacks outside of those working rail jobs in the Ogden area) fully understood what that meant. It meant they had to stick together or get an even more-royal screwing. After World War I, things thawed some and even my grandfather—who served in the U.S. military and whose own name is on the Vernal War Memorial—courted a local Mormon girl. Her family immediately disowned her but were won over when, after a honeymoon to Grand Junction,

my grandfather gifted them a giant carp. And it was only a matter of time that a goodly share of her family unmasked their own Butch and Sundance secrets and pulled out the coffee, cigarettes and whiskey. That’s how I learned the term “Jack Mormon”—by being related to so many of them. So, today, I can look around and know that life for ethnics in Utah is not so different than it was in 1906. Oh, sure, we’re aren’t dying in as many numbers in coal mines, and our truly dumb Utah neighbors will say “love it or leave it,” but at the very center, there is a basic reality: My grandfather could never attain political office in Utah, nor can I, nor can my kids or their kids. The Utah Legislature—and whoever they answer to—has effectively seen to that. I live in Salt Lake County. Four family members live in close proximity, but we all live in separate proposed congressional districts. None of us could get more than one family vote. As in 1906, ethnics are divided in order to control. Look at that map and tell me with a straight face that it did not carve ethnic communities in Salt Lake County into impotent quadrants. Those damned brown Catholics! How dare they? I want to believe that redistricting chairmen Rep. Paul Ray and Sen. Scott Sandall—as well as House Speaker Brad Wilson—are not liars. But I’m too old to believe that. They BS’ed all day long on Monday. Thus, Utah reveals its true colors and officially remains, at its very heart, from the governor’s office on down, a controlling, bigoted, discriminatory, racist state. My kids can never serve in Washington, D.C., unless they move out of state. Their only options here are to join the LDS Church and run as Republicans, then hope they have enough Mormon relatives in the Uinta basin and Central Utah willing to bury the hatchet. There’s no other way. Utah wants its own kind slamming the gavel, a state run by and for Latter-day Saints only. CW

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HITS&MISSES BY KATHARINE BIELE @kathybiele

MISS: Business Is Booming

Maybe Utah is finally getting it—or not. Tax incentives for businesses often sound good, but they are innately political and perhaps not very competitive. Fox 13 recently reported Silicone Slopes tech company Domo is under investigation by the state. Utah has long given out generous tax incentives with the idea of keeping companies solvent and happy despite the loss of tax revenue for public projects. Domo’s CEO Josh James recently suggested the company was offered millions in incentives to stay in Utah— even though Domo had no plans to leave. The Tax Foundation clarifies the problem: States can waste money on jobs and economic development that would have happened any way, and companies that get the incentives may crowd out other investments. The governor is considering what to do, even in Utah where business welfare often trumps the public good.

MISS: Asphalt Jungle

Salt Lake City is still building up and up, but let’s talk parking structures. Building Salt Lake warns of at least two new homes for vehicles—in a polluted city that purports to strive for walkability. One is to accommodate a new liquor store and an Ivory Homes development. “The new store would infill what is currently a state-owned surface parking lot. The parking garage would add hundreds of parked cars onto Edison, which is otherwise becoming a walkable mid-block street off 300 South,” writes BSL. Then, there are 350 mixed-income apartments going up on North Temple. That includes 224 parking stalls. “While the zoning for the site and surrounding area allows and encourages dense redevelopment,” BSL notes, “the area currently isn’t as walkable as it may seem.” With the Legislature determined to connect the urban core with rural Utah, it might be a good idea to send the cars down south.

HIT: Making Rank

Remember those 23 cities that did ranked-choice voting this year? Women seemed to come out winners in many of them, including mayors in Sandy, West Valley City, Park City, Parowan and North Logan. It’s all part of a larger trend toward women running for office, Susan Madsen, the director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project, told KUER. Now apparently 17% of Utah mayors are women, up 9 percentage points from 2017. RCV played a pivotal role, and each round was easy to view from county election websites. But Sandy’s presumptive mayor-elect Monica Zoltanski didn’t like RCV, saying it didn’t vet candidates like a primary would. You know, primaries that are costly and sparsely attended. Sure, there was a field of eight for the top spot. RCV gave them all a fighting chance. And RCV made it possible to campaign on the issues instead of against just one opponent.

CITIZEN REV LT IN A WEEK, YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD

Critical Sexist Theory

You probably understand cat calls, but now Utah’s Susan Madsen has released an academic study called “Sexist Comments & Responses.” It starts at something as benignsounding as Benevolent Sexism, but can graduate to Assumed Incompetence and Direct Aggression. No laughing matter, this culturally accepted treatment of women can adversely affect women’s mental health. “Challenges related to things like stress, exhaustion, perfectionism, depression, anxiety and the feeling of not being ‘good enough’ can halt your positive growth and development,” Madsen says. At Strengthening Your Emotional Health as Women, a panel of therapists, authors and experts will discuss emotional well-being and trends in women’s mental health. Virtual, Friday, Nov. 12, 12 noon, free. https://bit.ly/3GSvstO

Election Cleanup

Well, it’s over, but the remnants of this year’s municipal elections are everywhere. You may not even know the candidates, but you can sure see their campaign signs. Maybe the winners will pick theirs up in anticipation of running again, but you may not want to keep your yard signs around forever. Instead of leaving them sticking out of your trash bin, you can participate in Salt Lake City’s Political & Yard Sign Recycling Event. First, separate the plastic and metal parts. Corrugated plastic yard signs, whether for political purposes or otherwise, will be accepted. Bring only your own signs, not those in public places or someone else’s yard. Jordan Park, 1060 S. 900 West, Saturday, Nov. 13, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., free. https://bit.ly/3BJkTpa

Make A Meal

It’s almost Thanksgiving, but there are many who are still left out in the cold. Take a little time to Make & Serve Meals at the VOA Center for Women & Children or Make & Serve Meals at the VOA Youth Homeless Resource Center. Volunteers of America have several opportunities to serve. VOA asks that you wear closed-toe shoes, a mask and comfortable clothing. All food is purchased by Love Lake City. VOA Homeless Youth Resource Center, 888 S. 400 West, Saturday, Nov. 13, 7:30 a.m., free. https://bit.ly/3mLoQW0 VOA Center for Women & Children, 697 W. 4170 South, Murray, Saturday, Nov. 13, 5 p.m., free. https://bit.ly/3BRDNtL

Make Maps Fair

On Monday, Nov. 8, the Legislative Redistricting Committee showed us their maps and sent them on to the full Legislature. Be sure to check out those maps to make sure they’re fair to all voters. As we go to press, one House map being considered would put three incumbent Democrats—Brian King, Joel Briscoe and Jennifer Dailey-Provost— in the same House district. Pay attention to what is proposed at the Special Legislative Session, which started on Tuesday, Nov. 9, and could run for up to two weeks. You have two chances to make your voice heard: Call your state representatives to ask that they do the right thing, and if they don’t, call the governor and insist that he veto the maps. It’s up to you, the voter. https://bit.ly/3ELKG1U

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ESSENTIALS

the

ENTERTAINMENT PICKS, NOVEMBER 11-17, 2021

Complete listings online at cityweekly.net

multiple points of view ground an exploration into the idea of heroic narrative, and how much people can change their nature in order to get a fresh start. Towles is joined in conversation by novelist Erik Larson (The Splendid and the Vile) for a live virtual event sponsored by The King’s English Bookshop, on Thursday, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $38, which include the Zoom link and an autographed copy of The Lincoln Highway. Visit kingsenglish.com for additional event information. (Scott Renshaw)

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unethical and dishonest practice of choreographic attribution in collaborative dance-making, misrepresenting the creative process … in naming only one choreographer.” Sandbox plays at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center Leona Wagner Black Box (138 W. 300 South) November 11-13, with performances 7:30 p.m. nightly. Tickets are $22 general admission, available through arttix.org, and face coverings are required for all attendees throughout the performance, regardless of vaccination status. Visit rdtutah.org for additional event information. (SR)

COURTESY PHOTO

RDT Link Series: Sandbox featuring And Artists and Dan Higgins For independent performing artists, it’s always a challenge finding the resources and venues to present your work to the public. That’s why Repertory Dance Theatre’s Link Series is such a benefit to both those artists and to the community, allowing artists to partner with RDT yet create their work with full artistic autonomy. This week, the Link Series presents Sandbox, a split bill of world premiere choreographic work by Dan Higgins and Salt Lake City-based company And Artists. Higgins (pictured) is in fact a member of the RDT company; the Bay Area native has been seen in RDT performances including Double Take, Flying Solo, Homage, Emerge and Regalia 2021. As a choreographer, he has presented his work as part of the Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival, in addition to projects throughout the intermountain West including Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. As for And Artists, the company has been in existence since 2018, created by Rebecca Aneloski with a tongue-in-cheek name that emphasizes a focus on collaborative creation. As a statement on the company website indicates, “The name ‘And Artists’ exists … to highlight the

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In his 2016 best-selling novel A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles crafted a decadesspanning epic that took place almost entirely in one location: the Moscow hotel where its aristocratic protagonist was placed under house arrest after the Russian Revolution of 1917. His follow-up, The Lincoln Highway, takes an almost diametrically opposed to time and location, packing a unique roadtrip dynamic into a condensed 10-day timeline ranging from the Great Plains to New York City. In 1954, 18-year-old Emmett Watson is returning home to his family’s Nebraska farm after more than a year incarcerated at a Kansas juvenile work farm. After the death of his father, his plan is to take his 10-year-old brother and head west—perhaps to find work, perhaps to find the mother who abandoned them years earlier. But Emmett’s plan is sidetracked when two fellow work-farm inmates release themselves unofficially into the trunk of the car that’s returning Emmett home, beginning an adventure that takes them to New York City in post-WWII America. Towles’ vivid sense of character and

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Amor Towles: The Lincoln Highway

ESSENTIALS

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ENTERTAINMENT PICKS, NOVEMBER 11-17, 2021

It’s been a rough couple of years for live theater, as performing arts companies attempted to navigate the pandemic and figure out ways to emerge from lockdown after bearing the burden of no ticket revenue. As part of the effort to get many small community and school theater groups back on their feed, Music Theatre International has put together a musical revue program that can be used by any company across the country, without licensing fees, as a way to put more ticket money directly into the hands of artists. All Together Now! is scheduled to be performed concurrently in all 50 states on the weekend of Nov. 12-13, with each company making their own selections from the available lineup of more than 30 popular showtunes, and deciding whether to perform them revuestyle, or in costume. Those songs include “Be Our Guest” (Beauty and the Beast), “I Dreamed a Dream” (Les Misérables), “Pure Imagination” (Willy Wonka and the

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All Together Now!

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Complete listings online at cityweekly.net

Chocolate Factory), “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” (Fiddler on the Roof), “Consider Yourself” (Oliver!), “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” (My Fair Lady), “Take a Chance on Me” (Mamma Mia!) and “Seize the Day” (Newsies). It’s a chance to hear some of the greatest songs in the musical theater canon, and know you’re supporting companies even more directly. Twenty-six individual schools and community companies will be participating in All Together Now! in Utah alone, including Southern Utah University, JAKS Youth Theatre Company, Kensington Theatre Company and more. Visit mtishows.com for a full list including the performance nearest you. (SR)

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ESSENTIALS

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Shakespeare Company: The Merchant of Venice The Merchant of Venice has long been one of the more thematically complicated plays in the Shakespearean canon, tangled up in the possible homoerotic love of the characters Antonio and Bassanio, as well as the treatment of the Jewish moneylender Shylock. On the cusp of celebrating its tenth anniversary, New World Shakespeare Company present The Merchant of Venice with a unique cultural framework. The fundamentals of the narrative are likely familiar, involving the decision by merchant Antonio to help finance his friend Bassanio’s romantic pursuit of the heiress Portia by means of a loan from Shylock, and the accompanying threat—now a part of the cultural lexicon—that a default on that loan will cost Antonio “a pound of flesh.” Directors Elise C. Hanson and Jeff L. Stinson approach this world of wealth, status and prejudice by setting it in the world of high-fashion houses, as the characters wear their attempt

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Complete listings online at cityweekly.net

to present themselves to the world literally on their backs in the form of haute couture. Can you tell who is the protagonist, and who is the villain, while everyone is looking fabulous? New World Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice runs Nov. 11-21 at The Box performing arts venue at The Gateway (124 S. 400 West), including a “pay what you may” performance on Friday, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m., and an audience discussion performance on Sunday, Nov. 14 at 5 p.m. A portion of the production proceeds will be donated to the Anti-Defamation League. Visit newworldshakespeare.com for tickets and additional event information. (SR)

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Illuminate shines a light on art with a technological twist. BY SCOTT RENSHAW scottr@cityweekly.net @scottrenshaw

t u c h s e r F

christmas trees ARRIVING THE WEEK OF NOV 22

fter five years as director of Utah Arts Alliance’s annual Illuminate Light Art & Creative Tech Fest, Kim Angeli Tahoe notes that she has a unique perspective on the legitimacy of technology-based visual art relative to its more “traditional” cousins like painting and sculpture. Yet she also acknowledges that there is still a bit of a stigma associated with such art—albeit one that isn’t really supported by history. “I do think that is still out there,” Tahoe says of such perceptions. “But it’s something we put forth as part of the festival, emphasizing STEAM [science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics] vs. just STEM, how art is related to all of the other applications. Dating back to da Vinci, they’ve always been related.” After a shift in format last year necessitated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Illuminate returns to its showcase of largescale installations of projection mapping and other light-based art, music performances, hands-on activities and other exhibits. Twenty-five installation pieces will be on display throughout The Gateway, representing both local artists and folks from around the country, presenting work that by its very nature is frequently collaborative. “We might have people who are programmers but who don’t have the artistic vision, or artists who don’t have the technical experience, so we can bring people together,” Tahoe says. “There are very few pieces you will see [at Illuminate] that are put together by one vision.” That collaboration also includes the ability of Illuminate crew to provide the infrastructure support for the kind of work that requires a unique presentation space, and plenty of assistance with some of the more mundane details of mounting such an event. “There are a lot of logistics—permits, cables, all of the non-fun-stuff—and that’s what I do,” Tahoe says. “But one of the other barriers to this form of art is

KAT ALEMAN

the expense associated. We do large- and small-scale projection mapping pieces. … The projectors you need can have a rental cost of $20,000 a day.” And while some of these creators do work for things like concerts or large corporate events, it’s less common for it to be available for general viewing. “They’re not usually seen in the public arena,” Tahoe says. “The first thing that we do is bring it to the public and make it accessible, so they can see it.” In addition to the outdoor artistic installations, Illuminate features opportunities for visitors of all ages to check out smaller-scale creative work indoors, as well as try their own hand at tech-based creation. The Light Lounge offers refreshments and seating with a showcase for light art and projection works, while the Discovery Gateway-sponsored Kids Light Lab allows youngsters their own interactive art-andscience experience. In the STEAM Lab, multiple organizations—including SpyHop, Clark Planetarium and STEAMpunk Academy—provide plenty of examples of the intersection of art and technology. For those 21 and over, there’s also the AfterGlow party with a cyberpunk theme. For Tahoe, in addition to the participatory component those spaces provide, it’s simply practical for Illuminate to give people a place to get out of the November weather. “We’re really trying to program in a way that people do embrace our urban core in the winter months,” she says. While Illuminate corresponds to the start of the holiday season—and the time when people are putting up season light displays, some of them quite elaborate—Tahoe emphasizes that this isn’t an event about fancy

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16 | NOVEMBER 11, 2021

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The Pneuhaus collective prepares “Canopy” for the Illuminate Festival

strings of Christmas lights. “I think we try to [differentiate] by describing it as a light art and creative tech fest. I try very specifically to steer clear of the holiday [theme],” she says. “By scheduling it the weekend after Daylight Saving Time ends, on a practical level, it’s more time for the artists’ work to be visible. But what I’ve heard time and time again is, there’s this feeling heading into the darkest days of the year, that can be hard on a lot of people. So Illuminate is bringing something to address that.” The result, as Tahoe has seen over the course of her time working with Illuminate, is a unique kind of response from those who attend, very different from the way someone might experience art in a traditional gallery space. “In some ways, it’s a little overwhelming,” she notes. “It’s a sensory experience—things are blinking, you’re looking up, you’re looking down. You’re engaging with one art piece, and in the background you’re already seeing something else. … This has always been a very family-heavy crowd, partly because it’s a free community festival. You get that enthusiasm from the kids, which is what you want when you’re doing something like this.” CW

ILLUMINATE LIGHT ART & CREATIVE TECH FEST

The Gateway 100 S. 400 West Nov. 12 – 13 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. Free illuminatesaltlake.org

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18 | NOVEMBER 11, 2021

Dividing Lines By Katharine Biele

“I can’t take it anymore,” says former U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, standing, as he resigns from the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission (UIRC) in late October.

Voters wanted a different kind of redistricting. Lawmakers want more of the same.

COMMENTS@CITYWEEKLY.NET

There was hope. There was cynicism. And now there’s reality. The decennial task of redistricting is out of the people’s hands, and the Utah Legislature is now to determine how much gerrymandering it can get away with. But first, lawmakers had to deal with the 12 maps—three each for Utah’s congressional, state House, state Senate and Board of Education—created by the voter-backed Utah Independent Redistricting Commission (UIRC). Because the UIRC is advisory only, its recommendations were always at risk of being scrapped. And the thin veneer of cooperation cracked last month with the theatrics of commissioner and former Congressman Rob Bishop. Clearly uncomfortable, Bishop was fidgeting at the UIRC’s final meeting, occasionally glancing at his phone while his partner, former Utah Supreme Court Justice Christine Durham, was madly shuffling through a sheaf of maps. Bishop had had enough. He said he was frustrated. “As a group, we suck,” he said, complaining he’d been unhappy that the commission was a “metro-centric” group, made up largely of members from the Wasatch Front. Later, House Speaker Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, would echo that sentiment, although it was legislative leadership that chose the commissioners, and Wilson himself who appointed Bishop to the panel. “I can’t take it anymore,” Bishop said. “I’ll make it easier for you. I’m going to resign now.” With that, he got up, slung his backpack over his shoulder and left. While much has been made of his attire—casual shorts and a hoodie for the man once named the nation’s third-best-dressed congressman—Bishop has always done his own thing. And to set the record straight, he was not wearing flip-flops, as many observers claimed. “I was wearing shoes. I haven’t worn socks in two years,” he later explained, because he pays attention to those things, and frankly, it’s part of his public image. While Bishop’s exit from the voter-approved commission was sudden, it was also emblematic of the problems facing Utah as citizens and lawmakers face off over political representation. The biggest issue, as ever, is how to tackle the state’s urban-rural divide and determining who gets to have the loudest voice. In Utah, both congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by the state Legislature. But citizens—like those in many other states—took the issue to the voters and, in 2018, passed Proposition 4, the independent redistricting commission initiative, by a razor-thin majority. While the initiative succeeded, the law was later altered by the Legislature to bolster its sole, constitutional authority to draw the lines. The Legislature didn’t like giving their power to the people and could have simply wiped out Prop 4 entirely. But lest such heavy-handedness raise the ire of the masses, they crafted a compromise that eliminated the Legislature’s requirement to explain its decisions and set up tandem redistricting committees that were destined to confuse and conflate the process.

Vote Them Out?

Bishop is nothing if not a team player—it just depends on the team. When he was Utah speaker of the house, Bishop maintained a moderate aspect. That’s what speakers are supposed to do, he said. Once out of that office, he was happy to show his more conservative colors, becoming a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association and Envirocare— because who doesn’t love nuclear waste?—and then calculating his odds to take the seat of retiring Congressman Jim Hansen. Bishop said he accepted the redistricting commission seat reluctantly. “I was expecting something different, maybe a greater understanding of the state of Utah. … I didn’t think I was the smartest person in the room, but when I made a difference in Washington, I was.”

Redistricting is not an easy task—it spurs intense emotions and is grounded in the murky precepts of fair representation, one person-one vote, and what many people call democracy. Sen. Mike Lee, however, likes to remind voters that the United States is not a “rank” democracy, stupid, it’s a representative democracy. The distinction is that voters elect representatives to make decisions for them—with or without deference to majority opinion. If you don’t like what they do, politicians say, you can always vote them out. “Vote them out doesn’t work,” said a visibly frustrated Susan Olson, a retired political science professor who spoke to the legislative redistricting committee at its Nov. 1 hearing. That was when the commission released its 12 maps to the legislative committee. The Capitol room was full. An overflow room was full. People were waiting online to send their final comments. And to a person, the message was for the Legislature to accept the months of work that led to the independent maps. That acceptance is unlikely, as the legislative committee quickly rejected the independent recomendations and adopted its own, flagrantly gerrymanderd slate of maps on Monday. And with no time to waste, the full Legislature convened a special session the next day to consider its options. At press time, the special session was ongoing. Reading the daily news or scanning the more than 2,000 comments to the UIRC highlight the deep distrust of the process—a process that was difficult, confusing and lacking a sense of the urgency it requires. Political observers say the public may not have fully understood the difference between the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission and the Legislative Redistricting Committee, both working simultaneously along parallel paths, holding public hearings around the state and amassing feedback. Both panels aspired to work transparently, offering virtual as well as in-person access as they engaged with residents. But while the UIRC drew its maps in broad daylight, offering justifications and explanations for its decisions, voters have little insight into the thinking behind lawmakers’ maps, as they were drafted behind closed doors and evaluated by incumbents before their release to the public. The independent commission was required to hold seven public hearings, but ultimately held 16. Representatives also participated in community events like the Jordan Stampede and the Provo Farmers Market. The legislative committee also held 16 hearings, sometimes changing a venue so as not to conflict with the commission. Commissioners heard citizens talk about their communities and a need to be represented while the legislative committee often heard expressions of appreciation for elected officials. In fact, one participant told the legislative committee that he had drawn a map specifically to honor Rep. Chris Stewart by giving him Hill Air Force Base. But as everyone listened and took notes, they struggled internally with two competing elements—communities of interest and the sticky rural-urban divide. Turns out, there is no legal definition in Utah of “communities of interest,” and yet that’s what got people talking. Voters, it seems, want to be represented by people like them, people who hold their same values and face their same problems—and by people who live in relative proximity. And so, much of the feedback came from areas like the Salt Lake, Summit, Grand and Weber counties, where districts have traditionally been carved up and shared with farflung areas that hold contradictory needs and desires. That irritated Bishop. That and people mispronouncing Duchesne and Tooele and some commissioners not knowing their Utah geography, he said. “For the state of Utah to have clout in Washington, the congressional delegation has to have an understanding of urban and rural issues,” Bishop said. “It’s important that our congressional delegation has the ability to work together.” Maybe, though, it’s less about the urban-rural mix than it is about the state’s liberalconservative makeup.

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The UIRC’s “SH 2” map achieves an urbanrural blend in all four congressional districts while minimizing city and county divisions. Kael Weston closely followed and tweeted about the Legislature’s ‘listening’ tours

The UIRC’s “Orange” map creates two Salt The UIRC’s “Purple” map creates a pair of Lake County-based districts, a northern Utah large rural districts and a pair of urban disdistrict and a large rural southern district. tricts split along the I-215 belt route.

Parts and Parcels

Kael Weston—a Democrat who in 2020 ran for Congress against Rep. Chris Stewart—took those concerns to heart and set out to become part of the fabric of Utah. To that end, he attended six of the legislative redistricting committee meetings from Clearfield to Richfield and tweeted about every move

that was made along the way. “Everyone talks about a listening tour, but you have to take the first step,” he said. “It’s more than drawing lines. It’s coming out of a very divisive time.” The divide won’t be closing any time soon. Utah’s population is only 9% rural and has the ninth highest urban population in the nation at 90.6%, according to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. That means that the state’s population is largely concentrated in urban areas—namely, the Wasatch Front. “Here in Utah, we see marked social, political and policy divergence between areas of urban growth like Salt Lake and Utah counties, and rural areas of the state that are struggling to keep jobs and families in their communities,” notes a study from the Gardner Policy Institute. The question becomes how to fairly represent those areas and whether having both rural and urban communities in one federal voting district gives rural residents a fighting chance or effectively snuffs out those urban voices. When Bishop resigned, Speaker Wilson, who did not respond to a request for comment, said he understood the frustration because none of the commissioners were from rural Utah (Commissioner Lyle Hillyard, a former lawmaker, resides in Cache County). And in fact, it was legislative leadership and the governor who appointed the commissioners. It should also be noted that not one member of Utah’s congressional delegation lives in rural Utah. They don’t have to, despite lawmakers’ insistence that each district include rural constituencies. Melding urban and rural is just not how the Founding Fathers envisioned voting districts, Linda Smith, a retired law professor, wrote in a recent op-ed. “Both the plain language of the Constitution and the framers’ intent are for senators to represent the state, and congresspeople to represent the people in their district—

not the state as a whole or the interests of the entire state.” The last redistricting effort in 2011 resulted in what people call the “pizza slice” approach to map-drawing, with the big side of the crust down in rural Utah. Urban Utah, and Salt Lake County in particular, got sliced up at the tips. It wasn’t pretty. Stuart Hepworth, a U of U student now-23-year-old politiredistricting cal science major, told activist the committee just how Stuart ugly it was and used Hepworth former Rep. Jim Matheson as an example. For the 20 years after Utah gained its 3rd congressional district in 1981, the state had one district that was solely based in Salt Lake County and two in the rest of the state. But in 2001, the Republican supermajority used its “full force” to gerrymander Matheson out, Hepworth said. In 2000, Matheson won by 38,000, but won by only 1,600 in 2002. “This wasn’t an accident. It was a heinous gerrymander that failed only due to Matheson’s political talent,” Hepworth said. Hepworth then twisted the knife by quoting from two late GOP icons—Sen. Bob Bennett and Rep. Jim Hansen. Bennett, who lost his Senate seat during the Tea Party explosion in 2010, called Utah’s the worst gerrymander he’d ever seen. Hansen said it was a reason not to have the Legislature draw the lines. By 2012, Matheson won by a mere 700 votes. He then opted to retire rather than seek another term. “The tradition we have of urban-rural split was not founded on any noble principle. It was founded on the classic idea of ‘might makes right,’” Hepworth said. “It has been argued that the status quo of pinwheeling Democratic Salt Lake City increases its representation in Washington. Balderdash!” Hepworth has attended meetings of both the UIRC and the legislative committee while drawing dozens of maps himself. The UIRC treated him with respect and, in fact, adopted one of his maps to present in their recommendations to the legislative committee. The legislative committee, however, was less welcoming to the young activist, shutting him down in its final hearing, and saying that he was “demeaning” the committee for something it had yet to do (and ultimately did).

The Legislative Redistricting Committee split Salt Lake County among all four districts, centered roughly at 3900 S. Highland Drive.

Sen. Scott Sandall, co-chair of the Legislative Redistricting Committee

Balancing Acts

How hard is it to draw a few maps, committee cochair Sen. Scott Sandall, R-Tremonton, would joke. The answer is, “hard.” New political boundaries are based on numbers from the COVID-impacted and already-out-of-date 2020 Census, which may be updated later and could trigger lawsuits pushing for yet another round of political map-drawing. “Under Utah law, congressional districts are allowed population deviations up to 1 percent, which would allow for the highest populated congressional district to contain 826,083 people and the smallest populated district in the state to contain 809,725 people,” according to the commission’s redistricting report. Mapmakers, it said, needed to find a balance between the Supreme Court mandate of one-person-one-vote and the desire to keep counties, cities, towns and communities together. Both the UIRC and the legislative committee chose a mapping software called ESRI, through which the public could submit their own designs. But in one antithetical exchange, Sandall openly questioned whether UIRC had inappropriately used partisan data—as in how a map helps or hurts a particular party—by adopting Hepworth’s map, because it had been originally drawn on a program with partisan impact tools. In fact, the UIRC was given partisan data only after it completed and approved its maps. Commissioners thought the Legislature might want to see it. And while Hepworth used third-party software, he said he didn’t use its partisan features. And the UIRC converted his map to ESRI before giving it to the committee. The legislative committee, however, managed to note where every single incumbent lived on their maps—all but confirming they were drawn to prioritize candidate interests over that of cities, counties and communities. The UIRC was charged with certain criteria, such as keeping districts relatively compact and contiguous, keeping communities of interest together, not favoring incumbents or parties and staying within accepted population deviations. In some cases, commissioners noted that jagged municipal boundaries lead to shapes on its maps that can appear inappropriately erratic, but are in fact respectful of existing communities.

A Thousand Cuts

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Unconventional district shapes first gave rise to the word “gerrymander,” named after Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry. In 1812, he signed a bill creating a partisan district in the shape of a mythical salamander. Public interest groups have been fighting gerrymandering ever since, and while the U.S. Supreme Court ruled racial gerrymandering to be illegal, it has never found cause to overturn maps drawn overtly for partisan effect. Attempts to mathematically define gerrymandering have so far failed to impress the high court, with its decisions instead stressing the need for political and legislative solutions to gerrymandering—aka: vote them out, if you can. Enter Moon Duchin of Tufts University’s MGGG Redistricting Lab. MGGG stands for Metric Geometry and Gerrymandering Group. How wonky is that? “Our staff has expertise and interests spanning mathematics (geometry, topology, discrete math, dynamics), algorithms, software development, geography, STS (science, technology and society) and policy. We research data science interventions for civil rights,” Duchin said. The UIRC’s lawyer retained Duchin and BYU professor Tyler Jarvis to help evaluate what the Commission came up with, and after an eye-crossing charts-and-graphs report, she gave it a thumbs up. The commission’s maps also received “A” grades nearly across the board—one map received a “B”—from the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, which then issued a memo critical of the Legislature’s designs. Utah is far from the only state where lawmakers tend to serve their own interests. Recent years have seen a surge in lawsuits—some successful, others not—challenging lopsided political representation. In Texas, the Mexican American Legislative Caucus and Democrats are challenging U.S. House maps “that favor incumbents and decrease political representation for growing minority communities, even as Latinos drive much of the growth in the nation’s largest red state,” ABC reported. Alabama has already approved maps projected to maintain its GOP supermajorities. And the Pew Charitable Trust notes that bipartisan commissions are giving Democrats headaches as those commissions work for political parity, deflating Democratic advantages in battleground areas while Republicans freely draw lines to benefit their party in red states. And yet, advocates for fair elections say there is hope. “The commission succeeded beyond my wildest dreams, even with the resignation (of Bishop),” said Gigi Brandt, who has been observing Utah’s redistricting process for 30 years with the League of Women Voters. The League has long had a position favoring “an independent special commission, with membership that reflects the diversity of the unit of government, including citizens at large, representatives of public interest groups and members of minority groups.” Redistricting commission director Gordon Haight told lawmakers that the most important thing they could do is to maintain the commission for the next 10-year cycle. That is anything but certain, since the Legislature already tried to gut the initiative and scrap the panel, and summarily rejected its work this week. “Redistricting has a direct impact on how communities are represented,” the commission wrote in its report. Justin Levitt, an associate professor of law at Loyola Law School, notes in his book, A Citizen’s Guide to Redistricting, that the way in which voters are combined influences who does and does not represent them, which policies their representatives fight for and the overall political composition of the state legislature. “Ideally, the goal of redistricting is to help individuals and communities gain access to accurate representation through fair districts.” No matter which congressional maps are chosen, it is inevitable that Salt Lake County will be split—by necessity at least once, although the legislative committee’s map cuts it into four. The population of Salt Lake is simply too large for one voting district. But should its segments be combined with urban neighbors or rural Utah? “Utah, having a high single urban concentration with the rest of the state being very rural, benefits from all districts representing both urban and rural areas to best represent all citizens and their issues rather than just high population centers,” St. George Mayor Michele Randall wrote to the Commission. “In order to achieve the above goal, all four districts must include Wasatch Front and rural areas.” Randall went on to praise Rep. Stewart for being “familiar” with rural issues and understanding the federal land issues St. George faces and “our need for the Lake Powell Pipeline.” That, of course, is not how northern Utah sees the problem, but it appears to be the thinking of legislators, who will make the final cut. “The only way we get fair maps out of this process is if members of the Legislature see that rejecting fair maps will result in them losing the election,” Hepworth said. But the real question of representation lies with the voting public. Would Utahns be willing to reject a legislator who they otherwise agree with because that legislator approved a gerrymandered map? That would require people to place fairness above partisan interests, and to stay engaged in a once-in-a-decade process that is convoluted by design and necessity. CW

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24 | NOVEMBER 11, 2021

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Open: Tues.-Sat., 12 p.m.-9 p.m. Best bet: One of each taco, please and thank you Can’t miss: Whatever is on their soup menu

D DIPPE

| CITY WEEKLY |

AT A GLANCE

HAND

love it when local food trucks find a nice spot to settle down. They’ve spent all this time living like culinary nomads as they build buzz and social media presence, so when they finally find a location to put down some roots, I’m always gunning for their success. The subject of this particular mobilemeal musing is Fácil Taqueria (4427 S. 2950 E., 801-878-9969, faciltaqueria.com), which recently opened shop in the Holladay foothills. It’s a cozy spot with a farmto-table menu that offers a stellar view of the valley stretching off into the Oquirrh mountains. If you’re on the east side and in need of a taco binge, it’s definitely worth your time. Fácil Taqueria has been building its audience since 2016, when it first launched as a food truck. If you’re already a fan of Fácil, there’s a good chance you got your first taste at Fisher Brewing Company, which has been a longtime host of the mobile version. After five years of catering events and popping up at community festivals, the team at Fácil Taqueria has fully transitioned into the neighborhood taco joint it was meant to be. Their menu—thank heaven—still has all the features that made them popular in

PLENTY OF PATIO SEATING

Holladay’s Fácil Taqueria is here to satisfy your East bench taco cravings.

is like the go-to plant-based meat alternative nowadays, but we often underestimate how good roasted cauliflower is on its own. The team at Fácil adds some shredded carrot and chile de arbol sauce to the mix, while topping the whole thing with some mashed avocado and lime ash. It’s a perfectly balanced taco that lets the nuttiness of that roasted cauliflower stand out against the creamy backdrop of the avocado, and the chile de arbol sauce packs just enough spice to keep things peppy. It’s safe to say that Fácil Taqueria knows what it’s doing when it comes to tacos, but a sleeper hit on the menu is their soup ($10). The soup in question changes based on seasonal ingredients; I was first attracted to the concept when I saw that they were serving up albondigas soup a few weeks ago. During my visit, the albondigas soup was off the menu, and had been replaced by a riff on pozole that included brisket, chile de arbol and a poached egg. It was an ideal fall soup experience for me: the brisket was tender; the potatoes, celery and hominy were hearty; the poached egg was decadent; and the broth was so unexpectedly comforting that I will keep in mind once the snow starts to fall. It made me realize that I need to take a deeper dive into Latininspired soups come winter. Though it’s only been open for a few months, all those years operating a food truck has helped Fácil Taqueria hit the ground running. It’s a comfy spot to enjoy tacos and burritos, but don’t sleep on whatever heady soup they’re whipping up on the daily. I for one will be relying on this place to keep my spirits bright through the icy days to come. CW

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Keepin’ it Fácil

the first place: homemade corn tortillas for their street tacos, responsibly sourced ingredients and a savvy command of flavors, both plant-based and otherwise. The new spot suits the laid-back vibe that Fácil has cultivated. It’s in a tiny commercial spot perched on that 4500 South hill leading to I-215. They’ve made great use of the space, and they’ve got a bar near the chefs’ prep area, like unto a sushi place— kinda cool if you like chatting with the chefs while you enjoy their handiwork. Even though their selection of tacos is nice and sparse, it’s hard to decide what taco adventure you want to take. I had to get the Nashville hot chicken taco ($6); spicy fried chicken in taco form seems like something tailor-made for my dining persona. I also wanted to check out their cauliflower taco ($4) to get a sense of Fácil’s plant-based game. After placing my order, I snagged a spot at the counter near the entrance so I could get a look at the Salt Lake Valley. Fall is still playing all kinds of nice with the Wasatch Front, and watching those autumn vibes explode from Holladay all the way to Magna isn’t a bad way to kill time while waiting for a pair of tacos to arrive. It didn’t take long for my food to get to me, though, and both tacos were dressed to kill. As they are open-faced when they arrive, you get to see all that goodness within. The Nashville hot chicken presents itself as a well-fried chicken strip, which comes slathered in a spicy agave glaze and topped with clover-shaped pickled cucumbers. It’s also pre-brined in adobo, so that first bite captures the ideal mix of crunchy exterior and juicy interior that makes fried chicken spectacular. The heat on this little guy is a sneaky sort—it doesn’t quite hit you until the last quarter of the taco, but it’s ever so nice when it does. The cauliflower taco was no slouch in the flavor department, either. I know jackfruit

onTAP S ON U W FOLLO GRAM A T S IN

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KLY

WEE C L S @

Moab Brewing 686 S. Main, Moab TheMoabBrewery.com On Tap: Bougie Johnny’s Rose

Bewilder Brewing 445 S. 400 West, SLC BewilderBrewing.com On Tap: Haze Hugs Hazy Pale

Mountain West Cider 425 N. 400 West, SLC MountainWestCider.com On Tap: Holiday 4 Pack

Bohemian Brewery 94 E. Fort Union Blvd, Midvale BohemianBrewery.com

Ogden River Brewing 358 Park Blvd, Ogden OgdenRiverBrewing.com On Tap: Injector Hazy IPA

Bonneville Brewery 1641 N. Main, Tooele BonnevilleBrewery.com On Tap: Peaches and Cream Ale Desert Edge Brewery 273 Trolley Square, SLC DesertEdgeBrewery.com On Tap: Fresh Brewed UPA Epic Brewing Co. 825 S. State, SLC EpicBrewing.com On Tap: Chocolate Mint Big Bad Baptist Imperial Stout Fisher Brewing Co. 320 W. 800 South, SLC FisherBeer.com On Tap: Red Ale Grid City Beer Works 333 W. 2100 South, SLC GridCityBeerWorks.com On Tap: Extra Pale Ale

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26 | NOVEMBER 11, 2021

2 Row Brewing 6856 S. 300 West, Midvale 2RowBrewing.com On Tap: Feelin’ Hazy

Hopkins Brewing Co. 1048 E. 2100 South, SLC HopkinsBrewingCompany.com On Tap: Cowboy Lite Hoppers Grill and Brewing 890 E. Fort Union Blvd, Midvale HoppersBrewPub.com Kiitos Brewing 608 W. 700 South, SLC KiitosBrewing.com Level Crossing Brewing Co. 2496 S. West Temple, South Salt Lake LevelCrossingBrewing.com On Tap: West Coast IPA

OUTDOOR SEATING ON THE PATIO

TUESDAY TRIVIA! 7-9 PM LIVE JAZZ Thursdays 8-11 PM

1048 East 2100 South | (385) 528-3275 | HopkinsBrewingCompany.com

Policy Kings Brewery 223 N. 100 West, Cedar City PolicyKingsBrewery.com Proper Brewing 857 S. Main, SLC ProperBrewingCo.com On Tap: Gungan Sith Lord Red Rock Brewing Multiple Locations RedRockBrewing.com On Tap: Baked Pastry Stout

A list of what local craft breweries and cider houses have on tap this week Squatters 147 W. Broadway, SLC Squatters.com Strap Tank Brewery Multiple Locations StrapTankBrewery.com Springville On Tap: PB Rider, Peanut Butter Stout Lehi On Tap: 2-Stroke, Vanilla Mocha Porter TF Brewing 936 S. 300 West, SLC TFBrewing.com On Tap: Edel Pils Talisman Brewing Co. 1258 Gibson Ave, Ogden TalismanBrewingCo.com On Tap: Uplifted Scottish Style Ale Toasted Barrel Brewery 412 W. 600 North, SLC ToastedBarrelBrewery.com

RoHa Brewing Project 30 Kensington Ave, SLC RoHaBrewing.com On Tap: Mild and Free British Mild

Uinta Brewing 1722 S. Fremont Drive, SLC UintaBrewing.com On Tap: Was Angeles Craft Beer

Roosters Brewing Multiple Locations RoostersBrewingCo.com On Tap: Cosmic Autumn Rebellion

UTOG 2331 Grant Ave, Ogden UTOGBrewing.com On Tap: UTOG Pale Ale

SaltFire Brewing 2199 S. West Temple, South Salt Lake SaltFireBrewing.com On Tap: A Series of Singularities

Vernal Brewing 55 S. 500 East, Vernal VernalBrewing.com

Salt Flats Brewing 2020 Industrial Circle, SLC SaltFlatsBeer.com On Tap: Pumpkin Spice Latte Ale Shades Brewing 154 W. Utopia Ave, South Salt Lake ShadesBrewing.beer On Tap: Winter Warmer Amber Ale Silver Reef 4391 S. Enterprise Drive, St. George StGeorgeBev.com

Wasatch 2110 S. Highland Drive, SLC WasatchBeers.com Zion Brewery 95 Zion Park Blvd, Springdale ZionBrewery.com Zolupez 205 W. 29th Street #2, Ogden Zolupez.com

Ghost Hunting BY MIKE RIEDEL comments@cityweekly.net @utahbeer

MIKE RIEDEL

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n one afternoon, I managed to find not one, but two locally-made adult beverages infused with ghost pepper—famed for its Scoville heat scale rating of more than a million. As a fan of all things caliente, I had to delve into the veracity of these pepper-forward drinks, just to see if they were the real deal. Mountain West - Ghosted Hard Cider: I don’t hit the hard ciders here too often, because … well, I’m the Beer Nerd, and that’s my gig. But every now and then, I come across something fun that challenges my palate, and is frankly too tasty to ignore. I picked up a half growler of Ghosted at the cidery, and the staff was eager for me to try it. There’s one thing that always gets me about cider versus beer: the brilliant clarity of the beverage. It’s got a rich clear, golden bright color with a hint of orange highlights (possibly from the chili). The carbonation is champagne-like but not prickly—much softer, yet effervescent. The aroma is fresh with what seems like McIntosh and Granny Smith apples, flowers and vegetal red peppers. I’m not an apple expert, but the chili/apple combo seems to work well together. I took a fairly large swig; more of that McIntosh-ish apple and green apple tartness starts you off. It’s that typical Mountain West flavor profile, with ghost pepper flesh. It’s fruity and earthy for the most part, with a little spicy scratchiness on the back of the throat. I wouldn’t consider this hot, but your experience may differ. In the back of the mouth there’s a lingering red

apple flavor, with lively acidity with moderate tannins in the finish. Overall: These apples have a very distinct aroma and flavor, and it definitely comes through and shines in this cider. This 6.8 percent limited release offers all the flavors of ghost pepper with only a mild amount of hot spice on the finish. This cider balances the spice with the full-flavored apple base. Inventive and tasty. Grid City - Ghost Pepper Mango Azacca Whole Flower Dry-Hopped Nitro Pale Ale: Our second ghost pepper beverage is a nitro pale ale at its base. It has that classic honey-amber color with a dense foam head. The sides of the foam are brilliant white, but the top is definitely tinged with an orange-hued mango color. It smells much like citrus-forward pale ale with a noticeable vegetative peppery tinge of fuego, plus floral hoppiness with just a touch of the malts. There’s not a huge mango presence here, but very welcoming. Let’s see how the heat stacks up in the flavor. The Azacca hops are full of flavor; citrus and herbs abound. The heat is definitely real, and will bother those who are not fans of spicy foods and sauces, but it adds yet another nice dimension to an otherwise typical pale ale. I’d put the heat as double that of Sriracha sauce. The mouthfeel sits medium- to full-bodied and very creamy, with a moderately strong hit of heat as the beer sits in the mouth. As you continue into the beer, it tingles the lips and slightly and numbs the mouth. Overall: If you don’t like hot foods, you won’t be able to handle this beer. Me? Everything I eat is hot, so this is a nice treat for myself. As always, try it for yourself and come to your own conclusion. The bar person at Grid City immediately offered to cut the Ghost Pepper Mango Azacca Whole Flower Dry-Hopped Nitro Pale Ale with some of their house nitro pale to reduce the amount of heat. If you can handle it, go with the full-on version. It’s only available in-house on the nitro handle for a limited time. The Ghosted Cider can be enjoyed at Mountain West’s cidery or to go in half growlers. This is also a limited batch, so don’t wait too long. As always, cheers! CW

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Shades Brewing (154 W. Utopia Avenue, 435-2003009, shadesbrewing.beer) is expanding its brewing empire with a new location (355 S. State Street), and I’m all kinds of excited to raid its pantry. Shades Brewing has partnered up with the owners of Arempa’s and Himalayan Kitchen to expand their culinary options into the realms of Venezuelan and Himalayan cuisine. I am all about local hospitality businesses partnering up to help bring good food and beer to the community while taking care of themselves, and it will be fun to see what this partnership accomplishes. Plus, anyone that is giving arepas and momos a wider audience is doing the community a great service.

The Utah Cheese Awards (utahcheeseawards.wordpress. com) committee has reviewed and rated dozens of different cheeses, and now the general public can reap the benefits. On Nov. 11, the Utah Cheese Awards will be hosting a tasting and medal ceremony with the finalists at Bewilder Brewing (445 S. 400 West), from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Attendees will get to try some of the finest soft, semi-hard and hard cheeses that the state has to offer, along with tasty sourdough bread from Mooonbread, Montmorency cherries from Payson Fruit Growers and some chocolate raspberry caramel from Butcher’s Bunches. Tickets can be purchased via the Utah Cheese Awards website.

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Featuring dining destinations from buffets and rooms with a view to mom-and-pop joints, chic cuisine and some of our dining critic’s faves. Located in the swanky downtown Hotel Monaco, Bambara serves up high-class meals in a high-class ambiance. If you’re looking to hit it out of the park with dinner, try their seared loin of elk or their Rieslingbraised lamb shank. For smaller plates, Bambara has tasty options such as cast-iron-roasted mussels and clams, crisped pork belly and yellowfin tuna poke. Still not satisfied? Check out The Vault bar in the room next door for cocktails and a posh nightcap to your evening out. 202 S. Main, 801-363-5454, bambara-slc.com

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A French-inspired restaurant called Trolley Cottage Café (703 E. 600 South, 801-419-0579) recently opened its doors near the Trolley Square Shopping center. I’ve spent some time trawling their Instagram account (@trolleycottagecafeslc), and it looks like a fine place to get one’s brunch on—everything from buttermilk pancakes to eggs benedict to pain perdu can be found at this day spot. Their lunch menu doesn’t look to shabby either—hello beet-and-apple salad. I’m digging the proximity to Trolley Square; Christmas shopping season is right around the corner, and I always need a bit of a pick-me-up when I’m out and about for a bit of Yuletide gift buying. Quote of the Week: “When cheese gets its picture taken, what does it say?” –George Carlin

Nestled in picturesque Big Cottonwood Canyon, this cabin-like restaurant has something for every season. Taking in the view from Silver Fork’s large deck makes for a perfect environment to enjoy a chorizo sandwich or salmon Benedict, but cozying up to the fire with a baked-fresh-daily cinnamon roll and hot cocoa (or cider) and watching the snow fall isn’t a bad option, either. If you get stranded in the snow, no worries: Silver Fork Lodge is just that—a lodge. Spend the night with them and get breakfast free the next morning. If you ski, take advantage of their free shuttle to Brighton and Solitude. 11332 E. Big Cottonwood Canyon Road, Brighton, 801-533-9977, silverforklodge.com The owners of Red Iguana—the Cardenas family— have been in the restaurant business for more than 50 years. Following humble beginnings (the first iteration opened with a dining area that could seat just 18 guests), the restaurant has grown a national following for serving some of the finest Mexican fare in the U.S.—it’s been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and in The New York Times, and countless pictures and signatures of celebrities adorn its colorful walls. For authentic Mexican fare, turn to dishes like Red Iguana’s signature cochinita pibil, papadzules and puntas de filete a la Norteña (sirloin with bacon). Multiple locations, rediguana.com

Café Niche

Initially just a coffee shop, Café Niche has evolved into a full-on restaurant offering brunch and dinner with the menu to back it up. Start out your day with the wild mushroom scramble or the cinnamon French toast. If you don’t wake up early enough, don’t worry. Niche serves brunch until 4 p.m., complete with a lineup of sandwiches and salads. For dinner, try the Morgan Valley lamb, the Thai salad or the steak medallions with asparagus and blue cheese mashed potatoes, and you’ll soon find your niche. 779 E. 300 South, 801-433-3380, caffeniche.com

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his one goes out to those who wake up on the first of November and immediately turn on the Santa-themed music, start pulling out the festive sweaters and are actually delighted to see stores stocking up on Christmas decorations. While many folks wish ill upon this kind of person, this round-up of early holiday events is made just for them; may your eager and merry spirit rub off on the rest of us. Read below to find out all the places you can go to get your happy holidays on ahead of the crowd. Cirque Musica Holiday Spectacular: Split the difference on interests with a friend or family member, and go to this event with the one who’s a big Cirque du Soleil fan. The event fuses circus performance with symphony grandeur, all tied together in a present-perfect bow by the holiday theme. The world-renowned company provides all types of circus drama set to all types of music and themes, and this Cirque Musica Holiday Spectacular is brand new on the lineup of experiences they offer to audiences. Don’t miss the chance to see the holidays blown up to an extreme that only circus clowns, swinging acrobats and an orchestra can affect. Delta Performance Hall at the Eccles, 131 S. Main St., Sunday, Nov. 21, 6:30 p.m., $44.50 - $189.50, live-at-the-eccles.com

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Celebrating 25 Years of Christmas Eve: While we are far from Christmas Eve, that obviously doesn’t stop the zealous Christmas-lover from getting stoked—and it doesn’t stop the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, either. The rock-infused ensemble fuses traditional sweeping composition with equally soaring rock ‘n roll guitars and synths. You’ve probably heard their instrumental take on “Carol of the Bells,” “Christmas Eve / Sarajevo 12/24” more than once, and for good reason—it’s pretty epic as far as traditional Christmas songs go. The group will be celebrating 25 years of making totally hardcore holiday music this year—and their four hour show in SLC is sure to be unmissable. Vivint Arena, 301 S. Temple, Wednesday, Nov. 24, 3:30 p.m., $47 - $203, ticketmaster.com Gentri: Finding Christmas: Is it the holidays, or is it Gentri season? Either way, we’re celebrating early. That’s because no one does the holidays right like The Gentlemen Trio. The trio of tenors dominate the stages this time of year, peddling their popular lineup of holiday classics. This time around, they’re presenting a new show in their Finding Christmas special, just after the release of their new album Season of Light, which comes out on Friday, Nov. 12. Upon this writing, the trio is in the process of a “Twelve Days of Christmas”themed sneak preview of their songs, and on the “first day of Christmas” Gentri gave to fans a peek at their version of “Angels We Have Heard on High.” Don’t miss the return of both the holidays, and perhaps more importantly, Gentri. Delta Performance Hall at the Eccles, 131 S. Main St., Friday, Nov. 26 - Saturday, Nov. 27, 8 p.m., $20 - $120, live-at-the-eccles.com Lark & Spur Christmas Concert. While the Utah band Lark & Spur has maintained a name for themselves of general quality and entertainment over the years, playing their mix of jazz, folk and classical tunes for both locals and folks abroad, they’ve also got a particular stake in the holidays. In 2005, the ensemble (made up

Trans-Siberian Orchestra at its core of the duo Jeff Whitely and Lori Decker) featured in the first Excellence in the Community event, a Christmas concert performed at Westminster College. Since then, Excellence in the Community concerts—which is Whitely’s project—have become an institutional, valuable tradition in Downtown SLC nightlife, and are now at Christmastime about to cross the threshold of 1,000 concerts performed— even through the pandemic, they kept up a robust live stream schedule. Lark & Spur not only share Whitely with Excellence, but have been there the whole time, so as Excellence rings in their milestone, Lark & Spur will sound the celebration bells with their traditional Christmas Concert— the timing feels like a Christmas miracle. Grand Theatre, 1575 S. State St., Saturday, Nov. 27, 7:30 p.m., free, grandtheatrecompany.com Joshua Creek and Ryan Shupe Christmases: A double-local feature here coming at you from the Covey Center for the Arts. Both the band Joshua Creek and Ryan Shupe & the RubberBand bring forth classic, good-old-American rock ‘n roll predispositions, which also makes both groups super qualified to take on the holiday classics. This will be Joshua Creek’s 13th time playing their annual Christmas show, and on top of playing some songs, the group will share stories and memories of Christmas seasons of the past. If the big flashy displays in arenas aren’t how you celebrate, and you want something more intimate with people you know next to you in the rows, head down to Provo for these early weekday shows. Say goodbye to November and hello to the month that most people will start celebrating with you, and do it with the warm songs of these local folks. Covey Center for the Arts, 425 W. Center St., Provo, Monday, Nov. 29 (Joshua Creek), 7:30 p.m., $20; Tuesday, Nov. 30 (Ryan Shupe & the RubberBand) 7:30 p.m., $15 - $22, provo.org CW

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Julien Baker at The Complex

Along with a bigger band in tow, Julien Baker is moving to a bigger stage at this SLC stop. She’s brought her talents here before, including when she was touring as part of the super trio boy genius, featuring Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus. Like her two contemporaries, the young Baker has made easy business of making a name for herself, thanks to her affective songwriting that’s both uniquely pretty and devastating. Rife with crises of faith, struggles with mental health and, of course, the pain of love, Baker’s music—especially the early, acoustic-driven stuff—sounds vulnerable at first blush, thanks to the delicacy and tender expressiveness of her voice, but the lyrics more often seem to come from a clenched jaw. On her newest album, Little Oblivions, she finds the benefit of a backing band, which carries the already crushing weight of blackout-themed songs like the opener “Hardline” to still more emotional heights. Though the instrumentation makes the album approachable and pleasurable, Baker’s always cuttingly honest lyrics impart a feeling of grimness, dread and Baker’s self-described spiraling, the next bender she seems to feel is always around the next corner. Several critics have described it as an uncomfortable listen close-up, and it is. But the songs point to her power, to translate the pain into big, beautiful art. Hear them when she comes to The Complex on Friday, Nov. 12 with opener DEHD. Doors are at 7 p.m., the show is all-ages and tickets are $25.

The Moth & The Flame Anniversary Show at Velour

One of Utah’s most recognizable names in music is celebrating an important anniversary on Thursday, Nov. 11, and fans of the band should definitely be there if they’re fans of classic material. The Moth & The Flame have come a long way since their first self-titled album—released Nov. 11 ten years ago—but it’s that first one that put them on the map.

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However, fans who weren’t around in 2011 may not have heard the songs from the album outside of past shows or on Soundcloud, because they only just put the album up on streamers, and printed vinyl records in 2019— which will, of course, be available for sale at the show. The band were part of an early 20-teens wave of dreamy indie infused with folk and rock, and at the same time they were also part of the Provo music boom, when bands like Neon Trees were becoming household names, and other bands like Fictionist (of Killers relation) were selling out shows, often alongside TM&TF. For this special night, they’ll bring not just themselves onstage, but those who were deeply involved in the process of making the album: Nate Pyfer, their producer on the album; Scott Wiley of June audio, where they recorded; and the band’s drummer during the time of the album’s creation, Aaron Anderson. They’ll find an opener in another band of Provo fame, Book on Tape Worm, plus Mason Porter. Tickets are sold out for the Velour show at press time, but follow the band at @themothandtheflame on Instagram for updates on more shows, and visit tmtfmusic. com to order vinyl of their self-titled record.

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S2cool Album Release at Velour

Local artist S2cool (Stuart Maxfield) will be debuting his new album Cosmic Frog, this Friday, Nov. 12 at Velour and it’s going to be the place Provoites and Salt Lakers alike should find themselves this weekend. According to an Instagram post he made about the upcoming album, it’s “probably my most explorative in the S2cool blob of funk and disco.” This is a shocker, because his 2020 album Shun The Yuck is stunningly packed with groove and funk—bombastically so. That album is infectious as hell, built for dancing, so if Cosmic Frog indeed goes further, it sounds like Maxfield will be breaking some actual cosmic boundaries, like time and space. Playing alongside him will be all other projects related to S2cool goings-on, including the duo Mr. Mental, which Maxfield plays in with Ronald Strauss. While debuting an album could be stressful enough, Maxfield is doubling down by having this show be the first that Mr. Mental has played—though it’s a great fit, employing psychedelic bass lines with glittery, slithery synths for a sound that altogether recalls the gleam of a mirage in the desert. Fellow local acts and affiliates of S2cool Office Party and Home Phone will also perform. The show is all-ages, starts at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are $10. Visit @velourlive on Instagram for more details and ticket links.

JPEGMafia at The Complex

An experimental rapper of his time but definitely for himself, JPEGMafia stands out in any genre crowd, especially in rap—and it’s not just because his influences vary among Throbbing Gristle, MF DOOM, The Backstreet Boys, Janelle Monaé and Arca. A millennial who clearly grew up online (he did a woozy 2013 cover of “Call Me Maybe”) but who also experienced quintessential American things like Deep South racism and service in the military industrial complex, JPEGMafia’s music both contributes to and draws from the wide tapestry of left-field Internet humor, culture and critique—see: Communist Slow Jams and black ben carson. Released on his birthday this year on Oct. 22, his newest and fourth album, LP! is as novel, hard-edged and cool as always, and is also still a channel for his anger as his music tends to be. One of the targets of that anger now is the major label machine with whom he released LP! as an “online” version on streamers, and an “offline” one, on YouTube and Bandcamp, where you can find tracks re-arranged and JPEG dishing in the liner notes. His “Round By Round Blow By Blow” tour is suitably framed as a ring-side fight—and you can rage along with him when he stops at The Complex on Monday, Nov. 15. The show is all-ages, doors are at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are $24.50 at thecomplexslc.com.

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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) In 2017, Richard Thaler won the Nobel Prize for Economics. His specialty: researching how unreasonable behavior affects GEMINI (May 21-June 20) the financial world. When he discovered that this great honor There are many different kinds of smiles. Four hundred had been bestowed on him, he joked that he planned to spend muscles are involved in making a wide variety of expressions. the award money “as irrationally as possible.” I propose we Researchers have identified a specific type, dubbed the “affili- make him your role model for the near future, Sagittarius. ation smile,” as having the power to restore trust between two Your irrational, nonrational, and trans-rational intuitions can people. It’s soothing, respectful and compassionate. I recom- fix distortions caused by the overly analytical and hyper-logical mend you use it abundantly in the near future—along with approaches of you and your allies. other conciliatory behavior. You’re in a favorable phase to repair relationships that have been damaged by distrust or weakened CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) by any other factor. (More info: tinyurl.com/HealingSmiles) “Neurotic” and “neurosis” are old-fashioned words. Psychotherapists no longer use them in analyzing their CANCER (June 21-July 22) patients. The terms are still useful, though, in my opinion. According to feminist cosmologists Monica Sjöö and Barbara Mor, Most of us are at least partly neurotic—that is to say, we don’t “Night, to ancient people, was not an ‘absence of light’ or a nega- always adapt as well as we could to life’s constantly changing tive darkness, but a powerful source of energy and inspiration. At circumstances. We find it challenging to outgrow our habitual night the cosmos reveals herself in her vastness, the Earth opens patterns, and we fall short of fulfilling the magnificent destito moisture and germination under moonlight, and the magnetic nies we’re capable of. Author Kenneth Tynan had this insight: serpentine current stirs itself in the underground waters.” I bring “A neurosis is a secret that you don’t know you are keeping.” these thoughts to your attention, fellow Cancerian, because we’re I bring this to your attention, Capricorn, because you now have in the season when we are likely to be extra creative: as days grow extra power to adapt to changing circumstances, outgrow shorter and nights longer. We Crabs thrive in the darkness. We habitual patterns, and uncover unknown secrets—thereby regenerate ourselves and are visited by fresh insights about what diminishing your neuroses. Sjöö and Mor call “the great cosmic dance in which everything participates: the movement of the celestial bodies, the pulse of AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) tides, the circulation of blood and sap in animals and plants.” Author Darin Stevenson wrote the following poetic declaration: “‘No one can give you the lightning-medicine,’ say the people LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) who cannot give the lightning medicine.” How do you interpret Your heart has its own brain: a “heart brain.” It’s composed of his statement? Here’s what I think. “Lightning medicine” may neurons similar to the neurons in your head’s brain. Your heart be a metaphorical reference to a special talent that some people brain communicates via your vagus nerve with your hypothala- have for healing or inspiring or awakening their fellow humans. mus, thalamus, medulla, amygdala and cerebral cortex. In this It could mean an ingenious quality in a person that enables them way, it gives your body helpful instructions. I suspect it will be to reveal surprising truths or alternative perspectives. I am extra strong in the coming weeks. That’s why I suggest you call bringing this up, Aquarius, because I suspect you now have an on your heart brain to perform a lot of the magic it specializes in: enhanced capacity to obtain lightning medicine in the coming enhancing emotional intelligence, cultivating empathy, invok- weeks. I hope you will corral it and use it even if you are told ing deep feelings and transforming pain. there is no such thing as lightning medicine. (P.S.—“Lightning medicine” will fuel your ability to accomplish difficult feats.) VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) How did naturalist Charles Darwin become a skillful thinker who PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) changed the world with his theory of evolution? An important The superb fairywren gives its chicks lessons on how to sing factor, according to businessperson Charlie Munger: “He always when they are still inside their eggs. This is a useful metaphor gave priority attention to evidence tending to disconfirm what- for you in the coming months. Although you have not yet been ever cherished and hard-won theory he already had.” He loved entirely “born” into the next big plot twist of your hero’s jourto be proved wrong! It helped him refine his ideas so they more ney, you are already learning what you’ll need to know once you closely corresponded to the truth about reality. I invite you to do arrive in your new story. It will be helpful to become conscious enjoy using this method in the coming weeks, Virgo. You could of these clues and cues from the future. Tune in to them at the become even smarter than you already are as you wield Darwin’s edges of your awareness. rigorous approach to learning.

WE HAVE FINANCING

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Scorpio theologian Eugene Peterson cleared up a mystery about the nature of mystery. He wrote, “Mystery is not the absence of meaning, but the presence of more meaning than we can comprehend.” Yes! At least sometimes, mystery can be a cause for celebration, a delightful opening into a beautiful unknown that’s pregnant with possibility. It may bring abundance, not frustration. It may be an inspiring riddle, not a debilitating doubt. Everything I just said is important for you to keep in mind right now.

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TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Actor Elizabeth Taylor described her odd rhythm with actor James Dean. Occasionally, they’d stay awake till 3 a.m. as he regaled her with poignant details about his life. But the next day, Dean would act like he and Taylor were strangers—as if, in Taylor’s words, “he’d given away or revealed too much of himself.” It would take a few days before he’d be friendly again. To those of us who study the nature of intimacy, this is a classic phenomenon. For many people, taking a risk to get closer can be scary. Keep this in mind during the coming weeks, Taurus. There’ll be great potential to deepen your connection with dear allies, but you may have to deal with both yours and their skittishness about it.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) You could soon reach a new level of mastery in an aptitude described by author Banana Yoshimoto. She wrote, “Once you’ve recognized your own limits, you’ve raised yourself to a higher level of being, since you’re closer to the real you.” I hope her words inspire you, Libra. Your assignment is to seek a liberating breakthrough by identifying who you will never be and what you will never do. If you do it right—with an eager, open mind—it will be fun and interesting and empowering.

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One of the last decade’s distinctive voices in electronic music, Caribou’s Dan Snaith is just refining his sound as time goes on. His newest album Suddenly, released in 2020, builds on his strengths while also showing a practice in restraint—it was constructed from five years’ worth of experimentations that were surely as trippy and surprising as most of his work prior. Suddenly is as deep and undulating as a tide pool, and filled with beautiful, strange little details just the same. Besides his distinctive falsetto voice, the tone of his signature synths remains immediately identifiable as his, whether it’s on the soothing “Sister,” with its warm, humming patterns or the high-energy “Never Come Back” which would be at home played next to prior hits like “Can’t Do Without You” or “Second Chance,” off of 2014’s Our Love. And while fans may hope to see Snaith playing some of the crunchier, wilder songs off of albums like 2010’s Swim when he stops into The Union Event Center on Tuesday, Nov. 16, Suddenly is an album worth hearing on its own. A meditation that has messy life changes like divorce and death in its peripheral vision at all times, the oftensolemn vibes on the album (even when paired with R&B beats on “Like I Loved You”) also make it deeply listenable back-to-back. He’ll find support in Jessy Lanza, who fans will remember being featured on the catchy hit “Second Chance.” Doors are at 6 p.m., the show is all-ages and tickets are $29 at theunioneventcenter.com.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) For much of her life, Aries poet Mary Ruefle enjoyed imagining that polar bears and penguins “grew up together playing side by side on the ice, sharing the same vista, bits of blubber and innocent lore.” But one day, her illusions were shattered. In a science journal, she discovered that there are no penguins in the far north and no bears in the far south. I bring this to your attention, Aries, because the coming weeks will be a good time to correct misimpressions you’ve held for a while—even as far back as childhood. Joyfully modernize your understanding of how the world works.

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Over-Comingof-Age Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast explores his own childhood with a mix of sincerity and overkill. BY SCOTT RENSHAW scottr@cityweekly.net @scottrenshaw

FOCUS FEATURES

s a filmmaker, Kenneth Branagh’s gifts are many—but subtlety is not generally among them. Over the course of his 30-year career, ever since he burst onto screens as the triple-threat behind 1989’s Henry V, Branagh has flourished when the material best suits his urge to go big, from his Shakespeare adaptations to the melodramatic mystery of Dead Again or even his 1994 Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The fit feels less comfortable when he’s attempting a low-key comedy-drama like Peter’s Friends, or taking material like Murder on the Orient Express and gilding the lily with cutaway overhead shots of train cars, or filming every character through beveled glass so we understand the fragmented souls within. Belfast finds writer/director Branagh turning his attention to a thinly fictionalized version of his own childhood, a coming-of-age story set in the midst of violence and turmoil in 1969 Northern Ireland. There’s some delicacy required when dealing with subjects like religious intolerance and the emotional upheaval faced by anyone considering leaving their homeland as a refugee, and at times, Branagh seems quite up to the task. And at others, not so much. He starts off with a busy but effective sequence finding Branagh’s 9-year-old counterpart, Buddy (Jude Hill), enjoying the freedom to roam and play through his

mixed-religion Belfast neighborhood, just as a group of Protestant rioters sets out to make it clear that the Catholic neighbors of Buddy’s own Protestant family are not welcome. Buddy’s debt-ridden father (Jamie Dornan)—already frequently away for work in England—worries about the dangers now faced by Buddy’s mother (Caitriona Balfe) and his kids, which seem to be growing when Pa refuses to give aid to the antiCatholic mob. Branagh weaves through the principal plot’s socio-political strife with some episodic misadventures for Buddy, and it’s there that he finds some of Belfast’s more engaging moments. There’s an amusing bit involving Buddy and one of his older cousins trying to determine if they can discern a Catholic from a Protestant just by their first names, and a subplot involving Buddy trying to figure out how to get the attention of the schoolmate he has a crush on, with some sage advice from his grandfather (Ciarán Hinds). Like many stories built on nostalgic reflection, there are very time-specific markers here—including the Apollo 11 moon landing and shows like Star Trek on television—but the decision to use a soundtrack almost entirely of Van Morrison

songs rather than circa-1969 pop chestnuts serves to anchor the story in its specific sense of place, rather than its specific sense of time. Yet it’s clearly not possible for Branagh to avoid being the Branagh whose visual style leans into the showy. While the bulk of the story is captured in black-and-white by cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos, the moments when Buddy is enjoying a movie on the big screen—including One Million Years B.C. and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang—are suddenly awash in color, just so we understand how much cinema brought life to his dreary existence. It’s one thing for Branagh to shoot upwards from an extreme low angle if he’s emphasizing Buddy seeing adults as towering figures, but just feels like overkill when such a shot includes Buddy himself. And in case we weren’t clear from Buddy’s viewing of High Noon that his father stands as a similar brave, lone figure against bad guys, Branagh has to play the Tex Ritter theme song from High Noon while Pa is engaged in his own standoff. None of this is fatal to what Branagh is ultimately trying to accomplish in Belfast, which focuses on that notion of how the immigrant experience becomes the immigrant

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experience—most often, through unlivable circumstances in a place you love, and only leave because you feel you must, even as you expect to face rejection from those in your new chosen home. Young Jude Hill is a perfectly serviceable guide through that idea, perpetually listening in on the grown-up world, even if he sometimes seems a bit too freckle-faced adorable to allow the threats of his environment to register like they did in John Boorman’s tonally-similar Hope and Glory. As a writer, Branagh has a compelling story to tell, and a unique point-ofview from which to tell it. It’s just hard not to wish that, as a director, he would have trusted that writer’s sense of restraint a little more. CW

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NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | 37

GIST

BY DAVID LEVINSON WILK

ACROSS

1. One crying “Hup, two, three, four!”: Abbr. 2. -talk 3. Be a political candidate 4. Fixture whose name translates to “small horse” 5. Carell of “The Office” 6. It’s no free ride 7. “Either you do it ____ will” 8. Nigerian secessionist state of the 1960s

Gas Is Only Cheap at Taco Bell

9. Iraqi city whose name, aptly, is an anagram of ARABS 10. Bob Dole’s successor as Senate Majority Leader 11. Pinstripes wearer 12. Turn in 13. Gauge 18. “Toy Story” dinosaur 22. Egyptian crosses 23. Rorschach, for one 24. Nelson’s catchphrase on “The Simpsons” 25. Killmonger who battles T’Challa 26. Buckets 27. Wicker chair accessory 32. London Times purveyor 33. Busy worker? 34. Tolkien creature 36. Heart of Paris? 37. ____’acte (intermission) 38. Offshore 39. Powder in the powder room 40. Lake fed by the Detroit River 44. Fleet of warships 45. Rock’s Eddy and Allman 46. Voices one’s view 47. Hold in high regard

50. 8.5” x 14” paper size 51. Wood in Louisville Sluggers 52. Swarms (with) 53. Queenly 58. ____-la-la 59. “____ soon?” 60. Elba, e.g., to Napoléon 61. Punk rocker Vicious 62. Univ. paper graders, maybe

Last week’s answers

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1. Nikola Tesla’s countrymen 6. His .366 lifetime batting average is the best ever 10. Supermodel Banks 14. Attire for an astronaut 15. Puccini piece 16. Addison and Issa 17. Partiality towards pesos over yen, e.g.? 19. Tolkien creatures 20. “Killing ____” (Sandra Oh series) 21. Grace’s partner on Netflix 23. Highly opinionated sorts from north of the Rio Grande? 28. Common piercing site 29. Matcha, e.g. 30. “Ad Parnassum” and “Fish Magic,” for two 31. One guarded in football 33. Showy bit of neckwear 34. “Well, lookee here!” 35. Annex Kansas? 41. What “vey” of “Oy, vey!” translates to 42. ____ Park (Pirates’ stadium) 43. Bolshevik’s foe 44. Get ____ of one’s own medicine 47. “Dig in!” 48. One of football’s Mannings 49. Competition show where people reach the finish line yelling “Phooey!” and “Fiddlesticks!”? 54. Georges Simenon detective Jules 55. Observe 56. Actress Hathaway 57. “Understand?” (or a five-word hint to solving 17-, 23-, 35- and 49-Across) 63. Celebrity chef Paula 64. Flying: Prefix 65. 2010s White House name 66. ____ prof. 67. “OMG, that’s 2 funny!” 68. Flexible Flyer products

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38 | NOVEMBER 11, 2021

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Just when you thought there was enough bad news to go around, it appears we’re in for another kick in the pants with predictions that utility prices are going to jump this winter. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported in October that residential propane prices were starting the winter heating season at their highest level since 2011. For people back East who use heating oil, they will see higher prices than the previous two years. The “Winter Fuels Outlook” forecasts that U.S. households who use natural gas to heat will spend an average of $746 on heat bills from October-March, which is 30% more than last year. Dominion Energy is passing on an 8.9% increase in natural gas prices as of this month to all users in Utah. We’re lucky, though, that we get our gas from nearby states and Dominion stores it for later use, which keeps the price down. It’s completely logical that residential prices for energy are going up because more people are staying at home working and using more gas and electricity. Utah has the lowest water prices in the West, thanks to our Utah Legislature, so don’t expect to see any jump in water bills despite the statewide drought. There are a ton of options to help you pay your bills if you get into financial troubles. The website needhelppayingbills.com is a terrific resource that can help you find financial help and apply for assistance programs in all cities and counties in Utah. Residents who qualify can receive grants for paying utility bills, free medical care, rent or mortgage help. It gives you info on the Food Stamp (EBT cards) program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) as well as free legal aid, benefits for the disabled, social services and emergency assistance. The Climate Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOA A) predicts that this winter will be dryer in Southern Utah and the entire region is forecast to record warmer-than-normal temperatures. For weather geeks like me, this year is another La Nina year—just like 2020. But the good news is October brought an early snowpack, and sometimes La Nina surprises us, and we end up with less snow in the valleys and above-average flakes for the mountains. Last year, Alta celebrated 553 inches of snow. We can all feast on Impossible Whoppers and pray to Cryokinesis, the goddess of snow, for another banner year. In Utah, Dominion Energy offers help for customers experiencing hardship in paying their gas bills. They suggest that customers consider a gas budget plan that divides an estimated annual gas bill into 12 equal payments. That way instead of paying $300 in January you might just pay $60 a month every month. Commercial customers can also ask for a six month break on past-due balances. To make arrangements, email customercare@ dominionenergy.com or call 800-323-5517. n Content is prepared expressly for Community and is not endorsed by City Weekly staff.

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Fox News reported that the post ignited outrage among members of the community, who, beyond their incredulity that a bar and grill was a “field trip” destination, were upset that Rosie’s is an LGBT bar, with items on the menu such as Rhoda Cowboy and Big Girl Burgers. Leonardi and the school district did not comment on the school trip. The Way the World Works Well, it’s happened: the first-ever doping scandal to rock the world of professional Venetian gondoliers. Renato Busetto has been stripped of his second-place award in September’s Historical Regatta and has been banned from competing for more than a year, the Daily Mail reported. He tested positive for marijuana after the event on Sept. 4, and on Oct. 27, Venice’s Technical Disciplinary Commission laid out his punishment. Julie “Bella” Hall Babs De Lay Realtor Broker/Owner Harsh 801-784-8618 801-201-8824 An unnamed Thai woman, 34, who lives in a high-rise condobella@urbanutah.com babs@urbanutah.com minium building in Bangkok was apparently very unhappy that she Selling homes for 8 years www.urbanutah.com wasn’t informed that two painters, using ropes, would be working Selling homes for 37 years in the on the outside of the building on Oct. 12. So she cut their support Land of Zion rope, the Associated Press reported. One of the painters, a man named Song, said he and his co-worker had lowered themselves from the 32nd floor to repair cracks. When he reached the 30th floor, he felt something on the rope and looked down to see someone on the 21st floor lean out of the window and cut his rope. A third colleague supported them from the top floor as they tried to summon help from people in other apartments. A couple on the 26th floor finally let them in. The suspect confessed to cutting the rope and said she had no intention of killing the workers, but she faces attempted murder and property destruction charges. Irony With Halloween coming up, Clark County (Nevada) law enforcement agencies came together to promote pedestrian safety on Oct. 26. The “crosswalk fairy,” a police officer in costume, even escorted people across busy Boulder Highway, KVVUTV reported. But as officers demonstrated proper crosswalk techniques, pedestrian Tammy Wotton tried to cross the street where the event was being held—and was almost struck by a semi-truck. Nevada law stipulates that vehicles must yield to pedestrians. Officers pulled over the truck driver, along with several other offending motorists. Parenting Fail On Oct. 23, police in Gillette, Wyoming, were called to a home about a fight between a man and woman. When they arrived, the man had already left in his pickup truck, the Gillette News Record reported. He was pulled over and emerged from the truck with his two sons, 15 and 4. Sheriff’s Lt. Paul Pownall said that the 39-year-old admitted he’d been drinking but said his 4-year-old had been sitting on his lap and doing the actual driving. The suspect, who was already on unsupervised probation, was charged with his second DUI. Happy Halloween! Singer-songwriter Brocarde, 38, has revealed that she is in love with a Victorian ghost, Edwardo, who died at age 35 when he fell down a well, the Daily Star reported. Edwardo first came to her on a night when she was having difficulty sleeping, making Julie Bri-ZAY, makes home buying ea-ZAY the whole room cold and then introducing himself to her and Loan officer I NMLS#243253 whispering “I love you” in her ear. He proves himself by blowing Julie Brizzee out candles and leaving steam hearts on the shower walls, she said. But Brocarde is also afraid of Edwardo: “My biggest fear 2750 E. Cottonwood Pkwy, Suite 660 is that he’ll expect too much from me and kill me, so I’m a spirit, Cottonwood Heights, Utah 84020 too,” she said. After Brocarde revealed her ghostly paramour on ITV’s This Morning, she said Edwardo “ghosted” her: “Edwardo seems furious with me since I’ve gone public with our romance,” she said. She hopes to lure him back on Halloween with scattered rose petals and candles. “I may even cook him some typical Victorian dishes to win him back.” This is not a commitment to lend. Providing All Mortgage Loan Services Program restrictions apply. Send your weird news items to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com. Company NMLS #190465 | www.intercaplending.com | Equal Housing Lender

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Wait, What? “Appropriate disciplinary action has been taken” in Hazard, Kentucky, after photos surfaced on social media allegedly depicting students giving lap dances to high school staff, USA Today reported. The incidents from Oct. 26 were part of homecoming week; Superintendent Sondra Combs said festivities included a “man pageant,” which somehow led to the lap dances by scantily clad students. One of the grateful recipients was the school’s principal, Donald “Happy” Mobelini, who is also the mayor of Hazard. “Using this as a teachable moment,” Combs said, “we will provide social media training for our students and staff.” But, she emphasized, the district “has a tradition of excellence and academics and everything we do”—apparently including suggestive bumping and grinding. Government in Action About 100 hippopotami that are descendants of hippos once owned by late drug lord Pablo Escobar have been recognized by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio as legal persons, United Press International reported. The hippos live in Colombia, but nonhuman animals are allowed to go to a federal court in the U.S. to obtain testimony in defense of their interests. Colombian attorney Luis Domingo Gomez Maldondo filed a lawsuit on the animals’ behalf to save them from being euthanized, arguing that sterilization would be a better option. Most Competent Criminal A clever burglar in Coronado, California, devised a simple way to enter a home there on Oct. 21, the Associated Press reported. The 43-year-old woman just called a locksmith and asked him to change the locks on “her” home, then went inside, settled in, and turned on the music and fireplace. But a neighbor noticed the activity and contacted the out-of-town homeowner, who alerted the police. When officers arrived, the spare key provided by the neighbor didn’t fit the locks, and police saw metal shavings and parts of a discarded lock near the front door. Police went around back, called out to the person inside and arrested her as she emerged on suspicion of burglary. Unclear on the Concept A hiker in Colorado who was on a trail to Mount Elbert got lost on Oct. 18, wandering in the woods until the next morning around 9:30 a.m. Lake County Search and Rescue began looking for the unidentified person that evening and continued through the night, Fox News reported, making repeated calls to the hiker’s cellphone, which went unanswered. The hiker, who didn’t realize a search party was looking for them, told officials that they ignored the calls because they didn’t recognize the phone number. LCSAR recommended to hikers: “If you’re overdue according to your itinerary and you start getting repeated calls from an unknown number, please answer the phone.” Creepy Residents of Ipswich, England, have spent more than four years being troubled by a haunting rendition of the nursery rhyme, “It’s raining, it’s pouring ...” sung by a young child during the night. “It was waking me up in the night. It was absolutely terrifying,” one woman said, according to the Mirror. “Last week, it played for hours. It was just horrible.” Finally, in September, the borough council’s rapid response team tracked down the source of the chilling singing: It was a motion alarm in an industrial park. “The sound is only supposed to act as a deterrent for opportunistic thieves that come onto our property,” a spokesperson for the park said. “The motion sensors were being triggered by spiders crawling across the lenses of our cameras, and it looks like we’ve had it turned up too loudly.” The volume has been lowered, and Ipswich residents can sleep at night. It’s an Education Elementary students at Wilton Manors school in Florida were treated to a field trip on Oct. 27, walking over to Rosie’s Bar and Grill accompanied by Broward County School Board member Sarah Leonardi, who posted about the outing on her official Facebook page.

BY T HE EDITO R S AT A ND RE WS M cMEEL

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PRIVATE EY

For Locals Only

My mother’s father was born on the Greek island of Crete in 1886. From that time until he was 20 years old—and was teleported from his Gavalohori village vineyards to the inside of a pitch-black coal mine in Sunnyside, Utah, in 1906—he never lived in a free country. For 400 years prior, the Ottoman Turks occupied the island of Crete, ruling with a flair for being unfair and murderous to Cretans. My grandfather’s own father was a fairly well-known resistance leader, often heading into the hills to hide after he “shoot the Toorks” as he’d say. That’s what people do when ruled under an iron fist. They rebel. It was hard to muster much of a fight against the foreign occupiers of Crete. Too often, resistance was met with overwhelming retribution, with whole villages murdered and Christian churches blown to bits. My grandfather never returned to Crete, but sometime before 1913, the father he’d never see again made a rebel name for himself, so much so that a photograph of him and his rifle are on display in the village museum, and his name is etched into the Gavalohori Crete War Monument. I don’t know when my grandfather cast his first vote as a U.S. citizen, but he took voting very seriously. On Election Day, he’d put on his best (or only) suit, pack a red rose into his lapel, put on his fedora and be off to vote. He voted fast, straight ticket, never once casting a vote for a Republican candidate for any office ever. His experience was that Republican politicians were crooks who didn’t help the working man. By his own account, Utah in 1906 wasn’t too far removed from Crete in a certain respect—the people who ran things here had little regard for immigrant workers. The Utahns

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City Weekly November 11, 2021

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