Deseret News poll shows Donald Trump skating to another victory in Utah.
Hits & Misses
By Katharine Biele @kathybiele
Intervention Time
Utah, we're worried about you. Let's just say it's about blind loyalty, or maybe just about political fog. No, it's not about turning you all into Democrats. It's about returning you to being thinking human beings. Let's start with the latest poll from the Deseret News. It shows that 43% of Utah voters will check off Donald Trump's name in the November presidential election. While 33% will go for President Joe Biden, another 24% want another candidate. Forget the other-candidate thing—as a winner-take-all state, Trump will win. Why worry? First, most women in Utah want reproductive rights, which Trump does not. Others would like good and humanitarian border policy. Rep. Celeste Maloy has thrown her fortunes behind Trump's military-style deportation plan. And it seems like at least four congressional candidates are sucking up to Sen. Mike Lee, who not only endorses Trump but stands behind the debunked election conspiracy theories around January 6. Lee, a major public lands detractor, may also be the next chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Are we ready to think hard?
Daybreak the Bank
Utah—a developer's haven. While we pretty much allow developers to do anything they want, the state might want to keep a close eye on The Point. A University of Utah metropolitan planning graduate student recently wrote to The Salt Lake Tribune about the pitfalls of taking your eye off the ball. Daybreak, for instance, was supposed to be a walkable, affordable community that would eliminate the need for the private automobile. But Daybreak, he said, became another commuter suburb for wealthier Utahns. So far, there are scant plans for affordable housing at The Point, but the Legislature did see fit to allow the kinds of conflicts that could help board members line their pockets. There seems to be no end to what lawmakers will give developers. Tooele residents, the Tribune says, worry about pollution and wetlands degradation with inland port projects. But they think it's a losing battle. And maybe it is—unless you're a developer.
All Natural
With all the talk about our shrinking Great Salt Lake and an ignored if apathetic west-side population, there's one project that offers hope. Tracy Aviary's Jordan River Nature Center is set to be renamed Pia Okwai following an $18 million expansion project. "The goal is to better connect the Salt Lake Valley's more diverse and international west side with nature, wildlife and the river," The Salt Lake Tribune wrote. The expanded nature center will host a three-story observation tower from which you can see from the canyons to the Jordan River. It will track animals and our migrating-yet-threatened birds. A garden offers plants and the hope that growing things bring. Hope is what the lake and the children of the future need.
About The Author
Katharine Biele
A City Weekly contributor since 1992, Katharine Biele is the informed voice behind our Hits & Misses column. When not writing, you can catch her working to empower voters and defend democracy alongside the League of Women Voters.
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