Utah’s use of roughly $75 million in federal funding for needy families lacks oversight and performance standards, according a legislative audit released Monday.

The Office of the Legislative Auditor General reviewed state contracts under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, and found that many of the programs selected for funding appeared to have been chosen arbitrarily, and without defined goals or a standard for evaluating success or failure.

“It is generally recognized that spending on case management is important,” the audit states. “Our concern is with [the Department of Workforce Services’] inability to adequately document its effectiveness.”

Roughly a third of Utah’s funding is used to employ counselors, who work with low-income families on achieving self-sufficiency. But those cases, overseen by Workforce Services, are tracked based on the ability of agency counselors to close a case when the family no longer receives assistance.

Auditors say that doesn’t account for the same family returning later for assistance, which can’t legitimately be labeled a success.

“We reviewed recidivism data, which indicated that positive case closures are not very meaningful in terms of demonstrating family self-sufficiency,” the audit states. “The number of families returning to state assistance is nearly the same, regardless of a positive or a negative case closure.”

At a hearing at the state Capitol on Monday, Department of Workforce Services Executive Director Jon Pierpont committed to a swift response on the audit’s recommendations.

“If you know me, we’ll get right after it,” Pierpont said. “These won’t be solved in 18 months. They’ll be solved in, like, 18 days.”

DWS was credited in the audit for improving its budget and financial controls in recent years, including the hiring of new finance staff and the implementation of new politics and reporting standards. The audit also describes Utah’s TANF programs as among the top-performing in the nation.

But 11 out of the 24 contracts reviewed by auditors did not include the basic rationale for why TANF funding was being awarded, and DWS “struggled to clearly identify programs that receive TANF funding."

“We commend DWS for its achievements,” the audit states, "but more can be done to improve outcomes for families.”

Auditors issued a series of recommendations, including that DWS track assistance recidivism and post-employment outcomes, and that contracts approved for funding include specific goals related to receipt of assistance.

Members of the Legislative Audit Subcommittee responded positively to the department’s current leadership. House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, complimented Pierpont for the work he and his staff has done on Operation Rio Grande, a multipronged law enforcement and state assistance effort to combat homelessness in Salt Lake City.

The work of Pierpont and DWS related to the operation, Hughes said, goes “above and beyond” what is typically asked of Utah’s department heads and state agencies.

“You have done an incredible job,” Hughes said, “even outside of your normal scope and mission.”

Pierpont told lawmakers his department agrees with auditors' recommendations, and that corrective action has or will be taken regarding the audit’s findings.

“We’re committed to the program,” Pierpont said. "As you know, improvements can always be made.”

There was a high-flying homecoming Monday at Trolley Square as a giant crane lifted a century-old streetcar into the air and then glided it to its rightful place outside the Salt Lake City shopping center.

Believed to be one of the city’s oldest electric streetcars, it was placed on the north plaza, near Pottery Barn, where it will undergo renovations and then ultimately be home to a new mall tenant, said Taymour B. Semnani, general counsel for SK Hart Properties, the company that owns the shopping center on 700 East between 500 South and 600 South.

“The streetcar has been in storage for seven or eight years,” said Semnani, “but it’s well-preserved. We’re hoping people will be excited to see the renovation as it happens.”

Semnani said his father, Khosrow Semnani, who purchased Trolley Square in 2012, chose Monday, the 110th anniversary of the trolley fleet building, for the streetcar’s return.

According to historians, the first electric streetcar left the trolley building for public service on Oct. 15, 1908.

Considered state-of-the-art at the time, the building held 144 double-truck streetcars, was divided into four massive bays with four tracks each and a total of 208 skylights, according to Trolley Square’s online history page. As fire was always a risk, the iconic 50,000-gallon water tower was built.

“The trolley car system ran from Salt Lake City to Holladay, Sugar House, Bountiful and Centerville, totaling 146 miles of track, and making it the premier transportation system in the state,” the history page states. “It was estimated that half the city’s residents rode trolleys daily.”

Buses and cars replaced the trolley system by the mid-1940s. The trolley barns sat empty for decades, until a family purchased the property in 1972 and adapted them for retail use. They hired architect Wally Wright, who used Ghirardelli Square — the San Francisco chocolate factory refinished as a shopping center — as his inspiration.

Through the years, the trolley car, which sat beneath the water tower, served as home to State Savings Bank and, later, Trolley Wing Co., a tavern that specialized in 3.2 beer, chicken wings and camaraderie — regulars got their own beer mug to hang on the wall.

In 2010, the mall’s previous owners removed the trolley to make way for Whole Foods Market, an anchor in a multimillion-dollar renovation.

Since then, the car has sat on the empty lot on 600 South, just south of the mall. When SK Hart acquired the property, the trolley car was among the assets included in the purchase.

Seeing the vacant trolley car wrapped in plastic was painful for Jess Wilkerson, the owner of Trolley Wing Co., who was forced to move his business from the streetcar that gave his business its name. After the move, Trolley Wing operated in a makeshift spot inside Trolley Square for four years during mall construction — only to be evicted again.

Wilkerson and several Trolley Wing Co. regulars — the bar now has locations in Sugar House and Midvale — attended Monday’s streetcar return.

“I’m on cloud nine," he said, noting that before he was evicted, he tucked his personal beer mug in the trolley car ceiling. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time."

Wilkerson said he plans to meet with SK Hart officials about possibly reopening Trolley Wing Co. in its original home.

It could definitely fit into SK Hart’s future plans. In April, the owners said they intend to add theaters, a food and beer hall, fitness venues and a multifamily development, with the existing pedestrian bridge on 600 South connecting the housing project to the mall.

“One of the first pieces of that multifamily project,” said Taymour Semnani, “was to move the trolley off the south lot."

Three Real Salt Lake players pegged last week for international duty will not return from their assignments until Wednesday, making it unlikely they will start Thursday’s game against the New England Revolution, The Tribune confirmed Monday.

Albert Rusnák, Joao Plata and Jefferson Savarino have been with their respective national teams since last week. All three are scheduled to play games on Tuesday with their teams and will fly back from overseas on Wednesday.

A source told The Salt Lake Tribune that it is “reasonable to assume they won’t be starting” against New England.

Rusnák is with the Slovakian team, Plata with Ecuador and Savarino with Venezuela.

RSL will already be without Kyle Beckerman and Sunday “Sunny” Stephen, who were suspended from Thursday’s game due to card accumulation after each picked up a yellow card in the previous game.

Thursday’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Rio Tinto Stadium.

Provo • BYU women’s basketball coach Jeff Judkins has a rebuilding project on his hands in the 2018-19 season because three key players graduated from a team that went just 16-14 last year and tied for third in the West Coast Conference race.

Sounds like the coach entering his 18th season in Provo also has some chemistry and bonding issues to work through as well.

One of the few returning players with Division I college basketball experience, center Shalae Salmon, said Monday at the program’s media and photo day that team unity went lacking last season and has been a major focus in the offseason.

“One of the main things we need is [better] off-court chemistry,” said Salmon, a 6-foot-3 junior from Porirua, New Zealand. “It was really toxic last year. Even though I loved the team last year, it really didn’t help with our game having little certain groups and not being able to be close as a team off the court as well. I thought it really affected our on-court chemistry.”

Judkins said a recently completed trip to Europe, allowed every four years by the NCAA, “was a real blessing” because the players were able to bond better than they have in the past. The Cougars will have 12 underclassmen on their roster, including six players from countries other than the United States.

“The nice thing is there is not a lot of age difference. They are all young,” Judkins said. “The last two years we have had a lot of older seniors and young kids, and for whatever reason it is a difficult deal. They just don’t see eye-to-eye on things. They don’t like the same music. They don’t like a lot of things. So it was really hard. This team is a lot closer that way, because of that.”

The only seniors are 6-2 forward Jasmine Moody, who missed all of last season with an injury, and Caitlyn Alldredge, who is joining the team after playing for BYU’s softball team the past four years.

The only returning starters are guard Brenna Chase and center Sara Hamson, a two-sport star who tore an ACL last summer and was forced to miss the current volleyball season with the Cougars. Judkins said Hamson is ahead of schedule in her recovery and hopes to be back by Dec. 1.

“She has worked really hard to get back, but we are not going to rush it,” Judkins said. “I would just as soon keep her out and make sure she’s ready for conference.”

Chase, 5-9, will likely lead the team in scoring, considering the junior from Thornton, Colo., averaged 13.5 points last year. No other returner averaged more than 5.6 ppg.

“I think we have a team expectation of winning a WCC championship and hopefully getting into the NCAA Tournament,” Chase said.

With such a young and inexperienced roster, that will be difficult. The WCC coaches preseason poll will be released Wednesday.

Judkins said he has much better depth this year than last, but will miss the leadership and scoring of Cassie Devashrayee, Amanda Wayment and Malia Nawahine.

“I can play a lot of players,” he said. “Last year, it seemed like the injury bug hit us. Now I have a lot of depth. These freshmen that came in this year are very good. They are very talented. They will push the seasoned players a lot.”

The freshman Judkins is most excited about is Shaylee Gonzales, a 5-9 guard from Gilbert, Ariz.

“She’s going to be a really, really good player,” he said.

Other new faces include Abby Mangum, the sister of BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum, who redshirted last year, Kaylee Smiler of Hamilton, New Zealand; Babalu Ugwu of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Tahlia White of Orem and Signe Glantz, a 6-1 forward from Ostersund, Sweden.

Along with Salmon, Smiler, Ugwu and Glantz, the other two international players are guards Maria Albiero of Brazil and Khaedin Taito of New Zealand.

“We are not afraid to [bring in international players],” Judkins said. “BYU is not afraid to let us go and find the best players we can, and it is getting more that way because it is so hard to get good [U.S.] kids now with the Power Five conferences getting them. It is harder.”

BYU Women’s Basketball in 2018-19

Returning starters: G Brenna Chase, C Sara Hamson

Other key returners: F Jasmine Moody, C Shalae Salmon, G Paisley Johnson

Key newcomers: G Shaylee Gonzales, G Caitlyn Alldredge, G Tahlia White, F Signe Glantz, F Babalu Ugwu

Utah’s massive Pole Creek and Bald Mountain fires are out, but hunters are now getting burned after U.S. Forest Service officials extended closures for a special big game unit.

Citing public safety concerns regarding falling trees and debris flows, the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest decided to keep some burned areas in the southern Wasatch Mountains beyond the remainder of Utah’s rifle season.

For many hunters holding cow-elk and mule-deer permits, the move nixes their hunting season and renders their hard-won tags worthless, fumed Springville hunter Spencer Duncan, a popular outdoors blogger.

“We spent three years buying the points [for the drawing]. That’s the area my tag is for. For me and everyone else who has a cow tag for the Central Mountains Nebo unit, we are all [out of luck]. Same with the general season,” Duncan said. “If these were state officials deciding to close it, they would be out of a job already."

The closure might be unnecessary and could have been avoided had the Forest Service put these fires out when they were just a few acres, Duncan argued.

The state issues up to 300 cow-elk tags a year for the unit affected by the burn. Securing such a tag usually requires three or more attempts.

State leaders, including U.S. Senate candidate Mitt Romney, have previously criticized the Forest Service’s decision to not attack the lightning-triggered Bald Mountain and Pole Creek fires with full suppression, accusing the agency of “letting it burn.”

The Forest Service was managing the Pole Creek Fire and observing Bald Mountain when a wind anomaly whipped them into a frenzy Sept 12. For the next 10 days, unseasonably high, dry winds merged the fires and drove the burn north from the east side of Mount Nebo into Spanish Fork and Diamond Fork canyons, blackening 121,000 acres.

Forest officials contend managing the blazes — as opposed to suppressing them — was the right decision with the information they had at the time. High winds, not the prolonged dry conditions, were to blame for the fires’ magnitude.

The day after the fires blew up, the Forest Service closed a large area to ensure the public did not disrupt firefighting activities. That order was to remain in effect through Oct. 15.

The agency re-evaluated conditions on the ground, deciding Friday to extend closures for some areas until Nov. 30, according to Uinta-Wasatch-Cache Forest Supervisor David Whittekiend. Dead trees are liable to topple. Rain could trigger dangerous debris flows, washing out roads.

“It does affect their ability to hunt, but we don’t want to get anyone injured or trapped or get a first responder injured. We need to make sure it’s safe for the public,” Whittekiend said. “There are lots of burned trees right next to roads. We are re-evaluating. Just because it says Nov. 30 doesn’t mean we won’t consider [reopening] before then.”

Utah’s rifle season on elk runs Oct. 6 to 18 this year and Oct. 20 to 28 for deer. In response to the late-season fires that swept across northern Utah mountain ranges, however, the Division of Wildlife Resources extended the season in affected hunting units until Oct. 30, according to Duncan.

The initial closure was little more than an inconvenience to hunters, who would still have had a two-week window to stalk elk on Nebo, Duncan said. But that window slammed shut Friday with the order extending closures.

Hunters such as Duncan spend a year preparing for a limited-opportunity hunt, scouting the terrain weeks in advance. Losing such a coveted opportunity at the last minute stings.

“I hunt to put meat in the freezer," he said. “It is what I live on.”

National forest closures prohibit all entry to popular recreational areas along the Nebo Loop National Scenic Byway, which runs along the east side of Mount Nebo from Payson Canyon to Nephi. They also shut down the Nebo Loop, Mona Pole Canyon and Santaquin Canyon roads to all traffic, not just motorized vehicles. Violations can be punished with a $5,000 fine and up to six months in jail. Diamond Fork Canyon is also closed, but closures were lifted on areas that did not burn on the west side of Bald Mountain, Hobble Creek and parts of Spanish Fork Canyon.

Don’t let last week’s ample rains fool you. Utah remains dangerously parched with water stores severely depleted, natural habitats stressed and woodlands primed for burning, according to an emergency declaration issued Monday by Gov. Gary Herbert.

“The rainfall we have received helps, but the drought is at a level unseen for many years and will not be solved with a small series of storms,” the governor said in a news release. “In some areas, the drought is at, or near, historic levels.”

Hardest hit is San Juan County, which is experiencing “exceptional” drought, according to the federal Drought Monitor. Drought conditions in the rest of the state are categorized as extreme or severe. Six counties have already declared drought disasters.

“Such difficult conditions are harming the quality of life and the livelihoods of many Utah families and agricultural producers,” Herbert said. “The ramifications of drought extend beyond our depleted water supply. Drought harms our industries, agriculture, recreation and wildlife, and it worsens wildfire conditions and air quality.”

The governor’s declaration comes at the recommendation of a special drought-response committee convened last month by Mike Styler, executive director of the Department of Natural Resources.

“This declaration opens doors for the Utah families and industries most harmed by this drought,” Styler said. “Hopefully, it’s also an eye-opener for the rest of us, and we’re encouraged to do our part.”

Some farmers have not been able to harvest alfalfa, while some ranchers are being forced to sell their livestock at a loss, according to Agriculture and Food Commissioner LuAnn Adams.

State officials are imploring residents to conserve water by running appliances only with full loads and reduce the amount of time in the shower.

“We can’t control precipitation, but we can find opportunities to decrease our water use all year long,” Styler said. “If we all look for opportunities to conserve, we can keep a lot more water in our reservoirs, which will really help if we have another dry winter.”

The water year that ended Sept. 30 was Utah’s driest since 1895, when official weather records started being kept, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It was also Utah’s second-warmest year on record, which puts even greater demands on depleted water supplies.

According to the National Weather Service, Salt Lake City received 10.5 inches of precipitation last year, about two-thirds what it normally gets. Streams around the state have run dry, including in Salt Lake City’s Emigration Canyon.

Sixteen of Utah’s major reservoirs are less than 20 percent full, according to the state, and fawn survival rate is expected to be zero for some Utah deer herds.

Meanwhile, wildfires have charred 490,000 acres this year, nearly four times the average.

The board that oversees tuition hikes at Utah colleges regularly approves them with little or no scrutiny — never rejecting a proposed increase, rarely asking questions about requests and failing to significantly analyze how the additional money will be spent, according to a scathing state audit released Monday.

That “superficial review,” the new report from the Office of the Legislative Auditor General says, has meant that students at the state’s eight public universities have collectively footed $131.7 million in tuition increases over the past five years.

“We’re calling for analysis to show where that need is,” said Kade Minchey, audit manager. “Our concern is that tuition has been increased with minimal independent analysis to support the increases.”

Each spring, the Utah Board of Regents approves a uniform percentage increase for all the colleges in its system. This “tier one” increase — 1.5 percent this year, 2.5 percent the year before — covers inflation and staff compensation.

Individual universities can then lobby for an extra “tier two” increase to include more expenses, such as the construction of a new stadium or hiring more faculty. (The University of Utah, for example, asked for and received the largest additional increase for the 2018-2019 school year, raking in $7.6 million on top of the first tier.)

The board receives recommendations for both tiers from the commissioner of higher education, compiled by staff who meet privately with the universities and provide no public minutes of what was said behind doors. The regents then give the green light to those, the audit concludes, without much discussion, debate or examination of where the funds will be used. And it has never denied a request.

This creates a process that is largely unfettered and essentially allows schools to raise tuition with few checks or limitations, Minchey said.

The audit puts it this way: “When asked what kind of vetting is conducted on the institutions’ tuition requests, a member of senior management told us that commissioner staff perform no independent analysis, either on the reasonableness of the requests, or the accuracy of the numbers provided by the institutions prior to the Board of Regents’ approval.”

In response, the Utah Board of Regents acknowledged its shortcomings and announced plans Monday to restructure its system for approving hikes. Starting this coming spring, there will no longer be tiered increases or uniform rates across all schools. Instead, each university will be required to present a individualized request for a tuition change during a public hearing.

Board members will listen to the proposals, review them and then approve a percentage increase they deem appropriate for each institution.

“We’re very concerned about keeping tuition affordable,” said Harris Simmons, chair of the Board of Regents, during a report on the state’s findings Monday at the Capitol.

The Legislative Audit Subcommittee spent a grueling 90 minutes going over the report with members expressing disappointment in the Board of Regents, concern about the lack of review of tuition and fear that the changes won’t come soon enough. They, too, grilled Simmons, as well as David Buhler, Utah’s commissioner of higher education, for not being more transparent.

“I’ve seen a lot of audits in my time here, and this is one of the worst,” said Rep. Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville. “This system has raised tuition to the highest degree possible.”

“We can’t have the kind of slack that this audit has exposed,” added Rep. Brian King, D-Salt Lake City.

“I want to reject the notion that because we have low tuition that the tuition increases we see are OK,” noted House Speaker Greg Hughes, who co-chairs the subcommittee.

Utah’s public colleges, which do have some of the lowest tuition rates in the nation, are unique in that, unlike other with state jobs, the Legislature designates only 75 percent of the funds needed to pay for annual compensation increases rather than the full 100 percent. The purpose of tier one tuition hikes is to cover the rest.

But the annual uniform increase is determined by the institution that would require the largest percentage to close the gap. And that amount is then applied to all universities under the Board of Regents’ oversight.

This year, Snow College set the bar with a need for a 1.5 percent increase. That means the seven other schools received more than needed to match (including Southern Utah University, which needed only 1 percent). The audit found that resulted in an extra $3 million spent this year.

The subcommittee questioned where that money has gone and why the increase is uniform instead of just fitting to the need. They also criticized that the tier one percentage is sometimes increased still beyond that by an advisory group made up of the college’s presidents — which does not hold public meetings.

Overall, it’s amounted to $65.6 million over the past five years beyond what was needed to cover the 25 percent not included in the Legislature’s funding. King said that’s hard to justify.

“When you have increases that far exceed the need, it appears to me that there’s cost shifting to the students,” the representative noted.

Wilson added that he was baffled by the lack of discussion over the increases. When the Legislature increases taxes, he said, there’s “hearing after hearing. We analyze the data. We argue about it. We debate it.” The Regents, he said, are “basically raising taxes for students” and not spending any substantial time weighing the proposals. It’s just a rubber stamp.

The Regents also approved an additional $30.5 million over the past five years with tier two tuition increases. The majority of that went to the University of Utah, which has collected $18.65 million during that time and has the highest public tuition in the state.

The audit says the Board of Regents did nothing to verify at any point what the U. would use that money on or to analyze if it was necessary.

For the 2014-2015 school year, the school’s tuition was $6,889 annually. By 2018-2019, the end of the five-year period the audit covered, it was $7,997.

U. spokesman Chris Nelson said the university looks forward “to reviewing the findings and working closely with the Board of Regents moving forward on any changes that may be needed.”

Buhler defended the process, in part, and said the money goes to additional compensations, faculty promotions and student aid. He also said the Board of Regents began its own evaluation of its policies last year and will have the audit’s recommendations — including the public hearings — in place within six months.

“We are revising those in a very robust way,” he said. “We agree that good data is critical to good decisions.”

Like their hard-hitting negative TV ads in recent weeks, GOP Rep. Mia Love and Democrat Ben McAdams came out throwing punches, jabs and attempted haymakers Monday in their one and only debate.

Consider a sequence that started when Love was asked if any federal action could have made life easier for her back when she was mayor of Saratoga Springs.

She sidestepped the question to say, “We didn’t take developments like Olympia Hills and shove it down people’s throats without anybody knowing what was going on. We didn’t take over $10,000 from developers who wanted to build over 9,000 new housing units” with high density near Herriman, saying McAdams did that.

McAdams, the mayor of Salt Lake County, countered that when he heard public outcry about that development after the county council approved it, “I did something that I never heard Rep. Love do: I held a town hall meeting.” Then after hearing protests, “I vetoed that proposal.”

Love does not hold traditional town halls open to all comers, but she has held 85 small group and open office meetings. “Mayor McAdams may not have gotten the notice, probably because he doesn’t live in the district. He lives in the 2nd District,” she said.

Later, when Love was permitted to ask McAdams any question, she asked for whom he would vote for Congress — again to show that he does not live in the 4th District. He avoided her question, but said much of the 4th District is in Salt Lake County where he serves, “and I travel every corner of this county ... and Rep. Love is absent” in that part of the district.

The debate at Salt Lake Community College’s Miller Campus in Sandy saw Love try to tie McAdams to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, McAdams try to attach Love to President Donald Trump — plus jousting over whether some fundraising by Love was illegal, and battles over what their stands really are on a variety of issues.

Fundraising questions

In her closing statement, Love said the Federal Election Commission called her unsolicited on Monday to tell her she had not broken any laws by raising $1 million for a primary election that was never held. The FEC earlier wrote her, advising she would have to return or reallocate that money, which she said she raised legally.

She said she was told “that my campaign was legally allowed to raise primary-election contributions and that we may retain all primary-election contributions that we received before” the state GOP convention that nominated her to avoid a primary.

She charged that McAdams “knew full well that no illegal fundraising had taken place. ... I am asking McAdams to hold himself accountable by acknowledging and apologizing for his false commercial and mailers [attacking that fundraising]. My family and the voters deserve an apology.”

Adams countered that no official letter has yet been posted about the matter by the FEC, so he is unsure what the agency has said. But he noted that Love raised more than $300,000 for the primary after she already became the GOP nominee, “and that was a violation” of federal law.

Trump vs. Pelosi

McAdams continually attacked Love for voting “97.5 percent of the time” with Donald Trump. Love attacked McAdams for being part of the “party of Nancy Pelosi.”

“We are seeing a partisan agenda being forwarded by Rep. Love to the detriment of the people of Utah. I want people to see that I am somebody who will put Utah first,” McAdams said — charging that Love takes money from big Pharma, then votes to cut health care, and from big oil and then votes in ways that hurt air pollution.

Love countered she is the only member of the all-GOP Utah congressional delegation who has stood up to Trump on occasion — such as criticizing some of his statements about immigrants (her parents are immigrants). She said she also works with him when he is right, such as helping Utahn Joshua Holt be freed from Venezuela.

As an example of Love trying to tie McAdams to Pelosi, she noted that the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, was enacted as “Nancy Pelosi, the party of Ben McAdams and Democrats said they had to pass it before they knew what was in it.” She added, “My opponent may be naïve and say he’s not going to vote for Nancy Pelosi,” but if Democrats gain control of the House “Nancy Pelosi will be speaker of the House.”

Social Security, Medicare

McAdams attacked Love for what he said was voting to cut Social Security and Medicaid, including raising the retirement age. “We must preserve promises made to the older generation,” he said.

Love said she made no such votes — and challenged McAdams to come up with specifics, which he vowed to do later. She said his charges are “typical, unfounded scare tactics that we see used over and over again by national Democrats.”

She said reforms are needed to save Medicare and Social Security, so she said that proposals by McAdams to leave them relatively untouched would bankrupt them.

Tax reform, debt

McAdams attacked Love for what he said are adding to a $1.3 trillion national debt that he said is now shocking — while he said he has worked hard to achieve balanced budgets every year as mayor.

He said Love signed a pledge before her first election vowing never to vote to add to the national debt. “That promise has been broken,” he said.

Love said what McAdams was actually criticizing was her votes for Republican tax reform. “I would rather give people more funds so that we can grow the economy,” while she charged that McAdams had raised taxes every year as mayor.

McAdams said instead that he has “lowered the tax rate every year.”

While that is technically true, tax hikes as defined by state law occurred some years that he was mayor — including when he declined to lower taxes after some bonds were retired. But taxes did not increase every year, as Love charged.

About the harsh tone of the debate, McAdams said, “Campaigns are about disagreements. We highlighted the disagreements.” But Love complained that McAdams tried to “come after and try to destroy a fellow American in pursuit of political power,” or her, with his attacks.

If there’s any outside concern that the success the Jazz had in last Thursday’s preseason finale vs. the Kings will engender a sense of complacency or false confidence heading into this Wednesday’s regular-season opener in Sacramento, no one in the organization seems to share it.

“Both teams will be different,” said coach Quin Snyder. “Really, it’s an easy demarcation.”

So, then, forget about the Jazz shooting 60 percent from the field, thanks in part to so thoroughly getting the Kings’ heads’ spinning on defense that Utah racked up 14 dunks, including seven alley-oops.

Forget about all those wide-open corner 3s, which paved the way for hitting 14 shots from deep and converting them at a 46.7-percent clip.

And forget about Utah’s defense thoroughly and completely crushing Sacramento’s spirits by forcing a 4-for-27 shooting performance in the first 12 minutes of action.

The Jazz know that none of that matters now, and it’s best not to even think of it.

“We have to forget about that game. That was a preseason game. Now we’re getting ready for the regular season, where we’re playing them for real now,” said veteran big man Derrick Favors. “So we have to go out there with the right mentality, know that they’re gonna come out ready — it’s their home opener, so they’re gonna come out with a lot of energy. We just have to be mentally strong to withstand that first quarter. Make sure we’re solid defensively, make sure we run through our sets offensively, share the ball, play the way we want.”

In the days leading up to Wednesday’s rematch at the Golden 1 center, Jazz players have maintained that the most important tweaks they make actually have little to do with the X’s and O’s.

Instead, it’s all about getting into the proper frame of mind, of realizing that the time for test runs and consequence-free experimentation with lineups and schemes is over, that there’s a switch that needs to be flipped.

Quite simply, Rudy Gobert said, the team must channel the intensity it played with during last year’s 29-6 stretch run and be prepared to utilize that from the outset this time.

“Earlier in the preseason, it was a little easygoing. We felt like everything was going to be easy,” he said. “The thing that got us [to the playoffs] last year was the mindset. We played like it was our last chance, every game. And we need to start that way from the beginning.”

He acknowledged that maintaining such fever-pitch intensity is exceedingly difficult, considering, “You play this first game, and then you’ve got 81 more. It’s a long season.”

That said, he added, the challenge will always entail guarding against complacency.

“Human nature is, once you win 10, once you win 12, you tend to relax,” he said. “The goal is to keep your mind ready and remember that it’s a long season and every game matters.”

Which brings us back to Sacramento.

While Snyder allowed that he was “happy” with the preseason finale, because “there were things we did better [in that game] than we’d done them in the past,” he wasn’t about to gush over it.

“It’s still preseason,” he noted.

Veteran guard Alec Burks, meanwhile, said he was only taking two things away from last Thursday’s contest: learning from the mistakes made, while trying to bring the same energy this time around.

Favors reiterated that, regardless of whatever led to the Jazz’s 132-93 blowout victory, that’s not nothing to do with anything now.

“You gotta realize it was a preseason game,” he said. “I don’t know what they had going on over there, but [in] preseason, guys are still trying to find their rhythm, still trying to connect with the team. But going into the season, we got to get it started right. We gotta throw that game away and get ready for the real thing. We just gotta be prepared and ready.”

When the New Yorker first opened in 1978, it oozed "cool,” thanks to its speak-easy location, elegant food and exclusive private club status.

“It’s where you would go and have martinis with lunch," said Tamara Gibo, “and get the kind of food you would read about in magazines.”

On Monday, though, the 40-year-old New Yorker closed for good, dealing Utah’s restaurant community a surprising blow.

“It’s heartbreaking," said Gibo, who co-owns Takashi and Post Office Place just up the street. “It’s where the innovators of Salt Lake City would eat."

The last day of service at 60 W. Market St., in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City, was Saturday, said Catherine Burns, human resource director for the restaurant’s owner, Gastronomy Inc. The 30-member staff got the news Monday, and the news spread quickly among diners.

The company is offering jobs to anyone who wants one at its Market Street Grill locations in downtown, Cottonwood Heights and South Jordan.

“It’s a sad day for all of us," said Burns, who worked as a server, host and cocktail waitress at the New Yorker shortly after it opened. “The New Yorker set the stage for fine dining in Salt Lake City."

Burns said there was no single factor that forced the closure only “that times and dining tastes change.”

The final blow, however, may have come in September, when the Salt Lake County Health Department announced that as many as 650 customers who consumed food or beverages at the New Yorker Restaurant between July 25 and Aug. 15 may have been exposed to the hepatitis A virus.

During that time period, an employee worked while infected and potentially handled certain food or beverage items, the department said in a news release. The agency believes this case is linked to the ongoing hepatitis A outbreak Salt Lake County has been experiencing since mid-2017.

Tom Sieg and business partner John Williams opened the New Yorker in the basement of the New York Hotel. They brought Tom Guinney into the fold in 1980. Eventually, the three formed Gastronomy Inc. Guinney is the last survivor of the founding trio. Sieg died in 2008, and Williams was killed in a house fire in 2016.

The Williams estate owns the New Yorker space, Burns said, so any future plans for the building were unclear.

As its name suggests, the New Yorker reflected a classic 1940s art deco elegance, with a stained-glass ceiling and luxurious banquettes, elements that originated from the historic Hotel Utah.

While there were three partners, the New Yorker was Sieg’s baby. He had his own chair at the bar. He knew everybody, and everybody knew him.

Will Pliler was the restaurant’s culinary stalwart, joining the staff during its first year and serving as executive chef since 1984. Through the years, he won numerous awards for his food, always working on new dishes and keeping the menu current, said Melva Sine, president of the Utah Restaurant Association.

In fact, Pliler was the restaurant association’s 2018 Chef of the Year.

“It was Utah’s most unique fine-dining establishment,” Sine said. “It will be a sad loss for fine dining in Utah.”

In its heyday as a private club, Salt Lake City Mayor Deedee Corradini was a regular as were those who attended the Utah Symphony, the Utah Opera and plays at the Capitol Theatre. Even the legendary Luciano Pavarotti ate there after a performance.

“It was so packed,” Burns recalled. “It was the place to go for a lunch. It was the place to go after work for cocktails."

For many of those power brokers, however, the New Yorker lost some of luster when Utah did away with private club membership.

Through the years, Pliler tried to recapture the midday crowd with specially priced lunches, but ultimately the restaurant opened only for dinner.

“For many years, when it was a private club, the clientele was exclusive. You had to be a member — or know one — to get in,” said Utah chef Dave Prows, who worked for Gastronomy early in his career.

"I hate to see a place with a great tradition close,” he added. “The New Yorker had that.”

Green Bay, Wis. • A pick, a beneficial penalty and a game-winning kick.

Quite a final minute for the Green Bay Packers.

Mason Crosby kicked a 27-yard field goal as time expired to cap an 81-yard drive set up by Kevin King’s interception with 1:07 left, and the Packers outlasted the San Francisco 49ers for a 33-30 win on Monday night.

The final drive was extended after 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman was flagged for illegal contact on third-and-15 that wiped out a sack of Aaron Rodgers with 43 seconds left.

Rodgers rushed up the middle for a 21-yard gain on the next play. The two-time NFL MVP completed two more passes for 19 yards to set up Crosby’s game-winner for Green Bay (3-2-1).

The veteran kicker was perfect a week after missing four field goals in a loss at Detroit.

“It’s very appropriate, what he went through last week, (for) the team to stick with him,” Rodgers said. “And then he responded.”

Rodgers threw for 425 yards and two scores, both to Adams. The second came with 1:55 left from 16 yards to tie the score at 30.

C.J. Beathard passed for 245 yards and two long touchdowns to speedy receiver Marquise Goodwin for the 49ers (1-5).

For a while it looked like the 49ers might hold on for their first victory since quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was lost for the year in Week 3 with a torn ACL.

Turnovers hurt them again — three more on Monday night, but none bigger than King’s pick at the Packers 10.

“Very disappointed. We had a chance to win that game,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “It hurts.”

The second-year cornerback was locked in 1-on-1 coverage with Goodwin, who had burned the secondary all night. This time, King kept up and pulled in a ball that looked slightly underthrown by Beathard.

Then Rodgers went to work, aided by the penalty on Sherman, who was covering Davante Adams.

Rodgers was 25 of 46. Adams had 10 catches for 132 yards, one of three Packers receivers to go over 100 yards.

The Packers scored 10 points in the final 2 minutes, capped by Crosby’s fourth field goal of the night.

“This week was a grind, it was one of the tougher weeks of my career,” Crosby said about bouncing back from his awful game last week.

It’s just what the Packers needed going into their bye week.

The late flurry overshadowed another troubling start by the defense.

The Packers had 17-7 lead when Rodgers connected with Davante Adams for a 9-yard touchdown with 1:58 left in the first quarter.

Then San Francisco just brushed past Green Bay.

Beathard connected with Goodwin for the 67-yard score down the middle of the field on the ensuing series.

The 30-yard score came with 6:05 left in the second. Goodwin celebrated by mimicking a long jump in the end zone.

He finished with four catches for 126 yards. Beathard was 16 of 23.

San Francisco also got more pressure after the first quarter, forcing the Packers into more third-and-long situations.

Rodgers figured out the Niners in the end.

“We had every opportunity to finish and win that game and we didn’t get it done,” Shanahan said.

KEY PLAY

The 49ers looked like they were in good shape after Adams’ second touchdown, starting their series at their own 47 with 1:55 left after a 32-yard return by Richie James Jr., and a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Tony Brown.

But on third-and-3 from the Packers 46, Beathard unloaded under pressure.

“It wasn’t really what we wanted. The all-out blitz stuff, we had to get rid of it,” Shanahan said. There (are) four options on the play, but that wasn’t the one we wanted.”

King picked a nice time for his first career interception.

“I’ve just got to stay the course, keep doing your job, keep it going, and those types of plays are going to come,” King said.

NO TAKEAWAYS

Another game without a takeaway for the Niners dropped them to an NFL-worst minus-11 in turnover differential. The defense has generated a league-low three takeaways coming into the night, which had been the fewest total for the franchise after five games since 1977.

QUOTABLE

“It doesn’t matter if you agree with the call. It’s not like, ‘Oh, I didn’t agree with the call, they’re going to pick it up.’ They called it. I’ve got to find a way to do better.” — Sherman on the illegal contact penalty.

ANTHEM

Goodwin appeared to be the only player on either team with an apparent sign of protest during the national anthem, raising a right first in the air.

UP NEXT

49ers: Host the unbeaten Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

Packers: After a bye week, Green Bay visits the Rams on Oct. 28.

———

More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/tag/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP—NFL

James Jeffs helped build his high school. That’s not a metaphor.

When he was 10 or 11 years old, he was sent to work with other members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in construction of a bishops’ storehouse in Hildale. The storehouse was later sold to the Washington County School District and converted to Water Canyon High School.

Now 18, out of the FLDS and a senior at Water Canyon, Jeffs is helping transform Hildale in a way only teenagers can — through high school sports.

“The coach is always saying, ‘Represent the school,’” Jeffs said, “and, for the most part, the high school represents the town.”

Jeffs and other Water Canyon runners will compete Wednesday at the Utah State High School Activities Association state cross-country meet at Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City. Jeffs, running in the 1A division, finished 18th at last year’s competition and hopes for a top-10 finish Wednesday.

• <b>UHSAA State Cross Country Meet</b>
• Wednesday in Sugar House Park, 1330 E. 2100 South in Salt Lake City. The parking lot is accessed from 1700 East.&nbsp;
• 1A girls run at 10 a.m.; 2A girls, 10:30 a.m.; 3A girls, 11 a.m.; 1A boys, 11:30 a.m.; 2A boys, noon; 3A boys, 12:30 p.m.; 4A girls, 1 p.m.; 5A girls, 1:30 p.m.; 6A girls, 2 p.m.; 4A boys, 2:30 p.m.; 5A boys, 3 p.m.; 6A boys, 3:30 p.m.&nbsp;
• Awards will be presented as quickly as possible after the finish of each race. The presentations will be on the west side of the track at the Highland High School stadium next to the park.&nbsp;

Jeffs, who at 6 feet 8 inches tall also plans to play center on Water Canyon’s boys' basketball team later this fall and wants to run track in the spring, can lay claim to being the first prep sports star in the remade Hildale. Earlier this year, residents pitched in to send him to Australia to compete and train.

If some voters have it their way, Water Canyon will make more high school athletes. The school district is asking voters to approve a $125 million bond to finance school and facilities construction across Washington County. At Water Canyon, the bond would finance construction of a new track and baseball and softball diamonds in 2021. The district is emphasizing the bond would not boost tax rates; it would replace existing bonds when they are paid off.

Hildale was once run by FLDS members loyal to the faith’s president, Warren Jeffs. The town has gotten more secular in recent years with two jury verdicts allowing federal judges to impose changes, as well as a municipal election last year when voters elected a mayor and three City Council members who are not Jeffs followers. The Washington County School District opened Water Canyon as a kindergarten through 12th grade school in 2014 — the first public school in Hildale in a decade.

Hildale City Councilman Lawrence Barlow compares high school sports to a beer brewery that recently opened in adjacent Colorado City, Ariz. They both show, Barlow said, that Hildale and Colorado City are not as standoffish as they once were and can be “venues of healing” for the community.

Barlow said he’s also seen sports make a difference in his family. One of his daughters ran on Water Canyon’s track team. Another daughter was on the wrestling team.

“I know it’s done a lot for them," Barlow said, “to boost their confidence and interact and cope with everyday life.”

James Jeffs’ family was once loyal to his uncle Warren Jeffs, too. James Jeffs, who says he falls somewhere in the middle among his father’s 16 children, said the family was moved through the years to FLDS homes in Colorado and in South Dakota.

“Those are stressful times,” James Jeffs said Friday in a telephone interview.

He was reluctant to say much about his family’s time in the FLDS but volunteered that when the bishops' storehouse that became his school was under construction in 2010, he was sent there to sweep the floors and carry lightweight supplies and equipment.

In 2011, Warren Jeffs was convicted of crimes related to sexually assaulting two girls he married as plural wives in Texas. He is serving a sentence of life plus 20 years in prison.

Then, in mid-June 2012, James Jeffs’ father, Dale Jeffs, a half-brother to the imprisoned president, received a message from the then-FLDS bishop. Warren Jeffs had a revelation, the bishop said, that Dale Jeffs and two of his three wives had committed a number of sins. The purported sins, Dale Jeffs said Friday in a phone interview, were similar to what other evicted FLDS men have reported over the years — Warren accused him of murdering unborn children, having evil in his heart and being immoral, among other vague transgressions. (Dale Jeffs said all the accusations were lies.)

Dale Jeffs and the two wives were told to leave Hildale and not speak to other family members. The three of them settled 300 miles away in Heber City. The children were left in the care of one of Dale Jeffs’ oldest daughters.

It took Dale Jeffs and his wives about seven months to process what had happened and realize they needed to return to Hildale to care for their children and stop them from following his half-brother.

That suited James Jeffs.

“When we left," he said, “things were starting to get to the point that I actually did want to get out.”

James Jeffs enrolled in Water Canyon in 2015. An older brother had joined the cross-country team and invited James to practice. He had played basketball among his family but had no experience running competitively.

Runners race 3 miles in cross-country meets. James Jeffs said he was asked to run about 2.5 miles in that first practice.

“I stopped and walked some of the way,” he said. “It wasn’t until about two or three practices later I went the full distances without walking.”

The teen steadily improved his times and, by the end of that first season, was Water Canyon’s fastest runner.

He might be Utah’s tallest cross-country runner, though James Jeffs said he doesn’t perceive that he trains or races differently than those with shorter strides. He still has to strategize, deciding how to pace himself based on his competition and how many hills are on the course.

Dale Jeffs grew up along the Wasatch Front and one of his brothers ran track at Jordan High School in Sandy. But, Dale Jeffs said, children raised in the FLDS and its earlier incarnations mostly played their sports within families.

“We didn’t get out with the public that much,” he said.

After James Jeffs qualified for last year’s state meet, Hildale took notice. When a program called Down Under Sports invited him to Gold Coast, Australia, to train with and race against other U.S. teens, his family, friends and the community were ready to help him.

In a town where the household income is 69 percent of the state’s median and two out of every five residents live below poverty, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Hildale residents and other supporters amassed $9,400 for James Jeffs to go to Australia and Dale Jeffs to go as his chaperone. The trip was James Jeffs’ first flight on an airplane and the first time seeing the ocean.

Dale Jeffs said other Hildale residents stop him and ask him how James’ season is going.

Sports in Hildale, the father said, “has been a good thing. It occupies [the students] and keeps them busy.”

James Jeffs said he would like to go to college to study engineering. He would like to play collegiate sports, too, but has not been recruited.

“I try to think of myself as just another 18-year-old,” he said.

On Friday, James Jeffs didn’t know how he would vote on the bond Nov. 6. By Monday, he decided he is in favor of the measure. Like a runner planning his race strategy, James Jeffs needed to do his homework and think before deciding a plan of action.

President Donald Trump continues to tout his economic brilliance in making America great, including the passage of his signature tax bill. Not to worry; the CBO in April noted it would balloon the federal deficit to $1 trillion in 2019 and the nation’s debt in the next 10 years from $21 trillion to $31 trillion.

Excluding corporations who made out the most while needing such an unreasonable tax decrease the least, who were the biggest winners when it comes to the personal income tax rate? One example equally applicable to other filing categories is all this space allows.

Comparing the rate for two single taxpayers with taxable incomes of $70,000 and $500,000, respectively. The former ends up with a savings of $2,000 while the more wealthy one pockets $13,000. Did we really need to bust the budget to benefit the already super wealthy?

Oh and, by the way, when Trump continues to brag about being primarily responsible for the current low unemployment rate, that rate of 3.7 percent has been dropping steadily since a high of 9.8 percent in 2010, with over 80 percent of the decline occurring during the Obama administration.

Raymond A. Hult, Bountiful

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It has been reported recently that some Trump supporters appear to be little concerned with the role that Russia may or may not have played in influencing the 2016 presidential election. This apparent lack of concern has been perplexing to many political observers given the America First rhetoric and the emphasis on patriotism and defending our borders against foreign intrusions that Trump supporters promulgate.

When we consider the forces that were at play at the time of the election, two dynamics come to mind: First, most Trump supporters disliked Hillary Clinton intensely and, second, Vladimir Putin disliked (hated?) Clinton as well, to the point of taking pleasure in seeing her defeated in the election as payback for her critical positions regarding Russia.

The apparent discrepancy between Trump supporters and their lack of concern for possible Russian interference becomes more comprehensible when we consider a centuries-old adage: “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

Putin was clearly the enemy of my enemy (Clinton) in the eyes of some Trump supporters.

Steven Ross, Millcreek

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The logical conclusion of Elder Dallin Oaks’ talk on gender is: “LGBTQs have no place in God's plan.” Since President Russell M. Nelson and the First Presidency are privileged to the mind and will of God, they should know: “Is God's plan incomplete or does he not love a segment of his children?”

Neither is possible with the God I love and worship.

Michael Olsen, Salt Lake City

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The Proposition 2 "deal”? Given the LDS Church's newfound commitment to medical marijuana, the Legislature's track record of reneging on proposition buy-off deals, and the long-running circus of Utah liquor laws, what could possibly go wrong?

Henry Whiteside, Salt Lake City

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Is there much difference between Russians interfering in our elections and the LDS Church asking women members to take a 10-day fast from social media?

For me, the intent of both actions is to change the outcome of an election to better serve the objectives of special interests, whether political or religious.

If Salt Lake County Council candidate Michelle Quist is questioning what to do because she wants to "follow my church leader's directions or request, but … don't want to hurt my campaign," I am prompted to vote for her opponent. How do I know she won't defer to her church rather than my needs as a voter? There is a reason for the separation of church and state.

It is concerning that women candidates who are of the LDS faith are so willing to adhere to the request of President Russell Nelson, an LDS white male, who apparently feels men do not need the same admonition. Should women resume their "go to" position of baking brownies and waiting for their man to come through the door? If women want the votes of women who are strong in their determination to see democracy served, they may have to whistle a different tune.

Joan Provost, Salt Lake City

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Three years ago, Unified Police Department officer Lance Bess was duck hunting in Box Elder County when another hunter fired three shots in his direction.

With his police-issued pistol in one hand and his hunting shotgun in the other, Bess — depending on one’s point of view — either investigated the errant shotgun blasts or confronted the other hunters. A jury later convicted Bess of a misdemeanor count of threatening or using a weapon in a fight or quarrel.

The Utah Supreme Court heard arguments Friday over whether Bess received a fair trial, and, if he did, what the impact could be for police officers who respond to danger.

Paul Cassell, a former federal judge who is representing Bess in his appeal, argued that Bess had a legal presumption of innocence because he was a police officer responding to danger. Cassell said Bess’ conviction means police officers — even when on duty and in uniform — can be convicted of brandishing a firearm when they are performing their official duties.

“Every time a law enforcement officer shows up at a bank robbery with a gun drawn," Cassell said, “he’s committed a crime” under the prosecution’s theory.

Utah law allows police officers to present as a defense that they were performing their job or defending themselves. Another aspect of Bess’ appeal contends he wasn’t properly allowed to raise those defenses at trial.

In his instructions to the jury at the start of the trial, 1st District Judge Brandon Maynard did not describe Bess’ ability to make that affirmative defense. After receiving an objection from the prosecution, Maynard decided Bess’ lawyer needed to make that argument in open court first.

Before jurors deliberated, Maynard described to them the legal elements Bess needed to meet, but Utah Supreme Court Justice Deno Himonas wondered aloud Friday whether the jury was able to “contextualize” the trial evidence without similar preliminary instructions.

According to transcripts and records from 1st District Court in Brigham City, an inexperienced, 24-year-old hunter at the Salt Creek Waterfowl Management Area was firing at a duck and peppered Bess’ location. When Bess approached with firearms, according to courtroom testimony, he was using profanity as he asked who fired at him. The hunter who fired and his family tried to calm Bess.

There’s also a dispute as to whether a dangerous situation existed. Assistant Utah Solicitor General John J. Nielsen on Friday pointed out there was a five- to 10-minute delay between the shots and when Bess approached the family. No one was injured.

James Wolfe, whose nephew fired the shots in Bess' direction, was also duck hunting at the bird refuge that day in October 2015, and he attended Friday’s arguments. After the hearing, Wolfe said he’s generally a supporter of the police but added that Bess didn’t volunteer that he was a police officer until Wolfe threatened to call police. Bess then refused to show a badge, at first.

“All he could do was yell and swear at me," Wolfe said.

Bess pleaded not guilty, but a jury convicted him of Utah’s highest-level misdemeanor in May 2017.

Maynard sentenced Bess to two days in jail, 18 months of probation, 40 hours of community service and to pay $493 in fines — all of which he has served. Bess still has his police officer certification, but UPD moved Bess into a civilian job pending the resolution of his case. Bess now works for the new Herriman Police Department, again as a civilian.

Local police unions as well as the Utah chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police have filed amicus briefs supporting Bess.

Outside the Utah Supreme Court chambers, Cassell read aloud a statement on Bess’ behalf.

“I served as a law enforcement officer for nearly 14 years,” the statement said. “I can’t believe I’m now being forced to prove my innocence, and I hope it doesn’t happen to other law enforcement officers.”

Delays continued on the TRAX Red Line in South Jordan on Tuesday after a pickup track ran a red light and crashed into a train on Monday night.

A bus bridge is in effect from the 5600 West station to the Daybreak Parkway station, according to UTA, and there’s no estimate of when the line will re-open. The South Jordan Parkway is also closed to traffic.

TRAX Update 5:05 am: Repairs continue south of 5600 West on the Red Line. Bus bridge remains active this morning from 5600 West - Daybreak Parkway. Expect minimal delays on the Red Line.

— UTA (@RideUTA) October 16, 2018

The pickup ran the red light on the South Jordan Parkway and collided with the northbound train near 10605 Grandville Ave. at about 8:20 p.m., derailing the train, knocking down a power pole and damaging the power line. There are no crossing arms at that intersection.

No one on the train was injured; the driver of the truck received minor injuries.

It’s sad that politics has become such a disreputable profession. But perhaps what now seems to be true of politics has always been the case — that politics, regardless of party affiliation, gradually changes its participants from seemingly selfless people excited to do what’s right and best for their constituents and country, to individuals doing whatever is needed to retain power and influence.

Political events over the past two years are a prime example. After all, we elected to the highest office in the land a known sexual predator who joked about his predation on national TV.

Two men accused of sexual abuse and harassment by very credible women — unbelievably — now sit as justices on the United States Supreme Court, our last arbiter of justice.

Unfortunately, these sad national stumbles have been merrily welcomed and rejoiced in by those elected to represent Utah in Washington! We can do better and have the power to quickly make change by voting on Nov. 6! VOTE!

Fares Arguello, Salt Lake City

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