A year of fraught politicking in Salt Lake City brought social, politi...
Growing Pains The year ended with a year of tension between Salt Lake City and the state, exacerbated by the city's changing demographics and changing demographics. Utah lawmakers attempted to legislate issues such as higher education, LGBTQ+ rights, street design, local policing, and taxation. However, the city also responded with new Pride flags and public works funding. HB265, introduced by Clinton Republican Rep. Karen Peterson, cut funding from higher education institutions like the University of Utah, held 10% of the schools' budgets hostage until university leaders agreed to “strategic reinvestments.” Critics argued that these cuts represent a crusade against humanities and social sciences. HB257, which restricts transgender individuals, imposed fines on public institutions found to admit transgender individuals to bathrooms and locker rooms not matching their assigned sex. Meanwhile, the Legislature failed to pass SB173, which would have provided free breakfast and lunch to public school students. Brian Redd took over as SLC’s Chief of Police in March, promised to detangle crime, homelessness, mental health, and addiction, and proposed a nearly 20% property tax hike to fund criminal justice reform. The Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson proposed a 20% tax hike in October, but the County Council approved a closer property tax increase to 14%. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's actions in response to the shooting death of Afa Ah Loo in June sparked national attention.
Publicado : hace 5 meses por Grace X. Maya en
Note: The following story was originally published on December 18 as part of City Weekly's 2025 Year in Review issue.
Salt Lake City’s changing demographics exacerbated long-simmering tensions betwee... [7368 symbols]