Emily Means

Things like Medicaid, mental health services and programs for people with disabilities could be impacted by cuts to Utah’s social services budget. 

Hispanic and Latinx people made up 13% of Utah’s unemployment claims in April, according to the state’s Department of Workforce Services. 

Utah Business Revival, a group of small business owners that want to fully reopen Utah’s economy, plans to host a concert later this month in Kaysville. It’s the same group that held a protest in Salt Lake City last month, opposing stay-at-home orders.

In October 2018, University of Utah student Lauren McCluskey’s ex-boyfriend shot and killed her on campus. Before she was killed, McCluskey went to university police to report that someone was trying to extort her over intimate photos.

State lawmakers met Wednesday to review an audit on how Utah’s Community Impact Board, or CIB, has been using funds. 

In mid March, Summit County reported the first known case of COVID-19 via community spread. Soon after, its health department issued the state’s first stay-at-home order March 25. By then, the county’s peak tourism season was nearly over, and the order required all out-of-town visitors to leave by April 1. 

During April’s virtual special session, the Utah Legislature created the Public Health and Economic Emergency Commission to make policy recommendations to the governor on how the state should respond to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Utah’s eviction moratorium for those impacted by the coronavirus pandemic ends May 15, after which landlords can begin serving notices to tenants who haven’t paid April or May rent. 

The Utah Inland Port Authority met with environmental, business and other stakeholders Wednesday to discuss its strategy moving forward.

Nights during the month of Ramadan are usually busy, with hundreds of people gathering at the Utah Islamic Center to pray and eat together.

As of Monday, 124 clients at the Men’s Resource Center in South Salt Lake have tested positive for coronavirus. A handful of cases have also been confirmed at other homeless resource centers throughout Salt Lake County. 

Some non-essential businesses, like gyms and restaurants, have gotten the green light to open Friday. But resuming operations isn’t as simple as just opening the doors.

Of the Utah Democratic party’s 2,203 delegates, 85% voted in the state’s convention Saturday afternoon. Utah Democratic Party Chair Jeff Merchant said that’s their highest involvement in modern history.  

Utah’s Republican and Democratic parties are holding virtual state conventions this weekend, where delegates will decide which candidates each party puts on the primary ballots in June. 

The Utah Legislature passed a bill during Thursday’s special session that protects businesses and people from civil lawsuits, if someone thinks they caught COVID-19 from a person or business. 

Hundreds of people gathered at the Salt Lake City and County Building Saturday protesting local and state policies that have shut down non-essential businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.