Tuesday evening, July 20, 2021
Northern Utah
Approving Raise For Salt Lake City Police Officers
On Tuesday, the Salt Lake City Council is expected to finalize salary raises for police officers. But over the past year, some community members have called to defund the police. Salt Lake City Council Chair Amy Fowler said the city never supported defunding the police. But she said she is interested in creating alternative options to calling law enforcement. Meanwhile, the police and prison abolitionist group Decarcerate Utah feels their demands over the past year have gone ignored. A representative from the organization said they’ll continue to educate the public about how they can keep their own communities safe — without the police’s help. Read the full story. — Emily Means
University Of Utah Police Chief Rodney Chatman Leaving For Brown University
University of Utah Police Chief Rodney Chatman has been named vice president of campus safety at Brown University in Rhode Island. Chatman has been on leave at the U since December. He was accused of performing certain police duties before he had his Utah certification. An investigation by the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s office found there was insufficient evidence to press charges. The University of Utah had no comment on Chatman’s new position. His first day at Brown is Sept. 1. — Ross Terrell
Greek Orthodox Archbishop Visiting Salt Lake City
American Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Church is visiting Salt Lake City this week and arrived Tuesday. It’s the first visit of the church official since 2000, when his predecessor was here. Elpidophoros will meet with local Catholic leaders and leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He will also meet with Gov. Spencer Cox, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Rep. Burgess Owens, R-UT. — Caroline Ballard
Region/Nation
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland Set To Visit Grand Junction
U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is scheduled to visit Grand Junction Friday. Colorado Public Radio reported the visit comes as the department decides whether to keep the Bureau of Land Management headquarters there. Haaland received an invite from Colorado Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet. The BLM headquarters move from D.C. under the Trump administration has received a lot of criticism. Most staffers decided to leave the agency instead of moving out to Grand Junction. In January, the Interior Department reported 300 positions were relocated to the west, but only 41 people made the move. Read the full story. — Ross Terrell
Energy Sector Employment Down During The Pandemic
The annual U.S. energy jobs report came out Tuesday. Overall, energy sector employment took a dive during the pandemic. The number of those jobs was growing twice as fast as the economy before the pandemic, but there was about a 10% decrease in national energy employment in 2020. The job numbers started to rebound late last year, and continue to do so. In Utah, energy jobs declined by 12.6% since the 2020 report. — Madelyn Beck, Mountain West News Bureau