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A judge on Friday signed an agreement between Salt Lake County Recorder Gary Ott’s family and the county that allows Ott to resign Aug. 1.
The order approving the settlement deal was signed by 3rd District Judge Bruce Lubeck, court records said. The agreement is between the county and Ott’s sisters, Kris and Kathy, and his brother, Martin, who were recently approved as court-appointed guardians of Ott. The elected recorder has been dealing with a mental illness for months, preventing him from l...

Mayor Jackie Biskupski selected a local transit activist to represent Salt Lake City on the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) Board of Trustees, the mayor announced in a press release Friday
The mayor’s choice is Alex Cragun, the founder of the Utah Transit Riders Union (http://www.utru.org/), a Salt Lake City-based organization that promotes “reliable, accessible, comfortable, efficient, and affordable” transit statewide according to the organization’s website.
“As a transit user, Alex brings a uniq...

A flash flood warning remained in effect through Friday evening for the southeastern reaches of Utah, including around Arches and Canyonlands national parks.
Meanwhile, showers and thunderstorms remained possible through Friday night in the western side of the state, according to the National Weather Service.
In the Salt Lake City area, Friday was expected to reach a high of 93 degrees — but there could be some isolated showers and thunderstorms before 1 p.m., forecasters said.

A wildfire near Interstate 80 in a rural part of western Utah had charred more than 10,000 acres by Friday morning.
North Tooele County fire crews responded to the brush fire Thursday evening, saying it had sparked a day earlier on the Utah Test and Training Range property due to a lighting storm.

A Utah County couple are in jail after police say they gave their newborn daughter drugs on the day she was born to mask withdrawal symptoms from hospital workers.
Elk Ridge residents Colby Glen Wilde, 29, and Lacey Dawn Christenson, 26, were booked into the Utah County jail on suspicion of distribution of a controlled substance and child endangerment, along with possession of heroin, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
Utah County Sheriff’s officials said in a Friday news release that the c...

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A chaotic scene in the Spanish Fork High School parking lot early Friday morning ended with an 18-year-old man being shot in the arm and numerous people fleeing as another teenager fired shots into the air, police said.
The 19-year-old male suspect was located in a car two hours later in Payson. He shot and killed himself as police initiated a traffic stop, according to Spanish Fork police.
Officials said that at 2:22 a.m., Spanish Fork officers responded to the high school parking lot to repor...

The homeless population in downtown Salt Lake City has become more aggressive at the exact time I’ve become less patient. Coincidence? I think not.
I ride FrontRunner downtown. It drops me off about four blocks from the office, which is still a long walk through homeless country.
During the past year, I’ve walked around unconscious people, eased past folks throwing up, and, on at least two occasions, stopped to watch cops and firefighters cram someone in an ambulance and wash blood off the stre...

Madeline Black peered into the oven to see her potatoes gratin simmering golden brown.
And while other chefs might have smiled or patted themselves on the back, that moment filled Black with anxiety, over what could have been a huge miscalculation.

Orem • Leaders of the Ute Indian Tribe say they will no longer participate in Gov. Gary Herbert’s annual summit on Native American issues — until state officials treat them as a fellow sovereign government.
Tribal representatives hand-delivered a letter outlining their position to Herbert during a morning session of the annual summit, held Thursday at Utah Valley University.

The Utah Supreme Court has upheld the dismissal of a Salt Lake City man’s challenge to two laws requiring plaintiffs to post a bond and to pay an “undertaking” of at least $300 before suing law enforcement officers.
The challenge stemmed from a police officer fatally shooting a dog named Geist three years ago.
Before suing a law enforcement officer, plaintiffs must post a bond covering the estimated attorney fees and court costs needed to defend the officer and pay the “undertaking.”
The money ...

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