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TAX OVERHAUL REPEAL
Lawmakers: Utah tax overhaul to be repealed amid opposition
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Lawmakers say a contentious tax overhaul in Utah will be repealed amid growing voter backlash. Republican legislative leaders said Thursday the plan to raise taxes on food and groceries while cutting income tax would be repealed next week. The Deseret News reports the announcement came Thursday after an effort to challenge it through a citizen referendum appears to have succeeded. Gov. Gary Herbert says he thinks the repeal will reflect the will of the people and suggested lawmakers might wait a year to begin working on a new plan. The organizer of the referendum effort said he was glad that leaders appear to be listening.
BC-UT-ELECTIONS 2020-WARREN-UTAH
Elizabeth Warren campaign hires new staff in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren’s campaign is ramping up its Utah operation with new staff hires. The campaign said in a statement to the Associated Press Thursday that Marcus Stevenson will lead the campaign’s organizing efforts. He managed David Garbett’s campaign for Salt Lake City mayor last year and worked on Democrat U.S. Rep. Ben McAdam’s 2016 congressional run. Warren has also hired two regional organizing directors. Warren is one of a handful of Democratic presidential hopefuls to visit Utah. Utah Democrats will cast votes on the 2020 field March 3, known as Super Tuesday because a number of significant states will vote.
QUADRUPLE SLAYING-UTAH
Lawyer: Family slaughter 'almost unbearable' for Utah father
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A lawyer says the killing of a Utah mother and three of her children by a gunman identified by police as her 16-year-old son is “nearly unbearable" for the father who survived. Attorney David Isom represents the husband and father and wrote in a statement Thursday that Colin L. Haynie is requesting time and privacy to grieve and to heal himself and those he loves. It marked the first public comments by Haynie since the killings on Jan. 17. Police say Haynie was shot in the leg but wrestled the handgun away from the boy in Grantsville, west of Salt Lake City.
FATAL MOTOR HOME FIRE
Man burned in motor home fire near Salt Lake City dies
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A man who was seriously injured in a motor home fire near Salt Lake City has died. Police in Murray say the 62-year-old man, whose name has not been released, was cooking Jan. 14 when the fire broke out after he went to finish his laundry. He was flown to the University of Utah Burn Center and died Tuesday. KSL-TV reports the motor home was parked off the street away from nearby buildings, and the man was the only one inside when it caught fire. Investigators have not said what caused the blaze.
STRANGULATION KILLING-SENTENCE
Utah man sentenced to 25 years to life for strangling woman
PROVO, Utah (AP) — A Utah man has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison without parole for the strangulation death of a woman in her home. The Daily Herald reported 35-year-old Jerad Gourdin was sentenced for first-degree felony homicide for pecuniary gain. Authorities say 60-year-old Belen Perez returned home and surprised Gourdin in the middle of trying to rob her Provo residence in May 2014. Authorities say Gourdin strangled Perez with a stereo cord and poured bleach and other chemicals on her before leaving the body in the living room. Perez's son arrived home and found her later that day.
PRISON SYSTEM-AUDIT CRITICIZES
State audit criticizes Utah corrections department oversight
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A state audit has criticized the Utah Department of Corrections for a lack of standards and poor monitoring of jails. The Office of the State Auditor released the analysis Thursday that also examined inmate abuses at Daggett County jail, which was closed in 2017. The audit says the department did not detect misconduct such as guards torturing inmates until the issues were so apparent that the department removed all 80 Daggett County inmates, The director of the Department of Corrections said it was relying on standards created by the Utah Sheriffs’ Association to ensure the Daggett County jail was functioning properly.
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