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Elizabeth’s Bakery & Tea Shop review (followup)
12/28/2011

Lunch review It has been approximately three years, not to mention many a repeat visit, since we last reviewed Elizabeth’s Bakery & Tea Shop back in 2008. Recently, spurred on by some great Groupon deals for ...

Faustina restaurant review (summer 2011 menu)
12/28/2011

It’s funny how sometimes you forget about a restaurant. For some reason, it stops being in your “so where do you want to go tonight” list, and pretty soon it slides to the back of ...

New and interesting openings
12/28/2011

Cafe Madrid gets new digs The venerable Cafe Madrid is shortly set to re-open at it’s new location, 5244 S. Highland Drive, Holladay. While the new larger building (pictured left) also promises to be ...

News around town (09/01/11)
12/28/2011

Faustina goes EPIC Faustina in downtown Salt Lake is hosting a special evening with EPIC Brewing on Thursday, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. EPIC’s brewmaster Kevin Crompton will be there to educate about EPIC Brewing fundamentals ...

Sous Vide class @ Tony Caputo’s Market & Deli
12/28/2011

When I first heard the term sous-vide, I heard the French meaning: under vacuum. Sous-Vide is a way of cooking where you vacuum seal whatever food you want inside of a plastic bag and place ...

News around town (07/08/11)
12/28/2011

New Bar Bites menu at Bambara Bambara recently announcing their new “Powers’ Hours” in its adjacent club, The Vault, with new half-priced Bar Bites throughout the work week from 3 – 5 p.m. Executive Chef ...

Gourmandise Bakery $25 giveaway
12/28/2011

To celebrate their recently released summer menu, Gourmandise Bakery have kindly given Gastronomicslc.com a $25 gift card to giveaway to one lucky reader. One item from the new menu, highlighting the focus on quality ingredients is ...

The end in 2012? Salt Lake City just beginning
12/27/2011

The end in 2012? Salt Lake City just beginning

By Derek P. Jensen The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Dec 26, 2011 11:34PM MDT

Doomsday. End times. Whatever apocalyptic term you prefer to pronounce the end of the world, it has been written in reference to Dec. 21, 2012 — the date the Mayan calendar marks the end of a 5,126-year era. Predicted thousands of years ago by ancient Maya societies, the doom-laden date has reached pop-culture status and rendered comparisons to the Y2K hype. But a year from now, the outlook for Salt Lake City appears anything but ominous. Instead, 2012 promises to deliver a capital boom — if no...

Copyright 2011 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Would-be Utah dad says misplaced trust cost him his son
12/27/2011

Would-be Utah dad says misplaced trust cost him his son

By Brooke Adams The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Dec 26, 2011 11:32PM MDT

As they toured the holiday lights at Temple Square last December, Jake Strickland and Whitney Pettersson looked like just another happy, expectant couple. Their baby was due in less than two weeks, and although not married or even in a relationship any longer, they’d decided to raise the child together. Or so Strickland thought. A year later, Strickland is embroiled in a desperate, and so far unsuccessful, legal battle to gain custody of his child, born just a day after that visit to Temple Squ...

Copyright 2011 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Northern Utah grazing case could alter BLM rules
12/27/2011

Northern Utah grazing case could alter BLM rules

By Brandon Loomis The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Dec 26, 2011 11:32PM MDT

Laketown • Two environmental groups armed with years of data from grass-monitoring plots in Rich County hope a judge will force federal land managers to adopt new range-management practices that would protect vulnerable sage grouse. The dispute over cattle grazing at Duck Creek, east of Laketown near Bear Lake, is before an administrative law judge, who will decide whether environmentalists have proved that the Bureau of Land Management’s lease practices are stifling range health in violation of...

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Utah’s San Rafael Swell is battleground in war on tamarisk
12/27/2011

Utah’s San Rafael Swell is battleground in war on tamarisk

By Mark Havnes The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Dec 26, 2011 10:05PM MDT

Tamarisk, the scourge of Southwest riparian areas, can grow 25 feet tall, suck up to 200 gallons of water from the ground per day and produce 500,000 seeds a year. The exotic species can destroy habitat for native plants and animals. Eradicating tamarisk is an ongoing battle waged by state and federal agencies. One of the latest skirmishes in that battle is taking place along the banks of the San Rafael River. The pesky plant is being uprooted and burned and eventually will be replaced with 750 ...

Copyright 2011 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Seeking to raise graduation rates, U. dumps admissions index
12/27/2011

Seeking to raise graduation rates, U. dumps admissions index

By Brian Maffly The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Dec 26, 2011 10:05PM MDT

High school seniors hoping to attend the University of Utah this fall will face fresh admissions criteria under an overhaul designed to ensure freshmen are better prepared for college success. The U.’s so-called admissions index, a measure that considers only high school GPA and composite ACT scores, is being dumped in favor of a “holistic” look at student accomplishments, according to Mary Parker, the U.’s new associate vice president for enrollment management. The goal is to admit not only stu...

Copyright 2011 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Utah beer tax not always poured where law wants it
12/27/2011

Utah beer tax not always poured where law wants it

By nate carlisle The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Dec 26, 2011 10:05PM MDT

To combat drunken driving and other alcohol-related problems, Riverton bought an inflatable arch. The Utah County Sheriff’s Office bought a dog. Delta helped pay for crossing guards. All the expenditures were paid for, at least in part, with money from Utah’s beer tax. According to state law, in effect since 1983, the cities’ and counties’ share of the money that comes from every pint or six-pack must be spent on special projects preventing, enforcing or prosecuting alcohol offenses. But a...

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Toddler dies from injuries suffered in Christmas Eve auto accident
12/27/2011

Toddler dies from injuries suffered in Christmas Eve auto accident

By nate carlisle The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Dec 26, 2011 09:49PM MDT

A 1-year-old child has died from injuries suffered in a Christmas Eve car crash. Colum Pack died Christmas Day, according to a posting on a website started by his family. His parents, Kelly and Ryan Pack, remain in serious condition at University Hospital, hospital spokeswoman Kathy Wilets said. The website kellypack.com said 3-year-old Finn Pack “is recovering well.” An update on the website states that “rehab will take 6+ months for Ryan and 12 for Kelly.” However, it does not specify the co...

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Appeals court: Sex offenders who emigrate must let state know
12/27/2011

Appeals court: Sex offenders who emigrate must let state know

By Sheena McFarland The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Dec 26, 2011 08:57PM MDT

Sex offenders who leave the country must notify the appropriate law enforcement agency in their home state, according to a ruling by the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Kevin Daniel Murphy, who was convicted of aggravated sexual assaultand aggravated sexual abuse of a child, was paroled from the prison to the Bonneville Community Correction Center in Salt Lake City in 2007. He stayed for a few months, but eventually fled to California and then into Mexico. He then went to Belize under the a...

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Former manager of West Valley City credit union is sued
12/27/2011

Former manager of West Valley City credit union is sued

By Sheena McFarland The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Dec 26, 2011 07:13PM MDT

A former credit union employee is being sued after he embezzled more than $200,000 by opening fake auto loans in the names of credit union members. Cumis Insurance Society on Friday filed a lawsuit against Javier Herrera, who worked as the West Valley City branch manager for Utah Central Credit Union from May 2008 until May 2010. Beginning in August 2008, the lawsuit alleges, he opened loans under members’ names without their consent and then pocketed the money. When the scheme was discovered, ...

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109-hour basketball marathon honors ‘fallen heroes’
12/27/2011

109-hour basketball marathon honors ‘fallen heroes’

By brandon loomis The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Dec 26, 2011 06:30PM MDT

Clearfield • Their sacrifice is minor compared with that of the people they’re trying to help, but 24 men are losing sweat, sleep and a little blood this week to aid the families of “fallen heroes.” Two teams of 12 volunteer basketball players — mostly with church or rec league résumés — tipped off at 9 a.m. Monday for what they expect will be a 109-hour marathon game to set a world record and raise money for the Fallen Heroes Scholarship Fund. They’re playing in shifts, often a couple hours on...

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Utah adoption law: model for nation or unjust burden?
12/27/2011

Utah adoption law: model for nation or unjust burden?

By brooke adams The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Dec 26, 2011 01:56PM MDT

More than three years after a Utah judge ruled he had failed to protect his parental rights, Rob Manzanares is still fighting for custody of his now nearly four-year-old daughter. He has met her just once. The girl’s adoptive parents brought her to a court hearing in December 2009 and, before it began, Manzanares stood in a tiny meeting room and held his daughter for the first time. “I didn’t want to cry too much,” he said. “I didn’t want to scare my daughter.” At that meeting, Manzanares said ...

Copyright 2011 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Salt Lake City police investigating homicide near Gateway
12/27/2011

Salt Lake City police investigating homicide near Gateway

By Nate Carlisle The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Dec 26, 2011 11:23AM MDT

Salt Lake City Police want to know who shot a man to death early Monday near the Gateway. Police found German Rodriguez-Torres, 49, about 7:40 a.m. Monday near 550 W. 100 South, said Sgt. Shawn Josephson. Officers arrived to find the man dead from an apparent gunshot wound and covered in blood, Josephson said. No gun was found at the scene. Later Monday, Salt Lake City police Lt. Josh Scharman said detectives were trying to determine what time the shooting occurred and wanted to hear from anyo...

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Trib poll: GOP fine with Mormon prez; Dems not so much
12/27/2011

Trib poll: GOP fine with Mormon prez; Dems not so much

By Matt Canham The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Dec 26, 2011 11:03AM MDT

Republicans are far more comfortable with a Mormon in the White House than Democrats or independents, according to a new Salt Lake Tribune national poll, which also found that polygamy is the most cited reason for those who have reservations. Three-fifths of likely U.S. voters, or 60 percent, were “very comfortable” or “somewhat comfortable” voting for a Mormon for president, while 26 percent were uncomfortable to some degree and 14 percent were unsure. Among Republicans, the comfort level shot...

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Bill seeks to stop court shopping by payday lenders
12/27/2011

Bill seeks to stop court shopping by payday lenders

By Lee Davidson The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Dec 26, 2011 11:03AM MDT

Michelle Neff says she planned to repay quickly a high-interest $1,000 payday loan from Check City. But she became ill, lost her job, and couldn’t pay it all off right away. She said the lender would not make a payment plan she could afford — then sued her for $1,800 including interest and fees. She says Check City threw extra salt in the wound. Her loan contract gave Check City the choice of where to file any legal action. It filed in Provo near its headquarters, instead of Taylorsville where t...

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Occupy Salt Lake City protesters plan for 2012
12/27/2011

Occupy Salt Lake City protesters plan for 2012

By JUDY FAHYS The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Dec 26, 2011 11:03AM MDT

Many Occupy SLC regulars took time off from the Gallivan Center encampment in downtown Salt Lake City to spend Christmas with family. But a small group taking in the sun on Main Street near the cluster of Occupy tents reflected on recent activities and talked about upcoming plans for the movement in the new year. “The system hasn’t changed; the system is still corrupt,” said Justin Kramer, who predicted the camp and the Occupy goals would endure through winter. “A little cold weather isn’t going...

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Utah’s afterschool programs growing but so is need
12/27/2011

Utah’s afterschool programs growing but so is need

By lisa schencker The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Dec 26, 2011 01:01AM MDT

She had already eaten dinner and the sun was beginning to set, but 8-year-old Cece Gonzalez hadn’t yet left school on a recent Thursday. Not that she — or many of the other students enrolled in Woodrow Wilson Elementary’s afterschool program — minded. “It’s fun,” said the third-grader, looking up from her book about life in the oceans, “and I think it helps us read and do our homework.” Gonzalez is one of a growing number of students enrolled in afterschool programs across the state. In 2008, t...

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Salt Lake City volunteers of all faiths come bearing gifts
12/27/2011

Salt Lake City volunteers of all faiths come bearing gifts

By Judy fahys The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Dec 25, 2011 08:41PM MDT

No doubt Ruth Johnson, 81, loves Christmas, especially the part where three generations gather in her tiny downtown Salt Lake City apartment to celebrate. “Songs of the Season” played in the background. She wore a Santa-red shirt and pants, and the carefully decorated Christmas tree was surrounded by a small pile of wrapped gifts that she’s been saving for and squirreling away since August with the help of a Social Security check. On Christmas morning, Kitty, Sam and Neil Kaplan showed up at her...

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Paul Rolly: Jacks know how to save a life
12/27/2011

Paul Rolly: Jacks know how to save a life

By paul rolly Tribune Columnist

Published Dec 25, 2011 08:41PM MDT

Andy Valdez is a juvenile court judge in Utah’s 3rd Judicial District who has written a book about growing up poor on Salt Lake City’s west side, headed for a life of gangs and crime, until a local businessman took an interest in him and changed his course. The book is titled No One Makes it Alone and features a downtown printing shop owner named Jack Keller who noticed the 10-year-old Valdez selling newspapers on a street corner in the early 1960s. Keller saw potential in the young man and gav...

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