City Weekly October 23, 2025

CITY WEEKLY

THE RUNAWAYS

Americans often talk about moving to Canada after an election. This Salt Lake couple is doing it.

BY CHRIS JONES

S AP

BOX

ICE in Their Veins

The MAGA party is the party of hate, theft and violence. All three of these destructive forces come together in the form of ICE agents now menacing American streets. ICE agents are being taught to hate brown-skin folks, steal away legal due process from them and commit violence against them if they feel like it. On the other hand, the occupant of the Oval Office is the real commanderin-chief of hate, theft and violence. Our 47th president is constantly hating on Democrats, personal enemies, federal

employees, universities, law firms, the United Nations, people who attend “No Kings” rallies, journalists who don’t toe the line … you get the picture. The current president is also constantly stealing away federal programs authorized by the Congress that benefit the middle class and the poor. It’s okay to steal from those constituencies, just not from the rich.

He is also currently blowing up boats off the coast of Venezuela with the same lack of discrimination and evidence that he uses in taking Hispanic people as hostages in the streets of the cities.

KIMBALL SHINKOSKEY Woods Cross

“Frequent Flying,”

Oct. 9 Small Lake City

Oh, Gavin. Sweetheart. How can you travel that much and have such a negative opinion of SLC [International Airport]? You must be flying to Dubai and Singapore?

JOSHUA JONAS KENT JONES Via Facebook

When I fly, I eat just before I get to the airport, the food is super expensive. If there is an Auntie Anne’s on my way to the gate I will stop and get a pretzel and drink, but that is it. The only other time I am buying something is if I am subject to a layover longer than two hours.

Food prices in the airport need to come down. It is BS the restaurants and stores can jack up the prices because going through security and off airport property is a pain in the ass.

It’s all airports, not just SLC.

JESSACA MARIE NEBEKER Via Facebook

I live in Palm Springs, CA. It’s a small airport and we usually have to transfer somewhere to get to our destinations.

No one is from here, so people travel all the time on vacations, business or family, and most agree that Salt Lake International is one of the nicest airports: clean; great food; great prices; easy to figure out. Stop looking for reasons to complain.

MATTHEW LANDIS Via Facebook

I think what [Gavin Sheehan is] trying to say is we need more non-restaurant/bar spaces that aren’t the standard chairs by the gate.

BRADLEY DIEHL Via Facebook

I travel 30-plus weeks out of each year for work. The issues the author describes are not unique to the SLC airport. Rather, they are to be expected, since airport retail and dining makes up a huge chunk of income for the airport.

NICHOLAS ISOLA Via Facebook

I was there last week but food was over double what you’d pay elsewhere, so I just went hungry.

ANNE FINDLAY Via Facebook

Care to sound off on a feature in our pages or about a local concern? Write to comments@ cityweekly.net or post your thoughts on our social media. We want to hear from you!

THE WATER COOLER

Do you have any fond Halloween memories from your childhood?

Katharine Biele

I’ve racked my brain but it was a long time ago and about all I remember are sugar highs from eating an entire box of chocolate-covered cherries, which I no longer can look at without horror.

Scott Renshaw

Mine was such a stereotypical 1970s childhood, where we could wander around our neighborhood without parents or anxiety about who might put razor blades in candy. Mostly, it seems like we had as much fun counting out the edible loot afterward as we did when we were actually gathering it.

Wes Long

Among my many happy memories is one of watching The Phantom of the Opera (1925) on television before dressing up with my siblings and getting an excellent candy haul in the suburbs of Troy, Michigan. A perfect Halloween season.

Pete Saltas

I f--king hate Halloween.

Krista Maggard

One year, I wore this really cool ‘80s unicorn costume. It was my mother’s, so it was far too big for my 8-year-old frame, but I still felt like the coolest kid in town.

PRIVATE EYE

BY JOHN SALTAS

Buried Treasure

In early September, the ALPHA group of travelers on the City Weekly Trip to Greece 2025—our first group of intrepid explorers, along with me—stood next to the Parthenon atop the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. The BETA group, with a slightly different itinerary, would visit this same spot and see the same thing a few weeks later.

Rising about 9 miles due south is what is called the Ellinikon Riviera Tower. It is set to become not only the tallest building in Athens, but also the tallest seaside skyscraper in the entire Mediterranean.

The Ellinikon Tower, now about halfway completed, rises on land that was once an airbase for the United States and Greece, also adjacent to the former Athens airport. It will stand at over 650 feet tall, or about 200 feet taller than the Astra Tower, the now-tallest building in Salt Lake City.

Other towers will rise alongside the Ellinikon, and the entire area—more than 1,500 acres—is being converted from decommissioned airfields to what may become some of the most sought-after real estate in all of Europe, replete with hotels, shopping, residential areas, a sports park and, of course, the nearby sea.

When asked about it, our Acropolis tour guide just sighed and said, basically, that the tower is an ugly structure that pays disrespect to the glorious 4,000 years of history that is Athens.

It may rise higher than the Acropolis—a major grievance more damning than the look of the site or tower itself—and in no fashion looks like the rest of Athens, but would perhaps be more at home in Dubai.

Full sacrilege, others say, while murmuring factions accept that the project is bringing jobs and money to a

country lacking in both. Of the $8 billion dollar price tag, nearly $4 billion is from foreign sources.

There will be no stopping it. Ellinikon will rise and develop and change the face of Athens—or at least a good part of it—for generations to come. And do recall, Ellinikon is nearly 10 miles from the heartbeat of Athens, the central district dominated by the Acropolis and the nearby hills of Lycabettus and Philopappos. So what harm could there be to central Athens?

That is the area where the treasures of Ancient Greece reside, where the Romans came and left their historic marks—as did the Byzantines—and where the city core later became filled with beautiful neo-classical buildings of the 1800s reconstruction.

The idea that Athens can use a facelift is as old as time, and there is no doubt that the city center will not carry the day in a beauty contest today.

Yet, Athens does not wish to win a beauty contest. Its beauty is, as they say, beyond a layer of skin, which thus provides the rub.

For there is virtually nowhere in that center core of Athens where one can dig beyond a few feet or meters without hitting the foundations of an ancient structure.

Thus, in Athens today, you will find a beautiful neoclassical structure—perhaps of German or French inspiration—next to one of the same era but which is decrepit beyond repair. Nor can it be torn down.

Whoever may own it cannot afford to fix it and cannot tear it down to rebuild, lest it uncover a 3,000-year-old vase, statue or masonry wall that will halt construction for the next decade as archaeologists, curators, conservators and historians go over every square inch with a toothbrush and studious eye.

The only people who seem to mind are the tourists who gawk and wonder why such structures are left to decay: Because of the prize below.

Such are the ways in a culture that recognizes and values such prizes, a culture that understands that history and beauty can comingle for all time, because it is only

humans who are fleeting. We come and go. Our art, treasures and values inspire us not only to look backwards, but forward, so that coming generations of humans can also become inspired.

That is all, basically, that Athens is—the preservation of beauty and ideals that have been lost in other cultures. Well yeah, it did invent medicine, philosophy, theater and democracy—to name a few of the hits—but really, aren’t those things passé today?

Quick: who are America’s leading scientists or medical minds? Do we have a Jonas Salk or Linus Pauling? Is it RFK, Jr.—he of the brain worm? Who is our current great American philosopher, beyond the person who wrote the wondrous tome, Philosophy for Dummies?

Today, I’m watching the East Wing of The White House—the People’s House—getting whacked by construction teams that will attach a massive banquet hall to the existing structure.

I gasp at that the same way our guide gasped at viewing the Ellinikon Tower in September.

America is run authoritatively by a man bound by no rules, who by all accounts has no appreciation for art or history. He has ruined beauty before, as authoritarians often do.

Don’t forget how he destroyed the art deco friezes of the Bonwit Teller building that he promised to salvage while building the Trump Tower.

He has proven to know little of American history or appreciate that which does not glitter.

Could he tell you when the War of 1812 was fought? Or what happened to the country that last took a sledge to the White House?

If he were a Greek and could find glory or profit (or to cause others to squirm), he’d add the Trump Driving Range to the vast grounds of the Temple of Zeus. It’s just a pile of stone after all. And the White House is just a house that is his—all his, wrapped in MAGA’s silent bow. CW

Send comments to john@cityweekly.net

HITS & MISSES

BY KATHARINE BIELE | @kathybiele BY BENJAMIN WOOD

HIT: No Kings

It’s hard enough to change party affiliation in Utah, unless you’ve already been identified by MAGA as an antifa Communist. The thousands of protesters who participated in the No Kings rally likely are in that situation. Republicans have been calling it the “Hate America Rally,” so it must have been confusing to hear person after person claim they were there because they love America, want to save democracy and fear authoritarianism. The crowd stretched from the Capitol steps, over the lawn and down onto the street. Estimating crowd size is always iffy. The Hill put the crowd at 3,500. One organizer called it 11,000 and at least one comment on Instagram said 2 million—that wasn’t quite right. Still, more than 2,600 rallies were planned around the country, and some overseas. If you wonder if protests make a difference, Harvard’s Carr-Ryan Center reports: “Nonviolent protests are twice as likely to succeed as armed conflicts—and those engaging a threshold of 3.5% of the population have never failed to bring about change.”

MISS: Judge Not

Utah politicians seem to have joined the ranks of conspiracists who deride the status quo and precedents that once were established law. We’ve seen it with voting, how lawmakers no longer trust mailed ballots or county clerks. Long-trusted nonprofits like the ERIC system—which shares data across states—are in the crosshairs. And now, lawmakers are calling out “activist, unelected” judges for rulings they don’t like. But one of the most curious actions involves the opaque process of choosing a state Supreme Court chief justice. Currently, the chief is chosen for a four-year term by a majority vote of the court’s members. But lawmakers really, really want to pull this act into partisan politics by allowing the governor (who makes a judge’s initial nomination to the bench) to appoint the chief justice for a six-year term.

A Deseret News letter-writer thinks it really should be both the governor and the Legislature, because it would otherwise “tip the scale” to the executive. But really, it should be an internal decision made by seasoned jurists who know their colleagues—unless we don’t trust them, either.

MISS: State of the Unions

Next year will see another battle between the people and the Legislature— this one about unions. Remember the referendum that succeeded at pausing a new law banning public sector collective bargaining? Now, the issue will go before voters in 2026 and it’s anything but clear-cut whether the referendum vote will pass or fail. Unions have been around since the 1700s and grew in the 19th century to protect workers’ rights and advance their interests. Last year, union membership struggled at only 9.9%. Opponents like to say there are lots of worker-friendly policies that don’t require union membership. If you believe lawmakers will pass such policies, you may want to check how our minimum wage is doing. CW

Suburban Sprawl

Opinions will vary on whether suburbs are inherently good or bad as government strategy for housing and transportation (my vote: bad). But it shouldn’t be controversial to say suburban design belongs in the suburbs and urban design belongs in the city.

And yet, Salt Lakers continue to see their built environment undermined by suburban planning. Most frustrating is when these mistakes are made by those who should know better—like the Salt Lake City School District.

Recently, SLCSD tore down its aged but urban headquarters on 100 South and replaced it with what looks like a roadside Motel 6, ringed by a moat of asphalt. And that failure is nothing compared to the district’s irredeemable plans for West High, which would replace a 100-year-old treasure with a suburban warehouse for the daily confinement of children.

When comparing designs, the simplest factor is cars and parking. In the suburbs, a person is expected to exit their home in a car, drive on roads that exist only for driving and arrive at a parking lot, aiming for the storage space with as little walking (and urban interface) as possible. Streets exist to take you somewhere else, housing is kept rigidly separate from commerce, and what pathways exist are oriented toward the parking lots that suburbanites depend on to function.

In the city, when a person steps out of their home they immediately step inside the urban environment. The street is not a conveyance—it’s a place in its own right, alive with diverse uses. And destinations recognize that people are as likely (if not more likely) to arrive by foot, bike, bus, train, wheelchair, skateboard, one-wheel or scooter as they are to drive in on a highway.

The Gateway Megaplex, Tower Theatre and Broadway Centre Cinemas are urban. Century 16 and Brewvies are suburban. (I love Brewvies—just not its parking lot). Sugar House Park, the Sugar House Shopping Center and Sugar House Coffee are suburban. Pioneer Park, City Creek Center and Coffee Garden are urban.

This goes beyond aesthetics—urban environments are better for business, budgets and community health. And there is a mountain of data on the academic benefits of a walkable school campus, with the stereotypical car drop-off line actively hurting a child’s classroom performance.

Around SLC, school administrators have cut off safe pedestrian routes in favor of unsafe roads. At West High, they intend to devote key acreage to surface parking while orienting the facade away from neighborhood connections and toward Highway 89. Worst of all, they appear ready to acquiesce to UDOT’s hatred of pedestrians by surrendering a surface crossing in favor of a shame bridge over nonstop traffic.

Clearly, the SLC Board of Education does not understand the assignment. They deserve an “F” grade and a stint in detention while they work on a redo. Otherwise, we’ll be dealing with a suburban mistake at our downtown-est high school for the next 100 years. CW

Big Shiny Robot

Fall Into Nerddom

Some

recommendations for geeky pleasures to enjoy as the weather steers you indoors.

BY BRYAN YOUNG comments@cityweekly.net

With record rainfall these past few weeks, and the cold season thankfully coming back (though not fast enough), there’s never a better time to stay inside, curl up under a warm blanket with a nice mug of steaming coffee, and read a book or play a game. I’ve got some recommendations for the geek or geek-curious inside you.

Batman: Revolution, by John Jackson Miller: Fans of Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns might have had a lot of fun reading last year’s Batman: Resurrection, which is set right between those films. We now have a brand-new novel that gives us another bite at that big Gotham apple, set between Resurrection and Batman Returns. This one gives us a new version of the Riddler, ignoring the Joel Schumacher / Jim Carrey iteration of the character, grounding him in a much more Burton-like milieu. The books read cinematically just like the films, and are difficult to put down, making this new installment perfect for that autumn read.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles: We’ve finally been graced with a remaster and rerelease of what is arguably the best game in the Final Fantasy series, available on all of the next-gen systems and on Steam. Part board game, part strategy game, all JRPG, this game is so unique and wonderful that it will take over your life in all the best ways. Ask me how I know that? Upon its release in the late ’90s, I played it endlessly on the original PlayStation. When it was released again a few weeks ago, I got it on my Switch 2, and suddenly I had given up sleep in order to play and meet all my deadlines. I’ve now beheld early-morning hours I haven’t seen since I was a teenager—it’s that good.

Dungeons & Dragons: Horrified: The Horrified series of board games has been really terrific. So far, my favorite iteration had been the one featuring the Universal Monsters, but the Dungeons & Dragons version has given it a run for its money. The easy-to-learn cooperative board game casts you as an adventurer battling a pair of monsters (or more);

A&E

as they rampage across the board, you and your fellow party members race to stop them, while rescuing the civilians at the same time. The base mechanics of the game are the same as all the other versions, but the monsters and other D&D enhancements make this a truly special version of the game. I’ve been playing it with the family every chance I get, and it’s been perfect for the spooky, rainy season.

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith - Annotated by Matthew Stover: Although this book is 20 years old, it’s been considered one of the gold standards of film novelizations. It’s been reissued in one of the best-looking new hardcover editions I’ve ever seen, and it has new annotations by the author that explain his writing process and work throughout. It’s a fascinating window into a terrific work of adaptation in a gorgeous package. It’s not just for Star Wars fans, either; it’s for any fan of good writing and beautiful pieces of book work.

Michael A. Stackpole’s Chain Story Project: New York Times bestselling author Michael A. Stackpole, perhaps best known for his work in the Star Wars universe writing the XWing books and I, Jedi, is also known for writing in just about every other licensed universe you can think of—from Gears of War and Pathfinder all the way to Conan the Barbarian. It’s in the spirit of Conan that he embarked on his most recent adventure, creating the Chain Story Project to bring free sword-and-sorcery fiction in the vein of Robert E. Howard’s Conan character to the masses, but from writers you might not have heard of. He’s curating free fiction every other week on his website (including from himself) that all has a common thread, and so far, all the fiction I’ve read has been dynamite. Fair warning/disclosure: He’s also chosen a story of mine. You can read all of it at chainstorycore.com. Whether it’s a board game, video game, novel or a shiny new short story, there are plenty of ways to try keeping yourself sane in the increasingly toxic hellscape we inhabit. And who knows, you might learn something. All of these stories have something to do with fighting rebellions, in body or in spirit, against evil forces, or at least resisting them. That’s really what geek culture is all about, and always has been.

Any geek who supports the Empire in the real world has been missing the point the entire time. CW

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles

Batman: Revolution

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith Dungeons & Dragons: Horrified

theESSENTIALS ENTERTAINMENT

Ballet West: Romeo & Juliet

Like many of the greatest artistic works, William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has become so deeply enmeshed in the cultural consciousness that it’s easy to take it for granted. This tale of feuding families and doomed romance has not only created metaphors that are now a common part of the lexicon—like “star-crossed lovers,” or “parting is such sweet sorrow”—but shaped our very notion of impetuous young love. And also like the greatest artistic works, it has lent itself to multiple interpretations over the decades and centuries, including Sergei Prokofiev’s 1938 score for ballet, which has been the foundation for many choreographic variations.

For its 2025-2026 season opener, Ballet West turns to the version created in 1976 for San Francisco Ballet by Michael Smuin, whose choreography has been seen on Broadway (including a 1988 Tony Award for Anything Goes) and in multiple feature films. As Ballet West artistic director Adam Sklute describes it, “Smuin’s version of  Romeo & Juliet tells Shakespeare’s tale like no other ballet version. It is grand and intimate, full of energy and dynamics. … The challenging production also features some of the most complicated sword fighting choreography in ballet that takes dancers many hours of rehearsal to master.”

Ballet West’s production of Romeo & Juliet runs Oct. 24 – Nov. 1 at the Capitol Theatre (50 W. 200 South), with performances Fridays and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., and Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets begin at $36; visit saltlakecountyarts. org to purchase tickets and for additional event information. (Scott Renshaw)

Pioneer Theatre Company:

Dear Evan Hansen

Let’s be frank: The responses to Dear Evan Hansen over the decade since its Broadway launch have been … complicated. The Tony Award-winning musical—about a troubled teenager whose deception about his friendship with a classmate who died by suicide—inspired some criticism for the way the arc for its titular central character resolved, to the extent that the 2021 film adaptation made some significant changes to render him more accountable. Creative work is messy, and sometimes, it takes a little time for all of that messiness to become evident.

Still, there is a tremendous amount of power in Dear Evan Hansen, whether as a collection of songs, as an emotional experience or as pure stagecraft. The score by the celebrated team of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (The Greatest Showman) include several terrific tunes, from the anthemic “You Will Be Found” to the furtive love song “If I Could Tell Her” to the soaring “For Forever.” It’s also an extraordinary snapshot of a moment when viral social media began to spin beyond our control, and how that world complicates mental health for teenagers.

Pioneer Theatre Company becomes the first company in Utah—and one of the first in the country—to mount a regional production of Dear Evan Hansen when it comes to the Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre (300 S. 1400 East) Oct. 24 –Nov. 8, with performances Monday – Thursday at 7 p.m.; Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $57; visit pioneertheatre.org to purchase tickets and for additional event information. (SR)

City Weekly’s Best Of Utah Top 10!

Across the rich constellation of international cuisine, certain genres carry distinctive characteristics as well as flavors. For the Vietnamese tradition, ingredients like mint and lemongrass are common, the components are fresh, and there’s a minimum of sugar and gluten. Whatever else you can say about Vietnamese, it is delicious. If you haven’t tried it lately, then you owe it to yourself to visit these local stalwarts posthaste.

Utah Queer Film Festival

If you don’t believe representation matters, you’ve never had to worry about seeing yourself represented. For more than 20 years, the Utah Film Center has proven its commitment to the idea of artistic representation with a showcase of films shining a light on all facets of the queer experience—first as Damn These Heels, and now as the Utah Queer Film Festival. At a time when diversity of identity is increasingly under attack, it’s even more important to share narratives that push back against that flow.

The 2025 Utah Queer Film Festival presents a wide range of narratives, anchored by five features, including Assembly (pictured), a documentary about multimedia artist Rashaad Newsome’s ambitious project including worldwide interpretations of vogueing; It’s Dorothy!, about the history of The Wizard of Oz heroine as a queer icon; and Sally!, a profile of lesbian feminist activist Sally Gearhart. You’ll also get several different shorts programs, including avant-garde films, spooky shorts and a program entirely made up of Utah-based filmmakers. There’s even an opportunity to get involved in workshops to help support aspiring filmmakers, with Marissa Lila and Ronni Jo Draper heading up an exploration of intersectionality and queerness, and actor Laura Chapman introducing a “back to kindergarten recess” approach to screen performance.

The Utah Queer Film Festival comes to the Rose Wagner Center (138 W. 300 South) Oct. 24 – 26, including closing ceremonies and awards presentation. Individual screening tickets are $15, with workshops $15 - $35 and full festival passes (including workshop discounts) beginning at $60. Visit utahqueerfilmfestival.org for tickets and additional information. (SR)

CINEMA

Fear and Loathing

Central characters battle with hatred of themselves in three new theatrical features.

BY SCOTT RENSHAW scottr@cityweekly.net @scottrenshaw

Frankenstein BBB1/2

Guillermo del Toro’s oeuvre as director has long been entangled with soulful monsters, Gothic horror and the perils of seeking immortality, so it’s almost a shock that it has taken him this long to approach Mary Shelley’s classic tale of scientist Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) and the creature (Jacob Elordi) created by his 19thcentury experiments with reanimating the dead—but he definitely understood what to do with it. The narrative weaves in and out of fidelity to the text, using Victor and the creature’s journey to the Arctic as a framing sequence, creating a wealthy arms dealer (Christoph Waltz) as Victor’s financier and leaning hard into a Freudian reading of Victor’s motivations (particularly in casting Mia Goth both as Victor’s mother and as the object of his romantic obsession). The first half makes terrific use of del Toro’s gift for striking imagery, whether it involves the grotesque initial experiments, the streaming red veil of Victor’s mother or the blue coats of an Arctic expedition crew against the snowy landscape. But the real energy comes in the second half’s focus on the creature’s journey, as Elordi’s performance wonderfully evokes his quest to understand his own existence—and his relationship to his creator—as religious existential crisis. The adaptation perhaps peaks too soon in its action, but it’s unusual to find something this visually rich as filmmaking and also metaphorically potent as kind of tragic love story between God and man. (R)

Blue Moon BBB

For much of its running time, Richard Linklater’s narrowly-focused profile of legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart feels like a big, showy, stage-bound performance showpiece, until it evolves into something more heartbreaking. Linklater’s long-time collaborator Ethan Hawke plays Hart in a narrative almost entirely set on March 31, 1943 at Sardi’s, where Hart joins his own long-time collaborator,

composer Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) to celebrate the opening of Oklahoma!, Rodgers’ first musical with new lyrical partner Oscar Hammerstein II (Simon Delaney) after Hart’s alcoholism made him too unreliable. The first half of Robert Kaplow’s screenplay leans into the character’s verbosity, as Hart chews the ear of Sardi’s bartender (Bobby Cannavale), tells bawdy jokes and encounters other famous or soon-to-be-famous figures—E.B. White! Young “Stevie” Sondheim! Weegee! George (Roy) Hill!—in a manner that proves “it’s your cousin, Marvin … Marvin Berry” distracting. But Hawke’s performance finds some unique notes in capturing the way Hart’s closeted homosexuality affected his mental health and the more cynical, satirical material he championed in opposition to the sentimentality of something like Oklahoma! Then, as the third act centers on Hart’s relationship with a young protegé he’s infatuated with (Margaret Qualley), another melancholy shade emerges: the notion of how much it can crush a romantic soul to realize that you may never be able to live the kind of happy endings vintage musical theater celebrates. (R)

If I Had Legs I’d Kick You BBB1/2

“Mommy is stretchable,” says the disembodied voice of a young child, talking about her mother, Linda (Rose Byrne)—and writer/director Mary Bronstein’s darkly comic psychodrama feels like an exploration of exactly how far she can stretch before she snaps. Linda’s life is a whirlwind of colliding crises: dealing with her daughter’s mysterious gastrointestinal illness without any help from her husband; living out of a hotel room after the roof of their apartment caves in; coping with the drama in the lives of her patients as a therapist. Linda’s career provides a unique framework for a story that isn’t necessarily groundbreaking in looking at the challenges of motherhood through the lens of horror, in that we can tell she understands intellectually all the coping mechanisms she should employ—“putting on your own oxygen mask first,” avoiding self-blame, etc.—but still needs to selfmedicate in order to function. Byrne’s performance makes the most of all her skills, as both dramatic and comedic actor, finding the places where every parent falls short and taking them to pitches that often inspires cringes. But the neatest filmmaking trick involves the way Bronstein opts to portray Linda’s daughter—or more specifically, not portray her, keeping the child’s face hidden in a way that captures how Linda’s own problems make it impossible for her to see her daughter as a person, rather than just one more problem to be solved. (R) CW

THE RUNAWAYS

AMERICANS OFTEN TALK ABOUT MOVING TO CANADA AFTER AN ELECTION. THIS SALT LAKE COUPLE IS DOING IT.

BY CHRIS JONES COMMENTS@CITYWEEKLY.NET

Kathleen Lawliss and her partner, Mary, meet another couple arriving at the wooden gate of their home in The Avenues. “Are you here for the rocking chairs?” Lawliss asks, leading the visitors toward a set of faded seats in the backyard.

“Yes,” the couple answers. “We saw them listed on Facebook Marketplace.”

As the foursome strolls past a large pergola that overlooks downtown Salt Lake City, one of the visitors says, “Your home is beautiful,” while watching a chubby bumblebee float lazily from flower to flower.

It is, indeed, a beautiful home. But Mary and Kathleen are trying to quickly sell their house and many of the items they’ve collected during 32 years together.

“Where are you moving?” the woman asks, as she tests the rocking motion of one of the chairs.

“Canada,” Kathleen replies casually, glancing out across the Salt Lake Valley.

“Why Canada?” the man asks.

Mary and Kathleen look at each other. “Uh …” they say in unison, hesitant to answer. They don’t want a political argument.

“Trump?” he guesses.

They both nod.

A Long Time Coming

During Donald Trump’s first term as president, Kathleen and Mary often talked about leaving the United States for Canada. They were uneasy about his leadership, particularly his handling of the pandemic and his views on LGBTQ rights. Kathleen had retired after decades as an emergency room doctor at St. Mark’s Hospital. Mary

News reported that immigration to Canada from the United States rose about 33% between 2016 and 2021, and Axios found that the number of Americans applying for asylum in Canada surged 600% in 2017.

was retired from the University of Utah. Both were fulfilled and financially secure.

But Trump’s return to the White House made them uneasy enough to act.

Mary was the first to push. When Trump signed an order banning transgender soldiers early in his second term, Kathleen finally agreed.

“She was emotionally done during Trump’s first term,” Kathleen said. “I thought staying and fighting was still an option until he started doing it, day one.”

By April, Kathleen had secured a job as an emergency room doctor in Canada and begun working toward her work permit.

Lawliss said that Trump’s two terms were the capstone to her long, complicated relationship with the United States.

Both she and Mary were raised Catholic and felt rejected by their faith because they are gay. Their life together began at a time when samesex partnerships were rarely recognized.

In 2008, they flew to California to register as domestic partners. But there was no notary at the courthouse.

“The only notary was at the bail bonds office down the street,” Kathleen recalled with a laugh. “So we walked there, got fingerprinted, then went back and made it official.”

Five years later, during a planned trip to New York, they married quietly with Kathleen’s brother officiating.

“We’ve always done what we could with the tools other people fought for,” she said. “We’re nowhere activists.”

Kathleen’s service in the Army ended under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” She had been a scholar-

ship winner in the Health Professions Program when the policy was enacted.

“I realized I couldn’t live that lie,” she said. “I sought the help of a minister, then a lawyer, and told them either I serve openly, or you have to exit me.”

Her case dragged on for two painful years.

“They threatened to throw me in prison,” she said. “It delayed my medical training and left me humiliated.”

She eventually secured an honorable discharge, but the Army erased any memory of her service. That loss of recognition still stings. “I went to the VA to sign up for benefits and they said, ‘We have no record of you,’” she remembered. “I signed a dotted line to die for my country. I was serious about it. I was committed.”

In the late 1990s, when the couple first lived together in Utah, the harassment was relentless. “No activism, no pride flags, no marching,” Kathleen said. “Just living our life, going to work, coming home.”

Neighbors shouted slurs from car windows and stuffed hate notes in their mailbox. Strangers vandalized their home, even firing paintballs at their front door.

“I came home one morning after a night shift and Mary had suffered another harassing night,” Kathleen remembered. “People were banging on the door, trying to break in. The whole house was paintballed.”

Mary and Kathleen moved soon after, finding refuge in Salt Lake City’s Avenues neighborhood. Kathleen said it finally felt like “home,” but her feelings toward her country never fully healed.

“I describe my relationship with America as an

Dr. Kathleen Lawliss and her partner, Mary, talked about moving to Canada during Donald Trump’s first term. They hit their breaking point during his second.

“I THOUGHT STAYING AND FIGHTING WAS STILL AN OPTION UNTIL [TRUMP] STARTED DOING IT ON DAY ONE.”

—DR.

KATHLEEN LAWLISS

abusive relationship,” she said. “I love it deeply, but I don’t think it has my best interests at heart.” She said she’s noticed a difference in how Canada treats its LGBTQ veterans.

“The Canadian government actually apologized for its treatment of LGBTQ service members and even offered reparations,” she said. “That kind of acknowledgment matters.”

The Final Straw

When Trump signed the transgender military ban, it triggered memories Kathleen had spent decades trying to bury.

“It was like reliving ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ all over again,” she explained. “I couldn’t do it anymore.”

The couple began researching immigration options that same week.

“We don’t have stupid money,” Kathleen said. “We live a comfortable life, but not enough to hand someone half-a-million dollars and say, ‘can you give me a visa?’”

At first, they hired a visa consultant who turned out to be a scam, delaying them for months. Eventually, Kathleen found her own hospital job, signed her contract on April 30 and started the official paperwork the next day.

Even with Canada’s fast-track immigration policies for health care workers, the process has been slow and bureaucratic.

“I think they’re flooded with applicants,” Kathleen said. “It’s not just us.”

Kathleen knows of at least two American colleagues—both dual citizens—who have already moved to Canada. One was a hospital admin-

istrator, she said, and another an emergency physician. “They love it,” she said. Kathleen believes Trump’s second term has been even more troubling than his first and predicts that more professionals will leave in the months and years ahead.

“This isn’t just about me,” she said. “This is about America losing its best people.”

Kathleen worries about what she calls a “brain drain” in medicine and higher education.

“We’re encouraging smart people in America to be silent, lest they be attacked,” she said. “And we’re discouraging bright people from coming here at all. Who would come to the U.S.? If you want the best in the world to show up, you can’t make it a dangerous place to be.”

Her fears are reflected in recent immigration trends. According to the Washington Post, 8,485 Americans became permanent residents of Canada during Barack Obama’s final full year in office, compared with 10,780 in Trump’s last.

CIC News reported that immigration to Canada from the United States rose about 33% between 2016 and 2021, and Axios found that the number of Americans applying for asylum in Canada surged 600% in 2017.

For many like Kathleen, those numbers are more than statistics, they represent escape plans in progress.

Making the Move

To become a Canadian citizen, a person must first become a permanent resident of Canada. According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, applicants must live in the

country for at least three of the last five years, file taxes, speak English or French and pass a short test on history and government. After approval, candidates attend a citizenship ceremony and take the Oath of Citizenship.

For most Americans, like Lawliss, the path begins with a temporary work permit and a valid job offer.

Under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), skilled professionals can bypass parts of the process, making approval faster. Applicants must still pass legal and medical checks before beginning work.

Because U.S. citizens don’t need a visa for short visits, the move can begin easily but working legally requires a permit.

Kathleen’s work permit is pending and expected within weeks. Once approved, she’ll receive a Social Insurance Number, qualify for healthcare, get a driver’s license and eventually apply for permanent residency.

Her Salt Lake City home is nearly empty.

“We’ve sold or donated most of our furniture,” she said, glancing at the two red rocking chairs. “Those are going next.”

During visits to her soon-to-be new home, she’s felt relief.

“Canada is so nice,” she said. “We don’t meet any of these hateful people. It’s just a different world up there. Even the conservatives up here are just different.”

Kathleen knows this move is monumental. After years of resisting the idea of starting over, she says—like she did during her military service in the 1990s—that this is “the hill I’m going to die on.”

Putting the “Street” In Regent Street

Urban Gyro & Chicken serves up NYC style street food in Downtown SLC.

BY ALEX SPRINGER comments@cityweekly.net @captainspringer

For most of the country’s cosmopolitan cities, street food comprises both the bricks and mortar of a thriving culinary ecosystem. I suppose this has to do with a city’s history—the cities of New England have braided street food into their bones since corner shops and food carts were a decent way for immigrants to make a living. Of course, this speaks to the global ubiquity of street food culture, which doesn’t often have a strong foothold in the central United States. Perhaps this is why Urban Gyro & Chicken is such a fresh addition to downtown Salt Lake City.

Sure, SLC has plenty of good gyro and falafel spots, but very few of them have emphasized the “street” in street food. Urban Gyro & Chicken founder Suvin Sukesh has created a subtle metropolitan vibe that is present as soon as you set foot inside the restaurant. After a trip to New York City, Sukesh wanted to bring his interpretation of urban halal street food to the downtown Salt Lake area. The restaurant’s Regent Street location is perfect for this concept, as this little block is a popular haunt for midday working lunches as well as nighttime pit stops; Urban Gyro & Chicken has been known to stay open until midnight on occasion.

The restaurant has plenty of great menu options, but the best way to get a bead on this new downtown addition is to start with the platters. Some good entry level options would be the chicken platter ($13) or the falafel platter ($13) if you’re looking to go meatless.

Platters start with a bed of fluffy rice and your protein of choice before getting hit with the restaurant’s signature white sauce, which is a light, refreshing condiment akin to a mild sour cream. This dish can be ordered with a drizzle of spicy sauce—I totally recommend this if you like spicy food—which is wonderfully offset by the small salad of lettuce, cucumber and hummus on the side.

My favorite platter was the combo ($13) which combines beef, lamb and chicken. Each protein brings its own unique spice palette and flavor profile to the meal, which provides some lovely nuance with each bite. There’s not a whole lot to gripe about when you get expertly seasoned protein and a nice balance between flavors and textures, which is what’s on display here. There’s definitely a simplicity to the composition of these platters, but when each component is treated with precisely the right amount of culinary love, it all comes together in a satisfying meal that doesn’t feel extremely heavy.

Of course, if you want something heavy, Urban Gyro & Chicken is happy to oblige. In addition to serving traditional gyros ($10) in a warm pita, the restaurant has a whole section for Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, which was completely unexpected. I couldn’t resist ordering the gyro Philly ($10) because the opportunity to mix two of my favorite sandwiches was simply too tempting to pass up. These take longer to prepare than the platters, but they’re completely worth the wait.

The sandwich is at least eight inches, which is quite sizable for the $10 price tag. It’s stuffed with beef, lamb, green

peppers and onions, along with plenty of American cheese and a bit of the restaurant’s white sauce. The protein, veggies and cheese were outstanding, but it was the sandwich bun that really sold me. It’s pleasantly soft and extremely buttery, making this sandwich a truly sloppy luxury to devour.

Those looking for a meatless cheesesteak experience will want to check out the falafel Philly cheese ($10) which swaps out the meat for some crispy falafel. I’m not sure of many places that serve up a vegetarian Philly, so anyone who has been chasing that particular craving will want to check this restaurant out.

Urban Gyros & Chicken has plenty of stacked entrees that taste just as good as they look, but the restaurant has a few smaller dishes on the menu that are worth checking out. The best example of this would be the walking tacos ($10), which are bags of Doritos that have protein, white sauce and other goodies dumped inside. You hold the bag from the bottom and munch on the delightful innards with a fork, making this a perfect grab-and-go meal for those ambulatory evenings in downtown SLC.

It’s always nice to have a restaurant that can back up its mixture of effortlessly cool vibes with a stellar menu. Urban Gyro & Chicken has a clearly defined concept that is taking familiar riffs on street food and packaging them up in a hip, urban style. Its appeal to both the daytime and nighttime crowd is extremely clever, and I can’t wait to see how this place flexes its concept for Salt Lake’s toasty summer nights. CW

2 Row Brewing

73 West 7200 South, Midvale 2RowBrewing.com

On Tap: “Octoberfest” Lager

Avenues Proper

376 8th Ave, SLC avenuesproper.com

On Tap: Steamy Wonder Rye Steam Ale

Bewilder Brewing

445 S. 400 West, SLC BewilderBrewing.com

On Tap: Pink Boots - Pink Pony Pilz

Bohemian Brewery

94 E. Fort Union Blvd, Midvale BohemianBrewery.com

NEW Releases: Kölsch, Dusseldorfer “Alt” Bier

Bonneville Brewery 1641 N. Main, Tooele BonnevilleBrewery.com

On Tap: Peaches and Cream Ale

Chappell Brewing

2285 S Main Street Salt Lake City, UT 84115 chappell.beer

Grid City Beer Works

333 W. 2100 South, SLC GridCityBeerWorks.com

NEW: Cyotee Elvis Kolsh

Heber Valley Brewing

501 N. Main Street, Heber City, UT hebervalleybrewing.com

On Tap: Canyon County IPA (6%ABV) w/ fresh Comet & Mosaic hops

Helper Beer

159 N Main Street, Helper, UT  helperbeer.com

Hopkins Brewing Co.

1048 E. 2100 South, SLC HopkinsBrewingCompany.com

On Tap: Basic Witch on Nitro

Kiitos Brewing

608 W. 700 South, SLC KiitosBrewing.com

On Tap: Pumpkin Spice Latte; Nitro Pumpkin Spice Latte

Kiitos Brewing Sugar House Bar 1533 S. 1100 East, SLC KiitosBrewing.com

NOW OPEN!

On Tap: Pie Hole - Strawberry Rhubarb Tart Ale

Corner Brew Pub Sugar House 2110 S. Highland Drive, SLC saltlakebrewingco.com/wasatch

On Tap:  Top of Main Coalition Hellfire Chili Pepper Ale

Craft by Proper 1053 E. 2100 So., SLC properbrewingco.com

On Tap: Steamy Wonder Rye Steam Ale

Desert Edge Brewery

273 Trolley Square, SLC DesertEdgeBrewery.com

On Tap:  Centennial Steamer, California Common Lager

Epic Brewing Co.

825 S. State, SLC EpicBrewing.com

On Tap: Imperial Pumpkin Porter

Etta Place Cidery

700 W Main St, Torrey www.ettaplacecider.com

On Tap: Imperial Cider, Fig-Tamarind Session Mead

Fisher Brewing Co.

320 W. 800 South, SLC FisherBeer.com

On Tap: A rotation of up to 17 Fresh Beers!

Prodigy Brewing

25 W Center St. Logan Prodigy-brewing.com

On Tap: 302 Czech Pilsner

Proper Brewing/Proper Burger 857 So. Main & 865 So. Main properbrewingco.com

On Tap: Steamy Wonder Rye Steam Ale

Proper Brewing Moab 1393 US-191, Moab properbrewingco.com

On Tap: Blizzard Wizard Hazy Pale Ale

Red Rock Brewing

254 So. 200 West RedRockBrewing.com

On Tap: Gypsy Scratch

Red Rock Fashion Place 6227 So. State Redrockbrewing.com

On Tap: Grand Bavaria

Red Rock Kimball Junction 1640 Redstone Center Redrockbrewing.com

On Tap: Bamberg Rauch Bier

RoHa Brewing Project 30 Kensington Ave, SLC RoHaBrewing.com

On Tap: Recession Proof Hazy Pale Ale

Level Crossing Brewing Co.

2496 S. West Temple, South Salt Lake LevelCrossingBrewing.com

On Tap: Helles Munich Style Lager

Level Crossing Brewing Co., POST

550 South 300 West, Suite 100, SLC LevelCrossingBrewing.com

On Tap: Look Up! Amber Ale on Nitro

Moab Brewing

686 S. Main, Moab TheMoabBrewery.com

On Tap:  “Big Drop” West Coast Pilsner

Mountain West Cider

425 N. 400 West, SLC MountainWestCider.com

On Tap: Blueberry Pie Hard Cider

Offset Bier Co 1755 Bonanza Dr Unit C, Park City offsetbier.com/

On Tap: DOPO IPA

Ogden Beer Company

358 Park Blvd, Ogden OgdenBeerCompany.com

On Tap: 11 rotating taps as well as high point cans and guest beers

Park City Brewing 1764 Uinta Way C1 ParkCityBrewing.com

On Tap: Pales for ALS - 5%

Silver Reef

4391 S. Enterprise Drive, St. George SGBev.com

Squatters Corner Pub – Valley Fair

3555 Constitution Blvd, West Valley City

squatterscornerpub.com

On Tap: Salt Lake Brewing Co. Acapulco Gold Mexican Lager Squatters Pub Brewery / Salt Lake Brewing Co.

147 W. Broadway, SLC saltlakebrewingco.com/squatters On Tap: Salt Lake Brewing Co. Lil’ R&R Raspberry Rye Ale

Strap Tank Brewery, Lehi 3661 Outlet Pkwy, Lehi, UT StrapTankBrewery.com

On Tap: “Virgil the Guide” (Italian Pilsner); “Smiles und Sunshine” (German Leichtes Weizen)

Strap Tank Brewery, Springville

596 S 1750 W, Springville, UT StrapTankBrewery.com

On Tap: “Orange Hopsicle” Hazy Pale; “Trouble” American Sour with Mango and Passionfruit

TF Brewing

Roosters Brewing Multiple Locations RoostersBrewingCo.com

On Tap: Cosmic Pumpkin Chocolate Chip

SaltFire Brewing 2199 S. West Temple, S. Salt Lake SaltFireBrewing.com

On Draft: Master Control Program NIEPA

Salt Flats Brewing 2020 Industrial Circle, SLC SaltFlatsBeer.com

On Tap: OPEN ROAD SERIES #3Barrel Aged Grand Cru

Scion Cider Bar 916 Jefferson St W, SLC Scionciderbar.com

On Tap: Melonhead 5.6% ABV

Second Summit Cider 4010 So. Main, Millcreek https://secondsummitcider.com

On Tap: Spicy Thai Coconut

Shades Brewing 1388 S. 300 West, Salt Lake City ShadesBrewing.beer

New Batch: Raspberry Pistachio Sour Ale

Shades On State

366 S. State Street, Salt Lake City

Shadesonstate.com

On Tap: Six Wheat Under Hefeweizen

Witches Brew

Thieves Guild Cidery 117 W. 900 South, SLC thievesguildcidery.com

On Tap: Crossbow - Bright apple forward cider w/orange zest | 5%

Top of Main Brewery

250 Main, Park City, Utah topofmainbrewpub.com On Tap: Top of Main Brewery Hop Carousel IPA

Uinta Brewing 1722 S. Fremont Drive, SLC UintaBrewing.com

On Tap: Was Angeles Craft Beer

UTOG

2331 Grant Ave, Ogden UTOGBrewing.com

On Tap: Golden Grant 5% ABV.

Vernal Brewing

55 S. 500 East, Vernal VernalBrewing.com

Zion Brewery

95 Zion Park Blvd, Springdale ZionBrewery.com

BEER NERD

The Big Bad Baptists Return

Baptizing your palate has never been more fun.

BY MIKE RIEDEL comments@cityweekly.net @utahbeer

Few institutions in Utah’s beer culture have as big an impact on beer lovers as “Big Bad Baptist” Season. Every year around this time, Salt Lake City’s Epic Brewing Company takes their best-selling whiskey barrel-aged Imperial Coffee Stout, and enhances it with unique flavors that turn each variant into something new. The portfolio for 2025 is out now and ready for enjoyment (or not). You’ll ultimately be the judge, but here are my impressions of the “strong dirty half dozen.”

Epic Brewing - Big Bad Baptist (Manhattan) - 13.1% ABV: This stout is an ode to its cocktail namesake. From the first pour, cherry emerges, which, when combined with the robust cocoa notes of the stout and the warmth of the whiskey barrel, creates an impressive holiday cherry cordial experience. Just as the flavors seem to settle, a subtle hint of citrus peel makes a late appearance, brightening the finish. It’s a well-executed beer, capturing the essence of a classic Manhattan in stout form. A remarkable and flavorful creation.

Epic Brewing - Big Bad Baptist (Macaron) - 13.5% ABV: The Macaron variant offers a more subdued yet intriguing profile. Initial sips reveal delicate notes of coconut, intertwined with a pleasant nuttiness and a sweet sugar cookie character. Beneath these lighter flavors, the classic Big Bad Baptist foundation of cocoa and coffee provides more depth. The beer is then rounded by that signature whiskey, oak and vanilla finish, tying all the elements together. To me, it’s the most understated among the 2025 Big Bad Baptist sextuplets.

Epic Brewing - Big Bad Baptist (Lucha Libre) - 12.5% ABV: The Lucha Libre edition is a surprisingly smooth and inviting stout. Its aroma immediately offers a peppery kick, subtly balanced by a wisp of cinnamon. Beyond the typical roasted malt, coffee and whiskey notes

expected from a Big Bad Baptist, this version introduces a creamy sweetness with no lactose. The cinnamon remains a gentle background player throughout, never overwhelming the palate. A light touch of vanilla contributes significantly to its luxuriously round mouthfeel, making for an exceptionally harmonious and surprisingly approachable brew.

Epic Brewing - Big Bad Baptist (Solstice) - 13.2% ABV: That’s a spicy meatball! This variant has a potent burst of anise and licorice dominating the nose, with just a hint of berries. The flavor profile conjures images of both Middle Eastern and German spice traditions, an intriguing fusion that is difficult to place yet undeniably familiar. The anise character is distinctly different from that found in Fernet or Amaro, offering a unique herbal and aromatic experience that will resonate deeply with those familiar with these distinct regional flavors.

Epic Brewing - Big Bad Baptist (Samurai) - 13.0% ABV: The Samurai variant opens with a pronounced coffee presence, robust and clear, quickly followed by the comforting warmth of whiskey. However, the unexpected star of this show is a distinct pear or apple-esque quality that emerges, providing a surprising counterpoint to the heavy malt roast. This combination works remarkably well, creating a harmonious balance between fruitiness, bitterness and rich malt. As the beer warms, the sake influence shines on the finish. Kampai to this unique and culturally-inspired brew!

Epic Brewing - Big Bad Baptist (The Godfather) - 15.2% ABV: The Godfather variant is the best of the best barrels, blended to perfection. It lives up to its name with a commanding presence, yet it showcases remarkable balance. It features a heavy roast and a medium char, accompanied by nuanced cocoa. The coffee notes are slightly more pronounced here, contributing to its robust character. Surprisingly, the whiskey barrel influence is rich, allowing the other elements to shine without overwhelming the palate. Despite its staggering ABV, this beer drinks with an incredible smoothness and doesn’t betray its strength.

These will be making their way into the DABS stores—and the way the stores are operated, you’ll likely never have the complete line-up in every store. However, you can find them all at Epic’s brewery in SLC. All come in 16-ounce cans, and a few in 22-ounce bottles. As always, cheers! CW

the BACK BURNER

BY ALEX SPRINGER | @captainspringer

Last Call for Downtown Farmers Market

With the month of October swiftly drawing to a close, the Downtown Farmers Market will also be closing for the season on Oct. 25. For 34 years, the Downtown Farmers Market has been providing a staging ground for Utah’s urban center to partake in the goods and products from our state’s rural areas, and it’s consistently a good time. It’s often the first we see of tomorrow’s next big local food craze, and it’s always a bittersweet time of year when the market wraps up. Fans of the market need not fret for too long, however: The Winter Market is scheduled to kick off on Nov. 15 at The Gateway and will be running every Saturday until April 18.

Barolo vs. Brunello Wine Class at VENETO

If you missed the first installment of Marco Stevanoni’s excellent wine class at VENETO (venetoslc.com), you’ve still got time to catch the rest of the series. The second class in the series will be exploring the Barolo and Brunello wine regions of Italy while discussing the key differences between them. As this is Stevanoni’s first foray into the regional nuances of Italian wine, getting in on this session will make sure you too can harness the talents of Stevanoni for your own purposes. This class will take place at VENETO on Oct. 26 from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Check out VENETO’s website for the full schedule.

Big Mango Bangkok Kitchen & Bar Opens

Riverton recently welcomed this Thai-inspired restaurant and bar, and I have to say it looks promising. Big Mango (bigmangothai.com) is the brainchild of Nina and Jeff Turk, two restaurant vets who have relocated to Utah and are looking to combine our love of Thai food with a creative drink menu. The food options seem to capture familiar dishes like pad thai and massaman curry, but there are some creative twists—like the Bangkok fried chicken sandwich and Thai coconut cake—that look absolutely delightful. I’m also a fan of the restaurant’s existing spiciness spectrum; the spiciest level is simply called “FAFO,” and it’s a tempting prospect for those who like to see how much heat they can handle.

Quote of the Week : “Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what’s for lunch.”

—Orson Welles

Local Freaks

Utah-based artists Pretty Pink Horror Story, PATAYA and CAVEO preview their plans for Get Freaky Festival.

BY ARICA ROBERTS comments@cityweekly.net

I

t’s that time of year where monsters, freaks and all things spooky come out in Halloween rave outfits and dance the night away for an entire weekend! V2 Presents’ annual Get Freaky festival is a three-night rave full of large-scale stages, and will include major headliners like Black Tiger Sex Machine, Excision, Zeds Dead and Adventure Club.

Local artists fill out the roster as openers each day, with 6IX$ECT and PATAYA on Friday; AWON, Vanthe, BrandNewFace b2b Salem on Saturday; and CAVEO and Pretty Pink Horror Story on Sunday. A few of these local artists gave insight into their upcoming sets to give readers a taste of what to expect.

Pretty Pink Horror Story: Garrett Erickson and Cecilia “Cece” Hone of the electronic duo Pretty Pink Horror Story have a name that tells you exactly what you can expect from their music. Inspired by retro horror films, they plan to curate their sets like a haunting soundtrack.

Erickson’s musical background began in choir and musical theater, with production as a long-term hobby. A few years ago, he connected with the local Hive collective, which helped him secure opening slots for various electronic music shows. Meanwhile, Hone has an impressive classical music background, including a master’s degree in piano performance. Post graduation, she shifted her focus to music production, creating piano samples for pop and hip-hop artists, but ultimately, her

passion is producing electronic music.

Erickson and Hone met through a mutual friend and cultivated a working relationship that could bring out the best of their strengths in music production. “Having someone that understands the way you think has made this a lot easier for me,” Erickson explained.

“We’re total opposites but the same person, two sides of the brain,” Hone added.

The long-term vision for their performances includes integrating live performance elements, such as piano and vocals, along with their electronic sets, which they previously tested out at Das Energi last year; unfortunately, the set was cut short due to the weather. Now, Erickson and Hone get another chance to showcase their musical talent at the main stage, which will include remixes of 2000s pop-punk into dubstep and drum & bass. Pretty Pink Horror Story is a duo to keep your eye on as they create something new and compelling by pushing beyond traditional DJing in their live sets.

PATAYA: Nic Tobchan (PATAYA) chose his artist name to reflect his Thai heritage and its connection to the nightlife culture of the city of Pattaya in Thailand. While he played guitar growing up, Tobchan did not begin DJing until the COVID-19 pandemic. He started as a wedding DJ in Utah before dedicating himself to music production, driven by the desire to play his own music. He made a personal challenge to release one song a week for a year, which helped him overcome technical hurdles and establish creative discipline.

“I know that I can work like a horse,” Tobchan said. “So that’s why I focused on music and did that 52-week challenge as part of like, ‘I’m going to put myself up there, but with my work instead of networking because that’s my strength at that time.’”

Tobchan’s dedication also helped him discover his unique, distorted sound in experimental bass. His set at Get Freaky will have his signature low- and midrange frequencies: “peace and chaos.”

MUSIC

“The ancient temples in Thailand are kind of dark but also peaceful at the same time. So throughout the set, it’s going to be peace and chaos. It’s going to take you through the low emotion, what it feels like to be the dark and coming out like the hero journey, zero to hero type thing,” he said.

CAVEO: Cameron Strachan (CAVEO) has also had a lifelong journey with music, which began with piano lessons in his youth and evolved through various instruments like trumpet, violin and percussion.

When he was 13 years old, Strachan’s uncle told him, “I believe you should try everything at least once in life,” which became his core life philosophy and encouraged him to explore many different paths, including music. When he attended Das Energi, he was introduced to EDM and loved not only the music, but also the sense of freedom and self-expression in the scene.

Strachan’s friend, Ryan Gale, was a significant catalyst, pushing their friend group to enroll at Salt Lake DJ & Production school, which formalized their commit-

ment to music. Networking by genuinely showing up, being a supportive friend, and participating in local events like the Artist’s Invitational and open decks were crucial to his growth and opportunities.

The name CAVEO is derived from his Scottish family crest’s motto, “Non timeo sed caveo,” which translates to, “I fear not, but I’m cautious.” That idea represents his personal journey from a shy, timid person to someone who could be fearlessly himself on stage. Expect deep dubstep in his set, as well as UKG, and a hybrid of garage, drum & bass and trap. Ultimately, Strachan hopes to inspire others and help establish Salt Lake City as a recognized hub for bass music he is well on his way of doing just that. Check out these local artists on streaming platforms and come see them live Friday, Oct. 24 - Sunday, Oct. 26. This 18+ event is at the Utah State Fairpark (155 N. 1000 West) with one-day general admission for Friday, Saturday or Sunday costing $102.41. Three-day general admission costs $260.62 at getfreakyslc.com. CW

THURSDAY FRIDAY

BEST BAR IN UTAH!

MUSIC PICK S

Meredith Marks @ Metro Music Hall 10/23

The newest season of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City premiered last month, where the jewelry business-owner Meredith Marks shared her new tagline, “While you drop lies, I’m dropping the beat.” This is a nod to her new venture as DJ, now on a 10-city Naughty & Ice Tour presented by Outloud. She kicked off the tour this month at the Beaches Tropicana bar in West Hollywood, and will embark on a highly-anticipated “hometown” show this week. The show is mostly overhyped pop songs at sponsored brand events, where Marks looks like she’s in a lot of pain as she hops up and down in five-inch heels and a hot pink blazer—but she knows her target audience, and people are buying what she is selling. It might not all be a gimmick, though; it’s also Marks’ way of showing support to the LGBTQ+ community. In an interview with OK Magazine in 2023, Marks said, “From my standpoint, it’s about getting awareness out there. I have a platform, and I can help bring awareness to people and normalize things that certain parts of this country do not get that it is actually normal and okay.” Doors open at 8 p.m. at Metro Music Hall on Thursday, Oct. 23. Tickets are selling out fast, so get them now. A VIP option, “Seth Sent Me,” is available for $71.35; other higher priced VIP tickets are also available at 24tix.com. (Arica Roberts)

MUSIC PICK S

Molly Tuttle @ The Commonwealth Room 10/24

Molly Tuttle seemed to be born for stardom. At age eight, her father, noted musician Jack Tuttle, bought her her first guitar; five years later, she made her recording bow alongside her dad on an album titled The Old Apple Tree. Following her initial efforts alongside a band known as The Goodbye Girls, she quickly gained fame from a series of solo albums, reaching a point at which she’s now known as one of the first ladies of bluegrass. Known for her flat picking, clawhammer and cross picking guitar style, she amassed any number of prestigious honors, including becoming the first woman to win the International Bluegrass Association’s Guitar Player of the Year Award in 2017. The next year, she won again, while also being accorded the title of Americana Music Association’s Instrumentalist of the Year. That’s in addition to garnering a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, receiving the Foundation for Bluegrass Music’s first Hazel Dickens Memorial Scholarship, winning the Chris Austin Songwriting Competition at the Merlefest Music Festival and gaining a merit scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College of Music. Now, on the heels of two Grammy-winning albums with her band Golden Highway—2022’s Crooked Tree and 2023’s City of Gold—her latest effort, So Long Little Miss Sunshine, affirms the fact that, title notwithstanding, there’s no end in sight. Molly Tuttle brings her “Highway Knows Tour” to the Commonwealth Room on Friday, Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. with guests Joshua Ray Walker and Cecilia Castleman. Tickets are $43-$85 at axs.com. (Lee Zimmerman)

MUSIC PICK S

Maroon 5 @ The Delta Center 10/25

Evolving out of an earlier group called Kara’s Flowers, Los Angeles-based poprock band Maroon 5 launched in 2001, showcasing a winning style that draws from funk, rock and R&B. The band—fronted by singer Adam Levine—released its debut album Songs About Jane in 2002, and the record soared to the Top Ten in nine countries, selling more than five million copies in the U.S. alone and spawning five charting singles. In the years to follow, Maroon 5 would release six more studio albums; each of those was a million-seller (or better) in the U.S., and international success greeted those releases as well. Maroon 5 has placed 22 of its singles on Billboard’s Top 40, and three of those—“Moves Like Jagger” featuring Christina Aguilera; “One More Night” and “Girls Like You” featuring Cardi B—claimed the Number One spot. The band’s latest release, Love is Like, was released Aug. 15, immediately charting in five countries. In support of that new album, Maroon 5 comes to the Delta Center on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $68 and up, and are available from ticketmaster.com. (Bill Kopp)

Marc Rebillet @ The Union 10/26

Comedy meets electronic music when it comes to DJ and producer Marc Rebillet. The French-American improvises humorous lyrics with a mix of funk, hip-hop and electronic music, helping us all remember not to take life too seriously. Rebillet uses a loop station to layer his voice with keyboards, tambourines and other hand instruments. With three albums under his belt—Marc Rebillet, Europe and Loop Daddy III—it’s pretty impressive that he’s mostly performed and recorded now-viral videos on YouTube using his loop station. For example, his song “Your Morning Alarm” features Rebillet in his Brooklyn apartment wearing a robe and taking a swig of beer while shouting motivational profanities to help you start your day. But it’s not just all a hoax; Rebillet really does have musical talent, and was born to be a performer. He’s even played major festivals like Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Coachella. Rebillet’s live shows are

energetic, interactive and almost completely improvised, which means there is very little repeat material each show. Check out his songs “Late to Work” and “I’m a Flamingo,” and you’ll find a bit of humor and an experiment in self-expression, combined with a healthy dose of absurdism. For the “Places I’ve Never Played & Will Never Play Again Tour,” come to laugh, dance and enjoy sexy hooks that exude social commentary. This show takes place on Sunday, Oct. 26. Doors open at 8 p.m. at The Union. Tickets cost $45.40 at ticketmaster.com. (Arica Roberts)

Garbage @ The Complex 10/29

Like many people, I have eclectic tastes that have developed with age. The best artists also mature and evolve, and the lead singer of alternative rock band Garbage, Shirley Manson, has achieved this in her work—and with a considerable amount of personal style too. Three decades in the business and on what is likely the band’s last U.S. headlining tour, what Manson does for female empowerment, and how she can translate all of that into the medium of music which resonates with people over a plethora of demographics, is timeless. “I think it goes back to the ’90s offering a different kind of woman, for the first time, arguably ever in culture,” Manson told The Guardian. “Liberated, mouthy, opinionated, political, also often beautiful and powerful.” The spirit in Garbage’s self-titled debut album had more to do with their creative process, not a strict adherence to a “’90s sound.” And while the single “Only Happy When it Rains” was my first contact with the band, their latest LP— Let All That We Imagine Be Light, released earliest this year—is a continued effort to surprise the audience with renewing sounds and rich cohesion in a romantic love-andhate atmosphere that it solidly sustains. Manson always has something interesting to say. Catch these musicians on the “Happy Endings” tour at The Complex on Wednesday, Oct. 29. Starcrawler opens at 7 p.m., before the main act at 8 p.m. Tickets for the all-ages show are

and can be found at

(Mark Dago)

free will ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

I bet your upcoming dreams will include marriages, mating dances and sacramental unions. Even if you are not planning deep mergers with trusted allies in your waking life, your subconscious mind is musing on such possibilities. I hope this horoscope inspires you to make such fantasies more conscious. What collaborations and blends would serve you well? Give your imagination permission to ponder new and exciting connections. Visualize yourself thriving amidst new connections.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

In winemaking, malolactic fermentation softens a wine’s tart malic acid into gentler lactic acid. This process imparts a creamier and rounder mouthfeel, while preserving the wine’s structure. In accordance with astrological omens, I invite you to adopt this as your metaphor of power. See if you can refine your intensity without losing your integrity. Keep things interesting but soften the edges a bit. Introduce warmth and steadiness into provocative situations so they’re free of irritation and easier to engage with, but still enriching.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

The coming weeks will be a time to practice strategic disruption. One way is to interrupt your patterns so they don’t calcify and obstruct you. You could eat breakfast for dinner. Take a different route to a familiar place. Talk to a person you would usually avoid. Say no when you’d normally say yes, or vice versa. Your brain loves efficiency and well-worn grooves, but grooves can become ruts. As a spiritual experiment, do things differently for no reason except to prove to yourself that you can. Playful chaos can be a form of prayer. Messing with your standard approaches will unleash your creativity.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)

In Shinto mythology, Ame-no-Uzume is the goddess of mirth and revelry. In one story, she seduces the sun out of hiding place by performing a humorous and provocative dance. I am sending her over to your sphere right now in the hope that she will coax you out of your comfort zone of retreat, control and self-protection. While I’m glad you have taken this break to recharge your spiritual batteries, I think it’s time to come out and play. You have done important work to nurture and process your deep feelings. Now we would love you to express what you’ve learned with freewheeling panache.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

Ancient cultures used willow bark as a pain reliever. Many centuries later, European scientists isolated the chemical salicin from bark and used it to create aspirin. A folk remedy became a widely used medicine all over the planet. Is there a metaphorically comparable development unfolding in your life? I think so. Something you’ve known or practiced could be evolving into its next form. The world may finally be ready to receive wisdom, a technique, or an insight you’ve used for a long time. Consider refining and upgrading it. Share it in ways that meet the present moment’s specific need.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

In honor of your needs right now, Virgo, I am coining a new word: edge-ucation. It’s like “education” but with an extra edge. Though book-learning is included in its purview, it also requires you to seek out raw teaching in all possible ways: on the streets, the bedroom, the natural world, everywhere. To pursue your higher edgeeducation, you must hunt down provocative influences, provocative adventures and unfamiliar stimulation. Make the whole world your laboratory and classroom.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

When I began writing horoscopes, I had greater empathy with some signs than with others. But I worked to overcome this bias, and now I truly love every tribe of

the zodiac equally. I attribute this accomplishment to the fact that I have three Libra planets in my natal chart. They have propelled me to develop a warm, affectionate, fair-minded objectivity. I have a deeply honed capacity for seeing and liking people as they genuinely are, without imposing my expectations and projections onto them. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to tap into these qualities in yourself, dear Libra.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

Many cultures regard obsidian as having protective powers against negative energy, making it popular for healing talismans. Obsidian mirrors have been used to scry for visions and prophecies. Because obsidian is so sharp, ancient peoples incorporated it into tools used to hunt for food. In modern times, obsidian is used for its beauty in tabletops, tiles and architectural components. Do you know how this precious substance is formed? It’s born in the shock between elements: molten lava meets water or cool air and hardens so quickly that crystals can’t form, trapping a mirror-dark clarity in volcanic glass. I propose we make it your symbolic power object in the coming months, Scorpio.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

Medieval alchemists engaged in laboratory work as they attempted to create elixirs of immortality, concoct medicines to heal diseases and metamorphose lead into gold. But the modern practice of alchemy is primarily a psychological effort to achieve awakening and enlightenment. In the early stages of the work, the seeker experiences the metaphorical “black sun.” It’s a dark radiance, the beginning of creative decay, that fuels the coming transformation. I suspect you now have the potential to call on this potent asset, Sagittarius. It’s wild, though. You must proceed with caution and discernment. What worn-out aspects of yourself are you ready to let rot, thereby fertilizing future growth?

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

In Japan, shakkei refers to “borrowed scenery.” The idea is to create a garden so that surrounding features become part of its expansive context: distant mountains, an expanse of sky or a nearby body of water. The artistry lies in allowing the horizon to merge gracefully with what’s at hand. I recommend this approach to you. Frame your current project with a backdrop that enlarges it. Partner with places, influences or long-view purposes that augment your meaning and enhance your beauty. Align your personal actions with a vast story so they send even more potent ripples out into the world.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

Computer scientist Radia Perlman is the “Mother of the Internet.” She invented the Spanning Tree Protocol that’s essential for the flow of online data. Despite her work’s splashy importance, hardly anyone knows of her. I remind you: Some revolutions unfold with little fanfare; positive transformations may be inconspicuous. How does that relate? I suspect the next beautiful or useful thing you contribute may also be veiled and underestimated, at least at first. And yet it may ultimately generate a shift more significant than you can now imagine. My advice is to trust the long game. You’re doing good work, though its recognition may be late in arriving.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

The Persian poet Hafez wrote, “Fear is the cheapest room in the house. I’d like to see you living in better conditions.” Picture that room: cramped, dim, damp. Now imagine you have resolved to never again live in such a place. In fact, sometime soon you will move, metaphorically, into a spacious, high-ceilinged place with wide windows and skylights, fresh air flooding through. I believe life will conspire on your behalf if you initiate this bold move. You now have extra power to exorcize at least some of your angsts and embrace liberating joy.

Senior Software Engineer

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urban LIVING

Hungry Days

My guess is that by the time this column is published, we still won’t have an agreement in Congress to fund the federal government. According to Congress.gov, Utah has 33,961 federal employees in the state, and Hill Air Force Base is Utah’s largest single-site employer.

The impact of civilian and military personnel not receiving their paychecks due to the shutdown affects not only individuals and families but also the towns around the base—particularly Ogden, Layton, Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy and Sunset.

“O-Town”—as locals like to call Ogden—has been a hub of military and government operations since the white man came to this area. It started in 1845 as Fort Buenaventura was founded by Miles Goodyear and then purchased by Mormon pioneers one year later.

Back then, food was much more seasonal—settlers and military both relied on hunting and trade with trappers and natives. But if you arrived at the fort in winter, it wasn’t easy to grow anything, so foraging around the area was necessary.

The Fort is now a state park along the Ogden River, and the Air Force Base is about 10 miles to the south.

Given the shutdown, civilians and military alike aren’t getting paid and must rely on modern-day foraging, turning to food banks, local charities, friends and family to find food and sundries. The base offers a food bank operated through Airman’s Attic, which provides not only food but clothing and household items for service members and their families.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

ACROSS

1. 2006 mockumentary full of catchphrases

6. Prefix before spa

10. Lines of fashion

14. Keyboard exercise piece

15. Piece of news

16. Leave off

17. Sponsored product used only for testing purposes?

19. Ship’s mast

20. Jukebox choice

21. ___ …tats-Unis

22. One-named “Queen of American Folk Music”

24. Ancient Egyptian bird

26. Pair count

27. Rocket’s deviation

28. Weak excuse

31. Lahore’s region

33. Eggs

34. Ornamental plant

36. Floating

39. Exercise units

41. Alleviates

43. “Tomb Raider” protagonist Croft

44. Joints that may get shaky

46. It’s a crowd, so to speak

48. Letters that used to follow CD

49. Land holdings

51. Result of brushing against wet ink

53. Seer’s skill

55. “30 Rock” star

56. Man-goat creature

57. Purple flower

59. May honoree

60. You, to Quakers

64. Highlight of some musical performances

65. Intermission of a play?

68. Refuse to authorize

69. Bunch

70. Heart stat

71. Docs that use endoscopes

72. Follow

73. Cheesy sandwiches

There’s a walk-in pantry accessible to any base ID holder, and a referral pantry for more extensive support that requires a referral from a first sergeant or the Military and Family Wellness Center. The nonprofit Knights of Columbus also help coordinate food donations at the base.

According to a KSL report this past March, one out of every four military families were facing food insecurity at the base. Given no paychecks for the past three weeks, that number has certainly gone up, and the foodbank inventories are at an all-time low.

If you are in need, FeedingAmerica. org is a great website to find food banks around the country and in Utah. When I typed in my zip code, it immediately sent me to UtahFoodBank.org, where I was directed to 20 different local food pantries, churches and non-profits. So yeah, at least there are options to get food, but there’s still rent, mortgage payments, utilities, car payments, etc.

My best advice: if you are about to go late on any payment, pick up the phone and call the landlord or vendor and tell them you have no paychecks and ask them if they have any programs to miss a payment or make smaller payments until Congress funds the country again.

The last government shutdown— during the first term of President Donald Trump—lasted for 35 days. Let’s see how long this one goes. Ugh! ■

6. Gets stuck

7. Airline approximations

8. Hobby room

9. “Sounds fun”

10. Garden shed implement

11. Chess game with no pieces?

12. 1989 Mazda debut

13. Milkshake insert

18. Cheerful and carefree

23. ___ Cat (“SNL” Season 51 opening musical guest)

25. Ride around town, maybe

26. Ube, for one

28. Stopper

29. Cookie sheet destination

30. The nose of a folded airplane?

31. Overly assertive

32. The whole thing

35. In disrepair

37. Pond dweller

38. Domesticated

40. Perceive

DOWN

1. Racetrack transactions

2. “___ Atardecer” (2022 Bad Bunny track meaning “Another Sunset”)

3. Archaeological site

4. Slow movement, in music

5. Hebrew for “hill”

42. Source of some bun seeds

45. Sound’s partner

47. Jazz ___ (comedic musician named for a flightless bird)

50. Releases

61.

for children, according to Pat Benatar 62. Oregon-to-New York direction 63. ___ out a victory 66. Key near Q 67. Heart stat, for short

Last week’s answers

Complete the grid so that each row, column, diagonal and 3x3 square contain all of the numbers 1 to 9. No math is involved. The grid has numbers, but nothing has to add up to anything else. Solve the puzzle with reasoning and logic. Solving time is typically 10

NEWS of the WEIRD

BY THE EDITORS AT ANDREWS MCMEEL

That’s Not Holy Water

On Oct. 10, during the 9 a.m. Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, an unidentified man climbed the Altar of Confession, dropped his pants to his ankles and urinated on the site, the Mirror reported. Hundreds of tourists looked on as plainclothes officers approached him; the Holy Pee-er was quickly removed from the premises after flashing a full moon at the gathered masses. Pope Leo was reportedly “shocked”; it was unclear whether he or another officiant was leading the service.

The Foreign Press

France’s national postal service, aptly named La Poste, released a croissant-scented stamp on Oct. 8, France 24 reported. Nearly 600,000 of the fragrant marks are intended to honor the “emblem of French gastronomy,” the postal service gushed. “I had a stock of 1,000 stamps available,” said Valence post office director Anthony Richet. “And on the first day, more than 400 stamps were already gone.” The stickers can also be used for international mail.

Unconventional Weapon

Former strip club employee Jordan Cotto, 26, arrived at Atlantis Gentlemen’s Club in Tampa, Florida, on Oct. 10, hoping to “speak with management,” The Smoking Gun reported. Instead, he got involved in a verbal argument and grabbed a cheeseburger from his car, which he hurled at a male victim. The victim was unharmed, but police spoke with Cotto, who said he “did throw a cheeseburger from his vehicle” and “would do it again.” Cotto was arrested for battery and eventually released on his own recognizance.

Questionable Judgment

Congregants at Legacy Faith Church in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 28 were confronted by their pastor, Phillip Thornton, wearing and wielding an assaultstyle rifle to illustrate his points during his sermon. WHP-TV reported that Thornton used the firearm to symbolize “clearing the room,” or using spiritual violence against unbelief. At times, Thornton pointed the gun at the congregation, with a laser bouncing off church members. The church released a statement after concerns were brought to light, saying the gun was “disabled (firing pin removed), cleared and publicly shown to be ammo free.” But Thornton also said, “I could get you, any one of you.” The statement closed with gratitude for bringing “great attention” to the church. After all, there’s no such thing as bad publicity.

Fake News

Megan Ashlee Davis is a college student in Texas, Chron.com reported on Oct. 10. She is not a server at an Olive Garden in St. Louis, and she didn’t get arrested for assault after throwing a basket of breadsticks at a customer. But Davis’ life has been turned upside down since a Facebook account called Pure Videos posted a (real) mug shot of Davis and claimed she had retaliated for a bad tip by tossing the treats at a diner. “It’s probably like my worst nightmare coming to reality,” Davis said. She admitted that the mug shot came from a night in August, soon after her mother died, when she was arrested for public intoxication. But this recent post has garnered harassing and creepy comments. “People are disgusting out there—and scary,” she said. “I feel small. Like, how do I even fix this?”

Ewwwww

First of all, apparently in the United Kingdom, ladybugs are called ladybirds. Regardless, one woman is fighting an epic battle against the cute spotted beetles in Hertfordshire, the Daily Star reported on Oct. 10. Lois Mallett-Walker’s home has been invaded by “around 300” ladybugs, where they’re covering her curtains, windows and walls. And, she said, “One peed on me and it stank.” The 35-year-old tried to shoo the bugs outdoors but ended up vacuuming up some of them. “I love ladybugs, but it was far too many in my house for me.”

But Why?

Wannabe magistrate Wilber Mateo, 45, of Kansas City, Missouri, was charged with burglary and stealing from a Jackson County, Missouri, courtroom, KSHB-TV reported. Surveillance cameras spotted Mateo inside the courthouse in Independence on Oct. 2 around 3:30 p.m. After speaking with workers there, he slipped into parts of the courthouse that are not covered by the cameras. Around 7:30 p.m., he was recorded entering a courtroom, where he apparently spent the night. The next morning, a witness saw Mateo and alerted officers; they found him wearing a judge’s robes and carrying three bags. Inside the bags were a small brass dog statue, pens and a sticky note with login credentials on it—along with three laptops, data storage, electronic devices and other office supplies. Mateo said he planned to sell the items to the highest bidder.

Didn’t See That Coming Zimbabwean opposition lawmaker and poet Desire Moyo, 45, lost his life in a bizarre accident in the early morning hours of Oct. 10, the BBC reported. As Moyo and four others drove along the Bulawayo-Gweru highway, they crashed into an elephant. The other occupants of the car were injured; one of them said the elephant was struck on its backside, after which it turned around and started fighting the car. It is believed the elephant’s reaction did the most damage and led to Moyo’s demise.

Special Delivery

Blake Michael Kuhlman, 26, a contract driver for Amazon, was arrested for first-degree assault after an incident in an Everett, Washington, apartment complex mailroom on Oct. 3. KRCG-TV reported that Kuhlman and a USPS carrier were in the room when an altercation took place, resulting in the mail carrier being shot in the head. Kuhlman admitted shooting the man, who will survive but lost an eye, because he said the man “was trying to charge at him while he was cornered.” Kuhlman was allegedly armed with two guns, a large knife and a bulletproof vest; he told police that he had been attacked on numerous occasions and that he is being “cyberstalked” by the Mafia. Kuhlman said he believed the postal worker might have been a “Mafia assassin.” His bond was set at $1 million.

Look What I Found!

■ When Erin Scott O’Brien sold her home in New Orleans in 2018, she left behind a marble tablet given to her by her grandparents, the Associated Press reported on Oct. 11. The “cool-ass piece of art” in her garden was covered by weeds until the current owner, Daniella Santoro, was cleaning up and found it. Santoro alerted her colleague at Tulane University, anthropologist Susann Lusnia, who identified the slab as a 1,900-year-old grave marker of a Roman sailor, Sextus Congenius Verus. He had died at age 42 after more than two decades of service in the Imperial Navy. More research revealed that the marker had been missing from the National Archeological Museum in Civitavecchia, Italy, since World War II. Now, the FBI is working with Italian authorities to send the tablet home.

■ Ann Vincent Walter of Hale County, Texas, was getting ready for work on Oct. 2 when her son, Hayden, called out to her, United Press International reported. He had spotted what appeared to be a weather balloon over their farm north of Lubbock, but when it landed, they discovered it was a mysterious piece of equipment attached to a parachute. Walter alerted the Hale County Sheriff’s Office, who had already heard from NASA about a missing object. NASA said it was part of the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility, which was conducting experiments to help aid the accuracy of telescopes, but after launching from Fort Sumner, New Mexico, it had been blown off course. The CSBF collected the equipment, and Walter and her family got a day of adventure.

EMPLOYMENT

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EMPLOYMENT

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