BREAKING: Utah County will be required to release information to the public identifying two businesses that reportedly created hot spots of the coronavirus and infected at least 68 people following a judge’s ruling Monday.
PSA: If you're one of the 70% of Americans who make less than $72,000 a year (adjusted gross income), you should be eligible to prepare and file your taxes for free. That means you *shouldn't* let
@turbotax
scam you out of your refund.
Hi,
@washingtonpost
! I'm sure failing to credit my story in
@sltrib
, where this was first reported, was an oversight. Here's a link to my piece so you can fix that!
Some ~personal~ news: After more than four and a half years spent breaking the news for my hometown paper, I’m sad and excited to announce that this is my last full week at
@sltrib
.
Hello, as a reporter who covers a lot of city councils, I can confirm that everything about Parks & Rec is 100% accurate except for the robustness of Pawnee’s media landscape.
Some ~professional~ news: Starting today, I’ll be moving into a new role
@sltrib
covering state government, including the Legislature and the governor’s office. My coverage on homelessness will move with me into this new position.
As a journalist, you should have the following:
∙ An AP Style guide from each year you've been alive
∙ 500 black pens you can never locate
∙ 8 bylines on stories with headlines that have puns you're ashamed of
∙ 15 audio recordings of readers/public officials yelling at you
I’m packing up and moving to Phoenix early next month (yes, I've heard it will be hot 😬), where I’ll be pursuing a master’s in investigative journalism at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism.
Our whole
@sltrib
politics team is covering election results from home tonight. But even a pandemic can’t stop the age-old tradition of election night pizza!
#utpol
I’m at the Utah State Capitol, where a crowd has gathered with Trump flags and signs that say “Stop the Steal” at the same moment the U.S. Capitol has been breached. Hearing that Capitol staff here have been ordered to evacuate amid this protest.
#utpol
If you live in SLC, there will be eight mayoral candidates on August's primary ballot.
That can feel pretty overwhelming, which is why I'm so excited to unveil this new tool that allows you a side-by-side look at where the candidates stand on big issues.
Some exciting news: we got word this morning that
@sltrib
was one of 10 newsrooms to receive grant funding for investigative reporting from the
@LocalMediaAssoc
, giving
@BethRodgersSLT
and I the opportunity to spend the next few months reporting on rural homelessness across Utah.
PSA: If you're in one of the 18 Utah counties that don't provide prepaid postage on ballots, not having access to a stamp shouldn’t preclude you from voting. The U.S. Postal Service will deliver official election materials without a stamp.
#utpol
Some *personal news* as they say: I'm very excited to announce that I'm back in Utah and will be joining
@fox13
's investigative team later this month through E.W. Scripps' Journalism Journey Initiative.
Meet Scripps’ Journalism Journey Initiative second journalist cohort!
The program aims to recruit mid-career journalists and managers in the industry and redeploy their reporting skills for video-driven reporting platforms.
Learn more about the program:
Life update: I graduated this month with my master’s degree in investigative journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism.
Up next: reporting / freelancing from Spain and working on my Spanish 🇪🇸
A friend in grad school posted on Instagram about
#SB19
. I got curious and Googled Senate Bill 19, which relates to the Used Oil Management Act. I could not figure out what that had to do with their trip to California, but then it hit me.
#SB19
stands for Spring Break 2019.
Today is my three year anniversary at
@sltrib
!
The reporting has taken me from Salt Lake City encampments to the banks of the Great Salt Lake to Utah’s national parks and beyond. It’s been a rollercoaster — full of very high highs and very low lows.
My plan now is to START OVER and attempt filing with one of the IRS free file options listed on this website: .
When I'm done, I plan to donate a portion of my return to
@propublica
.
A narrative about violence against journalists is developing after this protest and I just want to be absolutely clear that isn’t what happened here. I was not targeted for being a reporter — I was just caught up in a sea of pushing bodies, and protestors helped me up after.
Last night, I got 99% of the way through filing when, at the last possible minute, TurboTax informed me that I would need to pay $120 out of my federal return to do so.
Luckily, I remembered this excellent reporting from
@propublica
from 2019:
Today, I wrote about "breakthrough cases" of COVID-19 affecting people who are fully vaccinated. These cases are extremely rare, with around 1,000 documented in Utah as of mid-last week.
I was one of the 1,000. Here's a ~thread~ about my experience:
I woke up to find that someone in a community Facebook group I’m a member of has copied and pasted nearly the entirety of a recent story of mine in a comment on said story as a way to help people get around the paywall.
A reminder: This is copyright infringement.
BIG NEWS which is that tonight I moved from coronavirus work from home denial (working on my couch) to acceptance (this beautiful setup complete with my stand up desk)
Meet the three pups rescued from a snowy mountaintop in Utah. They were huddled together, wet and shivering, when a couple on a snowmobile stumbled upon them. There are crews still searching for their mom, but these little fellas are going to be alright. 14/10 for all involved
NEW: Video appears to show a Utah officer firing a beanbag gun at a man experiencing homelessness who was face down on the ground with his hands up at a raucous demonstration against police brutality downtown on Saturday.
“This is not a free for all,” Cox said Thursday, ahead of the statewide mask mandate ending next month. “We live in a society. We should care about each other. And if you don’t care about other people, then don’t go to places where other people are.”
Honored to be listed this morning in the
@thefix
as one of Utah's best reporters to follow for government and politics coverage alongside the indomitable
@BenWinslow
. 🌟
Just upgraded to the new iOS, wondering when Apple will give me the only thing I truly want: the ability to read a text message and then mark it as "unread" so I don't accidentally ghost everyone I know.
My reporting on homelessness in Moab and St. George with
@bethrodgersSLT
and
@trenthead
will continue rolling out over the next few weeks, so you’ll see my byline for a while.
Salt Lake City landlords: Hi, come live on the rustic pavement near my aluminum storage unit (???). Great light, only $1,000 a month, no further photos.
Historically at
@sltrib
, we've done a great job of covering homeowners — but we haven't focused as much on renters.
That's why I'm *so* excited to help lead some reporting primarily focused on how Utah's hot real estate market is affecting this group.
Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard brings her campaign to Utah ahead of Super Tuesday vote, preaching a message of unity to heal a ‘divided country.'
#utpol
I grew up reading The Tribune, and it was a dream come true to walk into the newsroom as an intern in early 2017. I had no idea what I was getting into — how simultaneously beautiful and brutal the next few years would be.
I wouldn't change a second of it.
Shared a phone number with
@BethRodgersSLT
today that I believed belonged to a Southern Utah mayor. Turns out it actually belongs to a child, who called back to inform her that s/he was not responsible for running a city and would not be available for an interview.
Hey, Twitter! I'm working on a story about how the April 10 end of Utah's statewide mask mandate might affect service workers. If you work in the service industry and would be interested in doing an interview, shoot me a DM or an email at tstevens
@sltrib
.com. Thanks!
#utpol
Quick, someone invent an app that would connect me, a millennial without a printer, to people nearby who have one and would be willing to accept a small fee to print something the ~three~ times a year it’s necessary to do that.
THREAD: The election to choose Utah's Republican candidate for governor is less than a week away. For those of you who are still deciding who to vote for, here's a compilation of
@sltrib
reporting that may help you make your decision:
#utpol
Today I’m celebrating four years at
@sltrib
— though the last year has felt more like a decade between covering the pandemic, protests and partisan politics.
Can’t stop thinking about this recent interaction I had with a woman who, when I told her I worked as a journalist, asked: “so did you like journaling a lot when you were a kid?” 👀
I've got a new story online today at
@sltrib
with an Arizona dateline — showing Utah stories can be found anywhere, if you know where to look.
It's an honor to continue reporting for this community from afar (now as a freelancer!). Give it a read here:
We're getting close to 8 p.m., when the polls close in Utah. A reminder to STAY IN LINE if you're still in line at 8 p.m. — it's your right to vote.
#utpol
As the end of Utah’s statewide mask mandate approaches on Saturday, I spoke with nearly a dozen service workers about what that will mean for them. Here's what they said:
#utpol
We're hearing reports of long lines at some voting locations across the state. This is a reminder that if you're in line at 8 p.m., you have a right to cast your ballot and no one has the right to turn you away.
#utpol
.
@jnpearce
has been an incredible leader and mentor, shepherding our newsroom through some big changes and tough times. This is a devastating blow for
@sltrib
.
Hey,
@DNewsPolitics
, glad you found my story in today's paper insightful. Now how about crediting the source of this info to the news outlet that actually ran the numbers?
THREAD: As a journalist, I get "pitched" all the time — by PR people, by angry residents, sometimes by public officials. But I know there are a lot of people out there who don't know it's an option or might not feel comfortable sending me an email with a story idea.
Is this an inversion headache, a working from my couch with bad posture headache, an I-have-six-Google-spreadsheets-open headache or a general pandemic stress headache? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Sam Young, who has been working to raise awareness of what he sees as the damages of “worthiness interviews” with young members of the LDS Church, has been excommunicated.
The Tribune's editors — especially
@danattrib
,
@mattcanham
and
@SheilaRMcCann
— truly raised me as a journalist. And I've been grateful every day to work alongside such incredible colleagues (especially my amazing reporting partner
@BethRodgersSLT
, who I'll miss immensely).
I also want to say thanks to everyone who's read my reporting, chatted with me for a story or sent me a news tip or a passionate email. It's been such an honor to serve and help inform a community that I love so deeply.
Thank you.
Amid the conversation around police accountability boards in Utah, I'm thinking about this story I wrote in 2019, when lawmakers banned cities from granting those groups more autonomy and power to discipline officers.
#utpol
Ahead of a visit to Utah on Wednesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren has outlined a plan to restore the state’s slashed monuments if elected as president.
#utpol
My first story for
@fox13
explores why Utah's plan to move people out of homelessness more quickly hasn't worked as intended — and why we're now talking about creating another shelter in the Salt Lake Valley:
From my journal on this day, March 4, 2020: “Everyone is making a big deal about the coronavirus. I’m a little nervous about being quarantined for a few weeks, but I don’t think it will affect me too much.”
Me to me today:
But in this hectic business, and after this rollercoaster of a news year, it feels like the right move for me to build my skills with the intentionality and mentorship that I feel I can only get in the classroom right now.
Anyone who attempts to purchase a firearm at a gun show held in Salt Lake County’s Mountain America Expo Center will be required to undergo a federal background check starting next month.
#utpol
But I believe my case would have been much worse had I not gotten my shot, and I would encourage anyone who hasn't gotten theirs yet to take the leap.
/ THE END
I'm spending the day at Liberty Park reporting on the importance of community green spaces like these during the pandemic. If you'll be here too, drop me a line so we can connect!
#utpol
#slc
In lieu of widespread government action on fireworks amid the worst drought the state has seen in decades, a coalition of city mayors, council members and fire crews joined Gov. Spencer Cox in begging Utahns to forgo them this summer.
#utpol
Months ago,
@BethRodgersSLT
,
@PaightenHarkins
and I started looking into jaywalking citations with one question: are homeless people unfairly targeted for enforcement? This story presents our findings:
#utpol