Good morning. Today’s temperatures: Logan: 55 - 89° ☀️ Salt Lake City: 69 - 96° ☀️ | ⚠️ St. George: 77 - 109° ☀️ | ⚠️ ⚠️ Excessive heat warning You might think you know everything about Utah — but my colleague Natalie Issa dug up five Utah mysteries that you may have never heard of. The legend of grave robber Jean Baptiste was my favorite: Baptiste’s crimes of stealing clothes and jewlery from graves were found to be so scandalous that even Brigham Young commented on the case, saying, “I am unable to think so low as to get at such a mean, contemptible, damnable trick.” Instead of punishing the grave robber by execution, it was decided that he would be exiled. Baptiste was originally banished to Antelope Island, but was then transferred to Fremont Island. Three weeks after Baptiste was marooned on Fremont Island, he was nowhere to be found — and nor would he ever be. While a skeleton, shackled with a ball and chain, was discovered in the Jordan River years later, it was never confirmed as Baptiste. Learn about other mysteries of Utah's past here. Also on our mind: Republican presidential candidates are getting creative to fundraise for the first debate, the Salt Lake School District will study seven elementary schools for possible closure and BYU players recount their favorite experiences from the daylong Big 12 talkfest.
|
| ‘Solar boom’ heats up fraud complaints against Utah solar companies |
|
| | Several Utah-based solar companies and executives were accused of “deceptive and fraudulent” business practices in Minnesota in spring 2022, and while their Minnesota operations have ended, others are still in business across the country. Several Utah-based solar panel installation companies, including Brio Solar LLC, Bello Solar Energy LLC, Avolta Power Inc. and Sunny Solar Utah LLC, were named in the lawsuit brought forward by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. “The solar defendants use deceptive and misleading tactics to gain customers’ trust, gain access to their homes, and sell them solar panels that cost far more than the average Minnesota solar PV system,” the 59-page complaint filed in the lawsuit reads. None of the companies, executives, or their attorneys listed in the lawsuit responded to multiple requests through email or phone calls for comment. According to a statement from Ellison’s office, the complaint alleges those companies cost Minnesota consumers “anywhere from $20,000 to over $55,000” by using “deceptive and fraudulent methods” in their sales tactics and contracts. The solar companies named in the complaint have been able to continue operating under new names through a “doing business as” filing after appearing to close. Three of the companies listed in the Minnesota lawsuit — Brio Energy LLC, Bello Solar Energy LLC and Avolta Power Inc. — are nearly identical companies with the same three or four executives managing the same company under a new name. The lawsuit alleges that the frequent name changes cause customer confusion. Further, the dates of the name changes correlate to various public warnings and legal actions due to “deceptive” sales tactics cited in the complaint. |
Read more about the "high-pressure sales tactics" and faulty installations that led to the lawsuit. |
| Experts on religious freedom convened for the third annual Notre Dame Religious Liberty Summit this week in London. The three-day conference featured presentations from more than 60 scholars and experts representing numerous religious groups, academic institutions and nonprofits. Last year’s Religious Liberty Summit was held in Rome, where President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ First Presidency, offered a keynote address. He called for “a global effort to defend and advance the religious freedom of all the children of God in every nation of the world.” “This is not a call for doctrinal compromises,” Oaks said, “but rather a plea for unity and cooperation on strategy and advocacy toward our common goal of religious liberty for all.” This year, President Camille Johnson, president of the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke on a panel alongside scholars and other religious leaders, expressing the church’s desire to be a “light” and “leaven” in every nation, even in countries where government may be overtly hostile to religious faith. “When it is darkest, even a small light can make a big difference,” Johnson said. “So, we believe that the Savior’s injunction — that his followers should be a light — applies to us, especially in times of darkness.” Read more about what religious legal scholars had to say about the "extraordinary run of religious liberty winning at the Supreme Court" in the United States. More in Faith A decade ago, this former Universal exec didn’t think he’d end up with a show like ‘The Chosen’ (Deseret News) Latter-day Saint girl with cerebral palsy choreographed wheelchair dance to win national competition (Church News) 28 years after genocide, Bosniak Muslims mourn their dead but celebrate a return of Islamic life to Srebrenica (Religion News Service) Nondenominational Churches Are Growing and Multiplying in DC (Christianity Today) | FROM OUR SPONSOR GUIDING OUR GROWTH Utah’s Water is Scarce – How You Can Save It Population growth impacts, like increasing water demand, worry many Utahns. Leaders welcome input on solutions. Take the survey and be heard. | Health The FDA approved the first nonprescription birth control pill: Why hasn’t this happened in the past? (Deseret News) Cruise ships are seeing the highest number of norovirus outbreaks in a decade (Deseret News) Politics Republicans are getting creative to fundraise for the first debate (Deseret News) Political animosity, polarization strong in Utah, UVU study finds (KSL) Republican Celeste Maloy calls for a pre-primary debate blitz ahead of special election (Salt Lake Tribune 🔒) Tech and Business Is text monitoring on the Gabb kids phone a good thing? (Deseret News) Entrata says new acquisition will help renters build better credit (Deseret News) Entertainment Actors officially join writers on strike. Barbenheimer is already feeling the impact (Deseret News) Ken Jennings gets his 1st Emmy nomination — and he’s in the running with Mayim Bialik (Deseret News) Salt Lake County Salt Lake School District to study 7 elementary schools for possible closure (KSL) Sandy motel bought with intent to create transitional housing for medically vulnerable (Fox 13) Summit and Juab Counties Sundance offers free outdoor screenings of festival faves in Park City and Oakley (Park Record) Provo Airport celebrates one year in new terminal, additional commercial flights (Daily Herald) The West Free speech or interference? In rare move, Lithium Americas sues Nevada protesters (Nevada Independent) LA Mayor Karen Bass confirms latest arrival of bus carrying immigrants (Washington Examiner) The Nation Historic heat waves are hitting the U.S. this week. Here’s what you need to know (Deseret News) Secret Service closes White House cocaine investigation, says it is 'not able' to identify suspect (Fox News) The World Arthur Cyr: NATO proves to be an enduring alliance (Deseret News) Critical moment for Thai democracy as parliament fails to elect new prime minister (CNN) Sports As Utes eye potential three-peat, there’s still much to sort out in the Pac-12 (Deseret News) BYU players recount favorite experiences, questions from daylong talkfest (Deseret News) Kalani Sitake gets Big 12 in alignment with BYU’s core beliefs (Deseret News) Further expansion of the NCAA Tournament is being discussed (Deseret News) |
SPONSORED JOB LISTINGS Take your next career step |
📌 Looking to fill a position? Get in touch to pin your job listing to this spot in a future email. |
That's all for today. Check your inbox tomorrow morning for more news from the Beehive State and beyond! And reply to this email or email newsletters@deseretnews.com to tell us what you think of Utah Today! Thank you for reading. — Brigham |
| Copyright © 2022 Deseret News, All rights reserved. |