This is your daily news rundown for Friday, May 15. In this edition:
- Freezes caused massive losses for fruit farmers. A state of emergency can help
- Utah's first Great Salt Lake Commissioner is stepping down
- A Taylorsville police officer is being charged with second degree felony manslaughter
Gov. Cox declares a state of emergency after massive losses for fruit farmers
Governor Spencer Cox has declared a state of emergency for crop losses caused by recent freezes.
Freezing temperatures hit 10 counties in April — Box Elder, Cache, Davis, Iron, Juab, Millard, Piute, Sanpete, Utah, and Weber —causing between 95% and 100% crop loss for fruit tree farmers.
The executive order, signed on Friday, lets agricultural producers and local markets access financial assistance for the next 30 days, unless the state legislature votes to extend it.
Governor Cox is also expected to issue a state of emergency for drought soon, with all of the state in some level of drought and over half in extreme drought.
Brian Steed is stepping down as Great Salt Lake Commissioner
The state’s first Great Salt Lake Commissioner is stepping down.
Brian Steed has served in the role since it was first created by the Utah Legislature in 2023.
He was tasked with developing and maintaining a plan to save the lake, which hit record lows in 2022, including by pushing supportive legislation and securing both money and water for the lake.
Now, he’s leaving his role as commissioner, and his role as the leader of the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air at Utah State University, to instead work as the school’s vice president of government affairs.
A Taylorsville police officer is being charged with manslaughter for a 2024 shooting
A Taylorsville police officer is being charged with second degree felony manslaughter over a 2024 shooting.
Jimmy Haas, 36, is accused of using an unreasonable amount of force when he shot the unarmed Henry Chavez Jr. through the back window of a pickup truck.
Haas had followed Chavez in an unmarked police vehicle into a parking lot, then turned on his police lights and got out, at which point Chavez rammed the vehicle.
Another police officer pinned Chavez’s truck, then Haas shined his flashlight on the driver through the pickup’s back window and then fired once.
The injured Chavez fled and later died of his injuries. No weapons were found in his truck or on his body, according to prosecutors.
It’s the first time in over a decade that the Salt Lake County District Attorney has filed manslaughter charges against an officer. Haas faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
