Community Spotlight: January 2026
2026 started off with a lot of news, including several high-profile stories taking place on the Westside. From a shooting outside a funeral service to anti-ICE demonstrations outside a warehouse rumored to become an ICE detention facility, January brought quite a bit of attention to the Westside. At the same time, smaller businesses continue to expand and the city continues to work on improving West-East transportation.
Several of these things are featured in this month’s Community Spotlight.
Westside representatives offer insights, answer questions, and address concerns surrounding legislative session
The 2026 legislative session has officially begun — the Utah Senate and Utah House gaveled in at the State Capitol on January 20th — and lawmakers hit the ground running. Many spent months preparing ahead of time, finalizing bills, educating themselves on issues, and meeting with their constituents.
Ahead of the session, state lawmakers who represent the Westside came together for a Q&A session with locals. The event, hosted by Westside Coalition and catered by All Chay, took place at the State Fairpark earlier this month.
Westsiders prepare for upcoming legislative session with help from HEAL Utah
Salt Lake City’s Westside residents are watching a new partnership grow between the Westside Coalition (WSC) and the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah (HEAL). At their November board meeting, the WSC confirmed HEAL as an advisor to help educate and train community members on how to effectively participate in the upcoming legislative session.
Buzzed Coffee House: From Westside roots to downtown brews
If you’re in downtown Salt Lake City and searching for exceptional coffee, Buzzed Coffee House is a spot you need to check out. Located at 265 State Street, Suite 113, Buzzed Coffee House has brought its Westside roots into the heart of downtown while staying true to its community-centered mission.
New child care options open on Westside
A new satellite daycare center has opened its doors at the SPARK apartment complex on North Temple, bringing affordable, high-quality childcare to local families and residents. Operated by Neighborhood House, this center is part of an innovative partnership that combines affordable housing with accessible daycare — a model that Executive Director Jennifer Nuttall calls “the right solution at the right time.”
Nature transcends language with Tracy Aviary's bilingual bird walk
On a gray Saturday in September, Jess John led a group of seven people along the shores of the Jordan River looking for birds. As she used a laser pointer to direct the group’s attention to various birds and noted their calls, Estrella Segovia repeated the information in Spanish.
Tracy Aviary’s Pai Okwai Nature Center, 3310 S. 1000 W. in South Salt Lake, hosted the bilingual bird walk during Latino Conservation Week, a first step in its effort to reach out to residents in western Salt Lake County. The nature center is currently working on translating into Spanish descriptions for its exhibits and posters detailing common birds in the area, as well as including indigenous names of wildlife on labels. In fact, the nature center adopted the indigenous name for the Jordan River, Pai Okwai.
“Having the indigenous names be highlighted and prioritized, I think, is very important to recognizing just how long these bird species have been here,” said John, the tour leader. “That they've been here significantly longer than most of us have alongside our indigenous communities.”
The bilingual bird-watching tours launched a few years ago as a pilot program and have continued annually, said John, a conservation outreach ecologist.
Community Spotlight: Glendale park opens, Yuletide in the Village holiday market
In this edition of The West View Community Spotlight, we highlight the recent ribbon-cutting of the new Glendale Regional Park and the first-ever Yuletide at the Village market.
From The West View team
The West View has been a cornerstone of Westside community journalism for nearly 15 years, bringing you local stories, amplifying diverse voices, and fostering connections. As we look ahead to 2026, we’re focused on telling the story of the Westside. Your support powers our ability to continue to publish The West View.
Community Spotlight: Little free pantries and fridges
Parents, community members voice anger, frustration at county’s decision to close public daycare centers
“Your privilege is showing. We can all feel it!” Leslie Patino shouted as she left a public comment portion of the Salt Lake County Council meeting on Tuesday, November 4th. A daycare teacher at Northwest Recreation Center and resident of West Valley, Patino was one of dozens of parents, staff, elected officials, and concerned community members who packed the council chambers that day.
The large turnout was in response to the council’s 5-4 Republican party-line decision the week before to abruptly close four county-run daycares in Kearns, Magna, Salt Lake’s Fairpark neighborhood, and Millcreek by December 31, 2025. Roughly 250 to 300 families will be directly impacted by the closure.
Love Your Block: From idea to impact
Since 2021, Love Your Block has supported neighborhood improvement projects led by residents across the Westside and Ballpark neighborhoods. Originally funded through the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation, the program became a full-time city initiative in 2023 thanks to Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall’s support through the general fund investment.
But these projects are not possible without YOU. Yes, you — the neighbor reading this, the one thinking about that vacant lot you would love to see turned into a pocket park. Or maybe it is that wall you pass every day with your kids and your dog, imagining it brought to life with color and creativity. Or maybe you have thought about adding a little library to your street to share stories with your neighbors.
Summer’s over, now what?
We’ve begun that time of year with a certain melancholic feeling to it. Fall.
Community Spotlight: Summer 2025
Caring for the trees: Pitching in to save our urban forest
Urban trees offer vital benefits to our community, such as conserving energy by cooling buildings and streets with shade, providing animal habitats, and filtering the air. However, in Salt Lake City's arid climate, trees don't thrive naturally. This creates a dilemma: keeping our urban forest healthy requires property owners to irrigate, which often feels contradictory to our necessary efforts to conserve water by cutting back on yard watering.
Madsen Park reopens after playground renovation, other park enhancements
A local park in the Fairpark neighborhood is welcoming back neighbors of all ages after recent renovations. Madsen Park, located at 9 N Chicago Street, has evolved from once-empty land donated by private citizens to a full-fledged park. Now, it’s received upgraded amenities including a new playground and open green space.
Assistive Technology: A powerful tool helping individuals with disabilities
Dozens of exhibitors and volunteers packed the Sorenson Unity Center in Glendale, all to help highlight the different kinds of assistive technology available to those in our community with disabilities.
They arrived equipped with knowledge, resources, and tech aimed at helping individuals with disabilities navigate the world with greater ease. The second annual assistive technology fair was put on by the Utah Assistive Technology Program (UATP) at Utah State University.
Culture Coffee holds 1st night market: “Grab A Cup & Catch A Vibe”
Cafes that seek to build community offer much more than just a good cup of coffee. They create a space where people come to connect, share, and create. These places don’t only serve coffee, but they serve their communities by making everyone feel at home. And that's exactly what's been brewing at Culture Coffee.
On August 1st, Culture brought the community together with coffee, art, and good vibes at their first-ever local night market.
Westside Dance Company: Teaching Mexican heritage and tradition through Folklorico
A dance group established in 1997 continues to thrive and make moves on the Westside and beyond in Salt Lake valley as they explore becoming a 501(c)3 organization. The move is coming with its own challenges, but Westside Dance has overcome many other trials as they expanded over the last 25+ years.
The Other Side Village uses self-governed prep school as part of ‘whole person’ framework
The Other Side Village (TOSV), an all-inclusive living community for the chronically homeless, is currently receiving residents. But before gaining access to one of 60 cottage homes in the first phase of development, future residents are required to attend at least six months of training at The Other Side Village Prep School.
Through TOSV Prep School, those enrolled learn a new way of thinking using a human first, whole person framework that emphasizes self-love, self-trust, accountability, solidarity, community, unlearning negative beliefs, mentoring, self-reliance and honesty.
Students in Salt Lake City sign ‘Letters of Intent’ for apprenticeships
The Salt Lake City School District recently hosted its largest-ever Talent Ready Apprenticeship Connection (TRAC) Signing Day, celebrating 19 students—the biggest cohort in district history to join the TRAC Advanced Manufacturing Program. Students signed their letters of intent, officially committing to youth apprenticeships with top local employers, including two manufacturers located on Salt Lake City’s Westside, Utah PaperBox and Stadler Rail.