Community Spotlight: April 2026
Several community-oriented events took place in April, including the annual Westside Coalition meeting, Salt Lake’s first bilingual book fair, and a celebration of art in Glendale.
This community spotlights highlights all three of these events.
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.
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.
myHometown hosts service projects throughout the year to clean up Westside neighborhoods
Continuing their goal of cleaning up the community, myHometown 2025 Salt Lake City is assessing additional community projects and services throughout the city. Right now, they’re focusing on three areas: Northwest (Rose Park, Fairpark, Westpointe and Jordan Meadows neighborhoods), Westside (Poplar Grove and Glendale neighborhoods), and Central (Ballpark and Liberty Wells neighborhoods).
The next myHometown Days of Service in those three areas will be in May. The organization will continue to host projects on various days through October and November. More information on each project can be found at myhometownslc.org.
The Salt Lake County Immigrant People’s Agenda
For over two decades, Comunidades Unidas (CU), a nonprofit organization built by immigrant Latina women in 1999, has provided many of those trying to make Utah their home with the basic resources they need to thrive, focusing on healthcare, food, shelter, and economic security. While our direct services remain vital, we recognize that the power necessary to change the conditions immigrants face in Utah comes from the political formation of everyday, working-class people, including immigrants. Ultimately, this will enable immigrants to actively shape their communities and pursue lives that center their dignity.
Other Side Village begins housing residents; public open house scheduled for January 27
The Other Side Village, a tiny-home community to address chronic homelessness, opened to its first residents in December. A public open house is scheduled for January 27.
Love Your Block provides mini grants to Westside residents for community improvement projects
Love Your Block mini grants give Westside residents funds to complete community improvement projects. The next application period opens in January.
New project studies poor air quality on Westside, proposes possible solution
A new research project studies air quality on Salt Lake’s Westside, identifying common sources of harmful pollution and proposing potential solutions.
Pothole Palooza targets road damage following extreme winter
After an extreme winter, the city spent one week patching over 6,000 potholes, bringing the 2023 total to over 25,000 in mid-April.
Riley Elementary creates a public memorial for a beloved teacher
A new public mural dedicated to the memory of Jessica Schroeder, a loved and dearly missed educator at Riley Elementary School who passed away in 2021, has found its home at the school.
Developments combine affordable housing with art celebrating community figures, heritage
The Guadalupe neighborhood has been around since the mid-1800s and has grown from agricultural plots with small adobe houses to railroad-based commercial warehouses to the current residential neighborhood we see today.