English Bulldog Puppies for Sale in West Valley City, UT

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Nov 25, 2024

University Neighborhood Partners (UNP) is a pioneering organization at the University of Utah that stands as a model for meaningful community engagement. Dedicated to connecting university resources with the needs and aspirations of Salt Lake County communities, UNP addresses systemic challenges while empowering residents to co-create opportunities for growth and education. Under the leadership of Jennifer Mayer-Glenn, director of UNP as well as an experienced educator and community advocate, UNP has extended its impact by building bridges between institutions and historically underrepresented communities.

Among its many areas of focus, UNP’s work in West Valley City has become a shining example of how collaborative partnerships can foster sustainable change in a dynamic and diverse community. Erick Garcia, Administrative Officer at UNP and a long-time resident of the area, offers insight into the organization’s mission and remarkable impact.

UNP’s Mission: Partnership Through Empowerment

At its core, UNP’s mission is to bridge the gap between the University of Utah’s resources and the lived realities of Salt Lake’s westside communities. By centering its work on local voices and knowledge, UNP ensures that its programs and initiatives are co-designed with and for the communities they serve.

“Our goal is to capture the energy already present in communities and create partnerships around that energy,” Garcia says. “We don’t impose solutions. Instead, we bring people together—residents, organizations, and university representatives—so they can collaboratively drive change.”

Garcia likens his role to that of a connector. “I don’t host programs myself, but I facilitate conversations and partnerships among people with shared values and goals. It’s about creating a table where everyone has a seat.”

Signature Programs: Turning Ideas into Action

One of UNP’s standout initiatives is the Westside Leadership Institute, a college-level leadership course designed for community members. Participants earn college credit for a nominal fee while gaining the tools to transform their ideas into impactful projects. Many initiatives born from the institute have flourished for over a decade.

Recent additions to UNP’s portfolio of programs highlight its innovation and responsiveness to local needs:

Codability: This program offers computer programming courses in languages other than English, breaking down barriers to tech industry careers for non-English speakers.

Breathe Retreat: This initiative, a creative response to West Valley’s lack of green spaces, organizes tree-planting events to enhance the community’s natural environment.

“These programs are incubators for change,” Garcia explains. “If someone has an idea but doesn’t know how to bring it to life, UNP helps turn that vision into reality.”

Expanding Access to Healthcare in West Valley

While UNP isn’t a health care provider, its partnerships with University of Utah Health exemplify how it tackles systemic challenges. RyLee Curtis, Director of Community Engagement, and Liliana Martinez, Health Partnership Manager, work closely with UNP to improve health care access and deepen the university’s understanding of barriers that exist.

The new West Valley Hospital & Health Center aims to improve health care access and educational opportunities in the area. UNP plays a vital role in integrating community voices into its planning and development.

West Valley City’s vibrant diversity, suburban character, and rapid growth present both challenges and opportunities. Recognizing this, UNP has adopted a tailored approach to community engagement. By forming Westside Community United (formerly the West Valley Resident Committee) and a Steering Committee comprising residents, business owners, school representatives, and nonprofit leaders, UNP has ensured that local voices guide its work.

“We’ve facilitated numerous discussions with the community to understand their health care experiences and barriers,” Garcia says. “This feedback has been instrumental in shaping campus services and ensuring it addresses the unique needs of this community.”

In addition to improving access to medical care, the campus will serve as a hub for education and workforce development, opening pathways to careers in health care and beyond.

“This isn’t just about building a medical facility,” Garcia notes. “It’s about creating a space where health, education, and community intersect—a space that uplifts the entire region.”

Garcia’s personal connection to West Valley and neighboring Magna fuels his passion for this work. “This is my community,” he says. “Helping others discover their voices and make a difference here is incredibly fulfilling.”

Cultivating Lasting Impact

From tree-planting initiatives to health care focus groups, UNP’s efforts in West Valley yield tangible results. UNP’s most profound impact lies in the relationships it builds—among residents, organizations, and the University of Utah.

“UNP doesn’t take over,” Garcia emphasizes. “It enhances the incredible work already happening in the community. By fostering partnerships and investing in local leadership, we’re building something sustainable. The collaborations we’ve nurtured over the years have a ripple effect that extends into the future.”

University Neighborhood Partners continues to engage with West Valley residents and leaders to develop education and health initiatives. Its work demonstrates that true progress is rooted in empowering and collaborating with communities.

Whether you’re a resident, volunteer, donor, or potential partner, UNP invites you to be part of its mission. Together, we can build bridges and create lasting change.

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WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — Despite quixotic efforts to remain open in a fight against redevelopment, the end is officially just weeks away for West Valley City's iconic Redwood Drive-In and Swap Meet.

Organizers announced the long-running event that has served residents for decades will close on Sunday, December 22.

The closing date comes following a battle to stave off plans for EDGEhomes to turn the site of the Redwood Drive-In into 40 condominiums and 244 townhouses.

Although the final swap meet is still weeks away, vendors are expected to wrap up even earlier due to winter weather conditions.

The site's property owners told the city that they wanted to sell because operations, including the swap meet, were "unprofitable."

In September, the West Valley City City Council voted to approve the rezoning of the site to allow for the housing development, leaving many who depend on the location to make a living wondering what they'd do next.

"I am asking right now: Is there a place in here? Where they can find for us? Because we are willing to move. We just need help,” said vendor Maya Dominguez in September.

The Redwood Drive-In first opened in 1948, with the swap meet starting decades ago and remaining open on weekends throughout the year.

With less than a month away from closing, vendors who depend on the swap meet for their livelihood are worried about where they’ll head next.

The Bautista family has sold women’s clothes at the swap meet for nearly 20 years. Daughter Vanessa Bautista considers it a second home.

“It’s really hard to see this community break and get torn apart,” she said. “Some of these people are my godparents, you know? I’ve known them for years. They’ve watched me grow up, finish school, and they've gone to my graduation.”

Vanessa and her brother Jonattan show up every weekend to help their mom who relies on the swap meet to pay her bills and medication.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty. We’re very stressed out financially. This was my mom’s only income,” she said.

In September, the West Valley City Council made the decision to close the iconic site and instead build 40 condos and 244 townhomes.

Vanessa’s mom, Lorena, isn’t quite ready for the change.

“We haven’t received help. I was expecting to receive help from the council, but I haven’t received any support,” Lorena said.

The Bautista family is looking for solutions.

“The council said it wasn’t thoroughly their problem; that’s what they kind of made it out to seem,” Vanessa said. “This is the livelihood of many others. People rely on this for their bills, food, and all of that.”

Copyright 2024 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (ABC4) — In West Valley City, a beloved local comic book shop is getting back on its feet after an estimated 1.3 million gallons of water flooded into the back of the store. To help them achieve this, the local community of nerds and geeks alike rallied together Saturday by bringing the very comics the store sells to life.

Forced to move after the flood, The Nerd Store has temporarily set up shop at the former home of Rue 21, toward the west side of the mall.

Roger Prows, co-owner of The Nerd Store, said the store flooded on Oct. 30.

“There was about over a million gallons of water coming out of a water main. Only our store in the mall was affected. It kind of put us out. We had to move all of this in basically a week, get a new store set up outside the mall. We are doing our best to let people know where we are at,” he said.

To make sure everyone knows The Nerd Store is still around during the busy holiday season, community members came together to organize an event with guests, comic creators, artists, and cosplayers. Proceeds made today went towards any funds that the store’s insurance may not cover.

“Our comic book community here in Salt Lake is really good about looking out for each other, stores and artists and traders alike, and so when they had that problem, we saw what kind of horrible damage it was causing, we just said ‘You know what? We got resources we can give to this. We could just go out and have an event at the store and support them and show our solidarity,’ and it caught on like wildfire,” said Adrian Ropp, a comic book artist and writer who has worked on ‘Archie.’

Ropp detailed how the comic book community is always doing what they can to support each other, adding that they also rallied together last year to help him with medical bills as he faced health problems.

“You’ll see stuff like that over and over and over,” he said. “…They just all have hearts of gold. They just want to be helpful and spread positivity into the world. I’m just happy to be a part of that team.”

Comic characters, Disney princesses, and galactic heroes were all at the mall to help save the day — as well as special guests, including Travis Romney, the creator behind “The Mighty Utahn”, Doug Wagner and Steven Phillip Jones who have worked on DC and Marvel comics.

Ropp said if you’re curious to check out the shop, there is a story for just about everyone inside.

“Comics are for everyone. If you’re resisting coming to a comic shop because you think there’s some label that it puts on people, please don’t. You’re just missing out on some fantastic stories, and that’s really what it’s all about, is all of us getting together kind of like a mini comic-con and just enjoying all these cool, diverse stories with each other,” he remarked.

In addition to their West Valley location, you can also find The Nerd Store at The University Place in Orem and the Gateway in Salt Lake City.

For updates, visit The Nerd Store website, Facebook, or Instagram pages.

KSLTV.com

WEST VALLEY CITY – There’s concern right now about potential lead poisoning in people’s water lines across the state.

KSL TV talked to water districts Tuesday that said there’s no need for alarm, but they are sending out notices to let people know they may be at risk.

You may have been one of the thousands of Utahns who recently received a notice in the mail saying, “Important Notice!” your water service line, that feeds water to your house “could contain lead.” It’s got some people freaked out.

David Allred of West Valley City is one of them. He said the Granger Hunter Improvement District sent him the same notification on Monday.

“They give you instructions, that says important notice, this means your pipes could contain lead,” David Allred, a West Valley City resident, said.

“Does that make you nervous?” KSL TV Reporter Brian Carlson asked.

“That does make me nervous,” Allred said.

He’s one of 16,000 who got such a notice from Granger Hunter Improvement District. In Salt Lake City, 30,000 water users have been getting similar notices since the summer, with similar scenarios likely playing out throughout hundreds of Utah water districts statewide, all warning about the potential for lead, as part of a federal E.P.A. mandate.

“What we’re obligated to do is send them a notification saying it hasn’t been verified in the way they want us to verify that, and that there is a possibility of lead,” Jason Helm, Granger Hunter Improvement District general manager, said.

Helm said for the last three years, districts nationwide have been tasked with verifying the safety of the water lines that run from the street to your house. Any homes they couldn’t verify by last Friday got a notification in the mail, but it’s not an automatic you have lead contamination.

“Zero lead has been found. We don’t anticipate finding any,” Helm said.

In Salt Lake City, of the roughly 60,000 water users they have verified, only 128 water lines have been verified as containing lead.

So, if you got a notice, what should you do? Water districts want you to do a self-check on your pipes and report back to them what you find, but some may find that intimidating.

“I don’t feel confident in that, I feel like, how do I, how do I tell?” Allred said.

The water districts that KSL TV spoke with said they know people are a little nervous getting these notifications, and they want to help you figure out if you have any lead pipes going into your house.

They have a website with instructions and said if you don’t know what to do, they’ll send someone to help you. The links below are not meant to be comprehensive, but those who live in the Granger Hunter Improvement District can click here to their website for more information. Those living in Salt Lake City can click here.

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WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — A beloved comic shop operating within Valley Fair Mall is having to move outdoors after a water line break flooded their store in October. This as the holiday shopping season looms on the horizon.

On October 30, a pressurized water line running into the mall broke, releasing an estimated 1.3 million gallons of water into the back of The Nerd Store, which sells comics, cards, and other collectibles.

"It flooded through our walls and covered almost the entirety of our 9000 square foot store," says co-owner Charles Prows. "We have to throw everything away that the water touched, including all of the floors and the walls and any product that was on the floor in the back room and any of that stuff... it's been a nightmare."

While the exact amount of damages is still being calculated, Prows tells us some of the merchandise lost due to the flooding includes 45 long boxes. Each box usually holds about 300 single issues of comics.

Standard issues from major publishers such as Marvel or DC typically sell for about $3.99 on average, while premium issues, such as variant covers, limited series, one-shot issues, or even titles from independent publishers can sell for as high as $9.99 on average. Based on those numbers, a loss of one long box would equate to about $1,200 at minimum.

While The Nerd Store been working to fully assess the damage, as well as dealing with the usual delays and headaches that come from interacting with insurance companies, Prows says Valley Fair Mall itself has been eager to help.

"[The] mall has been phenomenal," says Prows. "Within the first day, they offered us the cleaning crew to come in and help us kind of mop up some of the water and help us get some stuff off the floors and make it so there wasn't further damage happening... within a couple days they had a new spot for us."

The new location is within the same mall complex, but is an outdoor space located at the main community plaza on the mall's west side. Between the move and the dropping temperatures, The Nerd Store could see diminished sales during the critical holiday shopping season, a time when stores within the mall rely heavily on foot traffic.

"There's a bunch of people who don't know we exist.... and just kind of wander in," says Prows. "[We're] hoping people will find us outside and still make their way to us."

Despite the setbacks, Prows remains hopeful, as many regular customers have been eager to show their support, with some offering to help mop the store the day the flooding happened, and others bringing boxes to help pack and move merchandise.

"It's the reason I love the [comics and gaming] industry," says Prows. "It is so much of building our own community and creating a safe place where people can just be themselves and kind of hang out without any judgment."

The Nerd Store will continue to provide updates via their Facebook and Instagram pages. While Valley Fair Mall is their flagship location, The Nerd Store also has sister stores at University Place in Orem, and at The Gateway in Salt Lake City.

Copyright 2024 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.