This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Margarita Satini is running for Cottonwood Heights' District 1 City Council seat in part, she has said publicly, because she has concerns about the police department.
The city's force has come under fire over allegations, mostly from the owner of the Canyon Inn, that police have harassed and targeted customers in an effort to drive out area businesses for a proposed development.
The city has denied those accusations, which have been supported by former Cottonwood Heights police official Beau Babka, who says he personally knew of the targeting when he was with the department.
On the flip side, Cottonwood Heights police are beginning to feel they are the ones unfairly targeted.
City officials question Babka's credibility, since he was dismissed from the department after he was caught using the city credit card to buy gas for his personal vehicles.
Cottonwood Heights also drew scrutiny when police detained, handcuffed and charged Holladay resident Steve Unger, known as "Dancing Man" because of the dances he delivers on sidewalks while decked out in colorful duds.
After Unger was invited to testify before a legislative hearing about police overreach, Cottonwood Heights dropped the misdemeanor charges against him.
Satini, who is a Pacific Islander and believes she has been targeted because of her race, held a daylong fundraiser at a pavilion in a Cottonwood Heights park. She says her Oct. 10 event, in which patrons were treated with barbecued goodies, was put under surveillance by the city's police.
Satini said a patrol car slowly drove through the park four times and circled the pavilion she had rented. During that final pass, late in the afternoon, the officer stopped and asked how long she planned to be there.
Cottonwood Heights Police Chief Robbie Russo says the officer was there because of complaints her campaign had signs throughout the park. It is illegal to put campaign signs in a public park. But when Satini explained the signs were for directions to the pavilion, the officer bid her a good day and left, allowing her to keep up the signs.
Russo says he has seen Satini in news clips standing with Canyon Inn owner Jim Stojack as he has complained of police harassment.
So the Canyon Inn isn't the only one feeling victimized. The cops are, too.
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Hear no evil • The Park City School District has been bathed in controversy this fall over a proposed $56 million bond election the district says is needed to pay for new facilities and improve existing ones.
School board members fueled the furor by warning that if the bond fails, they could raise taxes for the projects anyway.
Now, opponents are up in arms that a video about the issue was played in Park City schools. It provided one side, parents say, and that side, of course, was pro bond.
Apparently, there was no opt-out for students not wanting to view the video, like there was in several school districts when President Barack Obama gave a televised welcome-back-to-school speech to students nationwide a few years ago.
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Trick but no treat • If you go into a Utah liquor store on Halloween and bring your princesses, witches, ghosts and superheroes with you, don't expect the clerks to hand out candy to the little tykes.
It's against policy.
The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has forbidden it for years, but the policy hasn't been enforced — until now.
The edict is out: No candy. Period.
One store manager admonished employees who have handed out sweets in past years that the candy might get stuck in children's throats. Or it might get dropped on the floor and the kids might get sick from the germs.
These are stores, mind you, that sell booze.