No Wilson, that hurricane off the eastern seaboard was not named for Salt Lake City's Mayor—Erin Mendenhall. It is true that she's something of a whirlwind, and critics sometimes accuse her of being a blowhard, but her sustained winds are nowhere near 74 mph (NOAA's definition).

Nonetheless, she did kick up a storm last week when it was revealed that homelessness in Utah is up 18%. It felt like a sirocco (hot, dusty wind) when the mayor blamed state legislators and the governor for not putting their money where their mouths are on homelessness.

In December, state leaders told Mendenhall to clean up homeless camps in her city or they would do it for her. That wasn't the only squall rushing down from Capital Hill this year. But the mayor blew right back at lawmakers for seeking to “control

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