Welcome to Salt Lake City, where Hilbert charges through Glendale, Raymond the Cat watches over Liberty Park, and a potential sapphic romance blooms in Emigration Canyon between Stardew Valley's Haley and Melina from Elden Ring.

State of play: Utah's gamers and other fandoms are frantically staking out territory on Wplace, a viral new community drawing site where users can make their mark on a world map, one pixel at a time.

• As of Wednesday, Salt Lake had acquired the nation's ninth-most pixels since Wplace launched, per the site's regional rankings.

How it works: You can paint anywhere on Earth — and SLC, like most places, is heavily colonized by video game characters.

• Film and TV deep cuts are joining the mix, along with memes, local landmarks and sports mascots.

The big picture: The site has become a virtual graffiti wall, with users constantly modifying or replacing existing art.

The intrigue: Artists start with a bank of pixels, which replenishes one every 30 seconds.

• That means time is of the essence. Fandoms often rendezvous to overwhelm a place with their chosen images — or complete one so impressive that other fans will guard it from vandals.

Case in point: West Valley City has been consumed by a sprawling, now-viral scene from the game Deltarune.

• Plop a zombified piglin on top of it, and expect to be swiftly erased by Dreemurr defenders.

Zoom in: Other elaborate images have appeared at the Salt Lake City Temple, the Delta Center and the Ninth & Ninth Whale.

• A tiny Julia Reagan billboard stands on 300 West.
• Antelope Island is now "Clown Island," populated by a nightmarish assortment of harlequins, jesters and mimes (including a bison).

Friction point: Some users have drawn battle lines over identity and ideology.

• Faithful Latter-day Saints and skeptics have reportedly overlapped links to the church website and the Mormon-critical "CES Letter."
• Politics on Utah's map leaned decisively to the left as of Wednesday — but that could change as new users arrive.

The latest: Wplace is "growing very quickly," and error messages remain common.

Yes, but: It was operational when I added my own painting to mark the Witch House!

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Homelessness in Utah is worsening, with sharp increases among older adults and veterans, according to a new state report.

The big picture: A growing share of Utah's senior population, many of whom depend on fixed incomes, is unable to keep up with rising housing costs, according to an annual report released yesterday by the Utah Office of Homeless Services.

By the numbers: The number of people experiencing homelessness in Utah rose 18% from the previous year, per a January point-in-time count.

• Among Utahns over age 64, homelessness grew by 42%, while veterans saw a 36% jump.
• Children lacking permanent housing increased by 12%.
• People encountering chronic homelessness saw a 36% rise.

What they're saying: "I am deeply concerned about the trajectory of homelessness in the state of Utah and in our capital city," Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said in response to the newly released figures during a Wednesday news conference outside city hall.

• Mendenhall lambasted state lawmakers for their "lack of forward momentum" to address the state's homelessness crisis.

The other side: In a joint statement, Gov. Spencer Cox, Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz said state leaders have stepped up to help local governments to "find real solutions" to curb homelessness.

• "It's frustrating to continuously take one step forward and two steps back with Salt Lake City," per the statement, urging Mendenhall to "turn down the politics."

Zoom in: The vast majority of people (95%) included in January's count were in shelters, compared with 18% in 2023, a milestone that state officials attributed to the expansion of winter shelter capacity.

What we're watching

🩺 Shireen Ghorbani has been named the new president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Association of Utah after serving as the organization's interim leader. (Salt Lake Tribune)

🧪 More Utah women are entering STEM-related fields, but they remain heavily underrepresented. (Utah News Dispatch)

🚽 The Little America Hotel's lobby loo is a finalist in a national best restroom competition. (Deseret News)

We're starting the weekend early with two music legends tonight, and taking it from there.

🎤 Cyndi Lauper's farewell tour comes to the Utah First Credit Union Amphitheater at 7:30pm today. Tickets start at $36.

🎶 Nine Inch Nails plays the nearby Maverik Center at the same time, with tickets starting at $89.

🥁 West Side Culturefest brings 30 performances, an artists' market, kids activities, a bar area and food trucks to the Mid-Valley Performing Arts Center in Taylorsville.

• When: 5pm-10pm tomorrow and Saturday
• Admission: Free

🏎️ Fuel Fest brings hundreds of custom and rare cars to the Utah State Fairpark, with celebrity appearances, live music, interactive racing activities, and a "Taste of Tokyo" area to experience Japanese car culture.

• When: 1pm-8pm Saturday
• Tickets: $40 online, free for kids 12 and younger.

🍻 Utah Beer Festival features more than 200 beers and ciders in 5-oz. samples at the Gateway.

• When: 3-9pm Saturday and 1pm-7pm Sunday
• Tickets start at $20 for admission, $40 with a 10-punch drink card, and VIP and weekend-long packages are available. Some drinks require more punches than others.

Tell a friend

I was shopping at my local Lee's Marketplace when I spotted the most confusing cultural mash-up I've seen since 2018: Utah meets West Coast gangster rap.

• The hat riffs on the 2015 film "Straight Outta Compton" about the rise of the iconic hip-hop group N.W.A.
• The last time I witnessed such a strange collision, it appeared on the "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."