A new book explores the deception behind the infamous anti-drug propaganda "diary" Go Ask Alice — and the Utah author, Beatrice Sparks, who sold it as truth to generations.

Driving the news: In the nonfiction Unmask Alice, released last week, writer Rick Emerson links the 1971 faux-diary and Sparks to Utah's history of fraud, moral panic and purity culture.

Catch up quick: Go Ask Alice is a bestselling young adult book that purports to be the diary of a teenage runaway who died from a drug overdose after the last entry.

• Emerson found that Sparks rose to prominence "editing" (or fabricating) diaries of at-risk teens — under apparently-falsified professional credentials in youth mental health.
• Alice — which is Sparks' most famous work by far — has been scrutinized for a number of false claims about drugs and addiction.

Details: His book traces Sparks' career through an epic trek connecting some of Utah's most distressing cultural distinctions, including:

• the state's (deserved) reputation as "the fraud capital of America,"
• and its heartbreaking rate of youth suicide.

Zoom in (spoiler alert): The most devastating account in Unmask Alice is that of a Pleasant Grove family whose teenage son died from suicide in 1971 and left behind an Alice-like diary.

• Hoping the diary would be used for suicide prevention, the boy's grieving mother gave it to Sparks, who reportedly promised to let the mom read the edited book before it was published.
• Instead, the mother was blindsided in 1979, when the resulting book, Jay's Journal, depicted the diarist — widely recognized as her son — as an animal-abusing satanist who lured innocent kids into the occult.
• The boy's headstone was vandalized and briefly stolen from the cemetery as Utah's satanic panic escalated.

Full story.

Utah leaders announced the developer partner yesterday for The Point, the 600 acres of state-owned land in Draper where the Utah State Prison has sat since the 1950s.

• The Point of the Mountain State Land Authority chose the development group Lincoln-Colmena-Wadsworth to lead the first phase of the project's development.

Why it matters: The Point is a mixed-use development project considered one of the largest of its kind in state history. It's projected to create tens of thousands of jobs and establish a major economic hub in Salt Lake County.

• It will also be located just a few miles north of Silicon Slopes — the state's burgeoning tech community in Lehi.

Details: The framework plan includes splitting The Point into seven distinct districts.

• It will be designed as a walkable "15-minute city" with residential, commercial, office and entertainment spaces.

What they're saying: "It's one of the great economic and quality-of-life opportunities in the history of our state," said Alan Matheson, the executive director of the Point of the Mountain State Land Authority. He spoke yesterday at the Utah Capitol.

Meanwhile, the demolition of the Utah State Prison will soon commence.

• It will relocate to a new $1.05 billion facility five miles west of the Salt Lake City International Airport.

What's next: Project leaders are asking the public for input on an iconic feature for The Point.

• You can take the 5-minute survey here. It closes on Aug. 31.

Our editor Ross' thought bubble: Please pick something that makes more sense than the massive contraption outside the aquarium.

🎓 The Salt Lake City school board has placed superintendent Timothy Gadson on leave one year after he was hired — but the board won't say why. (The Salt Lake Tribune)

🏘 A neighborhood of tiny homes for people who need shelter has hit a zoning snag. (KUER)

• Building has begun — just not at the village's planned west side location.

🧠 School shootings and pandemic fatigue are deteriorating Utah teachers' mental health. (KUTV)

More than half of Utahns have guns in their homes, according to new polling data. (The Deseret News)

🎥 A USU football player is the state's newest TikTok star. (Utah Business Journal)

Jen Plumb narrowly defeated incumbent Sen. Derek Kitchen (D-Salt Lake City) in the Senate District 9 Democratic primary race, according to certified election results released yesterday afternoon.

Details: Plumb, an emergency department pediatric physician, won by just 61 votes, over Kitchen.

• Plumb, who lost her brother due to a drug overdose, previously helped pass legislation to increase Naloxone access to Utahns.
• Kitchen promptly conceded and said he congratulated Plumb for her win.

Of note: The blue-bent Senate District 9 encompasses most of Salt Lake City.

What they're saying: "It was a nailbiter for sure. While I am obviously disappointed with the results, I am so damn proud of the campaign we have built," he said.

• Plumb did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Flashback: This is the second time the two candidates faced off after competing in the 2018 Democratic primary for what used to be Senate District 2.

What's next: Plumb will face write-in candidate Vance Hansen, an independent, in November.

⏳ We handpick the best among the rest with our local job listings.

1. Technology Operations Support Manager (Business Analysis Mgr) at Zions Bank.
2. Associate Vice President - Academic/Student Digital Srvcs at Utah Valley University.
3. Director of Business and Marketing Communications at Hexcel.

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👋 Kim here. Last week we had readers guess the location of a colorful mural in Salt Lake City.

The mural is located on the side of the convenience store Quetzal Imports in Salt Lake City's Fairpark neighborhood.

• Quetzal Imports sells food and a variety of products from Guatemala, Mexico and Central America.

Fun fact: I'm half Guatemalan and half Mexican, so this store is particularly helpful to me when I need a special ingredient.

The winners: Congratulations to Kayla H., Sara G. and Brian H. for guessing correctly!