Alpine School District investigating bus propaganda and Costco is limiting sales of paper products, cleaning supplies and water
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The Utah Policy newsletter is your one-stop source for political and policy-minded news. Send news tips or feedback to [email protected].

 

Situational Analysis | September 27, 2021

Welcome to a new week! Today is National Family Day and National Chocolate Milk Day - seems like those go together just fine.

Be in the Know

  1.  Utah football player Aaron Lowe is dead following a shooting at a party in Salt Lake early Sunday morning. The first 911 call was placed two hours before a fight erupted and shots were fired. Aaron was best friends with Ty Jordan, who died on Christmas Day after an accidental shooting. Aaron changed his number from 2 to 22 in honor of Ty and was also the first recipient of the Ty Jordan Memorial Scholarship.

  2. Alpine School District is investigating a bus driver for posting propaganda inside the bus. Images included religious statements and conservative memes from organizations like Turning Point USA. The flyers are gone and an investigation is underway.

  3. Pace yourselves. Costco is again (still) limiting the sales of toilet paper, water and cleaning supplies for two reasons. One is anticipation of a possible repeat of panic buying thanks to the delta surge and the other is supply chain disruptions
 

FROM OUR SPONSOR

Thank you, Senator Romney

The Nature Conservancy and Utah Clean Energy thanks Sen. Mitt Romney for his work. The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will bring critical water infrastructure, expanded broadband access, safer roads and highways, a modernized electric grid and clean energy innovation to Utah.

 

Utah Headlines

General

  • Gordon Monson: The shooting death of Utah football player Aaron Lowe — Ty Jordan’s best friend — is a loss too cruel to bear (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • Higher education just isn’t built for men right now (Deseret News)
  • IN FOCUS Discussion: Growing up Muslim in the U.S. (ABC4)
  • St. George Marathon returns with big plans after one-year COVID-19 hiatus (The Spectrum)
  • ‘Mormon’ vanquished; Moroni missing; pageants pulled — Is the LDS Church losing its identity? (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • Historians consider the Bear River Massacre of 1863 the worst slaughter of Native Americans in U.S. history. Few remember it. (Washington Post)

Politics

  • The Inside Utah Politics Panel on vaccines, political decorum and how the legislature will address President Biden’s mandate (ABC4)
  • How the state legislature is addressing suicide in Utah (ABC4)
  • How does a supermajority work? (KUER State Street)
  • Keeping ‘rural component’ in redistricting process emphasized during committee hearing (St. George News)
  • Did Roe v. Wade help or hurt religious freedom?  (Deseret News)
  • Opinion: The Bill of Rights guarantees fundamental freedoms. Is it waning? (Deseret News)
  • Opinion: Utah voters are showing up, but people could do more to be engaged civically (Deseret News)
  • Opinion: Will Republicans win control of the House in ‘22? A lot depends on Donald Trump and whether he continues to claim the election was stolen in 2020. (Deseret News)

COVID Corner

  • Friday: 1627 new cases, 9 new deaths
  • Utah Jazz, Vivint Arena to require proof of COVID vaccination or negative COVID test to attend events (Deseret News)
  • Utah Poison Control records 4.5x increase in ivermectin use to treat COVID-19 (Fox13)
  • Front-line fatigue: 'I don't want to lose my humanity' — CNAs weighed down by empathy exhaustion are quitting in record numbers (KSL)
  • Leonard Pitts: Vaccine refusers "seem to think freedom means no one can be compelled to do, or refrain from doing, anything. But that’s not freedom, it’s anarchy." (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • COVID-19 pandemic cut life expectancy by most since World War Two (Reuters)
  • Covid’s hidden toll: One million children who lost parents (Wall Street Journal)
  • Doctor who has lost over 100 patients to covid says some deny virus from their deathbeds: ‘I don’t believe you’ (Washington Post)
  • No, vaccinated people are not ‘just as likely’ to spread the coronavirus as unvaccinated people (The Atlantic)

Economy

  • Economic experts puzzle over how to bring more jobs to Cache County despite nation's lowest unemployment (Herald Journal)
  • Utah businesses still trying to fill empty positions (KUTV)

Legal

Service


National Headlines

General

  • At UN, turmoil in Haiti, Ethiopia draws global concern (AP)
  • Malala pleads with world to protect Afghan girls' education (Reuters)
  • Thousands flee raging California Fawn fire as woman arrested with lighter in her pocket (Washington Post)

Politics

  • Hawks have upper hand as Pentagon spending debate looms (Roll Call)
  • Facing a heap of defeat, progressives stake hopes on spending bill (Politico)
  • The progressives have already won (The Atlantic)
  • U.S. plans projects in Latin America countering China's Belt and Road (Reuters)
  • Supreme Court observers see trouble ahead as public approval of justices erodes (Washington Post)
  • Texas governor defends upcoming 2020 election audits that Trump demanded (Reuters)

Business

  • U.S. supply chain struggles to adapt as delays worsen (Wall Street Journal)
  • The economy looks solid, but these are the big risks ahead (New York Times)
  • There’s another gender pay gap: Stock options. Women often don’t know what to ask for, experts say. And companies don’t tell them. (Wall Street Journal)
  • The pandemic's toll on women's careers (Wall Street Journal)
  • LuLaRich Reveals a Hole in the American Economy. The controversial cult brand LuLaRoe sold a powerful idea: that mothers could succeed as entrepreneurs while spending meaningful time with their kids. (The Atlantic)

Elections

  • An elections supervisor embraced conspiracy theories. Officials say she has become an insider threat. (Washington Post)
  • The GOP wants to take back the governor’s office in Nevada. Here’s who is running (Deseret News)
  • Cheney allies flock to her defense against Trump challenge (The Hill)
  • Trump keeps promoting Democrats in races against Republicans who speak out against him (Buzzfeed)

International

  • Social Democrats narrowly beat Merkel’s bloc in German vote (AP)
  • Panic buying leaves up to 90% of fuel pumps dry in major British cities (Reuters)
  • Swiss voters set to back same-sex marriage (Politico)
  • Iceland just misses becoming Europe's first female-majority parliament after recount (BBC)
 

Policy News

Dr. Tony Byers announced as morning keynote for the inaugural Utah’s Business Diversity Summit

Global Diversity and Inclusion leader, Dr. Tony Byers, will be the morning keynote of Utah’s Business Diversity Summit, the Salt Lake Chamber announced today. Boldly challenging the status quo and decades of diversity and inclusion practices, Dr. Byers is transforming D&I from “the right thing to do” to the business imperative of our time. His presentations provide the perfect balance of “why now” and “how to” that will take attendee’s thinking on inclusion — and their organization — to the next level.  (Read More)


Gov. Cox statement on death of Utah National Guard Staff Sgt. Olmstead

Gov. Spencer J. Cox offers his deepest sympathy to the family of Staff Sgt. Paul Lincoln Olmstead. Olmstead died while participating in the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Maritime Assessment Course on Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Sept. 21, 2021.

The governor has issued the following statement:

“We are devastated to hear of the passing of Staff Sgt. Paul Lincoln Olmstead. Staff Sgt. Olmstead served with valor and courage as a Special Forces Soldier for the Utah National Guard. We honor his sacrifice and commitment to his country. Abby and I pray for Staff Sgt. Olmstead, his family and loved ones during this most difficult time.”

— Gov. Spencer Cox

(Read More)


Lt. Gov. tours ICU at Utah Valley Intermountain Hospital

Lt. Gov. Deidre M. Henderson, deputy director Michelle Hofmann, Rep. Jefferson Moss, and Utah County Health Officer Eric Edwards had the opportunity to tour the ICU at Utah Valley Intermountain Hospital. 

Lt. Gov. Henderson issued the following statement:  

“Today I toured yet another full ICU. The new reality is that the patients in this wave of the pandemic are younger and sicker. The fact that most of the illnesses and deaths now caused by COVID-19 are preventable with a simple vaccination only deepens this tragedy. My admiration for the healthcare heroes at Utah Valley Hospital grew even more today as I watched them in action. I am sincerely thankful for their relentless efforts despite their fatigue, and undaunted optimism in the face of discouragement.”


Rep. Blake Moore’s statement on House passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022

Thursday night, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022 passed the House. Many of Congressman Blake Moore’s provisions advocating for Utah’s defense community were included in the passed legislation. 

“I am proud of the bill my House Armed Services Committee colleagues and I prepared for the House Floor,” said Congressman Blake Moore." (Read More)


Senators’ statement urging House of Representatives to pass bipartisan infrastructure bill

Friday, U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Mitt Romney (R-UT) issued the following statement, urging the House of Representatives to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill:

“Passage of the historic bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on Monday would be a great victory for the American people. It will modernize and upgrade our roads, bridges, ports, and broadband; increase the resiliency of our electric grid and coastal areas; and create jobs and long-term economic growth without raising taxes on everyday Americans or increasing inflation.

“Importantly, this bipartisan bill is a testament to what Congress can achieve when we put partisanship aside and focus on moving the country forward. Congress has talked about modernizing our nation’s infrastructure for as long as we can remember. The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act deserves the support of House Republicans and Democrats alike. We urge the House of Representatives to pass the bill on Monday when it comes up for a vote before the existing surface transportation authorization expires.”

 

 
 

Upcoming

  • 2021 ULCT Annual Convention with Capt. Scott Kelly – Sept 29-Oct 1. Register here
  • One Utah Summit held at SUU – Oct 4-6. Register here
  • Women in the money: Utah Financial Empowerment Conferencewith Utah State Treasurer Marlo Oaks – Oct 8, 8:30 am - 4 pm. Register here
  • Growth, Grit and Grace - SLC Chamber's Women & Business Conference and ATHENA awards – Nov 19, 8:00 am - 3:30 pm Register here
 

On This Day In History

From History.com

  • 1722 - Samuel Adams is born. He was an American revolutionary (Boston Massacre-Tea Party) and politician (Lt Gov-Mass, 1789-94).
  • 1779 - John Adams appointed to negotiate peace terms with British
  • 1817 - Hiram R. Revels is born. He became the 1st African American US Senator.
  • 1905 - E=mc2 is introduced in an Albert Einstein paper published in a German physics journal
  • 1908 - The first Model T leaves the Piquette Plant in Detroit.
  • 1909 - US President William Howard Taft sets aside some 3 million acres of oil-rich public land (including Teapot Dome, Wyoming) for conservation purposes
  • 1962 - Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring is published
  • 1966 - Stephanie Wilson is born. The NASA astronaut flew three Space Shuttle missions and was the second African American woman in space.
  • 1998 - The day Google celebrates its birthday

Wise Words

“One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, 'What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?'”

-Rachel Carson

 

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