Also, happy Constitution Day, Gabby Petito's disappearance, the Utah Biz & Living Color gala and bringing back the woolly mammoth?!? | | | 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 17, 2021 Welcome to Friday. Looking forward to some fall weather this weekend. It's my favorite time of year. It's Constitution Day! Don't miss Senator Mitt Romney speaking at the Wheatley Institution on "Our Constitutional Order" today at 11. Also, tomorrow is the "Celebrating Women" virtual conference sponsored by Utah State University. Be in the Know Gabby Petito has been missing since the end of August. Her fiancé returned home alone, 10 days before Gabby was reported missing. Moab police bodycam footage shows a sobbing Gabby who told officers "I'm crying because we've been fighting." Florida police say that right now, there's no evidence of a crime. and are treating it as a missing persons case. Law enforcement experts believe finding her without her fiancé's help will be 'extremely difficult' - and he's not talking. Her family is asking for help as the national search focuses on the Grand Teton area. Last night, Utah Business and Living Color teamed up to hold a lovely gala showcasing and honoring individuals and organizations who are working toward a "more equitable and inclusive future for our state." Honorees included Dr. Charles Rogers, Founder and President at the Colorectal Cancer Equity Foundation, his wife Dr. Tiana Rogers, Founder and CEO at Mended Hope, Nubia Peña, Director of the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs and Judge Shauna Graves-Robertson, still the only African-American woman on the bench at any level in Utah. Read more about the many other honorees here. Some scientists want to use woolly mammoth DNA (extinct for the last 4000 years) and use it to edit the DNA of Asian elephants - and they just got $15 million to make it happen. Don't we know how this ends?? I mean Jurassic Park was meant to be fiction. Just because we can doesn't mean we should. | | |
| | FROM OUR SPONSOR COVID-19 Surge, Legislative Priorities and New Political Boundaries Surging case counts fuel more COVID-19 debates as Utah prepares to draw new political boundaries. Ben Winslow, Fox 13 News reporter; Kate Bradshaw, Bountiful City Councilwoman; and Jay Evensen, Deseret News columnist, join host Jason Perry on The Hinckley Report this Friday at 7:30 p.m. to discuss how the pandemic is affecting the redistricting process and a tough midterm election. | | |
Utah Headlines General Intermountain to merge with Colorado-based hospital system (Salt Lake Tribune) Food insecurity and the pandemic: Whoâs going hungry and has it gotten worse? (Deseret News) Farmers Feeding Utah connects local producers with students in need (USU Today) Photo of the day: New shoes give Girls on the Run participants a leg up (Deseret News) Refugee service providers request compassion for Afghans coming to Utah (KSL NewsRadio) Utahns are conserving a lot of water in drought emergency (Fox13) Shoshone tribe seeks to restore the Bear River Massacre site (Fox13) Politics Why nearly half of states are threatening to sue President Joe Biden over the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for businesses (Deseret News) Stuart Adams & Brad Wilson: We support vaccines, but Bidenâs mandate exceeds his authority (Deseret News) COVID Corner 1885 new cases, with 436 in school-aged children, 15 new deaths, bringing the total to 300 since August 1. Should politicians or public health officials make the call on mask mandates? (Deseret News) FDA advisers to meet on highly charged issue of whether to recommend coronavirus vaccine boosters (Washington Post) Idaho declares statewide hospital resource crisis amid Covid surge (NBC News) A doctor called coronavirus vaccines âfakeâ and 'needle rape.' Now he sits on an Idaho regional health board. (Washington Post) Business IN FOCUS Discussion: National Small Business Month (ABC4) After fleeing Kabul, Utah restaurant owner finds success sharing Afghan culture with community (Fox13) IRONMAN World Championship set to bring up to $20 million to St George (The Spectrum) Retooled and revitalized, Overstock.com is back from the grave (Deseret News) Housing Is Utahâs âfierceâ housing market cooling? Sales are slowing, but prices are still sky high (Deseret News) Legal Judge denies some Granite School Board protesters' bids to have charges dropped (KSL) National Headlines General Crews preparing giant sequoias as KNP Complex Fire nears by removing fuel and applying structure wrap (Fox26) More than 10,000 mostly Haitian migrants await processing under bridge in Texas (The Hill) Texas governor orders six points of entry along the southern border to be shut down (CNN) Politics Milley: Calls to China were âperfectlyâ within scope of job (AP) GOP Rep. Gonzalez, who voted to impeach Trump, announces he wonât seek reelection, citing âtoxic dynamics inside our own partyâ (Washington Post) Trump endorsements jolt GOP races (Politico) Iowa Republicans face dilemma after commission scrambles congressional map (Politico) Courts Justice Thomas defends the Supreme Courtâs independence and warns of âdestroying our institutionsâ (Washington Post) International Relations All eyes on turnout as Canada's tight election campaign enters final days (Reuters) Australia at centre of Indo-Pacific alliances to counter China (Reuters) France calls US-Australia submarine deal a betrayal (Wall Street Journal) Biden angers France, EU with new Australia, UK initiative (AP) Biden threatens more sanctions on Ethiopia, Eritrea over Tigray conflict (The Hill) | | |
Policy News New broadband grant, with $10 M available for underserved communities The Governorâs Office of Economic Opportunityâs Utah Broadband Center is pleased to announce applications for its Broadband Access Grant are open from Sept. 20 to Nov. 1, 2021. The $10 million Broadband Access Grant program offsets capital expenses in deploying high-speed broadband end connections to households and businesses in unserved rural and underserved economically distressed areas statewide. A household may have internet, but if the available speeds are not adequate to meet todayâs demands of online working, learning, and providing telehealth needs from home, it may be underserved. (Read More) | | |
Commentary: California recall election doesnât provide model for 2022 congressional races By LaVarr Webb The final result of the California recall election retaining Gavin Newsom as governor was certainly not surprising. What was surprising was that any question existed about the outcome. For most of the campaign, Newsom and his Democratic allies were very nervous. Polls showed deep dissatisfaction with his administration. Democrats were compelled to raise and spend $83 million on advertising and campaign expenses, according to the L.A. Times. They called on every heavyweight Democrat in the country to support Newsom â including Pres. Biden, former Pres. Obama, VP Harris, top congressional leaders, movie stars, Silicon Valley millionaires, etc. And yet, the large field of candidates running to replace the governor could not have been weaker. The person who would have replaced Newsom, had he not received 50% of the vote, was far-right radio talk show host Larry Elder (who spent about $600,000). Democrats spent many millions of dollars portraying him as a Trump-loving extremist. The California media dug up dirt on him. A columnist in the L.A. Times called Elder âthe black face of white supremacy.â (Read More) | | |
Upcoming "Our Constitutional Order: Freedom, Responsibility and Power" with Senator Mitt Romney, sponsored by the Wheatley Institution â Sept 17, 11 am. Join here "Celebrating Women" virtual conference by USU Extension â Sept 18, 9 am - 1:15 pm. Register here A virtual discussion on civic education with Sen. John Cornyn with the Hatch Foundation - Sept 20 @ 10:30 am. Register here Utah Foundation Annual Luncheon with Shaylyn Romney Garrett â Sept 23 @ 12 pm. Register here 2021 ULCT Annual Convention with Capt. Scott Kelly â Sept 29-Oct 1. Register here One Utah Summit held at SUU â Oct 4-6. Register here Women in the money: Utah Financial Empowerment Conference with Utah State Treasurer Marlo Oaks â Oct 8, 8:30 am - 4 pm. Register here Growth, Grit and Grace - SLC Chamber's Women & Business Conference and ATHENA awards â Nov 19, 8:00 am - 3:30 pm Register here | | |
On This Day In History From History.com 1797 - The US Constitution is signed and ratified 1849 - With the help of the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman escapes to freedom. 1858 - Dred Scott, US ex-slave who sought to sue for his freedom, dies of tuberculosis 1862 - The Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day in US history 1900 - John Willard Marriott is born. Before becoming the founder of an international hotel chain, Marriott opened an A&W Root Beer in Washington, D.C. 1972 - M*A*S*H debuts on CBS Wise Words âI had reasoned this out in my mind, there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other.â -Harriet Tubman Lighter Side âLast night, SpaceX made history when it launched the first all-tourist crew into orbit. Sadly, one of them forgot to tell Verizon heâs traveling, so now heâs up there like, âDamn it, Iâve been roaming this whole time.ââ â JIMMY FALLON | | |
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