Situational Analysis | July 29, 2022

It's Friday and National Lasagna Day. Party party 🎉 🥳 

Be in the Know

• Erica Glenn spent the summer in Poland and has experienced first-hand the collective PTSD of Polish citizens whose parents and grandparents experienced Russia's "freeing" them from Nazis by razing cities to the ground. It's because of that collective memory, however, that Poland flung open their doors to Ukrainian refugees from the beginning of the war. “We are trying to do for Ukraine what no one did for us during World War II,” said one of her guides. 
• Meanwhile, 40 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed and 75 wounded when a missile strike hit the prison where they were being held. Russia says Ukraine did it and Ukraine says Russia shelled the prison to eliminate evidence of war crimes. Another strike hit Mykolaiv and a Russian soldier castrated a Ukrainian solder with a box cutter, filmed it and shared it. Horrifying. 

Rapid Roundup

• Norman Lear turns 100, Utah picked to win Pac-12 title in media’s preseason poll, a rattlesnake showed up in a tree in Cotttonwood Heights, prices rose 6.8% in June, one of the world's most expensive hotels is in Utah, a third flock of turkeys in Sanpete County test positive for bird flu 🦃 and a new detective solves a 60-yr old cold case.

Utah Headlines

General

• The startling case of Ridge Alkonis. This respected family man, Navy officer and Latter-day Saint is now in a Japanese prison as his family and U.S. lawmakers seek his release (Deseret News)
• Fascinating story: New detective solves 60-year-old mystery, declares deceased Utahn a serial killer (KSL)
• FBI, local advocates launch new effort to locate missing indigenous people (Fox13)
• Native American tribes, Utah government seek collaboration at annual summit (Fox13)
• Former crime scene investigator pleads guilty to child sex offenses (Standard Examiner)

Politics

• Evan McMullin thinks he knows how to defeat Trumpism (Politico)
• A professional medical and research ethics organization has canceled its planned convention in Salt Lake City in response to the Utah Legislature’s enactment of a “trigger law” that bans most abortions and its recent passage of legislation that bans transgender girls from competing in high school sports. (Deseret News)
• Gas prices are falling. Which way is President Joe Biden’s approval rating going? (Deseret News)
• U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg will be in Salt Lake City on Friday to talk with state leaders about the recently passed $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill (Deseret News)
• How immigration reform could lower your grocery bill. Unless farmers can find workers, food prices will continue to rise, experts say (Deseret News)
• For Rep. Rusty Bowers, an oath is an oath (Salt Lake Tribune)
• 'We want fair elections': Utah County residents decry mail-in voting, voting machines (KSL)
• Utah candidate for clerk says he won't grant same-sex marriage licenses (KUTV)
• Deeper look into Utah congressional delegation's support for same-sex marriage protection (KUTV)

Economy

• Is it recession or not? Utah’s situation looks good but some businesses still worry (KUER)
• Utah has ‘a lot of cushion’ that will help it withstand an economic downturn (KSL TV)
• Some Utahns fear oncoming recession as GDP drops for second straight quarter (Fox13)
• EXPLAINER: How do we know when a recession has begun? (AP)
• The U.S. economy is shrinking. The Fed's rate hikes may have only just begun to bite (Reuters)
• Amazon sees resilient consumer demand as shares jump 13% (Reuters)
• Worker pay and benefits rose 1.3% in second quarter (Wall Street Journal)
• Except in North Carolina, apparently, where one Chick-fil-A store asks for ‘volunteers’ to work for chicken, not money (Washington Post)

Education

• SUU Named 2022-2023 College of Distinction (SUU News)
• As Salt Lake City moves to shed its first Black school superintendent, a look at what went wrong: An alleged junket, a string of hires and a flood of employee complaints appear to have turned the school board against Dr. Timothy Gadson. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Alpine School District pulls dozens of books from school library shelves (KUTV)
• University of Utah announces tuition waiver for Native American students (KSL)
• Non-traditional college graduates help fill Utah’s teacher vacancies (ABC4)
• Few Black men become school psychologists. Here's why that matters (NPR)

Environment

• The wicked story of ‘clean’ wind energy and raptors (Deseret News)
• Why does California want to build a $16 billion water pipeline? (Deseret News)
• Mitt Romney proposal to save the ailing Great Salt Lake moves forward (Deseret News)
• If you’re looking for wildflowers in Albion Basin, you’ll spot some construction too (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Salt Lake breaks 62-year-old triple-digit heat record; flood watch issued for southern Utah (KSL)
• Salt Lake City temperatures almost certain to break record for the hottest month ever documented (Fox13)
• Cloud seeding could bring more water to the Great Salt Lake, Utah Department of Natural Resources says (KSL Newsradio)
• What is killing the West’s notoriously resilient bristlecone pines? Once thought to be immune to the devastation happening to other forests, bristlecone pines now appear to be in danger from beetle attack. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Parleys Canyon mine tests the limits of authority of Utah’s mining division (Salt Lake Tribune)

Family

• Romney’s proposal for a pro-family, pro-work and pro-birth America (Deseret News)
• 'Freedom Riders' provide recreational horse riding program for children with disabilities (KUTV)

Health

• Utah reports 5,800 new COVID-19 cases and 16 deaths, including Salt Lake County child. Wastewater levels still show high levels of coronavirus in sewage. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• The pandemic isn’t over. Why do we act like it is? (Deseret News)
• Sen. Mitt Romney wants to create a new health agency to protect against future public health disasters (Salt Lake Tribune)
• With the summer heat, comes health concerns and needed help for vulnerable (KSL Newsradio)

Housing

• N. Utah housing market edges toward ‘normal’ as sales plunge and prices start to level off. Rising interest rates bite into those exorbitant offers, but relief could be years away, especially for renters who have given up house hunting. (Salt Lake Tribune)

National Headlines

General

• The value of Turkey on the world stage with Russia, Islamic extremism and global security (Deseret News)
• 15 dead in Appalachian flooding, toll expected to rise (AP)
• This American teacher also sits in a Russian jail, worried nobody cares. Arrested last summer after arriving in Moscow with medical marijuana in his luggage, Marc Fogel has a case that parallels the ordeal of WNBA star Brittney Griner. But his plight has mostly gone unnoticed. (Washington Post)

Politics

• Trump-backed Arizona governor candidate claims election fraud ahead of primary (Deseret News)
• Olivia Julianna, the 19-year-old reproductive rights activist who this week turned an insult from Rep. Matt Gaetz into a fundraiser, has raised more than $1.3 million for women seeking abortions — after taking just 72 hours to hit the $1 million mark. (Washington Post)
• Fetterman leads Oz by 11 points in Pennsylvania Senate race: poll (The Hill)
• Jan. 6 texts missing for Trump Homeland Security’s Wolf and Cuccinelli (Washington Post)
• Blindsided veterans erupted in anger and indignation Thursday after 41 Senate Republicans suddenly tanked a widely supported bipartisan measure that would have expanded medical coverage for millions of combatants exposed to toxic burn pits during their service. 25 of them supported the bill last month. (NBC News)

Ukraine 🇺🇦 

•  Special Report: How Russia spread a secret web of agents across Ukraine (Reuters)
• Northern Ukraine comes under burst of Russian attacks (Wall Street Journal)
• Zelensky says he’s hopeful that grain will start moving from Ukraine’s ports soon. (New York Times)
• I’m Ukraine’s foreign minister. Don't be fooled when Russia says it wants to negotiate. Putin must be stopped. (New York Times)

News Releases

Romney outlines his vision for the future of conservative family policy

Thursday, in a speech at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) outlined his vision for how public policy can best support American families. He then sat down with AEI President Robert Doar to discuss his recently proposed Family Security Act 2.0, which aims to reform existing, complex federal programs into one straightforward pro-family, pro-life, and pro-work benefit. (Read/Watch More)

Romney proposes new data agency for the protection of public health

Romney’s Center for Public Health Data would establish an early warning system for infectious disease

U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) proposed a new data agency to improve access to impartial and objective public health data that would bolster our infectious disease intelligence and preparedness. This data already exists in electronic forms across laboratories, clinics, and hospitals, but is incomplete and fragmented across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and is not shared quickly enough to drive decision making. The Center for Public Health Data (CPHD) would aggregate this existing data to make it more accessible in real time. A two-pager of the proposal can be found here. (Read More)

Senate passes Romney, Stewart, Owens, Curtis bill to save Utah’s Great Salt Lake

The Senate passed the Great Salt Lake Recovery Act, legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) to study historic drought conditions and protect the long-term health of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Earlier this month, the Great Salt Lake dropped to its lowest level on record for the second time in a year, posing a threat to Utah’s environment and economy. Representatives Chris Stewart (R-UT), Burgess Owens (R-UT), and John Curtis (R-UT) lead the companion legislation in the House. (Read More)

Salt Lake Chamber honors spring cohort completing new Diversity & Inclusion Training Program

The 2022 Spring Cohort of the Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Training Series concluded with graduation ceremonies celebrating the completion of the Salt Lake Chamber’s new signature program. The Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Training Series, sponsored by the Semnani Family Foundation and Zions Bank, was developed to provide newly designated or seasoned professionals in the field of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion access to thought leadership and program development. (Read More)

Owens introduces bipartisan resolution honoring victims of the Munich Massacre

Ahead of the 50th Anniversary of the Munich Massacre, Reps. Burgess Owens (UT-04), Brad Sherman (CA-30), and Shontel Brown (OH-11) today introduced a bipartisan House Resolution calling for a moment of silence in Congress and at all future Olympic Opening Ceremonies in honor of the eleven Israeli athletes who were brutally murdered by a group of Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

“During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, eleven Israeli athletes were brutally murdered by ‘Black September,’ a group of Palestinian terrorists,” said Rep. Owens. “As we approach the 50th anniversary of the Munich Massacre, I am humbled to join Reps. Sherman and Brown to honor the victims of this dark day. Throughout history, the unifying power of sports and peaceful competition has brought us together. Now more than ever, we must fight all forms of terrorism, antisemitism, and hate.” (Read More)

Lee amendments bolster child online safety

During a markup focused on protecting children’s online privacy, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) offered thirteen amendments, nine of which the Senate Commerce Committee adopted. Lee’s amendments were adopted as part of Sen. Blumenthal’s (D- CT) and Sen. Blackburn’s (R-TN) Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and provide additional regulatory safeguards and protections for children online. Sen. Lee voted in favor of pushing KOSA out of committee while noting the work still needed to improve the bill. (Read/Watch More)

Lee resolution recognizes Pregnancy Centers

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced a Resolution designating the week of November 7^th as “National Pregnancy Center Week.” Pregnancy Resource Centers are a vital resource to women across the country, providing a wide range of healthcare services to those in need. Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) introduced a companion resolution in the House. (Read More)

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Upcoming

• Women in the Money with Utah State Treasurer's Office — Sept. 15-16, Salt Lake Sheraton + online, Register here
• ULCT Annual Convention — Oct 5-7, Salt Palace Convention Center, Register here
• General election â€“ Nov 8

On This Day In History

• 1833 - William Wilberforce, English abolitionist, dies at 73
• 1885 - The first National Convention of Black Women is held in Boston, MA.
• 1905 - Mary Roebling is born. She became the first woman president of a major bank (1937), first woman governor of the American Stock Exchange (1958-1962), and helped establish the first nationally-chartered bank founded by women (1978).
• 1907 - Sir Robert Baden-Powell forms the Boy Scouts in England
• 1921 - Adolf Hitler becomes the leader of the National Socialist German Workers (Nazi) Party.
• 1936 - Elizabeth H. Dole is born. A US Senator from North Carolina (2003-2009), she was the first woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of Transportation (1983-1987), and also served as U.S. Secretary of Labor (1989-1990), becoming the first woman to hold two different cabinet positions under two different presidents. She was also president of the American Red Cross (1991-1999).
• 1954 - “Fellowship of the Ring” first published.
• 1958 - NASA is founded.
• 1974 - The Philadelphia Eleven are ordained as the first female priests in the Episcopal Church.
• 1975 - Ford became 1st US President to visit Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz
• 1981 - Prince Charles married Lady Diana - yes, I watched
• 1987 - Ben & Jerry's and Jerry Garcia agree on a new flavor: Cherry Garcia

Wise Words

“This monument and the memory of those it honors inspire us further to the dedicated pursuit of peace, cooperation and security for all peoples.”

— Gerald Ford, in the guest book at Auschwitz

Lighter Side

I stayed up all night wondering where the sun had gone…

Then it dawned on me.

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