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Situational awareness - March 13, 2020

Good morning from Salt Lake City and TGIF!

TICK TOCK

43 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic state conventions (4/25/2020)

109 days to the 2020 Utah primary elections (6/30/2020)

235 Days to the 2020 election (11/3/2020)

318 days to the start of the 2021 Utah Legislature (1/25/2021)

Here are the stories you need to pay attention to this morning:

• The Utah Legislature wrapped up their work for 2020 on Thursday.
• The plan to move back the tax filing deadline for Americans could cause problems for Utah's budget.
• Shutdowns hit major parts of American life as governments struggle to control the spread of the virus.

FRIDAY TRIVIA

This week's question comes from Peggy Burdett.

During the 1992 Utah Republican State Convention, what Utah produced comestible did Olene Walker have for delegates adorned with the logo for her congressional candidacy?

Send your answers to me at [email protected]. We will select a winner randomly from all the correct replies.

Good luck!

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Today At Utah Policy

OTHER UTAH HEADLINES

Deseret News

• From the governor: Help Utah officials slow the spread of COVID-19
• A. Scott Anderson: Teaching entrepreneurial skills will benefit Utah's future
• Jay Evensen: Will Americans follow rules in a pandemic?
• From school breakfast to vaping, bevy of education-related bills pass on final day
• Utahns stocking up on supplies over fears of coronavirus spread
• Utah Democrats, GOP cancel in-person state conventions, postpone caucus night
• Utah governor limits mass gatherings in state to 100 people
• Utah Legislature passes bill to end straight-ticket voting option
• Legislature OKs Utah Inland Port bills giving Salt Lake City concessions
• Utah Legislature passes elective abortion ban but mandatory ultrasound bill stalls in House
• The 2020 census is officially underway, despite coronavirus fears
• Utah tech leaders unhappy with some state COVID-19 strategies, but ready to help
• Utah lawmakers take on tax reform, other tough issues, but now facing financial fallout from pandemic
• Utah Legislature prioritizes mental health, affordable housing
• Utah COVID-19 testing ramping up, but medical supplies and worker safety are concerns locally and nationally

Salt Lake Tribune

• Juliette Tennert: Despite public health concerns, Utah's fiscal house is in order
• Coronavirus fear causing Utah ERs to be overrun, while testing remains limited
• State lawmakers vote for more control over session schedule
• Utahns soon may be able to join wine clubs and bring back a case of liquor from out of state
• Utah Legislature passes two bills to address inland port concerns
• Sen. Mitt Romney offers bill to help workers affected by coronavirus
• Utah lawmakers turned to teachers - and now to voters - for a budget fix
• Mandatory ultrasound bill dies in final hours of Utah legislative session

Other

• With funding cut to $10 million, affordable housing bill advances through Utah Legislature (Daily Herald)
• Weber County cannabis-growing operation taking shape, lawmakers fine-tune pot laws (Standard-Examiner)
• DoD issues coronavirus travel restrictions, will impact Hill AFB (Standard-Examiner)

NATIONAL HEADLINES

The great shutdown of 2020

American life is grinding to a halt because of the coronavirus.

• Schools are shutting down in several states to control the spread of the virus.
• Every major sporting league and event was at least postponed on Thursday because of the outbreak.
• Disney announced its theme parks and cruise line will close until the end of the month. It's the first time Disneyland has closed since the Sept. 11 attacks.
• Broadway will go dark through April 12.
• Democrats are urging the party to consider an alternative to the national convention, scheduled to take place in Milwaukee in July [Washington Post].

Markets plunge again

The Dow fell 10 percent on Thursday for the worst day since the Black Monday crash in 1987 [CNBC].

Washington struggles to respond

President Donald Trump's shambolic primetime speech on Wednesday night failed to calm fears surrounding the virus, and may have made them worse [Washington Post].

House Democrats and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are closing in on an aid package for Americans affected by the coronavirus [Politico].

Democrats Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders slam the Trump administration's response to the outbreak in a pair of campaign speeches on Thursday [New York Times].

President Trump reportedly is worried about declaring a national emergency because of COVID-19 would stoke panic and undercut his message that the virus is similar to the seasonal flu [Politico].

Officials at the Centers for Disease Control said as many as 200,000 to 1.7 Americans could die under a worst-case scenario for the virus [New York Times].

The Federal Reserve will pump $1.5 trillion into the economy in an attempt to stave off a recession [Wall Street Journal].

Where are the tests?

The CDC tested only 77 people this week for the virus as testing across the nation is moving very slowly [Yahoo! News].

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert at the National Institutes of Health, says testing in the U.S. is "failing" [AP].

Sick people across the U.S. say they are being denied a test for the coronavirus [New York Times].

President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence will not get tested after interacting with a Brazilian official who has been infected [Washington Post].

An Australian government official tested positive for the virus just days after meeting with Ivanka Trump and Attorney General William Barr [Washington Post].

BUSINESS HEADLINES

• Rural counties to receive $10M boost from Legislature (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Time to get paid: Utah startup brings Uber-like perks to the workaday world (Deseret News)
• Natalie Gochnour: Six economic rules to help Utah during a pandemic (Deseret News)

Policy News

More National Headlines

• Human trials for a coronavirus vaccine could begin 'within a few weeks,' top US health official says (CNBC)
• Buried From Trump Tower Meeting: Translator Telling FBI 'No Collusion' (RealClearInvestigations)
• Coronavirus: Wuhan doctor says officials muzzled her for sharing report on WeChat (South China Morning Post)
• Coronavirus burial pits so vast they're visible from space (Washington Post)
• Elderly Will Be Denied Intensive Care as Coronavirus Overwhelms Italy's National Health System, Experts Warn (PJ Media)
• Joe Biden Blasts Trump's Coronavirus Response, Then Plagiarizes Trump's Plan (PJ Media)
• How Government Red Tape Stymied Testing and Made the Coronavirus Epidemic Worse (Reason)
• No, coronavirus is not a good argument for quitting cash (Technology Review)
• Greening Our Way to Infection (City-Journal)
• MSNBC's Joy Reid hits Dems for including abortion in emergency spending bill: 'What does that have to do with COVID-19?' (FOX News)
• Pentagon Asks to Reconsider Awarding Huge Cloud Contract to Amazon (New York Times)

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1781 - The planet Uranus was discovered by British astronomer William Herschel.

1862 - The U.S. federal government forbids all Union army officers from returning fugitive slaves, thus annulling the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and setting the stage for the Emancipation Proclamation.

1865 - The Confederate States of America agree to the use of African-American troops.

1868 - The Senate began impeachment proceedings against President Andrew Johnson. Johnson was later acquitted by one vote.

1933 - Banks in the U.S. begin to re-open after President Franklin D. Roosevelt mandates a "bank holiday."

1991 - The Department of Justice announces that Exxon has agreed to pay $1 billion for the clean-up of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.

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