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The Utah Policy newsletter is your one-stop source for political and policy-minded news. We scour the news so you don't have to! Send news tips or feedback to Holly Richardson at [email protected].

 

Situational Analysis | Dec. 12, 2024

It's Thursday and Gingerbread House Day!

What you need to know

  • The Martha Hughes Cannon statue has officially taken her place in Emancipation Hall in the U.S. Capitol Visitor's Center. The trailblazing woman from Utah, Dr. Cannon was a woman of faith, suffragist, doctor, senator, orator, wife and mother. Now, her statue will greet 3 million visitors every year.

Rapid Relevance

 

Utah Headlines

Political news

  • A story of perseverance: From immigrant beginnings to trailblazer - meet Dr. Martha Hughes Cannon (Deseret News)
  • John Curtis: Martha Hughes Cannon — lessons in allies and alliances (Deseret News)
  • Opinion: Why the political target on Utah’s universities? (Deseret News)
  • Mike Lee wants app stores to verify the ages of users, add parental controls (KSL)
  • Questions raised about developer's lease of state school trust lands for just $1,200/year (KUTV)
  • A coin toss helped decide Midvale’s new interim mayor: Dustin Gettel (ABC4)

Utah

  • Public face of Utah County Sheriff's Office retiring after 34-year career (KSL)
  • Rideshare drivers demand improved conditions at Salt Lake City Int'l Airport (Fox13)

Holiday season

  • Help make Christmas magical for Utah families in need (Deseret News)
  • The Tabernacle Choir has revealed the guest narrator for the 2024 Christmas concert: Dennis Haysbert (Deseret News)
  • Layton Hills Mall providing children with autism and sensory disorders chance to see Santa (KSL)
  • Angel Flight pilots bring early Christmas to Vernal school (KSL TV)
  • Volunteers at 20 Southern Utah cemeteries preparing for 'Wreaths Across America' (St. George News)

Crime/Courts

  • Teen treatment center in Mapleton failed to protect boy, Utah Health Department inspection says (Daily Herald)

Culture

  • Manti Te’o and Nate Bargatze are spending Christmas with Netflix (Deseret News)
  • Once rejected from a Sundance lab, this film is now the only one with a Utah tie in the 2025 festival lineup (Salt Lake Tribune)

Education

  • ‘Wolverine’ cyber soldiers: UVU’s national security students determined to combat global tech threats (Deseret News)
  • Draper students pitch new businesses during Junior Achievement competition with CNBC (KSL TV)
  • Salt Lake City School District's Career and Technical Education Center takes hands-on learning to the next level. (Fox13)
  • SLC School Board reaffirms its ‘safe schools’ commitment as deportation fears rise (KUER)

Environment

  • Is Utah’s port authority plan the latest threat to the Great Salt Lake? (Deseret News)
  • Winter controlled burns in Utah mountains help prepare for summer wildfire season (KUTV)

Family

  • Is 2024 the year that romance died? (Deseret News)
  • Opinion: How to strengthen the American Dream for Utah families who feel stuck on the social safety net (Deseret News)
  • Fewer US grandparents are taking care of grandchildren, according to new data (AP)

Health

  • New gene therapy reverses heart failure effects in animals, human trials pending (KSL Newsradio)

Housing

  • Has Salt Lake City created 'nuisance' by not enforcing homeless camping laws? (Fox13)
 

National Headlines

General

  • Can an AI tool combat media bias? An LA publisher wants to find out (Deseret News)
  • Malibu inferno (Deseret News)
  • Hannah Kobayashi found safe after disappearance prompted massive search (AP)
  • Orcas are hunting whale sharks. Is there anything they can't take down? (NPR)
  • Gun found on suspect in UHC killing linked to casings from scene (Washington Post)

Political news

  • FBI Director Christopher Wray says he will retire by the end of Biden’s term (Deseret News)
  • Biden pardons 39 people, commutes sentences of 1,500 others (Reuters)
  • Trump chooses Kari Lake to lead Voice of America (New York Times)
  • House approves mammoth annual defense policy bill (The Hill)
  • AOC’s Oversight rise marks Democratic generational shift (Politico)

Ukraine 🇺🇦

  • US warns Russia may be ready to use new lethal missile against Ukraine again in ‘coming days’ (AP)
  • Humbled in Syria, Putin seeks vindication in Ukraine (New York Times)

Israel and Gaza

  • Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 35 Palestinians on Thursday, Palestinian news agency reports (Reuters)
  • France tells Israel to halt Golan Heights incursion (Politico)

World news

  • Sudan again tops International Rescue Committee crises watchlist (Reuters)
  • He thought he had escaped Beijing’s clutches only to vanish back into China (Washington Post)
 

Number of the Day 

Number of the Day, Dec. 12, 2024

 

News Releases

Gov. Cox appoints Catherine Conklin as Judge for Second District

Governor Cox has appointed Commissioner Catherine Conklin to become a Judge in the Second District, filling a vacancy created by Judge Cornish’s appointment to the Business and Chancery Court. Judicial appointments are subject to confirmation by the Utah Senate. Catherine has served as a Domestic Relations Commissioner for the Second District Court for 17 years, bringing extensive experience to the bench in domestic law, criminal law, and civil litigation. She graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in English from Weber State University and earned her Juris Doctor from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, graduating in the top 25% of her class. Over the course of her career, she has been an active leader in the legal community, holding key roles with the Utah State Bar, the Weber County Bar Association, and the Rex E. Lee Inn of Court. (Read More)


Congressman Blake Moore joins the Utah delegation in welcoming Martha Hughes Cannon’s statue to the U.S. Capitol

Congressman Blake Moore joined Speaker Mike Johnson and members of the Utah congressional delegation in welcoming Martha Hughes Cannon’s statue to the U.S. Capitol. Martha Hughes Cannon was a trailblazer for women as a physician, suffragist, and public health advocate, and she made American history when she joined the Utah State Senate as the first female state senator in 1896. “Martha Hughes Cannon was a champion for women in Utah and across the country, and this statue honors her legacy as our nation’s first female state senator and pioneer for women in medicine, civil rights, and politics, all while being a mother,” said Congressman Moore. “Elected to the Utah State Senate in 1896, Martha spent her career championing health care legislation, expanding access to education, and protecting the rights of women in the workforce. I am thrilled that her statue has finally arrived in Washington so the Capitol Building’s many visitors can learn more about Martha and her immense impact on Utah and our nation.” (Read More)


Bipartisan bill to clean up abandoned hardrock mines passes House

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bipartisan Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act, introduced by Reps. Celeste Maloy (R-UT) and Mary Sattler Peltola (D-AK). This bill will establish a pilot program under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to allow “Good Samaritans” – such as non-profits, local governments, and state agencies – to obtain permits to clean up abandoned hardrock mines. 

 

Tweet of the Day

Screenshot 2024-12-12 at 5.52.09 AM

 

Upcoming

  • Dec. 12 — UpwardMobility and Benefit Cliffs Summit with Sutherland Institute, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm, Weber State University, Register here
  • Jan. 9 — What’s Up Down South Economic Summit. St. George. Register here
  • Jan. 10 — Rural Utah Data Symposium. St. George. Register here
  • Jan 14 — Utah Taxpayers Association Legislative Outlook Conference, 9 am - 12:00 pm, Little America Hotel, Register here
  • Jan. 21 — Utah legislative session begins
  • Mar. 7 — Utah legislative session ends
 

On This Day In History

  • 1870 - Joseph Rainey (South Carolina) becomes 1st African American to serve in US House of Representatives
  • 1915 - Frank Sinatra is born
  • 1961 - Nazi German army officer Adolf Eichmann is found guilty of war crimes in Israel
  • 1963 - Frank Sinatra, Jr returned by kidnappers after his father paid the $240,000 ransom demanded
  • 1980 - US copyright law amended to include computer programs
  • 2000 - US Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore, settling the recount dispute in Florida's 2000 presidential election in George W. Bush's favor
  • 2015 - The Paris Climate Accords signed in Paris

Quote of the Day

“The story of the struggle for women’s suffrage in Utah is the story of all efforts for the advancement and betterment of humanity."

—Martha Hughes Cannon


On the Punny Side

What do you call Santa's little helpers?

Subordinate clauses.

 

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