Congrats to Rep Blake Moore and his wife Jane, Paul Ray leaving the legislature, Congress approves spending bill and an IKEA sleepover | | | 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 | December 3, 2021 It's Friday and we're heading into the first shopping weekend in December. Good luck out there. Be in the Know Congrats to Rep. Blake Moore and his wife Jane on the birth of their fourth son, Franklin Garr Moore! Rep. Paul Ray is stepping down to become the legislative affairs assistant director of the Utah Health Department. Ray has been in the House for 20 years and helped oversee this year's redistricting process. He also sponsored the "endgame" bill which lifted the statewide mask mandate in April. Dozens of people were stranded overnight in an IKEA store in Denmark Wednesday night after a snowstorm dumped 12 inches of snow. There was food and plenty of beds - once shoppers made it through the maze of a store to find them. And, they didn't even have to build the beds themselves. #ChristmasMiracles Oh, and Congress approved the latest spending bill over protests from a group of Senate Republicans, including Mike Lee, who threatened to force a government shut down. Utah's other Senator said there was "too much chaos" in the US for the government to shut down. | | |
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Utah Headlines General A national report ranked Utah last for womenâs equity â again. What can be done to change it? (Deseret News) 10 specific ways Utah can improve its ranking as the worst state for womenâs equality (Salt Lake Tribune) What Drew Barrymore said about the #LightTheWorld Giving Machines on her show (Deseret News) Politics Why Arizona Democrats act like Republicans (Deseret News) Rep. Paul Ray, sponsor of Utahâs COVID âendgameâ bill, to leave Legislature for a new job at state health department (Salt Lake Tribune) Utah County Commission looks at separating Clerk/Auditor's office (Daily Herald) Rep. Paul Ray to take post in Utah Department of Human Services (Standard-Examiner) âItâs kind of unfortunateâ: Washington County clerk/auditor laments turnout for local-level elections (St. George News) COVID Corner 1981 new cases, no deaths reported due to technical difficulties Omicron Covid variant detected in 5 U.S. states as scientists investigate heavily mutated strain (CNBC) Hawaii resident with omicron had no travel history, officials say (KFOR) South Africa COVID-19 cases triple in three days amid omicron surge (The Hill) Environment 'Stop the attacks': Tribal leaders, activists plead for end to 'political football' over Utah monuments (KSL) Washington County approves an âaggressiveâ water conservation plan (KUER) Education Utah school assembly addressing racism erupts into its own controversy (KSL) Researcher who uncovered Indigenous schoolâs history in Panguitch leaves job after being told to stop work (Salt Lake Tribune) New lawsuit over special education access filed against Salt Lake City School District (KUTV) School official in Bluffdale apologizes after racially insensitive Instagram Post (KUTV) Entrepreneur Brandon Fugal donates $5 million to UVU for new Gateway Building (Daily Herald) Diversity assembly leads to controversy in Cache County School District (KUER) National Headlines General A 14-year-old girl was shot and killed by her brother, who was making and selling guns, Georgia sheriff says (CNN) US employers added a sluggish 210,000 jobs in November (AP) U.S. job growth misses expectations in November; unemployment rate dives (Reuters) One in 44 U.S. children diagnosed with autism, new data suggests (NBC News) Politics Two election workers targeted by pro-Trump media sue for defamation (New York Times) Stacey Abrams is running for Georgia governor, aiming to unseat Gov. Brian Kemp (New York Times) Congress thwarts shutdown after vaccine mandate clash (Politico) Courts Liberty University professor charged with alleged sexual battery and abduction of student (The Hill) Roe âsettledâ law? Justicesâ earlier assurances now in doubt (AP) International Large scale Russian offensive possible in January, Ukraine says (Reuters) Aid official: Afghanistanâs crises get âprogressively worseâ (AP) | | |
News Releases Sen. Romney: By averting their eyes to Chinaâs slavery, companies and politicians are âPaying the cannibals to eat them lastâ In a speech on the Senate floor today,U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) joined his colleague Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) in imploring Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer to resolve any procedural roadblocks and ensure passage of legislation to prevent goods that are made with slave labor from being sold in the United States. The bipartisan Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Actâcosponsored by Senator Romneyâpreviously passed the Senate unanimously and was recently introduced as an amendment to this yearâs defense bill by Senator Rubio. (Read/Watch More) DAY 19: Sen. Lee continues fight against Bidenâs vaccine mandate Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), for the nineteenth day, spoke against President Bidenâs vaccine mandate on the Senate Floor today (Dec. 2). He also spoke about his letter with fourteen other Senators stating their intention to oppose any funding measure that supports the mandate. He explained that due to denial and delay of Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, he is requesting a simple majority vote on one amendment to grant his consent to pass the funding measure in a short time period. (Read/Watch More) | | |
Opinion brief: Abortion at the Supreme Court By LaVarr Webb Will Supreme Court give states control over abortion laws? Pundits are speculating that the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn Roe V. Wade, or at the least allow states to impose more abortion restrictions. The arguments before the Court, and questions and comments made by justices, have been fascinating. Thereâs not much middle ground on abortion. Itâs different than most other political issues because, in the views of many, it has to do with babies and life and death. If you fervently believe an unborn baby â at whatever stage of development â is a human being, you canât compromise to allow that life to be ended. But if you fervently believe that a woman has a universal right to determine what happens with her own body, including the fetus growing within, then thereâs also not much room for compromise. So, no matter how the court rules, this will continue to be a very difficult and divisive issue. Personally, I come down squarely on the pro-life side and I hope the court decides the democratic processes in the various states are better places to decide this matter than to leave it in the hands of nine unelected justices. | | |
Upcoming 2022 Congressional Policy Forecast Webinar - Hatch Center â Dec 8, 10:30 am - 11:30 am Register here Utah Economic Outlook & Public Policy Summit 2022 - SLC Chamber â Jan 13, 2022, 8:30 am - 1:30 pm. Register here Utah legislative session begins â Jan 18, 2022, 10:00 am Utah legislative session ends â Mar 4, 2022, midnight | | |
On This Day In History From History.com 1776 - George Washington arrives at the banks of the Delaware 1842 - Ellen Swallow Richards is born. She was the first woman to graduate from MIT (1873), is recognized as the creator of the fields of ecology and home economics, and was the co-founder of the Association of Collegiate Alumnae, which became the American Association of University Women 1912 - Armistice signed in first Balkan War 1948 - First US female Army officer not in the medical corps is sworn in 1950 - Paul Harvey begins his national radio broadcast 1953 - President Eisenhower criticizes McCarthy for saying communists are in the Republican Party 1967 - First human heart transplant occurs in South Africa 1984 - The worst industrial accident in history occurs when a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India explodes. At least 2,000 people died and 200,000 were injured by the toxic gas released. 1989 - Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and US President George H. W. Bush, declare the Cold War over 1992 - Neil Papworth, an engineer for Vodaphone telecommunications, sent the worldâs first text message. He typed the message on his desktop computer and sent the message to a colleague's Orbitel 901 cell phone. The message read, âMerry Christmas.â 2018 - 7-year old Ryan of Ryan Toys Review is the year's highest-paid YouTube star earning $22 million Wise Words âIn times like these, it's helpful to recall that there have always been times like these.â -Paul Harvey Lighter Side âWe have no idea if Omicron is actually that bad. And what I mean by that is, we donât know if it might spread more easily or we donât know if it will be more deadly. Itâs just too early to know. And I hate to sound like someone describing every streaming show right now, but you gotta stick with it the first couple of weeks and see where it goes.â â TREVOR NOAH | | |
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