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Situational awareness - May 24, 2018
Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City.
Utah's dual-track system to the ballot isn't going anywhere. The UTA reaffirms a big severance package for its fired boss. North Korea may ditch the planned summit with President Trump.
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TICK TOCK
5 days until the last day to register to vote by mail for the 2018 primary election (5/29/2018) 6 days until the last day to change your party affiliation before the primary election (5/30/2018) 12 days until primary election mail-in ballots are sent to voters (6/5/2018) 19 days until in-person early primary voting begins (6/12/2018) 26 days until the final day to register to vote online or in person before the primary election (6/19/2018) 29 days until in-person early primary voting ends (6/22/2018) 33 days until the 2018 Primary Election (6/26/2018) 166 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018) 249 days until the first day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (1/28/2019) 894 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)
PODCASTS
Subscribe to the award-winning "Bernick and Schott on politics" podcast, Utah's longest-running political podcast. Hosts Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick have more than 60 years of combined experience covering Utah politics. Plus, you'll get long-form interviews with Utah newsmakers. Subscribe (and leave a review) using iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher.
HERE ARE THE STORIES WE'RE WATCHING TODAY
SB54 fight
If Count My Vote fails to make the November ballot, what will that mean for Utah's current dual-path to the primary ballot? Probably not much, since Gov. Herbert has said he would veto any attempt to repeal that law [Utah Policy].
Another SCOTUS pick for Trump?
Sen. Mike Lee says there's a "very real possibility" Justice Anthony Kennedy retires from the Supreme Court this year [Utah Policy].
Medical marijuana battle
Two staffers for the Alliance for a Better Utah say the Sutherland Institute is not being honest about their role in the fight against legalizing medical marijuana [Utah Policy].
A call for civic engagement
Utah House candidate Jon Hawkins argues that the only way to fight factionalism in politics is for everyone to get involved [Utah Policy].
OTHER UTAH HEADLINES
The Utah Transit Authority reaffirmed the severance package for Jerry Benson valued at more than $200,000 [
Deseret News,
Tribune].
GOP U.S. Senate candidate Mike Kennedy shares a snippet of a phone call he made to controversial pastor Robert Jeffress that shows he did not apologize on behalf of all Utahns for Mitt Romney calling him a "religious bigot" [
Deseret News].
Negotiations between Gov. Gary Herbert's office and Salt Lake City officials over the controversial inland port authority are still at an impasse [
Deseret News].
Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams is demanding changes after a state audit found widespread drug use at the Road Home shelter [
Deseret News].
An audit finds no evidence that South Salt Lake Mayor Cherie Wood diverted city funds to her re-election campaign [
Tribune].
The final two agencies have signed off on tax breaks to build a data center in Eagle Mountain for a still unnamed company [
Deseret News].
State lawyers are fighting a lawsuit from former A.G. John Swallow who wants Utah to pay his $1.6 million in legal fees following his acquittal on public corruption charges [
Tribune].
Draper's former police chief is suing that city claiming he was fired after complaining about city employees spreading false information about him that hurt his chances of taking another job elsewhere [
Fox 13,
Tribune].
The Census Bureau says Salt Lake City's population is over 200,000 for the first time, but local experts say that's probably not accurate [
Tribune].
Utah is adding new housing faster than any other state over the past year [
Deseret News].
UDOT is warning of delays up to 90 minutes on I-15 during the Memorial Day weekend [
Fox 13].
NATIONAL HEADLINES
President Trump said during a Thursday morning interview with "Fox & Friends" that he would be open to a gradual phase-in of North Korean denuclearization [
Axios].
North Korean officials rip Vice President Mike Pence, saying he is a "political idiot" and threatened to back out of a planned summit with President Trump after Pence warned North Korea's leadership could end up like former Libyan leader Muammar el Qaddafi [
New York Times].
North Korea announced Thursday morning that they've permanently shut down their nuclear test site [
New York Times].
Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's lawyer in the Russia investigation, has reversed himself and now says the president should sit down for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller [
Washington Post].
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's personal lawyer, received a secret payment of at least $400,000 to arrange a White House meeting between President Trump and Ukranian President Petro Poroshenko [
BBC].
Republicans in the House who signed on to the effort to force a vote on immigration measures are fearful they could face retribution from leadership [
The Hill]. House GOP leaders are making a last-ditch attempt to come up with a compromise immigration bill, but there's not much optimism that they'll be able to find common ground [
Washington Post].
Republicans in Congress are pushing back hard against President Trump's plan to ease sanctions on Chinese phone maker ZTE [
The Hill].
The Trump administration is exploring tariffs on vehicle and auto-parts imports. Trump is asking for tariffs of as much as 25% [
Wall Street Journal].
White House adviser Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law, finally gets a permanent security clearance after more than a year [
New York Times].
Families of children killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting are suing Alex Jones for spreading conspiracy theories about the massacre [
New York Times].
A federal judge rules President Trump cannot block his critics on Twitter because he uses the platform as a public forum [
Washington Post].
Elon Musk is proposing a new website to rate the credibility of media organizations and individual reporters. The website will be named "Pravda," which is the name of the former Soviet Union's main propaganda outlet [
Wall Street Journal].
Troops on a nuclear missile base in Wyoming bought, distributed and used the hallucinogen LSD for months. Once investigators closed in on the ring, one airman deserted to Mexico [
Associated Press].
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
1607 - 100 English settlers disembark in Jamestown, the first English colony in America.
1626 - Peter Minuit buys Manhattan.
1844 - Samuel Morse sends the message "What hath God wrought" from the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the United States Capitol to his assistant in Baltimore, Maryland, to inaugurate a commercial telegraph line between Baltimore and Washington D.C.
1856 - John Brown and his men kill five slavery supporters at Pottawatomie Creek, Kansas.
1883 - The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic after 14 years of construction.
1935 - The first night game in Major League Baseball history is played in Cincinnati, Ohio with the Cincinnati Reds beating the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 at Crosley Field.
1962 - American astronaut Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule.
2007 - Congress voted to increase the minimum wage for the first time in 10 years -- from $5.15 an hour to $7.25.
Today At Utah Policy
| Weekly survey: Kennedy apologizes
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
GOP U.S. Senate candidate Mike Kennedy apologized to Pastor Robert Jeffress after his opponent, Mitt Romney, called him a "religious bigot."... |
Policy News
Sens. Lee, Klobuchar announce hearing on T-Mobile-Sprint merger
Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, will hold a subcommittee hearing June 27th on the proposed T-Mobile-Sprint Merger.... |
Local Headlines
Salt Lake Tribune
Editorial: No child should go to school in a hard target
Utah led the nation in housing growth, but would-be buyers are feeling the pain, Census reports
Uranium makes feds' list of minerals 'critical' to national security, setting off a debate in Utah and beyond
Find out how much the top government employees in Utah's largest 50 cities made last year
Business leaders praise planned Salt Lake City trade hub but environmentalists raise questions
After attorney general said UTA board violated open meeting laws, it again fires former agency chief - a step ensuring he will receive a severance of about $282K
The nonprofits overseeing Utah's homeless shelters face a tough question: What does 'zero tolerance' mean when the alternative could mean a night outside?
South Salt Lake audit finds no evidence that municipal funds were diverted into mayor's re-election campaign
Census says fast-growing Salt Lake City passes the 200,000 resident mark - but local officials say that's probably premature
Deseret News
Jay Evensen: Another secret deal? Don't forget the schools
Jay Evensen: Why are the homeless shelters still unsafe?
A. Scott Anderson: Welcome to the S.L. Chamber, Derek Miller
Editorial: Eagle Mountain data center deal needs a thorough airing
Pompeo doesn't have good news on effort to free Utahn in Venezuela
Global trade experts urge Utah leaders to put politics aside for inland port, but talks remain stalled
UTA board reaffirms former boss's $200K severance package
Salt Lake County mayor calls for action after 'damning' Road Home audit
Final 2 agencies pass tax breaks for mystery data center in Utah County
Mike Kennedy says 'snippet' shows he wasn't speaking for all of Utah
Sen. Orrin Hatch cautions against 'dark side' of sports betting in Sports Illustrated op-ed
Other
Valley Visioning Summit plans for Utah County's future (Daily Herald)
How will an inland port affect Utah County business? (Daily Herald)
Editorial: Repair, don't rebrand, Utah Transit Authority (Standard-Examiner)
National Headlines
What Changed? The Same Media Who Excuse Bob Mueller Abused Ken Starr (NewsBusters)
He was suspended for wearing a Trump shirt. Now, he's suing his Oregon school district (Sacramento Bee)
Federal Prosecutors Start Sex-Crimes Investigation Into Harvey Weinstein (Wall Street Journal)
Turkey's Currency Meltdown (Wall Street Journal)
Mueller Rejects Speedy Trial Law To Delay Russian Collusion Trial (Daily Caller)
She accused a Texas state trooper of sexual assault. Then her lawyer apologized (Star-Telegram)
Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, has White House security clearance restored (USA Today)
NFL's new policy on national anthem: Players, teams can be fined if they don't stand (Yahoo Sports)
Hackers infect 500,000 consumer routers all over the world with malware (Ars Technica)
Elon Musk wants to rate journalists. He'd call his site 'Pravda' (CNN)
Fed minutes show support for June hike and calm about inflation outlook (MarketWatch)
Reciprocation
"Every right implies a responsibility; Every opportunity, an obligation, Every possession, a duty." John D. Rockefeller
Similar Lives
"Scientists claim to have succeededtransplanting a memory from the brain of one sea snailand implanting it into another. Or, more likely, snails live pretty similar lives." Seth Meyers
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