Situational Analysis | August 26, 2021

Happy Thursday! It's National Women’s Equality Day, commemorating the day in 1920 when the 19th Amendment was formally added to the US Constitution.

Be in the Know

1. Scofield has run out of drinking water due to overuse and low spring runoff. In the short-term, the town will be hauling water in for their residents. 98.75% of Utah remains in "extreme" or "exceptional" drought.

2. Delta Air Lines is not kidding around. It is already requiring mandatory mask-wearing when indoors and weekly COVID testing for unvaccinated employees begins on Sept 12. For those who remain unvaccinated by November 1, their raising health insurance premiums will go up by $200/month. “This surcharge will be necessary to address the financial risk the decision to not vaccinate is creating for our company,” said the CEO Ed Bastian. “In recent weeks since the rise of the B.1.617.2 variant, all Delta employees who have been hospitalized with Covid were not fully vaccinated.”

3. From the Associated Press this morning: "Western nations warned Thursday of a possible attack on Kabul’s airport, where thousands have flocked as they try to flee Taliban-controlled Afghanistan in the waning days of a massive airlift. Britain said an attack could come within hours."

Utah Headlines

General

• Meet the fierce Utah Paralympians who are in Tokyo right now, ready to compete for the gold (Salt Lake Tribune)
• ‘We export our kids’ — Why this scenic Utah county is quickly growing old (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Utah 12th least prepared for hospital capacity, study finds (KUTV)
• Uniquely Utah: Pink shores at the Great Salt Lake (Fox13)
• Mill Creek Canyon petroglyph vandalized (Fox13)
• Washington, Iron counties see high growth as census counts Utah as fastest growing state (St. George News)
• Fentanyl has made it to the Mountain West and its death toll is rising (KUER)

Politics

• Speaker Brad Wilson: Here’s why the next three months may determine your future (Deseret News)
• IN FOCUS Discussion: Growth in Utah (Air Quality) (ABC4)
• Primary election votes approved through Tuesday’s official canvass (Daily Herald)

COVID Corner

• 1585 new cases, 24% among school-aged children, 12 new deaths.
• It's 'wishful thinking' to believe COVID doesn’t make children as sick as adults. (Fox13)
• Dr. Fauci says he supports monoclonal antibody treatments to avoid severe COVID-19 (Deseret News)
• Trusting horse medicine more than the vaccine — what does that say about Americans? (Deseret News)
• Half of US workers favor employee shot mandate: AP-NORC poll (AP)
• Cruise lines require vaccinations, tests, amid virus surge (AP)

Education

• Utah school board member Natalie Cline could face censure for social media post about LGBTQ seminary students (Salt Lake Tribune)

Environment

• Why is Utah poisoning all the fish in Navajo Lake? (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Study: Wildfire smoke exposure increases risk of preterm birth (Deseret News)

Family

• How the ‘social safety net’ in a $3.5 trillion budget plan might impact families (Deseret News)

National Headlines

General

• Terror threats hamper Afghanistan evacuation as Biden's deadline looms (CNN)
• Baby born on Afghanistan evacuation flight named "Reach" after the aircraft call sign (CNN)
• OnlyFans reverses decision to ban pornography. ‘OnlyFans stands for inclusion and we will continue to provide a home for all creators,’ the company said. (Politico)

Politics

• Israel’s spy agency snubbed the US. Can trust be restored? (New York Times)
• Mike Pompeo takes his own arrows over the Afghanistan collapse (Politico)
• Newsom recall spurs unprecedented turnout campaign (The Hill)

Courts

• Federal judge sanctions Trump attorneys for spreading false election fraud claims (NBC News)
• Judge rules Texas governor can't enforce mask mandate ban (The Hill)

International

• Stalin-era mass grave found in Ukraine (BBC)

Policy News

2022 Utah Teacher of the Year finalists announced

The Utah State Board of Education today announced the five finalists for 2022 Utah Teacher of the Year. They are:

• Katherine “Kasey” Bradbury, a choir teacher at Bountiful Junior High School in the Davis School District.
• Jennifer Carver-Hunter, a fifth-grade teacher at Mountain View Elementary in the Salt Lake City School District.
• Mark Berrett Daniels, a theatre teacher at Weber High School in the Weber School District.
• Albert Ferrarons Font, a Spanish dual immersion teacher at West Lake STEM Junior High School in the Granite School District.
• Carol J. Gaylord, a math teacher at Dixon Middle School in the Provo School District. 

(Read More)

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to brief Colorado River Authority of Utah on current river conditions

The Colorado River Authority of Utah (CRAU) has invited the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to share a critical status update at the Authority’s board meeting next week.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced a shortage beginning in 2022 that will result in the first-ever reductions from Lake Mead to the states of Arizona and Nevada, as well as to the Republic of Mexico.

The elevation at Lake Powell, which sits below the Upper Division States of Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico, is forecast to fall to a critical “target elevation” as early as 2022.  Powell’s elevation has dropped more than 50 feet over the past year. The reservoir is critical in ensuring that the four states’ obligations under a century-old agreement are satisfied, as well as serving as a major source of hydropower in the West. (Read More)

Number of the Day

Update on Afghani refugees coming to Utah

Last week Gov. Spencer J. Cox sent a letter to President Biden expressing Utah’s willingness to accept Afghani refugees. The result has been an outpouring of support from Utahns to step up and assist. While the number of Afghani evacuees that may come to Utah remains unknown, Gov. Cox has provided the following statement on what we know so far:

“When tragedy occurs somewhere on the other side of the world, Utahns are always quick to show concern and willingness to help out. My office has received countless calls and emails from individuals, families, businesses and organizations offering to do something to support the efforts to bring Afghani refugees to Utah. We still do not know how many and how soon Utah may start receiving Afghani refugees, but we want to be prepared for when they do start arriving.

“What we do know is that any refugee from Afghanistan or anywhere else in the world who comes to Utah will be coordinated through the state’s Refugee Services Office and our two federally contracted local refugee resettlement agencies: Catholic Community Services and the International Rescue Committee.”

Latest update

• The U.S. Department of State is in the process of establishing pathways for the resettlement of Afghani refugees in the United States.
• The U.S. is evacuating Afghanis who have a qualifying relationship with the U.S. They are all flying into the Dulles, Virginia, airport and being redirected to three military bases:

Fort Lee, Virginia

Fort Bliss, Texas

Fort McCoy, Wisconsin

• In this population there may be anywhere from 600-850 full SIVs (Special Immigrant Visa holders). These groups are assured resettlement in the U.S. and can go to the final resettlement sites and access full refugee benefits. 
  

• A second group of refugees was in the middle of completing their SIV processing. This group will be taken to the military bases to complete their processing. They will also be sent off to their final resettlement sites and can access full refugee benefits.
  

• The third group of refugees is being called parolees. They will also be taken to the military base to be processed. This group will be able to apply for asylum and that process currently takes about two years, though there are discussions to speed up the process. They will be eligible to work. The State Department is also offering this population Reception and Placement (R&P) support which can cover costs including housing for up to 90 days. After that time they are not eligible for other benefits.
  

• All of these groups coming from Afghanistan have been allies, aids and, in many cases, put their lives on the line to protect American troops.
  

• SIVs are able to choose to resettle in places where they have U.S ties. California has about 40 percent of current SIVs. Utah is currently not on the State Department’s list of states where SIVs can relocate to.   
  

• The International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Catholic Community Services (CCS) are the state’s resettlement agencies. Any refugees coming to Utah will be resettled by one of these agencies.

• While we don’t know how many Afghani refugees to expect at this time, there are refugees coming to Utah from across the world. Each brings their own story of struggle and the need to find a new home and build a future in Utah. Donating goods, money and time are all ways to help refugees.
  

• One of the critical needs for refugees, as with many Utahns across the state, is access to affordable housing.
  

• For general info about the State of Utah’s refugee resettlement program, visit the Refugee Services Office (RSO) at jobs.utah.gov/refugees.
  

• To help with current needs, including housing, as well as ongoing refugee resettlement, please support Utah’s resettlement agencies:
  

• International Rescue Committee: https://www.rescue.org/announcement/how-help-our-afghan-neighbors-utah
  

• Catholic Community Services: https://ccsutah.org/news/item/262-how-y
  

• The two resettlement agencies, IRC and CCS, provide initial resettlement services to newly arrived refugees, including picking them up at the airport, providing housing, furniture and food, initial orientation and additional services. Their support is ongoing for the first two months. They will also be the agencies receiving any Afghani SIVs or parolees.
  

• The Refugee Services Office (RSO) through the state of Utah provides funding for case management support for up to 2 years, which is provided by IRC and CCS. Refugees can access services funded through the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR in the Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). RSO manages the distribution of funding, which pays English language learning, support to schools, youth mentoring and medical support. RSO also offers refugees access to training and education, employment and career assistance, support for refugee community organizations, a gathering place at the Utah Refugee Center and licensed clinical social workers for ongoing mental health assistance. The Utah Refugee Center also provides walk-in support for any services refugees might need.

For more details, please visit the following sites:

Utah Refugee Services Office

Catholic Community Services of Utah 

International Rescue Committee

Upcoming

• Utah Foundation Breakfast Briefing: Mental health in anxious times – Aug 26 @ 9 am. Register here
• Zions Bank Community Speaker Series: Building economic inclusion – Aug 31 @ 12 pm. Register here
• Utah Foundation Annual Luncheon with Shaylyn Romney Garrett – Sept 23 @ 12 pm. Register here

On This Day In History

From History.com

• 1682 - English astronomer Edmond Halley first observes the comet named after him
• 1794 - President George Washington decides to subdue the Whisky Rebellion
• 1873 - The Missouri Board of Education establishes the first public kindergarten in the country. William Torrey Harris and Susan Blow directed the new program.
• 1910 - Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu is born. We know her as Mother Teresa.
• 1918 - “Hidden Figures” Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson is born.  She was an African-American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. manned spaceflights. She lived to be 101.
• 1920 - The 19th Amendment is formally adopted into the Constitution
• 1930 - Idahoan Philo T. Farnsworth receives patent No. 1773980 for his invention of a television system.
• 1939 - The first televised Major League baseball game is broadcast.
• 1971 - The first Women’s Equality Day, initiated by Representative Bella Abzug, is established by Presidential Proclamation and reaffirmed annually
• 1996 - US President Bill Clinton signs welfare reform into law

Wise Words

“The fruit of love is service, which is compassion in action.”

-Mother Teresa

Lighter Side

"As part of their new fall menu, Starbucks has added a new drink, the apple crisp macchiato. In response, the pumpkin spice latte was like, ‘Oh, it’s on.’” 

— JIMMY FALLON

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