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| The UtahPolicy.com daily newsletter gets you up to speed on the top local and national news about politics and public policy. Send news tips or feedback to [email protected], or message us on Twitter. Situational awareness - August 30, 2019Good morning from Salt Lake City and TGIF!Thanks for reading Utah's must-read daily political news rundown. Please encourage your friends and colleagues to sign up for our emails.PROGRAMMING NOTENo newsletter on Monday as we'll be taking the day off for Labor Day. We will return to your inboxes and mobile devices on Tuesday. Have a safe and happy holiday. Here are the stories you need to pay attention to this morning:Raising gas taxes or implementing tolls to pay for roads in Utah are unpopular ideas among Utahns according to our new poll. Hurricane Dorian is bearing down on Florida. The Trump administration is set to tap military construction funds to build the wall on the U.S./Mexico border.Friday TriviaOur polling shows President Donald Trump sitting at 40% in Utah ahead of his 2020 re-election bid. Trump carried Utah in 2016 with only 45.5% of the vote, which is a shockingly low level of support in a heavily Republican state. What was the lowest support ever recorded by a winning presidential candidate in a popular vote statewide presidential election? Send your answers to me via email at [email protected]. The first three readers to submit correct guesses will be recognized in Tuesday's newsletter. TICK TOCKDays to the 2019 Utah municipal elections: 67 (11/5/2019) Days to the first day of the 2020 Utah Legislature: 150 (1/27/2020) Days to the Utah presidential primaries: 186 (3/3/2020) Days to the 2020 Utah primary elections: 299 (6/23/2020) Days to the 2020 election: 431 (11/3/2020) Today At Utah PolicyHow should Utah fund roads? Our new poll shows Utahns oppose raising the gas tax or implementing tollsBy Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor Utahns recognize that the state per-gallon gasoline tax doesn't pay for all the road needs and that sales tax is diverted to roads, but they don't like the idea of raising the gas tax, and they really don't like the idea of charging tolls on some major roads, a new UtahPolicy.com/Y2 Analytics survey finds.Bob Bernick's notebook: Trump's unpopularity could hurt Utah Republicans in 2020 By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor Bob Bernick Could GOP President Donald Trump actually lose Utah next year?Very unlikely.Utah Thrives podcast: Education outcomes By Utah Foundation You might think, because Utah spends less per student in our public schools than any other state, that the results our students achieve in the classroom would also be low compared to states that spend more. But that's not true. OTHER UTAH HEADLINESDeseret News Op-ed: The U.N. and the hypocrisy of 'inclusion' Jay Evensen: A successful performance audit of Utah schools means no politics or hurt feelings Utah launches gun safety campaign for students grades 5-12 From the people's house to the schoolhouse? Rep. Rob Bishop hints at return to teaching after leaving Congress Census data hints at who is coming and going in Utah Could psychedelic drugs become the new medical marijuana? Inside the potential benefits and high risks of 'magic mushrooms' How an announcement in Utah signaled that the new nuclear arms race is onSalt Lake Tribune Utah launches firearms safety video for schools, confronting 'the reality that guns are part of our society' Utah sets new goals to cut water use, but critics say it goes too easy on Washington County More Salt Lake County move-ins come from Asia and Latin America than many nearby counties Leader of murky group attacking West Jordan mayor steps forward, says no need to register PACOther Cross-sector council aims to improve education, housing and health outcomes in Weber County (Standard-Examiner) Hooper registers highest primary voting turnout, Harrisville ranks last in Weber County (Standard-Examiner)NATIONAL HEADLINESBracing for a monsterHurricane Dorian could strike Florida over the coming days as a category 4 hurricane with winds of 130 mph. All of Florida is under a state of emergency [CNN]. President Donald Trump canceled a trip to Poland to remain the United States to monitor Hurricane Dorian's progress [WaPo].Build the wallThe Trump administration is set to tap military construction funds to help build the wall on the U.S. Mexico border. Remember, Trump repeatedly promised during the 2016 campaign that Mexico would pay for the wall [CNN]. ComeyThe long-anticipated report from the inspector general about former FBI director James Comey says he violated FBI policy for not turning over memos when he was fired and by leaking details of those memos to the media. The report also says there's no evidence he leaked classified information, which President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused Comey of doing [WaPo]. Israel/IranIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu frantically tried to call President Trump to make sure he didn't meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif who made a surprise appearance at the G7 summit in France [Axios]. 2020Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have reportedly discussed the possibility of replacing Vice President Mike Pence with Nikki Haley as Trump's running mate in 2020 [Political Wire]. Only 10 Democratic presidential hopefuls have qualified for the September Democratic debate in Houston. The event will be a one-night affair [NYT]. Women voters could spell trouble for Trump's re-election efforts next year. Polls show women voters turning against Trump by huge margins [The Hill].Trump's personal assistant resignsMadeleine Westerhout, President Donald Trump's longtime assistant, suddenly resigned Thursday after Trump learned she had shared details about his family during an off-the-record dinner with reporters [NYT]. Trump faked phone calls with ChinaPresident Trump claimed earlier this week he had received phone calls from China about possibly making a deal to end the trade war. Administration officials said Thursday the phone calls Trump described didn't happen the way he said they did. They also said Trump was eager to project optimism and boost markets [CNN]. Only 13% of American companies operating in China plan to move all or part of their business out of China despite President Trump's order to do so. Only 3% of those companies plan to relocate to the U.S. [Axios]. The Trump administration is reportedly looking into a plan to lower taxes by the amount it's taking in from tariffs [Business Insider].ImmigrationHouse Democrats say the Trump administration is blocking visits from House Oversight Committee staffers to border detention facilities [AP]. Mumps has sickened hundreds of migrants being held in detention centers in 19 states [AP]. The Trump administration has ended a "deferred action" program that allowed immigrants to avoid deportation while they or their relatives were undergoing life-saving medical treatment. Several of those immigrants have been ordered to leave the country, which they say is tantamount to a "death sentence" [NBC News].Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.A press secretary for President Trump's re-election campaign bizarrely claimed that Trump does not lie despite plenty of evidence to the contrary [CNN]. Yikes!President Trump's re-election campaign sent out a video on social media featuring a logo used by a fascist group and a white supremacist website [Fast Company]. For your radarPending home sales fell sharply in July amid fears that the economy was heading toward recession [CNN]. BUSINESS HEADLINESDerek Miller: Five things to know about the inland port (Deseret News) New Northrop Grumman facility at Hill AFB to bring new jobs to Northern Utah (Standard-Examiner) Feds approve massive potash mine on dry Utah lakebed; it could bring hundreds of jobs, millions in sales (Salt Lake Tribune)Policy NewsUtah companies receiving misleading mailers from 'UT Certificate Service' directing businesses to pay grossly inflated fee for company's Certificate of Existence which is already available for low cost from the State of UtahFrancine A. Giani, Executive Director of the Utah Department of Commerce, announced the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code and Division of Consumer Protection have received multiple reports that misleading letters are being sent to Utah businesses instructing owners to pay $72.50 for a Certificate of Existence with the state that normally costs $12.00 each.Casual Friday: Weekend Events & Outdoors Report Outdoors Report--KSL.com:Bear spotted on popular trail in Millcreek Canyon, hiker warns-- KSL.com: Salt Lake City approves $1.3M plan to repair Fisher Carriage House, open rec opportunities to public-- KSL.com: The secret life of Indian paintbrush-- KSL.com: Crews work to find cause, clean up after 3,000-foot rockfall in Zion-- KSL.com: Prehistoric Lake Bonneville trail progresses in Utah More National HeadlinesEveryone is losing their mind about the possibility of the recession, but in reality the US economy is fine (Business Insider) A cheater's guide to James Comey's FBI policy breaches (New York Post) Only one-third of Americans believe Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide (New York Post) With Brexit gambit, Boris Johnson revealed not as a buffoon but a ruthless tactician (National Post) Trans activism's latest trick: vandalizing women's shelters (Spectator) Transgender runner to compete against women in NCAA Division I (Washington Times) Men now avoid women at work, nervous about #MeToo (Guardian) When Elon Met Jack: Musings on AI, Mars and the End of Civilization (Bloomberg) The debate Democrats have waited for: Joe Biden vs. Elizabeth Warren (Los Angeles Times) As he campaigns for president, Joe Biden tells a moving but false war story (Washington Post) Big crowds stir talk of momentum for Warren (The Hill)ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY30 B.C. - Cleopatra killed herself following the defeat of her forces by Octavian, the future first emperor of Rome. 1780 - Benedict Arnold betrayed the United States when he promised to secretly surrender the fort at West Point to the British army. He fled to England and died in poverty. 1967 - Thurgood Marshall is confirmed as the first African American Justice of the Supreme Court. Wise WordsHumanity"You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty." Mahatma Gandhi Lighter SideLotto Economy"Now get this: In Ohio, the Guinness world record was just broken for most people scratching Lotto tickets at the same time. Even worse, that's Trump's plan to fix the economy." - JIMMY FALLON Listen to us on_Apple Podcasts Subscribers may receive special messages with information about new features, special offers, or public policy messages from clients and advertisers. |
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