Mike Lee enjoys high approval ratings w Republicans; major delays on I-15 and I-215 this weekend; & it's the last weekend of the State Fair | | | 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 editor@utahpolicy.com. | | |
Situational Analysis | September 15, 2023 It's Friday and the International Day of Democracy. It's also Rep. Chris Stewart's last day in Congress. L'Shanah Tovah to all our friends observing Rosh Hashanah this weekend. What You Need to Know Sen. Mike Lee enjoys very stable approval ratings among Utah Republicans, including an 88% approval rating among very conservative Utahns and 65% among all Republicans. His ratings among moderates are at 34%, then 14% among somewhat liberal voters and 1% among liberal voters. Overall, 49% of registered voters say they strongly or somewhat approve of Lee, while 45% say they somewhat or strongly disapprove. Rapid Relevance Major lane closures for I-15, I-215 this weekend; it's the last weekend of the State Fair; Adam Sandler coming to Salt Lake City for stand-up comedy tour; a few ideas for Mitt's next job; and on the social media front, TikTok has been fined $368 million in Europe for violating children's privacy rules. | | |
| | Construction Underway, Scheduled Operation: 2025 The Intermountain Power Project's transformational âIPP Renewedâ project is under construction and on track for mid-2025 start-up. The project includes new natural gas-fueled electricity generating units that will also utilize "green" hydrogen for long-term, dispatchable storage of renewable energy. There are currently 600 workers on site in Millard County, with 1200 expected during peak construction. Click here to watch construction unfold. For more information, visit www.ipprenewed.com | | |
Utah Headlines Political news Marjorie Taylor Greene calls her former Freedom Caucus colleagues the âburn-it-all-downâ caucus (Deseret News) Rep. Chris Stewartâs final farewell to Congress (KSL Newsradio) Last Democratic Utah House Speaker Ronald Rencher dies at age 82 (KSL) Sen. Mike Lee consistently appeals to very conservative Utahns (Deseret News) Election News Restructuring and reports of a rant: Changes at the Utah County Elections Office (KSL Newsradio) Crowded Republican field expected to run for Romney's Senate seat (KUTV) Utah governor not considering run for U.S. Senate (KUTV) Lehi council candidate Corey Astill withdraws to run for state Senate, leading to recount of municipal primary (Daily Herald) Lara Gale leaves Ogden City Council race a week after finishing 2nd in primary (Standard-Examiner) Knuth discusses priorities as Ogden mayoral campaign enters next phase (Standard-Examiner) These are mayoral candidate Ben Nadolskiâs priorities to meet Ogdenâs âblue-collar gritâ (KUER) General Utah news Jodi Hildebrandtâs niece reported mistreatment to police in 2010 (KSL TV) Hildebrandt admitted to 'unprofessional conduct' in 2012 license suspension (KUTV) Utahâs Winter Games bid is still the one to beat, U.S. Olympic official says (Deseret News) Another national governing body moves headquarters to Utah, seeks to grow winter sport (KSL) 2-month-old among 25 who jumped into water after houseboat fire at Lake Powell (KSL) Business Do the Inland Portâs freight rail ambitions square with UDOTâs plan to expand I-15? (KUER) Culture O.J. Simpson is riffing on Zach Wilson and the Jets. Should America be paying attention? (Deseret News) Education Salt Lake Community College celebrates 75 years of providing pathways to higher education (KSL) New dean Dr. Linda Yu brings âwealth of expertiseâ to Utah Techâs College of Business (St. George News) Review of Utah gymnastics coach finds no âsevere, pervasiveâ emotional, verbal or physical abuse. But changes sought (Deseret News) The strange stories behind these 10 unique high school mascots (Deseret News) 1 year later: Cost for Salt Lake City School Districtâs new HQ has jumped by millions; opening a year away (Salt Lake Tribune) School for neurodiverse students gets new Provo building to spark learning (KSL) Environment For the first time, Carbon County isn't producing any coal (Fox13) A Utah water cycle: Water, milk and 2,973 Chick-fil-A restaurants (Deseret News) What you need to know about the âRing of Fireâ eclipse coming to Utah (Deseret News) Brian Moench: Why we are suing to save the Great Salt Lake. There is no painless solution to the Great Salt Lakeâs problem â but we have to do something, and soon (Deseret News) America just hit the lithium jackpot, as the world's largest-known deposit was just discovered in Nevada (The Atlantic) Health Why George W. Bush believes PEPFAR, the AIDS relief program is in danger (Deseret News) Pig kidney works a record 2 months in donated body, raising hope for animal-human transplants (AP) Housing Salt Lake, state officials to open temporary sanctioned homeless campground (KSL) Where have home prices dropped the most in Utah? These cities, counties hardest hit (Deseret News) | | |
National Headlines General Workers are on strike at all 3 Detroit auto makers for the first time in their unionâs history (AP) Secret records: Government says Marineâs adoption of Afghan orphan seen as abduction, must be undone (AP) Kim Davis is ordered to pay $100,000 to same-sex couple she denied marriage license (NPR) Hunter Biden indicted on firearms charges (NPR) Millions under warnings in New England as hurricane Lee approaches (New York Times) Politics David Brooks: Mitt Romney has given us a gift (New York Times) Mitt Romneyâs startling but familiar concession: The demagogues have won (Washington Post) Donald Trump isnât backing a national abortion ban. Thatâs not hurting him in the GOP primary (AP) Outflanked by liberals, Oregon conservatives aim to become part of Idaho (Washington Post) âIt will take years to recoverâ from Tuberville blockade, top Navy nominee says (Politico) House GOP grows skeptical on Ukraine: âItâs not just the Freedom Caucusâ (The Hill) Ukraine ðºð¦ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to visit Washington next week (Washington Post) Ukrainian forces reclaim a village in the east as part of counteroffensive (AP) Ukrainian chef dreams of Michelin star, but happy to feed the troops (Reuters) Russia seeks to expand naval presence in the Mediterranean by gaining access to a port in LIbya (Wall Street Journal) World Before the tremors in Morocco, mysterious lights appeared in the sky â it wasn't the first time earthquake lights have been seen (Deseret News) In Iran, women's resistance defies state clampdown a year after Mahsa Amini's death (NPR) Hundreds leave Dominican Republic ahead of Haiti border shutdown (Reuters) A city washed away: Harrowing scenes of the devastation in Derna (Reuters) In Libya, a grim struggle to bury the dead from devastating floods (New York Times) In Libyaâs flood-shattered east, a disaster of âmythic proportionsâ (Washington Post) | | |
| | News Releases Sen. Lee takes on monument overreach Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), alongside Sens. Jim Risch (R-ID), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Mitt Romney (R-UT), introduced legislation to reform the Antiquities Act of 1906 to ensure more transparent and accountable designations of national monuments. Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, M.D. (R-IA 1stDistrict) and John Curtis (R-UT 3rd District) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives. (Read More) Weber Stateâs Yudi Lewis honored with Utahâs 40 over 40 award Weber State Universityâs executive director of Hispanic-Serving Institution Initiatives Yudi Lewis has been named one of Utahâs 40 over 40 successful women for her work in higher education. Lewis was also recently named a 2023 Living Color Utah award recipient, which honors individuals who help cultivate diversity and inclusion in Utah. (Read More) UVU continues to grow program to meet needs of Utahâs expand college-aged Latino population Utah Valley University (UVU) continues to expand its Latino Initiative program to meet the needs of Utahâs growing college-aged Latino population and is being recognized for the progress being made. With the largest Latino student enrollment among four-year higher education institutions in Utah, UVU provides a variety of programs to help pre-college-age Latino students feel at home on campus. UVU has been recognized as an Outstanding Member Institution by the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) for its pioneering efforts to assist Latino and other unrepresented populations find their path in higher education. (Read More) | | |
Upcoming Constitution Day conference with UVU Center for Constitutional Studies â Sept 14-15, UVU campus, More information here Interim Day â Sept. 18, Utah Tech University, le.utah.gov A Bolder Way Forward with the Utah Women and Leadership Project â Sept. 20, 12:00 - 1:15 pm, Virtual, Register here Launching the Dan Jones Center for Public Service â Sept. 27, 6:00-8:00 pm, Hinckley Institute of Politics, RSVP here Understanding Sexism in Utah with the Utah Women and Leadership Projectâ Oct. 10, 12:00-1:15 pm, Register here Civics Educator Conference with "Sharon Says So" â Oct. 10, UVU, More information and registration here Interim Day â Oct 10-11, le.utah.gov Interim Day â Nov 14-15, le.utah.gov General election â Nov. 21 | | |
On This Day In History 1857 - William Howard Taft is born. The 27th president of the United States also became the 10th chief justice of the United States. In 1911, during his presidential term, he also proposed an idea that became known as the Chamber of Commerce. 1928 - While conducting experiments on a strain of influenza, Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin 1959 - Nikita Krushchev becomes the first Soviet leader to visit the US 1963 - Four Black school girls are killed in a Birmingham, Alabama church bombing. 1977 - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is born. A Nigerian writer whose works range from novels to short stories to nonfiction, she gave a TED talk on The Danger of a Single Story, viewed over 34 million times. 1981 - The US Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves Sandra Day O'Connor for the US Supreme Court. 2008 - Lehman Brothers declares bankruptcy Quote of the Day "The consequence of the single story is that it robs people of dignity. It makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult and it emphasizes that we are different rather than how we are similar.â âChimamanda Ngozi Adichie On the Punny Side I told my cat that I'm going to teach him to speak English. He looked at me and said, "Me? How.". | | |
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