Situational Analysis | January 5, 2022

Good Wednesday morning to you. In the spirit of New Year's resolutions, today is National Keto Day. Mmm. Bacon....

Be in the Know

• Dave Bateman has resigned from the board of Entrata after he sent a conspiracy-laden, anti-Semitic email to community business leaders, resulting in swift response from government, business and community leaders. Entrata's CEO Adam Edmunds tweeted "Entrata’s board of directors today asked Dave Bateman to resign from the company’s board of directors, including his position as chairman. Dave agreed and is no longer a member of the Entrata board, effective immediately." Bateman's latest cringe-worthy rant has garnered national attention.

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Utah Headlines

General

• Utah Food Bank expects demand to remain high in 2022 (KUER)
• Utah tech executive resigns after anti-semitic email rant (Fox13)
• Utah tech entrepreneur and GOP fundraiser calls COVID-19 vaccines an extermination plot by ‘the Jews’ (Deseret News)
• Utah County Attorney Dave Leavitt accused of dismissing friend and donor's criminal stalking case (Fox13)
• The Point of the Mountain, a key part of Utah’s future, holds tons of info on its past (ABC4)
• Utah has a new city. See why creating it wasn’t easy and why the path forward looks bumpy. (Salt Lake Tribune)

Politics

• Salt Lake County Council historically elects all-female leadership team (ABC4)
• Utah bill would ban many vaccine mandates (KUER)
• As Salt Lake City swears in its most diverse council ever, activists say actions matter more than identity (KUER)
• ‘A new era’: Hurricane’s first woman mayor, new council members sworn in (St. George News)
• Orem inaugurates new mayor, council members (Daily Herald)
• Emotions fill City Hall as West Valley swears in its first female mayor (Salt Lake Tribune)

COVID Corner

• 4661 new cases, 7 new deaths
• U of U Health delays non-urgent surgeries as hundreds of staff become sick (Fox13)
• Utah’s COVID-19 test sites are so busy, some are handing out at-home tests (Deseret News)
• U.S. reports nearly 1 million COVID-19 cases in a day, setting global record (Reuters)
• Walmart and Kroger boost price of COVID-19 rapid test (Wall Street Journal)
• Israel sets COVID-19 record as rule changes create whiplash (NPR)
• Tempers fray in Australia as COVID-19 cases hit new highs (Reuters)

Education

• Davis County Schools begins new partnership to address community-wide racism (KUTV)
• UEA president warns of school disruptions due to Omicron variant (KUTV)

National Headlines

General

• Chicago public school classes are canceled after teachers union backs remote learning (NPR)
• Toyota dethrones GM as U.S. sales leader after nearly a century on top (Reuters)
• 'He is not your commander-in-chief:' Texas governor promises Guardsmen he'll fight Biden over vaccine mandate (Yahoo News)
• I-95 reopens in Virginia after winter storm forced closure that stranded motorists, some for more than 24 hours (Washington Post)

Politics

• Biden to speak 'truth' on Jan 6 anniversary; Trump cancels event (Reuters)
• Trump cancels Jan. 6 news conference at Mar-a-Lago, blames news media and House committee investigating attack on Capitol (Washington Post)
• Recalling Jan. 6: A national day of infamy, half remembered (AP)
• A year after Jan. 6, Americans say democracy is in peril but disagree on why (USA Today)
• NEW POLL: Most Americans expect a repeat of Jan. 6 attack on Capitol (The Hill)
• ‘We were trapped’: Trauma of Jan. 6 lingers for lawmakers (AP)
• Here's where election-denying candidates are running to control voting (NPR)
• Manchin Deflates Democrats’ Hopes of Changing Filibuster, Passing Election Bills. The West Virginia senator says changes to Senate procedures should include Republicans’ support (Wall Street Journal)
• GOP sees ‘huge red wave’ potential by targeting critical race theory. Republicans in state legislatures across the country are gearing up to push through dozens of anti-critical race theory bills this year. (Politico)
• Biden disapproval hits record high in new poll (The Hill)

Courts

• Prince Andrew's lawyers claim sex abuse allegations are vague; judge disagrees (NBC News)
• Pandemic-wary U.S. Supreme Court to weigh Biden vaccine mandates (Reuters)

International

• Kazakh protesters torch public buildings in response to fuel price increases; emergency declared, Cabinet resigns (Reuters)
• Doctors say lives are lost in hospitals in Ethiopia's Tigray due to dwindling supplies, blame blockade (Reuters)
• South Africa parliament blaze contained; National Assembly 'completely destroyed' (Reuters)

News Releases

Gov. Cox declares a liquid petroleum gas emergency

Freezing temperatures and road closures due to weather conditions have prompted a spike in demand for propane in Utah and neighboring states, but federal regulations limit the number of hours drivers can work to deliver liquid petroleum gas. 

As a result, Gov. Spencer Cox has issued an emergency order to suspend those rules to allow more propane to be delivered in the state while continuing to protect driver safety.

“We can’t afford the kinds of delivery delays we’re seeing and we need to allow private sector solutions to occur,” Gov. Cox said. “This limited emergency declaration will help us get through this crisis.”

Executive Order 2022-001 is effective for the next 30 days.

Number of the Day

Upcoming

• 2022 Legislative Outlook - Utah Taxpayers Association – Jan 12, 2022, 9:00 am. Register here
• Utah Economic Outlook & Public Policy Summit 2022 - SLC Chamber – Jan 13, 2022, 8:30 am - 1:30 pm. Register here
• Utah legislative session begins – Jan 18, 2022, 10:00 am
• Utah legislative session ends – Mar 4, 2022, midnight

On This Day In History

From History.com

• 1531 - Pope Clement VII forbids King Henry VIII from remarrying. We all know the rest of the story….
• 1643 - The first divorce was granted in the American colonies.
• 1781 - Benedict Arnold captures and destroys Richmond, Virginia. 
• 1893 - Sigrid Schultz is born. The war correspondent for the Chicago Tribune, she interviewed Hitler, reported on German-Russian non-aggression pact and wrote articles on German concentration camps.
• 1895 – Rebecca Lancefield is born. The pioneer microbiologist published effects of streptococcal infections (1919), was president of Society of American Bacteriologist (1943), and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences (1970).
• 1914 - Ford Motor Company establishes an eight-hour workday and sets a daily minimum wage of $5.
• 1920 - New York Yankees acquire Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox for $125,000.
• 1925 - Nellie Tayloe Ross is inaugurated as Wyoming's 14th governor and the first woman Governor in U.S. history. Wyoming has not elected another woman governor since. 
• 1933 - Construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge
• 1943 - George Washington Carver dies at the Tuskegee Institute. 
• 1949 - President Truman delivers his Fair Deal speech.
• 1972 - President Nixon launches the space shuttle program.
• 1976 - Time magazine awards “Person of the Year” to American women, collectively.
• 1998 - Sonny Bono is killed in a skiing accident in South Lake Tahoe, California.

Wise Words

“Fear of something is at the root of hate for others, and hate within will eventually destroy the hater.” 

-George Washington Carver

Lighter Side

“I saw that because of a huge winter storm, a 50-mile stretch of I-95 in Virginia was shut down, and drivers were stranded on the Interstate for more than 24 hours. Meanwhile, there was a dad sitting there like, ‘If I could just get over the one lane.’” 

— JIMMY FALLON

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