Situational Analysis | November 4, 2021

Welcome to Thursday. It's National Men Make Dinner Day. Does it seem weird that it's only one day a year??

It is also Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights which celebrates the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.

Be in the Know

1. A big congratulations to the Lt. Governor and Second Gentleman on the birth of their first grandchild, born appropriately on Election Day. 👶 Welcome to the world, baby Cal

2. More election results continue to be released, with some close races still to be decided. In Cedar City, for example, mayoral challenger Garth Green currently leads Mayor Maile Wilson-Edwards by 119 votes, where she led by 16 votes on election night. The Sandy mayoral race is also still too close to call. 

FROM OUR SPONSOR

Election Day analysis

Utahns vote with ranked-choice ballots for the first time as lawmakers
evaluate independent redistricting maps. Deseret News Reporter Katie
McKellar and former Utah GOP Chair Derek Brown join host Jason
Perry on The Hinckley Report this Friday at 7:30 pm to discuss the
impact on future elections.

Utah Headlines

General

• Ogden man accused of spiking at least 18 peoples’ tires over ‘too much’ water usage during drought (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Family mourns two killed in drunk driving crash; 2021 reaches deadliest year on Utah roads in 5 years (ABC4)
• Sexism in Utah is ‘prevalent’ and ‘normalized,’ new USU report reveals (Deseret News)
• Payson man facing charges for illegally practicing medicine (Fox13)
• Nearly 7 years into justice reform initiatives in Utah, are the desired results being seen? (St. George News)

Politics

• Supporting Black Republican women with Mia Love (Inside Sources)
• Martha Cannon's legacy looms large as Utah elects more and more women (Deseret News)
• Good golly, Mollie: Write-in candidate becomes first female mayor in Utah town’s 170-year history (ABC4)
• Ammon Bundy’s ban from the Idaho State Capitol is over. Now, he’s running for governor (Deseret News)
• Can Republicans duplicate Glenn Youngkin’s Virginia win in 2022? Maybe, maybe not (Deseret News)
• Here are the vote totals from all the races in Salt Lake County — so far (Salt Lake Tribune)
• These Utah mayors are in danger of losing reelection (Deseret News)
• Davis County mayoral ranks in line to change in as many as 9 cities (Standard-Examiner)
• DNews Editorial Board: Voters rejected the left’s extreme agenda on Tuesday (Deseret News)
• Utah city blasted for discussing Trump's new social media platform (Fox13)
• Inside the fight for the GOP’s soul: Infighting among Republicans has become openly hostile. Can the party of Lincoln fight a path forward? (Deseret News)

COVID Corner

• 2152 new cases, 14 new deaths
• 'Looking forward and preparing for this day': Vaccinations for 5- to 11-year-olds begin (KSL)
• 'Full honors' planned for vaccinated fire chief who died after catching COVID-19 on duty (KUTV)
• UDOH opens new monoclonal antibody infusion center in southern Utah (KUTV)
• Salt Lake County to start offering COVID vaccines to children Wednesday (Fox13)
• U.S. hits another wrenching milestone in the pandemic: 750,000 deaths (Washington Post)
• Britain approves Merck's COVID-19 pill in world first (Reuters)

Environment

• Forest Service OKs right of way for Utah’s oil railway. Environmentalists see the decision as a betrayal of the Biden administration’s pledge to reduce the nation’s reliance on the fossil fuels implicated in climate change. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Scott Williams of HEAL Utah: Utah shouldn’t gamble on unproven nuclear energy without public input (Salt Lake Tribune)

Housing

• High-end mobile home parks may become part of the St. George landscape (KSL)
• NEW REPORT: SLC has highest millennial homeownership rate (ABC4)

National Headlines

General

• Hundreds of QAnon supporters showed up in Dallas, expecting JFK Jr.’s return from the dead to become Trump's VP. He was a no-show. (Washington Post)
• John Deere workers reject contract, which company calls ‘our best and final offer’ (Washington Post)
• Justice Dept. conducting cyber crackdown (AP)

Politics

• Democrat Phil Murphy is reelected in an extremely tight race for New Jersey governor (NPR)
• Marine veteran and Republican Winsome Sears becomes first female and woman of color elected as Virginia's lieutenant governor (CBS News)
• Rattled Democrats reckon with bruising results in VA, NJ (AP)
• Reeling Democrats see threat to House and Senate control as Republicans crack their 2020 coalition (Washington Post)
• At least seven Jan. 6 rallygoers won public office on Election Day (Washington Post)
• Republicans have moved to galvanize voters around what the party calls “parental rights” in public schools. (New York Times)
• Schools aren’t the Republicans’ ticket to victory (The Atlantic)
• Democrats fear Virginia is precursor to House drubbing (The Hill)

Courts

• High court seems ready to strike down New York gun law (AP)
• Nearly all-White jury picked for trial in Ahmaud Arbery’s killing, over prosecution’s protests (Washington Post)
• 2 federal judges are poised to quietly begin unlocking reams of Jan. 6 secrets for Congress (Politico)

International

• Urgent efforts to calm Ethiopia as war reaches one-year mark (AP)
• Ethiopian leader, marking year of war, says he will bury foes 'with our blood' (Reuters)

Policy News

Public feedback sought for nearly $20 million in improvements planned for Upper Mill Creek Canyon

Salt Lake County received $15.3 million in funding, with a local match of $4.2 million required, through the Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) to make needed improvements to the upper 4.5 miles of Mill Creek Canyon Road between Big Water Trailhead and the Winter Gate.

An open house will be held from 4:30-9 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 9 with project information stations at Millcreek City Hall, 3330 S. 1300 East.

“We’re thrilled we’ve been able to obtain this huge investment for Mill Creek Canyon; it’s treasured by people all across Salt Lake County, and I urge residents to provide feedback on the thoughtful improvements proposed by our staff and partners,” Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said. (Read More)

Day 13: Sen. Lee continues fight against Biden’s vaccine mandate

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), for the thirteenth day, spoke against President Biden’s vaccine mandate on the Senate Floor today (Nov. 3) and promoted his letter with Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) in which the Senators commit to oppose any measure that would provide funding for the vaccine mandate.

Lee has now introduced twelve bills and written a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to counteract the mandate.  Lee will continue his efforts against the mandate in coming weeks. (Read/Watch More)

Number of the Day

Upcoming

• Utah's Business Diversity Summit â€“ Nov 4, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Register here
• Utah Business Economic Summit – Nov 5, 8:00 am - 4 pm Register here
• Common Good Awards with Envision Utah, virtual event â€“ Nov. 11, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm. Register here
• Utah Philanthropy Day Awards – Nov. 15, 6:00 - 7:00 pm on ABC4.
• Growth, Grit and Grace - SLC Chamber's Women & Business Conference and ATHENA awards – Nov 19, 8:00 am - 3:30 pm Register here

On This Day In History

From History.com

• 1842 - Abraham Lincoln marries Mary Todd.
• 1922 - Entrance to King Tut’s tomb discovered
• 1924 - Nellie T. Ross is elected governor of Wyoming, the first female governor in the nation
• 1952 - The National Security Agency is created
• 1979 - 500 Iranian students loyal to Ayatollah Khomeini seize the US Embassy in Tehran, taking 90 hostages for 444 days
• 1995 - Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated
• 2008 - Barack Obama elected as America’s first Black president
• 2014 - Tim Scott becomes the first Black US Senator from the south since Reconstruction

Wise Words

“Starting and feeding into the cultural war is absolutely unequivocally wrong for us as a nation and bad for the conservative movement."

-Senator Tim Scott

Lighter Side

“So, it was a disappointing night for Democrats, but Democrats are used to being disappointed. That’s why they’re changing their logo from the donkey to Eeyore.”

~ Stephen Colbert

– Advertise With Us –

Subscribers may receive special messages with information about new features, special offers, or public policy messages from clients and advertisers.