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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.

 

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Situational Analysis | May 28, 2024

It's Tuesday and National Hamburger Day. 🍔 Hope you all celebrated yesterday!

What you need to know

  • Gov. Cox was joined by about 200 veterans at the Capitol yesterday to remember those in the military who died in service of their country. "Patriotism is about building our communities and making them better and, if called upon, being willing to give our life for this idea," Cox said. "I hope that every one of us is willing to die for the idea of America. But if not called upon to give our lives, it's my prayer that we will wear out our lives giving back to this place that has given us so much."

Rapid relevance

 

Looking for balance in Utah’s redrock country: the motorized vehicle dilemma

Much of what makes Utah’s redrock country so special is at risk from a dramatic increase in off-road vehicles. There is work underway to strike a balance between ensuring access to trailheads, overlooks, and recreation opportunities, while protecting our wildest places. Learn more.

 

Utah Headlines

Political news

  • Reps. Blake Moore and Burgess Owens’ offices recognized for constituent services and workplace environment (Deseret News)
  • Could EPA air quality standards be Utah’s first test of its new sovereignty law? (KUER)

Election news

  • Is either political party the home of working-class voters? (Deseret News)
  • ‘This is affecting every Utahn every day’: GOP Senate candidates outline position on border, immigration (Deseret News)
  • Utah Democratic Party announced Nathaniel Woodward as nominee for U.S. Congressional District 2 (KSL TV)
  • Utah GOP candidates blanket the airwaves ahead of the primary election (Fox13)

Utah news

  • Editorial Board: Honoring those who gave their last full measure of devotion (Deseret News)
  • Northern Utah population counts surge due, in part, to open land (KSL)
  • Local historian reflects on life of Salt Lake's Emancipation Day queen (KUTV)
  • Utah National Guard soldiers on humanitarian medical mission to Morocco (KSL)
  • ‘Topaz Stories’ exhibit travels Utah showing human side of WWII internment (KSL Newsradio)

Business/Tech

  • Seen as an ‘important first’ for the LDS Church, a woman is named editor of the Deseret News (Salt Lake Tribune)

Crime/Courts

  • Utah appeals court upholds public records release on wolves (Fox13)
  • Judge throws out John Stockton’s COVID-19 lawsuit (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • Salt Lake man arrested after allegedly attacking churchgoers at random at Cathedral of Madeline (ABC4)

Culture

  • Utah centenarian reflects on late husband's service on Memorial Day (Fox13)
  • Vacant LDS church in Salt Lake City goes up in flames (Fox13)

Education

  • Opinion: One of the hardest jobs in America — being a college president (Deseret News)
  • ‘Diverse society needs a place to practice pluralism’: Eboo Patel on the peacemaking potential of higher education (Deseret News)
  • ‘We do diversity biblically’: How are Christian campuses talking about DEI-related work? (Deseret News)
  • Liberal arts education is a good choice for students, says professor (KSL Newsradio)
  • What’s the right way to use AI in classrooms? (Deseret News)
  • Skyline High School is once again Utah’s top-ranked traditional high school. Why? (Deseret News)

Environment

  • Could mermaids help Utah’s water crisis? (KUER)
  • What’s up with delays on projects on federal lands? (Deseret News)
  • Landowners are blocking public access to a renowned Utah fishery. Is that legal? (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • Feds, state and private landowners designate 2.7 million acre Great Salt Lake Sentinel Landscape (Daily Herald)
  • ‘I’ve never seen anything like it.’ Tornado devastates Arkansas town. (New York Times)

Health

  • New malaria vaccine delivered for the first time (NPR)
  • Copay accumulators: Why this Utah family feels cheated by insurance for lifesaving medication (Fox13)
  • Utahn with Crohn's disease navigates the complicated world of 'co-pay accumulators' (Fox13)

Housing

  • More Park City homeowners are declining to rent to seasonal workers. That could be a big problem for skiers. (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • Home insurance was once a ‘must.’ Now more homeowners are going without. (Washington Post)
 

National Headlines

General

  • Theresa Dear: Remembering George Floyd, four years later (Deseret News)
  • Massive cradle of baby stars revealed in new space telescope images (AP)
  • After ‘whites only’ job posting, tech staffing firm settles with DOJ, Labor (NPR)
  • Grayson Murray, a 2-time PGA Tour winner, dies by suicide (NPR)
  • Wife of Justice Alito called upside-down flag ‘signal of distress’ (Washington Post)

Political news

  • BYU grad creates ‘Better Party’ in Missouri, attracts help of Evan McMullin’s campaign director (Deseret News)
  • Trump seeks to deny prosecutors' gag-order motion in documents case (Reuters)
  • Trump is still pushing the limits of the gag order. It could come back to haunt him at sentencing. (Politico)

Election news

  • Haley’s support is ‘Donald Trump’s dream’ (Deseret News)
  • Trump booed and heckled by raucous crowd at Libertarian convention (Reuters)
  • He may be a longshot, but Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could impact the election (NPR)
  • Ad spending shows where the presidential campaign is really taking place (NPR)
  • Trump told donors he will crush pro-Palestinian protests, deport demonstrators (Washington Post)

Ukraine 🇺🇦

Israel and Gaza

  • Israeli attack on Rafah tent camp kills 45, prompts international outcry (Reuters)
  • Netanyahu says deadly Israeli strike in Rafah was the result of a ‘tragic mistake’ (AP)

World news

  • A synthetic drug ravages youth in Sierra Leone. There’s little help, and some people are chained (AP)
  • Papua New Guinea tells the U.N. that a landslide buried more than 2,000 people (NPR)
  • Danish PM calls for 15+ age limit for social media in EU (Politico)
 

Number of the Day 

Number of the Day, May 28, 2024

 

News Releases

Rep. Clancy convening state leaders to address recidivism and re-entry

Rep. Tyler Clancy, (R-Provo), is convening a statewide task force focused on reducing recidivism and improving re-entry for individuals leaving incarceration. 

Clancy’s task force includes representatives from the business community, labor leaders, the Governor’s Office, law enforcement, the Department of Corrections, and individuals with lived experience. The task force is planning to meet 4 times prior to the 2025 legislative session. (Read More)


47G to launch groundbreaking air transportation system for Utah

47G, in partnership with the Governor’s Office, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), the Utah Inland Port Authority and industry stakeholders, is set to launch a game-changing initiative dubbed “Project ALTA.” The Air Logistics Transportation Alliance (ALTA) is a collaborative partnership with a mission to establish an advanced air mobility (AAM) system for Utah. 

AAM is a new form of transportation that uses electric aircraft to seamlessly and safely move people and packages. Project ALTA is tasked with creating an air transportation system in Utah by 2034 that will fundamentally transform how Utahns travel and how packages are delivered. AAM has the potential to facilitate the movement of goods and people, increase access to jobs, education and recreational opportunities, significantly improve air quality and enhance Utahns’ quality of life. (Read More)


Curtis votes to stop foreign influence in local elections

Representative John Curtis (R-UT) voted for a bill stopping non-citizens from voting in Washington, D.C. elections. “Voting is a right and privilege for citizens of the United States,” said Rep. Curtis. “Washington, D.C. is home to embassies from all around the world. Allowing non-citizens to vote would enable diplomats from adversarial nations like Russia and China to participate in local elections. This cannot be allowed, and this legislation prevents D.C. from continuing this practice.”

Under current D.C. law, a Russian or Chinese diplomat could live in Moscow or Beijing their entire life, take a job at their Embassy starting this September, and vote in D.C.’s elections this November. (Read More)

 

Tweet of the Day

Screenshot 2024-05-28 at 1.39.51 AM

 

Upcoming

  • May 29 — Northern Utah Conference to End Violence, USU Logan campus,  8:30 am-4:30 pm, Register here
  • June 6 — Bolder Way Forward 2nd Annual Summit, Zions Technology Campus, 9:00 am-2:00 pm, Register here
  • June 18-19 — Interim Days
  • June 25 — Primary Election Day
  • August 14 â€” Hatch Foundation "Titan of Public Service" recognizing Sen. John Thune, Grand America
  • August 20-21 — Interim Days
  • September 17-18 — Interim Days
  • October 15-16 — Interim Day
  • November 19-20 — Interim Days
 

On This Day In History 

  • 1830 - US President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act, a key law leading to the forced removal of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole tribes out of Georgia and surrounding states, setting the stage for the Cherokee Trail of Tears.
  • 1961 - Appeal for Amnesty campaign launches. It later becomes Amnesty International.
  • 1964 - The Palestine Liberation Organization is founded.
  • 2014 - Maya Angelou dies
  • 2021 - Mark Eaton dies at 64

Quote of the Day

“You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.”

—Maya Angelou


On the Punny Side

I’m thinking of writing a book of fish puns so if you know of any good ones…let minnow.

 

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