Situational Analysis | October 25, 2021

It's a rainy Monday morning. Just two months left until Christmas Day.

It's also World Pasta Day - how is it that carbs are so comforting??

Be in the Know

1. Afghan refugees are arriving in Utah and the Utah Muslim Civic League is one of the organizations welcoming them to our state. They are looking for volunteers and donations to help provide Halal meals, essential items including hygiene and cleaning supplies and legal help navigating the humanitarian parole process. If you are interested in helping, check out their website and sign up.

2. COVID-19 vaccines for kids ages 5-11 will likely be available within the next couple of weeks. The FDA has been reviewing the Pfizer/BioNTech application and the panel of outside advisors is expected to weigh in tomorrow. CDC advisors will weigh in next week and final approval is expected shortly thereafter. 

FROM OUR SPONSOR

Join Utah Business and Utah's business community on November 5 as we discuss the future of Utah. This event promises to take a deep-dive into the discussions shaping our economy, including: How we can grow our business, invest in the next generation of startups and create an economic landscape that is more inclusive and welcoming to incoming populations. 

Utah Headlines

General

• Utah Muslim Civic League connects refugees with supplies, resources (Fox13)
• Refugee donation drive brings hundreds to Midvale (Fox13)
• Genesis group for Black Latter-day Saints celebrates 50th anniversary with declarations of hope (Deseret News)
• Salt Lake City woman flew B-25 bombers in WWII — and got shot at over Texas: 100-year-old Nell Bright was a member of the WASPs. She’s featured in a new PBS documentary. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Utah’s water year is off to a banner start, with more storms to come. But will it keep it up? (Deseret News)
• Survivors see a link between Indigenous boarding schools’ harsh discipline and later domestic violence (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Tackling 5 myths about domestic violence (Deseret News)
• From Gabby Petito to Tyga to 'MAID': 'I don't know how many moments we have to have before it matters' (USA Today)

Politics

• COVID denial, communism and QAnon. Conspiracy theory-fueled conference hits Salt Lake City (Salt Lake Tribune)
• No proof? No problem. The right wing is trying to dismantle Utah’s top-in-the-U. S. election system, Robert Gehrke writes (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Could obsession with election fraud sink the GOP? (Deseret News)
• The Inside Utah Politics Panel on vaccine mandates and election audits (ABC4)
• Ally Isom on why she’s running for U.S. Senate (ABC4)
• Cache County Council discusses possibility of separating county clerk, auditor offices (Herald Journal)
• Effort to end the death penalty in Utah gaining support (UTPOL Underground)

COVID Corner

•  1619 new cases, 10 new deaths
• Utah, Idaho see hopeful numbers on the horizon, but hospitals still strained with COVID-19 (Intermountain Healthcare’s ICUs are at 98% capacity.) (Deseret News)
• Brain fog in COVID-19 patients can persist for months, even in those who were not hospitalized, study finds (KSL)
• Utah doctors and nurses have seen kids get sick and die from COVID-19. These are the tough moments that have stuck with them. (Salt Lake Tribune)

Education

• McCluskey family announces plan to make campuses safer, increase awareness of dating violence (Deseret News)
• Derek Monson: Robust curriculum transparency will build parent-teacher partnership (Salt Lake Tribune)

Legal

• Roy police officer charged with sexually abusing 2 children (KSL)
• Claims of Utah group’s involvement in child exploitation investigations under scrutiny (Standard-Examiner)

National Headlines

General

• U.S. to outline Nov. 8 international travel reopening, vaccination rules (Reuters)
• SolarWinds hackers step up attacks on tech companies (Wall Street Journal)
• Insiders say Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg chose growth over safety (Washington Post)
• Likes and shares made the social media site what it is. Now, company documents show, it’s struggling to deal with their effects. (New York Times)
• Facebook documents offer a treasure trove for Washington’s antitrust war (Politico)

Politics

• Opponents of critical race theory seek to flip school boards (AP) 
• Sluggish pace of confirmations vexes Biden White House (AP)
• Inside PhRMA's fight to kill Democrats' drug pricing plan (Washington Post)
• Dems weigh ditching Medicare expansion and paid leave in eleventh hour of social spending talks (Politico)
• Biden average approval rating dips to new low (The Hill)

Environment

• A historic storm brings heavy rain, flooding and mud flows to Northern California (NPR)
• Longer, more frequent outages afflict the U.S. power grid as states fail to prepare for climate change (Washington Post)

International

• Sudan’s military takes power in coup, arrests prime minister (AP)

Policy News

Rep. Owens co-sponsors the Harriet Tubman Commemorative Coin Act

Rep. Burgess Owens (UT-04) co-sponsored the Harriet Tubman Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act, a bipartisan bill to honor the extraordinary life and unmatched legacy of Harriet Tubman, one of the most notable abolitionists in American history, with the creation of a series of commemorative coins bearing her image.

“Harriet Tubman escaped the horrors of slavery and overcame unspeakable odds to secure the dreams of future generations,” said Rep. Owens. “As the great-great-grandson of a slave, Harriet is an inspiration to me, and I’m proud to join this effort to honor her enormous legacy, the Harriet Tubman Home, and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.” (Read More)

Sen. Lee fights against Biden’s vaccine mandate

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced 12 bills counteracting Pres. Biden’s vaccine mandate and is asking one-by-one that the Senate adopt the measures to protect millions of Americans at risk of unemployment due to the mandate. In recent weeks, Lee has spoken on the Senate floor eight times and each time has asked the Senate to pass a different one of his bills countering the mandate. (Read/Watch More)

Number of the Day

Upcoming

• Hatch Center Symposium with U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) â€”  Oct. 29, Noon, Salt Lake City. Space is limited. Register here.
• Utah Business Economic Summit – Nov 5, 8:00 am - 4 pm Register here
• 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

• 1764 - John Adams marries Abigail Smith
• 1774 - Congress petitions English king to address grievances
• 1853 - Native Americans attack transcontinental railroad survey crew in Utah
• 1854 - Charge of the Light Brigade
• 1929 - Warren G Harding’s Secretary of the Interior found guilty of accepting a bribe in the Teapot Dome scandal
• 1939 - DuPont sold the first nylon stockings to its employees in Wilmington, DE before they were sold to consumers.
• 1955 - For the first time, home cooks could prepare a meal in a microwave oven designed for home use. At a cost of $1,295, Tappan brought the domestic microwave oven to the market.
• 1973 - President Nixon vetoes War Powers Resolution
• 2018 - Sahle-Work Zewde becomes Ethiopia's first female President and Africa's only female head of state after being elected by parliament.

Wise Words

“Trust women, that is the first step in making room for them."

- Sahle-Work Zewde

Lighter Side

Q: Where do baby ghosts go during the day?

A: Dayscare centers.

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