Plus: A Utah legislative audit found that the Office of Energy Development is not well prepared for a future crisis.
Good morning. Here are today’s temperatures: Logan: 52 - 72° ⛈️ | 80% 💧 Salt Lake City: 60 - 78° ⛈️ | 70% 💧 St. George: 65 - 92° ☀️ My wife and I recently moved for the first time since getting married. And as happens when one moves, we realized how much we had accumulated, especially since having kids. In this relatable piece for the Deseret News, Holly Richardson explores why we hold onto the things we do. Where do you fall? Are you a quick declutterer of any and all useless knickknacks, or a chronic collector of I-might-need-this-someday treasures? Also on our mind: Trump pleads not guilty after his arrest over the mishandling of classified documents, why Oklahoma’s Catholic charter school wouldn’t be legal in Utah and how these "Elite Eight" BYU influencers left their mark on football.
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| Is the Utah energy office planning for the future? Audit says no |
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| | A Utah legislative audit found the current administration in charge of the Office of Energy Development inherited a mess that has been in the making since the office's inception 12 years ago and that it is not well prepared for future crises. The review by the Office of the Legislative Auditor General concluded that a revolving door of five different executive directors and seven varying mission statements have contributed to a lack of strategic planning, risk analysis and modeling for future trends — issues that are more critical than ever given the transitioning future of Utah’s energy with an eye toward reliability and affordability. “Utah is at an energy crossroads and needs better planning to meet future energy needs,” said a key takeaway in a summary of the audit. While its electricity remained affordable — at No. 1 in both 2021 and 2022 — Utah's reliability dropped 15 positions compared with other states due to increased outages and disruptions. Though the state has not experienced any widespread power failures like other states, the audit noted a lack of planning among many entities in Utah to prepare for such a widespread event. | Today at 4 p.m. Utah lawmakers will convene for a special legislative session to consider a bill detailing Gov. Spencer Cox's plan that would move municipal election dates to accommodate the special primary and general elections needed to replace the retiring Rep. Chris Stewart. Though the special elections are set to be held at the same time as municipal elections, they are predicted to carry a hefty $2.5 million price tag. Lawmakers are being asked to shift the municipal primary from Aug. 15 to Sept. 5, and the general municipal election from Nov. 7 to Nov. 21, as well as appropriate $2.5 million for the congressional elections on those days, including $400,000 for voter outreach. “Honestly, this is unprecedented. We’ve never done this before, moving entire elections, municipal primary and general election dates,” said Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, whose office oversees elections in the state. She said it would have cost “almost nothing” to add the congressional primary and general elections in a regular election year, when all of the counties already would be running elections. But that’s not the case in a nonpartisan municipal election year. Read more about the effect the special Congressional elections will have on cities that had not planned on holding a primary this year and how the state plans to help. More in Politics Flood of candidates declare run for 2nd District as filing deadline nears (Deseret News) Trump pleads not guilty after his arrest over mishandling classified documents (Deseret News) Jay Evensen: Trump’s alleged deeds are too serious to ignore (Deseret News) Which Democrats could run for president if Biden can’t? (Deseret News) | FROM OUR SPONSOR GUIDING OUR GROWTH Utah’s Open Space is Shrinking – What You Can Do Population growth impacts recreation opportunities and open space in Utah. Leaders welcome input on how to protect them. Take the survey and be heard. | Health Study finds remote work and hybrid schedules might increase stress in U.S. workers (Deseret News) How good habits can lower your risk for the deadliest form of skin cancer (KSL-TV) Faith Why are the religious working class not attending church? (Deseret News) Can a chatbot preach a good sermon? Hundreds attend church service generated by ChatGPT to find out (Religion News Service) Business and Economy Brooklyn Hughes Roemer: Retirement investing tips for the anxious investor (Deseret News) Inflation report reveals prices are still higher than normal but still trending down (Deseret News) Courts Christine Cooke Fairbanks and William C. Duncan: Oklahoma’s Catholic charter school wouldn’t be legal in Utah — and shouldn’t be (Deseret News) What’s it like to argue a case in front of the Supreme Court? (Deseret News) Utah and Washington Counties Santaquin's 1st proposed property tax increase in 10 years would fund police, fire departments (KSL) St. George awarded $10M loan for new downtown parking structure (St. George News) The West High housing costs could be reason why Boise lost (yes, lost) population last year (Idaho Capital Sun) With $1.4 billion investment, Texas hopes to sprint to the front of the microchip manufacturing race (Texas Tribune) The Nation How Illinois is trying to ban book bans (Deseret News) What Gavin Newsom said during his Fox News interview (Deseret News) Tucker Carlson and Fox News battle over his new Twitter show (Deseret News) The World The U.S. wants back in UNESCO. What changed? (Deseret News) Utah scientists fly to Mali as the first to help villagers fight malaria (KSL-TV) Sports Ranking the ‘Elite Eight’ BYU undergraduate influencers in football — past and present (Deseret News) Why BYU may not be done with quarterbacks on the 2024 recruiting trail (Deseret News) Was PGA Tour, LIV Golf merger just a matter of time? (Deseret News) |
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