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| The UtahPolicy.com daily newsletter gets you up to speed on the top local and national news about politics and public policy. Send news tips or feedback to editor@utahpolicy.com Situational Analysis - February 24, 2021We've made it to mid-week! It's National Tortilla Chip Day. Tortilla chips were first mass-produced in Los Angeles in the late 1940's. Now, they're ubiquitous in pantries across America. Enjoy a plate of nachos today in their honor. Yesterday, Utah's legislative leaders in the House began calling out their Senate colleagues for refusing to act on changing the name of Dixie State University, the resolution on racism as a public health crisis passed out of committee while the bill to prevent discrimination based on natural hair and culturally appropriate hair styles is dead for the year. And big news this morning - the one-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine is highly effective against severe forms of COVID-19 in the US and South Africa. If you only have time for one thing today: Take a minute to watch this heart-warming story about preschoolers and their socially-distanced Mardi Gras parade for senior citizens. Countdown 9 days to the end of the 2021 Utah Legislature (3/5/21) Today At Utah PolicyTweets of the day: #utleg roundupBy Holly Richardson A couple of tweets about COVID-19, the discriminatory past of the Hotel Utah, racism as a public health crisis, restorative justice, killing a bill that would prevent discrimination based on "natural hair," Dixie State students highly invested in changing the name of their university while the Utah Senate sits on the bill and are you afraid of Black History Month?Are Confucius Institutes modern-day Trojan horses? The US State Department thinks so. By Holly Richardson What's the first thing you think of when you think of China? The Great Wall? Ming vases? Terra cotta warriors? Inexpensive goods to buy at Walmart? How about espionage, military build-up in the South China Sea, production (and thus control) of 90% of U.S. antibiotics, active propaganda campaigns and genocide? It's all of those.Did 'lots' of Democrats change party affiliation? A Princeton study says no. By Jeremy Gruber A new report from the Electoral Innovation Lab at Princeton University has found that very few Democrats changed their party registration to vote in the Utah Republican primary in 2020. House Bill 197, sponsored by Rep. Jordan Teuscher (R-South Jordan), is moving through the Utah state legislature, having recently narrowly passed the House. The bill is an attempt to prevent voters from changing party registration within approximately 80 days of the primary election. The bill's sponsors have argued that a "significant number" of Democratic Party voters "raided" the Republican primary in 2020. Utah HeadlinesOther Romney Says Trump Would Win 2024 GOP Nomination If He Runs (Bloomberg) - "He has by far the largest voice and a big impact in my party," Romney said. Utah House committee green-lights resolution declaring racism as public health crisis (FOX 13) - "You can't solve a problem that you won't admit you have," said sponsor Rep. Hollins. "And this [resolution] states, 'We have an issue. We have a problem. We have a challenge in this state that we need to address, that we need to start having conversation about.'" Some parents upset Black History Month display removed at Bountiful school (FOX 13) - Steve Swensen, the adoptive parent of Black children, feels the outrage and rush to remove the sign doesn't do the children who attend school here any good at all. Supporters hope hair discrimination bill resurfaces this legislative session (ABC4) - However, late Tuesday night, the bill's sponsor acknowledged that due to lack of support, the bill is dead this year.Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City School District appoints new superintendent - Dr. Timothy Gadson said he will make student mental health a priority. Effort to stop abuse at Utah's 'troubled-teen' centers is sailing through the Legislature - Legislation would boost inspections, stop the use of sedatives and require tracking of physical restraints. Dixie State name change touches off unexpected standoff between House and Senate Republicans - HB278, which easily passed the House last week, is on ice in the Senate as Republican members have decided not to consider the bill, opting instead to wait for a year on the name change. New program coming to Ogden to make homes more affordable for teachers, government workers - Eligible employees can receive up to $120,000 in shared-equity down payment support. Mitt Romney criticizes Biden's HHS secretary nominee over abortion, expansion of Medicare - Utah senator questions Xavier Becerra's stand on 'partial-birth' abortion and asked "How are we going to expand something (Medicare) that's already on track to go bankrupt?" Mitt Romney hopes history 'looks more kindly' on him than others in the GOP - Romney said he's been determined to follow his conscience while serving as one of Utah's U.S. senators.Deseret News Utah governor eyeing threshold to end mask mandates across state - A new statewide health order would no longer make wearing masks mandatory in counties designated as having low COVID-19 transmission rates once the state's allocation of vaccine reaches some four times the current level. As universal pre-K gathers steam, what are the pros and cons experts see? - Critics question whether universal pre-K is the best option to close educational gaps between low-income and better-off children. America is behind bars. Trust will set us free - The National Guard's presence in Washington illustrates more than a security issue: America has lost trust. What Mitt Romney thinks about boycotting the 2022 Olympics in Beijing - He does not think the US should boycott. "We're going to see if we can't find some ways to make our concerns about China very, very clear without punishing our athletes," he said. When do Utahns believe life will return to normal? Answers may surprise you - Nearly half of Utahns believe it will be at least a year from now before life returns to normal. Salt Lake City selects first Black superintendent to lead a Utah school district - The Salt Lake City Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday to select Timothy Gadson III, PhD., as the district's top administrator. Sen. Mitt Romney talks 'clunker' $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan with Utah lawmakers - Romney met virtually with lawmakers during their caucuses. Utah lawmaker wants to assert state authority on gun rules over state, federal efforts - Local control only applies to the feds, it would appear. House passes bill to preempt cities from restricting firearms.COVID Corner Fauci says new CDC rules are coming for people who've been fully vaccinated (Business Insider) - This update should "relax the stringency of the recommendations," particularly for people in the same family who have been vaccinated. California's coronavirus strain looks increasingly dangerous: 'The devil is already here' (The San Diego Union Tribune) - California's homegrown coronavirus strain is more transmissible than its predecessors, is more resistant to vaccines, and may cause more severe cases of COVID-19. So You Got Vaccinated And Then You Got COVID. Now What? (FiveThirtyEight) - Scientists say there is a difference between "efficacy" and "effectiveness." Efficacy is the 95 percent number you get from a clinical trial. Effectiveness is what the number is once you're vaccinating millions more people. How do we know COVID-19 vaccines are safe? (FOX News) - Scientists look for safety issues during the testing phase and continue their monitoring as shots roll out around the world. The growing evidence that the Covid-19 vaccines can reduce transmission, explained (Vox) - Two recent studies show some pretty favorable results - one from the UK that found that two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine cut down by 86% someone's chances of developing an infection that they could pass along, the other a study in Israel that found an 89.4% reduction. What a new study from Elon Musk tells us about COVID-19 (Deseret News) - A new study - co-authored by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk - suggests that those who had mild COVID-19 symptoms had less immunity than those who had more severe illnesses. Schoolteachers may play 'central role' in COVID-19 spread in schools, small CDC study says (Deseret News) - COVID-19 spread often occurred during in-person meetings or lunches and then subsequently spread in classrooms," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told reporters Monday. Coronavirus medical mystery: Baby with high viral load puzzles researchers (Washington Post) - The infant's viral load was 51,418 times the median of other pediatric patients. When they sequenced the virus in the baby recently, they found a variant they hadn't seen before.National HeadlinesHaaland Retains Her Composure in the Face of "Immense Disrespect" in Confirmation Hearing (Native News Online) - Interrupted, cut off and talked over, Congresswoman Deb Haaland (D-NM) held her own. Stephen Miller set to brief House conservatives (Politico) - The meeting is the latest indication that the GOP is keen on keeping Trump-era immigration politics and using them as a spear against Biden. FBI alert about possible 'war' against Congress reached D.C. and Capitol Police on eve of attack, deepening security questions (Washington Post) - "Get violent," said an online thread. "Stop calling this a march, or rally, or a protest. Go there ready for war. We get our President or we die. NOTHING else will achieve this goal." Ex-Capitol Police, security officials testify at Senate hearing that riot was 'coordinated attack' (FOX News) - "These people came specifically with equipment. You're bringing climbing gear to a demonstration, explosives, chemical spray you're coming prepared." New York grand jury declines to charge Rochester officers in Daniel Prude death (NBC News) - Attorney General Letitia James announced the grand jury's decision in a press conference in which she said Prude was suffering from a "mental health crisis." Senate advances key nominees as Biden's Cabinet starts to take shape (USA Today) - President Biden's Cabinet rounded further into form Tuesday with the approval of two nominees and confirmation hearings on three more. California Governor Gavin Newsom signs $600 stimulus check bill (CBS News) - The $7.6 billion coronavirus relief package will give at least $600 one-time payments to 5.7 million people while setting aside more than $2 billion in grants for struggling small businesses. Supreme Court won't stop grand jury from getting Trump's tax returns (NBC News) - The decision is a decisive defeat in Trump's prolonged legal battle to keep his tax records out of the hands of investigators.Policy NewsRomney, Rubio, Grassley, Portman urge president to implement rule on Confucius InstitutesU.S. Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Rob Portman (R-OH) today urged the Biden Administration to implement the proposed rule requiring U.S. academic institutions disclose their relationships with Confucius Institutes, which are funded by the Chinese Communist Party. The letter reflects a similar effort in the House of Representatives. Commentary: Will Biden 'go to the mattresses' on trade policy? (Originally published in The Hill)It is becoming clearer the Biden administration will maintain many of former President Trump's trade priorities, including taking a hard stance toward China and pursuing trade policies that protect U.S. workers. Americans should welcome policies that support free and fair trade, but we should not allow these policies to creep toward counterproductive protectionist measures.Sen Romney: Biden's stimulus bill is a $1.9 trillion clunker (Originally published in the Wall Street Journal)Democrats are anxious for any excuse to blow up the Senate filibuster, the last procedural hurdle to one-party government. Their latest is that Republicans oppose the president's $1.9 trillion stimulus package. Despite having passed five bipartisan Covid-19 relief bills to date-including one barely seven weeks ago-they claim our opposition demonstrates historic intransigence. Romney, Cotton plan would raise minimum wage, protect jobs for legal workers U.S. Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) today announced plans to introduce the Higher Wages for American Workers Act, legislation which would gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $10 and mandate E-Verify to ensure the wage increase only goes to legal workers. The bill will also index future minimum wage increases to inflation and includes protections for small businesses. A summary of the legislation, which they plan to introduce in the coming days, can be found here.Gov. Cox signs a joint letter to President Biden on the oil and gas ban The following joint letter signed by Gov. Spencer Cox and 16 other Republican governors was sent to President Biden opposing the oil and gas leasing ban.Gov. Cox joined Gov. Mark Gordon, Wyoming; Gov. Kay Ivey, Alabama; Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Alaska; Gov. Doug Ducey, Arizona; Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Arkansas; Gov. Brad Little, Idaho; Gov. Eric Holcomb, Indiana; Gov. Tate Reeves, Mississippi; Gov. Mike Parson, Missouri; Gov. Greg Gianforte, Montana; Gov. Pete Ricketts, Nebraska, Gov. Doug Burgum, North Dakota; Gov. Kevin Stitt, Oklahoma; Gov. Kristi Noem, South Dakota; Gov. Bill Lee, Tennessee; and Gov. Greg Abbot, Texas in signing the letter. Business HeadlinesAfter Explosion, FAA Orders Engine Checks On Boeing's Pratt & Whitney Powered Planes (NPR) -The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered emergency inspections of Boeing 777 aircraft with engines like the one that exploded on a United Airlines jet last weekend. USPS unveils new sleek looking mail trucks (New York Post) - The new design consists of a waist-high front hood that resembles the front beak of a duck in front of an extra-high windshield. What Home Depot tells us about the country's housing boom (Axios) - The company rode the coattails of the pandemic building boom - and just gave us a hint that it hasn't slowed down. Musk no longer world's richest man after Tesla and Bitcoin slump (Coin Telegraph) - Jeff Bezos tops the list again with an estimated total net worth of $187 billion while Musk has $180 billion.On This Day In History(From History.com) 1803 - Marbury v. Madison confirms the legal principle of judicial review. 1864 - Rebecca Lee Crumpler becomes the first Black woman to receive an M.D. degree. 1868 - President Andrew Johnson impeached on 11 articles of impeachment. 1912 - Henrietta Szold founds Hadassah, the largest Jewish organization in American history, focusing on healthcare and education in Israel and the U.S. 1946 - Juan Pern elected in Argentina. 1955 - Steve Jobs is born. 1967 - Jocelyn Bell Burnell makes the first discovery of a pulsar, a rapidly rotating neutron star. 1977 - US President Jimmy Carter announces US foreign aid will consider human rights. 1984 - Prince Charles gets engaged to Lady Diana Spencer. 1988 - Supreme Court defends right to satirize public figures 1991 - Gulf War ground offensive begins 2020 - Katherine G. Johnson, the groundbreaking NASA mathematician featured in Hidden Figures, dies at age 101.Wise Words"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition." ~Steve Jobs Lighter SideLighter SideWhat do skis and the Earth have in common? What happens when a baby snowman has a temper tantrum? Subscribers may receive special messages with information about new features, special offers, or public policy messages from clients and advertisers. |
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