Also, Justin Lee leaves the election office, masks and shots recommended for school and BYU requires vaccination status disclosure, | | | The Utah Policy newsletter is your one-stop source for political and policy-minded news. Send news tips or feedback to editor@utahpolicy.com. | | |
Situational Analysis | August 3, 2021 Hi there Tuesday. It's National Watermelon Day. Ever tried a watermelon salad with lime juice, mint and feta? It's delish. Be in the Know The Utah Department of Health has released 10 new COVID-19 recommendations for schools as Utah's kids get ready to return. Those recommendations include getting vaccinated if you are 12 or older and wearing a mask when indoors. BYU students, faculty and staff must report their vaccination status ahead of fall semester. Vaccinations are "strongly encouraged" but not required. Justin Lee leaves Utah's election office after 11 years. He will be heading to the Utah League of Cities and Towns as their Director of Government Affairs. A nationwide search is underway for his replacement. Simone Biles wins bronze on the balance beam, earning her seventh Olympic medal and coming back after a bad bout with the 'twisties.' | | |
Utah Headlines General Tokyo Olympic updates: Jake Gibbâs Games, and possibly beach volleyball career, come to an end (Salt Lake Tribune) Family, identity and one of the longest manhunts in U.S. history (Deseret News) Event kicking off Utah Pacific Islander Heritage month comes at 'emotional moment' for community hit hard (KSL) 'A second chance': Utah nonprofit, law enforcement save 500th life from opioid overdose (KSL) Miner dies after flash flood hits Emery County coal mine (Deseret News) BYU professor helps share unsung stories from Utahâs history with new website (Daily Herald) Politics On infrastructure bill, Romney touts benefits for Utah, Lee sees an orgy of spending. Will the 2,000-page bill be a boon or break the bank? Either way, Senate votes are expected by weekâs end. (Salt Lake Tribune) Karen Kwan and Alonso R. Reyna Rivarola: OK, get rid of DACA. After we accomplish comprehensive immigration reform. We wonât need a special program for Dreamers if we fix the whole immigration system. (Salt Lake Tribune) Does mandating masks violate free speech rights? Utah Sen. Mike Lee seems to think so. (Deseret News) COVID Corner 2244 new cases since Friday, 15 new deaths The awful regrets of those who refused COVID-19 vaccinations. The nation has been focused on some Utahnsâ reluctance to become immunized against the coronavirus. This is a life-threatening embarrassment (Deseret News) âItâs kind of a gut punchâ: Utah healthcare workers react to COVID spike (ABC4) BYU swimmer spent Olympics in âCOVID jailâ despite never testing positive for the coronavirus (Salt Lake Tribune) Florida and Texas accounted for one-third of all new U.S. coronavirus cases last week, White House says (Yahoo News) China orders mass testing in Wuhan as COVID outbreak spreads (AP) Lindsey Graham's COVID-19 'breakthrough' case jolts Senate (The Hill) Drought/Wildfires/Heat/Floods Can flash floods and drought hit Utah at the same time? Yes. (Deseret News) One summer storm doesnât end Utahâs drought, weather expert says. Most of Utahâs water comes from mountain snow, according to University of Utah professor. (Salt Lake Tribune) Enoch City in state of emergency after severe flooding swamps hundreds of homes (St. George News) Utahns will have to pay for flood cleanup, insurance won't cover it (Fox13) Education Utah families with medical risks say they are splitting up, changing schools and risking loved ones' lives for their kids' education now that schools can't require masks. (Salt Lake Tribune) IN FOCUS Discussion: Native American boarding schools (ABC4) Elections Hereâs what you need to know about Augustâs primary elections in Salt Lake County: Five cities will have them â with four vying to be West Valley Cityâs next mayor â while 10 have skipped the primary process by opting for ranked-choice voting this year. (Salt Lake Tribune) Environment State looking to stop goopy, stinky algal blooms, and you can help (Salt Lake Tribune) Legal Seizure and search: Civil rights lawsuit alleges feud-inspired conspiracy by Garfield County sheriff (Salt Lake Tribune) National Headlines General As reports continue to rise of US diplomats and intelligence officials being sickened by the mysterious Havana Syndrome, inside the State Department frustration is rising among rank-and-file staffers and diplomats (CNN) Massive Tesla battery catches fire, takes 150 firefighters and 30 fire trucks four days to put out (The Hill) Olympics Medal Count: US: 72, China: 69, ROC: 52, Britain: 43, Japan: 36 No keeping her down: After a fall, busy Hassan gets a gold. (AP) Olympic climber Nathaniel Colemanâs path to Tokyo started in Utahâs canyons â places he hopes to protect as his sportâs popularity grows (Salt Lake Tribune) Best race ever? Norway's Karsten Warholm wins record-setting hurdles race (AP) Politics $1 trillion infrastructure bill heads for Senate debate (AP) Bidenâs judges: More diverse and more of them (AP) Oklahoma GOP party chair compares vaccine mandates to the Holocaust: "Take away the star and add a vaccine passport" (Washington Post) Liberals erupt in fury at White House over end of eviction moratorium (Washington Post) Maricopa County defies state subpoena seeking to expand GOP ballot review, calling it an âadventure in never-never landâ (Washington Post) Trump raised millions but spent none of it on audits and GOP candidates (Politico) Economy US employers ratchet up the pressure on the unvaccinated (AP) U.S. company profits even bigger than Wall Street's lofty targets (Reuters) PepsiCo to sell Tropicana, other juice brands for $3.3 billion (Reuters) Environment State looking to stop algal blooms, and you can help. Long-term prevention strategies are needed along with short-term remediation, according to the Division of Water Quality (Salt Lake Tribune) International Their town wiped out by a mudslide, the people of La Reina, Honduras mourn (AP) Head of Belarusian exile group found hanged in Ukraine, police open murder case (Reuters) | | |
Policy News Chamber statement on passing of former ATHENA Leadership Award recipient, June Morris âWe were saddened to learn of the passing of June Morris last week. She was an entrepreneur, champion and trailblazer for women in business. In 1993, June received the Salt Lake Chamberâs ATHENA Leadership Award for her remarkable work in founding Morris Travel and Morris Air, which sold to Southwest, where she was the only female leading a major airline. âJune will be remembered for the lives she touched, jobs and adventures she created, and her pioneer spirit in the business world. Her legacy will continue to inspire entrepreneurs and business leaders everywhere, as well as all of those who will change the world as they experience more of it. Our condolences to the entire family but our deepest gratitude for the life she lived.â | | |
Commentary: Want more government benefits? 2022 election is your chance By LaVarr Webb Itâs pretty easy to see what the 2022 midterm elections will be about. Itâs this: Do you want to vote yourselves more benefits from the federal government? That will be the bottom-line issue. The choice will be clear and the contrast very stark. If you want things like free community college, student loan debt cancellation, rent help, eviction moratoriums, free health care via Medicare expansion, free pre-kindergarten for all children, and on and on, then vote for Democratic candidates. One the other hand, if youâre worried about tax increases, inflation, more government control and reduced individual responsibility, then vote for Republican candidates. A lot of wise political philosophers over the decades have noted that the Achilles heel of democracy is the ability of citizens to vote themselves more and more government largesse. Itâs pretty tempting to do so. Thatâs especially true because certainly, in this election, itâs not just low-income people who stand to benefit. I remember when government welfare was mostly for poor people. Now middle-income folks are eligible for all sorts of government help. And there will be a lot more of it if Democrats win big majorities in the U.S. House and Senate. Letâs say, for example, youâre a couple earning $140,000 a year and you have four young children. Right now youâre probably getting an extra $1,000 to $1,200 a month, depending on the age of your children, for your child tax credits provided by the Biden COVID-relief bill. And a lot of Democrats want to make that monthly payment permanent. Who canât use an extra $12,000 to $14,000 a year â free from the government â even if you make up to $150,000 a year? So, hereâs the political question that will be extremely relevant in 2022: Will you vote for politicians who created this program and want to make it permanent? Or will you vote for politicians who want to kill it? In other words, will the monthly payment influence your vote? Will you vote yourself more government largesse? This is not a new issue, of course. But itâs a bigger issue than ever before because the potential government benefits are greater than ever in the nationâs history. By election day 2022, the Democrats may or may not have passed their $3.5 trillion Human Infrastructure Bill â an unfathomable amount of money enabling an array of benefits that could not even have been imagined just a few years ago. Itâs possible the fate of that legislation will be determined by the election. Iâm somehow on a lot of political email lists, and I get all the emails and press releases from the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Over the last several days Iâve received dozens of messages with links to numerous news stories about very happy families receiving their Child Tax Credit â $250 or $300 a month per child, for people with incomes up to $150,000. Lots of American families are very pleased to receive that extra money. So thatâs the big question for 2022: Do you love that âfreeâ money coming in every month? Would you like even more free stuff from the federal government? No doubt, itâs very enticing. And it will be very interesting to see what the American people decide. | | |
Upcoming Securing the American Dream: A conversation with Tim Scott presented by the Hatch Foundation â Aug 11 @ noon. Register here Utah Foundation Breakfast Briefing: Mental health in anxious times â Aug 26 @ 9 am. Register here Utah Foundation Annual Luncheon with Shaylyn Romney Garrett â Sept 23 @ 12 pm. Register here | | |
On This Day In History From History.com 1492 - Christopher Columbus sets sail for the Indies with the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa MarÃa 1882 - US Congress passes the first general law restricting immigration. 1905 - Maggie Kuhn is born. Forced to retire because she turned 65, she became a senior rights activist and founded the Gray Panthers. She was active in the movement until her death at age 89. 1923 - Calvin Coolidge takes the oath of office after Warren G. Hardingâs death 1934 - Adolf Hitler merges the offices of German Chancellor and President, declaring himself "Führer" (leader) 1944 - Linda Chavez-Thompson is born. A second-generation Mexican American and union leader, she was elected the executive vice-president of the AFL-CIO in 1995 and served until September 21, 2007.s. 1949 - The NBA is born. 1958 - Nautilus submarine travels under North Pole 1981 - 13,000 Air Traffic Controllers (PATCO) begin their strike; US President Ronald Reagan offers ultimatum to workers: 'if they do not report for work within 48 hours, they have forfeited their jobs and will be terminated' Wise Words "Speak your mind - even if your voice shakes."
-Maggie Kuhn Lighter Side âIâm sorryâ and âI apologizeâ mean the same thing. Except at a funeral.â âDemetri Martin | | |
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