Also, SCOTUS rulings, millions more refugees, Juneteenth, Father's Day and World Refugee Day this weekend. | | | 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 | June 18, 2021 It's Friday and there's a big weekend ahead: Juneteenth is tomorrow and celebrations abound. Sunday is Father's Day and World Refugee Day. (True confessions: I thought Father's Day was last week, so my dad and my sons who are dads all got cards in the mail about a week early. Better than a week late, which is my norm, I guess.) Be in the Know Two major SCOTUS decisions. The first, in a 7-2 vote keeps Obamacare in place. The second, unanimous, ruled in favor of a Catholic foster care agency in a case with major implications for religious freedom. A third says chocolate companies cannot be sued over child slavery on African cocoa farms. Juneteenth is an official federal holiday. Most federal employees immediately get the day off today. COVID-19 did not slow the refugee crisis. Almost 3 million more people were forced from their homes last year, meaning worldwide, the number of displaced people rose to 82.4 million. âCOVID-19 seems to have had no impact on some of the key root causes that push people to flee. War, violence, discrimination, they have continued, no matter what, throughout the pandemic,â said Filippo Grandi. Yikes. In a secret recording, a Florida Republican candidate threatens to send a Russian-Ukrainian âhit squadâ after his rival, Anna Paulina Luna. âI really don't want to have to end anybody's life for the good of the people of the United States of America. ... But if it needs to be done, it needs to be done," William Braddock says in the clip. | | |
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Utah Headlines General Gov. Cox issues proclamation commemorating June 19 as Juneteenth in Utah (Fox13) Astrid S. Tuminez and Kyle Reyes: Juneteenth is a time to commemorate and to act (Salt Lake Tribune) Utah organizers work to continue focus on racial equality issues in this year's Juneteenth celebrations (KUER) Andreâ M. Boyd: Juneteenth is Americaâs second Independence Day (Salt Lake Tribune) âJuneteenthâ should be a national holiday (Deseret News) IN FOCUS Discussion: Remembering the 1994 genocide in Rwanda (ABC4) Damage in the millions following large Millcreek fire, business owners nearby are devastated (Fox13) Politics Opinion: Stop asking the Supreme Court to resolve the LGBTQ, religious conflict. The justices are asking us to work out the issue. And theyâre right. (Deseret News) âImportant and disturbing:â Utah leaders surprised by SEC investigation of coronavirus tests (Salt Lake Tribune) Washington County Republicans clash with Candace Owens over Juneteenth cancellation (The Spectrum) COVID Corner 369 new cases, no new deaths in Utah Global COVID-19 death toll exceeds 4 million (Reuters) The Delta variant might pose the biggest threat yet to vaccinated people (Business Insider) Pfizer and Moderna vaccines donât lower sperm count, study says (New York Post) COVID-19 cases surge in Africa, less than 0.8% of people fully vaccinated, say officials (Reuters) Drought/Wildfires This is how Utah survives the drought â now and in the future (Deseret News) As Utah sweats through another drought, could technology help save the day? (Salt Lake Tribune) Fire officials focused on preventing fires in extreme heat, drought call Washington County a âtinderboxâ (St. George News) 'Droughts don't cause water scarcity - people do': Experts say Utah needs to permanently reduce water use (KUER) 'It's worse than you think' - Gov. Cox urges Utahns to hold off on fireworks this year because of drought (KUER) Utah Gov. Cox wants a statewide ban on fireworks amid drought, but says he doesnât have the power (Deseret News) Education Why our schools arenât doing justice to the complexities of Black history. The problem isnât critical race theory. We should worry about miseducation instead (Deseret News) BYU-Hawaii to require COVID vaccinations; BYU strongly encourages (Daily Herald) Energy Experts say Utah not prepared for large-scale blackouts (KUTV) Environment Utah home to first major innovation in gasoline refining in nearly 80 years (Deseret News) Record visitation and long lines revive the push for a reservation system for Arches (KUER) Family New research shows the power of a two-parent household and their impact on whether kids go to college, end up in jail or live in poverty. Also - there are racial differences. (Deseret News) This former BYU runner is competing at the U.S. Olympic trials 6 months after giving birth (Deseret News) Watch: What is the importance of fathers in America today? (Deseret News) 'Pantry packs' designed to tide kids over on the weekend if they experience food insecurity (Fox13) Arthur Brooks: Dads just want to help. Sacrificing for their kids makes fathers happier. Acknowledging that sacrifice will make everyone happier. (The Atlantic) Health 41% of Utah CHIP recipients lost coverage in May due to government reversal (KSL) Legal Bountiful man solicited co-worker to help kill 5 people, charges say (KSL) Summit County attorney decries âleniencyâ in sentence for child sex abuser. Perpetrator sentenced to 20 days in jail for felony crime (Park Record) Local Communities City of Mapleton issues boil order after Total Coliform, E. coli found in water (ABC4) Former transportation official selected to fill Spanish Fork City Council vacancy (Daily Herald) Service First Lady & Friends podcast: Pamela Atkinson on being Utah's Mother Teresa, the state's homeless communities, and the importance of service to those in need Utah's first lady Abby Cox wants YOU to #ShowUp for Utah families.
(KUTV) LDS Church welcome centers provide resources to immigrants, refugees (Daily Herald) National Headlines General Black Americans laud Juneteenth holiday, say more work ahead (AP) One woman's decades-long fight to make Juneteenth a US holiday (NPR) Osama bin Laden's niece protests Biden-Putin summit with "Trump Won" flag (The Hill) Newly released video shows former NYPD cop striking officer with flagpole during Capitol riot, DOJ says (Washington Post) Bitcoin miners exit China, beat a path to the U.S. as crypto climate shifts (Washington Post) Gulf Coast braces for possible flooding, heavy winds and tornadoes as millions are under tropical storm warning (CNN) Politics A simple fix for polarization in Congress: Less polarizing bill titles (Roll Call) Also, the author of this article, Jesse Rifkin, joined Boyd Matheson on Inside Sources to talk more about this idea. Senator: Military justice changes must go beyond sex cases (AP) McConnell vows to block voting legislation, spurning Manchinâs compromise offer (Washington Post) Courts U.S. Court of Appeals rules against citizenship for those from American Samoa. The district court in Utah previously ruled in favor of automatic citizenship. (Salt Lake Tribune) SCOTUS leaves the Affordable Care Act intact, the third time it has preserved the 2010 healthcare law. The decision was 7-2, with Justices Alito and Gorsuch dissenting. (Wall Street Journal) They ruled in favor of a Catholic foster care agency, in a ruling that was unanimous but narrow in scope. (Washington Post) SCOTUS also limited human rights suits against corporations. Six citizens of Mali had sued Nestlé USA and Cargill, accusing the companies of profiting from child slavery on Ivory Coast cocoa farms. (New York Times) The couple who waves guns at BLM protestors plead guilty to misdemeanors, say they would do it again (NPR) Economy Weekly jobless claims rise for first time since April (The Hill) Education The Education Department cancels $500 million in debt for defrauded ITT students. (New York Times) Elections These 4 states could decide control of Congress in 2022: Georgia, North Carolina, Florida and Arizona (Roll Call) Energy Energy Dept. seeks to keep grant-backed tech jobs in the US. "If the seed was planted here, the tree should grow here," said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. (Wall Street Journal) Infrastructure House panel worries community grant program overlooks rural need. The formula used to determine which cities are guaranteed the CDBG money each year hasnât been updated since the program was started in the 1970s (Roll Call) Business Headlines U.S. labor market healing despite unexpected rise in weekly jobless claims (Reuters) Analysis: As Fed wakes sleeping dollar, jolted bears may bolster gains (Reuters) The Small Business Administration, overwhelmed by demand from ailing entrepreneurs, has been slow to distribute aid needed to survive the pandemic (Wall Street Journal) BestBuy, Target and Starbucks are among the companies celebrating Juneteenth as PTO or holiday pay (USA Today) Venture Capital's new bet: Black entrepreneurs (Wall Street Journal) | | |
Policy News Sen. Romney: The Chinese Communist Party believes it is free to usurp the will of the people of Taiwan U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy, today co-hosted a subcommittee hearing focused on strengthening the U.S. â Taiwan relationship. Not only is Taiwan an important ally to the U.S., Taiwan plays a significant role in promoting freedom and countering Chinaâs aggression in the region. Senator Romney urged the Administration to continue to support Taiwanâs autonomy, to partner with allies and other free nations to ensure Taiwan isnât isolated from global association, and to speed up the distribution of COVID vaccines to Taiwan and other countries in need. Read More Becky Edwards for U.S. Senate announces staff appointments Former Utah state representative Becky Edwards announced her senior staff today as she builds her campaign for the U.S. Senate in Utah. âIâm thankful to have gathered a spectacular team of leaders who bring a wealth of experience to this campaign,â Edwards said. âWe will work together to inform and create solutions that will bring better leadership and better politics to Utahns across the state.â Edwards announced five positions including campaign manager, senior advisor, communications director, operations director, and volunteer coordinator. Read More Sen. Romney urges SBA to speed up relief to Utahâs struggling live event venues U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) joined his colleagues, led by Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), in penning a letter to Small Business Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman urging her to disburse Shuttered Venue Operator Grant funding to struggling live entertainment venues as soon as possible. The legislation that created this program, the Save Our Stages Act, was signed into law more than six months ago, but delays in distributing grant funds are too often resulting in event venues going out of business. Before the pandemic, Utah was the third fastest growing state for creative workers and its cultural industry employed 155,000 Utahns. Read More Curtis, OâHalleran introduce bipartisan rural broadband bill Today, Representatives John Curtis (R-UT) and Tom OâHalleran (D-AZ), members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, introduced HR 3970âthe bipartisan Accelerating Rural Broadband Deployment Actâ which will significantly increase internet access in rural America through needed regulatory easing. The legislation specifically requires federal agencies to review broadband infrastructure permits on federal-rights-of-way within a reasonable time period and establishes a fair licensing fee to build broadband infrastructure on federal land. Read More Rep. Stewartâs statement on repealing Iraq War Resolution Today, the House passed a resolution to repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) Against Iraq Resolution of 2002. Congressman Chris Stewart (R-UT) released the following statement. âI have always supported U.S. efforts to prosecute the global war on terror. I supported our previous efforts to defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan and the insurgent forces in Iraq. But itâs been 20 years now, and we have reached a point where the America people want to know thereâs a light at the end of this long and violent tunnel. Read More More than 12,000 Salt Lake County residents have received $17M in COVID-19 rental assistance since March 2021 Data collected and analyzed from Utahâs joint Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) now shows that $17.14 million of federal ERAP funds have been paid out in Salt Lake County, helping 12,190 Salt Lake County residents since March 2021.
Three months into the rental assistance program, Salt Lake County data shows women are applying for rental assistance at a higher rate than men. Approximately 60% of applicants are women, and the largest portion are women unemployed for more than 90 days. Read More Governor, Attorney General and State Auditor announce appointments to the newly created Personal Privacy Oversight Commission Gov. Spencer J. Cox, State Attorney General Sean D. Reyes, and State Auditor John Dougall today announce their respective appointments to the newly created Personal Privacy Oversight Commission (Commission). The Commission was created by the Legislature during the most recent legislative session (see HB 243). The purpose of the 12-member Commission is to develop guiding standards and best practices with respect to government privacy. The Commission will also recommend minimum privacy standards for governmental entities for the Legislature to consider codifying into statute. Commission members will work with the new Government Operations Privacy Officer and the new State Privacy Officer, reviewing specific government privacy practices recommended by these privacy officers. Read More Salt Lake Chamber recognizes Utahâs essential workers The Salt Lake Chamber announced today that Utahâs heroic essential workers will be honored with the 3rd annual Lane Beattie Utah Community Builder Award. The award traditionally recognizes an inspirational individual who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to address critical community needs. Given the unique challenges of the past year, Utahâs essential workers were the clear selection, including the following organizations and individuals who will accept the award on behalf of all: Read More Guest opinion: Free speech is bigger than Facebook or Twitter In 1971, the Washington Post sought to publish the top-secret Pentagon Papers. The Pentagon Papers exposed numerous lies and omissions that the US Government had been perpetrating about the Vietnam War. The Nixon Administration was apoplectic about that prospect, and went to court to prevent it. Among other things, it was illegal expose top secret information under what was called Espionage Act. The Supreme Court decided that prior restraint (which is an abridgment of free speech) was appropriate only for speech/disclosures that would cause âgrave and irreparableâ harm. The Supreme Court declined to prevent the publication of the Pentagon Papers, and the Post went ahead and published the Papers. The government went on to criminally charge Daniel Ellsberg with leaking the Pentagon Papers. Facebook and Twitter are believed by many to be natural monopolies. Being banned from them highly impacts oneâs free speech. Read More | | |
Deep Dive:Where the great jobs are in Utah: Aerospace and other STEM careers (if you can find housing) By LaVarr Webb Many Utahns may not be aware of how dynamic the aerospace industry is in Utah â and how badly it needs workers. I wasnât fully cognizant of it either, until I attended (via Zoom) a meeting of the Utah Foundation board earlier this week and heard presentations from industry, education and military leaders.
One indication of the vigor of the industry is the number of current job openings â thousands of them. Northrop Grumman alone, which already employs 7,000 people in Utah, has 635 job openings. âI hate to sound desperate, but we are,â said Mike Fuller, a Northrop-Grumman executive.
I was amazed at the variety of jobs available in the industry. And these are terrific jobs that pay well. Young people who want to be part of something great â like supporting space exploration, protecting America from enemies, and creating clean energy â really ought to consider a career in the aerospace industry.
Parents, grandparents, friends and neighbors of young people all should help get them excited about STEM education and preparation for a great career in science and technology. Thatâs where the good jobs are. And while all of them require post-high school training, many, many excellent jobs require only associate degrees or technical certificates â not four-year degrees.
Jobs in the industry cover a wide range of disciplines: Engineering (civil, mechanical, electrical, software, systems, etc.), IT professionals, cybersecurity, supply chain specialists, advanced materials (composites, alloys, carbon fiber, ceramics, etc.), computer science, financial analysts, production controllers, acquisition program managers, sheet metal mechanics, plastics fabricators, and on and on.
Want to have a meaningful career? Consider that Northrup-Grumman, just one of many aerospace firms in Utah, builds boosters for NASA rockets, helps send space capsules around the moon, supports private space launches, builds components for commercial airplanes and the military, supports the nationâs ICBM deterrent force, has a large cybersecurity contingent, and does many other exciting things.
Hill Air Force Base itself directly or indirectly (through contracting companies) hires thousands of skilled workers to support the baseâs critical defense missions.
Chanel Flores, representing the Utah Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Initiative, said the organization surveyed 40 aerospace companies and the No. 1 challenge for all of them is finding skilled workers.
Weber State University Pres. Brad Mortensen said Utahâs higher education system, including technical colleges, are doing everything possible to graduate young people ready to work in the industry. That effort includes a lot of partnerships with industry groups like that Utah Defense Alliance and Northern Utah Economic Alliance. But the jobs available far outpace what Utahâs education system can produce. Thus, companies have to recruit workers from out of state.
Mortensen said the education and workforce training effort needs to be as big, as urgent, and as important today as was the building of the transcontinental railroad many years ago. He said the state, the Legislature, cities, counties and education entities canât afford to spend any time fighting over turf. âWe all need to collaborate and cooperate.â It must be an all-hands-on-deck initiative.
Another major crisis facing the industry and the military is the availability and high cost of housing. Mike Moore, representing Hill Air Force Base, said young airmen simply cannot find housing they can afford, either to rent or buy. âItâs a serious crisis,â he said. All of the panel participants said if housing prices continue to rise, and if housing simply isnât available, Utah will lose its competitive edge and companies and workers will go elsewhere.
Utah Transit Authority Board Chair Carlton Christensen said UTA has a van pool vehicle going every day to Malad, Idaho, to deliver workers to HAFB. Andrew Gruber, executive director of the Wasatch Front Regional Council, said itâs critical that housing, transportation, education and workforce all be considered holistically because they are interrelated. They all impact each other either positively or negatively.
Peter Reichard, president of Utah Foundation, asked the panel what happens if Utah doesnât solve the workforce and housing crises. Mike Fuller, from Northrop-Grumman, said if Utah doesnât get it right, some other state will, and Utah will suffer. But he expressed optimism that Utah shown a great ability and willingness to innovate, collaborate and step up to challenges. âWe have to come together and find solutions to these problems, and Iâm confident we can.â | | |
Upcoming Ready to Welcome: States Lay the Foundation. World Refugee Day virtual Summit â June 22 @10:00 MDT. Register here Fire in the West - Appreciating the Inevitable with USU Research Landscapes â June 22 @11:30 Register here Zions Bank Community Speaker Series: LGBTQIA+ panel â June 22 @ noon. Register here Utah Democratic Party Organizing Convention â June 26 Securing the American Dream: A conversation with Tim Scott presented by the Hatch Foundation â Aug 11 @ noon. 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 1812 - War of 1812 begins 1928 - Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to cross the Atlantic successfully by air. 1929 - Ann Mara is born. She became the first lady of football, co-owning the New York Giants from 1959 until her death in 2015. She was also mom to 11 kids. 1963 - Three thousand Black students boycott Boston public schools as a protest against de facto segregation. 1983 - Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space 1985 - Karl Malone is chosen in draft by the Utah Jazz Wise Words "It takes people a while to trust you."
-Karl Malone Lighter Side âJuneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day the last group of enslaved people in America learned about the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation that had taken place two and a half years earlier. Then, it only took 156 more years until the idea finally reached Washington that maybe we should celebrate this.â ~STEPHEN COLBERT | | |
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