Trail Mix with Scott Cutherbertson; Happy Birthday to the Deseret News!; a surfing community is coming to the Utah desert
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The Utah Policy newsletter is your one-stop source for political and policy-minded news. We scour the news so you don't have to! Send news tips or feedback to Holly Richardson at editor@utahpolicy.com.

 

Situational Analysis | June 15, 2023

It's Thursday and World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. According to the National Council on Aging, up to 5 million Americans age 65 and up are abused every year. Only one in 24 cases are reported to authorities.

Happy birthday to the Deseret News, 173 years old today. 🎉

What You Need to Know

  • Filing has closed for candidates to replace Rep. Chris Stewart. There are nearly two dozen people who have jumped in the race: 13 Republicans, 3 Democrats, 2 from United Utah, 1 Libertarian, 1 Constitution Party and 2 unaffiliated. The GOP convention will be held on June 24 at Delta High School and the Democratic convention will be held on June 28.

On the Hill Today


Trail Mix with Scott Cuthbertson

Scott Cuthbertson, President and CEO of EDCUtah joined me to talk about his start as a cleaner with his family's business, his role as a consultant and now his time with EDCUtah. His advice for students who want to do what he does is spot on. And, he shies away from the chocolate in trail mix, choosing a less popular option....

Screenshot 2023-06-15 at 6.22.55 AM

 

Refugees are Leaders

Refugees add to the cultural, economic and social fabric of our communities. Utahn refugees bring resilience, diverse perspectives, and a deep appreciation for the opportunities provided by their new home. Learn More and Become a Welcomer. #WorldRefugeeDay

 

Utah Headlines

Political news

  • Utah lawmakers debate whether to extend domestic violence case policy (KUTV)
  • Lawmaker: School officials can bypass review committee process if challenged library books violate ‘bright line rule’ (Deseret News)
  • Utah senator says Davis School District may be 'accessory' in distributing porn to kids (KUTV)
  • Sen. Mitt Romney questions Trump’s claims over classified documents (Deseret News)
  • Sen. Mike Lee says law used to monitor Americans should be reformed (Deseret News)
  • Lee, Curtis propose more money to help the ailing Great Salt Lake. Legislation expands spending authority of Central Utah Completion Act (Deseret News)
  • Sharlee Mullins Glen: Donald Trump is not above the law (Deseret News)
  • Salt Lake City approves record $448.5M budget targeting 'most pertinent needs' (KSL)

Election news

  • Here’s when Utahns will elect a replacement for Rep. Chris Stewart (Deseret News)
  • Utah Republican Party announces debate schedule for 2nd Congressional District seat (KSL Newsradio)

General Utah news

  • Utahns are annoyed by high travel costs, but not enough to stop traveling (Deseret News)
  • Salt Lake City begins to plan for future of unique 'Hobbitville.' Here's how to help (KSL)
  • Adding threads to Utah's tapestry: Naturalization of 100 citizens kicks off World Refugee Week (KSL)
  • Truck full of teens allegedly targeting kids and senior citizens with water balloons, eggs in Utah County (KSL TV)
  • Utah road rage incidents more than doubled since last year (KUTV)

Business

  • Luxury surf community surfacing amid southern Utah sand and sagebrush. “This will be the first surf community in Utah. It will have the second-largest standing surf wave in the United States,” the developer said. (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • Utah's job market offers opportunities for teenagers seeking summer employment (KUTV)

Culture

  • Is the last Teriyaki Stix on Earth at Lagoon? My search for answers (Deseret News)

Education

  • Complaints of gender discrimination (Title IX) ‘fairly common’ at Utah schools (KSL TV)
  • Utah archaeology students unearth artifacts in 1,000-year-old village near Utah Lake (KSL TV)
  • Global minds, local impact: BYU students provide free business consultancy in Mexico City (Daily Universe)
  • BYU nursing students help Ukrainian refugees (KSL Newsradio)
  • Conference in Orem seeks to inform, empower entrepreneurial minded-teenagers (Daily Herald)

Environment

  • Utah Lake island project sinks after company behind proposal dissolves (Deseret News)
  • Several Utah campsites are closed because of snow and damage (KSL TV)
  • Richard Spotts: Proposed federal rule could improve public lands management (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • How more extreme heat from climate change could threaten Utah’s water supply (KUER)
  • The Yampa River is a ‘roller coaster’ ride as runoff replenishes the West’s reservoirs (KUER)
  • Arizona tribal nations and lawmakers want a new Grand Canyon National Monument (UPR)

Family

  • 7 things you should never say to your child, according to child psychologists (Deseret News)
  • ‘Having kids is incredible’: Chris Pratt says people should ‘rush’ to have kids (Deseret News)
  • Utah families with special needs children receive gift of mobility (Fox13)

Health

  • New study finds teens who underwent weight loss surgery had weakened bones (Deseret News)
  • Specific breast cancer patients are 66% more likely to survive now than 30 years ago (Deseret News)
  • PTSD Awareness Month: 'Get treated. It doesn't get better with time' (KUTV)
  • Some cancer drugs are in short supply, putting patients' care at risk. Here's why (NPR)
  • Sprinter Tori Bowie’s Death Reflects Maternal Mortality Crisis (Wall Street Journal)

Housing

  • Weber County officials identify short-term rentals as part of new focus (Standard-Examiner)
  • Nationwide study of property rental prices provides more bad news for Utah renters (Cache Valley Daily)
 

National Headlines

General

  • The women that ‘Me too’ left behind. A long history of inmate abuse in the Federal Bureau of Prisons is beginning to unravel. (Deseret News)
  • U.S. Immigrants are vulnerable to experiencing food insecurity, new study shows (KSL Newsradio)
  • Suicides and homicides among young Americans jumped early in pandemic, study says (AP)

Politics

  • How are Republican presidential candidates handling Trump’s indictment? (Deseret News)
  • ‘Stand with Trump’ becomes rallying cry as Republicans amplify attacks on US justice system (AP)
  • Trump raises $7 million for 2024 campaign since federal indictment (Reuters)
  • Trump rejected lawyers’ efforts to avoid classified documents indictment (Washington Post)
  • Nearly a year later, most Americans oppose Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe (NPR)
  • GOP Fails in Effort to Punish Adam Schiff Over Trump Probes (Wall Street Journal)
  • Shutdown odds grow amid GOP infighting (The Hill)

Ukraine 🇺🇦

  • War disrupts education of Ukrainian kids, even those who’ve found safety abroad (AP)
  • NATO races to design long-term package for Ukraine, differences remain (Reuters)
  • Russia's big economic problem: Not enough workers (Wall Street Journal)
  • Zaporizhzhia steel plant refuses to bend to Russian attacks (Washington Post)
  • Ukraine’s long war and the importance of patience (Politico)

World

  • Restoring the Notre Dame cathedral — how carpenters are approaching the monumental task (Deseret News)
  • Scathing report finds Boris Johnson deliberately misled UK Parliament over ‘partygate’ (AP)
  • Greece searches for hundreds feared missing after migrant boat sank, leaving 78 dead (AP)
  • Pope Francis orders ex-aide of Pope Benedict to leave Vatican (Reuters)
 

News Releases

Gov. Cox appoints Charles Stormont to Third District Court

Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox has appointed Charles Stormont to the Third District Court bench to fill the vacancy left by Judge Amy Oliver’s appointment to the Utah Court of Appeals. Stormont’s nomination requires confirmation by the Utah Senate. (Read More)


Utah Senate requests public comment on 3rd District Court Nominee

The Utah Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee is seeking public comment on Charles Stormont, who Gov. Spencer J. Cox nominated to serve as a judge in the 3rd District Court.

Those who desire to comment should contact the Utah Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee electronically or by mail at the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, by 5:00 p.m. Thursday, June 29, 2023. Electronic comments can be emailed to senatejudicialnominees@le.utah.gov. Written comments can be mailed to the Utah Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee at the Utah State Capitol, Suite W210, PO Box 145210, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-5210. All statements should include the respondent’s name, telephone number and mailing address. (Read More)


Granite School District Board approves significant compensation increases for Educational Support Professionals

At last evening’s Board Meeting, the Board of Education formerly approved an unprecedented settlement agreement that will impact all contract and hourly Educational Support Professionals (non-licensed staff). The District is pleased to announce that these positions will receive a $4-an-hour increase in their compensation. This includes bus drivers, custodians, paraprofessionals, nutrition services workers, custodians, and more. We fully recognize that this employee group is critical in our ability to provide quality educational services for students and providing support to our licensed and administrative colleagues. (Read More)


Moore’s Small Business Growth Act passed in the Ways and Means Committee’s economic package

Yesterday, the House Ways and Means Committee considered and passed an economic package of tax reform bills to strengthen our economy and provide relief to American families and businesses. Included in the package was Congressman Moore’s Small Business Growth Act, which was rolled into H.R. 3937, the Small Business Jobs Act. Congressman Moore’s legislation will support small business growth and help small businesses attain the equipment necessary to build their operations and support their workforce. (Read More)


Child care crisis in Utah sends parents into job turmoil

Utah made significant strides in overall child well-being, moving up to second place in the country from fourth last year, according to the 2023 KIDS COUNT® Data Book, a 50-state report of recent household data developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation that analyzes how children and families are faring. However, our country’s lack of affordable and accessible child care short-changes children and causes parents in Utah to frequently miss work or even quit their jobs, while those who can find care are paying dearly for it. These child care challenges cost the American economy billions of dollars a year and stymie women professionally. (Read More)


Utah GOP announces two candidate debates

The Utah Republican Party, in partnership with Davis, Iron, Salt Lake, Tooele, and Washington County Republican Parties, is pleased to unveil the schedule for two highly anticipated debates as part of the special election process to fill the vacant seat of Congressman Chris Stewart in Congressional District 2. The debates will be sponsored by The Utah Elephant Club and are scheduled for June 20 at Woods Cross High and June 22 at Dixie Tech. (Read More


Romney leads Senate hearing on reducing government waste, fraud, and abuse

U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) today served as Ranking Member at a Senate Homeland Security Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight Subcommittee hearing on how to reduce duplication, overlap, and fragmentation in the federal government and save taxpayer dollars. During his questioning of Eugene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States and the head of the GAO, Romney reiterated his request for the Administration to provide an accounting of the waste and fraud associated with COVID relief efforts and advocated for the elimination and consolidation of duplicative federal programs. (Read/Watch More)

 

Number of the Day

Number of the Day, June 15, 2023

 

Tweet of the Day

Screenshot 2023-06-15 at 7.43.51 AM

 

Upcoming

  • Interim Days — June 13-14, Utah State Capitol, le.utah.gov
  • Bellwether International Symposium on Bridging the Religious Divide with the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy — June 16, 9:00 am-3:30 pm, Little America, Register here
  • 3rd Senate Project Debate between Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), sponsored by the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation — June 18, 8:00 pm, Fox News Channel
  • Municipal election filing period for cities using ranked choice voting — August 8-15
  • Municipal/Special election primary — Sept 5
  • General election — Nov 21
 

On This Day In History

  • 1215 - King John puts his seal on the Magna Carta
  • 1775 - George Washington is appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.
  • 1850 - The first edition of the Deseret News is published
  • 1864 - Robert E. Lee’s home area becomes a military cemetery - Arlington.
  • 1921 - Bessie Coleman earns her international aviation license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in France and becomes the first African-American woman in the world to earn an aviation pilot's license.
  • 1971 - 17-year-old Cheryl White becomes the first Black female jockey in a race at Thistledown.
  • 1974 - "All the President's Men" by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward detailing their Watergate investigation is published by Simon and Schuster
  • 1982 - US Supreme Court rules all children are entitled to a public education, regardless of citizenship
  • 1983 - US Supreme Court strikes down state and local restrictions on abortion
  • 2006 - Construction begins on the Global Seed Vault. The vault has the capacity to hold 2.25 billion seeds as “insurance against both incremental and catastrophic loss of crop diversity.”

Quote of the Day

“The White House had decided that the conduct of the press, not the conduct of the President’s men, was the issue.”
― Carl Bernstein, All the President's Men


On the Punny Side

I recently joined a support group for people who talk a lot.

We call ourselves On and On Anon.

 

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