World Rainforest Day; O2 likely gone in submersible; UT firefighters issue reminder on fireworks restrictions; $10,000 worth of Legos stolen
View in browser

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 22, 2023

It's Thursday and World Rainforest Day. Did you know that Amazon rainforests were first explored by Europeans in 1541? 

What You Need to Know

  •  A 2.5 earthquake was reported in Magna yesterday. Turns out, it was an aftershock of the 5.7 March 2020 quake. The University of Utah Seismograph Stations have recorded about 2800 aftershocks since the original quake.

  • The missing Titanic submersible hits 96-hour mark for breathable air supply. It is not known if there were any survivors after the sub disappeared Sunday morning and the Coast Guard vows to continue their search, even after any available oxygen runs out. 

Rapid Relevance

 

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.

 

Utah Headlines

Political news

  • Utah delegation supports Owens’ bill to increase flights into Washington, D.C. (Deseret News)
  • Utah asks judge to throw out lawsuit over age verification for porn sites (Deseret News)
  • Salt Lake City's mayor says it's time to 'depoliticize' climate issues (KSL)
  • Ogden mayor picks city government veteran to fill top advisory spot (Standard-Examiner)

Election news

  • Most Republican candidates to be eliminated after GOP Special Convention (KSL TV)
  • Overcoming the stigma of early voting for Republicans (KSL Newsradio)

General Utah news

  • ‘We need help. We are desperate’: Utah animal shelters struggle with overcrowding (Deseret News)
  • Just how soon will the IOC pick the next Winter Olympics hosts? (Deseret News)
  • Fee waiver to help Utahns clear their criminal record about to expire (KSL TV)
  • Early mosquito numbers spark response from Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District (KUTV)

Business

  • Huntsman Cancer Institute to expand in Utah County (KSL)
  • Vivint settles one lawsuit, is near a deal on second (Fox13)
  • Utah Transit Authority tries raising wages to up to $28 to get more workers (Fox13)
  • Amazon duped 'millions of consumers' into enrolling in Prime, FTC says (Reuters)

Culture

  • No one says ‘welcome home’ like the families at Salt Lake City International Airport (Deseret News)
  • Utah non-profit celebrates housing 447 refugees in the last year on World Refugee Day (KSL TV)

Education

  • Salt Lake City school board votes to shut down district’s virtual elementary school (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • Nonprofit responds to Davis County rescinding Bible ban (ABC4)
  • How do Utah’s K-12 school librarians choose books? We asked one (KUER)

Environment

  • April Abate-Adams: Permitting reform is the key to clean energy (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • Biden administration moves to restore endangered species protections dropped by Trump (KUTV)
  • Pink-colored snow from algal blooms concerns Cache County residents (Fox13)
  • As nuclear power gains steam, uranium mining and its impacts may grow in the Mountain West (KUER)

Family

  • Let kids get bored. It’s good for them. A reminder to parents soldiering through the summer: Boredom has its virtues. (New York Times)
  • Years after jail phone call reform, families of Utah inmates still struggle to keep in contact (Salt Lake Tribune)

Health

  • Editorial Board: Blaming the pandemic for rising teen suicide rates won’t solve the problem (Deseret News)
  • International Yoga Day: The benefits of yoga and of walking (Deseret News)
  • Will doctors start screening for anxiety during routine checkups? A panel suggests they should (Deseret News)
  • Utah scientists work in Africa to reduce malaria (KSL TV)
  • Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital ranked one of the best children’s hospitals in the country (ABC4)
  • Rock musical ‘Relative Space’ to tackle mental health in Pleasant Grove performances (Daily Herald)

Housing

  • Has the housing market bottomed? Home sales still down but gaining summer steam (Deseret News)
  • Don't get the jitters — keep up a healthy relationship with caffeine using these tips (NPR)
  • They own the house, but not the land under it. How this model is making homeownership attainable. (Salt Lake Tribune)
 

National Headlines

General

  • Why are drug laws in some states getting weaker as overdose deaths climb? (Deseret News)
  • Four immigrants who sought sanctuary in churches no longer face deportation (NPR)
  • The US population is older than it has ever been (New York Times)
  • 4 dead, 10 injured after tornado rips through Texas town (Washington Post)
  • AI-generated child sex images spawn new nightmare for the web (Washington Post)

Politics

  • In rowdy scene, House censures Rep. Adam Schiff over Trump-Russia investigations (AP)
  • GOP’s Boebert wanted to impeach Biden, but House Speaker McCarthy had other plans (AP)
  • Prosecutors disclose discovery of secret Guantánamo prison videos (New York Times)
  • House fails to override Biden’s veto of bill repealing student debt relief (Politico)
  • Marianne Williamson loses second campaign manager in two months (Politico)

Ukraine 🇺🇦

  • Ukraine offensive makes slow gains, Zelenskiy says; Putin sees 'lull' (Reuters)
  • Battling Russia, Ukrainian leaders also fight high expectations (New York Times)
  • Belarus is fast becoming a 'vassal state' of Russia (New York Times)
  • Ukraine strikes bridge supplying Russian troops (Wall Street Journal)
  • The Africans fighting on Russia's front lines in Ukraine (Reuters)

World

  • Peru is reeling from record case counts of dengue fever. What's driving the outbreak? (NPR)
  • Ancient Maya city discovered in Mexican jungle (Reuters)
  • NATO's largest-ever aerial wargame has Russia, China in mind (Wall Street Journal)
 

News Releases

Owens celebrates full Utah delegation support of the DCA Act

Today, Rep. Burgess Owens (UT-04) announced the Utah Congressional delegation’s full support of The Direct Capital Access (DCA) Act, legislation to add 28 additional in- and beyond-perimeter flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in the 2023 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization bill. (Read More)


House moves forward on bills to protect public lands

Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources favorably reported two of Rep. John Curtis’ (UT-03) bills to better manage federal lands. The first would withdraw a rule of the Bureau of Land Management that would restrict access to public lands for grazing and recreation. The second would require the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior to issue guidance on managing recreational climbing in designated wilderness areas. (Read More)

 

Number of the Day

Number of the Day, June 22, 2023

 

Tweet of the Day

Screenshot 2023-06-22 at 6.56.13 AM

 

Upcoming

  • GOP special election convention — June 24, Delta High School
  • United Utah special election convention — June 27, 7:00 pm, Hunter Library
  • Democratic special election convention — June 28
  • Municipal election filing period for cities using ranked choice voting — August 8-15
  • 'Titan of Public Service' gala recognizing Senator Mitch McConnell and former Transportation and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, hosted by the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation — Aug 22, 7 pm, Register here
  • Municipal/Special election primary — Sept 5
  • General election — Nov 21
 

On This Day In History

  • 1611 - Henry Hudson and 8 others are set adrift by mutineers. They are never seen again.
  • 1775 - Congress issues Continental currency
  • 1870 - US Congress creates the Department of Justice
  • 1906 - Anne Spencer Morrow (Lindbergh) is born. 
  • 1909 - Katherine Dunham is born. She was a dancer and choreographer that combined African movement and classical ballet.
  • 1918 - Cicely Saunders is born. She was an English nurse, physician and writer who founded the first modern hospice.
  • 1944 - FDR signs the GI Bill, a bill that helped millions of returning American soldiers. White soldiers, that is. The bill was drafted in a way that excluded Black veterans.
  • 2015 - South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley calls for the removal of the Confederate flag from statehouse grounds in wake of killings in a Charleston church

Quote of the Day

“The most exhausting thing in life, I have discovered, is being insincere.”

—Anne Morrow Lindbergh


On the Punny Side

Therapist: What brings you in today?

Me: I have a terrible fear of tsunamis.

Therapist: How bad is it?

Me: It comes in waves.

 

– Advertise With Us –

Subscribers may receive special messages with information about new features, special offers, or public policy messages from clients and advertisers.