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Utah Policy Daily Newsletter

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 bschott@utahpolicy.com, or message us on Twitter.

Situational awareness - March 23, 2020

Good Monday morning from Salt Lake City

TICK TOCK

33 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic state conventions (4/25/2020)

99 days to the 2020 Utah primary elections (6/30/2020)

225 Days to the 2020 election (11/3/2020)

303 days to inauguration day [01/20/2021)

308 days to the start of the 2021 Utah Legislature (1/25/2021)

Here are the stories you need to pay attention to this morning:

A massive fiscal stimulus bill hits a roadblock in the U.S. Senate. Sen. Luz Escamilla said she has tested positive for the coronavirus. Sens. Mike Lee and Mitt Romney have entered self-quarantine after Sen. Rand Paul tested positive for coronavirus. Countries begin pulling out of the 2020 Olympic games.

TRIVIA WINNER

Many of our readers knew George Sutherland graduated from Brigham Young Academy and served in both houses of Congress.

Out of dozens of correct guesses, we randomly selected Chase Thomas as our winner. He gets the honor of asking this Friday's question.

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Today At Utah Policy

Utah Economic Response Task Force is moving fast
By LaVarr Webb, Publisher
The Utah Coronavirus Economic Response Task Force, organized and announced by Gov. Gary Herbert just a week ago, is moving rapidly to provide support to businesses and their employees with the goal of keeping Utah's economy as strong as possible during the crisis.Sen. Luz Escamilla says she's tested positive for COVID-19
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Sunday night, Sen. Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, announced she had tested positive for the coronavirus.Rep. Ben McAdams hospitalized with coronavirus
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Democratic Rep. Ben McAdams said Sunday he was hospitalized over the weekend due to the COVID-19 virus.Podcast: Managing anxiety and stress during the coronavirus outbreak
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Coronavirus and social distancing have many Utahns on edge as they try to adapt to a new normal. Add an earthquake into the mix, and it makes for an anxiety-inducing week for many in the state.Sens. Lee and Romney to self-quarantine
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Utah Sens. Mike Lee and Mitt Romney have decided to self-quarantine after their colleague, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday.Utah's unemployment rate held steady at 2.9% in February
By News Release
Utah's nonfarm payroll employment for February 2020 grew by an estimated 2.9%, adding 44,300 jobs to the economy since February 2019. Utah's current employment level registers 1,579,700. January's year-over job growth has been minimally revised down to 2.8%. Corona Quake Swallow - Bernick and Schott on politics podcast
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick help you understand the news that shaped another nerve-jangling week in Utah politics.

OTHER UTAH HEADLINES

Deseret News

Pignanelli & Webb: How will the coronavirus pandemic affect Utah politics, elections? Thomas Wright: Utah's vote-by-mail mitigates the health risk of democracy in a pandemic Greg Bell: Coronavirus has led to a different world, but there's no need to fear Editorial: Utah's COVID-19 economic task force has some good news for you Gov. Gary Herbert: Utah economy will weather coronavirus storm Medicaid is expanded for Utahns, particularly in wake of layoffs due to COVID-19 pandemic Utah governor issues state of emergency to deal with quake aftermath Death, coronavirus and taxes: The IRS has moved back the tax filing deadline Mitt Romney says U.S. should look to South Korea - not Italy - to stem coronavirus spread Spencer Cox limits campaign activity, asks supporters to donate to neighbors Utah numbers keep rising with 2 dozen more COVID-19 cases Top Utah County cops at odds over dismantling of special victims unit Utah Sens. Mitt Romney, Mike Lee in quarantine after exposure to senator with COVID-19

Salt Lake Tribune

Hundreds of Utah inmates will soon be released in response to coronavirus State reports 24 new confirmed cases of coronavirus in Utah, bringing total to 136 Utah's first coronavirus death was a Davis County man over age 60 Rural county leaders in Utah call for a 'return to normalcy' amid coronavirus outbreak Governor names lawmaker as new Utah Agriculture and Food commissioner Ex-A.G. John Swallow says his corruption trial will make him a better attorney general Sen. Mitt Romney pitches student loan deferment Coal industry seeks federal help amid coronavirus outbreak Navajo Nation, southeast Utah health officials urge tourists to stay home Cox asks supporters to redirect campaign donations during pandemic; other Utah guv candidates also pull back Rep. Ben McAdams hospitalized with coronavirus while Sens. Mike Lee and Mitt Romney self-quarantine

Other

The filing window closed Thursday, revealing two contested Summit County Council races and new faces likely for three of area's Statehouse positions (Park Record) Candidates wrap up last day of filing for public office in Utah (Daily Herald) Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, Sen. Deidre Henderson limit campaign, urge pandemic support (Daily Herald) New report suggests Ogden business climate solid, mayor touts advantages in event of economic downturn (Standard-Examiner) Most Weber County political races will be contested this election cycle (Standard-Examiner) Davis County man becomes first COVID-19-related death in Utah (Standard-Examiner)

NATIONAL HEADLINES

Stimulus bill stalls

"Senate Democrats blocked a massive coronavirus stimulus bill from moving forward Sunday as partisan disputes raged over the legislation that's aimed at arresting the economy's precipitous decline" [Washington Post].

Democrats objected to a $500 billion "slush fund" for corporate America. The money would be controlled by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and would allow him to keep secret for six months the names of the companies that receive federal money and how much they got [Politico].

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said the financial stimulus package will include an average payment of $3,000 for a family of four [The Hill].

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House will move forward with its own bill to address the crisis [Politico].

Global markets plunged as the fiscal relief bill stalled Sunday night [CNN Business].

Brutal week ahead for the economy

The U.S. economy is deteriorating more quickly than expected as more than 80 million Americans are staying home to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus [Washington Post].

The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis predicted the U.S. unemployment rate may hit 30 percent in the second quarter because of shutdowns to combat the coronavirus. He also forecasted gross domestic product could drop 50 percent [Bloomberg].

Starbucks has closed most of its stores in the U.S. and Canada and moved them to drive-through only for two weeks to combat the spread of the virus [Reuters].

The FAA temporarily halted flights to New York and Philadelphia airports because of "staffing issues" at air traffic control stations [NBC New York].

Fighting the spread of the virus

Experts say it will take extraordinary measures and lots of cash to stop the virus in the U.S. [New York Times].

President Donald Trump promised to roll out the National Guard to help control the spread of the illness [Yahoo! News].

2020

Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden says he will begin vetting potential VP picks "in a matter of weeks." Biden has said he will select a woman as his running mate [Politico].

Afghanistan

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan Monday to try and mediate a political crisis surrounding a disputed presidential election from last year [Washington Post].

Olympic games

The International Olympics Committee will take a month to decide whether the 2020 games in Tokyo will proceed as planned. The games could be delayed for one year until 2021 [Variety].

Canada officials said they would not send athletes to the games in Tokyo this summer because of the coronavirus [New York Times].

The Australian Olympic Committee told athletes to prepare for the Tokyo Games to be delayed for a year [The Guardian].

BUSINESS HEADLINES

Gov. Gary Herbert: Utah economy will weather coronavirus storm (Deseret News) Park City lodging, visitor-spending numbers projected to crater amid coronavirus, skiing shutdown (Park Record) Weber County leaders craft guide to help counter coronavirus' economic punch (Standard-Examiner) New report suggests Ogden business climate solid, mayor touts advantages in event of economic downturn (Standard-Examiner)

Policy News

Leaders share best practices to support economy through pandemic
Governor Gary R. Herbert and industry leaders shared strategies, ideas and best practices to combat and mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus. Some ideas include: using take out at restaurants; scheduling shopping, home viewings, and other necessary and appropriate gatherings; and, maintaining social distance at all times. CYBER 24 Episode 74: How deep learning beats machine learning in detecting threats
Detecting increasingly sophisticated malware attacks requires complex defenses. Security companies are using more and more advanced types of machine and deep learning to blacklist malware and prevent it from ever getting to your employees or your computer systems.Governor appoints Representative Logan Wilde as the new commissioner for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food
Gov. Gary R. Herbert has announced the appointment of Rep. Logan Wilde as the commissioner of the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. Salt Lake City, DTA and Ty Burrell develop 'Tip Your Server' relief plan for food and beverage industry
Relief will soon be on the way for some employees in Salt Lake City's deeply impacted food and beverage industry.

More National Headlines

Louisiana issues statewide stay-at-home order to combat coronavirus spread (The Advocate) NYT Visualization: How The Chinese Government Enabled The Spread Of Coronavirus (Hot Air) Zogby: Trump, like FDR, 'has risen' to the challenge (Washington Examiner) Why have so many coronavirus patients died in Italy? (Telegraph) Ohio abortion clinics ordered to stop procedures due to coronavirus (CBS News) Rand Paul becomes first senator known to test positive for coronavirus (NBC News) Chloroquine May Fight Covid-19-and Silicon Valley's Into It (WIRED) U.S. FDA approves first rapid coronavirus test with 45 minutes detection time (Reuters) How Are the Rich and Famous Jumping the Test Queues? In England, by Paying $425 (Wall Street Journal)

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1775 - Patrick Henry delivers his speech - "Give me liberty, or give me death!" - in Richmond, Virginia.

1933 - The Reichstag passes the Enabling Act of 1933, making Adolf Hitler dictator of Germany.

1977 - The first of the Nixon Interviews (12 will be recorded over four weeks) are videotaped with British journalist David Frost interviewing former President Richard Nixon about the Watergate scandal.

1983 - The world's first recipient of a permanent artificial heart, Barney Clark, died in a Salt Lake City hospital.

1983 - President Ronald Reagan called for the development of an anti-missile defense system to protect the U.S. from nuclear attacks. The Strategic Defense Initiative was dubbed "Star Wars."