Situational Analysis | April 1, 2022

Welcome to April. I do not love April Fool's Day, so there will be no fake news here (to the best of my knowledge).

If you're a genealogy buff, you probably already know this, but the 1950 census was made public at one minute after midnight. Happy sleuthing.

Be in the Know

1. Ally Isom and Mike Lee have qualified via signatures for the primary ballot in Utah's Senate race. Becky Edwards is close to hitting the mark of 28,000 verified signatures. In Congressional races, Blake Moore is on the primary ballot in the first Congressional district, while challenger Tina Cannon still has about 2000 to go. Erin Rider has 1329 verified signatures in the second Congressional district. No one has any verified signatures in third and Jake Hunsaker is on the ballot in the fourth.  

2. The US added 431,000 jobs in March in a sign of the economy's resilience. The Labor Department's report showed that the national unemployment rate has dropped to 3.6%, the lowest level since the pandemic began. Average earnings are up as well, as businesses try to find and keep employees. The report marked the 11th straight month of job gains above 400,000, the longest such stretch of growth in records dating back to 1939. 

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Utah Headlines

General

• Just announced: Imagine Dragons, Macklemore add Utah stop to world tour (Deseret News)
• U.S. Olympic Committee supports Salt Lake’s bid, despite concerns about Utah’s transgender sports bill (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Sky View soccer coach arrested for sexting undercover cop posing as 13-year-old (KSL TV)
• Hundreds gather in SLC to rally and march on International Transgender Day of Visibility (KSL TV)
• ‘Someone at the other end’: Utahns provide safe haven for Afghan refugees (KSL TV)

Politics

• Who has more influence, the governor or lawmakers? Here’s what Utahns say (Deseret News)
• Residents seek referendum after South Salt Lake Council changes rule to raise its pay (KSL)
• Independent candidate Evan McMullin unveils first attack ad of Senate campaign (Fox13)
• Weber County GOPers eye Utah House seat now held by Rep. Lesser (Standard-Examiner)

Education

• This Utah fourth grader wrote a letter asking for better toilet paper at school. Then the district responded. The tissue felt like sandpaper, the student wrote, and his classmates avoided using the bathroom because of it. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Feds investigate Utah college that received fake applications for admission, financial aid. Salt Lake Community College says it did not release any money to the flagged accounts. (Salt Lake Tribune)

Environment

• Study finds that race and redlining is correlated with modern-day pollution (Deseret News)
• This federal court settlement in Utah could help clear Uinta Basin’s air (Deseret News)
• Renowned dinosaur tracks near Moab were damaged because BLM failed to take precautions, new agency report says (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Willowstick Technologies to measure radiation, noise and lightning strike data to find new Iron County water sources (Salt Lake Tribune)

Family

• Why do so many young adults live with their parents? A new Pew Research Center study says benefits and challenges vary greatly depending on if you’re a young or old adult in a multigenerational household. (Deseret News)
• 'We feel safe here,' Afghan refugee family settles into new life in Utah (Fox13)

Utah/Ukraine Connection

• One month ago she woke up to a missile attack. Now, this teen is helping other Ukrainians stay in the U.S. (Deseret News)
• How Elder Uchtdorf understands the plight of refugees in Europe (Deseret News)
• Tooele doctor treating orphans in Ukraine welcomed home by entire family at SLC airport (Salt Lake Tribune)
• 6 Utahns help fleeing Ukrainians in Moldova (KSL TV)
• Ukrainians, Utah company team up to help translate legal documents (ABC4)
• Yale gives Utah essential oil companies 'D' and 'F' for continuing business ops in Russia (KUTV)
• ‘We had to do it’: How this 76-year-old aunt escaped Ukraine and made it to Salt Lake City (KUER)

COVID Corner

• 140 new cases, 1 new death
• Relax, there are no ‘contagious’ vaccines for humans (Deseret News)
• Utah reports more than 2 million people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in last daily update. The Utah Department of Health will now update its coronavirus metrics once a week. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• New records detail complaints against TestUtah, from ‘piles’ of ignored samples to ‘contaminated’ COVID tests (Salt Lake Tribune)

National Headlines

General

• Pope makes historic apology to Indigenous for Canada abuses (AP)
• $14M jury award for protesters could resonate around US (AP)
• NSA employee charged with disclosing top secret information (Washington Post)
• Human blueprint breakthrough: Scientists publish ‘gapless’ human genome (Washington Post)
• Seven Decades Later, the 1950 Census Bares Its Secrets. Federal law kept the answers on millions of census forms secret for 72 years. The forms went online on Friday, a bonanza for historians, genealogists and the merely curious. (New York Times)
• CDC: More than 40 percent of teens ‘persistently sad’ amid pandemic (The Hill)

Politics

• House passes $35-a-month insulin cap as Dems seek wider bill (AP)
• As Earmarks Return to Congress, Lawmakers Rush to Steer Money Home. Democrats and Republicans alike stuffed nearly 5,000 earmarks totaling $9 billion into the $1.5 trillion government spending bill signed by President Biden. (New York Times)
• Rick Scott agenda push baffles GOP (The Hill)
• ‘The baggage is too heavy’: GOP foes tee up last-ditch effort to sink Herschel Walker. Georgia primary opponents warn the Trump-backed former football star is too flawed to win in November. (Politico)

Ukraine

• Russian Troops Suffer ‘Acute Radiation Sickness’ After Digging Chernobyl Trenches (Yahoo News)
• Moscow says Ukraine hit a fuel depot inside Russia (Reuters)
• Ukraine war: Gruesome evidence points to war crimes on road outside Kyiv (BBC)
• Putin talks tough on gas-for-rubles deadline. But flows continue to Europe (CNBC)
• Strike on Russian oil depot reported as Ukraine talks resume (AP)
• Day 36: Russian tanks destroyed outside Kyiv (AP)
• Zelenskyy says he has stripped two traitorous Ukrainian generals of their rank (NPR)
• Officials are still working to evacute civilians from Mariupol, despite challenges (NPR)
• Russian gas flows to Europe despite Putin deadline (Reuters)
• Mariupol evacuations expected after temporary cease-fire is declared (Washington Post)

News Releases

Ally Isom first challenger candidate to secure primary ballot slot

Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Ally Isom is one step closer to replacing Mike Lee. Today, the Utah Office of Elections announced Isom surpassed the required 28,000 certified signatures and is the first challenger candidate to officially secure a slot on the June 28 primary election ballot.

“Utah is ready for a different kind of leadership. I am truly honored by the support of everyday Utahns across this incredible state,” Isom said. “Our volunteers have been tireless and it’s thrilling to have such momentum going into the GOP State Convention.” (Read More)

Number of the Day

Tweet of the Day

Upcoming

• United Utah Party State Convention - April 16, 10 am, West High, SLC
• 2022 Midyear Conference, Utah League of Cities and Towns - April 20-22, St. George Register here
• United Utah Party Convention, April 16, 10 am-noon, West High School
• GOP Convention, April 23, 10 am, Mt. America Expo Center
• Dem Convention, Apr 23, 9 am
• Ballots are mailed â€“ June 7
• Primary election day â€“ June 28
• General election â€“ Nov 8

On This Day In History

• 1507 - English guilds go under state control.
• 1621 - The Pilgrim-Wampanoag peace treaty is signed.
• 1700 - April Fool’s pranks popularized. 
• 1748 - Ruins of Pompeii discovered after being buried for 1700 years.
• 1789 - The first US House of Representatives elects its first speaker, Pennsylvania Representative Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg.
• 1919 - LDS April General Conference is delayed due to a pandemic. 
• 1940 - Wangari Muta Maathai is born. Dr. Maathai became an internationally renowned Kenyan environmental political activist, founder of the Green Belt Movement and was the first black woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1945 - US troops land on Okinawa in the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific theater
• 1946 - Alaskan earthquake triggers massive tsunami that killed 159 people in Hawaii.
• 1970 - Nixon signs legislation banning cigarette ads on TV and radio.
• 1976 - Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs start Apple Computer in Jobs’ parents’ garage.
• 2014 - 8.2 earthquake hits Chile

Wise Words

"Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice."

— Steve Jobs

Lighter Side

Russian troops are reportedly afraid to let Vladimir Putin know just how poorly the war in Ukraine is going.

“Of course they’re afraid to be honest. No matter what you say to a psychotic boss, you lose.” 

— STEPHEN COLBERT

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