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Situational awareness - Aug. 7, 2018
Good Tuesday morning. August rolls on with heat and smoke. Good time to cocoon in place.
TICK TOCK
- 63 days until the last day to register to vote by mail (10/9/2018)
- 70 days until mail-in ballots are sent to voters (10/16/2018)
- 77 days until in-person early voting begins (10/23/2018)
- 84 days until the last day to register to vote in person or by mail (10/30/2018)
- 87 days until in-person early voting ends (11/2/2018)
- 91 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
- 174 days until the first day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (1/28/2019)
- 219 days until the final day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (3/14/2019)
- 819 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)
HERE ARE THE STORIES YOU SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO TODAY
Independent redistricting commission. If Prop. 4 passes, can Democrats expect to win more legislative races and perhaps dominate a congressional district? Publisher LaVarr Webb says don't bet the farm (Utah Policy).
Exclusive poll: Utahns want a bigger effort to prevent teen suicide. Utah's teen suicide rate is too high. Leaders are taking action, but two-thirds of Utah adults say not enough is being done (Utah Policy).
OTHER UTAH HEADLINES
- New CEO of World Trade Center Utah outlines his vision for the international trade advocacy organization (Utah Policy).
- The Salt Lake Chamber's Derek Miller inaugurates CEO Success Stories podcast by interviewing Gov. Herbert (Utah Policy).
- Central Wasatch Commission delays vote supporting federal wilderness designation as protestors weigh in (Deseret News).
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren's fundraising stop in red Utah is a clear signal she's serious about running for president (Deseret News).
- Robert Redford says he is retiring from acting at age 81 (The Independent).
- Salt Lake City is hiring a full-time census coordinator to make certain all immigrants are counted (SL Tribune).
- Holladay rejects voter petition on former Cottonwood Mall site, but schedules special election just in case (SL Tribune).
NATIONAL HEADLINES
- Rick Gates, the government's star witness against Paul Manafort, says he committed crimes with Paul Manafort, while also stealing money from Manafort (Politico).
- Republican strategist Karl Rove says Trump should keep expectations low for 2018 elections, instead of predicting a 'red wave" (The Hill).
- In closely-watched Ohio special election, Troy Balderson and Danny O'Connor make final pitches to rally voters as voting begins today (Cleveland.com).
- International: U.S. reimposes Iran sanctions (Wall Street Journal ). Scores killed in latest Indonesian earthquake (Associated Press ). Why Saudi Arabia is waging diplomatic war on Canada (Vox.com).
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
- 1782 General George Washington creates the Purple Heart military badge.
- 1912 Theodore Roosevelt, at the time a former U.S. president, is nominated as the Bull Moose presidential candidate. After recovering from an assassination attempt, Roosevelt loses to Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson.
- 1947 Kon-Tiki, a balsa wood raft captained by Norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl, completes a 4,300-mile, 101-day journey from Peru to the Tuamotu Archipelago near Tahiti.
- 1959 A U.S. satellite produces the first photograph of earth from space.
- 1964 Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, giving Pres. Lyndon Johnson authority to oppose "communist aggression" and expand U.S. military roles in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
Today At Utah Policy
Will independent redistricting result in more Democratic victories?There's a pretty good chance that an independent, unelected, redistricting commission will be drawing Utah's political district boundaries, at least on an advisory basis, after the 2020 Census.The big question is whether the final result will be the political nirvana that pr...
CEO success stories: A New Chamber podcast
The Salt Lake Chamber has created a new podcast called "CEO Success Stories." In every episode Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Chamber and Downtown Alliance, sits down with a top CEO from across the state to hear about their leadership philosophy, best prac...
Utahns want bigger effort to prevent teen suicide
Utah's teen suicide rate is 60 percent higher than the national average and, even though the 2018 Legislature took steps to help reduce these tragedies, two-thirds of Utahns say not enough is being done to prevent youths taking their own lives, a new UtahPolicy.com ...
President's Message: My vision for WTCUtah
Greetings, my friends. I won't actually join the WTC Utah team until later this month, but I am excited to get involved now and share my thoughts as I formulate a vision for WTC Utah going forward.I want to highlight how impressed I am with the organization and brand that fo...
Reader reaction: Trust us, the ACLU of Utah is busy these days
On UtahPolicy.com Monday, LaVarr Webb wrote that the American Civil Liberties Union "barely knows what to do" with the spike in membership and donations generated by the backlash against the Trump administration.He's right that more Americans (a...
Trump & the news media: a battle to the death
The relationship between Pres. Trump and the traditional news media is noxious and getting worse. I've never seen such literal hatred between a major politician and the press. As a former journalist, I think it's highly unfortunate.However, it's not all Trump's fault, ...
Opinion briefs: Thoughts on a few current topics
A good adversary can be helpful. It seems contradictory, but a good enemy can provide a lot of benefits. For example, Pres. Obama was an avowed opponent of the gun rights lobby. But he sold more guns than any president in history. Every time a crackdown on gun sales was prop...
Policy News
Press release: Hatch to speak at Sutherland's 2018 Congressional Event SeriesThe Sutherland Institute has announced Sen. Orrin G. Hatch will be participating in its 2018 Congressional Event Series on Thursday, Aug. 9, at Sutherland's offices. Hatch will be leading an exclusive discussion on Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the United States...
Salt Lake Chamber CEO Success Stories: Governor Gary Herbert
The Salt Lake Chamber has created a new podcast called "CEO Success Stories." In every episode Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber and Downtown Alliance, sits down with a top CEO from across the state to hear from them their leadership philosophy, b...
How the Utah Legislature fine-tuned its 2018 income tax changes
The past 12 months have been a wild ride for income taxes. Utah's last major income tax reform took place back in 2008. Since then the income tax has seen relatively few changes. However, that changed at the end of 2017 when Congress passed a bill modifying the federal incom...
Salt Lake Chamber President's Message: Engaging Professionals for Good
As communities grow and evolve, so must the organizations that serve it. Part of the Salt Lake Chamber's mission is "championing community prosperity" and while the Chamber cannot be all things to all people, we believe that learning to adapt and evolve with our local commun...
Casual Friday: Weekend Events & Outdoors Report
Weekend EventsOutdoors Report--Tribune: Keep an eye (and ear) out for coughing sheep in Zion National Park--KSL:Fishing slams for anglers in UtahNew Films-- Christopher Robin: KSL reviewConcerts-- 3hattrio Performs American Desert Music: Gloriously Beautiful, Savagely Strang...
Local Headlines
Salt Lake Tribune
Op-ed: Utah can't afford a new energy tax
Deseret News
Utah panel aims to rethink 'shame-based' drug prosecutions
Possible Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren raises money in Utah
Canyons controversy heats up over possible federal designation
Utah has desperate need for highly educated, skilled workers
Utah joins states fighting to keep World War I memorial cross from being torn down
Other
Abatement ramps up after West Nile found in Logan mosquitoes (Logan Herald Journal)
National Headlines
As Illinois Celebrates 'Barack Obama Day,' 73 Wounded In Chicago Gun Violence (Daily Wire)
Gary Cohn calls Facebook worse than pre-crisis big banks (Axios)
Apple, Facebook and other tech companies delete content from Alex Jones (Washington Post)
Alex Jones shutdown ignites debate over social media content policing, censorship (Washington Times)
Senate Democrats Are Circulating Plans for Government Takeover of the Internet (Reason)
Trump Throws A Life Belt To People Who Buy Their Own Health Insurance (Forbes)
The Democrats For Governor In Michigan Want You To Know Just How Progressive They Are (NPR)
Pentagon bans use of geolocators on fitness trackers, smartphones (CNN)
Judge Shuts Down Multimillion-Dollar Loophole In Election Law (NPR)
Mayoral challengers crank up criticism of Emanuel after city's violent weekend (Chicago Tribune)
Wise Words
Motivation
"It always seems impossible until it's done." Nelson Mandela
Lighter Side
Tampa Rally
"President Trump held a giant rally in Tampa last night [Aug 1] with thousands of people in attendance. The crowd was very diverse. It was half white, half Caucasian." Jimmy Fallon
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