Was Gabby found because of her race? Plus, a MAJOR digitization effort concludes - 85 years early
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The Utah Policy newsletter is your one-stop source for political and policy-minded news. Send news tips or feedback to editor@utahpolicy.com.

 

Situational Analysis | September 22, 2021

It's Wednesday and officially fall. 🍁 Happy day! And happy 60th to the US Peace Corps.

It's also Hobbit Day and the birthday of both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, so it's a party all around. ðŸŽ‰

Be in the Know

  1. Gabby Petito's body was positively identified by Teton County Coroner Brent Blue, who also concluded that she was a homicide victim. Some are asking where the news coverage was for the 543,000 people reported missing in 2020 (40% of whom were people of color). Could crowd-sourcing their disappearances lead to solving their cases as well?

  2. A major - major - microfilm digitization initiative has been completed by FamilySearch and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Digitizing 2.4 million rolls of microfilm, with billions of historical records was supposed to take 50-100 years to complete. It took 15. Not all records are indexed yet, but a large percentage are already available on FamilySearch and the rest are getting there

 

FROM OUR SPONSOR

COVID-19 Surge, Legislative Priorities and New Political Boundaries

In partnership with the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah, PBS Utah produces and airs "The Hinckley Report," providing insight and analysis into Utah politics, covering the most pressing political issues facing our state. Hosted by Jason Perry, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics, each week’s guests include Utah’s top journalists, lawmakers and policy experts. "The Hinckley Report" airs on PBS Utah Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and is also available to stream or as a podcast.

 

Utah Headlines

General

  • For the first time in 18 months, the Tabernacle Choir is back together again at the Conference Center. Swiss cheese helped them get there. (Deseret News)
  • ‘Larger-than-life’ Utah conservationist is missing in Yellowstone. Kim Crumbo is a former Navy SEAL and retired National Park Service ranger. (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • On welfare reform’s 25th anniversary, how are single-mom families faring? (Deseret News)
  • Some question why Gabby Petito case outshines so many missing indigenous women (KUTV)
  • Opinion: Every anti-vaxxer and anti-masker I know has this one thing in common - where they get their news (Deseret News)
  • Utah Poison Control Center seeing spike in calls about ivermectin (KUTV)

Politics

  • Romney says he’ll support Flake’s nomination to be ambassador to Turkey (Deseret News)
  • Mitt Romney says the Biden administration’s border policies have government ‘hanging on by a thread’ (Deseret News)
  • What are Utah lawmakers going to do about Biden’s employer vaccine mandate? (Deseret News)

COVID Corner

  • 1326 new cases. 25 reported deaths
  • Utah sees largest single-day increase in COVID-19 deaths since January (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints won’t provide vaccine exemptions (KSL News Radio)
  • Tom Frieden: I ran the CDC. Here’s how to prove that Americans are vaccinated. (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • The worst may be over. Modelers predict a steady decline in COVID cases through March (NPR)
  • Olympic gold medalist Madison Wilson hospitalized for COVID (AP)
  • ‘Soul-crushing’: US COVID-19 deaths are topping 1,900 a day (AP)

Health

  • Sexual assault linked to later brain damage in women, study finds (CNN)

National Headlines

General

  • Biden threatens new sanctions against Ethiopian war leaders (New York Times)
  • Trump sues niece, NY Times over records behind ’18 tax story (AP)
  • It's OK to want justice for Gabby Petito and acknowledge the thousands still missing. (USA Today)
  • Huge hack reveals embarrassing details of who’s behind Proud Boys and other far-right websites. (Washington Post)

Politics

  • Amid furor over border images, Biden faces Democratic backlash on immigration (Washington Post)
  • Texas governor signs more abortion restrictions into law (The Hill)
  • U.S. default this fall would cost 6 million jobs, wipe out $15 trillion in wealth, study says (Washington Post)

Courts

  • Trump sues New York Times and niece Mary Trump over tax records story (Washington Post)

Elections

  • Special Report: Backers of Trump's false fraud claims seek to control next elections. Reuters examined all 15 Republican candidates for secretary of state in five battlegrounds. Ten still question whether Trump lost the 2020 election. (Reuters)
  • Days before lawyers allied with Donald Trump gave a news conference promoting election conspiracy theories, his campaign had determined that many of those claims were false, court filings reveal. (New York Times)

Energy

  • Soaring gas prices ripple through heavy industry, supply chains (Reuters)

International

  • Ravaged by war, Syrian rebel area struggles with virus surge (AP)
  • Canaries volcano lava gushes towards sea, eruption goes on (Reuters)
 

Policy News

Gov. Cox and Lt. Gov. Henderson statement on administration’s decision to move BLM’s headquarters back to Washington, D.C

“We are profoundly disappointed with the Administration’s decision to move BLM’s headquarters back to Washington, D.C., thousands of miles away from the BLM lands and the people who bear the brunt of the agency’s decisions. Such a move represents the very worst of federal overreach and Beltway bureaucracy – further empowering unelected officials in the nation’s capital to exercise authority over huge swaths of the country with minimal accountability to impacted states, tribes, local government, and the communities that depend on these landscapes. The Administration’s decision is an affront to western states who have worked tirelessly with locally-based BLM personnel to better conserve and actively manage western landscapes in the face of drought, climate change, catastrophic wildfires, and other challenges.” (Read More)


Romney: The Biden administration’s border & immigration policies are a monumental disaster

At a Homeland Security Committee hearing today, U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) pressed Secretary Mayorkas on the Administration’s disastrous border and immigration policies, particularly its reconciliation bill which would provide $250-$300/month, per child, to every illegal immigrant with an ITIN, which he argued would encourage illegal immigration and create a major expense for the federal government. He also expressed concern to FBI Director Wray regarding the rise of domestic violence and extremism in the United States. (Read/Watch More)


Cache’s Lewiston Elementary, Salt Lake City’s Emerson Elementary, and Judge Memorial Catholic High School named National Blue Ribbon Schools

All three were named in the Exemplary High Performing Schools Category, meaning the school was in the top 15 percent of schools in the state for academic performance, in the top 40 percent in the state for each subgroup, and – if a high school – among the top 15 percent in the state for graduation rate.

More information is available here: https://nationalblueribbonschools.ed.gov/.


Rep. Curtis, colleagues introduce bill to block international recognition of the Taliban government

Last week, Congressman Curtis, GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, Congressman Joe Wilson, and Congressman Adam Kinzinger introduced the Taliban Recognition Prevention Act, which would prevent the Biden Administration from supporting the recognition of the Taliban-controlled government of Afghanistan in international organizations. The text can be seen here. (Read More)


Sen. Lee introduces bill protecting children from sex reassignment research

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Protecting Our Kids from Harmful Research Act, a bill prohibiting federal funding of sex-reassignment research on minors.  Medical interventions to reassign sex are experimental, irreversible, and often fail to produce the intended effects.  This bill would prohibit federal funding from being used in research or publications that seek to establish or affirm gender identities that are incongruent with a minor’s biological sex. (Read More)


Talent Ready Utah announces the launch of the Tech Sales Pathways Program

Talent Ready Utah, in partnership with MarketStar, Davis Technical College, Ogden-Weber Technical College, and Weber State University, are pleased to announce the launch of the Tech Sales Pathways program in Davis, Ogden, and Weber School Districts. MarketStar will lead the efforts to offer this newly developed work-based learning program providing students a career path to sales in social media, SAAS, digital ads, IT, and cloud services. (Read More)

 

 
 

Upcoming

  • Utah Foundation Annual Luncheon with Shaylyn Romney Garrett – Sept 23 @ 12 pm. Register here
  • 2021 ULCT Annual Convention with Capt. Scott Kelly – Sept 29-Oct 1. Register here
  • One Utah Summit held at SUU – Oct 4-6. Register here
  • Women in the money: Utah Financial Empowerment Conference with Utah State Treasurer Marlo Oaks – Oct 8, 8:30 am - 4 pm. Register here
  • Growth, Grit and Grace - SLC Chamber's Women & Business Conference and ATHENA awards – Nov 19, 8:00 am - 3:30 pm Register here
 

On This Day In History

From History.com

  • 1792 - The French First Republic is formed by the National Convention, stripping the French king of his powers and abolishing the monarchy.
  • 1862 - President Abraham Lincoln issues a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which sets a date for the freedom of more than 3 million enslaved in the United States and recasts the Civil War as a fight against slavery.
  • 1888 - National Geographic publishes its first issue.
  • 1961 - JFK signs congressional act establishing the Peace Corps - Happy 60th!
  • 1970 - US President Richard Nixon requests 1,000 new FBI agents for college campuses
  • 1989 - Irving Berlin dies at 101

Wise Words

Frodo: I wish it need not have happened in my time.

Gandalf: So do I, and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.


Lighter Side

“I love when the U.N. General Assembly is in session. There’s no greater joy than watching the president of Romania walk into the M&M store.” 

— JIMMY FALLON

 

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