Utah's Daily Policy Resource, Brought to you by Utah Policy

Message Center

We're podcasting!

You can listen to our interviews with Utah politicians and newsmakers, plus catch "Bernick and Schott on Politics" every week by subscribing to our podcast on iTunes.

Click here to subscribe.

Daily Briefing

Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 286th day of the year. There are 79 days remaining in 2017.

The clock:

• 4 days until ballots for the 2017 general election are mailed to voters (10/17/2017)
• 25 days until the 2017 election (11/7/2017)
• 101 days until the opening day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (1/22/2018)
• 146 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)
• 389 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
• 1,117 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Today's political TL; DR -

• Steve Bannon, Orrin Hatch, Rocky Anderson, Jackie Biskupski, and Donald Trump all show up in our rundown of the week that was. Watch as Bob Bernick and Bryan Schott break down what happened this week and why [Utah Policy]. Here's a podcast version of that discussion if you prefer [Utah Policy].
  
  
• Bob Bernick says recent poll numbers show Utahns don't have much confidence in President Donald Trump or Congress [Utah Policy].
  
  
• Former Salt Lake County Recorder Gary Ott was diagnosed with an advanced form of Alzheimer's disease before the 2014 campaign [Deseret News, Tribune].
  
  
• The State Records Committee orders Attorney General Sean Reyes to release the legal opinion about the special election to replace Jason Chaffetz requested by the Legislature [Deseret News, Tribune].
  
  
• A Koch-brothers funded group opposed to the Our Schools Now ballot initiative launched their campaign against the proposal [Deseret News].
  
  
• Republican John Curtis is taking issue with a post on social media from Democrat Kathie Allen, his opponent in November's special Congressional election, saying it wrongly suggests the Mayor is sympathetic to the white supremacist alt-right movement [Tribune].
  
  
• Rep. Chris Stewart taps Chris Harmer as his new chief of staff [Utah Policy].
  
  
• The Utah State School Board approves a program to give some school children the opportunity to see the blockbuster musical "Hamilton" when it comes to Salt Lake City next year, but that did not come without objections to some of the content in the show [Deseret News, Tribune].
  
  
• A new analysis shows Utahns are waiting longer to get married and have children, which means smaller families [Deseret News, Tribune].

National headlines:

• President Donald Trump reportedly will extend the March 5 deadline for the DACA program if Congress does not act [Washington Post].
  
  
• President Trump plans to scrap government subsidies that help insurance companies pay costs for low-income people in yet another effort to destabilize the Affordable Care Act [New York Times].
  
  
• President Donald Trump will announce a new, more aggressive policy toward Iran that could include more sanctions related to that country's support for terrorist networks and its ballistic missile program [CNN].
  
  
• The head of a government agency tasked with conducting background checks says he has "never seen that level of mistakes" when asked about the omissions in White House adviser Jared Kushner's security clearance application [CNN].
  
  
• The IRS has temporarily suspended a $7 million no-bid contract they gave to Equifax following reports the credit agency's website may have been breached a second time [Politico].
  
  
• Twitter may have deleted data related to Russian agents who allegedly used the platform to help Donald Trump's presidential bid. The loss of that data may hamper the investigation into Russia's meddling into the 2016 election [Politico].
  
  
• Russian operatives used the popular mobile game "Pokemon Go," as well as YouTube and Tumblr to influence voters during the 2016 election [CNN].
  
  
• Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has revived an arcane military ritual at the agency's headquarters which involves raising or lowering a special flag to indicate whether he is in the building or has left [Washington Post].
  
  
• The toll from the wildfires sweeping across northern California continues to rise. 31 people are dead, which is the most from a single wildfire in state history [New York Times].

On this day in history:

• 54 - Emperor Claudius dies from poisoning under mysterious circumstances; his 17-year-old stepson Nero succeeds him.
  
  
• 1269 - The present church building at Westminster Abbey is consecrated.
  
  
• 1792 - The cornerstone of the White House is laid. It would be November 1800 before the first presidential family - that of John Adams - moved in.

Today At Utah Policy

It all comes back to Steve Bannon - Bernick and Schott on politics Ep. #345 By Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick Word broke this week that former White House strategist Steve Bannon plans to recruit a challenger for Sen. Orrin Hatch in Utah....

Bob Bernick's notebook: Utahns don't have much confidence in Congress or President Trump By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor UtahPolicy published a poll this week on whether Utahns think the United States and Utah itself are on the right or wrong track....

Podcast: Bernick and Schott on politics #345 By Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick discuss what happened and why this week in Utah politics....

Weekly survey: Gun legislation following Las Vegas By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Do you think either Congress or the Utah Legislature will address meaningful gun legislation following the massacre in Las Vegas? Let us know what you think in our weekly survey....

Policy News

Office of Outdoor Recreation announces 2017 grant recipients The Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation has approved grant funding for outdoor recreation projects with an estimated statewide impact of more than $2.8 million-including grant funds, matching funds and private investment....

Stryker Chooses Utah for Future Growth The Governor's Office of Economic Development announced Stryker will expand in the state, adding up to 540 jobs, $16.9  million in new state revenue and an estimated $100 million in capital investment....

Wise Words

Property

"Government has no other end, but the preservation of property." John Locke

Lighter Side

Weinstein?

"A man from Italy just set a Guinness World Record by putting on 13 pairs of underwear in 30 seconds. On the downside, he's now banned from Victoria's Secret." Jimmy Fallon