Situational Analysis | January 10, 2022

Good morning, Utah politicos. Quite the newsy weekend. It's also National Clean Off Your Desk Day - new year, new you.

Let's dive in. 

Be in the Know

1. Harry Reid's funeral was on Saturday and was attended by religious and political leaders, including President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama. President M. Russell Ballard spoke at the funeral and said his dear friend cared for ‘the least of these’ — those who were less fortunate, hungry, sick or those who had any number of challenges.” Chuck Schumer, who is Jewish, also spoke and quoted The Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 9:13. Harry Reid's casket will be flown to Washington, D.C., where he will lie in state on Wednesday, then flown back to Searchlight, Nevada, where he will be buried.

2. Sidney Poitier passed away on Friday at age 94 and "Full House" legend Bob Saget died unexpectedly on Sunday at age 65. Poitier was a groundbreaking actor who became the first Black actor to win an Academy Award for best lead performance. Bob Saget played the beloved single dad on "Full House" and hosted "America's Funniest Home Videos." He was on a stand-up comedy tour when he passed away. Detectives found “no signs of foul play or drug use in this case.”

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Utah Headlines

General

• Latter-day Saint apostle M. Russell Ballard praises ‘dear friend’ Harry Reid for a life of Christian service (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Harry Reid fought for, loved the needy, say Joe Biden, Barack Obama, President Ballard at funeral (Deseret News)
• Perspective: Why do these pregnant women have a higher risk of dying from homicide? (Deseret News)
• Entrata founder who sent antisemitic email will divest holdings in company (Deseret News)
• Elizabeth Smart Foundation joins forces with Malouf Foundation (Herald Journal)

Politics

• The Inside Utah Politics panel on the upcoming legislative session (ABC4)
• New Year reflections and predictions (Hinckley Report)
• Former Eagle Mountain council member Stephanie Gricius announces Utah House run (Daily Herald)
• Councilperson Blair stands alone in vote honoring Satnam Singh (Standard-Examiner)
• Ivins Council strikes compromise for woman seeking to build affordable housing (St. George News)
• Omicron, January 6, voting rights (Political as Heck Podcast)
• Charming cottage or party house? Short-term rentals are the center of debate in Washington County (KUER)
• Why the Hatch Foundation says focusing on family can shift the criminal justice system from retribution to reentry (Deseret News)

COVID Corner

• Thursday's numbers: 9469 new cases, 19 new deaths
• Mask mandate back at Vivint Arena, Huntsman Center (Deseret News)
• School districts in Salt Lake, Summit counties spreading word as mask mandates take effect (KUTV)
• Salt Lake County offering free respirator masks as new mandate takes effect (Fox13)
• Arthur Brooks: Time for Biden administration to depoliticize COVID-19 vaccine (Deseret News)
• Here are the grocery items in short supply during the COVID-19 surge, according to Utahns (Salt Lake Tribune)
• The pandemic is changing. Will omicron bring a 'new normal' for COVID-19? (The Spectrum)
• DeSantis confirms as many as 1 million rapid Covid tests expired in state stockpile (NBC News)
• U.S. sends states monoclonal antibodies that may not work against omicron (Washington Post)

Environment

• He immersed himself in all things avalanche, and the people who study them (Deseret News)
• More Yellowstone wolves killed this season than any since the species was reintroduced in 1995 (Deseret News)
• The cost of recovery: A look at the financial toll of natural disasters in the West (Deseret News)
• Pollution in the West: ‘You could travel a hundred miles and not find air quality that is any better’ (Deseret News)
• Millions of Americans live near abandoned, toxic oil and gas wells. What does the government plan to do about it? (Deseret News)

Education

• Utah State University acknowledges unique history of its land ownership (KSL)
• University of Utah Students demand urgency from school officials in response to racist incidents on campus (KUER)
• How the University of Utah has become a 'catalyst for innovation' in the Beehive State (KSL)

National Headlines

General

• A fire in a Bronx apartment building leaves 19 dead, including 9 children (NPR)
• Harrowing tales of escape after fire hits NYC building (AP)
• Exclusive: Baby lost in chaos of Afghanistan airlift found, returned to family (Reuters)
• Federal agencies prepare to act against unvaccinated employees (The Hill)
• Full return to office is 'dead,' experts say — and remote is only growing (NBC News)
• Inflation up, virus down as priorities in US: AP-NORC poll (AP)
• Stocks fall further as U.S. yield climb unnerves investors (Reuters)
•  

Politics

• Trump picked Arizona to make his 2022 comeback (Deseret News)
• Trump’s cable cabinet: New texts reveal the influence of Fox hosts on previous White House (Washington Post)
• Ron Johnson says he will run for third Senate term despite previous pledge to retire (Washington Post)
• Jim Jordan refuses to cooperate with Jan. 6 panel (New York Times)
• GOP senator says Trump’s election allegations are unfounded (Politico)
• Michelle Obama announces push to register 1 million new voters ahead of midterms (The Hill)
• Kinzinger says Jan. 6 panel already has 'powerful and substantive narrative' (The Hill)

International

• Kazakh president steps up purge of security agency after mass unrest (Reuters)
• Nearly 8,000 detained in Kazakhstan amid unrest; 164 dead (AP)
• With Russian guns pointed at Ukraine, West and Moscow dive into talks (Politico)
• Aung San Suu Kyi gets 4 years for waving to cars and having walkie-talkies. Myanmar’s ousted civilian leader was convicted on three more counts under COVID and telecommunications rules (New York Times)

News Releases

New UTA executive director will be far from home, but excited to be in Utah

On the morning of Jan. 3, Jay Fox and his family climbed into their Subaru and departed their home in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. They drove 2,200 miles across the country, arriving at their new home in Bountiful, Utah, on the afternoon of Jan. 6. Jay Fox then began his new job as Utah Transit Authority executive director on Jan. 10.

It will be a big change for the east coast transportation professional who has never lived in the west. But he couldn’t be more excited about his new job and the opportunity to live in Utah and help take public transit to a new and exciting level in the Beehive State. 

“What attracted me was UTA’s great reputation within the industry, its multiple transit modes, its wonderfully large service area, and the opportunity lead a transit agency in a beautiful area of the country,” Fox said. “The more I investigated, the more I liked it.” (Read More)

Statewide Electric Vehicle Charging Steering committee created

The Utah Office of Energy Development (OED), in partnership with the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), created a steering committee to work through topics and strategies related to the implementation of the Statewide Electric Vehicle Charging Network Plan (Plan). The Electric Vehicle Service Equipment Steering Committee (Committee), conceived under section 5.1 of the Plan, met for the first time last week and includes fifteen people from public and private organizations throughout the state. (Read More)

President Adams and Speaker Wilson statement on recent mask mandates

Senate President J. Stuart Adams and Speaker Brad Wilson issue the following statement following the Salt Lake County and Summit County mask mandates:

“The Legislature has outlined a process in S.B. 195 with multiple checks and balances. While we believe government mandates should be a last resort, we will review the recently issued orders.

“As other areas have experienced, we hope Utah’s current COVID-19 surge is temporary. We continue to encourage Utahns to get vaccinated and take precautions to keep themselves and those around them healthy without overwhelming our hospitals.”

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Upcoming

• 2022 Legislative Outlook - Utah Taxpayers Association – Jan 12, 2022, 9:00 am. Register here
• Utah Economic Outlook & Public Policy Summit 2022 - SLC Chamber – Jan 13, 2022, 8:30 am - 1:30 pm. Register here
• Utah legislative session begins – Jan 18, 2022, 10:00 am
• Utah legislative session ends – Mar 4, 2022, midnight

On This Day In History

From History.com

• 1863 - Katherine Gibbs is born. She later founded the Katharine Gibbs Schools, which became the most famous and prestigious secretarial institution in the country.
• 1870 - Labor union activist Maud Younger is born. She was instrumental in the passage of the 19th Amendment.
• 1898 - Katharine Blodgett is born. A physicist and inventor, she was the first woman research scientist for General Electric’s Schenectady, NY laboratory (1920), first woman awarded a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Cambridge (1926) and received eight U.S. patents, most famously for inventing low-reflectance “invisible” glass
• 1901 - A drilling derrick at Spindletop Hill in Texas hits an enormous gusher of crude oil and signals the start of the U.S. oil industry.
• 1917 - Suffragettes the "Silent Sentinels" first protest outside The White House, in Washington led by Alice Paul and the National Woman's Party
• 1920 - The League of Nations is instituted.
• 1923 - President Harding pulls troops home from Germany, 4 years after the end of WWI.
• 1941 - FDR introduces the lend-lease program
• 1946 - The United Nations holds its first General Assembly. The UN replaced the League of Nations
• 1962 - An avalanche on the slopes of an extinct volcano in Peru buries 9 towns and 7 villages, killing more than 4000.
• 2000 - AOL-Time Warner formed
• 2016 - David Bowie dies of liver cancer, 2 days after his 69th birthday and the release of his final album, Blackstar.

Wise Words

“I don't know where I'm going from here, but I promise it won't be boring.”
― David Bowie

Lighter Side

"A mom texts, 'Hi! Son, what do IDK, LY and TTYL mean?' He texts back, 'I don’t know, love you and talk to you later.' The mom replies, 'It’s OK, don’t worry about it. I’ll ask your sister. Love you too.'”

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