Situational Analysis | October 8, 2021

It's Friday and National Hero Day. Good day to reach out and thank those you look up to as heroes.

It's also the Women in the Money conference with State Treasurer Marlo Oaks. You can participate virtually for free by signing up here. Tomorrow is the Special Olympics Utah Unified Soccer tournament and festival at Rio Tinto Stadium.

Be in the Know

1. President Biden will issue an executive order to restore and slightly enlarge the Bears Ears national monument and restore the 1.78 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante monument, established via executive orders from President Obama and President Clinton. Those monuments were shrunk in size via President Trump's executive order. If/when the White House changes hands, the political ping pong is likely to continue. Utah's state and federal leaders are not happy with the decision, while tribal leaders and others are. Last month, leaders of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition sent a letter to Biden calling for “immediate action” to protect the monument and that “real harm, much permanent, is occurring on this sacred landscape.”

2. An outside investigation substantiated sexual misconduct from Austin Cox, campaign manager for the 2020 Cox/Henderson run toward another campaign staffer. Governor Cox and Lt. Governor Henderson released a joint statement saying that Austin Cox (no relation to Governor Cox) had resigned before being fired. Governor Cox said he was “devastated to learn of this violation of trust and deeply saddened by the pain it has caused" and takes full responsibility for "the failure of the campaign’s policies and procedures to prevent this from happening." Lt. Governor Henderson tweeted "This brave woman brought her experiences to light despite tremendous risk and personal hardship. It took incredible courage for her to speak up. We hope that any other victim of sexual or workplace misconduct knows that they have advocates and allies in us."
3. The U.S. Senate approved legislation on Thursday to temporarily raise the federal government's $28.4 trillion debt limit. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, partly backed down from his blockade on raising the debt limit and 11 Republican Senators voted to let the bill proceed to a vote (breaking the GOP filibuster). The final vote was 50-48, split along party lines. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer then went on a fiery tirade against the GOP, accusing them of playing a "dangerous and risky partisan game." 

FROM OUR SPONSOR

Divisions Over Redistricting

As the official census data is finally released, Utah leaders take on the difficult task of drawing new political boundaries. State Sen. Scott Sandall, Commissioner Karen Hale, of the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission, and Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute Director Natalie Gochnour join host Jason Perry on "The Hinckley Report," this Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Utah Headlines

General

• UTA says projects to cause delays in service to Salt Lake City airport, University of Utah (Deseret News)
• Utah man discovers fossilized ‘fish-lizard’ at Flaming Gorge Reservoir (Herald Journal)
• Utah schools are in ‘triage’ mode when it comes to mental health support for students (KUER)

Politics

• The Never-Trumpers are back — with a new strategy (Deseret News)
• Chris Phillips: We must work together to take politics out of public health (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Lawmakers prep bill to protect Indigenous children in Utah’s child welfare system (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Weber County GOP rules on candidate selection stay as is, challenge fizzles (Standard-Examiner)
• Your voter guide for Salt Lake County’s 2021 elections: A city-by-city guide to the races (Salt Lake Tribune)

COVID Corner

• 1805 new cases, 9 new deaths, bringing the total in Utah to 2983, more than died on 9/11.
• Affordable at-home COVID-19 tests hard to find in Utah, but more may be on the way (Deseret News)
• ICUs overwhelmed with COVID patients testing Utah nurses physically, emotionally (ABC4)

Environment

• Biden to expand Bears Ears and other national monuments, reversing Trump cuts, White House says (Washington Post)
• Even Colorado's largest wildfire was no match for beavers (KUER)
• Utah advocacy group applauds strengthening country's environmental protection law (KUER)

National Headlines

General

• Americans agree misinformation is a problem, poll shows (AP)
• The Postal Service is slowing the mail to save money. Critics say it's a death spiral (NPR)
• 18 ex-NBA players charged in $4M health care fraud scheme (AP)

Politics

• Trump-backed candidates face scrutiny after minimal vetting (AP)
• Democratic anxiety rises as Trump bid appears more likely (The Hill)
• Governors have questions about Afghan refugees. Here's who they call. (NPR)
• Trump lawyer tells former aides not to cooperate with Jan. 6 committee (Washington Post)
• The debt drama that masked a brutal power struggle: Schumer vs. McConnell (Politico)
• Ariz. Republicans tell Congress: Maricopa County held ‘free, fair and accurate election’ that Biden won (Washington Post)

Economy

• U.S. recovery leaves behind workers without college degrees, Black women (Washington Post)
• U.S. job growth likely picked up in September (Wall Street Journal)
• A year after a jobs bust, college students find a boom (New York Times)
• Investors are getting nervous after the Federal Reserve signaled that harsher monetary policy is on the way. (New York Times)

International

• Extremists target African village leaders in wave of assassinations (Reuters)
• Bombing attack on Shiite mosque in Afghanistan kills many worshipers (Wall Street Journal)

News of the weird

• Hot tub on wheels: Lawsuit says party vehicle lacks pool permit (AP)

Policy News

Utah leaders express disappointment in federal monuments expansion

Gov. Spencer J. Cox, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, Attorney General Sean Reyes, President J. Stuart Adams and Speaker Brad Wilson express their frustration and disappointment in the Biden Administration’s decision to expand Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments:

“We learned this afternoon from Secretary Haaland that President Biden will soon be announcing the restoration of both Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments.

“President Biden’s decision to expand the monuments is disappointing, though not surprising. For the past 10 months, we have consistently offered to work with the Biden Administration on a permanent, legislative solution, one that would end the perpetual enlarging and shrinking of these monuments and bring certainty to their management. Our goal has been to make lasting progress on managing our public lands for the benefit of all those who use them, particularly those who live on and near those lands." (Read More)

Utah federal delegation responds to monument announcement

U.S. Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Representatives Chris Stewart (R-UT), John Curtis (R-UT), Burgess Owens (R-UT), and Blake Moore (R-UT) have issued the joint statement below following the announcement of President Joe Biden’s Proclamation to re-expand the boundaries of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.

“President Biden is delivering a devastating blow to the ongoing efforts by our delegation, along with state, local, and tribal leaders, to find a permanent, legislative solution to resolve the longstanding dispute over the boundaries and management of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. Rather than take the opportunity to build unity in a divided region and bring resources and lasting protections to sacred antiquities by seeking a mutually beneficial and permanent legislative solution, President Biden fanned the flames of controversy and ignored input from the communities closest to these monuments. We will continue to support efforts to ensure that our monuments’ boundaries and management reflect the unique stakeholder interest and uses in the area, but today’s “winner take all” mentality moved us further away from that goal.”  

Sen. Lee, colleagues, demand DOJ leave parents alone

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) with the Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee today demanded the Department of Justice (DOJ) not interfere with local school board meetings or threaten the use of federal law enforcement to deter parents’ free speech. This comes after DOJ issued a memorandum suggesting federal law enforcement may need to assist policing local school board meetings. 

“We are concerned about the appearance of the Department of Justice policing the speech of citizens and concerned parents. We urge you to make very clear to the American public that the Department of Justice will not interfere with the rights of parents to come before school boards and speak with educators about their concerns, whether regarding coronavirus-related measures, the teaching of critical race theory in schools, sexually explicit books in schools, or any other topic,” the senators wrote. (Read More)

Gov. Cox applauds One Utah Electricity Mutual Aid Agreement

Gov. Cox and the Utah Office of Energy Development brought the providers of Utah electricity together into a Mutual Aid Agreement today in the Capitol Rotunda. This is a voluntary partnership between Rocky Mountain Power, Utah’s Rural Electric Cooperatives, Utah Public Power companies.

Mutual Aid Agreements are devised to ensure the power industry has proper planning, process and contingencies in the advent of an emergency. Utah’s power industry has a strong track record of maintaining high levels of reliability; however, there are times when disasters, including but not limited to, storms, earthquakes and fires, occur that cause significant damage to the energy grid, creating widespread power outages. 

When such circumstances arise, power companies must respond safely and efficiently to restore service to affected communities. This voluntary partnership between Utah’s power providers breaks down existing silos that may cause inefficiencies during a disaster and ultimately serves the public’s best interest. (Read More)

Number of the Day

Is there a ‘big gear’ to get our country back on track?

By LaVarr Webb

Clay S. Jenkinson, noted historian, humanities scholar and editor-at-large at Governing magazine, recently penned a provocative article that asks an important question: Is there a ‘lever’ that could change the country for the better? 

Jenkinson, the author of 13 books, listed many of problems facing the nation: “America seems to be disintegrating. Our national political system seems to be paralyzed. There is a great deal of anger and distrust awash in the land. Each of the two main tribes (the Right and the Left) declares that the other one is a clear and present danger to the future of civilization. Some tens of millions of people continue to argue, and perhaps believe, that the 2020 election was stolen. We cannot even agree on basic public health measures in the face of the worst global pandemic in more than 100 years.”

To those problems he added the deficiencies of education in America, the enormous concentration of wealth in the hands of the super-rich, the challenges of climate change, the deterioration of race relations, the urgency of police reform, the growth and power of the military industrial complex, near-universal incivility, and the radical secularization and the deterioration of social standards in American civilization. To those I would add the rapid expansion of the federal government and the unfathomable national debt.

Wow, that’s a lot of problems. But Jenkinson also noted:  “The Greek scientist Archimedes (287-212 BCE) said, ‘show me where to put the lever and I will move the world.’ I regard that as one of the greatest insights in the history of western civilization. The question is, where to put the lever? Where to start?” (Read More)

Upcoming

• Women in the money: Utah Financial Empowerment Conference with Utah State Treasurer Marlo Oaks – Oct 8, 8:30 am - 4 pm. Register here
• Special Olympics Utah Unified Soccer tournament and festival – Oct 9, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm, Rio Tinto Stadium. More information here
• Utah Foundation Breakfast Briefing: Can Utah step up its game on air quality. – Oct 13 @ 9:00 am. Online only. Register here
• Utah Business Economic Summit – Nov 5, 8:00 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

• 1793 - John Hancock, American merchant and statesman who was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence, dies at 56
• 1869 - Franklin Pierce, 14th US President (Democrat: 1853-57), dies from severe cirrhosis of the liver at 64
• 1871 - The Great Chicago Fire begins in Patrick and Catherine O’Leary’s barn. The two-day blaze kills 200 to 300 people, destroys 17,450 buildings, leaves 100,000 homeless and causes an estimated $200 million (in 1871 dollars; roughly $4 billion in 2021 dollars) in damages.
• 1901 - Sugar gets a brand when the American Sugar Refining Co. registers the Domino trademark
• 1919 - Congress passes the Volstead Act, ushering in the Prohibition Era.
• 1945 - Microwave oven patented by US inventor Percy Spencer
• 2001 - The Office of Homeland Security is formed.
• 2004 - Martha Stewart begins 5 months incarcerated at Federal Prison Camp, Alderson for insider trading and obstruction of justice.
• 2019 - FBI confirms Samuel Little is America's most prolific serial killer, after verifying more than half of his 93 confessed murders
• 2020 - FBI charges 13 men with plotting to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and storm the Michigan Capitol

Wise Words

“Surely you never will tamely suffer this country to be a den of thieves...Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed, by the soft arts of luxury and effeminacy, into the pit digged for your destruction. Despise the glare of wealth.”

-John Hancock

Lighter Side

"Congress has reached a deal to raise the debt ceiling for two months. I’ll tell you what I think: Just do what Netflix does and raise the ceiling a little bit each month so nobody notices.” 

— JIMMY FALLON

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