Situational Analysis | December 13, 2021

Happy Monday! It's National Cocoa Day. Christmas baking ahead!

And, a very happy 385th birthday today to the National Guard. 

Be in the Know

1. Sad news over the weekend as more than 30 tornadoes ripped though parts of the South and Midwest, killing dozens and devastating many more. One mega twister had a path of about 200 miles, one of the longest in recorded history. The largest death toll comes in Mayfield, Kentucky, with additional deaths in Illinois, Arkansas, Tennessee and Missouri. Red Cross volunteers from Utah are on their way to help.

2. The following schools in the Box Elder school district have been moved online today because of threats received this weekend: Century Elementary, McKinley Elementary, North Park Elementary, Garland Elementary, Fielding Elementary, Harris Intermediate, Bear River Middle School, Bear River High School

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Utah Headlines

General

• Meet Utah’s top-ranked charity, and the man who makes it run. Crossroads Urban Center, a Salt Lake City staple for 55 years, earns top marks in Charity Navigator’s ratings of Utah’s nonprofits (Deseret News)
• LG Deidre Henderson and Rep. Lowry Snow: The eyes of the nation will soon focus on Utah’s prison-turned-economic engine (Deseret News)
• ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast’: How one Utah entrepreneur is turning diversity and inclusion into big profits (Deseret News)
• New monument to Black pioneers will paint a fuller picture of Mormon migration. Ground is broken at This Is the Place Heritage Park to honor Green Flake, Hark Lay Wales, Oscar Crosby Smith, Jane Manning James and the contributions of free and enslaved African Americans. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Box Elder School District moves some classes online due to potential threats (KSL)
• Tremonton, Garland schools increase police presence after 'several potential threats' (KUTV)

Politics

• Gibb Dyer: Why we need mandatory family leave in the United States. We can either spend money on the front end for family leave, or we spend even more money on the back end due to poor child outcomes (Deseret News)
• Months after scathing state audit, elected leaders in Uintah county face outcry over transparency, public spending (Salt Lake Tribune)
• The Inside Utah Politics panel on the governor's budget proposal (ABC4)
• How state lawmakers plan to address the Great Salt Lake (ABC4)

COVID Corner

• Friday's numbers: 1330 new cases, 8 new deaths
• Why Utah parents remain divided about vaccinating kids against COVID-19 (Deseret News)
• US COVID-19 deaths reach 800,000 (The Hill)
• As U.S. reaches 800,000 virus deaths, 1 of every 100 older Americans has perished (New York Times)

Environment

• Gov. Spencer Cox and President Noelle E. Cockett: This is how we solve Utah’s land, water and air problems (Deseret News)
• What Utah Gov. Spencer Cox talked about with Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (Deseret News)
• Record-breaking drought along Wasatch Front forces tough decisions about water supply (Standard-Examiner)
• Utah conservation groups say Biden isn’t doing enough to curb emissions near national parks (KUER)

National Headlines

General

• “Y’all pray for Mayfield”: Town grieves in tornado aftermath (AP)
• Video: Drone footage captures devastating aftermath of Mayfield, Ky., tornado (NPR)
• Determined recovery efforts begin after tornadoes wreak devastation, with officials estimating 75% of one Kentucky town gone (CNN)
• The full extent of weekend tornado damage might not be known for days, officials say (NPR)
• ‘It’s just devastating’: Communities smashed by historic storms take stock of mass destruction (Washington Post)
• Prom photo, baby pic: Strangers find family mementos miles away from tornado wreckage (Washington Post)
• A tornado leveled an Illinois Amazon warehouse during the company's peak season (New York Times)
• Utah Red Cross volunteers head to Kentucky to aid in tornado aftermath (ABC4)

Politics

• New political maps will kill swing districts from coast to coast (Wall Street Journal)
• Dems hustle for year-end deal as child tax credit cliff looms (Politico)
• On The Trail: Trump-inspired challengers target GOP governors (The Hill)
• Pence fuels speculation of 2024 presidential bid (The Hill)
• White House official allegedly said National Guard troops would protect Trump supporters Jan. 6 (NBC News)
• How to read the Supreme Court’s pro-abortion head fake. To see which side benefits most from the decision, look at the reaction of Justice Sonia Sotomayor (Deseret News)

News Releases

Salt Lake Rotary kicks off $100,000 fundraiser for resettlement of Afghan refugees in Utah

Utah will become home to more than 800 Afghan refugees this holiday season and stretching into the new year. Salt Lake Rotary Club has committed $25,000 to help meet the short and long term needs of these 150+ families with children and is asking every Utah Rotary Club and Utah Rotarian to donate to match these funds. There is a further match challenge that will raise the goal to $100,000 for this project.

Salt Lake Rotary Club has established a committee to liaise with the 48 other Utah Rotary Clubs, The Afghan Community Fund of The Community Foundation of Utah, Catholic Community Services of Utah, the International Rescue Committee, the Utah Muslim Civic League to bolster fundraising and track donations toward their goal made through this appeal. 

“We are partnering with the Community Foundation of Utah, Rotarians and the public to raise funds for the Utah Afghan Community Fund. We are hopeful that contributions will match (double) the amount raised by the Utah Rotary community for a total goal of $100,000” said Scott Rosenbush, President of Salt Lake City Rotary Club 24. (Read More)

Mayor Wilson releases statement on Salt Lake County’s decision to amend canyon ordinance related to mineral extraction

On Friday, December 10 Salt Lake County Council voted in a special meeting to begin the process to amend a section of the County code to eliminate mineral extraction and processing as a conditional use in forestry and recreation zones.

Following the action Mayor Wilson’s administration and County Council have taken, Mayor Wilson is issuing the following statement:

Salt Lake County prioritizes our environment and recreation, and we demonstrated those values today. The message from Salt Lake County is clear: we will fight to protect our canyons. I want to thank the Council, my planning staff, and the District Attorney for their swift action today and acknowledge the outpouring of public concern about proposed extraction operations. (Read More)

Art Turner to become new Utah Foundation Chair

Today, the Utah Foundation announces its new board leadership for 2022. Current Chair Chad Westover, CEO of University of Utah Health Plans, has completed his term and will remain on the Executive Board as Immediate Past Chair. Vice Chair Dan Eldredge is retiring from his position as General Manager with the Intermountain Power Agency and is departing Utah Foundation’s board. The new officers are:

• Art Turner, Vice President/Gen. Manager of Enterprise Holdings, will serve as Chair starting in 2022. He previously served as Treasurer.
• Annalisa Holcombe, President of Western Governors University Advancement, will serve as Vice Chair. She previously served as Fund-Raising Chair.
• Scott Parson, President of CRH Americas Materials West, to serve as Treasurer.
• Kelly Mendenhall, Director of Regulatory and Pricing for Dominion Energy, will serve as Secretary.  (Read More) 

Number of the Day

Upcoming

• 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

• 1818 - Mary Todd Lincoln is born. 
• 1903 - Ella Baker is born. An organizer, she tried to develop local leaders for civil rights campaigns but found male leaders in the NAACP quite unwilling to delegate power.
• 1916 - Soldiers perish in avalanches in the Italian Alps, an estimated 10,000 over several days beginning Dec. 13
• 1920 -  George P. Shultz is born. An American economist and businessman, he also became the 60th Secretary of State
• 1964 - In El Paso, Texas, President Lyndon B. Johnson & Mexican President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz set off an explosion diverting Rio Grande, to reshape US-Mexico border
• 1990 - South African President F. W. de Klerk meets with Nelson Mandela to talk of end of apartheid
• 1993 - Susan A. Maxman becomes first woman president of the American Institute of Architects in its 135 year history
• 2000 - Al Gore concedes the presidential election to George W. Bush.
• 2003 - Saddam Hussein captured in a hole in the ground close to his hometown of Tikrit

Wise Words

“I have always thought that what is needed is the development of people who are interested not in being leaders as much as in developing leadership in others."

-Ella Baker

Lighter Side

"To avoid taking down my Christmas lights, I’m turning my house into an Italian restaurant. 

Patrick McLellan"

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