Situational Analysis | July 14, 2022

It's Thursday and National Mac & Cheese Day. It's also Bastille Day in France  🇫🇷  "Allons enfant de la patrie
Le jour de gloire est arrivé" 

Now for my mea culpa - yesterday, I said Gordon Monson won an election. Gordon Monson did not, in fact, run for county commission. However, Brandon Gordon did run and win in Utah County. Sorry 'bout that.

Finally, don't miss the Hatch Center event on preserving judicial integrity.

Be in the Know

• The Treasury Department reported this week the federal government ran a budget deficit of $89 billion in June 2022, a 49 percent decrease from June 2021 due primarily to pandemic-related stimulus programs expiring and tax revenues increasing as more Americans returned to work. Outlays for the month fell 12 percent year-over-year—from $623 billion to $550 billion—and government receipts increased 3 percent.

Rapid Roundup

• Best ice cream in Utah (according to Yelp) is Blacksmith Ice Cream in Bountiful, check out plans from various communities for the 175th anniversary of Brigham Young et al. entering the Salt Lake Valley, the US is not the only country feeling the pain of inflation - the EU is at 8.8%, the UK at 9.1%, Belgium at 9.65% and Spain at 10.2% and finally, lucky #7 - and #11, as a baby is born on 7/11 in a 7/11 parking lot in West Virginia. 

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First run in 1970, the Deseret News Marathon is the oldest road race in Utah and the 4th oldest marathon west of the continental divide. The marathon follows the path the Utah pioneers traveled when they first entered the valley. This event is truly a part of Utah’s heritage! Register today!

Utah Headlines

General

• Come November, there will be 8 billion of us on Earth. As growth slows worldwide, new projections indicate India is on course to surpass China as the world’s most populous country in 2023, according to the U.N.’s World Population Prospects 2022 report. (Deseret News)
• How to get help: New 988 suicide prevention, mental health crisis hotline to go live (Deseret News)
• Are you living paycheck to paycheck? Wages falling behind for millions of Americans (Deseret News)
• Ogden man found hanging dies in 2nd ‘purge’ killing; 1st victim ‘did not deserve’ attack, niece says (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Zions Bank joins wave of banks eliminating or reducing overdraft fees (KSL)
• Deer Valley Resort names new president and COO: Todd Bennett (KPCW)

Politics

• Editorial Board: ‘The Point’ could be the next Space Needle or Eiffel Tower if we get it right (Deseret News)
• An ‘unhinged’ meeting: Former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne to appear before Jan. 6 committee (Deseret News)
• Bill eliminating sales tax on food to be reintroduced in Utah legislature (Fox13)
• Utah to review professional licenses and the requirements to get them (Fox13)

Education

• Democratic state lawmaker says SLC school board is not racist over Gadson leave (KUTV)
• Republicans’ confidence in public schools drops: Gallup (The Hill)
• Public hearing held to determine if Orem should form its own school district (KUTV)

Environment

• Shannon Stirone: Gawking in awe at the universe, together (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Using every last drop, Utahns get creative to conserve water (ABC4)
• Why are some Utah reservoirs almost empty while others are above capacity? (KSL)
• Evacuation orders lifted for Halfway Hill Fire in Millard County (KUTV)
• Kane County leads new "Be Kind to Kanab" initiative with a focus on tourists (Fox13)
• Derek Miller and Kim Frost: Addressing Utah’s summertime ozone will take collective action. Our air quality is threatened in the summer as much as in the winter. (Salt Lake Tribune)

Family

• The Stanley Cup takeover (not the hockey trophy). The Stanley Adventure Quencher is taking over the nation, one Instagram account at a time (Deseret News)
• Cost-of-living crisis to hit women hardest, report says (AP)

Health

• Weed killer believed to cause cancer found in most Americans’ urine, CDC study shows (Deseret News)
• BA.4 and BA.5: Hospitalizations and daily reported cases are rising as the BA.5 strain becomes the dominant omicron subvariant behind infections. Here is a list of symptoms to look out for (Deseret News)
• Is the COVID-19 pandemic over? No. It’s still a worldwide ‘public health emergency (Deseret News)
• Is the pandemic surge over for Utah’s national and state parks? (Deseret News)
• Uncertainty swirls around how Utah will enforce its trigger abortion ban. Rape victims. Physicians. Pharmacists. Prosecutors. All face dilemmas due to ambiguities in Utah trigger law. (Deseret News)
• Many try to return to normal from COVID, but disabled people face a different reality (NPR)

Housing

• These cities have the most (and least) expensive rent in the Salt Lake Valley (Deseret News)
• Home sale cancellations spiking (ABC4)
• What today's mortgage interest rates mean for Utah homebuyers (KUTV)
• Nearly half of Salt Lake renters spend more than 30% of pay on housing. New study warns Utah’s capital city has seen its affordable neighborhoods dwindle and is losing diversity, with many residents “cost burdened” by rents and poised to move away. (Salt Lake Tribune)

National Headlines

General

• Judge rejects Amber Heard’s request to set aside Depp win (AP)
• Man charged with rape of girl, 10, who traveled for abortion (AP)
• JPMorgan profit drops 28% as bank signals concern on economy (Wall Street Journal)
• Why a 2022 recession would be unlike any other? Will this ‘jobful downturn’ turn into a recession without job loss? (Wall Street Journal)
• Work from home might become a legal right in the Netherlands (Deseret News)

Politics

• Biden, Lapid discuss Iran, integrating Israel in Middle East (AP)
• U.S., Israel sign joint pledge to deny Iran nuclear weaponry (Reuters)
• John Bolton said he planned foreign coups. The global outcry was swift. (Washington Post)
• Young voters are fed up with their (much) older leaders. Led by politicians often three times their age, many voters under 30 are hungry for new blood and new ideas. (New York Times)
• Gerrymander, U.S.A. (New York Times)

Ukraine 🇺🇦 

• Officials: Russian missiles kill at least 20 in Ukraine (AP)
• Russia in deadly strike on Ukrainian city a day after grain talks breakthrough (Reuters)

News Releases

Jen Plumb statement on Senate District 9 primary victory

“I am deeply honored to be the choice of the voters of Senate District 9. Running a spirited campaign, I had the privilege of speaking to voters in every corner of our district, learning what they want and need to create the Utah that they want to live in. After the General Election in November, I believe that I am ready to deliver.

“My sincerest gratitude to my opponent, Senator Derek Kitchen, who has made his voice — loud and proud — known throughout the Capitol. His input and action for our district have been a critical part of making Utah a better place, and I look forward to working with him to engage voters through the November election. I am excited to follow in his footsteps in delivering for Senate District 9 voters. (Read More)

Chamber celebrates Leadership Utah 2022 graduates

The 2022 Class of Leadership Utah concluded today with graduation ceremonies celebrating the completion of the Salt Lake Chamber’s signature leadership program. Leadership Utah is an exclusive experience for mid- and upper-level management professionals to gain insight into the opportunities and challenges facing our state and become more engaged leaders.

Over the last year, the Leadership Utah cohort of public and private sector participants expanded their network, heard from key community leaders, and learned how best to support our ever-changing society. (Read More)

New Goldman Sachs survey finds small business facing unprecedented challenges

Ahead of the largest gathering of small business owners in U.S. history, Goldman Sachs today released new survey data that quantifies the challenges facing the small business community more than two years since the start of the pandemic. The new ‘Summit Survey’ finds an overwhelming majority of small business owners still have deep concerns about the trajectory of the economy – with 93% worried about the United States experiencing a recession within the next year and 89% reporting broader economic trends, including inflation, supply chain, and workforce challenges are still taking a toll. (Read More)

Number of the Day

Tweet of the Day

Upcoming

• Hatch Center Webinar: Preserving Judicial Integrity — July 14, 11:00 am, MDT. Register here
• Monument dedication to Black pioneers — July 22, 10:00 am, This is the Place Heritage Park
• ULCT Annual Convention — Oct 5-7, Salt Palace Convention Center, Register here
• General election â€“ Nov 8

On This Day In History

• 1099 - Jerusalem captured in the First Crusade
• 1789 - French revolutionaries storm the Bastille, marking the beginning of the French Revolution.
• 1798 - Sedition Act become federal law
• 1870 - The United States Congress grants Mary Todd Lincoln a life pension in the amount of $3,000 a year
• 1881 - Billy the Kid is shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett. He was 21.
• 1911 - Gertrude Goldhaber is born. She became a physicist and early researcher into nuclear structure and the properties of nuclei. She was the third woman to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
• 1913 - Gerald R. Ford is born.
• 1917 - 16 women from the National Women’s Party were arrested while picketing the White House demanding universal women’s suffrage; they were charged with obstructing traffic.
• 1933 - Germany begins mandatory sterilization of people with hereditary illnesses
• 1936 - Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön is born
• 2018 - US President Donald Trump calls the EU a "trade foe" in interview with CBS ahead of meeting with Russian President Putin

Wise Words

“Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s a relationship between equals"

— Pema Chödrön

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