Plus, Utahns blew past the previous one-day record for COVID cases and the Sundance Film Festival has canceled in-person viewings
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The Utah Policy newsletter is your one-stop source for political and policy-minded news. Send news tips or feedback to editor@utahpolicy.com.

 

Situational Analysis | January 6, 2022

It's Thursday and the one-year anniversary of this generation's day that will live in infamy: the storming of the US Capitol. And - we can't even agree on the basic facts of the day. 

Be in the Know

  1. Utah smashed its previous record high for reported COVID-19 cases with 7247 new cases - more than 50% higher than the worst of the pandemic last winter. The previous record was 4706, set on December 30, 2020.

  2. Because of surging COVID cases, the Sundance Film Festival has canceled in-person screenings. It will be presenting its slate of 82 feature films and 59 short films online only, from Jan. 20-30.
 

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Utah Headlines

General

  • Entrata founder now says he's 'not ready' to talk publicly about anti-Semitic email (KUTV)
  • Fallout continues from Utah tech boss’ antisemitic COVID-19 conspiracy email (Deseret News)
  • Does Utah have an Antisemitism problem? (ABC4)
  • Elizabeth Smart's Foundation joins Malouf to combat sexual violence, child exploitation (Deseret News)
  • Davis School District superintendent resigns, effective at end of school year. The announcement came a day after the district announced a new partnership aimed at identifying strategies to reduce discrimination. (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • Legal community criticizes Utah County Attorney for case involving brother's LDS mission companion (Fox13)

Politics

  • What were 2021’s biggest news stories? Democrats and Republicans disagree (Deseret News)

COVID Corner

  • 7247 new cases, 44 new reported deaths
  • Here’s what Utah’s epidemiologist predicts about COVID, omicron and ‘flurona’: The state is in for “a few really bad weeks,” Dr. Leisha Nolen expects. (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • 'Unlike anything ever seen': Infectious disease doctor on spread of omicron variant (KUTV)
  • Why omicron variant symptoms are more dangerous compared to previous COVID-19 strains (Deseret News)
  • What omicron variant symptoms tell us about the next major COVID-19 variant (Deseret News)

Environment

  • Saving the ‘otherworldly’ place of Utah’s declining inland sea (Deseret News)
  • Utah lawmakers get serious about saving the Great Salt Lake in new summit (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • As droughts intensify, this Utah family farm is ditching the Monsanto way (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • Speaker Wilson's summit sounds a rallying cry to save the Great Salt Lake (KUER)

One Year Later

  • What have we learned? Lessons from the Jan. 6 insurrection (Deseret News)
  • Where Utah’s congressional delegation stand on the Jan. 6 Capitol attack one year later (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • One year after Jan. 6, what’s changed for faith groups? (Deseret News)
  • Howard Lehman: Aftermath of Jan. 6 attack leaves American democracy at risk. Polls show large numbers of Republicans believe election was stolen and violence may be justified. (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • A year after Jan. 6 protests, Utah law enforcement is still trying to navigate armed protests (Deseret News)
  • What's happened to the 8 Utahns charged in the US Capitol riot? (KSL)
  • A year later, Jan. 6 becomes just another wedge in a divided nation (New York Times)
  • A year after the Jan. 6 attack, Congress is plagued by a toxic atmosphere (NPR)
  • ‘I trusted the President’: Jan. 6 rioters in their own words (AP)
  • Biden calls Trump threat to democracy on anniversary of Capitol attack (Reuters)
  • Competing vigils planned in D.C. as nation marks Jan. 6 anniversary (Washington Post)
  • Republican activists are planning rallies, vigils and other events in more than a dozen states for Jan. 6 participants they depict as “patriots” or “political prisoners.” (Politico)

National Headlines

General

  • NPR is losing some of its Black and Latino hosts. Colleagues see a larger crisis. (Washington Post)
  • Australia cancels Novak Djokovic's visa to enter country (CNN)

Politics

  • On the Jan. 6 anniversary, Republican candidates embrace the ‘Big Lie’ (Washington Post)
  • Biden: Trump not just former president, he's a 'defeated former president' (The Hill)

International

  • Dozens of protesters, 12 police dead in Kazakhstan protests (AP)
  • EXPLAINER: What’s behind unrest rocking oil-rich Kazakhstan (AP)
  • Another post-Soviet ‘ruler for life’ faces upheaval, as enormous protests sweep Kazakhstan (Washington Post)
 

News Releases

Sen. Romney statement on anniversary of January 6

U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) today released the following statement on the anniversary of January 6.

“Today, we call to mind the memory of those who were tragically lost on the 6th and in the following days, and we reflect with gratitude on the heroic efforts of those who protected the U.S. Capitol and all of us inside the building. It is because of their courage that Congress ultimately fulfilled its responsibility to count the votes and that the transfer of power continued unimpeded.

“We ignore the lessons of January 6 at our own peril. Democracy is fragile; it cannot survive without leaders of integrity and character who care more about the strength of our Republic than about winning the next election. I said last year that the best way we can show respect for voters who are upset is by telling them the truth. The responsibility that elected officials have in this regard is fundamental to reversing the malaise gripping our current politics and ensuring that our democracy endures.”


Salt Lake Chamber & Gardner Policy Institute to host Utah Economic Outlook & Public Policy Summit

The Salt Lake Chamber, Utah’s largest and longest-serving statewide business association, will host the annual Utah Economic Outlook & Public Policy Summit with the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute on January 13, 2021, at the Grand America Hotel.

This event is the state’s premier economic forecasting and public policy showcase and will be attended by notable policy and academic thought leaders from across the state. The Summit presents an unrivaled opportunity for attendees to gain insights on the future of Utah’s economy and the business community’s policy priorities for the upcoming legislative session. 

The Summit will be Thursday, Jan 12. (Read More)


Go Utah responds to the Salt Lake Tribune Domo incentive article

In an article published Wednesday morning by The Salt Lake Tribune, â€œDOMO got $23 million in incentives from GOEO, whose chair sits on the DOMO board,” author Bryan Schott waited until well into the article to state that there was no indication that Chair Carine Clark had any undue influence on the process of awarding tax credits.

The Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity condemns the misleading nature of the article published by The Salt Lake Tribune.

Ms. Carine Clark has served honorably as our Board chair since March 2020. As a matter of procedure, our Board members recuse themselves whenever any issue connected to personal interests is discussed and voted upon. One of the state’s assistant attorney generals participates in each of our Board meetings to help ensure we’re following this protocol.

In the case of the Jan. 14, 2021, Domo incentive, the public record shows that Chair Clark did just that: recuse herself.

“Carine Clark represents the best of Utah,” said Dan Hemmert, Go Utah’s executive director. (Read More)


Go Utah completes Domo EDTIF investigation

The Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (Go Utah) was made aware of comments made by a Domo senior executive at a Silicon Slopes Summit event on Oct. 13, 2021, related to an Economic Development Tax Increment Finance (EDTIF) incentive... 

The statement made by the Domo executive at the Silicon Slopes Summit triggered an investigation of a potential breach of the EDTIF contract...

Our office did not find evidence of a breach, and Go Utah has recommended continuing the tax credit incentive as agreed in the contract. (Read More)


Nathan Peterson named Tax Partner at Tanner LLC

Tanner LLC, a certified public accounting firm, is pleased to announce the promotion of Nathan Peterson to Partner in Tanner’s Tax Services practice.

Nathan specializes in serving companies with pass-through entities (Partnerships, LLCs, and S-Corporations), mergers and acquisitions, and high-net-worth individuals. He frequently consults on pass-through purchase and sale transactions, complex partnership allocation structures, and equity compensation planning. 

Nathan joined Tanner in October of 2012, and has been in public accounting for over 15 years. (Read More)

 
 

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

  • 1412 - Joan of Arc is born.
  • 1759 - George Washington marries Martha Dandridge Custis. 
  • 1838 - Samuel Morse demonstrates the telegraph.
  • 1907 - Dr. Maria Montessori opens her first school and daycare center, Casa Dei Bambini, in Rome, Italy.
  • 1912 - New Mexico joins the Union as the 47th state.
  • 1919 - Theodore Roosevelt dies.
  • 1941 - Franklin D. Roosevelt speaks to Congress on the “Four Freedoms” - freedom of speech and expression, the freedom to worship God in his own way, freedom from want and freedom from fear.
  • 1942 - FDR commits to biggest arms buildup in U.S. history
  • 1945 - George Herbert Walker Bush marries Barbara Pierce.
  • 1975 - “Wheel of Fortune” premieres.
  • 2001 - Al Gore presides over a joint session of Congress that certifies George W. Bush the winner of the 2000 presidential election.
  • 2021 - Insurrection at the US Capitol

Wise Words

“Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war."

-Maria Montessori


Lighter Side

“There’s an update in the world of Covid: Everyone in the world has Covid.” 

— STEPHEN COLBERT

 

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