Situational Analysis | May 4, 2022

Happy Star Wars Day! May the 4th be with you. Do you know why Darth Vader was bad at sports? He always choked.....

Be in the Know

1. Senator Orrin Hatch will lie in state at the Utah Capitol rotunda today from 2:00 pm - 8:00 pm. The Lt. Governor and other state officials will place a wreath beside his casket at 4:30 pm. Senator Hatch, who died on April 23, will be only the fourth person and first federally elected official to have that honor. Governors Olene Walker, Scott Matheson and George Dern were the others. A memorial was held for Speaker Becky Lockhart in January 2015, but her body did not lie in state. 

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Utah Headlines

General

• 'Like a big oak tree’: KSL Newsradio celebrates 100 years of serving Utah (Deseret News)
• Sen. Orrin Hatch will lie in state at the Utah Capitol. Who else has had that honor? (Deseret News)
• Utah Episcopalians choose a new bishop, the second woman to lead them (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Cops: Body in barrel in Lake Mead was man who had been shot, probably in the 1970's. (KSL)
• Crews tackle massive sinkhole in Salt Lake City (ABC4)
• In one hour, vehicles killed 3 pedestrians in Utah. Is it time to get serious about road safety? (Deseret News)

Abortion

• What Mitt Romney, Mike Lee say about leaked Supreme Court abortion opinion (Deseret News)
• Could Utah carve a unique solution to abortion law? (Deseret News)
• The West vs. the rest: What happens if Roe v. Wade is overturned (Deseret News)
• How abortion rights will shape November’s midterms (Deseret News)
• Utahns gather at state capitol, march in protest of plans to overturn Roe v. Wade (KUTV)
• Now is the beginning of the pro-life movement, not the end (Deseret News)
• What’s next for Utah in wake of leaked SCOTUS draft abortion decision? (Deseret News)

Politics

• Hurricane Mayor Nanette Billings answers the call to community: ‘It’s for you, and for us’ (St. George News)
• Congressional challenger Tina Cannon at home in 1st District (Cache Valley Daily)
• Convention recap; death of Orrin Hatch (Hinckley Report)
• Judge blocks San Juan Co. commissioners from seeking more candidates for county attorney (KUTV)
• The religious liberty legacy of Orrin Hatch (Deseret News)

Education

• Utah school board investigating member Natalie Cline after she used private email for communication (Salt Lake Tribune)
• UVU study suggests online degree options could boost graduation rates (Daily Herald)

Environment

• West’s megadrought delivers another blow: Saving Glen Canyon Dam
  Lake Powell releases cut by nearly a half million acre feet (Deseret News)
• Mayor Jenny Wilson proposes xeriscaping over 130 of Salt Lake County's park strips (KUTV)
  

Family

• Want to help Utah’s poorest families? Reinstate the monthly Child Tax Credit (Deseret News)
• Utah emergency food assistance program guidelines announced (Fox13)

National Headlines

General

• Norman Mineta, transportation secretary who helped create TSA, dies at 90. He became one of the country’s highest-profile Asian American political leaders, as a big-city mayor, a 10-term congressman and a Cabinet secretary (Washington Post)
• Mortgage rates are rising, but the hot housing market is slow to cool (Washington Post)
• Trump organizations agree to pay $750,000 to settle lawsuit with D.C. Office of the Attorney General alleged organizations illegally used nonprofit funds donated for inauguration to instead benefit Trump and his family (Washington Post)
• U.S. Job Openings, Quits Reach March Records in Tight Labor Market (Wall Street Journal)

Politics

• JD Vance wins Ohio’s GOP Senate primary (AP)
• Supreme Court will investigate leaked draft of abortion opinion. The document is authentic but not final, Chief Justice John Roberts said Tuesday. (Washington Post)
• Analysis: The leak of the draft opinion suggests an internal disarray at the Supreme Court, a blow to its legitimacy. (New York Times)
• As US poised to restrict abortion, other nations ease access (AP)

Ukraine 🇺🇦 

•  Russia pounds Ukraine, targeting supply of Western arms (AP)
• Russian TV shows simulation of Britain and Ireland wiped out by nuke (Washington Post)
• Russia storms Mariupol plant as some evacuees reach safety (AP)
• Russian strikes pound Ukraine on eve of new EU sanctions (Reuters)
• Poland’s President Says Russian Threats Shouldn’t Derail Ukraine Support (Wall Street Journal)
• Brace for May 9. On Russia’s Victory Day, we might find out whether Putin intends to extend his war to the rest of the planet. (The Atlantic)
• AP evidence points to 600 dead in Mariupol theater airstrike (AP)

News Releases

Mayor Jenny Wilson proposes xeriscaping Salt Lake County’s 132 worst park strips to save water

There are thousands of traditional park strips and parking lot islands full of grass across Salt Lake County-owned properties and facilities. A new water conservation proposal aims to prioritize the largest 132 with water-wise designs to save millions of gallons per year.

The proposed xeriscaping spans 39 different County facilities and were selected based on their size –totaling about three football fields – and therefore large water footprint, as well as diverse geographic spread across the valley. Flipping these strips will save Salt Lake County approximately 5.2 million gallons of water each year. (Read More)

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Upcoming

• Breakfast Briefing with Utah Foundation, May 17, 8:30-10:00 am
• Envision Utah Breakfast, May 25, 8:00-9:30 am, Register here
• Ballots are mailed â€“ June 7
• Primary election day â€“ June 28
• General election â€“ Nov 8

On This Day In History

• 1776 - Rhode Island becomes the first colony to declare its independence from England.
• 1922 - Eugenie Clark is born. An ichthyologist known for both her research on shark behavior and her study of fish in the order Tetraodontiformes, she was popularly known as “The Shark Lady”
• 1944 - "Gaslight", starring an 18-year-old Angela Lansbury in her film debut, is released.
• 1970 - The National Guard kills four students and wounds nine others in Kent State shootings.
• 1979 - Margaret Thatcher becomes the first woman to be elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• 1998 - A federal judge in Sacramento, California, gives "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepts a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty.
• 2018 - Sarah Zorn becomes the first woman to lead cadets as a regimental commander at the Citadel.

Wise Words

"Wars are not caused by the buildup of weapons. They are caused when an aggressor believes he can achieve his objectives at an acceptable price."

 - Margaret Thatcher

Lighter Side

Q: What did Yoda ride as a kid?

A: A do-cycle. There is no tri.

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