Situational Analysis | January 13, 2022

Today is Thursday and Korean American Day, marking the first day Korean immigrants arrived in the United States back in 1903.

Be in the Know

1. Twenty-six schools in Salt Lake County are reporting COVID-19 outbreaks. Alpine School District has implemented "Emergency At-Home Learning Days" to take effect Friday, Jan. 14, Monday (off for the MLK holiday) and Tuesday, Jan. 19 because of the spike in COVID cases and "significant student and staff absenteeism." Provo School District is on the verge of closing, telling parents they were one more sick bus driver away from not being able to transport students and almost 10% of their teachers are out sick. Other cancelations because of the recent spike include Hamilton at Eccles Theater and Music and the Spoken Word by the Tabernacle Choir. 

2. This is a must-read article in Sports Illustrated about former BUY and NBA player, Shawn Bradley. Last year, on January 20, 2021, Bradley was in a bicycle accident that left him immediately paralyzed. This in-depth article shares what life is like for Bradley now, including the difficulties of being in a wheelchair that are made harder by his 7'6" size. 

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Utah Headlines

General

• Who benefits — and who might suffer — if more government services move online? (Deseret News)
• You need to earn six figures to afford a median-priced home in Salt Lake County (KUTV)
• Friendly Copper the Deer euthanized after complaints, capture in Herriman (Fox13)
• Report: Moab police made ‘unintentional mistakes’ during Gabby Petito call outside Arches (Deseret News)
• Salt Lake County restaurants say they’re ‘relieved’ over health department’s mask order (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Major vacation destination proposed for SITLA land previously eyed for desert golf course in Kanab (Salt Lake Tribune)
• One BYU victim was punished, another was sent to therapy. Advocates say LDS bishops need more training on sex assault (Salt Lake Tribune)

Politics

• Emergency meeting set for Thursday as Salt Lake County Council weighs indoor mask order (KSL)
• Utah’s poor air quality shortens life expectancy by two years. A new bill could help understand the true cost (Deseret News)
• ‘The year of the tax cut — again’: Utah lawmakers pushing for income tax cut in 2022 (Deseret News)
• Orem council votes for change in selecting Planning Commission members (Daily Herald)
• From tax cuts to vaccine passports, local lawmakers offer legislative preview at breakfast event (St. George News)

COVID Corner

• Another record-breaking day: 10,220 new cases, 14 new deaths
• State offers self-serve COVID-19 testing as Utah’s daily case count exceeds 10,000 (Deseret News)
• How Utah schools are dealing with COVID-19 ‘wildfire’ (Deseret News)
• Utah is maxing out its COVID-19 testing capacity (Salt Lake Tribune)
• If the Salt Lake Co. Council doesn't overturn mask mandates, the Utah legislature might (Fox13)
• Is Omicron peaking? (New York Times)
• To mask or not to mask? Here’s what 2 years and hundreds of COVID-19 experts say (Deseret News)
• Could cannabis prevent COVID? To the authors of a new study, it sure looks like it (Salon.com)

Education

• More than 1 million fewer students are in college, the lowest enrollment numbers in 50 years (NPR)
• Covid-19 Prompts Colleges to Rip Up Plans for Start of the Semester (Wall Street Journal)

National Headlines

General

• The Soldiers Came Home Sick. The Government Denied It Was Responsible. (New York Times)
• U.S. Diplomats in Geneva, Paris Struck With Suspected ‘Havana Syndrome’. Mysterious neurological ailment has afflicted as many as 200 U.S. officials in diplomatic posts world-wide (Wall Street Journal)
• Delta Airlines expects omicron will drive quarterly loss but forecasts 2022 profit on travel rebound (CNBC)
• Harry Reid becomes the first Latter-day Saint to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda (Deseret News)

Politics

• McCarthy says he will not cooperate with January 6 committee probe (CNN)
• Biden imposes first sanctions over North Korea weapons program after missile tests (Reuters)
• Trump is eyeing the White House and wants a more compliant Senate for when he gets there (Politico)
• Jan. 6 committee rebuts challenges to its legitimacy, citing Katrina and Benghazi probes (Politico)

International

• U.K. ministers are closing ranks around Boris Johnson amid calls for his resignation (NPR)
• Portraits of fear and loss: Taliban rule through the eyes of four women in Afghanistan (Washington Post)
• Russia ratchets up pressure on Europe, says ‘no grounds’ for further talks on security amid heightened tensions (Washington Post)
• Russia says Ukraine talks hit 'dead end', Poland warns of risk of war (Reuters)

News Releases

Today: Salt Lake Chamber & Gardner Policy Institute hosting 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 today, 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. (Read More)

Utah students selected for United States Senate Youth Program

The United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) announces that high school students Ms. Arundhati Bonney Oommen and Ms. Neve Skye Rauscher will join Senator Mike Lee and Senator Mitt Romney in representing Utah during the 60th annual USSYP Washington Week, to be held March 6 — 9, 2022. Arundhati Oommen of Salt Lake City and Neve Rauscher, also of Salt Lake City, were selected from among the state’s top student leaders to be part of the 104 national student delegation who will each also receive a $10,000 college scholarship for undergraduate study. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the 2022 program will be held online, through a comprehensive and highly interactive virtual education and leadership forum. (Read More)

Owens introduces legislation to increase compensation and hiring of rural law enforcement officers

Rep. Burgess Owens (UT-04), Rep. Tom Rice (SC-07), and Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (VA-07) introduced the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) on the Beat Grant Program Reauthorization and Parity Act of 2022, bipartisan legislation to increase compensation and hiring of law enforcement officers.

“With crime on the rise in America, our law enforcement officers play an invaluable role on the front lines of public safety,” said Rep. Owens. “In recent months, Utah has faced a shortage of police officers, particularly in our rural communities, impacting response times and straining critical resources. I’m proud to help introduce the bipartisan COPS on the Beat Grant Program Reauthorization Act to deliver much-needed support to police departments in Utah and across the country as they recruit, hire, and train new officers.” (Read More)

Rep. Stewart joins Maria Bartiromo to discuss Russia, midterms, and the filibuster

Wednesday morning, Congressman Chris Stewart (R-UT) joined Fox Business’ Mornings with Maria to discuss NATO’s ongoing negotiations with Russia; the upcoming midterm elections; and Democrats’ hypocritical attempt at abolishing the filibuster.

Highlights of the interview are here, or watch online here.

Number of the Day

Tweet of the Day

He'll never get that cleaned up.....

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
• State of the State address - Jan. 20, 2022, 6:30 pm.
• Utah legislative session ends – Mar 4, 2022, midnight

On This Day In History

From History.com

• 1128 - Pope Honorius II recognizes the Knights Templar.
• 1717 - Maria Sibylla Merian died. She was a famed entomologist renowned for her beautiful and scientifically accurate illustrations of insects in their natural habitat.
• 1832 - American author Horatio Alger is born.
• 1842 - A British army doctor reaches a sentry post in Afghanistan, the sole survivor of a massacre of 4,500 soldiers and 12,000 camp followers trying to withdraw through the Khyber Pass.
• 1850 - Charlotte Ray is born. She became the first Black female lawyer and the first woman admitted to the bar in Washington, D.C.
• 1898 - Juanita Brooks is born. She became a famed historian best known for her research on the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
• 1903 - First group of Korean immigrants enter Hawaii
• 1910 - The world’s first public radio broadcast occurred from the Metropolitan Opera House and featured Enrico Caruso.
• 1929 - Wyatt Earp dies peacefully in Los Angeles at age 80
• 1950 - Soviets boycott United Nations Security Council Meeting.
• 1954 - Marilyn Monroe marries Joe DiMaggio. They were divorced 274 days later. 
• 1966 - Lyndon Johnson appoints Robert Weaver as the head of the newly created Department of Housing and Urban Development, making him the nation’s first Black cabinet member.
• 1981 - Barbara Sonntag of Colorado sets the American speed crocheting record of 4,412 stitches in 30 minutes, or approximately 147 stitches per minute. 
• 1982 - A plane crashes into the Potomac River, less than a mile from the end of the runway, killing 78 people.
• 1990 - Douglas Wilder of Virginia becomes the nation’s first Black governor
• 1999 - Michael Jordan retires for the second time.

Wise Words

“My experience politically has always been that one-word definition of politics: money. Keep your eye on the buck. And that tells you where the American people are going to be."

-Douglas Wilder

Lighter Side

“Speaking of Covid tests, the state of Florida let a million Covid tests expire in a warehouse, but now the F.D.A. has decided to extend the expiration dates. When they heard that, every New York hot dog vendor was like, ‘Is that really safe to do that?’” 

— JIMMY FALLON

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