 The UtahPolicy.com daily newsletter gets you up to speed on the top local and national news about politics and public policy. Send news tips or feedback to bschott@utahpolicy.com, or message us on Twitter. Situational awareness - April 17, 2020Good Friday morning from Salt Lake CityThe Utah Legislature begins its historic online-only special session this morning at 9 am. You can watch the proceedings on their website.TICK TOCK8 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic state conventions (4/25/2020)74 days to the 2020 Utah primary elections (6/30/2020)200 Days to the 2020 election (11/3/2020)278 days to inauguration day (01/20/2021)283 days to the start of the 2021 Utah Legislature (1/25/2021)Here are the stories you need to pay attention to this morning:
FRIDAY TRIVIAToday's women's suffrage-related question comes from Katherine Kitterman: 125 years ago this month, delegates to Utah's constitutional convention voted to include women citizens' right to vote and hold public office in Utah's constitution. The next year, in 1896, seven women ran for the state legislature and three were elected: Martha Hughes Cannon became a state senator and Sarah Anderson and Eurithe LaBarthe joined the House of Representatives. Name the four women who were unsuccessful in that election. Think you know the answer? Send your guesses to me at mailbag@utahpolicy.com. Good luck! Thanks for subscribing to Utah's must-read daily political news rundown.If you know of friends or colleagues who would benefit from our daily news roundup, please encourage them to sign up for our emails. Today At Utah Policy Poll suggests Republican race in 4th District looks to be a wide-open contestBy Bryan Schott, Managing Editor The race for the Republican nomination in Utah's hotly contested 4th Congressional District looks to be a wide-open affair, but former radio host Jay McFarland and former NFL player Burgess Owens have a slight lead on the rest of the field according to a new poll.  Lawmakers tackle fiscal and political response to coronavirus on first day of special sessionBy Bob Bernick and Bryan Schott While the overriding issue in the virtual Utah legislative special session is money -- changing budgets and deadlines because of the coronavirus's impact on state operations, there are a few political issues as well to be dealt with over the next few days.  Bob Bernick's notebook: Legislature puts pressure on Herbert's coronavirus responseBy Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor While praising how he's responded to the coronavirus outbreak, the Republican majorities in the Utah House and Senate, meeting in special session, are clearly moving to collar GOP Gov. Gary Herbert.  Romney snubbed by White House on coronavirus task forceBy Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Sen. Mitt Romney was the only Republican Senator not named to a congressional task force created by the White House to study how to kick start the nation's economy in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.  With a few glitches, Utah lawmakers begin inaugural online-only sessionBy Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor The Utah Legislature got underway Thursday morning with just a few glitches in a historic online, virtual special session. OTHER UTAH HEADLINESDeseret News
Salt Lake Tribune
Other
NATIONAL HEADLINESPlan to re-open the economyPresident Donald Trump now says it will be up to governors whether to re-open their economies for business. He previously claimed "total authority" when it comes to opening up the economy [CNN]. Here's what's in the White House guidelines sent to states about when they can begin to restart businesses [Politico]. Polls!Most Americans say President Trump was too slow to react to the initial threat posed by the coronavirus [Pew Research Center]. Jobless claims skyrocketAnother 5.2 million Americans lost their jobs last week. 22 million people have filed jobless claims in the last month, wiping out all of the job gains made since the Great Recession [NPR]. Out of cashAn emergency loan program to help small businesses keep workers on their payrolls has run out of money [Reuters]. Housing starts collapseNew home construction in the U.S. collapsed in March, dropping by 22.3 percent [CNBC]. Nobody is flyingU.S. airlines said demand for travel has dropped to "essentially zero" during the coronavirus pandemic [Yahoo! Finance]. Just 90,784 people passed through TSA checkpoints on April 15. For comparison, on the same day a year ago, that number was more than 2.3 million [TSA]. Megadrought!Scientists believe the American West is in the midst of a man-made megadrought that could cause major social upheaval [SF Chronicle]. China's economy contractsChina reported its first quarter GDP contracted by 6.8% from a year ago [CNBC]. For your radarThe Trump administration weakened regulations on the release of mercury from coal-fired power plants [New York Times]. BUSINESS HEADLINES
Policy NewsCasual Friday: Weekend Events & Outdoors ReportOutdoors Report--Salt Lake Tribune:Wasatch Front residents are getting outside, but trail options are few and crowded--KSL.com:Salt Lake City creates survey to decide which streets to open up for pedestrians, cyclists  WTC Utah webinar series: SBA programs for ranchers and farmers during the COVID-19 pandemicJoin World Trade Center Utah, in partnership with the SBA, for a webinar focused on Small Business Administration programs that could serve ranchers and farmers in the State of Utah. Navigating COVID-19: How to save your business -- What's Happening in Healthcare to get Utahns back to work Join us for an urgent and compelling forum that will provide clear and actionable direction to help local businesses navigate the COVID-19 health and economic crisis. More National Headlines
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY1397 - Geoffrey Chaucer tells The Canterbury Tales for the first time at the court of Richard II. 1512 - The Roman Catholic Church excommunicated Martin Luther after he refused to admit to charges of heresy. 1524 - Italian navigator Giovanni Verrazano discovered what is now New York Harbor. 1861 - Virginia's secession convention votes to secede from the United States, becoming the 8th state to join the Confederate States of America. 1905 - The Supreme Court decides Lochner v. New York, which holds that the "right to free contract" is implicit in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. 1961 - Bay of Pigs Invasion: A group of Cuban exiles financed and trained by the CIA lands at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba with the aim of ousting Fidel Castro. 1969 - Sirhan Sirhan is convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy. 1993 - A federal jury convicted two Los Angeles police officers and acquitted two others of violating the civil rights of Rodney King during his 1991 arrest and beating. Wise WordsAttitude "Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier."Colin Powell Lighter SideTDS "The president is not a cheerleader. The president is a quarterback. Tom Brady doesn't pull everybody into the huddle and say 'OK, bring it in guys. All right, I've got a theory that in a couple of months when it gets warmer, the other team is just gonna go away like a miracle. Ready? On three: do nothing!"- STEPHEN COLBERT, on Trump saying he is a "cheerleader for the country" Subscribers may receive special messages with information about new features, special offers, or public policy messages from clients and advertisers. |
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