Intermountain requiring COVID-19 vaccine for all employees, adding to the ones already required and an Orem candidate is off the ballot
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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 | October 28, 2021

It's Thursday and National Chocolate Day. Historians document the earliest known use of cacao seeds at around 1100 BC. Not only for consumption, cacao seeds also acted as a form of currency.

Be in the Know

  1. Intermountain Healthcare will require all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Intermountain Healthcare already requires it employees to receive vaccines for hepatitis, whooping cough, the annual flu, measles, mumps and rubella. Employees can submit medical and religious exemption requests.

  2. An Orem city council candidate is off the ballot for not filing her financial statements by Tuesday's 5 pm deadline. Nichelle Jensen wrote on her Facebook page: “I’ve been disqualified from the election. I simply missed a financial statement deadline today at 5 p.m. which is the dumbest mistake to ever make."

  3. According to this morning's advance GDP statement by the Commerce Department, the U.S. economy grew at its slowest pace in more than a year in the third quarter as COVID-19 infections flared up, further straining global supply chains and causing shortages of goods like automobiles that almost stifled consumer spending.
 

FROM OUR SPONSOR

Drama surrounds Utah’s Independent Redistricting Commission as the FDA prepares to authorize COVID-19 vaccines for children and polls show how Utahns feel about the pandemic. Glen Mills, Emily Means and Dennis Romboy join host Jason Perry on "The Hinckley Report," Friday at 7:30 p.m.

 

Utah Headlines

General

  • Narcissism and the unraveling of society (Utah Thrives)
  • Conservatives delighting in Alec Baldwin’s pain show how far we’ve fallen (Deseret News)
  • Utah higher education commission approves Dixie State name change (Fox13)
  • ‘Utah Tech University’ one step closer to becoming new name for Dixie State (St. George News)
  • Judge declines to dismiss West Valley 'intolerable odor' lawsuit (KSL)

Politics

  •  Rep. Rosemary Lesser: Time to abolish the tax on food completely (Deseret News)
  • Why H.R. McMaster thinks Biden’s foreign policy is putting the country in danger (Deseret News)
  • Utah County commissioners vote to support ending the death penalty (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • New poll reveals support for the death penalty is fading in Utah (Deseret News)
  • ‘Ink still wet’ on proposed maps, but Utah House speaker says Legislature may reevaluate redistricting process (Deseret News)
  • Utah lawmakers should focus on boosting clean energy (Deseret News)

COVID Corner

  • 2068 new cases, 22 new deaths
  • Utah County mother-to-be loses husband to COVID-19 (Fox13)
  • Merck has granted a royalty-free license for its Covid antiviral pill to a UN-backed nonprofit. The deal will allow the drug to be manufactured and sold cheaply in 105 developing nations. (New York Times)
  • Moscow shuts down as coronavirus surges in largely unvaccinated Russia (NPR)

Elections

  • Six Weber County mayoral races contested this cycle (seven others aren’t) (Standard-Examiner)
  • When Ken Dudley's campaign website recounts how he was shot during a police brutality protest, it leaves out major pieces of the story, such as him driving his Ford Excursion into the protesters and accelerating as he began to hit them. (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • In Heber City, the mayoral election is a race to manage booming growth (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • Moab grapples with housing costs, off-highway vehicle noise in crowded mayoral race (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • Ranked choice voting, mail in ballots may lead to higher voter turnout in Utah cities (Fox13)
  • Logan finance reports show who's supporting mayoral, council candidates (Herald-Journal)
  • Hildale mayoral candidates butt heads, but agree city needs to prepare for growth and tourism (KUER)

National Headlines

General

  • Myanmar military uses systematic torture across country (AP)
  • United States issues its 1st passport with ‘X’ gender marker (AP)
  • Trudeau picks ex-Greenpeace activist dubbed ‘Green Jesus’ as climate chief, angering Canada’s oil-rich west (Washington Post)

Politics

  • Former NYT columnist Nicholas Kristof announces run for Oregon governor (AP)
  • Biden plans to announce a framework for his social policy and climate bill, but key details remain unresolved. (New York Times)
  • Biden seeks to sell Democrats on stripped-down $1.75T plan (The Hill)
  • Paid leave falls out of Democratic package in urgent scramble to secure Manchin's support (CNN)
  • Anti-Trump Republicans target McCarthy, Scalise, other high-profile conservatives (The Hill)
  • Biden is getting dragged in the polls. That hasn’t stopped Dems from sticking by him. (Politico)
 

Policy News

Elizabeth Smart Foundation and Malouf Foundation partner for ‘We Believe You’ campaign

The Elizabeth Smart Foundation (ESF) and the Malouf Foundation™ are partnering on the We Believe You campaign in the month of November. Launched in 2020 by ESF, the campaign aims to recognize the positive impact individuals can have on survivors of sexual violence simply by believing their stories.

The campaign was created in response to the many survivors and victims who reach out to ESF and to Elizabeth herself. Typically, these survivors choose to share their stories with a public figure and organization that is educating about sexual violence because they “don’t know where else to turn,” “nobody will help me” and “nobody will believe me.” As people across the country participate in the campaign, avenues will be opened in every friendship circle, family, neighborhood and community where victims can turn for help. (Read More)


Ribbon cutting and e-bike tour of East Zion

As part of the 8th annual Utah Outdoor Recreation Summit, the Zion Forever ProjectZion CyclesUtah Clean Cities, and Magnum hosted an East Zion ribbon cutting and e-bike tour of new trails.

This ribbon cutting officially opens the first 10 miles of publicly accessible mountain biking trails on Zion’s east side, beyond the park borders. These first 10 miles were made possible by land grants and easements from private landowners, donations to the Zion Forever Project, funding through the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation Grant, The National Park Foundation, and support from Kane County. The new trailheads are adjacent to the new East Zion Visitor Center site. (Read More)


Utah Inland Port Authority and Port of Long Beach implement immediate action to address supply chain delays

The Port of Long Beach (POLB), the Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA), and Union Pacific Railroad announced today a bold initiative that brings rapid relief from existing Port congestion by optimizing rail deliveries between California and Utah. In a joint statement, Executive Directors Mario Cordero of the Port of Long Beach and Jack Hedge of the Utah Inland Port Authority said “The direct, regularly scheduled rail service connecting the Port of Long Beach to Salt Lake City will allow cargo destined for all of the Intermountain West to be rapidly evacuated from terminals in Long Beach to Salt Lake City for further distribution throughout the region. Much of this cargo traditionally moves to Utah, Colorado, Nevada, and Idaho by truck, and thus must be removed from the port terminals one container at a time. Reengaging this direct rail service will allow removal of blocks of containers at a time.” (Read More)


Day 10: Sen. Lee continues fight against Biden’s vaccine mandate

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), for the tenth day, spoke against President Biden’s vaccine mandate on the Senate Floor today (Oct. 27) and moved that the Senate pass by unanimous consent his bill to require that the Secretary of Health and Human Services publicly disclose all COVID-19 research HHS has supported.

S. 2844, the Transparency in COVID-19 Research Act, is one of a series of bills introduced by Sen. Lee to combat the Biden Administration’s vaccine overreach.  Lee will be moving to pass each bill over the course of the coming weeks. (Read/Watch More)


San Francisco Fed President and Zip Code Economies podcast host to keynote 2022 Utah Economic Outlook & Public Policy Summit

Mary C. Daly, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and host of the popular Zip Code Economies podcast, will keynote the 2022 Utah Economic Outlook & Public Policy Summit, the Salt Lake Chamber announced today. As a participant on the Federal Open Market Committee, she helps set American monetary policy that promotes a healthy and stable economy.

Since taking office in October 2018, Dr. Daly has committed to making the San Francisco Fed a more community-engaged bank that is transparent and responsive to the people it serves. She works to connect economic principles to real-world concerns and is a sought-after speaker on monetary policy, labor economics, and increasing diversity within the economics field. (Read More)


Sen. Romney presses State Department on Afghanistan and China

U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) today pressed Brian McKeon, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, on the Administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan and emphasized America’s commitment to helping our friends and partners around the world. Romney also sought assurances from the Administration to ensure that China will face consequences from the U.S. should they take military action against our partner Taiwan. (Read/Watch More)

 

 
 

Upcoming

  • Hatch Center Symposium with U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) â€”  Oct. 29, Noon, Salt Lake City. Space is limited. Register here.
  • Utah Business Economic Summit – Nov 5, 8:00 am - 4 pm Register here
  • Common Good Awards with Envision Utah, virtual event â€“ Nov. 11, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm. Register here
  • Growth, Grit and Grace - SLC Chamber's Women & Business Conference and ATHENA awards – Nov 19, 8:00 am - 3:30 pm Register here
 

On This Day In History

From History.com

  • 1636 - Harvard College is founded
  • 1704 - John Locke, philosopher, influential Enlightenment thinker and "Father of Liberalism" (Two Treatises of Government), dies at 72
  • 1793 - Eli Whitney applies for a patent on the cotton gin
  • 1842 - Anna Dickinson is born. An advocate for the abolition of slavery and for women's rights, she was the first woman to give a political address before the United States Congress.
  • 1886 - The Statue of Liberty is finished and is dedicated as a gift from France.
  • 1914 - Jonas Salk is born. A medical researcher and virologist, he created the polio vaccine.
  • 1919 - Congress enforces prohibition, over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto.
  • 1955 - Bill Gates is born.
  • 1958 - Mary Roebling becomes the first woman director of a stock exchange (American Stock Exchange)
  • 1962 - Nikita Khrushchev orders withdrawal of missiles from Cuba.
  • 1998 - President Bill Clinton signs the Digital Millennium Copyright Act into law

Wise Words

“The world belongs to those who take it.”

-Anna Dickinson


Lighter Side

“It’s tough for billionaires. If you’d like to sponsor one, you can make a difference for just $34 million a day.” 

— JIMMY FALLON

 

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