Situational Analysis | June 22, 2022

It's Wednesday and National Kissing Day, so as long as there is mutual consent, have at it. 💋 

Be in the Know

• The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Tuesday that Maine violated the Constitution’s Free Exercise Clause when it excluded religious private schools from a tuition voucher program for parents who live in school districts without a public secondary school. “A State need not subsidize private education,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority, citing a previous opinion. “But once a State decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious.” Justices Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor dissented.

Rapid Roundup

• Aggie Ice Cream is 100 years old, civil jury finds Bill Cosby sexually abused teenager, earthquake kills at least 1000 in Afghanistan, Ron Johnson tried to hand fake elector info to Mike Pence on Jan. 6, top Texas cop says police response during Uvalde massacre is 'abject failure.'

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Utah Headlines

General

• Standing up in the fight against sexual exploitation. From Congressional briefings, to corporate offices and even on the airplane, Dawn Hawkins is raising her voice on behalf of human dignity (Deseret News)
• Utah registered nurses are leaving the field, creating the ‘perfect storm’ (KSL TV)
• Salt Lake City police bust woman late for job interview caught going 98 mph in 40 mph zone (Fox13)
• The rising cost of living is driving some older Utahns back to work (KUER)
• State capacity eats interest rates for lunch. If you want gleaming, modern infrastructure worthy of the richest country on the planet, don’t focus on interest rates. Build state capacity. (CGO)

Politics

• Editorial Board: Supreme Court decision on vouchers for religious schools reinforces faith in the public square (Deseret News)
• Roy leaders vote to spend $500k on rec center repairs after passionate public comment (KUTV)
• Roy City's tentative budget to raise property taxes by 15 percent to help save rec center (Fox13)
• Lawmaker to take action in wake of 2News Investigation after sex offender goes into school (KUTV)
• Federal testimony from Mia Love: Immigration plays a positive role in strengthening America’s workforce (CGO)

Education

• Teacher leaves Utah to find affordable home for his family (KUTV)
• School's out for summer and many teachers are calling it quits (Wall Street Journal)

Elections

• Who’s ahead in Utah’s 1st and 3rd congressional district GOP races? New poll has answers (Deseret News)
• Toxic politics. Threats and online abuse are making the campaign trail miserable for a Utah congressional candidate (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Gray endorsed by attorney general in Utah County Attorney race (Daily Herald)
• Weber County GOPers make picks in 1 Utah Senate, 3 Utah House races (Standard-Examiner)
• U.S. officials are worried about Russia interfering with 2022 midterm elections (Deseret News)

Environment

• Smoke chokes Bryce Canyon National Park as Utah wildfire scorches 3,000 acres (Salt Lake Tribune)
• ‘One of a kind’ deal means 5 tribes will help manage Bears Ears area (Deseret News)
• Officials called it the ‘year of water’ at the Legislature. Special interests still pushed against conservation. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• EF-2 tornado touched down in eastern Utah over weekend, weather service confirms (KSL)
• EF-2 tornado leaves path of destroyed trees in remote area of eastern Utah (Fox13)
• 8 states powering this initiative to provide EV corridors throughout the Mountain West (KSL)
• Air pollution reduces life expectancy by more than two years, study says (KUTV)

Family

• Are you too young to get married? Here’s what the research shows (Deseret News)

Health

• Utah kids as young as 6 months old are getting COVID-19 shots. Why one parent says that’s a relief (Deseret News)
• These 5 Utah counties are now in the CDC’s worst COVID category (ABC4)

Housing

• U.S. home prices will fall in 2023 as mortgage rates top 6%, Capital Economics predicts. A 5% fall in price growth is now more likely next year — but it’s not the same as a ‘price crash’ or a bubble burst (Deseret News)
• Why is it so hard to buy a house in America right now? (New York Times)
• America faces a housing bust (Wall Street Journal)

National Headlines

General

• ‘The officers had weapons, the children had none’: Top Texas law enforcement official rebukes police response to Uvalde, Texas, mass shooting, calling it an "abject failure" (Deseret News)
• Afghanistan quake kills 1,000 people, deadliest in decades (AP)
• A racist Juneteenth sign at a Maine insurance agency sparks backlash online (NPR)
• Stock market erases yesterday's gains, oil tumbles (Reuters)

Politics

• Here’s what this Arizona Latter-day Saint told the Jan. 6 committee about why he resisted Trump. Rusty Bowers said Trump, Giuliani, and Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., asked him to do something he knew was not right (Deseret News)
• Trump’s pressure drew violence, threats to local officials, committee shows (Washington Post)
• Alone in Washington, Rusty Bowers tells world what happened in Arizona. In refusing to help overturn the 2020 election, the Republican lawmaker was harassed and ostracized (Washington Post)
• The Supreme Court rejected Maine’s ban on state aid for religious schools in its latest decision favoring religious interests. (New York Times)
• Why religious schools just won big — again — in front of the Supreme Court (Deseret News)
• Will Texas secede from the U.S.? The state’s Republican Party wants to hold a vote (Deseret News)
• Senate candidate draws backlash for threatening campaign ad. Eric Greitens’ campaign ad depicts the candidate hunting down members of his own party. (Deseret News)
• Biden to call for 3-month suspension of gas and diesel taxes (AP)
• Immigration as one tool to fight inflation (CGO)
• Bipartisan gun bill clears initial vote in Senate (New York Times)
• Britt wins tumultuous Alabama Senate race scrambled by Trump (AP)

Ukraine 🇺🇦 

• Press group: Ukraine journalist, soldier ‘coldly executed’ (AP)
• Howitzers arrive in Ukraine, first in pledged weapons package from Germany (Reuters)
• Fifteen killed as Russia rains rockets on Kharkiv (Reuters)
• China says Ukraine crisis has sounded alarm for humanity (AP)
• Russian refinery says it was struck by drones from direction of Ukraine (Reuters)
• Linchpin of Ukrainian defiance, a southern city endures Russian barrage (New York Times)

News Releases

Romney Family Security Act 2.0: “One of the most important efforts to support the family in nearly thirty years”

Policy leaders and writers have expressed support for the Family Security Act 2.0 proposed by U.S. Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Steve Daines (R-MT) last week. The pro-family, pro-life, and pro-marriage plan would modernize antiquated federal policies into a fully paid-for, cash benefit for working families starting during pregnancy, amounting to $350 a month for each young child, and $250 a month for each school-aged child. A one-pager of the Family Security Act 2.0 can be found here. (Read More)

Romney statement on bipartisan Safer Communities Act

U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) released the following statement regarding the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act:

“Tonight I voted to open debate on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which builds on the bipartisan framework I was proud to support. This effort is focused on protecting human life in a way that’s consistent with the Constitution." (Read More)

Salt Lake County Council approves June budget adjustments with investments in water conservation and shelter the homeless

During the final step of the June budget adjustment this evening, the Salt Lake County Council approved up to $7 million to support Shelter the Homeless and $8.4 million in water conservation projects.

“Shelter the Homeless is crucial to provide shelter and services for people experiencing homelessness across the county,” said Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson. “This funding will allow them to focus on their mission to provide meals, safety, and solutions.” (Read More)

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Upcoming

• Primary election day â€“ June 28
• ULCT Annual Convention - Oct 5-7, Salt Palace Convention Center, Register here
• General election â€“ Nov 8

On This Day In History

• 1611 - Henry Hudson and 8 others are set adrift by mutineers. They are never seen again.
• 1775 - Congress issues Continental currency
• 1870 - US Congress creates the Department of Justice
• 1906 - Anne Spencer Morrow (Lindbergh) is born. She became the wife of Charles Lindbergh and was the mama of kidnapped and murdered baby Charlie. She was also the first woman in the US to earn a glider pilot's license and earned the Hubbard Gold Medal from the National Geographic Society in 1934 for over 40,000 miles of exploration flying. In addition, she was a best-selling author.
• 1944 - FDR signs the GI Bill, a bill that helped millions of returning American soldiers. White soldiers, that is. The bill was drafted in a way that excluded Black veterans.
• 2002 - Ann Landers dies of bone marrow cancer at age 83.
• 2015 - South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley calls for the removal of the Confederate flag from statehouse grounds in wake of killings in a Charleston church

Wise Words

"For happiness one needs security, but joy can spring like a flower even from the cliffs of despair."

– Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Lighter Side

"Yeah, summer is here, which means that you’ve got about a week until it’s pumpkin season at Starbucks.” 

— JIMMY FALLON

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