Situational Analysis | November 18, 2021

Hello to a chilly Thursday. Today is National Rural Health Day.

Be in the Know

1. Do you love looking at the night sky? Well, you are in for a once-in-580-years treat as a long, almost-full (97%) lunar eclipse occurs in the wee hours of Friday morning. The entire event will last for just over six hours, and the Moon will spend a whopping three hours, 28 minutes, and 24 seconds passing through the darkest part of Earth's shadow (its umbra) – making it the longest partial lunar eclipse since 1441.

2. US jobless claims have dropped for the seventh straight week, to 268,000. Overall, 2.1 million Americans were collecting traditional unemployment checks the week that ended Nov. 6, down by 129,000 from the week before.

FROM OUR SPONSOR

Infrastructure Bill and Utah

After months of negotiations, President Biden has finally signed the $1T bipartisan infrastructure bill into law. Max Roth, Jason Nguyen and Kate Bradshaw join host Jason Perry on "The Hinckley Report" this Friday at 7:30 p.m. to discuss the benefits that could be coming to the Beehive State.

Utah Headlines

General

• Predatory towing? Herriman residents share warning after being towed within minutes (ABC4)
• Utah businesses struggle to find employees, many wonder where have all the workers gone (Fox13)

Politics

• Andrew Gruber: Why you should applaud passage of the infrastructure bill (Deseret News)
• Final election results for Washington County area: Big turnout, challengers win (The Spectrum)
• Utah bill would require transgender girls to change birth certificates before joining female high school sports (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Bill will propose free menstrual products in school restrooms across Utah (KUTV)

COVID Corner

• 2219 new cases, 13 new deaths
• Atrial fibrillation boosts risk of complications, death from COVID-19, study finds (Deseret News)
• Summit County schools enforce masks as COVID-19 positivity rate reaches 2% (Fox13)

Education

• Book banning? Email prompts Utah district to pull titles from high school libraries (Deseret News)

Housing

• Ellen Birrell: Affordable living in Salt Lake Valley depends on public transportation (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Easy ways renters can save money and reduce their carbon footprint this winter (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Where will Utah’s homeless go this winter? ‘Frustrated’ Salt Lake leaders again agree to host shelter (Deseret News)
• In-Depth: Report suggests path out of Utah's housing crisis (Fox13)

National Headlines

General

• Belarus’s Lukashenko tried to use migrants as a weapon. That’s now turned against him. (Washington Post)
• Britney Spears celebrates getting 1st ATM card since conservatorship ended and 'seeing cash for the first time' (Yahoo)
• Thanksgiving dinner will cost Americans 14% more this year, survey finds (CNN)
• Drug Overdose Deaths, Fueled by Fentanyl, Hit Record High in U.S. (Wall Street Journal)

Politics

• Sen. Ted Cruz tries to insult Rep. Liz Cheney and gets humiliated (Yahoo)
• House censures Rep. Gosar for violent video in rare rebuke. He will lose his committee assignments as a result (AP)
• Trump’s Bureau of Land Management HQ move reduced Black employees, created mass vacancies, report says (Washington Post)
• Democratic divide puts congressional action on marijuana in doubt (Washington Post)
• A look into the ugly and incredibly personal fight over Biden's pick to oversee banks (NPR)

Courts

• 'Life or death:' Travis McMichael tells Georgia jury he felt threatened by Ahmaud Arbery (Reuters)
• Kyle Rittenhouse selected his own jurors in a lottery. Is that fair or a form of punishment? (Deseret News)
• 2 Men Convicted of Killing Malcolm X Will Be Exonerated After Decades (New York Times)

Policy News

Gov. Cox and First Lady Cox honor artists at Utah Governor’s Mansion

Gov. Spencer Cox and First Lady Abby Cox honored Ta’u Pupu’a, Elsie Holiday and Diane P. Stewart at a Nov. 10 awards ceremony held at the Governor’s Mansion.  

A special lifetime achievement award was given this year to Diane Stewart, a benefactor to many arts organizations and the owner of Modern West Fine Art, which promotes non-traditional art created by racially diverse artists.

PBS Utah is producing a documentary series about the honored artists that will air in the spring of 2022. (Read More)

Sen. Lee places ‘wager’ on U of U football game

 Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) have placed a friendly “wager” on the outcome of the football game between the University of Utah Utes and the Oregon Ducks on Saturday, November 20, 2021. The Senators have arranged for food producers in their respective states to make sizable donations to food banks in the state of their “opponent” pending the outcome of the game. (Read More)

Reps. Curtis, Aguilar introduce resolution recognizing National GIS Day

Today, as Geographic Information System (GIS) users around the world showcase their work, Congressmen John Curtis (R-UT) and Pete Aguilar (D-CA) introduced a resolution officially designating November 17, 2021, as National GIS Day. The resolution encourages GIS users to continue to innovate and use GIS as a tool to analyze and address today’s societal challenges and drive economic growth. Senator Jim Risch (R-ID) introduced companion legislation in the Senate. (Read More)

Romney: Afghanistan withdrawal has left America showered with shame

Yesterday, during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on lessons learned in Afghanistan, U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) discussed the Administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan and raised questions on the United States’ early decisions to enter Afghanistan following 9/11. (Read/Watch More)

Rep. Blake Moore’s Saline Lake Ecosystems in the Great Basin States Program Act passes the House Committee on Natural Resources

Congressman Blake Moore’s Saline Lake Ecosystems in the Great Basin States Program Act passed the House Committee on Natural Resources with unanimous support. Introduced with Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA), this legislation would establish a scientific monitoring and assessment program to better manage conservation efforts for saline lake ecosystems and migratory birds in the West. (Read More)

Owens joins letter calling for hearings to address parent concerns in education

Tuesday, Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Republican Leader Burgess Owens (UT-04), Education and Labor Committee Republican Leader Virginia Foxx (NC-05), and Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee Republican Leader Greg Murphy, M.D. (NC-03) sent a letter to Committee Democrats expressing support for parental involvement in American education. In the letter, the Members call for hearings to address the impacts of pandemic school closures on children, evidence of inappropriate and divisive Critical Race Theory-inspired teaching, and sex and gender education in public schools. (Read More)

Rep. Owens co-sponsors Parents Bill of Rights

Rep. Burgess Owens (UT-04) joined House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23), Education and Labor Ranking Member Virginia Foxx (NC-05), Rep. Julia Letlow (LA-05), and Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks (IN-03) to roll out a Parents Bill of Rights to ensure parents have the influence and transparency they deserve. (Read More)

Every student at Pioneer Elementary to receive new shoes

Representatives from Altius Mortgage Group will be delivering 471 pairs of shoes to Pioneer Elementary Thursday morning to help warm the soles of every student at the school. The company previously obtained a shoe size count of every student, and will bring the new shoes en masse to the school for delivery.

DAY 16: Sen. Lee continues fight against Biden’s vaccine mandate

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), for the sixteenth day, spoke against President Biden’s vaccine mandate on the Senate Floor today (Nov. 17) and asked the Senate to pass by unanimous consent his bill to protect frontline workers from losing their jobs due to President Biden’s Center for Medicare and Medicate Services (CMS) vaccine mandate. (Read/Watch More)

Number of the Day

New study addresses dramatic home price and rent increases

By The Utah Foundation

The Utah Foundation released the first part of its new study, Is the Middle Missing? A Guide to Expanding Options for Utah Homebuyers and Renters. The first installment, “The Scope of the Challenge,” examines Utah’s housing problem and introduces middle housing as one means of addressing it.

“Missing Middle Housing” is a term that encompasses a variety of multi-unit housing buildings that are house-scale, facilitate neighborhood walkability, accommodate changing demographics and preferences, and are available to people with a range of incomes. Middle housing offers the potential to increase the supply of housing, but in a way that is not objectionable to most neighbors and with a standard of design that can improve upon the neighborhoods. There are obstacles to increasing this type of housing, though they are not insurmountable.

Utah Foundation President Peter Reichard predicted that urban forms addressing the missing middle will gain increased momentum in the coming years. “The examples of effectively executed middle options are beginning to proliferate,” Reichard said. “If developers and policymakers focus on what works, these options will grow in public esteem and provide much-needed entry points for home buyers and renters.” (Read More)

Upcoming

• Growth, Grit and Grace - SLC Chamber's Women & Business Conference and ATHENA awards – Nov 19, 8:00 am - 3:30 pm Register here
• Solving for Housing in the Economic Inclusion Equation - Zions Community Speaker Series. – Nov 30, 12:00 - 1:00 pm, via Zoom. Register here
• Utah Economic Outlook & Public Policy Summit 2022 - SLC Chamber – Jan 13, 2022, 8:30 am - 1:30 pm. Register here

On This Day In History

From History.com

• 1787 - Sojourner Truth is born. She was an abolitionist and women’s rights activist
• 1857 - Rose Knox is born. One of America’s foremost businesswomen, she co-founded Knox Gelatin Co. and revolutionized the company following her husband’s death initiating a five-day work week and two-week vacations
• 1883 - Railroads create the first time zones
• 1928 - Mickey Mouse’s “birthday” - makes his first appearance on Steamboat Willie
• 1945 - Wilma Mankiller is born. She was the first female Chief of the Cherokee Nation
• 1978 - Jonestown mass suicide
• 1991 - Terry Waite released after four-year kidnapping in Lebanon
• 1999 - 12 die in bonfire at Texas A&M

Wise Words

“We are all ladies & gentlemen working together here and we’ll all come in through the front door.”

- Rose Knox, on her 1st day at the heat of the Knox Gelatin Company

Lighter Side

“Starting Christmas Day, Staples Center will be known as Crypto.com Arena, which doesn’t sound creepy at all.” 

— JIMMY KIMMEL

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