Situational Analysis | September 21, 2021

Welcome to Tuesday. It's the International Day of Peace. We could all use a little lot more of that, I'm pretty sure.

Be in the Know

1. Speaking of peace: Did you know that when women participate in peace processes, the resulting agreements are more durable, better implemented and 64% less likely to fail? Unfortunately, women are largely excluded from formal peace processes, averaging 13% of negotiators, and only 6% of mediators or signatories.

2. The US has reached another sad milestone in the COVID-19 pandemic - a death toll that surpasses the 675,000 lost in the 1918 pandemic. In Utah, there are more COVID-19 patients in ICU than ever before. ðŸ˜·

3. An autopsy of the body believed to be Gabby Petito is scheduled for today. Confirmation of her identity is expected and hopefully a cause of death. Meanwhile, police are continuing their search for her missing fiancé.

FROM OUR SPONSOR

Thank you, Senator Romney

The Nature Conservancy and Utah Clean Energy thanks Sen. Mitt Romney for his work. The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will bring critical water infrastructure, expanded broadband access, safer roads and highways, a modernized electric grid and clean energy innovation to Utah.

Utah Headlines

General

• ‘I can still hear her voice’: Arches park ranger warned Gabby Petito her relationship seemed ‘toxic’ (Deseret News)
• Gabby Petito and her boyfriend visited Idaho store days before Petito went missing (Deseret News)
• Autopsy of body believed to be Gabby Petito will answer big questions (KUTV)
• Tooele woman searching for answers after Navajo aunt mysteriously disappears in the middle of the night (Fox13)
• Opinion: The Black church can depolarize religious freedom (Deseret News)
• Kids and COVID-19: What we don’t know, can hurt us, warn childhood polio survivors. (Salt Lake Tribune)

Politics

• Cathy McKitrick: Maps that will shape Utah's political future (UTPOL Underground)
• Amid criticism, Utah Inland Port officials delay vote on $150 million bonding district (Salt Lake Tribune)
• The conservative case for environmentalism (Deseret News)
• Is there really a 'Utah way' of doing politics? Well, it's complicated. (KUER)
• Weber County GOP leader puts focus on female political involvement (Standard-Examiner)

COVID Corner

• 1373 new cases Friday, 1130 on Saturday and 900 on Sunday, with 14 more deaths this weekend.
• More Utahns are now in ICU beds with COVID-19 than ever before (Salt Lake Tribune)
• J&J says COVID-19 vaccine booster given two months after first shot increases protection (Wall Street Journal)
• Horse owners can’t find ivermectin as Americans flock to unproven coronavirus cure (Washington Post)

Health

• Report renews calls for research on social media’s impact on kids. Advocates want deeper look at how platforms impact mental health after internal research from Instagram leaked (Roll Call)

National Headlines

General

• FBI searches Florida home of Gabby Petito’s boyfriend (AP)
• World leaders return to the UN General Assembly (AP)
• Man who recorded LA officers beating Rodney King dies of COVID-19 (The Hill)
• CIA officer reports Havana syndrome symptoms on India trip (Reuters)
• Flight bookings plummet amid delta variant fears (The Hill)

Politics

• Lawsuits filed by men in Arkansas and Illinois against Texas doctor who said he performed an abortion, setting up a constitutional test case (New York Times)
• Pentagon admits Kabul drone strike killed only civilians (Roll Call)

Courts

• Supreme Court sets Dec. 1 for arguments in challenge to Roe v. Wade (Politico)

Elections

• ‘Devastating’: Florida Republicans worried about 2022 as they crafted election law. Emails and text messages undercut the GOP’s claim Florida’s election overhaul wasn’t political. (Politico)
• ‘It’s spreading’: Phony election fraud conspiracies infect midterms (Politico)

Immigration

• Haitian journey to Texas border starts in South America (AP)

International

• Justin Trudeau’s Liberals win Canadian election, fall short of majority after a 36-day snap election (Washington Post)
• Taliban appoint hardline battlefield commanders to key Afghan posts (Reuters)

Policy News

Rep. Owens co-sponsors the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2021

“Human trafficking is modern-day slavery – plain and simple,” said Rep. Burgess Owens. “On top of reauthorizing vital funds to combat human trafficking, this commonsense bill expands our toolbox for enforcing the law, supporting victims, and prosecuting the perpetrators of these heinous crimes.” (Read More)

Number of the Day

Commentary: Utah is farsighted to engage in program that could eventually replace the gas tax

By LaVarr Webb

All of us expect our roads and highways to be in good repair and drivable. And Utahns pay millions of dollars in fuel taxes each year to help keep them that way.

In fact, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) notes that the owner of an average gas-powered sedan getting 25 MPG and driving 15,542 miles pays $301 each year in fuel taxes. The federal tax levy takes $114 of that amount, with state and local governments receiving $187.

Without the fuel tax, Utah’s roads and highways would quickly deteriorate, severely hampering mobility and commerce for every driver and business.  

So, it obviously would be patently unfair if some drivers routinely pay over $300 a year to maintain Utah’s highways, while other drivers using the roads, causing the same wear and tear, pay nothing.

But that would be the case unless a way exists to require owners of non-internal combustion engine vehicles, such as electric cars, to pay an equivalent fee so they pay their share of the cost of highway maintenance. (Read More)

Upcoming

• Utah Foundation Annual Luncheon with Shaylyn Romney Garrett – Sept 23 @ 12 pm. Register here
• 2021 ULCT Annual Convention with Capt. Scott Kelly – Sept 29 - Oct 1. Register here
• One Utah Summit held at SUU – Oct 4-6. Register here
• Women in the money: Utah Financial Empowerment Conference with Utah State Treasurer Marlo Oaks – Oct 8, 8:30 am - 4 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

• 1776 - Nathan Hale is arrested by the British and is hung as a spy the next day. "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." 
• 1780 - Benedict Arnold commits treason when he gives British Major John André plans to West Point
• 1897 - The NY Sun runs the famous "Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus" editorial
• 1907 - Helen Foster Snow is born in Cedar City, UT. She was an American journalist who reported from China in the 1930’s, writing under the pen name "Nym Wales."
• 1922 - US President Warren G. Harding signs a joint resolution of approval to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
• 1937 - J. R. R. Tolkien's 'The Hobbit' is published
• 1970 - “Monday Night Football” premieres on ABC

Wise Words

“Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies!”

-Francis Pharcellus Church, editor of the NY Sun

Lighter Side

“Big news today, as Pfizer announced that a low dose of its vaccine is safe and effective for kids ages 5 to 11. It’s great news until you hear a 6-year-old say, ‘I want to do my own research first.’” 

— JIMMY FALLON

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