Utah Policy: Disappointing jobs report, Liz Cheney on her way out

Click here to subscribe to Utahpolicy.com

3 years ago

Html
Text

Utah Policy Daily Newsletter

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

Situational Analysis - May 10, 2021

Hello Monday! It's National Clean Up Your Room Day. I don't make the rules.

News You Need to Know

Governor Spencer Cox was on CNN's State of the Union this weekend. He said the GOP needs to allow differences within the party and must combat conspiracy theories. 8-year-old India Boy just won a national award for her rap about her biracial family. Way to go, India! BYU men's volleyball team lost the national championship to Hawaii. It's the fifth time they've come in second. Dang it. Analysts expected a million new jobs in April. Instead, only 266,000 new jobs were posted, prompting one analyst to remark "This might be the most disappointing jobs report of all time."

Countdown

47 days until the Utah Democratic party organizing convention (06/26/21)
124 days until half-way through the Cox/Henderson's administration's 500-day plan (09/11/2021)

%MCEPASTEBIN%

Calendar

Salt Lake Chamber Business Women's Forum Webinar: The Science Behind Being a Powerful Speaker. May 18, 11:00-1:00. Register here. Hatch Center: Justice and Mercy: Bringing greater balance to America's legal system with Senator Mike Lee. May 20, 11:00 am. Register here.

Today At Utah Policy

Guest opinion: Lessons in civility
By Rod Mann
I wrote the following regarding civility in politics nearly eleven years ago (July 2010). It is probably more relevant today than it was then. The lessons I learned apply not only to elections but also to the day in day out battles over issues. Civility does not mean compromising on principles but does mean listening, a willingness to see things from another's point of view, looking for common ground, and often taking the high road when opponents don't.

Utah Headlines

More Mother's Day

What mothers really want (it's not too late!) (Deseret News) The frank Mother's Day message we need to hear from a mom of 25. No mom is perfect and that's ok. (Deseret News) Public leaders and agencies celebrate Mother's Day (ABC4) Families reunite on Mother's Day at Utah assisted living facility (Fox13) Breaking motherhood stereotypes with the 'Mom Genes' author. Celebrating mothers begins with understanding mothers - and the science of motherhood. (Deseret News) How a single mom of seven made herself the 'Salsa Queen' - literally (Deseret News) After losing their moms to COVID-19, some would rather Mother's Day not 'exist at all' (The Spectrum) They all have mothers. (St. George News) Utah's Foster Mother of the Year experiences heartbreak and love in service to children (St. George News)

General

How reserving campsites in Utah became a nightmare. Utah's online reservation system can be frustrating even for those who know how to work it. (Salt Lake Tribune) Embrace surprise, remove contention, Wendy Nelson, PhD tells UVU graduates (Deseret News) The dreams Maj. Brent Taylor carried into war. Brent Taylor was celebrated as a small-town mayor who kept returning to war zones. Nearly three years after his death - and as the U.S. commits to withdrawing all troops from Afghanistan - he stands out as something altogether different. (Deseret News)

Politics

Utah's GOP convention: Should mainstream conservatives be concerned? (Deseret News) 'Utah is going to grow more Trumpy.' New Republican Party leader was on U.S. Capitol grounds Jan. 6 during attempted insurrection. (Salt Lake Tribune) Weber County GOP votes to censure Sen. Romney for voting to convict Trump (Salt Lake Tribune) Inside Utah Politics: Public health orders, lack of civility and party leadership (ABC4) On Message: Ineffective Incivility (UTPOL Underground)

COVID Corner

'We feel lost in time': COVID-19 transforms teen milestones (Salt Lake Tribune) Surge of COVID-19 variants expected in Utah following spring break travel to Florida (Deseret News) Vaccine deserts: Some countries have no COVID-19 jabs at all (AP) Hundreds of bodies of covid-19 victims are still in New York's refrigerated trucks more than a year into the pandemic (Washington Post) A potentially fatal fungal infection is cropping up among India's Covid patients. (New York Times) Warning signs from the world's most vaccinated country: an unprecedented spike in COVID-19 cases (Washington Post)

Economy

Gov. Cox defends push to end enhanced unemployment benefits (Salt Lake Tribune)

Economic Development

Provo's continuing economic transformation (Daily Herald)

Environment

Biden unveils plan to conserve 30% of the U.S. - will Utah play an outsized role? (Salt Lake Tribune)

Housing

Fear and trepidation grip many now trying to buy a home in a hot market (Deseret News)

Infrastructure

As water managers warn of 'worst on record' drought, what do people think should be done to save water? (Deseret News) Navajo Mountain, one of Utah's most remote communities, may become less isolated with a proposed road (Salt Lake Tribune)

Local Government

Cache County HR department investigating exodus of female workers from clerk's office after five permanent workers have left since the beginning of this year. (Herald Journal)

Service

Weber Human Services is looking for people who can help Northern Utah nonprofits. (Standard-Examiner)

National Headlines

General

Six dead in Colorado Springs shooting at birthday party committed by man who then killed himself, police say (Washington Post) There were at least 9 mass shootings across the US this weekend (CNN) Maryland's governor, Larry Hogan, decries 'circular firing squad' within GOP, says the party has had a terrible four years. (Politico) Feds seized Washington Post reporters' phone records in leak probe. The Justice Department informed three journalists that it probed their contacts during the height of the Trump-Russia saga. (Politico) America's most conservative states are embracing medical pot (Politico) Melinda Gates began meeting with divorce attorneys in 2019 when Bill's ties with Jeffrey Epstein became public (Wall Street Journal)

Elections

How an obscure Texas security company helped convince Americans the 2020 election was stolen from Trump (Washington Post)

Infrastructure

Cyberattack on US pipeline is linked to criminal gang (AP) U.S. and top fuel supplier work to secure pipelines stricken by cyberattack (Reuters) Hacked pipeline may stay shut for days, raising concerns about fuel supply, increasing gas prices (New York Times, Politico)

Liz Cheney

Gov. Spencer Cox says efforts to oust Rep. Liz Cheney from party leadership shows that the GOP is divided, adding, "As we talk about broadening the tent and bringing in a new generation of Republicans we really have to allow for those types of differences." (CNN) The big myth about Cheney, Trump and the GOP (Washington Post) McCarthy says he supports Stefanik for House GOP conference chair (The Hill) GOP braces for wild week with momentous vote (The Hill) In demoting Cheney, GOP holds on to Trump at risk of further alienating others (NBC) What happened to Rep. Elise Stefanik? (Chicago Sun Times)

International

Bombing outside Kabul girls' school kills at least 50 (Washington Post) More than 300 Palestinians hurt in Jerusalem holy site clash (AP, The Hill) Mass murder and the sin of silence. A Libyan militia brutalized this town for years. No one stopped them. No one held them to account. (Washington Post) China targets Muslim women in push to suppress births in Xinjiang. In most of China, women are now being urged to have more babies, to shore up a falling birthrate. But in Xinjiang, they are being forced to have fewer. (New York Times)

Policy News

Women's Business Center of Utah Launches Women-Owned Business Directory
The Women's Business Center of Utah is excited to announce the launch of the first-of-its-kind women-owned business directory at UtahWomenOwned.com. This valuable FREE resource will serve as a tool to support the small business community in Utah. Utah State Board of Education names finalists for national math, science teaching awards
The Utah State Board of Education today announced the names of the five 2021 Utah finalists for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.Cristy Meiners named KUER interim station manager
KUER 90.1 announced today that Cristy Meiners, executive producer of RadioWest, will lead KUER as interim station manager beginning May 10. In the role, Meiners will oversee operations, programming, news and more for the NPR member station heard by 175,000 Utahns each week.Sen. Mike Lee Joins Hatch Foundation for Criminal Justice Reform Webinar
Senator Mike Lee will join the Hatch Foundation for a virtual webinar: Justice and Mercy: Bringing Greater Balance to America's Legal System.Other participants include Mark Holden (Chairman of the Board, Americans for Prosperity), Alice Marie Johnson (CEO, Author, and Criminal Justice Activist), & Matt Sandgren (Executive Director, Orrin G. Hatch Foundation).When: May 20, 2021, 11 amRegister hereCurtis, Neguse, bipartisan Wildfire Caucus members request robust federal funding to tackle western wildfires
Today, Congressman John Curtis (R-UT) and Congressman Joe Neguse (D-CO) are leading members of the Bipartisan Wildfire Caucus in a letter to Appropriators in Congress urging them to include robust funding to programs in the Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill that will support improved wildfire preparedness, mitigation, and response across the United States. The letter indicates that such funds could be used to increase the pace and scale of hazardous fuels management and forest restoration; improve ecosystem health; reduce the risk of severe flooding and erosion in forests after fire; protect critical watersheds; and bolster support for the wildland firefighting workforce.

Business Headlines

A mysterious Dogecoin whale now owns $22 billion of the meme-inspired cryptocurrency - and a warning made by Elon Musk in February is suddenly back in focus (Business Insider)
Dow and S&P 500 futures rise to start the week, energy stocks gain (CNBC) Dogecoin tumbles after Elon Musk jokes about it on 'SNL' (CNN) Dogecoin is now worth more than these corporate giants-even after this weekend's epic collapse (Fortune) I Came Close To Dying: Wall Street's Most Photographed Man Is Ready For Normalcy (NPR) Sony expects PS5 supply issues to continue into next year (The Verge) Is Epic Games' showdown with Apple turning into a mismatch? (Fox Business) SpaceX schedules Falcon 9's fourth Starlink launch and landing in two weeks (Teslarati) Tiny Leonardo da Vinci bear sketch could fetch over $16M (CNN) Apple Has Hired Cisco's Stella Low As Its Head Of PR (Buzzfeed)
World's dollar reserves hit 25-year low (Axios)

On This Day In History

(From History.com)

1775 - The Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia names George Washington Supreme Commander. 1818 - Paul Revere dies at age 83 1869 - The Transcontinental Railroad is completed at Promontory, Utah, with the driving of the Golden Spike. 1872 - Victoria Woodhull is nominated as the first woman candidate for U.S. president for the Equal Rights Party. 1919 - Ella Grasso is born. She became the first female governor of Connecticut in 1974. She was also the first woman in the nation to become governor on her own merits, rather than "inheriting" the role following a husband's death. 1924 - J. Edgar Hoover begins his 48-year tenure as FBI director. 1940 - Winston Churchill becomes the prime minister of Britain. 1950 - Jackie Robinson appears on the cover of Life magazine, the first time that an African-American appeared on the cover. 1958 - Ellen Ochoa is born. She is an engineer, former astronaut and the current Director of the Johnson Space Center. She became the first Hispanic woman in the world to go to space when she served aboard the shuttle Discovery. 1994 - Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president, is inaugurated. 1996 - Eight climbers die during a storm on Mt. Everest, the worst loss of life in a single day.

Wise Words

"Being an astronaut is a wonderful career. I feel very privileged. But what I really hope for young people is that they find a career they're passionate about, something that's challenging and worthwhile."

~Ellen Ochoa