Utah Policy: LG Henderson and Martha Hughes Cannon plus, the Hatch Foundation teams up for HBCU internships

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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 editor@utahpolicy.com

Situational Analysis - April 5, 2021

It's Monday and hope you enjoyed the warm weather because change is a-comin'. For all you Trekkies out there, today is also First Contact Day - or will be in 2063, when we get to meet the Vulcans. There is a full day of celebration planned, including panels with Jean-Luc Picard, Data and Will Riker (or, Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes). The free virtual event begins at 1 pm MDT.

5 things you need to know

Lt. Governor Henderson has a special relationship with Dr. and Senator Martha Hughes Cannon, who is taking her time heading to Statuary Hall. On Friday, a man rammed his vehicle into a police barricade in DC, killing Capitol police officer William "Billy" Evans. The attacker is also dead. Over 500,000,000 Facebook users had their data leaked online, including Mark Zuckerberg's personal cell phone number. Gonzaga had a pretty good game Saturday and will play Baylor tonight for the championship. (Just kidding - it was an amazing buzzer-beater win in overtime, with a 50-foot three pointer by Jalen Suggs. Imagine being that guy!) Half of Republicans surveyed believe false accounts of deadly U.S. Capitol riot. Six in 10 believe the election was stolen.

Countdown

9 days until the end of the Cox/Henderson administration's first 100 days (04/14/2021)
19 days until the United Utah Party Organizing Convention (04/24/2021)
25 days until the Biden/Harris administration's first 100 days are up (04/30/2021)
26 days until the in-person Utah GOP Organizing Convention (05/01/2021)
159 days until half-way through the Cox/Henderson's administration's 500-day plan (09/11/2021)

Today At Utah Policy

Tweets of the day
By Holly Richardson
Military build-up, food insecurity, Gaetz's days are numbered, MLK's last speech and water in the desert.Hatch Foundation teams up with Senators Scott, Coons for HBCU internship program
By Holly Richardson
Last week, the Hatch Foundation introduced a new initiative: the bipartisan American Promise Scholarship. This program connects high-achieving students from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) with a Senate internship to be split between the offices of Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) in Washington, DC.

Utah HeadlinesDeseret News

A woman's place is in the Capitol - Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson keeping eye on Martha Hughes Cannon as statue rests in Utah Capitol while awaiting journey to the U.S. Capitol A way too early guide to the 2024 Republican primary - The 'invisible primary' is underway and here's a list of potential contenders, based on early polling, interviews with Republican donors and strategists and results from online political betting markets 'Trump slump?' Not for Fox News' Dana Perino - Fox News, the longtime leader in cable TV news, is betting that viewers want more of George W. Bush's former press secretary, who brings Mountain West values to her high-profile job. Continued COVID-19 restrictions could take us back to the Prohibition era - Vaccine passports and other strict health protocols could lead to long-running regulations. International inclusion, Easter messages, 20 new temples mark historic conference - 'Truly the blessings of the gospel are for every race, language and people,' President Nelson said. 'The Church of Jesus Christ is a global church. Jesus Christ is our leader' Poll shows how Utahns feel about a citizenship path for 'Dreamers' - 55% of Utahns support legislation the U.S. House passed last month to provide a legal path to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants. The Easter message is a lesson for the pandemic's last mile - The dawn of an Easter weekend reminds us of the promise ahead, if we remain vigilant. A crime, a cell - and a new tablet? It's a 'new era' in this Utah jail - On March 3, the Davis County Jail began issuing tablets to all inmates who aren't in maximum security. With a tablet, inmates have access to more than 15,000 books, podcasts, movies and games, and can communicate more easily with family members. Utah's large universities say 'the jobs are out there' for 2021 grads - "I do think those students that are very intentional and, for lack of a better word, aggressive about pursuing the beginning of their career are still finding the opportunities in the state. The opportunities are out there." Church helping put USU's language-focused programs under 1 roof in new global learning center - The center "will help students gain the communication expertise and cultural confidence to be leaders in their professions and communities." Are Utahns ready to travel? Residents weigh in on plans in new poll - More than 2 in 3 are planning to travel in the near future, with the majority heading beyond the Beehive State's borders

Salt Lake Tribune

LDS General Conference recap: Speakers address politics, racism, cyberbullying, abortion, inclusion and more - Easter sessions focus on Christ with an international flavor. James Huntsman isn't the first to sue the LDS Church for a tithing refund. Do any of them stand a chance? - A federal judge has ruled that churches can be sued for fraud, and a tax whistleblower's complaint about a $100B stash is providing ammo - but will these cases ultimately misfire? Robert Gehrke: How Utah became a digital privacy leader, while making a few mistakes along the way - An audit of the state's contract with Banjo helps refine the government's relationship with Big Data. Uintah County Commission signals plan to strip clerk/auditor of accounting authority - Clerk/auditor who previously decried COVID relief spending on a tubing hill warns handing over more control to commission means 'putting the fox in the henhouse.' Facing public outcry, Utah County commissioners backpedal on budget office takeover - They now say they intend to leave these duties with the clerk/auditor's office. 'Utah Politics' podcast: Mike Lee and Aimee Winder Newton - This podcast discusses issues from the border surge to harassment in the county GOP, and from vaccine passports to running for office.

Other

American Fork City councilwoman dies at 74 (KSL-TV) Barbara Christiansen died on Friday. During her four-decade residency in the city, Christiansen worked as a reporter for the American Fork Citizen weekly newspaper and the Daily Herald. SLC event venue refuses to give up despite pandemic struggles (FOX 13) - Janice Boes, the founder and owner of Pierpont Place in downtown Salt Lake City had to get creative.

COVID Corner

Utah has administered nearly 1.5 million total vaccines so far; no deaths reported Sunday (Deseret News) - It has been 109 days since the first COVID-19 vaccine shot was administered in the U.S., and 104 million people have since received at least one dose. COVID-19 vaccine trials for kids are critical for Utah - its young population can't hit herd immunity without them (Salt Lake Tribune) - Once the first phase is complete, the second phase of the trial would require thousands of participants. "To reach herd immunity, it's all hands on deck." No new COVID-19 deaths in Utah as number of vaccinations rises to almost 1.5 million (Salt Lake Tribune) - Only 18 have people died from the coronavirus in the past seven days. From March 22 to March 28, 52 people died. US puts J&J in charge of plant that botched COVID vaccine, removes AstraZeneca (Fox Business) - The government's move to have the facility make only the J&J single-dose vaccine is meant to avoid future mix-ups. Everyone in England to be offered twice-weekly Covid tests, PM to say (The Guardian) - Boris Johnson to promise universal rollout of lateral flow testing scheme in bid to ease England out of lockdown. Infectious diseases expert: U.S. is "at the beginning" of a fourth COVID-19 surge (Axios) - "We're now, I think in that cycle where the upper Midwest is just now beginning to start this fourth surge. And I think it was a wake-up call to everyone yesterday when Michigan reported out 8,400 new cases," Michael Osterholm said on Sunday. Why COVID-19 cases continue to spike in Michigan (Deseret News) - The data say that the average of new COVID-19 cases among children younger than 10 years old spiked by 230% - higher than any other age group. Children and young adults from 10 to 19 years old saw a 227% rise in cases, too. California Gov. Gavin Newsom just got the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine (Deseret News) - Gov. Newsom remains one of the most prominent people to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

National Headlines

All eyes are on Georgia. Again. (Politics) - For Georgians, the new voting law is the epitome of voter suppression - or it's the embodiment of election integrity. Derek Chauvin trial has Minneapolis 'on edge,' says Rep. Ilhan Omar (New York Post) - "It's been really horrendous to watch the defense put George Floyd on trial instead of the former police officer who's charged with his murder," she said. Republican Sen. Roy Blunt calls on Biden to slash massive infrastructure plan to $615 billion (CNBC) - Blunt the fourth-ranking Republican in the Senate argued that only 30% of the president's proposal focuses on traditional infrastructure and said reducing the price would allow the White House to pass the bill through both chambers of Congress. State Of Emergency, Evacuations In Florida County Over Wastewater Pond Leak (NPR) - A significant leak was discovered Friday at the wastewater pond located at Piney Point, a former phosphate plant. Capitol police "struggling" after second attack, union chief says (Axios) - The union says the agency is approaching "a crisis in morale and force numbers" just as calls for heightened security are renewed in the aftermath of the death of Capitol Police Officer William "Billy" Evans on Friday. Hunter Biden convinced father to publicly support his relationship with brother's widow (New York Post) - In 2017, Hunter - who was still married to his estranged wife Kathleen at the time - said he and Hallie were "incredibly lucky" that their family supported the unusual liaison after Beau died of cancer in May 2015. Matt Gaetz Is the Model GOP Representative: A Creep No One's Surprised About (The Daily Beast) - If so many of his colleagues knew about his dirtiness, why are they only speaking up now and only on background? DeSantis spars with '60 Minutes' over vaccine rollout: 'What you're saying is wrong' (The Hill) - Reporter Sharyn Alfonsi attempted to chime in again, but DeSantis shouted over her: "No no no you're wrong you're wrong you're wrong."

Policy News

Anthony's Fine Art Exhibition: Remembering the Salt Lake Temple
COME SEE AND EXPERIENCE:ORIGINAL ARTIFACTS, MEMORABILIA, PHOTOGRAPHS AND WORKS OF ARTRep. Curtis joins Congressional Bike Caucus, tours bicycling infrastructure in District
Today, Representative John Curtis (R-UT) released the following statement after joining the Congressional Bike Caucus this month, signaling his commitment to support biking as a bipartisan approach to address car emissions and transportation issues in American cities.KUER names Pamela McCall local host of 'Morning Edition'
KUER 90.1 announced today that newscaster and radio host Pamela McCall has been named the station's next local host of Morning Edition. The veteran of public and commercial news organizations will be the voice of NPR Utah's most-listened-to program, which in recent months has climbed to No. 3 in Salt Lake City's morning drive.

Business Headlines

He Built a $10 Billion Investment Firm. It Fell Apart in Days. (New York Times) - Banks were eager to do business with Bill Hwang and his Archegos Capital Management - until he ran out of money. LG becomes first major smartphone brand to withdraw from market (Reuters) - LG's smartphone division has logged nearly six years of losses totalling some $4.5 billion. Amazon Admits Drivers Sometimes Have to Pee in Bottles While on the Job (Slate) - Amazon admitted it was wrong to be so cavalier about the issue and publicly apologized to Pocan, claiming the initial tweet was referring to Amazon's warehouses that have "dozens of restrooms" rather than the company's drivers. Tesla China Demand Fuels 'Home Run' Quarter for Deliveries (Bloomberg) - Tesla delivers almost 185,000 vehicles, beating estimates. Unopened Super Mario Bros. game from 1986 sells for $660,000 (Fox Business) - The video game was bought as a Christmas gift but ended up being placed in a desk drawer, where it remained sealed in plastic and with its hang tab intact until it was found earlier this year. 'Godzilla vs. Kong' tops the pandemic box office with $32.2 million in domestic opening weekend (CNBC) - "The results for 'Godzilla vs. Kong' are absolutely mind-blowing and a represent a 'welcome back' of sorts for an industry that has been working its way back from the brink for over a year," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

On This Day In History

(From History.com)

1588 - Thomas Hobbes is born. He was an English philosopher known for his work "Leviathan." 1614 - American Indian princess Pocahontas and daughter of chief Powhatan marries English colonist John Rolfe. 1792 - George Washinton vetoes his first bill. 1876 - 'Arsenal Hill' exploded (now Capitol Hill) 1887 - Helen Keller learns w.a.t.e.r from teacher Anne Sullivan. 1901 - Hattie Alexander is born. She became a pediatrician and microbiologist who identified and studied antibiotic resistance caused by random genetic mutations in DNA. She was the first woman elected president of the American Pediatric Society. 1911 - 100,000 to 500,000 people march in New York City to attend the funeral of seven unidentified victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in late March 1937 - Colin Powell is born. 1955 - Winston Churchill retires as prime minister.