Situational Analysis | June 8, 2022

Good morning. It's Wednesday and National Best Friends Day.

Be in the Know

• There is a lot of information about Utah's primary races underway. Make sure to check out the "Politics" section of today's newsletter. Sign wars, where candidates signs are taken or defaced, are also underway, an unfortunate but consistent part of political campaigns.

Rapid Roundup

• Jim Seals of Seals and Crofts has died at age 80, Utah Honor Flight flew its 2000th veteran to Washington, D.C., Velveeta launches cheese-scented nail polish, and, in every thrifter's dream, a woman found $36K inside a free sofa she got off of Craigslist. (She gave the money back.)

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Utah Headlines

General

• Behind the curve: Utahns earn ‘D’ grade on civics knowledge, UVU study finds (Deseret News)
• Former Ogden dentist sent to prison over failure to pay $1.8M in taxes (KSL)
• 1 in 20 young adults identify as transgender or nonbinary, Pew survey finds (Deseret News)
• Amazon stock splits for first time in 23 years (Deseret News)
• Jay Evensen: Amid a culture of violence, we need copycat kindness (Deseret News)
• Inflation, supply chain issues hit Utah farmers markets (KSL)
• Utah families feel pinch as economists still uncertain about recession worries (KUTV)
• Faith leaders, community organizations helping Moab mobile home park fire victims (KSL TV)

Politics

• Primary elections: Who’s running in the Utah Legislature’s 20 Republican and 3 Democratic races. Republican state and county conventions voted to send many incumbents to primaries against opponents on their right. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• What you need to do to vote in Utah's primary elections (Fox13)
• Editorial Board: How Republican candidates for Congress would tackle Utah’s biggest issues: housing, air quality, education and the economy (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Ballots for Utah’s primary elections have been mailed. Here are 5 things to know (Deseret News)
• Gray seeks to undo Leavitt's actions if elected as Utah County Attorney (Daily Herald)
• Utah County attorney candidate skips ACLU debate, says the organization is too ‘liberal’ (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Primary showdown for S.L. County Council highlights key question: What is — and isn’t — the county’s business? (Salt Lake Tribune)
• What you need to know about four key commission races on the primary ballot. Four Republican incumbents face challengers in Utah and Davis counties. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• After deadly SLC apartment shooting, police chief supports raising minimum age for purchasing guns. One man was killed Monday night, and two others were wounded. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• After Supreme Court leak, lawmaker proposes to codify same-sex marriage in Utah. ‘When one fundamental right is under attack, all fundamental rights are under attack,’ said state Sen. Derek Kitchen (Deseret News)
• Why Mitt Romney, Jon Ossoff want investigation into death of U.S. journalist in West Bank (Deseret News)
• What Biden’s White House says it has done for Utah’s economy (Deseret News)
• Utah lawmaker speaks out on social media after sending letter about 'transgender phenomenon' to schools (KSL)

Education

• State School Board pulls support for student health and risk survey after nearly 20 years (Deseret News)
• New funding allows some schools to expand optional full-day kindergarten (KSL TV)
• The fight to start high school after 8 A.M. Teens in the U.S. are chronically sleep-deprived, in part because most schools start too early. This summer, California will become the first state in the nation to require later start times. (The Atlantic)

Environment

• Facing $3 million lawsuit, dredging foe files ‘anti-SLAPP’ action. BYU ecologist Ben Abbot has been an outspoken critic of proposal to build islands on Utah Lake (Salt Lake Tribune)
• 'An incredible resource': How a new website may influence Wasatch Mountain planning (KSL)
• The price of coal is red hot. Will it affect your electrical bill? (Deseret News)
• More federal assistance becomes available as Utah's drought situation worsens (KSL)
• Water levels driving Utahns to water-wise landscaping (Standard-Examiner)
• Washington County raises water rates by 10 cents per 1,000 gallons (KUER)
• See where Rio Tinto is building a solar farm and why it’s getting a break on fees (Salt Lake Tribune)

Housing

• SLC housing plans face a big question: How small is too small? “You end up living as a minimalist” — Advocates see tiny living quarters as an answer to the affordability crisis; critics argue they force residents to live like “rats.” (Salt Lake Tribune)

On June 9, an unprecedented gathering of leading experts on China will gather at the China Challenge Summit, right here in Utah. Speakers include:

• Amb. Jon Huntsman, former U.S. ambassador to China
• Matt Pottinger, former U.S. deputy national security advisor.
• Lingling Wei, The Wall Street Journal's chief China correspondent
• Nadia Schadlow, former U.S. deputy national security advisor for strategy
• Craig Allen, U.S.-China Business Council president

Register at ChinaChallengeSummit.com to get the latest insights into the risks and opportunities posed by China’s rise and how U.S. businesses can navigate increasingly complex challenges.

National Headlines

General

• The story of a Uvalde victim's green shoes captures the White House's attention (NPR)
• Actor McConaughey calls for gun legislation at White House (AP)
• School police chief a no-show at Uvalde City Council meeting (AP)
• Gymnasts, including Simone Biles, and other women filed claims against the FBI seeking $1 billion over the handling of the Larry Nassar sexual-abuse investigation. (Wall Street Journal)
• Crypto meltdown is wake-up call for many, including Congress (AP)
• Tech’s decade of stock-market dominance ends. Big technology stocks are in the midst of their biggest rout in more than a decade, and some investors, haunted by the 2000 dot-com bust, are bracing for bigger losses ahead. (Wall Street Journal)

Politics

• How some Republicans responded to Biden’s gun reform proposals (Deseret News)
• California’s Newsom cruises to easy primary victory (AP)
• Trump ally Kristi Noem wins midterm primary in South Dakota (Reuters)
• San Francisco ousts liberal DA Chesa Boudin in heated recall (AP)
• 6 takeaways from primaries in California, Mississippi and other states (Washington Post)
• Trump hits another snag: 6 takeaways from a big primary night (Politico)
•  The FBI has seized the electronic data of retired Marine Gen. John Allen as part of an investigation of his connection to illegal lobbying on behalf of Qatar in 2017. Allen led U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan and heads the Brookings Institution, an influential think tank. (Politico)
• Trump call Jan. 6 to ‘walk down to the Capitol’ prompted Secret Service scramble (Washington Post)

Ukraine 🇺🇦 

• Battle in Ukraine's east rages, Zelenskiy vows to retake territory (Reuters)
• World Bank board approves $1.49 billion in new funds for Ukraine (Reuters)
• Fear and destruction are turning Ukraine’s front-line cities into ghost towns (Wall Street Journal)
• Evacuating the vulnerable amid the terror of the war (New York Times)

News Releases

Statement from Rep. Curtis on gun legislation

This week, the House is voting on a series of gun-related bills, many restricting rights that in no way would have stopped the horrific shootings of the last few weeks and concatenated over the weekend without the input of a single Republican. It’s clear to me that we won’t end these mass shootings with partisan proposals put together in the middle of the night, particularly when there are many Republicans, including myself, who want to solve these issues. 

I would happily consider thoughtful legislation that keeps guns out of the hands of those we can all agree shouldn’t have them. That is clearly not what is happening in the House this week. (Read More)

Lee’s Candy Bomber bill signed into law

Senator Mike Lee’s (R-UT) bill renaming the Provo Veterans Center after the late Colonel Gail S. Halvorsen was signed into law today by President Biden.  Col. Halvorsen is affectionately referred to as the ‘Candy Bomber’ for his unique and effective efforts distributing candy to the impoverished children of Berlin during the 1948 Berlin Airlift.  Halvorsen’s compassion, humanitarianism, and community service did not end in 1948.  He dedicated much of his life to serving children, promoting diplomacy between the United States and Germany, and regularly participated in community celebrations and re-enactments of the Candy Bombing of the Berlin Airlift.  While Halvorsen died in February of this year, his legacy continues through the Utah-based Gail S. Halvorsen Aviation Education Foundation. Sen. Lee is joined by Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) as a Senate cosponsor.  Rep John Curtis (R-UT) leads the effort in the House and is joined by Reps. Chris Stewart (R-UT), Burgess Owens (R-UT), and Blake Moore (R-UT). (Read More)

Number of the Day

Tweet of the Day

Upcoming

• China Challenge Summit with WTCU, at UVU – June 9, 2022, 8:30-4:30, Register here
• Hatch Foundation Debate w Lindsey Graham & Bernie Sanders – June 13, 10 am MDT. Tune in here
• Utah Legislature Interim Days – June 14,15 le.utah.gov for more info
• Primary election day â€“ June 28
• General election â€“ Nov 8

On This Day In History

• 632- Muhammad, the prophet who spread Islam, dies
• 1845 - Andrew Jackson, 7th US president, dies at 78
• 1874 - Apache chief Cochise dies
• 1900 - Estelle Griswold is born. A birth control advocate and pioneer, she was the defendant in the Supreme Court case Griswold v. Connecticut which legalized contraception for married couples in 1965
• 1903 - Jessie Bernard is born. She was an American sociologist who focused on women, sex and marriage.
• 1949 - George Orwell’s “1984” is published. It was not meant to be a guide.
• 1967 - Israel attacks the USS Liberty in international waters
• 1978 - A Nevada jury rules that Howard Hughes’ “Mormon Will” is a forgery.
• 1979 - NBA approves Jazz move from New Orleans to Utah
• 2020 - Former astronaut Kathy Sullivan is the first woman to reach the deepest point of the ocean - Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench. She was also the first American woman to spacewalk.

Wise Words

"The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power, pure power."

— George Orwell, 1984

Lighter Side

“Apparently, dogs are better at detecting Covid than rapid tests, which explains now when you take an at-home test, the instructions look a little different. Yeah, now the steps are: ‘One, open package. Two, remove at-home Covid test. Three, walk and feed at-home Covid test.’” 

— JIMMY FALLON

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