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Situational awareness - June 5, 2018
Good Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City. Try to stay cool.
UtahPolicy poll shows Utahns, and particularly LDS members, support church opting out of Boy Scout program. Utah man accused of spying for China. Utah sales tax base needs broadening. Booming GDP growth in 2nd quarter. Today is a big primary election day. Trump lawyers promote expansive view of executive authority.
TICK TOCK
- Today, primary election mail-in ballots are sent to voters (6/5/2018)
- 7 days until in-person early primary voting begins (6/12/2018)
- 14 days until the final day to register to vote online or in person before the primary election (6/19/2018)
- 17 days until in-person early primary voting ends (6/22/2018)
- 21 days until the 2018 Primary Election (6/26/2018)
- 154 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
- 237 days until the first day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (1/28/2019)
- 882 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)
HERE ARE THE STORIES WE'RE WATCHING TODAY
Latest UtahPolicy/Dan Jones poll shows Utahns just fine with LDS Church dropping Boy Scout program [Utah Policy].
EDCUtah CEO Theresa Foxley provides insights into how Facebook chose Eagle Mountain for a data center [UtahPolicy].
Opinion: Why you should get engaged in school board elections, by Sutherland's Christine Cooke [Utah Policy]. Here is school board debate information [Utah Policy].
Utah man accused of being a spy for China [KSL.com] [Tribune].
OTHER UTAH HEADLINES
- Inland Port Authority is formed with appointments; Speaker Hughes appoints himself; Hughes & Dabakis hold press conference today [Utah Policy ] [Deseret News ] [Tribune].
- Utah Foundation research finds that role of sales tax is declining; tax base needs broadening [Utah Policy].
- Utah LGBT activists lament Supreme Court's limited decision supporting Colorado cake baker's religious freedom; Utah members of Congress and LDS Church cheer it [Tribune ] [Deseret News].
- Mitt Romney will hold his annual political retreat and feature House Speaker Paul Ryan, Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and businesswoman Meg Whitman [Deseret News].
NATIONAL HEADLINES
- Atlanta Federal Reserve estimates booming GDP growth of 4.8 percent in second quarter [Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank].
- Five things to know about big primary elections today in eight states [Brookings].
- Trump lawyers lay out expansive view of presidential powers [Associated Press/Deseret News ] [New York Times].
- Prosecutors accuse Paul Manafort of witness tampering [Washington Post].
- Trump disinvites Philadelphia Eagles to visit White House after some decline the invitation [New York Times].
- House Republicans moving toward immigration showdown [Politico].
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
- 1896 Henry Ford test-drives his "Quadricycle", the first automobile he designed or drove.
- 1919 Congress passes the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote.
- 1942 Battle of Midway begins, one of the most decisive U.S. victories against Japan in WWII.
- 1989 The Tiananmen Square massacre takes place in Beijing, China. Chinese troops kill and arrest thousands of pro-democracy protestors.
Today At Utah Policy
| Utahns fine with LDS Church dropping Boy Scout program Most Utahns and an overwhelming majority of active Mormons agree with the decision of LDS Church leaders to disassociate with the Boy Scouts of America, a new UtahPolicy.com poll shows.This is not a surprise, but the size of the majorities may be.Pollster Dan Jones &... |
 | Report: The role of Utah's sales tax is declining Sales tax used to be the largest source of public revenue in Utah, but in recent years, income and property tax revenues have overtaken sales taxes in importance. This is among the findings in Utah Foundation's new report, The Everyday Tax: Sales Taxation in Utah.... |
 | Insider insights: How Facebook chose Eagle Mountain I'm so excited to finally be able to share more details about Facebook's selection of Eagle Mountain for its next data center expansion. This is a huge team win for Utah and so many people played critical roles at critical times to make this project happen.I shared at ... |
 | Miller issues statement on Trump steel & aluminum tariffs World Trade Center Utah (WTC Utah) President and CEO Derek B. Miller released the following statement regarding Pres. Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs that recently went into effect. "Tariffs are just another name for taxes. In this case, tariffs implemented by t... |
| Inland Port Authority Board appointments announced; Hughes & Dabakis hold press conference In accordance with state statute, the following entities have announced their appointments to the Inland Port Authority Board. These appointments are effective immediately, and are not subject to confirmation. Per state law, this 11-member board will manage and conduct the b... |
| Two state school board debates set for this week The Sutherland Institute, as a member of the Utah Education Debate Coalition, has announced upcoming primary debates for the Utah State Board of Education. This week, candidates in District 9 (Lehi, American Fork and Alpine area) and District 6 (Kearns, Taylorsville and... |
| Guest opinion: Get engaged in school board elections The Utah State Board of Education (USBE) election is woefully underestimated. Too few know about the important work the board does, and even fewer know about the candidates running for the board.This creates a vacuum allowing others to make decisions regarding these importan... |
| Press release: SLC cuts the time to get permits by nearly half David Heiblim launched several Este Pizzerias and recently opened The Dispensary at 54 West 1700 South. The Dispensary is a unique restaurant that relies on locally produced ingredients and treats food as medicine.But getting a permit can be tricky for a homeowner or ev... |
 | Curtis walloping Herrod by 47 points in 3rd District GOP primary race Third Congressional District GOP Rep. John Curtis is clobbering former state Rep. Chris Herrod in their primary election showdown, according to a new UtahPolicy.com conducted by Dan Jones & Associates.This is the second Republican primary matchup in 10 mon... |
 | Mitt Romney's vulnerabilities and opportunities Mitt Romney is, no doubt, going to be Utah's next U.S. senator, replacing Sen. Orrin Hatch, who has served for 200 years (or so).Romney has only two vulnerabilities his reputation as a flip-flopper, and his relationship with Pres. Trump. Neither will be enough to defeat him... |
| Nominees announced for 2nd District Juvenile Court The 2nd District Judicial Nominating Commission has selected nominees for a vacancy on the 2nd District Juvenile Court. The vacancy results from the retirement of Judge Janice Frost, July 1, 2018. The 2nd Judicial District includes Davis, Morgan, and Weber countie... |
| Garbett calls on Rep. Stewart to oppose Mortensen nomination Jan Garbett, the United Utah Party candidate for Congress in Utah's Second Congressional District, has announced her opposition to the nomination of Ronald Mortensen as assistant secretary in charge of the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration and urged Representative... |
| So what does a think tank have to do with your life? Since joining the Sutherland Institute, I am often asked: what exactly is a think tank? A fair question. But more important, perhaps, is this: Are think tanks of benefit to you? Can they assist you in deciding what you think?The Economist explains a think tank... |
 | Why Doug Wright was so good -- and advice to his successors Over 40 years, Doug Wright carved out a remarkable niche as a radio broadcaster, focusing on politics more than anything else. He became known to almost all Utahns and will certainly be missed by his large radio audience.But he will also be greatly missed by the more insular... |
 | No end to the fight over Count My Vote There's one main reason I'm disappointed that the Count My Vote citizen initiative petition, at least for now, is not going to be on the November ballot for voters to decide:I'm sick and tired of writing about this!Give me a break, people!For five long years I've been writin... |
Local Headlines
Salt Lake Tribune
Editorial: Lee and Hatch should stand against Mortensen
Deseret News
Frank Pignanelli & LaVarr Webb: The four hard-fought ballot initiatives - what's next?
Op-ed: Airbnb partnerships with Utah lead to sustainable tourism
Editorial: The court's ruling - disagreement does not equal discrimination
Utah to get more federal prosecutors to fight violent crime, illegal immigration
LDS Church responds to Supreme Court ruling about baker, same-sex wedding case
Rep. John Curtis has gigantic lead over Chris Herrod in 3rd District GOP race
Speaker Hughes appoints himself to Utah Inland Port Authority board
Salt Lake City business permit wait times cut nearly half, mayor's office says
Judge rejects state's attempt to deny ex A.G. John Swallow legal fees in failed criminal case
Paul Ryan, Michael Bloomberg, Meg Whitman to speak at Mitt Romney's annual political retreat
Report shows Utah's sales tax struggles
National Headlines
U.S. Supreme Court backs Christian baker who spurned gay couple (Reuters)
Climate Change Has Run Its Course (Wall Street Journal)
Joe Biden steams into midterm campaigns as 2020 question looms (NBC News)
France's fake news law leaves media experts uneasy (AFP)
A Decade Later, U.S. Stocks Behave Like Lehman Never Happened (Wall Street Journal)
Portuguese Lessons for Spain and Italy (Wall Street Journal)
A Tale of Two Indecencies Shows How We Got Trump (Wall Street Journal)
Baby boomers are refusing to leave the workforce (New York Post)
Wise Words
Preparation
"I will prepare and some day my chance will come." Abraham Lincoln
Lighter Side
Korea Meeting
"President Trump met with the president of South Koreato discuss North Korea. The meeting consisted of five minutes about nuclear weapons, and 90 minutes of Trump saying, "So wait which Korea are you again?" Conan O'Brien
