Local News Highlights: Daily Briefing

Morning Must Reads for Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 279th day of the year. There are 87 days left in 2016.

Half of Utahns want to privatize liquor sales in Utah. Mike Pence and Tim Kaine yell at each other during the vice presidential debate. Bill Clinton lambastes ObamaCare.

The clock:

• Four days to the second presidential debate at Washington University (10/9/2016)
• Five days to the 4th Congressional District debate at Salt Lake Community College (10/10/2016)
• Seven days to the U.S. Senate debate at Brigham Young University (10/12/2016)
• 12 days to the 1st Congressional District debate at Weber State University (10/17/2016)
• 14 days to the 3rd Congressional District debate at Utah Valley University (10/19/2016)
• 14 days to the third presidential debate at UNLV (10/19/2016)
• 34 days until the 2016 presidential election - (11/8/2016)
• 110 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature - (1/23/2017)
• 155 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature - (3/9/2017)

Ten talking points for Wednesday:

1. Half of Utahns think the state's monopoly on liquor sales should end in favor of privatization [Utah Policy].
   
   
2. Republican Chris Stewart and Democrat Charlene Albarran face off in a 2nd Congressional District debate. Inexplicably, Albarran tried to claim that Park City is in the 2nd District when it's not [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune].
   
   
3. The thrilla in vanilla! Mike Pence and Tim Kaine repeatedly interrupt and yell at each other during the vice presidential debate. Most observers say Pence came out on top [New York Times]. A snap poll following the debate also gave the win to Pence [CNN].
   
   
4. Bill Clinton goes off script, slamming the Obamacare health system as "the craziest thing in the world" [Bloomberg].
   
   
5. Donald Trump may have used money from his charitable foundation to launch his political career, which could violate federal laws against self-dealing for private foundations [Real Clear Politics].
   
   
6. California could become the first state to allow undocumented immigrants to buy health insurance through the ObamaCare health exchanges [Fox News].
   
   
7. Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson is getting more newspaper endorsements than Donald Trump [The Hill].
   
   
8. Embattled Salt Lake County Recorder Gary Ott barely seemed coherent while trying to answer questions from the Salt Lake County Council [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
   
9. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Wineholtz comes out for a tax hike to better fund Utah's public schools [Deseret News].
   
   
10. There are only a few races for the Utah Legislature that are competitive in a fundraising sense [Tribune].

On this day in history:

• 1947 - President Harry Truman delivered the first televised White House address.
• 1953 - Earl Warren was sworn in as the 14th chief justice of the United States.
• 1969 - "Monty Python's Flying Circus" debuted on BBC Television.
• 1988 - Democrat Lloyd Bentsen lambasted Republican Dan Quayle during their vice-presidential debate, telling Quayle, "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy."

Today At Utah Policy

Poll: Half of Utahns Want to Privatize Liquor Sales By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor Half of all Utahns favor the state government getting out of the liquor retail business, a new UtahPolicy poll finds....

Analysis: Stewart/Albarran Debate Won't Move the Needle Much By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor A not-so-fearless prediction. Tuesday's 2nd Congressional District debate between incumbent Republican Chris Stewart and Democrat Charlene Albarran won't do anything to change voters minds come November....

Weekly Survey: Utah Legislative Elections By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Right now, Republicans outnumber Democrats 23-5 in the Utah Senate and 63-12 in the Utah House. Will either party be able to pick up seats after the 2016 election? Vote now....

Policy News

Governor's Office of Economic Development Receives Excellence in Economic Development Award from the International Economic Development Council The Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development received a Gold Excellence in Economic Development Award for its 2016 project in the category of New Media from the International Economic Development Council....

Wise Words

Manners
"Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter which fork you use." Emily Post

Lighter Side

Comforting
"Hillary Clinton has vowed to crack down on hackers who launch cyberattacks. She said, "If anyone's going to abuse U.S. government computers, it's gonna be me." Conan O'Brien