UtahPolicy.com News Flash -

Poll shows Curtis still leading in 3rd District GOP primary race but Herrod is closing

By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor

A new poll by Dan Jones & Associates finds Provo Mayor John Curtis still leading in the GOP 3rd District race with 31 percent of the vote -- but former state lawmaker Chris Herrod has closed considerably.

Read more...

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Local News Highlights: Daily Briefing

Morning must reads for Thursday, August 10, 2017

Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 222nd day of the year. There are 143 days remaining in 2017.

Democrats launch ads critical of Rep. Mia Love for not holding town hall meetings. North Korea says they plan to test missiles by launching them towards Guam. The FBI raids Paul Manafort's home as part of the Russia investigation.

The clock:

• 5 days until the 2017 Utah primary election (8/15/2017)
• 89 days until the 2017 election (11/7/2017)
• 165 days until the opening day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (1/22/2018)
• 210 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)
• 453 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
• 1,181 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Today's political TL; DR -

• Salt Lake County Democrats meet on Saturday to pick a replacement for departed County Sheriff Jim Winder [Utah Policy].
   
• POLL: A slight majority of Utahs opposed a plan to euthanize or slaughter wild horses to help control their populations [Utah Policy].
   
• Jason Chaffetz will be a fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics this fall [Utah Policy].
   
• Rep. Rob Bishop says talk from North Korean officials about a missile strike on Guam is mostly bluster [KSL].
   
• State officials have found more jail beds to house offenders ahead of the expected crackdown on crime surrounding the homeless population in downtown Salt Lake City [Tribune].
   
• A Democratic group is launching an ad campaign hitting Rep. Mia Love for not holding town hall meetings [Tribune].
   
• Pro-solar power advocates speak out against a plan by Rocky Mountain Power to raise rates for customers who have solar power panels [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
• The non-Republican candidates in Utah's 3rd CD promise to run a more positive campaign following the deluge of negative ads in the GOP primary [Deseret News].
   
• West Jordan residents will have the opportunity to vote on whether to change their form of government [Tribune].
   
• Kaysville City Councilman Dave Adams is suing the city's public works department for allegedly doing thousands of dollars of damage to his driveway when they cleared away snow last winter [Deseret News].
   
• Salt Lake City wants to make some major improvements to public transit, but the city council is struggling with how to fund those changes [Tribune].
   
• Polygamist Joe Darger is massively outraising his opponents in the race for Herriman mayor [Tribune].

National headlines:

• North Korea has announced plans to launch four ballistic missiles into the waters surrounding Guam. If they move forward it would be the most provocative missile test by that country so far [Associated Press].
   
• The Pentagon has reportedly prepared a plan to use B-1 bombers in a preemptive strike against North Korea if President Donald Trump chooses to make that move [NBC News].
   
• President Donald Trump's threat to rain "fire and fury" on North Korea was completely improvised, which caught many of his aides off guard [New York Times].
   
• Japanese officials say their military could shoot down any missiles fired toward Guam by North Korea [Fox News].
   
• Defense Secretary James Matis warned North Korea to stop its pursuit of nuclear weapons, saying it would lead to "the end of its regime and the destruction of its people" [The Hill].
   
• Troubling. There are very few diplomatic channels available for the U.S. to try and de-escalate the rising tensions with North Korea [Reuters].
   
• The FBI raided former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort's home last month. The operation resulted in the seizure of documents related to special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election [Washington Post].
   
• The feds are putting pressure on Paul Manafort's son-in-law to cooperate in the investigation into Russian involvement in last year's election [Politico].
   
• President Donald Trump's legal team is absolutely no match for the legal prowess of special counsel Robert Meuller's team [Bloomberg].
   
• President Donald Trump reportedly scolded Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after McConnell said the failure of the GOP health care bill was due to Trump's lack of political experience and his penchant for setting "excessive expectations" [Fox News].
   
• This is really weird. Some U.S. diplomats in Cuba are suffering from severe hearing loss because of some covert sonic devices [Associated Press].
   
• Two of the top staffers for United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley unexpectedly resigned [Bloomberg].
   
• Former DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz continues under fire for a scandal where she continued to employ an IT staffer who was under federal investigation for an alleged equipment and data scam [Politico].
   
• Boring but important. Americans are saving less money as incomes begin to fall behind spending levels [USA Today].

On this day in history:

• 1846 - Congress chartered the Smithsonian Institution, named after English scientist James Smithson, whose bequest of $500,000 made it possible.
   
• 1949 - The National Military Establishment was renamed the Department of Defense.
   
• 1962 - Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man made his debut in issue 15 of "Amazing Fantasy."
   
• 1977 - "Son of Sam" serial killer David Berkowitz was arrested in Yonkers, N.Y., accused of six slayings and seven woundings in a yearlong spree of random shootings of mostly young couples parked in cars in New York City.
   
• 1993 - Ruth Bader Ginsburg was sworn in as the second female Supreme Court justice.

Today At Utah Policy

Poll: A slight majority of Utahns oppose euthanizing or slaughter of wild horses
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
The question of whether wild horse populations in Utahn should be rounded up and killed or sold into slaughter to control their numbers is an emotional one....

Salt Lake County Democrats to pick new County Sheriff on Saturday
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Salt Lake County Democrats will pick a successor for Sheriff Jim Winder this Saturday....

Who's Taking College Spots From Top Asian Americans? Privileged Whites.
By Daniel Golden, ProPublica
More than a decade ago, I chatted with Asian-American seniors at Hunter College High School in New York City about their college admission prospects....

Chaffetz to become fellow at Harvard this fall
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Former Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz is joining the Harvard Institute of Politics this fall....

Weekly survey: Will Hatch run again in 2018
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Sen. Orrin Hatch has not yet said definitively whether he plans to run for another term in 2018 or retire. What do you think he'll do? Vote now in our weekly survey....

Policy News

Cycling Utah surveys SLC Council candidates on bicycling in Salt Lake City
CyclingUtah.com, the source for bicycling in the region, recently surveyed each of the candidates running for Salt Lake City Council on their views on cycling in the city....

Lisa J. Church named as the City of Moab's Communications and Engagement Manager
The City of Moab is delighted to announce that Lisa J. Church will become the City's first Communications Manager....

Press release: New report on threatened national monuments highlights wide public support, economic benefits
A new report by the Natural Resources Defense Council highlights the tremendous economic and environmental benefits of some two dozen American parklands and waters....

Consumer group's solar incentive analysis highlights Utah's incentives and importance of pro-solar, pro-grid and pro-consumer policies
As part of Consumer Energy Alliance's Solar Energy Future campaign, the organization released data from an upcoming report that provides a comprehensive quantification of solar incentives available to families, businesses and other energy users in Utah....

Local Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

Michelle Quist Mumford: Count My Vote's legacy: More money and more dirt

Op-ed: Nothing is more important than comprehensive tax reform

Editorial: Time for a woman to represent Utah in the U.S. Capitol

Utahns light up rooftop solar proposal as Rocky Mountain Power negotiates with clean-energy advocates

Gehrke: Why so many negative political ads? A lot of times they work

District 7 race gets uncomfortably partisan for some as 6 strive to succeed SLC Councilwoman Adams

Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz to serve as a Harvard fellow this fall

Polygamists and polygamy sympathizers sending money to support Joe Darger's run for Herriman mayor

Salt Lake City seeks major transit improvements, but money could be a roadblock

ACLU warns Utah's members of Congress not to block social media users

Democratic group launches ad buy criticizing Rep. Love for not holding town halls

Salt Lake County now has extra jail beds to lock up suspects in mysterious 'Operation Rio Grande'

West Jordan residents will vote on city's form of government, but some say that's not the most pressing issue

Deseret News

Op-ed: The natural monopoly business model works

A. Scott Anderson: An ingenious way to bolster investment in at-risk communities

Editorial: State Board's policy expands choice but may limit opportunity

This is how Utah continues to keep the American dream alive

Utah panel greenlights cash for final homeless shelter site

Good deed gone bad? Kaysville councilman sues public works director for damaging driveway with plow

Other candidates in 3rd District race promise more positive campaigns

Rooftop solar advocates oppose power company proposal to raise rates

Weapons testing brings more air traffic to HAFB, western desert

Other

Ogden City Council approves budget, tax increase (Standard-Examiner)

Logan ponders future of downtown (Logan Herald Journal)

National Headlines

Poll: Voters support Trump-backed immigration bill (Politico)

Lawsuit Says Seattle's 'Tax-the-Rich' Measure Violates State Constitution (Wall Street Journal)

Mattis warns North Korea to stop actions that would 'lead to end of regime' (Reuters)

Republicans playing defense in August recess (The Hill)

Unarmed Russian Air Force jet overflies the Pentagon, Capitol, CIA (CNN)

US embassy employees in Cuba possibly subject to 'acoustic attack' (CNN)

McConnell, Trump point fingers (The Hill)

Gym owner displays vulgar sign to ban police officers, military members from using facility (New York Daily News)

Why more workers are copying Trump's 'working vacation' (CBS News)

Former attorney for Loretta Lynch now working for congressional probe of former AG (Washington Times)

Contentious Memo Strikes Nerve Inside Google and Out (New York Times)

Wise Words

Foundation

"Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves." Henry David Thoreau
 

Lighter Side

Flowers

"Scientists just discovered that millions of years ago, flowers had both male and female parts. As a result, President Trump has banned those flowers from serving in the military." Jimmy Fallon