Morning Must Reads for Monday, September 12, 2016

Morning Must Reads for Monday, September 12, 2016

Good Monday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 256th day of the year. There are 110 days left in 2016.

Donald Trump leads Hillary Clinton by 15-points in Utah. Clinton collapses at a public event, and her campaign reveals she is suffering from pneumonia. The Mia Love/Doug Owens race is trending toward Love's re-election now.

The clock:

• 57 days until the 2016 presidential election - (11/8/2016)
• 133 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature - (1/23/2017)
• 178 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature - (3/9/2017)

Ten talking points for Monday:

1. Donald Trump has a 15-point lead over Hillary Clinton in Utah according to our latest poll. Gary Johnson is stalled at 13% while independent candidate Evan McMullin checks in at 9% [Utah Policy].
2. Hillary Clinton collapses at a 9/11 memorial service. Her campaign reveals she has pneumonia as she cancels a campaign swing through California because of the illness [Bloomberg].
3. Republicans are fuming after Hillary Clinton called some of Donald Trump's supporters a "basket of deplorables" [Talking Points Memo]. Meanwhile, in defending Trump's supporters, one of Trump's sons posted a picture to social media that included a famous white nationalist symbol [NBC News].
4. Gary Johnson needs to average 25% in the next two national polls to qualify for the presidential debates [Reason].
5. A national election handicapper says Mia Love now has the edge over Democrat Doug Owens in Utah's 4th Congressional District after initially rating the race as a "toss-up" [Deseret News].
6. Gov. Gary Herbert's spokesman, Jon Cox, is leaving government service to head up Rocky Mountain Power's government affairs efforts in Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming [Tribune].
7. The results of an audit into the office of embattled Salt Lake County Recorder Gary Ott are expected this week [Deseret News].
8. Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings is still seeking to fund his wide-ranging probe into public corruption stemming from the John Swallow scandal [Tribune]. 
9. Boring but important. Retired federal prosecutor Brent Ward, who prosecuted St. George businessman Jeremy Johnson, allegedly had close ties with John Swallow that may have affected his job performance [Tribune]. Ward responded to the allegations, saying they were not truthful [Tribune].
10. A labor union alleges the Utah Transit Authority is spending taxpayer funds to keep employees from unionizing [Tribune].

On this day in history:

• 1609 - Henry Hudson discovered what is now known as the Hudson River.
• 1958 - Little Rock High School in Arkansas was ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court to admit black students.
• 2001 - President George W. Bush labeled the previous day's attacks "acts of war" and asked Congress for $20 million to rebuild and recover.

Today At Utah Policy

Poll: Trump Holds 15-Point Lead Over Clinton in Utah
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Donald Trump has a 15-point lead over Democrat Hillary Clinton while independent Evan McMullin seemingly has stopped Libertarian Gary Johnson's momentum in Utah....

Genius Panel: Divergent Views on the Rise of Trump
By LaVarr Webb, Publisher
This week’s question: Who’s most responsible for the rise of Trump – the indifferent political elites, or the uninformed masses?...

'Political Insiders' Say Debates May Decide Whether Trump or Clinton Wins in November
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Our "Political Insiders" say the presidential debates will be crucial to deciding who wins the election in November....

Utahns to Obama: Keep Your Hands Off Our Land
By Golden Webb
The Atlantic becomes the latest national publication to take an in-depth look at the controversy surrounding the proposal, currently under consideration by Pres. Obama,to ignorethe input of state and local leaders and unilaterally designate yet another vast national monument...

No Utah Cities in List of Top 10 Most Conservative
By Jared Whitley
The most conservative city in America is Mesa while the most liberal is San Francisco.  ...

Policy News

Eric Irvine to Replace Jesse Garcia on Democratic Ticket in HD10
The Utah Democratic Party announced a change on the ballot in the race for Utah House District 10....

State School Board Candidates to Face Off Onstage
Decisions made by the Utah State School Board directly affect the state’s 643,000 public school students and their families, teachers and administrators. From establishing state academic standards to determining teacher licensure, the members of the board have a great ...

Sens. Lee, Klobuchar Praise Seed Consolidation Hearing
Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, thanked Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) for scheduling a hearing on the anti...

Utah Schools Aim to Decrease Chronic Absenteeism
Schools throughout Utah are putting an extra focus on decreasing chronic absenteeism as part of September being School Attendance Awareness Month....

Salt Lake City School District Superintendent Kicks Off New Breakfast with the Superintendent Program
Salt Lake City School District’s superintendent, Dr. Alexa Cunningham, Ed.D., recently announced a new Breakfast with the Superintendent program, where Cunningham will be hosting open house breakfasts at schools in the district throughout the year....

Local Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

Op-ed: Wayne Owens put Utah water on a better course

Op-ed: Don't let ambitions win over morals, as they did for me once

Op-ed: All viable solutions to teacher shortage require more money

Editorial: Urgent homeless timetable reflects reality

Utah governor's race: Weinholtz vs. Herbert on charter schools, education

Utah House speaker goes Trump on Gov. Herbert for not endorsing Trump

Union: UTA spends plenty of taxpayer money to block labor organizing

Conflict of interest? Johnson prosecutor had deeper ties to Swallow, sources say

Guv's spokesman named government-affairs vice president at Rocky Mountain Power

Former prosecutor says he had no personal relationship with John Swallow and denies conflict in Jeremy Johnson case

Salt Lake City event tries to end veteran homelessness, and maybe get them a dental appointment, too

State education board hopefuls focused on issues

Deseret News

Frank Pignanelli & LaVarr Webb: Sports, culture clashes, and a little politics

Pat Jones: Walk the talk about education being our highest priority

John Florez: Where's the parent outrage over education?

Op-ed: The cost of 'cool' shouldn't come at the expense of sound tax policy

Inside the newsroom: So just how much coverage should we give Evan McMullin?

4th District race now rated 'lean Republican,' not toss-up

Delayed audit into S.L. County Recorder's Office expected next week

BLM considering trail plans for controversial Recapture Canyon

The 'other' candidates look for ray of hope in Utah

No third-party candidates qualify for Utah political debates

Lee Benson: Trump, Clinton say no to front page!

Risk of school shootings is low, but security industry is growing

Other

Editorial: Provo's planning for growth takes a step in the right direction (Daily Herald)

Op-ed: Utah wildlife board needs to get out of the cougar management business (Standard-Examiner)

Cache Democrats proclaim optimism at annual dinner and auction (Logan Herald Journal)

National Headlines

Hillary Clinton's health just became a real issue in the presidential campaign (Washington Post)

Clinton scare shakes up the race (Politico)

Press rips Clinton campaign's handling of health incident (Politico)

Trump aware of Clinton's medical episode: report (The Hill)

Journalists engage over coverage of Clinton health concerns (The Hill)

Clinton health incident at Sept. 11 commemoration caps a rough week and gives fuel to critics (Los Angeles Times)

What we know about Hillary Clinton's health (CNN)

Iran Denies It Harassed U.S. Warships in and around Persian Gulf (Wall Street Journal)

Meet the U.S.'s First Ever Cyber Chief (Fortune)

U.S. to track religious discrimination in schools as anti-Muslim sentiment grows (Wall Street Journal)

Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump Contest Expands to New Battlegrounds (Wall Street Journal)