Morning must reads for Friday, February 17, 2017

Local News Highlights: Daily Briefing

Morning must reads for Friday, February 17, 2017

Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 48th day of the year. There are 317 days remaining in 2017.

Utah lawmakers plan to tackle tax reform with a little more than three weeks left in the 2017 Legislature. The Outdoor Retailers Show is leaving Utah. President Trump rants against his opponents during a wild press conference.

The clock:

• 11 days until President Trump is scheduled to addresses a joint session of Congress (2/28/2017)
• 20 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (3/9/2017)
• 263 days until the 2017 municipal elections (11/7/2017)
• 628 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
• 1355 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Here are the stories making news in politics this morning:

• Scoop! Utah lawmakers say they plan to tackle tax reform this year. Among the measures they want to implement: returning the state portion of sales tax back on food and lowering the income tax rate [Utah Policy].
   
• Want to understand what happened this week in Utah politics? Watch our week in review [Utah Policy].
   
• The vice-chair of the Wasatch County GOP ignites an online firestorm by saying men need to be paid more than women so women can stay at home and take care of children [Utah Policy].
   
• The Outdoor Retailers Show announces they're packing their bags and leaving Utah after 20 years in the state [Washington Post, Deseret News, Tribune]. LaVarr Webb says Utah will be just fine even though the convention is moving to another host city [Utah Policy].
   
• President Donald Trump holds a wild press conference wherein he ranted against the media and his critics for more than an hour [Politico, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal].
   
• Retired Vice Admiral Bob Harward, President Trump's choice to become his national security adviser following Mike Flynn's ouster has turned down the job. His primary reason for rejecting the offer is the chaos engulfing the White House [Politico]. Flynn reportedly denied to FBI agents that he had discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia. Lying to the FBI is an offense, but it's unclear whether the Justice Department under President Trump will bring charges against Flynn [Washington Post].
   
• President Donald Trump is planning a new executive order on immigration next week, which will replace the current order which has been blocked in court [Wall Street Journal].
   
• Utah lawmakers quickly end a plan to ban paid signature gatherers for ballot initiatives after they were warned the move is unconstitutional [Tribune].
   
• The Utah GOP asks the state's congressional members to skip holding town hall meetings after acts of "intimidation and violence" at Rep. Jason Chaffetz's meeting last week [Utah Policy, Tribune].
   
• Gov. Gary Herbert says President Donald Trump's inexperience is the reason his first few weeks in office have been so erratic [Tribune].
   
• The bill to remove the "Zion Curtain" in bars and restaurants could debut on Utah's Capitol Hill on Friday [Tribune].

On this day in history:

• 1801 - The House of Representatives broke an electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, choosing Jefferson to be president.
• 1865 - Columbia, S.C., burned as the Confederates evacuated and Union forces moved in.
• 1972 - President Richard M. Nixon departed on a historic trip to China.
• 2009 - President Barack Obama signed a $757 billion economic stimulus package into law.

Today At Utah Policy

Exclusive: Legislative leaders planning to tackle tax reform this year
By Bob Bernick and Bryan Schott
Utah GOP legislative leaders have decided to go for a “big lift” on tax reform this session, now with only three weeks left....

Utah will easily survive exit of outdoor retailers
By LaVarr Webb, Publisher
Goodbye. So long. Don’t let the door smack you on the butt on your way out....

This "dumpster fire" of an administration - Bernick and Schott on politics #317
By Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick
Week #4 of the Utah Legislature is almost at an end....

Podcast: Bernick and Schott on politics #317
By Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick
Bob Bernick and Bryan Schott run down the "what" and "why" of the past week in Utah politics....

Wasatch County GOP leader blows up Facebook arguing against equal pay for women
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
A letter to the editor from the Wasatch County GOP vice-chairman is roiling social media in Utah....

Weekly survey: Did paid protesters disrupt Chaffetz's town hall meeting?
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Rep. Jason Chaffetz claims that paid protesters disrupted his town hall meeting last week. Do you believe his claims? Vote now in our weekly survey....

Policy News

Casual Friday: Weekend Events & Outdoors Report
Outdoor Notes-- Tribune: Delta to host geese, festival -- Tribune: Forest Service came to the rescue for turn-of-the-century Utah -- Tribune: Arches night road closures start this spring Weekend EventsNew Films-- A Cure For Wellness: Tribune review -- The Great Wall: Tribune...

LDS Dems urges Congressman Jason Chaffetz to investigate the Trump campaign's involvement with Russia
LDS Dems of America, with its chapters in Utah, Idaho, Kansas, North Carolina, and Arizona released the following statement in response to the recent resignation of former National Security Advisor Gen. Michael Flynn and recent reports indicating communication between key me...

Press release: Utah Republican Party asks Congressional leaders to delay town hall meetings due to acts of intimidation and violence
Indivisible Utah is part of a national, organized movement whose focus is to disrupt and intimidate at republican congressional town halls....

Press release: AAP urges Utah congressional delegation to oppose Border Adjustment Tax
Americans for Affordable Products (AAP), a coalition of more than 150 businesses and trade associations, is asking Senate Finance Committee Chair Orrin Hatch and Sen. Mike Lee to “protect their constituents from the harmful repercussions of the Border Adjustment Tax.&r...

Local Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

Editorial: Time to end Utah's school grading system

Can 12-year-old truly consent to sex? Question stalls Utah bill

Guv's water advisers take their work out of public view

Utah House votes to eliminate vehicle safety inspections

'Zion Curtain' bill could be released on Friday, sponsor says

Gehrke: Legislature may exact a toll for Facebook failure, but the poor get stung again

Rolly: Salt Lake City honors its last Republican mayor, who served four decades ago

Push to ban paid signature gathering halted after state lawyers warn it is unconstitutional

Outdoor Retailer convention leaving Utah, a move Herbert calls 'offensive'

State School Board would lose ability to reject new charters under bill OK'd by committee

Senate panel OKs marijuana research bill

Police investigating BB gun pellets fired into Utah state legislator's living room window

State earned income tax credit again proposed for working poor

Former Utah real estate guru Rick Koerber will represent himself against Ponzi scheme allegations

Senate committee supports lesser penalties for school truancy

Johnson clams up again at Swallow trial, finds himself back in the slammer

Don't hold town-hall meetings, Utah GOP leader says; Chaffetz disagrees

Deseret News

Editorial: HB364 strives to strike needed balance

Bill to end required vehicle safety inspections motors forward

Utah one step closer to approving local research of medical marijuana

Legislature supports statewide suicide crisis hotline

Lawmaker seeks to set criminal standards for parental kidnapping

Letter grades for schools? 'Assessment/Accountability 2.0' bill advances

New organization formed to challenge noncompete bill

Statewide Election Day registration bill halted in House committee

Key witness Jeremy Johnson continues silence in Swallow trial

Utah GOP chairman advises congressional delegation avoid holding town halls

Monumental decision: Outdoor Retailer show leaving Salt Lake after meeting with governor over Bears Ears

Bill authorizing state auditor to freeze funds rushes through Legislature

Other

Bill allowing for continuous protective orders passes out of House committee (Daily Herald)

Provo leaders worried about state legislation that would allow short-term rentals (Daily Herald)

Committee approves research bill for cannabis extracts, which moves on to Senate (Daily Herald)

Utah GOP asks congressional leaders to delay town hall meetings, citing 'intimidation and violence' (Daily Herald)

National Headlines

How The Nation's Spooks Played The Game 'Kill Mike Flynn' (Daily Caller)

Wisconsin students demand free tuition for blacks (Associated Press)

'I Inherited a Mess,' Trump Says, Defending His Performance (New York Times)

Trump supporters cheer his combative stance with the media (Associated Press)

Harward says no to national security adviser role (CNN)

After Puzder debacle, Trump opts for a more conventional Labor nominee in Alexander Acosta (Los Angeles Times)

Trump says he'll issue a new executive order on immigration by next week (Washington Post)

Trump's war with CNN escalates to new heights (New York Post)

Iowa Republicans pass bill opponents say will gut public unions (Chicago Tribune)

Trump signs measure rolling back last-minute Obama coal mining regulation (CNN)

US Unemployment Claims Still Low And Lower Than Expected (Forbes)

Wise Words

True Sympathy
"Pity may represent little more than the impersonal concern which prompts the mailing of a check, but true sympathy is the personal concern which demands the giving of one's soul." Martin Luther King, Jr.

Lighter Side

Diplomacy
"Without mentioning Donald Trump, Pope Francis urged everyone to build bridges, not walls. So today, without mentioning the Pope, Donald Trump said, "Francis is a girl's name." Conan O'Brien