Situational awareness - June 4, 2019

Situational awareness - June 4, 2019

Good Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City

Welcome to Utah's must-read daily political news rundown. Please encourage your friends and colleagues to sign up for our emails.

Here's what is driving the day:

• Chaffetz not running for governor in 2020.
• Republicans push back against Trump's tariffs.
• House Democrats plan hearings on the Mueller report next week.

Tiny theater review

West Side Story is a notoriously difficult show to pull off well. The current production at the Grand Theater in Salt Lake City achieves that feat, and then some. The dancing in the show is first rate and incredibly athletic. Brock Dalgleish's turn as Riff and Whitney Harris' portrayal of Anita was particularly good

It's difficult to avoid comparisons to the original 1957 Broadway production and 1961 film, but director Anne Stewart Mark deftly pays homage to the familiar while crafting some incredibly poignant moments, too. The staging of "Somewhere" in particular is surprisingly moving and emotional.

The show's themes of racial tension, violence breeding violence, and cultural misunderstanding remain vital and relevant today.

The show runs through June 8. See it if you can.

 tips/story ideas

Kindly send suggestions, concerns and news tips to us via email at bschott@utahpolicy.com.

The UtahPolicy.com daily newsletter gets you up to speed on the top local and national news about politics and public policy. Our news is curated by Managing Editor Bryan Schott, along with help from Golden Webb. ((Click here to subscribe))

TICK TOCK

Today is the 155th day of the year. There are 210 days remaining in 2019.

3 days until the municipal election filing period ends (6/7/2019)

4 days until the Independent American Party Utah State Convention (6/8/2019)

18 days to the Utah State Democratic Party Organizing Convention (6/22/2019)

22 days to the first Democratic presidential primary debates in Miami (6/26/2019)

56 days to the second Democratic presidential primary debates in Detroit (7/30/2019)

70 days to the 2019 Utah primary elections (8/13/2019)

100 days to the third Democratic presidential primary debate (9/12/2019)

154 days to the 2019 municipal elections (11/5/2019)

237 days to the first day of the 2020 Utah Legislature (1/27/2020)

245 days to the 2020 Iowa Caucuses (2/3/2020)

273 days to the 2020 Utah presidential primary (3/3/2020)

514 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Today At Utah Policy

Chaffetz not running for governor in 2020
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Former Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who resigned in 2017 to take a job with Fox News, said Monday evening. he would not launch a Utah gubernatorial bid next year.

What motivates a municipal candidate?
By Cameron Diehl, Executive Director, Utah League of Cities and Towns
This week begins the biennial changing of the guard at city halls across the state. In Utah's 248 cities and towns, there are 1,380 mayors and council members and approximately half of those positions are on November's ballot. Potential mayors and council members are filing their declaration of candidacy this week.

Sens. Lee, Feinstein introduce due process guarantee act
By Press release
Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) along with Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced the Due Process Guarantee Act Monday, a bill to protect Americans from being detained indefinitely, without charge or trial.

Utah's Life Elevated brand promise
By GOED team
The Utah Office of Tourism promotes Utah to out-of-state visitors to grow the state's tourism economy. The tourism office generates significant state and local tax revenues, while continually improving Utah's outdoor recreation and urban brand, and its offerings for both visitors and locals.

Independent American Party Convention June 8
By Press release
The Utah Independent American Party will hold its State Convention/Independence Summit on Saturday, June 8, 2019, at Juab High School in Nephi.

OTHER UTAH HEADLINES

Deseret News

• Editorial: Tariffs for Mexico? Blame Congress
• Midvale, Unified police caught in 'fiscal dilemma' amid push to pay officers more
• Utahns asked to comment on federal waiver needed for partial Medicaid expansion
• Utah school officials to meet in executive session to discuss RISE contract, performance

Salt Lake Tribune

• Utah's Bears Ears and Grand Staircase remain in limbo as lawsuits move slowly and legislation stalls
• Draper residents filed a complaint against a councilman over city payments to his restaurant
• Spencer Cox pledges to make a campaign stop in every city and town in Utah as he runs for election as governor

Other

• Ogden, North Ogden hopefuls for city council, mayor starting to emerge (Standard-Examiner)

NATIONAL HEADLINES

Republicans seek to block Trump's tariffs on Mexico. Republicans in Congress are discussing whether they will vote to stop President Donald Trump from imposing new tariffs on Mexico - https://wapo.st/2HTJfUk

• President Trump may have to invoke emergency powers in order to levy his threatened tariffs on Mexico if they do not stem the tide of immigration - https://politi.co/2HSvoO5
• Mexican officials say if Trump follows through on his tariff threat, it could be "very costly for the U.S. economy" as well as worsen the immigration problem in Central America - https://politi.co/2HW57i5
• Trump's tariffs carry a significant political risk for the president, especially in swing states - https://bloom.bg/2HTnV1b
• The Trump administration considered slapping tariffs on Australia last week in a response to cheap Australian aluminum flooding the market. They pulled back from the idea after opposition from the military and State Department - https://nyti.ms/2HTM4Vq

Trump vs. the media. President Trump urged a boycott of AT&T, the parent company of CNN, in order to force the network to provide more favorable coverage of him - https://wapo.st/2HU3aCP

Mueller. House Democrats plan on holding hearings on the Mueller report next week. They are planning to highlight "presidential obstruction and other crimes" in the June 10 hearing - https://nbcnews.to/2HTRQX0

Democrats may censure Trump. House Democrats are considering censure for the president as an alternative to rising calls for impeachment from their caucus - http://bit.ly/2HXNdvr

• House Majority Whip Rep. Jim Clyburn walked back his comments suggesting Democrats will eventually impeach President Trump - https://politi.co/2HTQETw
• So far, 56 Democrats and one Republican in the House support launching an impeachment inquiry - https://nyti.ms/2HSzSEh

Big tech in the hot seat. House lawmakers will launch an investigation into Facebook, Google and other tech giants to determine if they are so big that they stifle competition and harm consumers - https://wapo.st/2HW2gFT

Contempt vote. The House Oversight Committee will vote to hold Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena for documents on the Trump administration's plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census - https://wapo.st/2HTSMKY

2020

• Former Vice President Joe Biden continues to lead the Democratic field. A new poll finds Biden with 32% support, which is down from 39% support in April - https://cnn.it/2HUcQwZ
• President Trump's campaign is focusing on New Mexico, Nevada and New Hampshire as states where they could bolster their re-election chances - https://politi.co/2HU2tcH
• President Trump is spending more than $37,000 in campaign cash to rent space in Trump Tower. The cost is at least triple what the Republican National Committee is paying for space it shares with the Trump campaign in Virginia - http://bit.ly/2HVKVNf

Immigration

• A federal judge rejected a lawsuit from House Democrats seeking to prevent President Trump from spending Defense Department funds to construct his border wall - https://wapo.st/2HVgnLB
• Migrant children are being forced to sleep outside because Border Patrol stations on the Southwest border are overflowing - https://nbcnews.to/2HSvWDD

Disaster aid bill passes the House. The House was able to finally approve a $19.1 billion disaster relief bill. The bill now goes to President Trump, who is expected to sign it - https://politi.co/2IdGU5G

Boring but important part 1. Congress must raise the federal debt ceiling by October or early November to avoid defaulting on the federal debt. If that happens, it would trigger billions of dollars in automatic spending cuts across every part of the federal budget - https://nyti.ms/2HXQieZ

Boring but important part 2. Manufacturing in the U.S. dropped to its lowest point since before the 2016 presidential election - http://bit.ly/2HT4Kom

Climate change. A new report says a warming globe could create more than a billion refugees worldwide, which could devastate civilization by 2050 - https://cnn.it/2HTOT8Q

• Climate change could cost the largest companies in the world trillions of dollars - https://nyti.ms/2HTPMhG

Sad. A new report says no country in the world will reach gender equality by 2030 - https://cnn.it/2HSxj5f

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1784 - Elisabeth Thible becomes the first woman to fly an untethered hot air balloon.

1812 - The Louisiana Territory was renamed the Missouri Territory to avoid confusion with the recently admitted state of Louisiana.

1896 Henry Ford test-drives his "Quadricycle", the first automobile he designed or drove.

1912 - Massachusetts becomes the first state to set a minimum wage.

1919 Congress passes the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote and sends it to the states for ratification.

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.

Policy News

Join the Salt Lake Chamber for the upcoming Education & Workforce Forum: Talking Technical College
Technical colleges are leading the way in creating meaningful industry partnerships and training a skilled workforce to enter many of our state's high wage, high demand occupations. Join us to learn more about Utah's technical colleges and how business leaders can get involved. Lunch will be provided.

Curbside glass recycling available for Sandy residents
Curbside glass recycling will now be available for Sandy residents.

More National Headlines

• Tired, Boring-and Dangerous-Celebrity Death Wishing (American Greatness)
• Are Democrats choosing to lose? (Washington Examiner)
• Mueller's position on the investigation has become increasingly conflicted and, at points, unintelligible (Jonathan Turley)
• The Right's Grifter Problem (National Review)
• Voters in Europe Just Smashed the Mainstream Establishment (American Conservative)
• Why Bernie Sanders' Communist Misadventures Still Matter (Reason)
• Did American outlets refuse to publish the MLK sex transcripts? (Spectator)
• Bernie Sanders Labels Politico Article About His Finances 'Anti-Semitic' (Politico)
• The vote-by-phone tech trend is scaring the life out of security experts (Los Angeles Times)
• The government is threatening big tech - and the market just took notice (CNBC)
• Clarence Thomas questions sources of retirement rumors (CNN)

Wise Words

High Ed Bubble

"The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next." Abraham Lincoln

Lighter Side

Pelosi and Waters

"I feel like Nancy Pelosi has been spending a bunch of time with Maxine Waters because now every time she patronizes Trump, she seems more and more like a black auntie. Have you felt that vibe? Yeah, because first she gave Trump the sideways clap, and now she's praying for him? That's the blackest thing ever.[Imitating an older woman]'Lord, this crazy man needs Jesus! Mm-mm-mm! He needs Jesus!'" - TREVOR NOAH

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