Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. Stay dry and safe and have a good weekend. UtahPolicy.com will be taking off the Martin Luther King Day holiday next Monday. We'll be back in your inbox on Tuesday.
Friday's news at a glance: The shutdown brawl and petty insults continue in Washington, D.C. . . . Bob Bernick notes the avalanche of bills in the Legislature. . . . Gov. Herbert says fix the federal government by giving more power to states. . . . LaVarr Webb tells how to make good political decisions.
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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))
Today is the 18th day of the year. There are 347 days remaining in 2019.
8 days until Salt Lake County Democrats elect a new County Mayor (1/26/2019)
10 days until the first day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (1/28/2019)
55 days until the final day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (3/14/2019)
106 days to the Utah State Republican Party Organizing Convention (5/4/2019)
136 days until the municipal election filing period opens (6/3/2019)
140 days until the municipal election filing period ends (6/7/2019)
207 days to the 2019 Utah primary elections (8/13/2019)
291 days to the 2019 municipal elections (11/5/2019)
382 days to the 2020 Iowa Caucuses (2/3/2020)
650 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)
Serving in Legislature like drinking from fire hose
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
Utah's 104 part-time legislators are getting ready to start their 45-day general session at the end of this month.And, once again, UtahPolicy.com is told that more than 1,100 bills are being drafted.That number will just grow until two weeks into the Jan. 28 start ...
Advice for Trump: The art of political decision-making
By LaVarr Webb, Publisher
All political leaders have to make tough decisions and announcements on controversial issues. They often have to lead initiatives that aren't popular with everyone. But making and announcing the right decision, while important, is only a part of successful position...
One shutdown solution? Herbert says give more power to the states
By Gov. Gary Herbert
Gov. Gary Herbert published an op-ed in Politico Thursday arguing that a return to a "robust federalism" would reduce the impact of a dysfunctional federal government:Federal shutdowns, like the one we are currently dealing with, aggravate me. This seemingly perenn...
New legislative leaders: Plan ahead to manage rapid growth
By Kristy Kuhn and Amanda Covington; Photos by Mark Heywood
Sponsored by Ivory Homes The State of Utah is doing remarkably well right now. It's among the nation's leaders in both population growth and economic success. That growth brings a lot of positives to the state, but it also brings a unique set of challenges for lawmakers, who...
New autonomous mobility era beginning in Utah
By Muriel Xochimitl, President, X-Factor Strategic Communications
While a lot of attention has been paid to the electric scooters dropped virtually overnight in downtown Salt Lake City last June, another disruptive transportation technology is about to make its debut in Utah.At the December meeting of the Utah Transportation Commissio...
Chaffetz rips Pelosi over State of the Union security concerns: 'You liar!'
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Fox News commentator Jason Chaffetz, a possible candidate for Utah Governor in 2020, slammed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Thursday morning over her request to postpone President Donald Trump's State of the Union Address due to security concerns from the government shutdo...
More Utahns say President Trump is to blame for the government shutdown
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
Congressional Republicans are getting a bye from Utahns on who is most responsible for the current federal government shutdown, which is now the longest in U.S. history....
Utah Lawmaker proposes outlawing abortions after 15 weeks
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
A Utah lawmaker is proposing an abortion bill for the upcoming legislative session that would see the state join Mississippi with some of the toughest abortion restrictions in the country....
Stewart says Mueller report won't be a 'political bomb'
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Rep. Chris Stewart says expects the final report by special counsel Robert Mueller to be a whimper rather than a "political bomb." He also said Speaker Nancy Pelosi was trying to silence President Donald Trump by rescheduling the State of the Union Address....
USTAR-supported companies bring deep tech jobs to Utah's rural economy
By Brian Somers, USTAR Managing Director
While Utah's economy is booming on the Wasatch Front, the lingering effects of the Great Recession and technological changes in heavy industries, like mining, are still posing economic challenges for Utah's rural counties....
Deseret News
Jay Evensen: Lawmakers should not mess with voter-approved laws
Rep. Ben McAdams assigned to House Financial Services Committee
Utah guns rights advocate sues Trump administration over federal bump stock ban
Utah voters blame Trump the most for shutdown, but congressional Democrats a close second
Utah Attorney General Seans Reyes named to federal Asian-American, Pacific Islander commission
Mayor Jackie Biskupski celebrates 'cultural shifts' in 2019 State of the City address
A tale of 2 Utahs: Group hopes lawmakers take steps to tackle urban, rural divide
Repeal and replace bill for voter-approved Medicaid expansion revised
Salt Lake Tribune
In 2018, Utah's highway death rate dropped to its lowest level in perhaps decades
Utah Gov. Herbert suggests returning power to states would help ease shutdown pain
Trump grounds Pelosi as shutdown fight hits new low and gets personal (Politico) (The Hill) (Washington Post).
'Medical' marijuana? Columnist Peter Bach says if weed is medicine, so is Budweiser (Wall Street Journal).
'We call ourselves the badasses': Meet the new women of Congress (Politico).
Trump calls for expansion of missile defenses (New York Times).
U.S. and North Korea to hold talks on second Trump-Kim summit (AP via Deseret News).
Turkey seeking arrest of former Utah Jazz player Enes Kanter, who cancelled trip to London with his current team, the New York Knicks, over fears of being assassinated (The Hill).
1778 -- Captain James Cook discovers the Hawaiian Islands, naming them the 'Sandwich Islands'
1836 -- Jim Bowie arrives at the Alamo to assists its Texas defenders
1913 -- American actor Danny Kaye is born
1919 -- The Paris Peace Conference opens to set peace terms after WWI, resulting in the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.
1936 -- English author, poet and Nobel Prize laureate Rudyard Kipling dies.
1955 -- American actor, director and producer Kevin Costner is born.
1997 -- Norwegian explorer Borge Ousland becomes the first person to cross Antarctica alone and unaided, walking 1,864 miles across the southernmost continent.
UAMPS honors key leaders & organizations
Several leaders who have made significant contributions to public power were recently honored at the Utah Associated Municipal Systems (UAMPS) 2018 Member Meeting in Salt Lake City.Jason Norlen, vice chair of the UAMPS board, and Doug Hunter, CEO and general manager of UAMPS...
McAdams assigned to Financial Services Committee
Congressman Ben McAdams has been assigned to the House Financial Services Committee-one of four exclusive committees in the U.S. House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over banking, insurance, housing, securities and exchanges, and other consumer finance ar...
Herbert declares School Choice Week in Utah
Gov. Gary Herbert has declared Jan. 20-26 School Choice Week in Utah. Herbert joins more than a dozen governors and local leaders in recognizing the importance of school choice policies for students across the nation. Parent...
Casual Friday: Weekend Events & Outdoors Report
Weekend EventOutdoors Report-- Salt Lake Tribune: It's quiet in Zion National Park as the shutdown drags on, but the tourists are expected to return this holiday weekend--KSL.com:Cisco enthusiast ready for best opportunity to catch fish unique to Bear Lake--KSL.com:New bear ...
Curtis, GOP representatives introduce bill to prevent government shutdowns
Congressman John Curtis (R-UT) released the following statement after he introduced The Government Shutdown Prevention Act with Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA)....
Sen. Lee delivers remarks on March for Life
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) spoke on the Senate floor regarding the 46th annual March for Life, to be held in Washington, D.C. this Friday. ...
Top Obama White House lawyer mad false statements to DOJ about Manafort-related work (Daily Caller)
Generation Z may be most liberal demographic yet (The Hill)
Waiting for final Mueller report? It may be short on detail (Associated Press)
'A blemish in his sanctuary': the battle behind Mark Zuckerberg's Hawaii estate (Guardian)
Dems, media launch whisper campaign that Lindsey Graham is gay (Grabien)
Not your 'grandfather's' campaign: 2020 Dems look to stand out in crowded race (The Hill)
Preseason is over for Beto O'Rourke (Washington Post)
LA teachers union advocates for illegals, then complains of overcrowded classrooms (EAG News)
Trump denies Pelosi aircraft for foreign trip, after call for State of the Union delay (FOX News)
The stock market hasn't started a year this strongly since 1987 - uh-oh! (MarketWatch)
Impossible
"It always seems impossible until it's done." Nelson Mandela
LBJ Regarding the Media
"If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read: 'President Can't Swim.'" Lyndon Johnson
