Situational awareness - March 22, 2018

Situational awareness - March 22, 2018

Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City. Welcome to Utah's must-read daily political news roundup. 

Lee and Hatch get positive approval ratings from Utahns. Caucus attendance for Utah Republicans was down significantly this year. Congress reaches a deal on a $1.3 trillion spending bill.

Tick Tock

• 24 days until the signature-gathering deadline for statewide ballot initiatives (4/15/2018)
• 30 days until the Utah GOP State Convention (4/21/2018)
• 37 days until the Utah Democratic State Convention (4/28/2018)
• 96 days until the 2018 Primary Election (6/26/2018)
• 229 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
• 312 days until the first day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (1/28/2019)
• 958 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Do you like podcasts? Give us a download! Listen to our interviews with Utah political newsmakers and "Bernick and Schott on politics" while you're on the go. Hosts Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick have more than 60 years combined experience covering Utah politics, so they bring you knowledge and insight that's unprecedented. You can subscribe using iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher.

Got a tip or story idea? Send me an email at bschott@utahpolicy.com.

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Here's what's driving the day

Lee, Hatch see their approval rating tick upwards

Our new poll shows Sens. Mike Lee and Orrin Hatch get positive job approval ratings from Utahns according to our new survey [Utah Policy].

Caucus attendance down

Utah Republicans say their caucus attendance on Tuesday night was about 1/3 of what they saw in 2016. It was also down 10-15% from 2014 [Utah Policy].

A close race in Utah's 4th CD

An internal poll from Ben McAdams' campaign says the race against Rep. Mia Love is a statistical tie, but Love's campaign is casting doubt on those numbers [Utah Policy].

Planning for Utah's transportation future

Dana Meier says Utah is well positioned to tackle transportation issues in the coming years [Utah Policy].

Final round #2 matchups in our political bracket challenge

Cast your votes for the last four matchups in the second round of our 2018 political bracket [Utah Policy].

Check out the results from Wednesday that saw Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox and Sen. Jim Dabakis advance to the round of 16 [Utah Policy].

Other Utah headlines

• Jon Huntsman Jr., the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, says he believes President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will have a formal meeting sometime soon [Deseret News].
   
• Rep. John Curtis denies the claim in a lawsuit that he protected Provo's former police chief from sexual misconduct claims when he was that city's mayor [Tribune].
   
• Utah reaches an agreement with big tobacco companies to keep millions of dollars of settlement money flowing to the state [Deseret News].
   
• Gov. Gary Herbert signs into law a measure allowing women in Utah to get birth control from a pharmacist instead of having to visit a doctor each time they need a refill [Deseret News].
   
• Gov. Herbert also signed a bill to allow the use of medical cannabis by terminally ill patients [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
• St. George is the nation's fastest-growing metro area, while Morgan County is the 8th fastest growing county according to new Census Bureau estimates [Deseret News, Tribune].

National headlines

• Congressional negotiators reach an agreement on a $1.3 trillion spending bill. The House plans to vote on the bill Thursday, less than 24 hours after the bill text was introduced. Congress is facing a Friday deadline to avoid a government shutdown [Washington Post].
   
• What's in that massive spending bill? Here's a list [CNN].
   
• President Trump is set to slam China with at least $50 billion in tariffs and other financial penalties for stealing trade secrets and technology [New York Times].
   
• Investigators for special counsel Robert Mueller have discussed with President Trump's lawyers four topics they want to discuss with the president [CNN].
   
• Senior FBI official Andrew McCabe, who was fired last week, was overseeing a criminal investigation into "a lack of candor" by Attorney General Jeff Sessions who was not forthcoming about contacts with Russian officials during testimony before Congress. McCabe himself was fired by Sessions for a "lack of candor" [ABC News].
   
• Special counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly probing the Trump campaign's connections to data firm Cambridge Analytica [ABC News].
   
• Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is vowing to improve the social platform's privacy protections after it was discovered that data firm Cambridge Analytica accessed millions of profiles without permission. Facebook knew about the breach, but only recently acknowledged it  [New York Times].
   
• President Trump told Russian President Vladimir Puting that he expected to meet with him soon during a phone call earlier this week. That remark caught Trump's aides off guard as they have not been instructed to prepare for a possible meeting [Washington Post].
   
• Republican leaders in the House are terrified that some members who haven't faced a serious electoral challenge in years don't understand the danger they may be facing during the 2018 midterms [Politico]. 
   
• Kellyanne Conway is moving closer to becoming the next White House communications director [Atlantic].

On this day in history

• 1621 - The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony sign a peace treaty with Massasoit of the Wampanoags.
   
• 1622 - Jamestown massacre: Algonquians kill 347 English settlers.
   
• 1630 - The Massachusetts Bay Colony outlaws the possession of cards, dice and gaming tables.
   
• 1765 - The British Parliament passes the Stamp Act that introduces a tax to be levied directly on the American colonies.
   
• 1791 - Congress enacted legislation forbidding slave trading with foreign nations.
   
• 1871 - In North Carolina, Williams Woods Holden becomes the first governor of a U.S. state to be removed from office by impeachment.
   
• 1872 - Illinois becomes the first state to require gender equality in employment.
   
• 1963 - Please Please Me, the debut album from the Beatles, is released in Britain.
   
• 1972 - Congress sends the Equal Rights Amendment to the states for ratification.
   
• 1972 - In Eisenstadt v. Baird, the Supreme Court decides that unmarried persons have the right to possess contraceptives.

Today At Utah Policy

Utahns give Hatch and Lee slightly higher marks for job performance
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
Since U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch's retirement announcement, his approval ratings among Utahns has rebounded a bit....

Vote on the final second round matchups in our 2018 political bracket challenge
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
It's the final day of voting for round #2 in our political bracket challenge. Check out today's matchups and cast your vote below....

New McAdams campaign internal poll suggests race against Mia Love is a statistical tie
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
New internal polling from Democrat Ben McAdams' campaign shows the race in Utah's 4th CD is a virtual tie....

GOP Caucus attendance was much lower than usual on Tuesday
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Attendance at Tuesday's Utah's Republican caucuses was down significantly from two years ago, and from the 2014 midterms....

Cox, Dabakis, Wilson and the UEA advance in our 2018 political bracket challenge
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Four more advance to the "Sweet 16" after today's voting. Check out the results below....

Guest opinion: Utah's remarkable transportation & urban planning progress
By Dana Meier, WSP Area Manager
As a transportation professional with 34 years of experience working in Utah, in both the public and private sectors, I have seen the evolution of transportation first hand and I am excited and optimistic about Utah's transportation progress....

Weekly survey: Next steps for the Utah GOP after their latest court defeat?
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
The Utah GOP lost their latest court fight against SB54 after a federal court upheld the signature-gathering path to the ballot. Should the party continue their legal appeals, or drop the lawsuit and admit defeat? Vote now in our weekly survey....

Critical security controls: First steps for business cybersecurity
By Marty Carpenter
When you are starting a small business, there is plenty to worry about. How do you make your product amazing? How are you going to make sure your potential customers know about what you have to offer? How do you hire the right people? With so much going on, it is easy t...

Policy News

3 Takeaways from the 2018 Transportation Bill
The 2018 Legislative Session is behind us, but the positive impacts for our economy and business community will be felt for years to come....

Voices of Abuse panel discussion coming to Grand Theatre
Salt Lake Community College will host the Voices of Abuse panel discussion March 27, 6:30 p.m. in the Grand Theatre at South City Campus, 1575 South State Street, Salt Lake City....

Local Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

Michelle Quist: The Utah Republican Party lost its court battle, and now it's time to move on

Editorial: Who is paying for Orrin Hatch's monument?

Low-income Utah children rank last in the U.S. for taking free school breakfasts.

Rep. John Curtis says he 'never attempted to protect' a former Provo police chief accused of sexual misconduct, as lawsuit alleges

What's getting Utah police in trouble? Searching official databases when they shouldn't.

Gov. Herbert signs bills to send statue of Martha Hughes Cannon to U.S. Capitol, allow terminally ill 'right to try' medical marijuana

Deseret News

Jay Evensen: When it comes to tax incentives, 'but for' arguments abound

Op-ed: Lawmakers should uphold the protection of warrants

Utah resolves dispute with Big Tobacco to keep settlement money flowing

Utah governor signs bill allowing medical marijuana use by terminally ill patients

Utah's 'ring' counties among nation's fastest growing

U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman Jr. sees Trump, Putin moving toward formal meeting

Land deal finalized to clean up, develop old Salt Lake landfill, likely for inland port

Other

Ogden, West Haven hopefuls to seek House post with Peterson forgoing re-election (Standard-Examiner)

National Headlines

Anybody Recall The Media Looking At Gina McCarthy's Travel Expenses? (Hot Air)

Trump is right: The special counsel should never have been appointed (The Hill)

Small-town America has gotten an economic jolt under Trump (CNN)

There's an open secret about Cambridge Analytica in the political world: It doesn't have the 'secret sauce' it claims (Business Insider)

Jared Kushner's Dreams of Mideast Peace Are Alive (Bloomberg)

Congressional Leaders Agree on $1.3 Trillion Spending Bill as Deadline Looms (New York Times)

Police shot a man 20 times in his back yard, thinking he had a gun. It was a cellphone. (Washington Post)

Joe Biden and Trump keep threatening to 'beat the hell' out of each other (Business Insider)

'Anti-military' California teacher fired for video rant (BBC News)

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg Vows to Bolster Privacy Amid Cambridge Analytica Crisis (New York Times)

Facebook, Google and Amazon face digital tax blow in Europe (CNET)

Europe Plants a Flag in the Digital-Tax Debate (Wall Street Journal)

Wise Words

Still True

"Capital isn't scarce; vision is." Sam Walton
 

Lighter Side

Good Luck

"According to Politico, the publishers of former FBI Director James Comey's upcoming memoir are taking extreme precautions to prevent the manuscript from leaking. Yeah, it would be a shame if something got out at the wrong time and ruined everything for him." Seth Meyers