Good Monday morning from Salt Lake City. There are 31 days left in 2015.
Another government shutdown is looming. Olene Walker, Utah’s first female governor, passes. Most Utahns favor SB54.
The clock:
- 56 days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (1/25/2016)
- 63 days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus – (2/1/2016)
- 71 days to the 2016 New Hampshire Primary (tentative) – (2/9/2016)
- 102 days to the final day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (3/10/2016)
- 113 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic caucus meetings (3/22/2016)
- 145 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic State Conventions (4/23/2016)
- 212 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
- 344 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
Monday’s top-10 headlines:
- Congress needs to act on an omnibus spending bill by the end of next week to avoid another government shutdown [The Hill].
- That didn’t take long. Hillary Clinton lashes out at Republicans after Saturday’s attack at a Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado Springs [The Hill].
- Olene Walker, Utah’s first female governor, passes away at the age of 85 [Utah Policy, 2 News, ABC 4, KSL, Fox 13, Deseret News, Tribune].
- A new poll shows 57% of Utahns favor the dual-track path to the primary ballot established under SB54 [Utah Policy].
- A federal judge says Utah’s Democrats can continue to allow unaffiliated voters in their primaries [Utah Policy, Tribune].
- Sen. Jim Dabakis will debate GOP gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Johnson [Deseret News, Associated Press].
- Lawmakers will focus on early childhood education during the upcoming 2016 legislature [Deseret News].
- Do Utah’s rural counties wield too much influence? The state’s largest counties are exploring the idea of forming their own caucus [Tribune].
- Alcohol consumption in Utah is up, but underage drinking is on the decline [Deseret News, Tribune].
- State education officials are set to debate new science standards that include changes on how the curriculum deals with climate change [Tribune].
On this day in history:
- 1782 – Preliminary peace articles formally ending the American Revolutionary War were signed in Paris.
- 1804 – Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase went on trial, accused of political bias. He was later acquitted by the Senate.
- 1988 – The Soviet Union stopped jamming broadcasts of Radio Free Europe for the first time in 30 years.
- 1993 – President Bill Clinton signed into law the Brady bill, which requires a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases and background checks of prospective buyers.
- 2004 – Ken Jennings lost on “Jeopardy!” after winning 74 games in a row.
