Good Wednesday morning, Utah! Thanks for reading “The Rundown”.
📬 Send me your story ideas, news tips, questions, comments, or anything else on your mind. You can reach me via email. You can also find me on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Reddit
Get this newsletter delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up for free here.
Here’s what you need to know for Wednesday morning
Utah election coverage
🗳 Utah election roundup: Park City could be getting a new mayor. [Tribune]
🗳 Councilwoman set to lead West Valley City, while tight races emerge in Sandy, Midvale. [Tribune]
🗳 Two new west-side faces poised to join the Salt Lake City Council. [Tribune]
🗳 Election night tracker: New leadership in Davis County and Moab mayoral races. [Tribune]
🗳 Ranked choice voting. Passing fad, or here to stay? [Tribune]
All of The Tribune’s election coverage is free to the public. To support work like this, become a subscriber today. https://www.sltrib.com/subscribe/
National
🗳 Republican Glenn Youngkin wins the race for governor in Virginia. Joe Biden carried Virginia in 2020 by 10 points.
Former President Donald Trump took a victory lap following Youngkin’s win, even though he did not appear in the state to campaign for him. [New York Post]
🗳 Other key election results:
New Jersey’s governor’s race is surprisingly close. Democratic Gov. Phillip Murphy is seeking another term but getting a robust challenge from Republican Jack Ciattarelli. [NYT]
Democrat Shontel Brown and Republican Mike Carey each win open Congressional seats in Ohio. [Politico]
The Democratic primary for a Florida Congressional seat is headed to a recount. [Politico]
Democrat Eric Adams cruised to an easy win in the NYC mayor’s race. [WSJ]
Michelle Wu became the first woman and person of color to be elected Mayor of Boston. [NBC News]
Voters in Minneapolis reject a ballot measure to defund the city’s police department. [Fox News]
🗳 Tuesday’s election results contain some very bad omens for Democrats heading into the 2022 midterms. [AP]
⚖️ The Supreme Court takes up a challenge to a New York gun law. The justices will decide whether Americans have a constitutional right to carry loaded, concealed firearms outside the home. [WSJ]
🏛 Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Democrats had reached a deal on a bill to lower prescription drug prices. [The Hill]
🏛 Democrats hope to reach a final agreement on President Biden’s spending plan before Thanksgiving. [CNN]
💉 The CDC signed off on vaccinating kids 5 to 11 years old, paving the way for medical providers to begin administering vaccines immediately. [WaPo]
💻 Facebook ends the use of its facial recognition software. The company says it has deleted data on more than one billion people. [WaPo]
Protest or futile gesture?
Far-right social media is flooded with posts urging “patriots” to participate in two upcoming actions designed to grind the economy to a halt and bring the forces of tyranny to their knees.
Today is a call for a “nationwide shutdown” to not go to work to protest masks, vaccines, or testing for COVID. There’s not much information online about who is organizing the event.
Social media post calling for a nationwide strike on November 3, 2021
The post calls for several professions to join the walkout, such as law enforcement, paramedics, and retail. However, only one “fireman” is expected to participate instead of all of them (do they draw straws?). Evidently, proofreaders decided to join the shutdown early.
The larger event is next weekend, with calls for a nationwide four-day strike against employers who mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for employees.
Social media post calling for a nationwide strike November 8-11 to protest vaccine mandates for employees.
It’s unknown how effective either of these events will be. If previous right-wing boycotts against Nike, Whole Foods, Diet Coke, Keurig, Kellogg’s cereal, Major League Baseball, the NFL, Walmart, Netflix, Starbucks, Oreos, or CNN (to name a few) are any guide, it will be more hype than impact.
Wednesday morning’s Utah news roundup
Utah
Forest Service OKs right of way for Utah’s oil railway. [Tribune]
See which Utah companies lead the way in values, direction, innovation, benefits and more. [Tribune]
Ogden officer who shot and wounded man was not wearing bodycam, chief says. [Tribune]
Priced out of Park City: More affordable housing needed in resort town. [FOX13]
Bluffdale mayoral candidate remains under investigation as voting winds down. [KUTV]
COVID-19
Utah reports 1,250 new coronavirus cases. [Tribune]
What we know about when kids 5 to 11 can get the shot in Utah. [Tribune]
Latter-day Saint missionary brought first coronavirus case to Tonga. [Tribune]
Washington
My condiments to you: Sen. Mike Lee sends a Utah original to Apple CEO Tim Cook. [Deseret News]
One of Mitt Romney’s arguments against eliminating Senate filibuster? Donald Trump could be elected president in 2024. [Deseret News]
Education
Utah doctors on how to bring up mental health concerns with children. [KUTV]
UVU and USU receive funding for new tech program partnership. [Daily Herald]
Masks are required at Parley’s Park Elementary School after COVID threshold hit. [Park Record]
Election Day
‘Safe and secure’: How Utah County makes sure every vote counts. [ABC4]
Unified Police Department hired to secure SLCo drop box ballots. [ABC4]
Opinion
Scott Williams: Utah shouldn’t gamble on unproven nuclear energy without public input. [Tribune]
Opinion: Honor the will of the people, lawmakers. [Deseret News]
Opinion: ‘Pushing too much stuff through too small a pipe’ means it’s time to build an inland port. [Deseret News]
