This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Who makes up the Electoral College? A look at the 538 electors. The EPA says Utah needs a new plan to clean up its air. Poll: Most Utahns optimistic about Trump presidency.
Happy Monday. The Electoral College meets today to cast votes to elect a new president of the United States. Yet there's little understanding of who these 306 Republicans and 232 Democrats are, the role they play, or how they were selected. That's because presidential electors have never done anything more than rubber-stamp the results of the general election. A look inside. [<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/electoral-college-electors-232791">Politico</a>]
<strong>Topping the news: </strong>The Environmental Protection Agency classifies Utah's breach of federal air quality limits as serious, mandating the state to submit a new plan to clean up Utah's air by the end of December 2017. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4722488-155/epa-plans-to-classify-utah-air?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865669477/Inversions-prompt-EPA-to-bump-Utah-pollution-status-to-serious.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
-> State prosecutors file a motion to keep all talk of ex-Attorney General Mark Shurtleff's dismissed public corruption case out of his successor John Swallow's trial. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4722910-155/utahs-attorneys-want-no-mention-of"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865669475/Prosecutors-want-to-keep-DOJ-Shurtleff-cases-out-of-Swallow-trial.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>] [<a href="http://fox13now.com/2016/12/16/prosecutors-dont-want-swallow-to-talk-about-shurtleff-or-justice-dept/"; target="_blank">Fox13</a>]
-> Ryan McKnight, publisher of the leaked videos of Mormon apostles talking politics, will launch his own Mormon Wikileaks site on Monday to showcase tips from anonymous sources, including church employees. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/lifestyle/faith/4725913-155/new-website-plans-to-showcase-leaked?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://kutv.com/news/local/ex-mormon-creates-mormonwikileaks-website-set-to-launch-on-monday"; target="_blank">KUTV</a>]
-> The Utah Republican Party's attorney Marcus Mumford has missed several deadlines and gotten a stern slap on the wrist, but the court says the party's lawsuit over SB54 — which allows candidates to get their name on the primary ballot by gathering signatures and dodging the convention — is still on. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4722864-155/gops-utah-election-appeal-will-proceed"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> A new poll shows a majority of Utahns are optimistic about President Trump's tenure. [<a href="http://utahpolicy.com/index.php/features/today-at-utah-policy/11793-">UtahPolicy</a>]
<strong>Tweets of the weekend: </strong>From @<a href="https://twitter.com/PaisleyRekdal"; target="_blank">PaisleyRekdal</a>: "'Unpresidented,' huh? That's not a spelling mistake. That's a Freudian slip."
From @<a href="https://twitter.com/BilgeEbiri"; target="_blank">BilgeEbiri</a>: "That sound you just heard was 10,000 future Trump biographers rushing at once to copyright the title 'Unpresidented.'"
From @<a href="https://twitter.com/pourmecoffee"; target="_blank">pourmecoffee</a>: "Night before Electoral College must be so exciting for delegates. Getting your backpack all organized and packing high energy snacks."
<strong>Happy Birthday: </strong>to Brian Steed, Rep. Chris Stewart's chief of staff. Belated birthday wishes to Alex Cragun, state legislative coordinator for the Association for Utah Community Health.
<strong>Programming note:</strong> Political Cornflakes is off for the holidays through Jan. 3. We thank you for reading and wish you and yours a very happy holiday season.
<strong>Opinion section: </strong>George Chapman, a former candidate for Salt Lake City mayor, scoffs at the idea that 600 new homeless shelter beds will cover the loss of an already bursting-at-the-seams 1,000 and that the crime embedded in the homeless population won't follow the new shelters to new neighborhoods. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4709681-155/op-ed-without-more-crime-control-homeless"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Matthew Anderson, a policy analyst for Sutherland Institute's Coalition for Self-Government in the West, says monument designations through the Antiquities Act bypasses democratic cooperation with Congress and locals and has become an ever bigger and badder tool to build presidents' legacies. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4713970-155/op-ed-bears-ears-monument-runs-counter"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Laurel Peacock, a Brigham Young University neuroscience and women's studies student, says child-heavy Utah has a lot to gain by implementing a statewide paid parental leave policy. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4680361-155/op-ed-family-centered-utah-needs-paid-parental"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Former Salt Lake City mayors Ted Wilson and Palmer DePaulis say the current administration's choices on new homeless shelters follow a smart model and represent necessary leadership grit. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4717642-155/op-ed-homeless-centers-are-the-start"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Joe Hatch, an attorney and former Salt Lake County Council chairman, says giving the gift of protected natural beauty in Bears Ears to the American people is more important than partisan squabbling in Congress. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4704181-155/op-ed-declare-bears-ears-monument-before"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> William F. Shughart II, research director of the Independent Institute and business professor at Utah State University, says Utah's deal with Amazon to start collecting sales tax will rebound to hurt the company's sales and the state's economy at best and is unconstitutional at worst. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4704526-155/op-ed-amazon-deal-undermines-tax-rate"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Whitney McCarthy, a Park City food nonprofit activist, explains why simply saying no to meat now and then can ease the fast extinction of wild animals. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4704126-155/op-ed-save-simba-by-skipping-the"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Scott Whitaker, president and CEO of AdvaMed, and Kelly Slone, president and CEO of BioUtah, push Congress to officially repeal a tax on medical devices. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4717951-155/op-ed-repeal-medical-device-tax-to"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Ashley Timmerman, a University of Utah student in metallurgical engineering, urges Utahns to research, reuse and recycle when it comes to the mounds of holiday wrapping and packaging. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4704192-155/op-ed-holiday-packaging-is-even-prettier"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Tribune editorial writer George Pyle combs through PolitiFact's Lie of the Year list, including Donald Trump's belief that climate change is a Chinese hoax, which prompted scientists to transfer data on global warming to Canadian computers for safekeeping and California to gear up for a fight. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4718525-155/george-pyle-after-fake-news-wins"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Paul Rolly goes over why state Rep. Mike Noel, who has applied to be director of the Bureau of Land Management under President Trump, would fit right in to a Cabinet full of people who presumably hate their departments. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4718550-155/paul-rolly-mike-noel-as-blm?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] Then, he reports on why money from an upcoming media fundraiser coupled with Huntsman Foundation donations to The Road Home will still be in demand after the shelter closes. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4721393-155/rolly-shelter-locations-may-change-but"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Madison Hayes, content manager at Alliance for a Better Utah, says state Rep. Mike Noel's record of fighting the federal government, smiling on illegal protests and misrepresenting locals to promote his own ideas makes him a bad pick for director of the BLM. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4684268-155/op-ed-past-history-says-noel-would"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Howie Garber, a board member of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment and longtime Wasatch Mountains planner, argues that the throngs of Utahns angry about Mountain Accord are ignorantly staging an eleventh-hour protest of the most inclusive and open approach to managing the mountains he's ever seen. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4689908-155/op-ed-mountain-accord-has-been-an"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Pat Bagley offers his take on Utah's politicians being in the pocket of the oil and gas industry professing to represent what Utah's American Indians actually want with Bears Ears. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4722936-155/bagley-cartoon-bucket-of-deplorables"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Utah Hospital Association CEO and president and former lieutenant governor of Utah Greg Bell offers some wisdom: resist the urge to bolster false beliefs to protect your pride rather than accept the truth. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865669426/Dont-let-your-ego-hoodwink-you.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
-> Timothy Ogilvie, dean of St. George's University School of Veterinary Medicine in Grenada, puts in a plug for how global human health and nutrition relies largely on vets who specialize in livestock. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865669425/My-view-To-feed-the-world-look-to-veterinarians.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
-> Jason Kerr, a Provo writer, suggests Rep. Jason Chaffetz could actually both please and gain backbone from his constituency by investigating possible conflicts of interests of President-elect Donald Trump with the same concern he has for Hillary Clinton. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865669500/Jason-Kerr-Chaffetz-can-and-should-hold-Trump-accountable.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
-> LaVarr Webb and Frank Pignanelli analyze some simmering issues in politics: Trump's wealthy and unorthodox Cabinet, Salt Lake City's homeless shelters and Russian election hacking. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865669523/Political-stew-boils-over-Trump7s-cabinet-homeless-services-and-Russian-hacking.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
-> The Deseret News' Opinion Editor Hal Boyd says its time for New York Times columnist Gail Collins to stop defaulting to making fun of irrelevant Mitt Romney stories. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865669529/Time-to-end-NY-Times-columnists-cruelty-toward-Mitt-Romney.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
<strong>Weekend in review: </strong>Sen. Orrin Hatch convenes a roundtable in Salt Lake City for panelists to chip away at the solutions to teen suicide in Utah. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4721489-155/how-to-curb-utahs-teen-suicide-rate?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865669498/Hatch-convenes-suicide-prevention-conference.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>] [<a href="http://fox13now.com/2016/12/16/senator-hatch-hosts-roundtable-discussion-on-teen-suicide-prevention-in-utah/"; target="_blank">Fox13</a>] [<a href="http://kutv.com/news/local/sen-hatch-holds-teen-suicide-prevention-roundtable"; target="_blank">KUTV</a>]
-> The president-elect calls his oft-referenced Utah election competition Evan McMullin by name — sort of. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4724753-155/evan-mcmuffin-trump-gives-former-competitor"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Two Salt Lake City neighborhood councils say they'll work with local government to make the homeless shelters slated to go up in their boundaries work, but one pitches a plan to form community oversight boards to get neighbors and local businesses in on the projects. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4721662-155/slcs-central-city-neighborhood-seeks-more"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Chris Smart dives into Salt Lake City's argument for why four new homeless resource centers' designs ensure against a repeat of The Road Home's pitfalls — and why many residents don't buy it. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4718503-155/city-forget-rio-grande-street-homeless?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> The state Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services gives Utahns two extra days to tackle the crowds rushing to sign up for Obamacare. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4721651-155/with-extended-deadline-utahns-can-sign"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> The BLM releases a master leasing plan for public lands around Moab — intended as a blueprint for other Western MLPs — but opponents think it's skewed to favor preservation and leaves no room for energy development. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4718236-155/feds-unveil-plan-for-balancing-recreation?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Salt Lake City will skip out on collecting compost for the winter. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4722728-155/slc-to-halt-compost-collection-for"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865669454/Salt-Lake-City-to-temporarily-stop-green-waste-collection.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
-> Cultural dancers performed at Millcreek's Krishna Temple Sunday night in support of protesters at Standing Rock. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4728279-155/utah-dancers-gather-in-support-of"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
<strong>Nationally: </strong>Today's the day: America's electors will cast their votes, and despite pressure to block Donald Trump from the White House, the president-elect's win is slated to become official. [<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/18/politics/electoral-college-donald-trump-monday/index.html"; target="_blank">CNN</a>] [<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/18/us/politics/the-electoral-college-meets-monday-heres-what-to-expect.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news"; target="_blank">NYTimes</a>] [<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/electoral-college-electors-232791"; target="_blank">Politico</a>]
-> Read up on what President Barack Obama had to say in his last press conference in office, including a justification of his legacy and intentions, insight on Syria and Russia and a warning of media focused on nonsense and politics descending to nasty levels. [<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/16/politics/obama-news-conference-i-did-it-right/index.html"; target="_blank">CNN</a>] [<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/obama-press-conference-december-2016/"; target="_blank">NBCNews</a>]
-> The president-elect keeps up his casual, tweet-based approach to foreign policy with a series on China's theft of a U.S. naval drone in the South China Sea, which featured a now famous spelling slip. [<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/china-said-it-would-return-a-seized-us-naval-drone-trump-told-them-tokeep-it/2016/12/18/9e3f6f82-c4d3-11e6-9a51-cd56ea1c2bb7_story.html?utm_term=.511e9bdd912f"; target="_blank">WaPost</a>]
<strong>Where are they?</strong>
<ul>
<li>Gov. Gary <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/GovHerbert"; target="_blank">Herbert</a></strong> hunkers down for a day of meetings with staff, his leadership team, Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox and Pamela Atkinson. Then he films a public service announcement, heads to a Utah joint press event and ends the night at the Elephant Club Winter Social.</li>
<li>Lt. Gov. Spencer <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/SpencerJCox"; target="_blank">Cox</a></strong> sits down for a strategy meeting, pops in on the presidential electors, chats with Gov. Gary Herbert and the governor's leadership team and kicks back at the Elephant Club Winter Social.</li>
<li>State Auditor John <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/FrugalDougall"; target="_blank">Dougall</a> </strong>reviews draft audit reports, visits with Sen. Mike Lee and a state lawmaker and stops by to watch the Electoral College process.</li>
<li>President Barack <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama"; target="_blank">Obama</a> </strong>vacations in Hawaii with the first family.</li>
</ul>
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— Thomas Burr and Zoe Woolf McGinn
<a title="Thomas Burr" href="https://twitter.com/thomaswburr"; target="_blank">Twitter.com/thomaswburr</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/zoewmcginn"; target="_blank">Twitter.com/zoewmcginn</a>