This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.

50 days out from Election Day, the presidential race tightens. 20 years ago, President Clinton named the Grand Staircase monument. Snow criticizes Owens for weak stands.

Happy Monday. We're now 50 days out from Election Day and the presidential race couldn't be more unpredictable. Hillary Clinton has spent seven times as much on TV ads as Donald Trump, but he's still creeping up in polls in battleground states. Supposed terrorist attacks in three U.S. cities has also brought national security to the forefront. [<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-50-days-228339">Politico</a>]

<strong>Topping the news: </strong>The 20th anniversary of President Bill Clinton's designation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument throws a hindsight perspective on the current debate over a Bears Ears national monument. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4369314-155/20th-anniversary-of-grand-staircase-escalante-monument"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Utah Senate candidate Misty Snow is criticizing her Democratic colleague Doug Owens, who is running against Rep. Mia love, for taking too weak of a stand on liberal issues. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4361845-155/why-dont-you-stand-up-for"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Emails obtained by the Salt Lake Tribune trace the West Jordan Facebook data center deal from start to finish. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4365676-155/facebook-timeline-how-fractures-in-utahs?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

<strong>Tweets of the weekend: </strong>From @<a href="https://twitter.com/joereid"; target="_blank">joereid</a>: "Honestly, if it takes him five years to confirm the birth nation of one man, this whole mass deportation thing is gonna be mad slow."

From @<a href="https://twitter.com/weknowwhatsbest"; target="_blank">weknowwhatsbest</a>: "Americans aren't paying attention because it is now late Friday afternoon... Or as we like to call it: FBI document release time."

<strong>Happy Birthday: </strong>to the University of Utah's Sheena McFarland.

<strong>Opinion section: </strong>Board President of Catholic Community Services Peter Corroon stands up for Saint Teresa in response to an op-ed last weekend, arguing that connecting Saint Teresa to the Catholic Church's abuse scandal is unfounded and that many follow her example of faith and helping the lowly. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4353886-155/op-ed-the-miracle-of-mother-teresa"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Randy T. Simmons, director of Utah State University's Institute of Political Economy and president of research center Strata, and Devin Stein, graduate student research assistant at Strata, propose reforming water law in Utah to move away from artificially cheap water and toward real market prices to encourage conservation. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4354151-155/op-ed-if-water-price-reflected-its"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Jonathan Gochberg, University of Utah Department of Educational Leadership and Policy doctoral student and principal of Sunset Junior High School, questions whether unintentional and unnoticed racism is woven through the Utah system. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4343079-155/op-ed-utahns-should-confront-their-unconscious"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Tribune editorial writer George Pyle points out that, though many Utahns and legislators want the Bears Ears public lands to themselves, federal land belongs to the entire country, not just Utah. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4358364-155/george-pyle-when-it-comes-to"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Ute Business Committee members Shaun Chapoose, Edred Secakuku, Tony Small, Ronald Wopsock, Bruce Ignacio and Cummings Justin Vanderhoop assert the Ute Tribe's opposition to Reps. Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz's Public Lands Initiative because it excludes them from the discussion table and counteracts hundreds of years of work on federal-Native American relations. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4358069-155/op-ed-pli-would-be-the-first"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Utah Rep. Keith Grover and Sen. Margaret Dayton posit that the application of antitrust laws, designed for oil and railroad monopolies, to the tech industry would halt innovation. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4348709-155/op-ed-dont-let-anti-trust-law-derail"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Michelle Baker, iUTAH project director and biology professor at Utah State University, encourages people everywhere to keep pressure for revamping state water systems on the public radar. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4343110-155/op-ed-algae-events-should-help-utahs"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Paul Rolly compares Donald Trump's proposed tariff-raising policies against a historical precedent — Utah Rep. Reed Smoot's 1930 act that began globally destructive trade wars. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4283382-155/paul-rolly-trumps-talk-of-raising?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Ogden's E.A. Stern, Weber State University professor and designated teaching artist with the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Partners in Education Program, takes readers on a jog through Washington, D.C. on the fifteenth anniversary of 9/11. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4354063-155/op-ed-on-911-in-dc-the"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Steve Jones, CEO of security force company Allied Universal, details the skills and sacrifices of security workers and encourages readers to thank security workers around them during National Security Officer Appreciation Week. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865662705/Security-officers-are-our-nation7s-everyday-heroes.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]

-> Former Executive Vice President of Zion's Bancorporation W. David Hemingway makes a pitch for a Re-Empowerment of the States Amendment that would allow a two thirds vote in both houses of Congress to repeal an executive order. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865662699/The-re-empowerment-of-the-states-amendment.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]

-> Willie Grayeyes, chairman of Utah DinÉ BikÉyah, puts his support behind the proposed Bears Ears National Monument as a way to protect the land in a way that honors tribes who use it. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865662706/Bears-Ears-Monument-request-seeks-to-preserve-aboriginal-lands.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]

-> Drew Clark of the Gary Johnson-Bill Weld campaign accuses the Commission on Presidential Debates of shutting out the third party candidate who had to earn 15 percent in the polls required to be included in presidential debates. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865662598/Opening-the-debates-up-to-Gary-Johnson-and-Bill-Weld.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]

-> Greg Bell, president and CEO of the Utah Hospital Association and former lieutenant governor of Utah, pushes for positive stories to be broadcast in the news to combat negativity. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865662565/The-bad-news-is-we-need-more-good-news.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]

-> Aimee Winder Newton, a Salt Lake County councilwoman, says that a centralized, 3-digit number to call during a behavioral incident like suicide could more quickly connect Utahns to help that is desperately needed. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865662567/My-view-Time-to-designate-a-three-digit-crisis-line.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]

-> Mario Moussa and Derek Newberry, lecturers at the Wharton School, tout the influence good story-telling has on campaigning and argue that Hillary Clinton is doing a better job at it. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865662579/My-view-A-lesson-from-the-campaign-trail-Good-leaders-need-to-be-great-storytellers.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]

-> Columnists LaVarr Webb and Frank Pignanelli offer a look from both sides of the political spectrum at local elections. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865662704/Utah-races-to-watch-in-the-TrumpClinton-free-zone.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]

<strong>Weekend in review: </strong>Gov. Gary Herbert and opponent Mike Weinholtz talked public land management, specifically for the Bears Ears area, at the League of Cities and Towns debate on Friday. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4361301-155/weinholtz-and-herbert-debate-draws-distinctions?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865662655/Public-lands-issue-sparks-friction-in-first-gubernatorial-debate.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>] [<a href="http://fox13now.com/2016/09/16/herbert-weinholtz-debate-public-lands-government-overreach/"; target="_blank">Fox13</a>] [<a href="http://kutv.com/news/local/herbert-weinholtz-spar-over-public-lands-lawsuit-in-debate"; target="_blank">KUTV</a>] [<a href="http://kuer.org/post/governor-herbert-challenges-mike-weinholtz-first-two-scheduled-debates"; target="_blank">KUER</a>]

-> Democrat Catherine Kanter has raised $206,272 compared to Republican incumbent Richard Snelgrove's $55,610 in the race for Salt Lake County Council. A Kanter victory could mean a new Democratic majority for the council. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4348448-155/challenger-kanter-raises-big-money-for?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865662575/Campaign-money-illegal-signs-at-issue-in-battle-over-SL-County-seat.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]

-> Delaware Gov. Jack Markell visited Utah last week on the Hillary Clinton campaign's behalf, noting that making Utah a destination meant the campaign believed there was a chance. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4361951-155/clinton-campaign-sends-delaware-gov-markell"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865662648/Delaware-governor-courts-Utah-for-Clinton.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]

-> Utah's District 13 school board candidates Stan Lockhart and Scott B. Neilson debated last week on the role of school counselors, the relevance of state testing, the qualifications of teachers, the influence of the teacher union, and more. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4358404-155/state-school-board-candidates-spar-over?page=2"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> A judge ruled on Friday that former state Attorney General John Swallow will not get a second chance at a preliminary hearing because he was "intelligently" aware of what it meant when he denied his original hearing. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4362178-155/judge-denies-former-utah-ag-john"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865662652/Judge-rejects-ex-AG-John-Swallows-motion-to-restore-preliminary-hearing.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]

-> Another FLDS contracting company is facing charges for child labor — a U.S. District judge is mulling over the U.S. Department of Labor's request for Paragon Contractors to pay $200,000 to reimburse child workers and submit to an independent supervisor. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4360279-155/judge-consider-penalties-in-polygamous-child"; target="_blank">APviaTrib</a>] [<a href="http://fox13now.com/2016/09/16/judge-to-decide-punishment-for-flds-linked-companys-child-labor-violations/"; target="_blank">Fox13</a>]

-> The National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management have released a document aimed at more precisely mapping and preserving the history of the Old Spanish Trail, a route from Santa Fe to Los Angeles that passes through parts of Utah. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4181889-155/plan-puts-new-attention-on-old?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> 300 people rallied at the Capitol on Saturday in support of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe's protest of the building of the Dakota Access pipeline across a river north of their reservation. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4361783-155/its-not-criminal-to-protect-our?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.good4utah.com/news/top-stories/utahns-protest-against-the-proposed-dakota-access-oil-pipeline"; target="_blank">ABC4</a>]

-> Salt Lake County District Attorney Sam Gill will fund the distribution of 200 naloxone kits to Unified Police Department officers to reverse opioid overdoses as first responders. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4357473-155/upd-officers-to-get-anti-overdose-kits?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Salt Lake Police are undergoing de-escalation training and working to develop mutual respect with the community in the face of police violence incidents. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4334493-155/instead-of-shooting-suspects-utah-police"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> 150 of Utah's high school seniors qualify for the National Merit scholarship semifinals. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4360320-155/150-utah-seniors-are-national-merit"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Orem City Council moved last week to put a cap on sizes of apartments built for low-income seniors to keep rent in the affordable range. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4361337-155/orem-city-council-moves-to-try"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> The Air Force had to bring down 15 F-35 fighter jets due to crumbling and peeling of the insulation in the fuel tanks. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/home/4362085-155/air-force-grounds-15-f-35-fighter"; target="_blank">WaPostviaTrib</a>]

-> University of Evansville's Michael Austin, in a blog post for By Common Consent, finds 20 percent of Brigham Young University faculty were women in 2013. A spokeswoman for the university says current data reports more encouraging numbers and that the school actively recruits female staff in an attempt to up those numbers. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4361236-155/blogger-asks-why-so-few-women?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Regular North Korean abductions during the time BYU student David Sneddon disappeared lead to theories of why he may have been taken, including to teach English to the children of North Korea's ruler. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4367827-155/would-north-korea-have-abducted-utah"; target="_blank">WaPostviaTrib</a>]

-> Paul Rolly reviews two fictional political novels that draw parallels to President Barack Obama's presidency and the potential presidency of Donald Trump. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4292005-155/rolly-stranger-than-fiction-two-novels"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Pat Bagley offers his two cents on where Gov. Gary Herbert's loyalties lie. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4362405-155/bagley-cartoon-this-land-is-their"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

<strong>Nationally:</strong> Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein both missed the cut to participate in the first presidential debate. [<a href="http://time.com/4497564/gary-johnson-jill-stein-fail-qualify-first-debate/"; target="_blank">Time</a>] [<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/09/16/third-party-candidates-miss-cut-for-first-presidential-debates/"; target="_blank">WaPost</a>] [<a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/18/media/gary-johnson-debates/index.html"; target="_blank">CNN</a>]

-> An explosion in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City, another at a charity race in New Jersey, and a knife attack at a mall in Minnesota spotlighted both Donald Trump's and Hillary Clinton's style in responding to attacks. [<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/18/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-terror-attack-response/index.html"; target="_blank">CNN</a>] [<a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/how-trump-clinton-reacted-new-york-city-bombs-n650116"; target="_blank">NBCNews</a>]

-> President Barack Obama gave an impassioned speech at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation gala on Saturday night, urging black voters to rally around Clinton for him. [<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/19/us/politics/obama-trump-clinton.html?ref=politics&_r=0"; target="_blank">NYTimes</a>] [<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/17/politics/obama-black-congressional-caucus/index.html"; target="_blank">CNN</a>] [<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/obama-congressional-black-caucus-228327"; target="_blank">Politico</a>]

<strong>Where are they?</strong>

<ul>

<li>Rep. Jason <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/jasoninthehouse"; target="_blank">Chaffetz</a></strong> makes media appearances in New York before returning to D.C.</li>

<li>Rep. Mia <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMiaLove"; target="_blank"><strong>Love</strong></a> sits down with constituents from her district.</li>

<li>Gov. Gary <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/GovHerbert"; target="_blank">Herbert</a></strong> attends business meetings in New York City.</li>

<li>Lt. Gov. Spencer <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/SpencerJCox"; target="_blank">Cox</a></strong> has no public events.</li>

<li>State Auditor John <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/FrugalDougall"; target="_blank">Dougall</a> </strong>speaks at an event in South Salt Lake and meets with the Davis County audit committee.</li>

<li>President Barack <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama"; target="_blank">Obama</a> </strong>swings by a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee roundtable, meets with Premier Li Keqiang of China and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi of Iraq, and meets and greets at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.</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>