Happy Tuesday!
Another push to return to the moon — this time by the Trump administration — has critics wondering if such on-and-off again plans in recent years it is akin the the Peanuts cartoon where Lucy keep pulling away the football as Charlie Brown tries to kick it.
Vice President Mike Pence announced the goal last week to return to the moon by 2024, and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said Monday the agency will need additional funding to meet it. He told a NASA town hall meeting he is also aware that past administrations set goals to reach the moon or Mars, only to pull them back as Congress failed to fund them or a new administrations canceled plans.
For example, during the presidency of George W. Bush, NASA was directed to go to the moon. Under Barack Obama, reaching an asteroid and Mars were the missions. Now, under President Trump, it’s the moon again.
“I hear the comment all the time about Lucy and the football,” Bridenstine said. “This is not Lucy and the football. In the executive branch, people are very serious, we are going to the moon and going fast.” [WaPost]
Topping the news: Utah’s Medicaid expansion program is now open for enrollment but health care advocates say that the limited expansion program, brought forth as a substitute for the voter approved full expansion, will leave thousands without coverage and may lead to a lawsuit. [Trib][Fox13][DNews]
-> A report spurred by former Sen. Orrin Hatch says the country’s 85,000 skilled worker visas are not sufficient to fill the needs of STEM related industries, which would require at least twice that amount. [Trib][DNews]
-> The so-called great cattle-gate case ends with a Colorado environmental activist pleading no contest and pointing fingers at southern Utah power brokers. [Trib]
Tweets of the day: From @JeremyBRoberts “Are we all just going to ignore @SpencerJCox just admitted to owning a Milli Vanilii tape? Because Spencer Cox just admitted that.”
-> From @CiciBird “I believe an important step toward ethical elections in Utah will be getting #RankedChoiceVoting established! I'm still holding out a smidgen of hope for our non-partisan 2019 SLC Mayoral election #utpol.”
-> From @MikeLMower “Between the @utahhousegop; the @utahhousedems; and the @utahsenate; There were 543 bills passed during the Utah Leg Session for @GovHerbert to review and sign. We are smiling because we will be done next week. #utpol.”
Happy Birthday: to former state Reps. Dana Layton and Julie Fisher and to state auditor John Dougall.
In other news: LuAnn Adams, Utah’s first woman to head the Department of Agriculture and Food is set to retire later this month, temporarily leaving the position to Deputy Commissioner Scott Ericson until a replacement is appointed by the governor. [Trib][DNews]
-> In the first month that Utah implemented a strict .05 limit DUI law, the state saw 38 arrests for driving under the influence. [Fox13]
-> Online April Fool’s pranks include the Utah National Guard claiming Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell was enlisting in an artillery unit because of his love of shooting and teamwork. [Trib]
-> A transgender woman says her stay at Weber County jail, while not all negative, may highlight practices that have disproportionately negative effects on non-binary individuals. [Trib]
-> Tribune columnist George Pyle pens a criticism of Utah Senator Mike Lee’s approach to climate change. [Trib]
-> Tribune columnist, Robert Gehrke, highlights what he views as hypocrisy on the part of Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes in his support for undoing the Affordable Care Act. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley illustrates a dry spell. [Trib]
-> Utah Sen. Mitt Romney has confirmed that he is involved in preliminary talks on health care reform amidst attempts by the feds to repeal the current Affordable Care Act. [DNews]
Nationally: President Donald Trump spoke out strongly Monday in favor of a contentious citizenship question that his administration is trying to add to the 2020 Census, saying the survey would be “meaningless” without it. [WaPost]
-> A White House whistleblower says state secrets are at risk after two dozen security clearance denials were reversed by the Trump Administration. [WaPost][NYTimes]
-> A second accusation of inappropriate physical contact has come against former Vice President Joe Biden who was expected to announce candidacy for the Democratic primary to the 2020 presidential election. [WaPost]
-> President Trump seems inclined to close the border with Mexico despite the chaos that could create [CNN]
-> Although the long battle over how to exit the European Union continues to plague politics in the UK, the split has already happened for many of the nation’s businesses. [NYTimes]
-> The longtime ruling party in Turkey is showing signs of weakness after municipality voting results returned in favor of the opposition. [NYTimes]
-> A disaster aid package failed to pass the Senate after U.S. President Donald Trump complained that too much aid was directed towards relief funds to Puerto Rico. [Politico]
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Lee Davidson and Christina Giardinelli
Follow @sltribpolitics