Utah Legislative Session So Far: Dramz
Rep. Owens made waves early this legislative session when he decided to skip an annual meeting with Utah House Democrats.
After Rep. Owens skipped, Rep. Andrew Stoddard (D-Sandy) called him out on Twitter.
Our caucus gets visits from our federal delegation each session. It's a great chance to discuss both of our priorities. Just found out that @RepBurgessOwens is choosing not to come visit our caucus. My Rep is purposefully skipping a chance to meet. #utpol #utleg
— Rep. Andrew Stoddard, sad Bills fan (@RepAStoddard) January 24, 2022
Rep. Owens shot back with:
Good to see you today on the Hill, @RepaStoddard. I would have planned on addressing the @utahhousedems, just as I did last year, but I wasn’t invited due to your oversight. My team has an open door policy if you’d ever like to speak.
— Burgess Owens (@BurgessOwens) January 26, 2022
But Rep. Stoddard had the receipts:
That's strange because you were on our agenda for at least a week and then were taking off at the request of your office. I have texted your staff and asked for another day that you would be available to come in.
— Rep. Andrew Stoddard, sad Bills fan (@RepAStoddard) January 26, 2022
This could be a full-season storyline on RHOSLC. And I've heard they're looking for a few new cast members...so...
In addition to the Burgess-Stoddard standoff, the first bit of Utah’s 2022 legislative session was marked mostly by COVID/education bills, though the next few weeks will bring a whole lot of tax talk.
Gov. Cox gave his annual “state of the state” address, wherein he played the hits (pandemic progress, teacher pay, water conversation, growth, and the need for unity).
“I sometimes worry that we waste too much valuable time on things that tear us apart and ultimately don’t matter. You may have noticed last year that I have very little interest in fighting the so-called culture wars.”
You can watch his full address here:
The Neutral Fan’s Guide to Super Bowl LVI
Logan Jones explains what to expect over the next two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl.
This year’s combatants bring two vastly different narratives to the table. The Los Angeles Rams represent the known commodity, having reached the Super Bowl as recently as 2019. They had a different QB (Jared Goff), who coach Sean McVay replaced last offseason with longtime Lions starter Matthew Stafford (maybe due to some offseason tampering, but who knows). You probably don’t remember Super Bowl LIII because it was an ultra-boring 13-3 Patriots victory in which no team, player, or fan had one ounce of fun.
The Cincinnati Bengals are the new hotness. In the eyes of Vegas oddsmakers, they are among the most unlikely teams to reach the Super Bowl in history. They’re young, they’re brash, and they dethroned the AFC’s 1-seeded Titans and dynastic Kansas City Chiefs to get this far. They’re captained by QB Joe Burrow and former college teammate Ja’Marr Chase (more on these in a moment). You probably don’t remember the last time the Bengals played in a Super Bowl because 1989 was a long time ago.
Read the full piece here:
Logan Jones
RHOSLC
LRE helped us navigate a true Southern Utah-style rollercoaster of emotions in the 19th episode of Housewives.
Meredith goes into Whitney’s room and sits on the end of her bed and utters some of the world’s scariest words: “I’ve gotta ask you something:”
Meredith says: “Jen has stipulated to the federal government that she has zero assets. If she’s paying for this dinner tonight, I can’t go.”
We’re venturing into fourth-wall territory again. Jen is not paying for this dinner. Whitney is basically winking at Meredith when she says:
My understanding is that Bravo foots much of the bill on these cast trips, and I don’t know why Meredith is being so weird about it with Whitney. I think she’s sleepy and wants to go to bed and she thought Whitney would be enough of an empty vessel to say she could tap out.
Read the full piece here:
L. R. Encinas
Tweets of the Week
When things calm down I’m looking forward to more folks flying into SLC having to do the terminal B 10k and then tweeting angrily about it
— Stacey Harkey (@StaceyHarkey) January 21, 2022
Half of a career in tech is requesting Google Doc access until you die.
— Joe Martin 🧤 (@joeDmarti) December 16, 2021
Great British Bake Off but you pair every contestant with a 3-year-old who really wants to help.
— Abraham Gutman (@abgutman) January 23, 2022
Just a reminder: don’t ask about “The Mormons” in a job interview if you’re interviewing from out of state for a job in Utah
— Steve (@IGoBySteve) February 2, 2022
Be a rebel. Read a banned book. Tell people about the things you read. Revel in the chaos.#BannedBooks
— The County Library (@_CountyLibrary) February 1, 2022
From the Podcast
This week on Hive Mind:
- On RHOSLC, Jennie's bad social media past comes back to haunt her, the Housewives start fighting again, and we all agree that this season is simply way too long.
- Beehive Eats reviewed Jersey Mike's vs Jimmy Johns, as well as revealed the best place to eat in all of Utah. (You'll probably never guess what it is)
- Pop Culture Pop In covered Kanye and Julia Fox, Shakespeare, connecting actors through Harry Potter, and the most wholesome Jennifer Gardner news.
- We also reviewed what we're watching: Tick, Tick... Boom, The Other 2, Gilmore Girls, and Belfast.