January 21 2021 Update

We are at the end of another short week, but it didn't seem that short.  The Utah Legislature started its general session on Tuesday, and that always results in a big uptick of work for those of us in the Mayor's Office.  Isaac Paxman is the city's legislative "quarterback," and I frequently get called upon by the City and by the Utah League of Cities and Towns to help out on legislative issues.  Additionally, I have been serving on a statewide task force on justice reform with a number of police chiefs, city attorneys, city administrators and elected officials, so we are carefully watching the bills associated with police reform and related issues.  It will be a full plate for us for the next nine weeks or so.

As mentioned below, we had an update meeting with our architect on the City Hall and Public Safety Building project.  Things are coming along well.  Lots of concrete being poured for flooring and some framing beginning.  Hats off to the project manager, Scott Henderson, to Dick Blackham from Facilities, our architects and contractors, and everyone associated with the project.  It is going to be an amazing new city headquarters and "home-away-from-home" for city employees that will be located here.  I am really excited about the new public safety facilities and how they will be such a game changer for our police staff and fire administration.

CORONAVIRUS STATS

Nationally, the CDC reports 24,323,846 cases with 404,689 fatalities.

Utah:  330,469 cases (up 2,089 from yesterday); 12,803 hospitalizations; 1,547 deaths (up 30 from yesterday)

Utah County:  80,549 cases (up 388 from yesterday); 2,135 hospitalizations; 262 deaths (up 5 from yesterday)

NEWS YOU CAN USE

• Tonight is Governor Cox's first State of the State address. It will be streamed live.
• A Utah man is honoring veterans and first responders and is asking for help from fellow Utahns to send in pictures of veteran and service men and women from our state.
• It's also National Hugging Day, so do like Utah activist Collin Kartchner recommended in his "Save the Kids" movement and take 8 seconds to hug someone close.
• Deseret News took a poll of the favorability of our new President in Utah with some interesting results.

PROVO SOCIAL MEDIA

THE MAYOR'S DAY

Today, Mayor Kaufusi:

• Participated in Council Leadership meeting
• Met with representatives from BYU
• Held a meeting with the Customer Service director
• Participated in a meeting on the new City Hall building
• Held a communications strategy meeting
• Met with a resident/business owner
• Held a meeting with the Assistant CAO
• Participated in a meeting on businesses in Provo
• Met with representatives from Utah County

FUN STUFF

OK - I have seen a few funny things happen during Zoom meetings as people have worked from home.  But this compilation is epic, and would have been unthinkable just a year ago.

Have a great weekend!  We'll be back on Monday!  

Wayne

January 20 2021 Update

I thought you might enjoy seeing this photo from a former mayor, Congressman John Curtis, from the Capitol complex after the inauguration today.  Kind of fun that he is repping Provo with his facemask!

Happy Inauguration Day!

CORONAVIRUS STATS

Nationally, the CDC reports 23,982,584 cases with 398,009 fatalities.

Utah:  328,380 cases (up 2,159 from yesterday); 12,729 hospitalizations; 1,517 deaths (up 10 from yesterday)

Utah County:  80,161 cases (up 481 from yesterday); 2,126 hospitalizations; 257 deaths (up 4 from yesterday)

NEWS YOU CAN USE

• Today is inauguration day. President Biden was sworn in this morning. The mall was filled with flags to represent the individuals who could not attend due to the pandemic. President Trump gave his final speech earlier this morning and was not in attendance.
• Health departments across the state have experienced higher than anticipated interest in the Covid-19 vaccine, and with that has come a myriad of logistical issues. Utah County is scheduling appointments today and are currently taking calls. They are currently vaccinating individuals aged 70+ and health care workers.
• Mercedes has released a new electric car to compete with Tesla

      

PROVO SOCIAL MEDIA

THE MAYOR'S DAY

Today, Mayor Kaufusi:

• Participated in the Central Corridor Transit Study Executive Committee meeting
• Held a meeting with a City Councilor
• Met with representatives from UDOT
• Held a meeting with the City PIO
• Met with Mayor's office staff
• Participated un the Utah League of Cities and Towns Board of Directors meeting
• Held a  meeting about the regional sports park
• Met with the Deputy Mayor
• Held a meeting with the Provo Foundation Board

FUN STUFF

Well, with the recent release of "Real Housewives of Salt Lake City," I thought I would share this classic sketch from Studio C about "Real Housewives of the Prairie."  Maybe not as raunchy as the current series, but quite entertaining all the same!

Have a great rest of your day!  

Wayne

January 19 2021 Update

Hope your weekend was great!  We had some good downtime this weekend - all socially distanced of course.  And today has been a good day with lots of early morning meetings catching up after the Monday holiday and then participating in today's City Council meeting.  

Tomorrow is national inauguration day.  Whatever your political persuasion, we can be proud of the fact that the United States respects our democratic processes and peacefully transitions the powers of governance once the voters (and the electoral college) have spoken.  My experience suggests that things typically don't take radical shifts, and with a very divided nation, any elected officials on the far ends of the spectrum would only push radical shifts at their peril.  Change will be incremental, and with a very engaged electorate, it will be done carefully and methodically.

So, take heart.  While things will change, there are built in safeguards in our constitutional republic that will make that change more gradual than we might fear.

CORONAVIRUS STATS

Nationally, Johns Hopkins University reports 24,227,835 cases with 401,288 fatalities. (The CDC website hasn't been updated as of this evening)

Utah:  326,221 cases; 12,645 hospitalizations; 1,507 deaths

Utah County:  79,680 cases; 2,112 hospitalizations; 253 deaths

NEWS YOU CAN USE

• A recent study from MoneyGeek has ranked Provo as number 21 on the list of safest larger cities in the country, also making it the safest of the larger cities in the state of Utah. 
• Utah legislature begins today and all of the legislative goings-on are available to watch at le.utah.gov, beginning at 10 am. (Because of COVID-19 and security issues, the Capitol is closed to in-person visitors.)
• Today the nation paused and remember the lives lost to COVID. Utah participated by ringing the bells at the State Capitol and here in Provo 15 times at 3:30 pm, in memory of the 1500+ Utahns that have died since March 2020.
• Egypt has unveiled a significant new archaeological discovery at the Saqqara necropolis south of Cairo, including 54 wooden coffins, many of which can be traced back 3,000 years. The funerary temple of Queen Neit was also discovered, which dates back 4,200 years.

PROVO SOCIAL MEDIA

THE MAYOR'S DAY

Today, Mayor Kaufusi:

• Met with the Fire Chief
• Met with the Police Chief
• Participated in a human resources meeting
• Held a meeting with her executive team
• Participated in Council Work meeting
• Attended City Council meeting

FUN STUFF

There are always lots of fun memes out there on current topics.  Having been trying to get our older parents onto a vaccination list without success yet, this meme makes a solid point about looking for more successful models than the ones we have seen so far. 

Thanks for all you do!  I appreciate our city team more every day!

Wayne

January 14 2021 Update

Today has been a good day - busy as always but also had a little time to get caught up on some of my priorities.  We met today with the new owners of Splash Summit Resort (the former Seven Peaks Water Park) and were pretty impressed with their vision for the facility.  Isaac and I also spent just under 2 hours in a Zoom call with other cities getting ready for the Utah Legislative Session starting next week.  Sometimes my days remind me of the old Star Trek series when they engaged the warp drive and the stars start coming fast and furious.  

But I guess we should expect that knowing everything that is going on around us.

Speaking of everything going on around us, you may have read or heard that the nation is expecting some protests associated with Inauguration Day next week, in locations around the country as well as in Washington, D.C.  The Administration and the Police Department are carefully tracking intelligence about these issues through the FBI and the State.  While we don't anticipate specific issues in Provo, we are monitoring developments and will let you know if any of that activity might impact our employees or our facilities.  Just as we did with other protests last summer, we will keep you informed and work hard to ensure our ability to stay safe and keep delivering quality services to our residents.

CORONAVIRUS STATS

Nationally, the CDC reports 22,965,957 cases with 383,351 fatalities.

Utah:  317,559 cases (up 2,742 from yesterday); 12,249 hospitalizations; 1,460 deaths (up 11 from yesterday)

Utah County:  77,715 cases (up 705 from yesterday); 2,059 hospitalizations; 240 deaths (up 2 from yesterday)

NEWS YOU CAN USE

• The House voted and successfully impeached President Trump, which makes him the only President to be impeached twice. Rep. John Curtis voted against impeachment, though he and others condemned the president's actions.
• President Trump signed a declaration Tuesday making FEMA funding available to Utah for damage during the major wind storm last year.
• Beware on your next trip to Europe, the EUFSA, Europlean Food Safety Agency, has approved yellow grubs (mealworms) to be used whole and dried in curries and other recipes and as a flour. Apparently this is the first of many insects on the docket to be added to the approval list.
• For those looking for happier news these days, here is a list of 21 things to look forward to in 2021

PROVO SOCIAL MEDIA

THE MAYOR'S DAY

Today, Mayor Kaufusi:

• Met with the Customer Service director
• Held a meeting with a concerned citizen
• Participated in a meeting to discuss Utah names
• Met with a new local business owner
• Held a meeting with representatives from local higher education institutes
• Participated in the Provo Women's Bike Summit as a panelist

FUN STUFF

So, on Tuesday, the Municipal Council will make a few amendments to one of our agreements with Google Fiber.  It is hard to believe that it has been 7 years since we began connecting customers with the Google Fiber service.  Here are a couple of the videos produced by our media services team back then to try to help Provo residents understand the difference between Google Fiber and regular old "broadband."  I appreciated the creativity of the team back then and even more so now as we find ways to communicate effectively with our residents.  So, enjoy this little blast from the past!

Have a great weekend; we will be back in the office after the holiday on Monday.  Stay safe!

Wayne

January 13 2021 Update

Today has been busy, but it has also had some good news.  We have some movement on several big private sector projects that we have been watching with interest over some time.  The Mix has submitted some revised site plans for their project under new ownership.  The Mill Race project has done major demolition work on the older existing buildings on the site and is moving forward.  Sometimes it takes a while (especially during uncertain pandemic times) to get all the pieces put together for a redevelopment project.  But these two projects have great potential to bring some good quality residential, retail and office development in some critical locations in our community.  Kudos to our Development Services team to helping get these projects off the ground.

CORONAVIRUS STATS

Nationally, the CDC reports 22,740,142 cases with 379,255 fatalities.

Utah:  314,817 cases (up 5,188 from yesterday); 12,160 hospitalizations; 1,449 deaths (up 27 from yesterday)  The case count includes 2,289 backdated new COVID-19 cases that were diagnosed as early as June but were not reported as Utah COVID-19 cases until now due to incomplete or unverified address information for the patient.

Utah County:  77,010 cases (up 1,878 from yesterday); 2,051 hospitalizations; 238 deaths (up 6 from yesterday)

NEWS YOU CAN USE

• Governor Cox has unveiled his FY 2022 budget priorities, which include investing in education, open space, infrastructure, and a tax decrease.
• An FBI internal memo warns that there may be armed protests in all 50 state capitals on inauguration day.
• Our previous Mayor, now Congressman Curtis has released the following statement on Monday: "I remain firm in my condemnation of the violence in our Nation's Capitol last week and believe there should be consequences for those that played a role, including the President. I would support an impeachment process with hearings, witnesses, and testimony and I would support an appropriately worded censure but unfortunately, a 48-hour impeachment process has no chance of reaching a thoughtful conclusion, holds no consideration for the millions people who have voted for him, and will do nothing to unite the country or answer the many questions needing resolution."

PROVO SOCIAL MEDIA

THE MAYOR'S DAY

Today, Mayor Kaufusi:

• Met with the City Ombudsman/Property Coordinator
• Had a discussion with a local business owner
• Participated in a meeting with our lobbyist
• Met with the Deputy Mayor
• Held a meeting on the City Center
• Met with Provo residents
• Participated in an Opinion Leader Dinner for Centro Hispano

FUN STUFF

A South Korean startup company has developed an AI-powered dog collar that can detect five emotions in canines by monitoring their barks using voice recognition technology.  Now - that's all I need.  As if my spoiled dog wasn't spoiled enough - now she can tell me how she is feeling at any given moment?  I 'm not sure I even want to know....

Have a great rest of your day!

Wayne

January 12 2021 Update

Happy Tuesday.  We had a great Zoom meeting this morning with several of our state legislators and members of the Municipal Council.  Having spent a lot of my professional life with legislators, both as a capitol staffer and as a lobbyist for cities I worked for, I have enormous respect for these representatives and senators.  They deal with very complex issues and work under incredible pressure.  They serve us well and bring some amazing skills to the table.

CORONAVIRUS STATS

Nationally, the CDC reports 22,522,749 cases with 375,124 fatalities.

Utah:  309,629 cases (up 2,146 from yesterday); 12,059 hospitalizations; 1,422 deaths (up 26 from yesterday)

Utah County:  75,132 cases (up 499 from yesterday); 2,021 hospitalizations; 232 deaths (up 4 from yesterday)

NEWS YOU CAN USE

• Two Utah National Guard airmen receive top honors for off-duty heroism on Saturday. They both were awarded for saving others' lives while off-duty.
• 2020 resulted in the driest and one of the hottest years on record, a report issued by federal environmental officials Friday. The annual US Climate Report found that it was the fifth-warmest year ever recorded in United States history — and two of Utah's counties broke heat records.
• For those wondering who is eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine today, here is a helpful list that is updated as information is released. The list currently includes K-12 school teachers or staff, first responders and healthcare workers, and those living or working in long-term care facilities.

PROVO SOCIAL MEDIA

THE MAYOR'S DAY

Today, Mayor Kaufusi:

• Participated in a meeting with Provo City Council and state legislators
• Met with the City Attorney
• Participated in a budget discussion
• Held a meeting on land in Provo
• Listened to the 2020 report of the Utah Citizens Council
• Met with elected officials
• Held a meeting with Provo citizens
• Met with the first Noorda Medical School student
• Met with the Deputy Mayor

FUN STUFF

Here's one way to clear your driveway in the snow... not one I would recommend, but an interesting approach.  Let's hope we have a storm that will require us to clear some snow soon!  We need the water...

Here is to creativity!  Have a great rest of your day!

Wayne

January 11 2021 Update

Hope you all had a great weekend!  Things were busy at our place, which is a good thing!  Needed to replace a car battery on my wife's car.  Who knew that you would need to remove the front driver's side tire and remove a shroud from the fender to access the battery?  Anyway, we took the car to a shop in Provo on Saturday morning and got it back at 3:00 p.m. with only a $50 labor charge.  We felt fortunate to find someone to work on it with the needed tools and skills!  

We have had a couple of days with some lower Covid-19 counts, which is good news.  And quite a few of our police and fire employees have had the first dose of their Covid-19 vaccines.  So, there is reason to be optimistic about how things will move forward from the pandemic's impacts on our city.  Light at the end of the tunnel.

CORONAVIRUS STATS

Nationally, the CDC reports 22,322,956 cases with 373,167 fatalities.

Utah:  307,483 cases; 11,940 hospitalizations; 1,396 deaths

Utah County:  74,633 cases; 1,998 hospitalizations; 228 deaths

NEWS YOU CAN USE

• Today is National Human Trafficking Awareness day. Tens of thousands United States citizens are trafficked every year. Today is also national clean off your desk day, so if you haven't taken the time to do that recently, today is the day!
• The BYU gymnastics team placed second at the Rio Tinto Best of Utah NCAA Gymnastics Meet on Saturday at the Maverik Center.
• U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told lawmakers late Sunday that they would first vote on a resolution this week calling on Vice President Mike Pence and the cabinet to remove President Donald Trump from office before moving to impeachment.

PROVO SOCIAL MEDIA

THE MAYOR'S DAY

Today, Mayor Kaufusi:

• Held a meeting with the Police Chief
• Met with members of the City Council
• Participated in a Utah County Covid-19 Coordinating phone call
• Held a meeting with Mayor's office staff
• Participated in a communications strategy meeting
• Met with her executive team
• Participated in a meeting with some elected officials
• Met with the City PIO
• Held a meeting with the Assistant CAO
• Participated in a meeting with members of the Finance department

FUN STUFF

So, as our recreation staff will tell you, we always have a big spike in use of the fitness facilities during the first four weeks of the calendar year.  This brilliant business idea might help us flatten the curve (so to speak) with those who set goals and don't end up making major changes to their lifestyle (present company included).

Have a great rest of your day.  And if you are a college football fan, tonight's national championship game will be a good one!

Wayne