Washington Watch

Bennett Health Act = Surpluses
The Congressional Budget Office releases a report showing that Sen. Bob Bennett's Healthy Americans Act would have a "negligible" effect on the budget and that implementation of the Act would actually create surpluses by 2014. Says Bennett: "The CBO report is confirmation that our bill would not only cut down the costs of health care, but in the long run actually save money. I am convinced we can reach our goal to improve coverage and provide affordable, private health insurance to every American" (see press release). See also related Tribune story.

Utah Has 6 Best Performing Companies

The Economic Development Corporation of Utah's latest newsletter says six companies with operations in Utah are ranked in the BusinessWeek 50, the annual ranking of the best-performing companies in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index.

Course in Global Business

The latest issue of Global Utah, World Trade Center Utah's newsletter, is online. This week's issue features the Miller Global Business Center on the campus of Salt Lake Community College, which offers a 10-week Executive Certificate of Global Business Management course covering topics ranging from trade finance to export readiness.

Apply for Smart Women Grant

Zions Bank is in the middle of its annual Smart Women Grant cycle and the bank is encouraging women entrepreneurs and business owners from Utah and Idaho to apply for a 2008 Smart Women Grant. Last year eight women from Utah and Idaho received micro-grants totaling $21,500. The latest issue of Taking Care of Business has all of the details about the grants and how to apply.

Today in Political History

May 2, 1957: Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, R-Wis., who became famous for his anti-communist investigations, dies at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland at age 48. (Source: NBC5)

May 2, 1972: J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI for 48 years, died at age 77.

May 2, 1994: Nelson Mandela claims victory in South Africa's first democratic elections. (Source: New York Times)

Wise Words

"Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule -- and both commonly succeed, and are right."
-- H.L. Mencken, 1956 (Source: Quote Garden)

Utah Political History

Women's Suffrage--the right of women to vote-- was won twice in Utah. It was granted first in 1870 by the territorial legislature but revoked by Congress in 1887 as part of a national effort to rid the territory of polygamy. It was restored in 1895, when the right to vote and hold office was written into the constitution of the new state.

In sharp contrast to the long fight for women's suffrage nationally, the vote came to Utah women in 1870 without any effort on their part. It had been promoted by a group of men who had left the Mormon Church, the Godbeites, in their Utah Magazine, but to no immediate effect. At the same time, an unsuccessful effort to gain the vote for women in Utah territory had been launched in the East by anti-polygamy forces; they were convinced that Utah women would vote to end plural marriage if given the chance. Brigham Young and others realized that giving Utah women the vote would not mean the end of polygamy, but it could change the predominant national image of Utah women as downtrodden and oppressed and could help to stem a tide of anti-polygamy legislation by Congress.

With no dissenting votes, the territorial legislature passed an act giving the vote (but not the right to hold office) to women on 10 February 1870. The act was signed two days later by the acting governor, S. A. Mann, and on 14 February, the first woman voter in the municipal election reportedly was Sarah Young, grandniece of Brigham Young. Utah thus became the second territory to give the vote to women; Wyoming had passed a women's suffrage act in 1869. No states permitted women to vote at the time. Despite efforts of national suffrage leaders to protect the vote for Utah women from congressional action, it was taken away by the Edmunds-Tucker anti-polygamy act in 1887. (Source: Utah.Edu)

National Politics

Best Stories From ...
-- Wall Street Journal: A new WSJ/NBC poll finds that "[o]nly 27% of voters have positive views of the Republican Party," but "the party's probable presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain, continues to run nearly even with Democratic rivals Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton."

-- New York Times: Obama's "aura of inevitability in the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination has diminished after his loss in the Pennsylvania primary and amid the furor over his former pastor, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll."

-- McClatchy: Clinton is cutting into Obama's lead in North Carolina.

-- Politico: "Thrown off his game by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright uproar, Barack Obama's strongest answer to Hillary Rodham Clinton is one he won't give: Senator, do you really want to get in a contest with me over who has more unsavory personal associations? For all the coverage about the rising heat between Clinton and Obama, this year's nomination race still is a mild affair by historical standards -- restrained by a powerful sense on both sides that there are lots of things they could say but shouldn't."

Lighter Side

Political cartoonists have fun with the Jeremiah Wright controversy.

Casual Friday

Utah Fishing Report
Lake Powell continues to offer Utah's hottest fishing -- actually perhaps the best fishing in the region. People are catching boatloads of stripers from main channel areas near the dam, points uplake and the backs of canyons. Smallmouth have been stalled a bit by cold weather but should provide excellent action during the next several weeks. Crappie, walleye, bluegill and catfish are also biting well. See wayneswords.com for current information.

Green River has good insect hatches, and good fishing to match. Steve Schmidt reports: "Blue Wing Olives, which we've all been waiting for, are now much more consistent. You'll find them in isolated areas on the upper sections of the river and more densely layered as you near Little Hole. Those areas near Little Hole have been the best... It's peaking, however it will probably continue to produce good fishing until we see run-off flows released sometime in the middle of the month." Read Steve's complete report.

Red Creek is pumping mud into the Green River, and that will impact fishing downstream during the next few weeks.

Provo River has been ok, but not great, with Blue Wing Olive, Midges and Skawal Stoneflies hatching. Nymphs produce well fished down near the bottom. There is also good fly fishing on the Ogden below Pineview and the Weber between the dams. Other streams may be good, but some will be high with runoff. Check with local fly shops for the latest reports.

Pineview crappie are now biting. Go after them using small jigs in weedy areas in fairly shallow water.

Catfish are now active and biting in Utah Lake, Cutler Marsh, Lake Powell and other traditional waters.

Bear Lake now has open water and should be good for cutts and some lake trout. Most reservoirs now offer good trout fishing, including Jordanelle, Otter Creek, Piute, Minersville, Deer Creek and Rockport. There is plenty of good fishing available so get out and enjoy.

-- Dave Webb (read his full report)