News Highlights

John McCain, with Mitt Romney and Gov. Huntsman at his side, raises $400K at a fundraiser in Salt Lake City (Deseret Morning News). (See also related Salt Lake Tribune and KCPW stories and Bob Bernick Jr. column.)

Dixie State College President Lee Caldwell abruptly resigns amid speculation that he pushed the Board of Regents too hard for expanded mission for the college (Tribune, St. George Spectrum and Morning News). 

Quote of the Day

"We considered (school building) dollar values and we found it to be a very contentious point, and one which could be argued over a number of ways over a long period of time ... and go on and on forever."

-- Mike Shelton, one of four negotiators attempting to resolve a difficult impasse over splitting assets in the newly-divided Jordan School District (Morning News).

Media Watch

KSL is King of TV Web Sites

TV industry bloggers like LostRemote.com and Broadcasting and Cable blog are buzzing with the rather astounding fact that the most trafficked local TV web site in the country is not in some big market like New York or Los Angeles. It’s right here is Salt Lake City. The KSL TV/Radio site, gets a whopping 130 million page views a month from 1.4 million unique visitors. The site is by far the most popular media web site in Utah. However, it’s not KSL news and information that is the big draw, but instead it’s KSL’s free classified advertising. The classified ads account for 75% of the traffic on the site.

Washington Watch

Bishop, Matheson Differ On N-Waste
Associated Press: "If states are willing to accept foreign nuclear waste, there's no reason the federal government should prohibit them from handling it, says a Utah congressman whose district could get tons of Italian leftovers. 'I don't see it as a federal issue,' U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop told The Associated Press. 'If the state of Tennessee wants to take it, and if the state of Utah wants to take it, I'm going to punt it back to them. It is within their purview,' the Republican said. ... Bishop differs from U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, a Utah Democrat who is co-sponsoring a bill that would ban nuclear-waste imports unless it originated in the U.S. or came from an overseas U.S. military facility."

Park City CPP Newsletter

The Park City Center for Public Policy has posted its latest Policy Horizons newsletter, which highlights a cyber terrorism conference in May, reports on the 2007 fundraising drive, and profiles new board member Jim Hodges, former governor of South Carolina. 

Today in Political History

Mar. 28, 1898:  The Supreme Court rules that a child born in the United States to Chinese immigrants is a U.S. citizen and cannot be deported. (Source:  NBC5) 

Mar. 28, 1979:   America's worst commercial nuclear accident occurs inside the Unit Two reactor at the Three Mile Island plant near Middletown, PA, as a series of human and mechanical failures cause the cooling system to malfunction, resulting in damage to the reactor's core and the leakage of radiation into the atmosphere. (Source:  Perspicuity) 

Wise Words

“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”

-- Native American Proverb (Source:  Quote Garden) 

Utah Political History

The Election of 1896

Ten months after Utah became a state on 4 January 1896, Utah citizens participated in their first national election. The voter turnout was heavy and included a large number of women, who had been guaranteed the right to vote in the new state constitution. With statehood a reality, Utahns turned their attention to national issues and gave Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan 82.7 percent of their vote, the largest ever in a Utah presidential election, because of his position favoring free and unlimited coinage of silver, which most Utahns felt would help the depressed economy of the mid-1890s. With a statewide vote of 64,367 to 13,448 for Bryan, most Utah voters were disappointed when William McKinley won the national election by less than one percent of the vote. In Utah, the appeal of "free sliver" was that it not only would stimulate mining but also would bring prosperity to Utah agriculture through creating mild inflation and better agricultural prices.

There was no election for governor in 1896. Heber M. Wells, a Republican, had defeated Democrat John T. Caine by 20,833 to 18,519 votes during an election held on the eve of statehood in November 1895 to set up the machinery for the new state. Wells' first term was to run for five years, until the next general election in 1900.

Utah was entitled to one representative in the United States House of Representatives, and in 1896 Democrat William H. King defeated Republican Lafayette Holbrook by 47,356 to 27,813 votes. Populist candidate Warren Foster received 2,279 votes.  (Source:  Utah.Edu) 

National Politics

Best Stories From . . .

-- Wall Street Journal: "The racially charged debate over Barack Obama's relationship with his longtime pastor hasn't much changed his close contest against Hillary Clinton, or hurt him against Republican nominee-in-waiting John McCain, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll."

-- TIME: Columnist Joe Klein says an Al Gore-Obama presidential ticket could save the Democratic Party from the fratricidal "mess" it finds itself in. 
 
-- The Hill: "In further evidence that the Democratic primary is straining the party, liberal activist organization MoveOn.org is circulating a petition that attacks a group of [Hillary Clinton's] donors, who had 'threatened' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for her stance on superdelegates."
 
-- Politico: "A new analysis of March polling data suggests that [McCain's] cross-party support surpasses that of either [Obama or Clinton]."

Blog Watch

-- Rep. Steve Urquhart notes: "President Lee Caldwell announced that he will be leaving Dixie State College. He and his wife Bonnie will be missed tremendously. President Caldwell's efforts on all issues affecting the College, the students, and the community, were second to none. President Caldwell picked up the torch regarding an affiliation with the University of Utah and blazed the trail with gusto. Without him, the affiliation would not have begun. I clarified with acting-commissioner of higher education, Dave Buhler, that the affiliation was moving forward. He agreed." (See also related Paul Rolly post.)

Taxpayers Scorecard, Newsletter
The Utah Taxpayers Association has posted its 2008 Legislative Scorecard and its its April Newsletter, which hails the passage of a new Utah privatization law and features a column by Assoc. Pres. Howard Stephenson on municipal telecommunications ventures.

Lighter Side

“One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”

-- Plato  (Well of Wisdom)

Casual Friday

Fishing Report

By Dave Webb

Best reports this week are coming from down south -- from Otter Creek and Piute reservoirs. Open water fishing is good at both, with rainbows in close to shore. So, that's where I'm going this weekend.

Out streams are also fishing well. Provo River has been good for those who can work a nymph along the bottom. Midge hatches are producing some surface action. Crowds are now showing up on weekends. Stormy weather often improves spring fly fishing on our streams.

Green River fishing is also picking up, with Blue Wings and midges hatching in good numbers. Fishing will be very good during the next several weeks. The river will start to get crowded on weekends now -- go mid-week if you can.

Lake Powell will become very good during the next few weeks. It will fish well when the weather is warm and stable, and slower during stormy periods. 

Willard Bay and Utah Lake are fair but spotty for walleye and bass. Action improves during warm, stable weather and slows when it is stormy.

Strawberry, Fish Lake and Bear Lake still offer good ice fishing. Ice is starting to break up on Deer Creek Reservoir. It may have some fishable water next week. Read the complete fishing report on RedRockAdventure.com.

Outdoors Report

-- Irruption brings rare birds to Utah in the Tribune
-- New cars for NASCAR in the Morning News along with the Sprint Cup schedule
-- Birding for beginners in the Tribune
-- Find out about upcoming events in the Morning News’ Outdoor Notes

-- Check out the Tribune’s Outdoor Notebook  and Recreation Roundup for sports and recreation activities this week

-- For the latest wildlife news and information and the fishing report visit the DWR website

New Films

-- 21: Tribune review
-- Happy Valley: Tribune review
-- Married Life: Tribune review
-- Stop-Loss: Tribune review
-- Taxi to the Dark Side: Tribune review

Concerts

-- Panoramic Steel and Percussion Ensemble, Friday, 7:30 p.m., Madsen Recital Hall, BYU, Provo, $10
-- University Orchestra and University Strings, Friday, 7:30 p.m., de Jong Concert Hall, BYU, free
-- Choral Arts Society, Friday, 8 p.m., Rose Wagner Center, free
-- USU's Wassermann Festival, Robert McDonald, piano, Friday, 8 p.m., Performance Hall, USU, $25 (435-754-5741)
-- BYU Senior Dance Showcase, Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m., 166 Richards Building, BYU, free
-- Video Games Live, Utah Symphony, Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m., Abravanel Hall
-- “Cabaret of Fools,” Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company fund-raiser, Saturday, 7 p.m., Rose Wagner Center, 138 W. 300 South, $75
-- Harp Ensemble, Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Madsen Recital Hall, BYU, Provo, free
-- “Legend of Timpanogos,” Utah Regional Ballet, Saturday, 2 and 7:30 p.m., Covey Center for the Arts, 425 W. Center, $16-$20
-- West Valley Symphony, Saturday, 8 p.m., Granger High School, 3690 S. 3600 West, $10 (390-7967)
-- Shut Up & Dance, Odyssey Dance Theatre, through March 29, Kingsbury Hall
-- Organ Recitals, every Saturday, noon, and every Sunday, 2 p.m., Temple Square Assembly Hall

Theater

-- “Big River” through March 29, Rodgers Memorial Theatre

-- “Forever Plaid” through March 29, Heritage Theatre
-- “The Heiress” through March 29, Pioneer Theatre Company
-- “The End of the Horizon” through March 30, Plan-B Theatre Company

-- “Cabaret” through April 5, Egyptian Theatre Company, Park City
-- “She Loves Me” through April 5, Hale Center Theater Orem

-- “The Sound of Music” through April 11, Terrace Plaza Playhouse

-- “Prince Brat and the Whipping Boy” through April 19, Children’s Theatre & School of the Arts

-- “Pirates of Penzance” through May 3, Center Street Musical Theatre
-- “The Wizard of Odd” through June 7, Desert Star Playhouse

Museum Exhibits

-- The 11th Black & White Statewide Art Competition Exhibition, Photography by Randy S. Chatelain Exhibition through March 29, Eccles Community Art Center
-- Bravo! The Tortilla Paintings of Joe Bravo Exhibition, Wasatch Back Student Art Show Exhibition through March 30, Kimball Art Center

-- Masks, Magic, and Mirrors Exhibition through March 31, Natural Revelations: Paintings by Susan Swartz Exhibition through April 13, Utah Museum of Fine Arts

-- Masterworks of Victorian Art From the Collection of John H. Schaeffer Exhibition through August 18; Minerva Teichert:  Pageants in Paint Exhibition, through May 26, Brigham Young University Museum of Art

-- Wayne Thiebaud: 70 Years of Painting Exhibition through July 27, Springville Museum of Art

Et Cetera

-- Holi, Festival of Colors, Saturday, Krishna Temple, Spanish Fork
-- Moab Muni Fest, through March 30
-- The Canyons Spring Gruv, through April 6, Park City

Elected Officials Birthday List

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