News Highlights

Utah dailies report on the LDS Church 's endorsement of constitutional bans on gay marriage: Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret Morning News, Standard Examiner, Daily Herald. Duane Cardall, KSL Radio/TV editorialist, says the Grand Old Party in Utah would do well to abandon the incongruity of a closed primary. 

Doug Wright Profiled

KSL Radio talk show host Doug Wright has become a force in Utah politics. His 9 a.m. to noon show is an important forum for discussion of Utah issues. Wright and his producer, Shawn O'Neill, consistently host interesting guests and come up with timely topics. His show has become a must-appearance for politicians and advocates of various causes. Utah Spirit Magazine, which is associated with the Davis County Clipper, has published a nice profile of Wright in its July edition. (The free print edition has additional photos, including one of an enthusiastic, 17-year-old Wright.)

Check Out UtahPolitics.org

Has the Utah Legislature made it too difficult to get citizen initiatives on the ballot? The topic is discussed on Phil Windley's political blog.

Jones, Mascaro Forge Ahead

To paraphrase Mark Twain, everybody talks about increasing education funding, but nobody ever does anything about it. Well, two rather intrepid Utah legislators, Reps. Pat Jones and Steve Mascaro, are actually trying to do something about it. Despite having a tough time so far in the Legislature, their education funding proposal is far from dead. They are forging ahead with the legislation, trying to fine-tune it and win support from a wide range of groups, including business leaders. The Jones-Mascaro bill would increase education funding by $80 million by reworking income tax brackets, lowering taxes for some families but modestly raising taxes for families that are larger than average and have above-average incomes.

To provide advice on the bill, the two lawmakers have put together a blue-ribbon advisory group with broad community representation, including a lot of business types like Lane Beattie, Dave Harmer, Kelly Matthews, and Chris Roybal. They are looking at a number of changes, including a sunset provision after 10 years when the student bubble is passed. I'm personally not ready to endorse the legislation, but I've agreed to learn more. Packaging it with a good tuition tax credit bill would give it a much better chance of passage.

Women Host Fundraiser

The Scott Matheson-Karen Hale campaign is bringing Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to Utah on July 21 for a fundraiser. The Alta Club event is hosted by a lot of prominent Democratic women, among them Patrice Arent, Jackie Biskupski, Judy Ann Buffmire, Annette Cumming, Katie Dixon, Jan Graham, Pat Jones, Paula Julander, Esther Landa, Norma Matheson, Karen Morgan, Carol Spackman Moss, Lou Shurtliff, and Karen Shepherd. Men are welcome as well. For event details, see the Political Calendar in this issue.

- LaVarr Webb