News Highlights
Mormon Democratic Congressional Caucus, including Harry Reid, meets in D.C. to discuss how to raise the profile of Mormon Democrats, change perceptions (Deseret Morning News and Salt Lake Tribune).
Utah ties for best in country for financial management (Morning News).
Salt Lake Tribune analysis shows Republican lawmakers do the heavy lifting of raising taxes, spending revenue and cutting taxes.
Morning News/KSL-TV poll finds high support among Utahns for the proposed Legacy Parkway (Morning News).
Quote of the Day
"I'm still awed by the density of archaeological sites. We've actually looked at certainly less than 10 percent of the drainage, and we're up to . . . almost 300 sites so far. There are thousands of archaeological sites."
-- Duncan Metcalfe, curator of archaeology at the Utah Museum of Natural History, about Range Creek Canyon, now owned by the State of Utah and seeking state funding for operating expenses (Morning News).
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Monday Buzz
Compiled and
Written by LaVarr Webb |
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It’s hard not to be touched by what is happening in Iraq. I must admit to a lump in my throat, watching a democracy bloom before my very eyes. Watching people risk their lives—and some of them lose their lives—to vote, something we take too much for granted here. Our soldiers who served or are serving in Iraq, and their families, including and especially those who were killed or injured, can be immensely proud of what they have done to spread freedom in that land.
Monday Musings
The Guv and the House Republicans
It will be interesting to watch how the Gov. Jon Huntsman and the House Republicans deal with their first public disagreement over levels of highway funding (See Morning News and Tribune stories and also see interesting comments by Rep. Steve Urquhart in his blog). This is not a major fight, and might easily be resolved if new revenue forecasts come in substantially higher.
Still, a significant difference of opinion between lawmakers and the governor has to be handled somewhat delicately. Sometimes it makes sense to say things publicly. And sometimes not. The governor and his people must remember that the Legislature is still not far into its session. Budget subcommittees have not yet heard all the needs of the state and caucus positions can change over time. The timing of gubernatorial intervention is important. There’s still a lot of work to be done before anything is very firm.
Personally, as a moderately conservative Republican, I must admit I wouldn’t mind paying an extra nickel a gallon for gasoline if it would help stabilize highway funding. And the gas tax should be indexed for inflation or turned into a sales tax. With a big surplus and high revenue forecasts, a gas tax increase is tough to sell, but if we want our economy to be strong (churning out more tax dollars for education and other needs), mobility must be a top priority.
Humor of Mark Twain
“Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.”
-- Mark Twain (Source: Davis County Library Newsletter)
Communications Tip
How to Work with a News Reporter
There’s an old axiom that anyone who really understands an issue, or who was personally involved in a news event, will be disappointed in the news media coverage of the issue or event. That’s not always true, but it often is.
The disenchantment comes, in part, because many public officials don’t understand how news reporters act and think, and what their priorities are. Most public officials have had bad experiences with reporters and some of the grief results from reporters and politicians being on entirely different wavelengths.
A big disconnect occurs when public officials think a reporter should be as interested as they are in a big issue or an initiative they’ve spent months or years working on. Consider the city council member who has spent untold numbers of hours working on a big, complex initiative, and it’s coming up for council debate and a final vote on Thursday night.
The council begins debating the issue and about halfway through the session a young, scruffy-looking reporter walks in the door and sits in the back, looking bored and barely taking notes. The council member thinks, "So is this poor excuse for a human being going to be the conduit to the public, the person who communicates this crucial initiative, my baby that I’ve shed blood, sweat and tears on, to my constituents out there?"
The answer, like it or not, is yes. And the reporter probably had to cover three or four other meetings or events that night, probably doesn’t understand or care much about your issue, and will have limited space to write about it anyway. To you, your initiative might be the most important thing in the world. But the reporter is just there to do a job, to please his or her editor, to get a byline in the paper, or maybe to find something more sensational and simple to explain than your complex issue. The reporter doesn’t particularly care if your political future is hanging in the balance, or how much time and energy you’ve devoted to the cause.
But don’t give up. You can get better coverage if you work at it. Here are some suggestions for working with reporters:
- Understand that your priorities are not their priorities. You can’t expect them to get excited about your issue or even understand it well unless you can show them readers will be very interested. Understand that they have a job to do, that they answer to their editors, and they aren’t "public servants" like you are.
- Get to know them. If the same reporter frequently covers you or your organization make a point to say hello, engage in a little chitchat, and let them know you’re available for background information, etc. Reporters are humans too, believe it or not, and it’s entirely possible to develop a good, professional relationship with them if you put a little effort into it.
- Get materials to them in advance and make it easy for them to quickly digest your issues and priorities. Do summaries, talking points and frequently asked questions about your issue. For major issues, put together a media kit.
- Respect their deadlines and working conditions. Do your best to respond to inquiries in a timely fashion.
- Accept the fact that a story written about you and your issues and interests might miss a lot of the nuances and some points or facts that you would have liked to see covered. Understand that space is very limited in newspapers and broadcast news and reporters have to summarize everything and be brief.
- If you feel you’ve been mistreated, misquoted or a story is factually inaccurate, talk to the reporter. Do it in a professional, non-confrontational, non-defensive manner and you will most likely have a good experience and will learn a few things from the reporter’s perspective. Most reporters are fair-minded and will correct obvious mistakes. If what you view as a mistake is a matter of interpretation, don’t press the matter to the point you damage relationships.
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Sponsored Article
HJR1 reflects the big difference between traditional credit unions and mega-credit unions |
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By LaVarr Webb
Why do the big credit unions hate HJR1 so much?
After all, it’s just a non-binding resolution having no force of law. It merely states the intent of the Utah Legislature, imposes no taxes, and changes nothing in Utah or in the nation.
So why are the big CUs spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a massive media and legislator-intimidation campaign to kill the resolution?
To me, it’s pretty obvious. The reason they hate it so much is that it brings into stark relief the fact that two classes of credit unions exist: The mega-credit unions that any reasonable person agrees should be paying taxes on profits not returned to members, and the small, traditional credit unions that deserve their tax exemption.
HJR1 encourages policymakers at the state or federal levels to distinguish between the real, traditional credit unions, and those that have lost all semblance of credit union characteristics. And that is a terrifying proposition for the big credit unions.
The whole mega-credit union house of cards rests upon policymakers believing that a credit union is a credit union. When the fallacy of that perception becomes obvious, the mega-credit unions are in trouble.
But, the fact is, the distinction exists.
I belonged for many years to a terrific credit union, the Deseret News Employees Credit Union, that clearly deserves the tax exemption. It was (and is) everything a credit union ought to be. Its members had common bond. We were essentially loaning money to each other. The manager and board members knew the members personally. Elections of board members were real. Getting a loan didn’t require a lot of red tape, and borrowers would usually be too embarrassed to default on a loan.
When the credit union tax exemption was originally granted, it was with that sort of institution clearly in mind.
Contrast that with the multi-billion dollar mega-credit unions that are completely impersonal, whose members have no common bond, where credit is extended or rejected in clinical, cold fashion, where profits are used to advertise, expand, and make political contributions, and where being a “member” is no different than being a customer of any big business.
It is really fear that policymakers will pick up on the obvious distinction between those two types of credit unions that is driving the fierce opposition to HJR1.
But even leaders within the credit union industry are beginning to make the distinction. An interesting article appeared in the Credit Union Times last week. It quotes the CEO of the American Airlines Credit Union (whose members have a true common bond), as he speculated that the credit union industry might be better off if the credit unions that take a bank-like approach to doing business just went ahead and became banks.
“I have to question the value of continually expanding the CU tent to include credit unions that have really adopted a more bank-like philosophy and approach,” the CEO said. “As some of these geographic fields of membership have gotten so large they have really destroyed any notion of common bond and shared association that credit unions used to be built upon.”
It is clear that even those within the credit union camp have begun to question why we subsidize enormous businesses that want to do everything tax-paying businesses do, but aren’t willing to contribute their fair share to society.
HJR1 may be entirely symbolic, but it makes clear the big/little distinction, and takes that distinction to the federal level. That’s why the mega-credit unions hate it so much.
(Sponsored by The Exoro Group) |
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Monday
January 31, 2005
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Deseret Morning News
- Mormon Democrats link up in Congress
- Utah gets A- in U.S. performance report
- Support growing for Legacy
- Hatch, Leahy seek copyright-law ruling
- Archaeological treasure in legislators' hands
- John Florez: Successful leaders value employees as greatest resource
Standard-Examiner
- Editorial: Strengthen ethics rules
Salt Lake Tribune
- GOP: The party in power
- Grand Staircase committee covers lots of ground
- State Sen. Julander 'doing OK' after being hospitalized
- Editorial: Drunk drivers
- Editorial: Referendum interruptus
- Shield laws protect reporters, democracy
Sunday, January 30
Salt Lake Tribune
- Guv courts outdoor retailers
- Mormons meet to tackle 'moral decline'
- Medicaid battle brews for Leavitt
- Utah Iraqis take the journey of a lifetime to vote
- Legislator has personal stake in DUI laws
- Op-ed: Utah Voices: Ah, the dream of mass transit in Davis County
- Editorial: Two-wheeled safety
Standard-Examiner
- Sunday Focus: Utah officials bemoan NCLB qualifying
- Local growth expected to lag
- Clearfield expecting $319,000 tax revenue
- BRAC nominees named
- Editorial: Springtime in D.C.
- Editorial: Zap repeat DUI offenders
Daily Herald
- Orem official apologizes for his biting remarks
- State fights to secure personal information
Deseret Morning News
- $10 million to sell Utah?
- Measure would offer benefits to the unmarried
- 'Loser-pays' bill slammed
- Board is against AIDS bill
- ORV group appeals BLM restrictions
- Utah to get $5.1 million for homeless
- Jay Evensen: Planets line up for backers of tuition credits
- Pignanelli & Webb: Many entities on Hill trying to influence legislators
- Op-ed: Expanded public transit encourages beneficial growth
Saturday, January 29
Tooele Transcript Bulletin
- New consultant sees great future for Tooele City
Davis County Clipper
- Education key concern, but most oppose tuition credits
- Putnam calls public to join in the fight
Deseret Morning News
- Huntsman honeymoon may be over
- Firms that use illegals targeted
- Measure targets living wages
- Rocky spurs man's 21-mile walk
- Legislature to spend 2 days in Logan this summer
- Hate-crimes bill gets a lobbyist
- House committee targets electronic harassment
- Racist fliers, lack of action frustrate woman in Sandy
- Vote on midwife bill is deferred
- Matheson vows to work with legislators, praises Huntsman
- Senate leader returns following lung surgery
- House approves hours of training for notaries
- Editorial: A soap opera of a bill
- Editorial: No tolerance for repeat DUIs
Standard-Examiner
- House, governor at odds
- Tax committee refuses to hear credit union bill
- Survivorship bill's advance stirs Amendment 3 debate
KSL Editorial Board
- Pass seat belt law
Daily Herald
- Funding splits governor, GOP
- Bill would give Utah education goals priority over federal mandate
- Editorial: A backup plan for nuclear waste
Salt Lake Tribune
- Huntsman, House clash on road funds
- Tax reform might be minimal this session
- Lawmakers hesitant to halt comments over new districts
- Legislators wrangle with midwifery bill
- Marriagelike rights measure targeted
- Governor would like to discuss proposal to halt shipments of Canadian drugs
- Dmitrich gets warm welcome back
- Jury selection for Workman begins with questionnaires; trial is set for Wednesday
- Utah: Trim president's monument powers
- Mormon Democrats caucus in Congress, reassert values
- Utah hate crimes bill gets new voice
- Sandy residents continue to fight big-box stores
- Huntsman wants a look at liquor laws
- 2005 Legislature: Bill striking SLC's living wage OK'd
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Please submit calendar items to Daily@UtahPolicy.com
- Jan 31: Utah Issues 31st Citizen’s Day at the Legislature, 8:30am to 1:30 pm, Prime Hotel, 215 W South Temple, Salt Lake City. Free event with breakfast and lunch provided. For more information please visit www.utahissues.org.
- Feb 3: Salt Lake Chamber’s Annual Legislative Reception, 5:30 pm to 8 pm, Grand America Hotel, 555 S Main, Salt Lake City. Opportunity for Chamber Members to meet with legislators, ask questions, let them know your concerns and priorities. Please RSVP. Register at www.saltlakechamber.org
- Feb 5: Annual Green Party of Utah Convention, 10 am to 2 pm, Anderson-Foothill Library, 1135 E 2100 S, Salt Lake City.
- Feb 12: Morgan County Lincoln Day Dinner.
- Feb 12: Utah County Lincoln Day Dinner.
- Feb 12: Davis County Democrats “No Host” breakfast/monthly food drive, 8:30 am, Grannie Annie’s restaurant, 286 N 400 W, Kaysville. The public is invited and everyone is asked to bring a non-perishable food item to benefit the food banks in Davis County.
- Feb 18: Last day for legislators to prioritize bills and other programs with fiscal impact.
- Feb 23: Final meeting for the Executive Appropriations Committee on all budget matters.
- Feb 25: Massachusetts Gov. and 2008 presidential hopeful Mitt Romney speaks at Salt Lake County Republican Lincoln Day Dinner, 7 p.m., Little America Hotel. For ticket information see: www.lincolnclub.net.
- Feb 25: Salt Lake County Lincoln Day Dinner.
- Feb 25: Bonding bill available to legislators by noon and final action taken on it by calendared closing time.
- Feb 25: Last day to pass bills with fiscal note of $10,000 or more.
- Feb 26: Republican Women Federation Fundraiser.
- Feb 27: Last day to consider bills from own house.
- Feb 27: Last day for a motion to reconsider.
- Feb 28: General appropriations bill, supplemental appropriations bill, and school finance bill available to legislators by calendared floor time and final action taken on each bill by calendared closing time.
- Mar 2: Second supplemental appropriations bill available to legislators by calendared floor time and final action taken by noon.
- Mar 2: 2005 legislative session ends.
- Mar 12: Davis County Democrats “No Host” breakfast/monthly food drive, 8:30 am, Grannie Annie’s restaurant, 286 N 400 W, Kaysville. The public is invited and everyone is asked to bring a non-perishable food item to benefit the food banks in Davis County.
- Mar 22: Last day governor may sign or veto bills.
- Apr 9: Davis County Democratic Party Organizing Convention, 11 am, Farmington Jr. High School,150 S. 200 West, Farmington.
- Apr 30: Utah County Republican Party Organizing Convention, 7 pm, Canyon View Junior High, 950 N 700 E, Orem.
- May 1: Last day a veto-override session may begin.
- May 2: Normal effective date for bills.
- May 2: First day to file bills for the 2006 General Session.
- May 14: Davis County Democrats “No Host” breakfast/monthly food drive, 8:30 am, Grannie Annie’s restaurant, 286 N 400 W, Kaysville. The public is invited and everyone is asked to bring a non-perishable food item to benefit the food banks in Davis County.
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